Business Knowledge
Articles and posts on starting and running a business.
China, you, me and business
China is a growing business market. If you are in any business you should look ways to expand to chinese market. Here are some tips
You might think that the recent outpouring of negative publicity with respect to China would have led to a marked decrease of companies looking to expand their business with the help of the permissive political and economical climate of that country. Interestingly, just the opposite appears to be case! In spite of parental outcries and consumer grumbling, larger as well as home based businesses wanting to make it with the big times are scrambling to file their paperwork and get their business relationship with China cemented. You might say that they are hoping to beat out the competition or conversely benefit from those businesses who fear the negative publicity and perhaps will choose to pull out of the Chinese market in favor of reestablishing themselves in the United States or exploring Third World countries, where labor costs are just as cheap and governmental red tape can be circumnavigated with a bit of palm grease.
There is no doubt that China’s economy will not only survive the recall related backlash but as a matter of fact it will most likely flourish! This creates a new middle class which is hungering for the goods and services American consumers are taking for granted but which until recently were considered luxuries in China – quite often unattainable to the average citizen. Especially the younger consumers are clamoring for the products American companies offer, and while businesses are relocating their manufacturing facilities offshore, they also have found that saving money on import tariffs by simply selling some if not all of the products being manufactured in that country to its citizens is indeed a profitable venture.
If you believe you are ready to take your business across the ocean and to China, do your homework prior to your move! As a small company you will have the advantage of being able to move quickly without having to wait for shareholder approval and proxy votes to be counted, and in addition to this advantage you will also enjoy the lack of governmental regulations with which American laws protect the workers and also the environment, but in spite of this seeming free for all you will be subject to extreme scrutiny when it comes to the tax obligations your company will have. While the United States’ IRS is known for its tenacity, they could still learn some lessons from their Chinese counterparts which are virtually ruthless in their efforts to collect business taxes due to them.
You will be wise to understand the tax codes, the expectations that the Chinese government will have of you, and also the little quirks of the law that have caused many a business to vastly overpay their tax debts. Add to this the need to become well versed with local laws and regulations as well as the regional interpretations thereof, and you can understand why so many American companies choose to find a Chinese partner who will handle this aspect of the business. Even as China is a budding business’ best friend, there is the possibility that the last little quirk might throw a monkey wrench into your business planes if you are unaware of the need for local assistance.
Categories: Business Knowledge, china Tags: china, china bashing, consumers, doing business, economy
The Metamorphosis of the Successful Executive… Overcoming Professional Stagnation
You’re a bright, successful business executive making good money and managing a capable staff of accomplished professionals. You are successful beyond your wildest business school dreams. You’ve achieved much-yet something’s missing. On the surface, life is good-yet you feel tired, drained, frustrated, defeated. Intuitively, you know your life can and should be more fulfilling.
Where do you turn? What can you do?
Four years ago, I reached a point in my career as a clinical psychologist where I, too, was unwilling to put up with any more professional “”pain”" and stagnation. I wanted more for my life and I knew I could have more. That’s when I teamed up with a personal coach and began my own career transition to the relatively new profession of “”Personal Coaching”" . . . and I’ve never looked back.
Working with a personal coach provided me the direction and support I needed to reinvigorate my own life and change my career-to recapture my voice, my sense of purpose, my sense of direction. It’s something you can have, too. Here’s how.
With personal coaching, frustrated executives get back on track, re-energized, and are better able to positively influence their company and their peers. Working with a coach unhappy executives learn to set limits, to establish boundaries and to delegate. They become clearer in their goals and better able to communicate their values. They develop actionable strategies to improve their listening and interpersonal skills. They begin to make things happen, to set the pace for their own lives at work and at home, and-most importantly-they begin to eliminate stress.
A 2001 quantitative study of 100 executives, mostly from Fortune 1000 companies, places the return on investment for executive coaching at nearly 6 to 1. The study, conducted by Manchester Inc. (a globally-recognized provider of executive coaching services), also revealed that coaching increases organizational strength, productivity, quality, customer service, shareholder value, and executive retention.
The question you must ask is “”Can I afford not to work with a coach?”"
Working with a personal coach you can become a better manager-better able to lead and inspire your teams. You create an improved workplace environment where risk-taking and innovation is encouraged. Your employees become loyal, productive and more satisfied. Recruitment efforts take off. Customer relations and service improves. Your customer base grows. Profits grow, too.
Coaching doesn’t work for everyone. For people who procrastinate, who are not willing to do the work, or who view coaching as “”touchy feely”" or frivolous, coaching won’t be successful.
A coach is not a consultant. He or she does not have the answers-the person being coached does. A coach asks the big questions, provides feedback, offers support and constantly challenges the client to reach further – sometimes well beyond the client’s current vision. The coach helps the client reduce stress, integrate self-care (exercise and healthy habits) into their lives, and make time for what is important. A coach can also provide resources and tools to help the client stay focused and achieve their goals.
Coaching relationships can be short- or long-term experiences, often ranging from three to six months to a year or more. Most often, individuals work with coaches by phone or in-person for a specified number of sessions per month. Coaching can also take place in groups, through teleclasses, and even in seminar or workshops settings.
Working with a coach is a highly personal experience, so finding the right coach-someone with whom you feel comfortable-is critical for success. The coaching industry estimates that there are more than 20,000 coaches-personal coaches, business coaches, marketing coaches, etc.-in the United States alone (and perhaps as many as 100,000 worldwide). When seeking a coach you should plan to interview several candidates at a minimum to find a good match.
With the right coach and a personal willingness to try new things, to experiment and to make and learn from your mistakes, you can turn achievement and success into something more. Working with a coach, you can look challenge squarely in the eye, face emotional hurdles at work and at home, and overcome them-embracing life’s “”adventure”" as you intuitively sense more rewarding opportunities ahead.
(c) 2004, Steven Bacharach Psy.D. All rights in all media reserved. This article may be reprinted so long as it is kept intact with the copyright and by-line.
About The Author
Steven Bacharach, Psy.D. is a personal coach to executives who are seeking more fulfillment in all areas of their life. To learn more about coaching and arrange a complimentary session, contact Steven Bacharach Psy.D. by email at stevenb@onthemarconsulting.com, by phone at (508) 358-9565, or visit his Web site at http://www.onthemarconsulting.com
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Only the Weak Ones Quit! by Graham and Julie
Only the Weak Ones Quit!
by: Graham and Julie
Only the weak ones quit. Is that true? There is a story of a CEO of a multi-national company who decided to withdraw a product from the market when it had consistently failed for nine months and eaten up millions of pounds in advertising, promotions etc. Was he weak? He could have maintained the myth of success and stayed in the market and gradually withdrawn, costing him and his company many more millions. Instead, he chose to face the fact that they had made a bad decision backing the product in the first place. He admitted his mistake publicly and withdrew the product before it cost him and his shareholders more money. Is he weak?
We believe the opposite is true. He is a winner and winners quit in order that they can go on to achieve greater success. Perhaps, therefore, the phrase should be, ‘only the weak ones stick’. The strong appear to recognise when they have exhausted all the options and get out before the situation becomes a liability.
The successful appear to know when to quit whereas the weak ones, the unsuccessful, stay with a project hoping and praying that it will turn itself around.
Just stop for a moment and ask yourself:
Am I maintaining a project, thoughts, attitudes or beliefs that I should have ditched a long time ago?
What is it that I know I should have quitted but keep hold of?
What am I holding on to because I am afraid to let go?
What is it that stops me from quitting?
David was made redundant in 2001 and decided, because he had been relatively successful in corporate life, to become a management consultant, working from home. He had read all the books and information on the web telling him how much these guys earned and because he had 20 plus years in management they would be eager to call on his assistance and knowledge.
He realised he had little, in fact no, selling skills so he enrolled on a number of sales training courses. In fact David enrolled on and attended many courses in the first six months to learn the ropes. How to cold call. How to put a proposal together. How to find out the real problem in the organisation. How to close the sale. Etc. etc. etc.
The problem was, six months later, no work. He had visited a couple of owners of small and medium sized businesses to talk over their problems, sorry issues, but he was never retained. He felt that they were either seeing him out of politeness, because they couldn’t say no over the telephone or because they were trying to pick his brains at the meeting rather than pay for his ‘expertise’. David actually met one owner on a number of occasions, including buying him lunch, but to no avail.
Lyn, his wife, was getting worried because the redundancy cheque had long since disappeared and their savings was going the same way. He refused to apply for jobs saying that he knew he was doing the right thing. He just hadn’t found the right company yet.
David’s sole marketing was cold calling and calling his old network in case they had anything. As the months ticked away so did his money, his temper, his relationship and his health.
His cold calling got less and less because ‘that didn’t work’. He found himself reading more, buying more and more management books and magazines and becoming better organised. He had a great filing system but no work.
He decided he needed a web site. So spent hours and hours designing and developing his web presence. Many, many hours not contacting a potential customer because they would now come from the web. The months went by, the savings got less and less. His wife worked more and more hours to keep the ship afloat.
You see, David couldn’t quit. He couldn’t accept that being a management consultant wasn’t working for him. Because only the weak ones quit.
The difference between success and failure is that successful entrepreneurs know when to quit a project and start again. They are not attached to their loss making thoughts, attitudes and beliefs. It is the strong, focussed and determined that quit failing ventures before it costs them a lot of money. It is an ego driven myth that only the weak ones quit.
Graham and Julie
www.desktop-meditation.com
About The Author
To see more of our work please go to:
www.desktop-meditation.com
graham@desktop-meditation.com
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Why now is the time to start an online business?
Many of us long for the day we no longer have to work for the “man”. We want to be able to walk in someday and tell the boss ” Take this job and shove it, I’ve got my own business”. For most of us it will be a difficult task. We have to work, take care of the kids, and the house. This leaves very little time to start a business that can someday replace our income. Don’t despair, there is a way to start a business with little money and with the potential to replace or at the worst case augment your income. I’m talking about starting an online or ecommerce business.
Why an online? Here are 4 big reasons:
1. It can be cheap to start.
2. Requires some effort but nothing at the beginning that will interfere with your present job.
3. You can reach a large customer base, without leaving the comfort of your home.
4. You may not need inventory in the early stages (think dropship).
There may be other reasons to start but these should do for now.
There are several types of online business you can start, most revolve around selling something to someone. An eBay business is probably the easiest to start and also comes with a very large customer base already in the place. The best way to start is to gather stuff around your house that you want to get rid of. Open yourself an eBay account, it’s free, then open a PayPal account. PayPal will allow you to accept credit card payments, as a well as electronic checks.
One you have that in place, take digital photos of your stuff, and list them on eBay. There is a ton of free information available to help you through the eBay process right on the eBay web site. Selling a few things on eBay allows you to learn the process. You’ll also get a feel for whether or not this is for you. Once you have determined that selling on eBay is for you then you’ll need to think about what you are going to sell. One excellent angle is to become a Trader Assistant. This allows you to sell things for other people on a commission basis. This is a great way to ensure an almost endless supply of stuff to sell.
You can also buy wholesale and sell retail. You can actually find wholesale merchandise on eBay to sell to others at a markup. Just make sure the person you are buying from has good eBay feedback.
Personally I chose the non eBay e-commerce route. I contacted several distributors of the products I wanted to sell on my e-commerce store and arranged for dropshipping for a limited time. This allowed me to test the products and the market. Once I know a product is going to be a good seller than I will order inventory and negotiate a good wholesale price.
You can also create your own products to sell. Information products such as DVD’s sell really well. You’ll need to do your research and know you market well. Find something that you know something about and create a DVD or instructional CD around that knowledge. You will be surprised what sells. I really like this niche as it allows to create you product once and sell it many times.
There is a lot more information on online businesses, do a quick search on Google for more insight.
Best of luck.
Here are some information links to get you started.
www.ebay.com
http://sell.ebay.com/sell
http://www.startupnation.com/
http://www.startupnation.com/pages/articles/AT_Online-Startups-Easier-Than-Ever.asp
Categories: Business Knowledge, My Personal Entries Tags:
Can you make six figures selling poof chairs?
I am always fascinated by individuals who find a niche and turn it into a prosperous business. Justin D’Angelo is such a person. He’s young, smart and was able to take a fairly niche product and turn it into a six figure business.
Read the rest of his story in CNNMoney Magazine October Millionaire in the Making. Click here to go to the story.
You can visit his site here.
Regards
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What makes millionaires different?
We often wonder what it is we don’t do that millionaires do? We sometimes think millionaires become millionaires due to luck or some favorable circumstance. Well, I am here to tell you otherwise. Millionaires do several things we don’t do, but should be doing. Read more…
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Why You Need Something More Than a Business Plan
I learned something very exciting this weekend. On my flight to Tampa, (yes, I knew about the hurricane, but my little sister was getting married, could not miss it), I picked up a copy of Entreprenuer Magazine. In it there was a very interesting article. Read more…
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What is Passive Income and Why You Want It
As an individual the number of hours you can work and the amout of revenue you as an individual can generate is finite. To break that barrier you need to generate passive income. In this article I will explain passive income and provide examples of three types of passive income. Read more…
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Is Entrepreneurship For You?
In business, there are no guarantees. There is simply no way to eliminate all the risks associated with starting a small business – but you can improve your chances of success with good planning, preparation, and insight. Start by evaluating your strengths and weaknesses as a potential owner and manager of a small business. Carefully consider each of the following questions. Read more…
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How to Make a Million Dollars
For some making a million dollars will be easy and quick. For others, like me , it will be slow and not so easy. Marshall Brain has put together a very nice online presentation on ” How to Make a Million Dollars”. It just may make things a whole lot easier. Read more…
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5 Things You Should Know Before Starting a Business
For most of us the road to becoming a millionaire is not by working for someone else. You have to start a business if you want to earn big money. Owning your own business is an important component of becoming a millionaire. However, owning your own business is not for everyone. It is hard work and long hours. It’s not as glamorous as television and magazines may lead you to believe. Read more…
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The Business Plan that Always Works
Jon over at Smart Money Daily wrote an interesting 8 part series of posts on his interpretation of The Business Plan that Always Works from the web site e-Myth.com. Read more…
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