Creating a financial success system helps you plan out how you can achieve your financial goals. The foundation of your system should be based on the following:
1. Determine what your vision of financial success is.
2. Establish goals that will help you achieve your vision.
3. Set up your strategy to reach your goals.
4. Develop a wealth mindset.
Your future and continued financial success depends not only on your vision, goals, and strategy… It also depends on you having a wealth mindset - how you think about and deal with money…
Finance writer and credit restoration expert, Ryan Taylor, says, “Most people think in terms of working in order to pay the bills and live their lifestyle. Wealthy people think about working in order to produce income that allows them to produce more income.”
Just making more money alone will not ensure you achieve the financial success you want. You must also know what to do with the money when you get it…
Filed under Blog, Financial Success System by Kelvin Parker
In her article “5 Stages of Lifelong Learning,” Cathy Ashmore, of The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, Columbus, OH, asserts that developing expertise as an entrepreneur is a lifelong process.
Entrepreneurs see potential in all kinds of situations and circumstances, and have the know-how to act upon it. But this entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just a one-time deal.
Successful entrepreneurs understand how to build on their experiences, even their failures, and turn them into future opportunities.
No successful entrepreneur ever stops seeking out multiple sources of knowledge to better him or her self - whether through books, seminars, networking, classes or other methods.
Your entrepreneurship education is a lifelong process of constantly learning and harnessing your entrepreneurial spirit… This is how you turn potential opportunity into success.
Filed under Blog, Entrepreneurship Education by Kelvin Parker
Opportunities abound for new business ventures in all economic situations. Entrepreneurship is boundless. Yet, knowing what to look for or how to take advantage of potential ventures isn’t always easy.
Ed Zimmer, of The Entrepreneur Network, suggests how you can prepare to make the most of entrepreneurial opportunities:
- Understand that any entrepreneurial venture requires a great deal of hard work, patience, and dedication.
- Recognize that all businesses starts not with know-how, not with the "bright" idea, but with the customer.
- Build a productive mindset and set goals.
- Don't be afraid to fail. You can learn from your failures.
- Keep an open mind for possibilities, even if no one else believes in it.
- Don't be afraid of spending time on things. The more time you spend in entrepreneurial activities, the more experience you get.
- Don't be afraid to take some risks.
The entrepreneur is always on the lookout for new opportunities. Are you ready for what’s coming your way?
Filed under Blog, Entrepreneurial Opportunity by Kelvin Parker
USA Today recently published an article on how the teen entrepreneur is finding his/her way around the diminishing job market.
There aren’t any more recent figures than 2006, but there were 492,000 individuals younger than 25 who were self-employed and it continues to grow.
Teenagers are finding that jobs that were plentiful in years past, such as fast food restaurants or grocery stores are not as available. The slim job market has forced teens to look elsewhere for unconventional jobs or create an opportunity for themselves as an entrepreneur.
The article suggests that if teens choose to start their own business, they should do a few things to make the most of their opportunity.
- Get Organized - managing a school schedule, typical teenage interests such as sports and a business will require a great deal of discipline and the ability to set and follow a schedule.
- Surround Yourself With Trusted Advisers - depending on how complex your business is, you may need an attorney and/or an accountant, etc. No matter the size of your venture, have some experienced and trusted adults close by to help you stay focused and make good decisions.
Starting a business is never easy, but as a teen entrepreneur you’ll face unique hurdles. To be most successful, surround yourself with trusted and experienced individuals who can help you make the most of your early entrepreneurial years.
Filed under Blog, Teen Entrepreneur by Kelvin Parker
Recently, Dr. John Butler published an article on Diversity MBA Magazine explaining how technology transfer allows entrepreneurship and wealth creation.
Dr. Butler states that technology transfer in business “is a dynamic source of wealth creation, especially when a larger company purchases the new company. For larger firms, technology transfer is a way to enhance present products or create new lines.”
Many entrepreneurs get stuck on the idea, believing that they have to recreate the wheel every time they create a new business. The beauty of technology transfer is that you’re taking a new or existing idea and making it better or adding to it.
Dr. Butler cites the example of moving from type-writers to computers. This is a dynamic leap to make, but the computer/ word processor eliminated the need for a type writer and made it more functional.
Your particular niche specific business may be something that others are doing as well, but how can you improve on that? Technology has made for unbelievable advances is every industry and that includes yours.
Creating wealth does not have to be complicated, but it will take necessary research and planning. Look at what you’re doing right now and discover how it can be done more efficiently. You may be the next industry leader because you dared to take your business to the next level.
Filed under Blog, Creating Wealth by Kelvin Parker
Small Business Trends interviewed four entrepreneurs about startups and how best to get started. No where in the article did they mention how to make money fast, because these entrepreneurs usually learned the hard way…
This successful group came up with some rules for a business’s first 3 years of existence:
- Be Particular - wasting your time and/or money on expenses, projects or employees you don’t need will only set you back. So now’s the time to be picky.
- Act Like A Little Company - starting off, you want to connect with clients, so don’t scare them off with quirky marketing talk and don’t fuss over a fancy website right now. Act like a human being and you’ll attract other human beings who want to do business.
- Make Every Cent Count - you may have a healthy budget to get started, but you never know how long it will take to start making money, so watch what you spend it on. You may find that you become agile at doing big and little jobs within your business, so while you’re counting every cent, save as much as possible and DIY.
Perhaps you won’t make money fast right away so take it slow and focus on building a healthy business. You’ll more readily see a good ROI in due time.
Filed under Blog, How To Make Money Fast by Kelvin Parker
Many assume that financial prosperity comes in the form of a nice inheritance or from a high paying job – only. Others dream about being debt free wishing only for security.
USA Today published an article that included steps to financial prosperity. These steps capture a variety of ways to hold onto your money while making your spending count.
1. Decide carefully on healthcare - even if you’re a twenty-something, it’s a prime time to practice a healthy lifestyle. Eating right, exercising and refraining from certain unhealthy choices can make for fewer healthcare expenses (and more importantly a better quality of life) down the road.
2. Avoid accumulating too much debt - while investments should be made wisely and give you a good ROI (such as a house), make sure you aren’t racking up debt for expenditures that can wait. Most items that you purchase with credit have an interest rate attached, so you’re actually spending more in the long run.
3. Working longer can pay dividends - don’t assume that you’ll be able to work 30 years and then retire. No longer are social security and company retirement plans 100% reliable. Be prudent about planning for your future and even factor in a longer life expectancy. If you want to live comfortably after retirement, make sure you plan accordingly while you are still working.
Being financially prosperous isn’t just good fortune. You can plan for a successful financial future by making wise choices today.
Filed under Blog, Financial Prosperity by Kelvin Parker
A while back, Warren Meyer of Coyote Blog got into a lengthy description of wealth creation and capitalism. The overall tone of the blog may be a bit confusing for some, but you can take a great lesson from it.
Meyer stated that strategies for wealth creation often get a negative response because many believe that wealth cannot be created. As Meyer states, many believe “it can be stolen or taken or moved or looted but not created.” If this were the case, there would be far fewer entrepreneurs.
Just because your business will generate income and earnings does not mean that someone else in some other country is going without. The U.S. does compete in a global market, but your business is separate from others and wealth is not fixed at a certain amount or level. There is no cap to wealth creation.
If you consider where your parents and grandparents came from, how much they worked and how much they earned, you can see that wealth creation is a living, breathing machine. It’s never stays the same.
So today, take advantage of what opportunities you have and create your own wealth possibilities. Grab on to your wealth potential and watch it grow.
Everybody in business, even seasoned entrepreneurs, need to focus on always looking for new methods, innovation and ways to do things.
Entrepreneur published an article that outlined one entrepreneur’s journey from start to lull to unbelievable success.
Britt Menzie of Stinky Kids started out painting children’s characters and it flourished into a children’s clothing business. Then in Spring of 2008 sales stopped climbing and eventually began to decline.
Menzie’s entrepreneurship research told her that during a time when most buyers quit buying pricey items like Stinky Kids t-shirts and hoodies for $28 -$44, it wasn’t that her products weren’t appealing, but people just had to choose between necessities and luxuries.
Menzie decided it was a time to build new business lines and geared her Stinky Kids characters toward more recession friendly products. She will be releasing a book based upon her Stinky Kids line in 2010 and Nordstrom has already agreed to stock the book and the dolls along with toy store, FAO Schwartz.
Menzie admits that if she hadn’t faced a sales crisis, she never would have expanded her vision to include books and toys.
Remember, just because the economy isn’t doing well doesn’t mean your business has to suffer. It may be the perfect time to dig deeper and embrace some expanded ideas.
Filed under Blog, Entrepreneurship Research by Kelvin Parker
Martin Zwilling, CEO and founder of Startup Professionals, shared some thoughts on what business courses he wishes would have been offered before he was forced to enter the real world.
Some of these “wish list” classes included:
- Basic Accounting and Finance - just because you’re innovative and can run a business doesn’t mean you know anything about accounting. Even possessing a rudimentary understanding of what you’re worth and how much it costs to run a business can give you enough insight to not be dangerous to yourself.
- Problem Analysis - if you compare a business owner to a homeowner, you know that you are better off if you can at least diagnose a problem. Knowing where the problem lies and how urgently it needs to be addressed can save you time, money and worry.
- Organizing and Prioritizing - organizing and prioritizing tasks will be the focus of your day to day duties. Knowing what needs to be done when and how urgent it really is to maintaining customer satisfaction is a must have.
If you’re lacking in any of these areas, there are plenty of online resources to tap into, or you may find them available through a local mentoring group or your local Small Business Administration.
Filed under Blog, Business Courses by Kelvin Parker