Starting Your Own Business: Part 3

When you decide to start your own business, begin by reading several books on small business formation. Some of the best books ever written are on the bookstands today. Read about every single aspect of market planning, market research, financing, delivery and distribution systems, people, processes, promotion, advertising and especially sales.

The most critical element in an entrepreneurial business is your ability to sell the product in quantity. In fact, Inc. Magazine once wrote that, “If you have the ability to sell, you’re a fool not to start your own business.”

Dun & Bradstreet summarized 50 years of research into successful and unsuccessful businesses recently with the conclusion that, “The reason for business success is high sales; the reason for business failure is low sales. All the rest is commentary.”

Your ability to sell the product is the primary driving engine of entrepreneurship. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make is that they build their business successfully by selling the product or service that they know and love, and then they hire salespeople and back-off to become the manager.

Now the company has a mediocre salesperson and poor manager and begins to go downhill rapidly. Finally, before the company hits bottom, the entrepreneur fires the salesperson and goes back out to selling where he should have been in the first place.

Many people think that the key to starting a new business is to arrange all the money in advance. I heard a business professor giving recommendations to a roomful of entrepreneurs recently and I almost fell off my chair. He said that, when you start your own business, don’t put any of your own money into it. Borrow all the money from the bank. And save your own money for your personal expenses.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When you start your own business, 99% of all the money you will have for your business is what is known as “love money.” This is money that you provide yourself or that people provide for you because they “love you.” No bank or venture capitalist will touch a new business start-up.

Banks and bankers are not in the business of taking risks. They are in the business of making good loans which they are absolutely sure can be repaid. When I started my new business some years ago, I was amazed to find that no banker anywhere had any interest whatsoever in lending me a single penny for my business. Most of them treated me as though I was a combination of a failure and a pickpocket when I went into see them. I learned that this is quite common. There should be a sign in every bank lobby that says “No Small Business Start-Ups Need Apply.”

Venture capitalists will only lend money to a company that has been in business for at least two years and that has a solid track record of increased sales, earnings and profits. Banks will only lend money to you if you can show them that you can cover the amount you want to borrow by about 500%. This means that they want $5 worth of tangible assets for every dollar that they are willing to lend to you. Not only that, they want personal guarantees from you and your spouse that will outlive a bankruptcy and last all of your life. They will want an assignment of every single piece of property that you own, and many banks will even ask you, if you can believe this, to deposit in a certificate of deposit with them, the amount that you want to borrow.

The very best way to start a small business is for you to accumulate all the money that you can personally, sometimes by using your savings, loans against your homes, and money from your friends and family, and then start off. You should plan to grow by bootstrapping. This means that you start small and you grow out of your sales and your profits. This takes a little bit longer but enables you to develop the skills and abilities as you go along that are commensurate with the size of your growing business.

Many of the greatest enterprises in America started on a hope and prayer and a little bootstrapping on the part of an underfunded entrepreneur.

Find out the most important concepts and tips necessary for business success with Brian Tracy’s book The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success

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100 SELF-ESTEEM BUILDING IDEAS

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Use the following self-esteem building strategies, ideas or methods to enjoy life to the fullest and to learn and grow by thinking about them. It's supposed to be fun. The best case scenario is when you do what you love to do.

Are you ready? Here is the list of 100 self-esteem building ideas:

1. Smile. He-he-he. It's not that hard is it?

2. Sing. Be aware of the neighbors.

3. Dance. No, not me, but you can do that.

4. Compliment someone.

5. Take time to do things you enjoy. Time Management Courses

6. Learn something new.

7. Have a sense of humor. There is a joke in every little corner. Go pick it up!

8. Plant a flower. Nurture it and grow with it.

9. Do silly things. Do it one more time!

10. Be creative. Write, draw or paint something.

11. Respect every living creature.

12. Think of somebody who you love. No, it's not me this time. Please think of somebody else.

13. Think about how lucky number this is.

14. Read books. Send me a short e-mail about your favorite one and the reason why it is the one.

15. Listen to classical music.

16. Talk to a butterfly or any other beautiful creature outside.

17. Exercise. Lifting up a beer can does not count.

18. Give compliments to those around you.

19. What makes you unique?..........

20. What is your strongest quality?

Would you like to help others by sharing your personal story or self-esteem building idea? Please don't hesitate to do that. Someone might use your valuable information, advice or technique to change the direction of her/his life.

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

What others say about me is their personal view but who i am is within me 
I help build my self-esteem by thinking positive and creating imaginary ideas that translate into reality. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he. The ...

Let go of others' approval 
Realizing that I will never really know what somebody else is thinking, and accepting that I can analyze until the cows come home, all that matters is ...

Time Is Irrelevant 
"Don't worry about the time it will take to achieve a goal, the time is going to pass anyways."

I am a poet. I have been writing for a little more than ...

You are unique 
When I was in 6 grade I was extremely overweight and my soft cheeks made me even fatter than I was.

I was extremely shy and sensitive. I never had any ...

What helped and inspired me! 
I had been dealing with low self esteem due to.. it seemed as if everybody I'd put my trust into hurt me so bad.

I've been abused and taken advantage ...

Stop looking and start listening to that voice within 
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Formula of self-esteem 
The formula of Self Esteem - Being positive / being negative + the happiness x the day that your still breathing....!

One Day At A Time 
As a young girl and through my adolescence into young adulthood I struggled with self-esteem. I wasn't just lacking it but it was non-existent.

Months ...

The story of David and his high self esteem 
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How I built my self esteem 
I built my self esteem by thinking positive about myself and the things I do.
I look at how others see me and how I see myself.

If there was something ...

Little little affirmation.. 
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MAKE LITTLE "POSITIVE-THINKING BOOKLETS" 
When I'm feeling a bit down, or need some positive encouragement, I make little booklets out of Post-It notes, and write a bunch of POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS ...

Latin dancing  
Latin American dancing is a brilliant way to build your self-esteem & have a mental rest from all of your worries....it has been a life-saver for me.

When ...

Be someone else 
Identify someone you admire and be them for the day!

Compliments Build Self-Esteem 
To receive a compliment is nice, but it is not always easy for some to accept.
To give a compliment is somewhat easier than receiving.

In the field ...

Coaching Matters  Not rated yet
Check out my website www.luvreading.com. Your ideas are my ideas as well. Here's to positive influences in the lives of--well, everyone.

21. What do you like about yourself?

22. Play chess outside in the rain.

23. Texas hold'em?

24. Think positive.

25. What is the #1 thing that you are the most enthusiastic about?

26. Clean your bathroom. Tons of fun.

27. Remodel your room.

28. Take a vacation. No, not to the nearest pub. Something more exotic.

29. List five strengths you have.

30. Play board games. Checkers, scrabble, backgammon, origami, monopoly, brainteasers, family games.

31. Say "HI" to the SUN.

32. Be spontaneous.

33. Visualize success. You can just look at my picture on my "ABOUT ME" page.

35. Replace negative self-talk with a positive one.

36. Set goals.

37. Keep track of your progress.

38. Look for positive and supportive people.

39. Think of at least 20 things you know how to do.

40. The 5 greatest achievement in your life.

41. Take a risk.

42. Watch the movie "HURRICANE" with Denzel Washington. You don't necessarily have to invite him. He'll be there anyway.

43. Meditate.

44. Surf online, but not for too long. After you have found my site do not go anywhere else.

45. Make mistakes. They are good for you.

46. Keep a journal.

47. Learn a foreign language. Hungarian for example. I can help. After 50-75 years you will be familiar with the basics.

48. Visit a local bookstore. Breath in the knowledge, wisdom and leave.

49. Write a poem.

50. Be a genius. Read about them first.

51. Buy a piece of cheesecake and don't eat it. Practice self control.

52. Talk to someone under age 6. Tons of fun.

53. Talk to someone over age 70. Tons of wisdom.

54. Build a website instead of watching TV.

Still here? More self-esteem building exercises? You got it.

55. Brainstorm ideas about anything you want to achieve in your life.

56. Understand that your failure is an opportunity to learn.

57. You can handle everything.

58. Share the love.

59. You have the right to say YES. You have the right to say NO.

60. Use self affirmations.

61. Light a candle and be silent.

62. Watch your posture.

63. Think about this: "Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." ( Winston Churchill )

64. Have or give massage. The healing power of a personal touch.

65. Do yoga.

66. Just do it!

67. Cook something.

68. Take a hike.

69. Create a collage.

70. Play hide and seek.

71. Kevin Welch said once: "There'll be two dates on your tombstone/ And all your friends will read 'em/ But all that's gonna matter is that little dash between 'em..." Please use that little dash for building self-esteem.

72. Pick one thing you like about your appearance.

73. Read about Mahatma Gandhi.

74. Say something nice to someone with no reason.

75. Buy a flower.

76. Walk backwards.

77. Become a better listener.

78. Take a deep breath.

79. Notice what you do right on a daily basis.

80. Sign up for my free newsletter!

81. List 10 things you can do to make someone else laugh.

82. Think of 10 things you can do for yourself that don?t consist of buying something.

83. Do the same with your loved ones.

84. Spend an hour with yourself every day.

85. Get organized and please note that I am still working on it.

86. Put something here on your own. Perhaps about self-esteem building. What do you think?

87. Make decisions.

88. Write down what's in your mind at this very moment. Don't think about it, just write it down.

89. Which is almost 90. Think about how much fun you had during the last 90 days and repeat it.

90. Look at your child. Any of them.

91. Play with water.

92. Reward your success.

93. Give.

94. Focus.

95. Be persistent.

96. Be aware that trial and error are part of life.

97. What is your #1 major goal in your life?

98. Pick a hobby.

99. Stretch your capabilities.

100. Ok. That's enough. No, just one more. Get up 20 minutes earlier tomorrow morning and read this list again.

What I wanted to show you here is that you don't need money or high intellect to have fun or to understand any self-esteem building exercise.

The tiny, little things in your every day life will create the joy and happiness you have been looking for.

Self-esteem building is about appreciating life, respecting each other and being and feeling confident in your every day activities.

Fun activities for the elderly

Going to self control from self-esteem building

Please sign up for my free monthly newsletter to get even more ideas for your self-esteem building.

Peacefully return home from 100 self-esteem building ideas.

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