Entrepreneurs « Money Pig

23
Apr/110

What You’ll Find In Entrepreneur Magazine

Entrepreneur Magazine is considered by many people to be the best resource for entrepreneurs out there. Whether you are still thinking about starting your own venture or trying to expand your already-established business, Entrepreneur Magazine is the best resource for you.

What does Entrepreneur Magazine provide you with? Well, here are some things you might find useful inside Entrepreneur Magazine:

1) Articles – the articles inside Entrepreneur magazine discuss a large variety of topics. These articles are written to help every kind of entrepreneur. What topics are discussed in the articles?

1. A) Start-up -these articles are written specially for the budding entrepreneur. These articles provide useful tips and advice on how to start your own venture. Included in these articles are different opinions on what the best initial business should be.

These articles can also provide you with very good insights into what you should expect when you start your venture.

1. B) Finance – these articles of Entrepreneur magazine discuss the financial aspect of the business. They provide useful advice on how to handle the money matters of your new venture. Financial experts write these articles in a manner that’s easy to understand so the entrepreneur won’t get lost in the financial lingo.

1. C) Market -Entrepreneur Magazine contains articles that help entrepreneurs keep up-to-date on the market. We all know that the market behaves erratically and that business ventures are often at the mercy of customers’ whims.

Studying the market can help you gain the advantage over your competition. You can also prepare yourself for any behavioral trends that may affect the way you do business. The market is important because it is the biggest factor that you cannot control. Remember that no matter how good you think your products or services are, if the customers don’t want it, you can’t force them to buy it.

2) Tips – Entrepreneur Magazine also contains tips on different aspects of business. The tips differ from the articles in the sense that they are straight to the point. These tips come in the form of lists or “dos and don’ts”. By reading these tips, you can gleam information quickly and put the advice to good use.

3) Opportunities – Entrepreneur Magazine gives what every entrepreneur needs: opportunity. By reading Entrepreneur Magazine, you get to access a lot of listings that provide you with the information you need on how to get opportunities out there.

Remember that business opportunities should be grasped and shaped into the venture you want. If you have the chance for a great venture, you should take it! Always have the guts to go with your feelings when you just know that you are going to succeed.

Remember that if you want to make it: you can!

4) Contacts – Entrepreneur magazine can provide you with information on how to contact people who may be able to help you get your business off the ground. By reading Entrepreneur magazine, you will be able to establish a client base quickly.

Contacts are important in today’s world of business. Even if you have a great product or service, if nobody knows about it, then it’s useless. By getting the proper connections, you can get your business running sooner than you expect.

5) Inventions – Entrepreneurs not only consist of people who want to start a business. Entrepreneurs are people who introduce something to the market that people are willing to pay for. Inventors may be brilliant, but they need help selling their inventions.

Entrepreneur magazine gives you tips on the legalities of selling your invention or getting your product recognized and sold. They also keep you up to date on any new inventions that you may want to take part in selling. This way, you might end up being the pioneer of a brand new revolution.

There you go; those are some of the advantages that you can have if you read Entrepreneur Magazine. If you are thinking that reading is so boring and surfing the web is so much more interesting, then you are in luck. Entrepreneur Magazine also contains some useful websites that you can surf in order to expand your entrepreneurial horizon.

All in all, Entrepreneur Magazine is a great help in expanding your business. Remember though, that reading about and idea is useless if you don’t act on it.

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14
Apr/110

Becoming a self-employed entrepreneur the Netherlands

Registration in the Dutch trade register is compulsory for every company and every legal entity, including ‘freelance’ and ‘zzp’ (‘zelfstandige zonder personeel’ or self-employed without staff).

When you have decided to start your own business a new world is opening up, with a wide variety of possibilities. You could open a shop or start your own consultancy firm; become a full-time or a part-time entrepreneur. Clients may wish to hire you for advice or construction work.
Before plucking up which is planted, there is a time to plant. In other words: you will have to be prepared to tackle challenges as well – either as a provider of services or products, as a self-employed entrepreneur, a sole trader, an independent contractor, or as a freelancer or so-called “ZZP-er”.

The risky side of freedom and independence

Whether you offer services or products: you will do so at your own risk, expense and with full responsibility towards third parties. As well as this, being self-employed entails certain obligations, such as paying taxes and VAT and keeping records of your business activities. Preparing well is the best way to start. You are definitely not on your own; the Dutch business world offers plenty of competent assistance.

Starting point

Before you visit the Chamber of Commerce to register your enterprise, you should have considered the following:

a permit to start a business in the Netherlands
a business plan
legal form and trade name of your enterprise
taxation and necessary insurance
business location, commercial lease
a ‘VAR’-statement from the Tax Administration, declaring you as a self-employed entrepreneur

Starting your own business

If you do not have the Dutch nationality, and want to start a business in the Netherlands, you will have to comply with particular IND (Immigratie en Naturalisatie Dienst, the Dutch immigration authorities) formalities. Even if you are not obliged to register with the IND (for almost all EU nationals) please do so all the same, as it may come in quite handy for other purposes.

The Dutch Chambers of Commerce are incorporated under public law and, as such, target their services at Dutch businesses across all sectors.

Dutch immigration authorities

The legal form of your enterprise makes no difference to the applicability of the rules by the Dutch immigration authorities: whether it is a one-man business, a Dutch private limited (BV), or a branch-office of a foreign company. The rules do not differ either whether you start an enterprise shortly after arriving in the Netherlands, or after having been employed in the Netherlands for some time. However, rules and formalities do differ– broadly speaking for EU nationals and non-EU nationals. Please check also the IND Residence Wizard

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals

Nationals of one of the EU Member States, the EEA (European Economic Area), or a Swiss citizen, are free to live and work on a self-employed basis in the Netherlands and do not need an entry visa or a residence permit.

Even if you are not obliged to register with the IND, do so all the same, as it may come in handy in the future. For instance, when asked for proof of registration on taking out Dutch public healthcare insurance, a healthcare, housing or childcare allowance, a mortgage, or a phone subscription. Registration is free of charge. If you intend to stay over four months, you are always required to register at your local municipality. The expatdesk will help you out here.

Working on a self-employed basis when a EU, EEA and Swiss national

There are no specific IND formalities that have to be fulfilled for nationals of these states.

Different rules apply for citizens of Bulgaria or Romania as long as restrictions on the Dutch labour market remain in force. Nationals of these countries are advised to apply for a residence permit, which will be useful in a number of situations. The procedure is called “Application for assessment under the EU community law (proof of lawful residence)”.

Nationals of non-EU and non-EEA countries

If you are not a national of an EU or EEA country and not Swiss, you will need to apply for a residence permit in case you stay longer than three months in the Netherlands. A residence permit can be obtained from the IND.

If you are a national of a country subject to the Dutch visa requirement for more than three months’ stay, you will have to apply for a special visa: a provisional residence permit, an MVV (Machtiging Voorlopig Verblijf).

Working on a self-employed basis as national of non-EU / non-EEA country and non-Swiss
In this case you will have to meet several economic criteria before starting an enterprise in the Netherlands:

You are qualified to run the business in question.
You have a business plan.
Your business serves an essential Dutch interest, i.e. “added value” for the Netherlands.

The IND does not weigh these criteria itself; the Ministry of Economic Affairs is requested to review your situation and to decide whether the business you intend to run will be economically interesting. If this turns out not to be the case, you cannot start your own business in the Netherlands.

Review of economic added value

Starting your own business

The Dutch Chambers of Commerce are incorporated under public law and, as such, target their services at Dutch businesses across all sectors.

Dutch immigration authorities

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals

Working on a self-employed basis when a EU, EEA and Swiss national

There are no specific IND formalities that have to be fulfilled for nationals of these states.

Working on a self-employed basis as national of non-EU / non-EEA country and non-Swiss
In this case you will have to meet several economic criteria before starting an enterprise in the Netherlands:

You are qualified to run the business in question.
You have a business plan.
Your business serves an essential Dutch interest, i.e. “added value” for the Netherlands.

Review of economic added value
The Ministry of Economic Affairs awards points for each criterion. You will need a minimum of 30 points for each criterion (total number for all criteria: 300).

The scoring system consists of three parts:

a) Personal experience (education, experience as a self-employed person, working experience);
b) Business plan (market analysis, product/service, price, organisation, financing);
c) Material economic purpose for the Netherlands (innovative, job creation, investments).

You should always contact the IND to find out about the procedure involved in testing the economic interest of the enterprise you intend to start. For nationals of some countries, for example Turkey, special rules apply on the basis of treaties between the EU and these countries. And when you are from the United States of America, it is important to know there is the so-called ‘Nederland-Amerikaans’ vriendschapsverdrag’.

Taking your business from abroad

The Dutch comparative companies Act recognises all foreign legal entities except businesses owned by one man or one woman. If you run a one-person business in your country of origin and you can prove this, for example by submitting a copy of registration in a commercial register in that country, you can bring this enterprise to the Netherlands and have it registered at the Chamber of Commerce as a Dutch one-man or -woman business.

Other legal foreign entities or foreign business forms are simply registered as a foreign legal entity with commercial activities.

Please note that you will still have to comply with the IND residency rules

Starting a branch office in the Netherlands

There is a question of a branch when long-lasting business operations, which form part of the foreign enterprise, are (being) conducted in the Netherlands. A branch can be: a sales office or a production company, but also a representative office. It does not have an independent legal form, but is a part of the foreign enterprise.

Dutch law recognises foreign legal entities. In other words: the foreign legal entity wishing to start activities in the Netherlands needs not be converted into a Dutch legal form.

A business plan is essential

No matter small or big the business is, a business plan will help you identify areas of strengths and weaknesses.

Banks require a business plan when you take out a loan. Even if you do not need the latter, and financing your enterprise is not a problem, a business plan will definitely help you understand the impact of starting a business. Submitting a business plan is also one of the criteria set for non-EU and non-EEA nationals to be allowed to start their own enterprise in the Netherlands.

Get started: Write the plan yourself

Crucial questions you should ask are:

Which legal form will best suit the enterprise?
Which products or services will you offer?
Who will be your clients?
Promotional activities to get contracts?
How to optimize visibility to your target group?
Which prices and fees?
Financial plan (available budgets, expected turnover, investments)?
Which insurances do you need?
Permits and/or licences required?
Administrational organisation, which form?
What should be included in your General Terms and Conditions – if applicable?

Formats

Business plan formats can be obtained from various private parties that specialise in supporting starters. Just surf the internet. Small business planner at http://www.sba.gov/ is a useful site.

Employment law issue: employed or self-employed?

If you go freelance, you should pay extra attention to your situation, because the term ‘freelancer’ is not a definition recognized by law. Freelancers operate somewhere in between being self-employed and being in paid employment.

As an independent entrepreneur you pay taxes and contributions yourself, and you are not entitled to rights employers are: minimum wage, paid holidays, a holiday allowance, statutory safeguards against dismissal and a statutory notice period.

In order to designate the employment relationship while starting your business, it is important to consider different contracts and apply for a Verklaring Arbeidsrelatie (VAR) at the Tax Administration.

Employment on the basis of a contract and implied employment

Regardless of the title chosen for the contract with your client, it is considered an employment contract if the following criteria are met:

your remuneration for the work performed can be seen as wages;
there is an obligation to do the work yourself: you cannot send someone else to do the job for you. Having to be available for specific work, e.g. on-call service, will also be considered as work performed in employment;
a relationship of authority: the employer can determine where, when and how the work should be carried out. This relation also exists if the work you do is an essential element in the employer’s business operations or if the employer’s profitability is at risk without you.

If the working relation does not show all characteristics of a “proper” employment relation, it may still be seen as one. This is called a notional employment relationship: although the employment relation has not been established explicitly, there is an implicit employer-employee relation. Consequently, the fee you charge is seen as wage, so, the employer will have to deduct taxes from your wages and pay national insurance and employee insurance contributions.

A notional employment relation exists if:

you work for a client project for at least at two days a week;
you earn more than 40% of the minimum wages for the project a week;
the relation with the client lasts more than 30 days; a new contract within one month after the termination of the first contract is seen as continuation of the previous contract.

A notional employment does not exist if actual and practical independence can be proven, for which a VAR can be instrumental.

Commercial contracts

As a self-employed entrepreneur you or your client can initiate to formalise the contractor-client relation by entering into a commercial contract. Parties should always insist on putting down the arrangements agreed upon.
There are two types of commercial contracts:
1. Service agreement – Under this type of contract you are obliged to perform to the best of your ability, committing yourself to do your client’s work without being employed by him. The work is usually classified as services’.
2. Contractor agreement – Under this type of contract you have a specific target obligation. You commit yourself to produce a concrete, tangible object at a certain price.

Criteria for legal independence: Actual circumstances are decisive here. An official statement signed by client and yourself that the contract is a commercial one is helpful proof. Criteria are:

the degree of independence and absence of supervision/authority;
permanence;
pursuit of profit;
clientele.

Not just these criteria, but their interconnection especially plays a decisive role.

De Verklaring Arbeidsrelatie (VAR)

In order to designate the employment relationship you can apply for a Verklaring Arbeidsrelatie (VAR) at the Tax Administration. The VAR is an official statement. Based upon the applicant’s information the Tax Administration will define income as:

Income earned in employment: the freelancer will have a VAR income.
Income earned from other proceedings: the freelancer will have a VAR-row.
Profit from enterprise: the freelancer will have a VAR-wuo.
Partnership’s own risk and account: the freelancer will have a VAR-dga.

VAR-income and -row: employed or not?

With a view to the VAR-income and –row, the employer will have to define and check whether he should pay income tax and employees insurance premiums, based upon the existence of an employment contract or otherwise. Explanatory assistance – but no definite answer! – can be found at the website of the Ministry of Finance. The Tax Administration may conclude differently.

VAR-wuo and –dga: certainty in advance

Only VAR-wuo or -dga supply the employer beforehand with complete financial certainty provided he meets the following conditions:

The freelancer’s activities should be similar to the VAR’s description. So, the freelancer is not entitled to carry out IT work if the VAR denotes carpentry.
The freelancer is on the job during the validity of the VAR (1 calendar year).
The VAR should be the authentic original.
The employer should determine the freelancer’s identity on the basis of a valid proof of identity (not driver’s licence). Copies of the VAR and proof of identity should be kept in the administration for seven years.

Having acted this way, the employer has a solid defence in case the Tax Administration or UWV may reach another verdict afterwards. So, it may be wise for both freelancers and employers to object against a VAR-income or -row.

VAR application

Bearing in mind the utmost importance of the VAR-outcome, it is obviously important to carefully fill out the VAR-form. Only the freelancer him/herself is allowed to apply for a Verklaring Arbeidsrelatie (VAR); the employer is not entitled to do this. A directeur-groot aandeelhouder (DGA) should apply for a VAR in case of external consultancy.

The Tax Administration provides a digital VAR application form; to which you will get a reply within 8 weeks. If additional information is needed, the Tax Administration will contact the applicant.

Please note the following when filling out the form: The Tax Administration considers request as a total, coherently, and takes the activities into account. If not all answers are favourable it does not necessarily mean that no VAR-wuo will be given. For example: an interim manager with two or more employers can still be entitled to a VAR-wuo.

The freelancer should write down reasonable expectations. If, however, the actual situation afterwards turns out to have been differently, this will not have any consequences as long as the deviation is within normal risk of enterprise limits. For example, the freelancer expected to have 3 or more employers, but due to a recession this turned out differently.

The freelancer has to fill out the form to the best of his knowledge and should not deliberately misrepresent the state of affairs. If this should afterwards be proven to have been the case, the Tax Administration will recover the indebted taxes and premiums from the freelancer.

Some of the questions need a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ only; choose the nearest suitable.

Relation employer/former employer

As a part-time independent entrepreneur / part-time employee you could get involved in a conflict of interest with your (former) employer. If you intend to provide services, comparable to the ones he provides, you better ask his permission/advice to run your own business.

Starting a business as a full-time independent entrepreneur you should be aware of a possible conflict of interests as well. You probably signed a non-competition clause within your employment contract that remains valid after termination of employment. In any case it is wise to contact/consult your (former) employer of your intentions.

Legal forms and registration of an enterprise

The Chambers of Commerce can answer your questions about the legal environment of your business. Seminars and other regular services are available.

The majority of starting entrepreneurs either choose a one-man business or a general partnership as the legal form for their business, according to their preference on doing business by themselves or in cooperation with others.

In order to accommodate the starting entrepreneur or professional, Dutch law recognizes various legal forms, such as a one-man business, a private limited company (BV), a partnership or a limited partnership. The main issues at stake are the matter of liability if your enterprise should run up debts, and which tax regime applies.

One-person business

One-person business (lit. one-man in Dutch: eenmanzak) is also referred to as sole trader or sole proprietorship or independent contractor.

If you start a one-person business you will be the fully independent founder and owner. More than one person may work in a one-person business, but there can only be one owner. A one-person business can also employ personnel.

Setting up

You can establish a one-person business without a notarial deed. Registration in the Trade Register is mandatory. As a private individual you can only register one one-man business. However, you can have more than one trade name and carry out various business activities under different trade names. These activities can be carried out at the same or at another address, as a branch office of the one-man business.

Liability

As the owner of a one-person business you are responsible for everything concerning your enterprise; for every legal act and all its assets and liabilities. No distinction is made between private and business property. Thus, business creditors can seek recovery from your private property and private creditors from your business property. If your one-man business goes bankrupt, you yourself go bankrupt as well.

If the owner of a one-person business should be married in a community of property regime, the creditors may also lay claim to the partner’s property. Partner liability can be avoided by a prenuptial or a postnuptial agreement drafted by a civil-law notary. However, since partners are usually requested to co-sign when taking a loan, the agreement may not offer the protection expected. A civil-law notary can provide more information.

Taxes and social security

The profit made in a one-person business is taxed in box 1 – income tax. If the Tax Administration fully considers you an entrepreneur, you are entitled to tax allowances such as the entrepreneur’s allowance, investment allowance and the tax-deferred retirement allowance.

The owner of a one-person business cannot claim social benefits under the Sickness Benefits Act, the Work and Income Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act. Therefore, it is advisable to take out insurances to cover these risks. You will qualify for the following national insurance schemes:

General Old Age Pensions Act
-Surviving Dependants Act
Exceptional Medical Expenses Act
General Child Benefit Act

Continuation of the business activities and business succession

With a one-man business no distinction is made between private and business. If you die, both business and private property will fall into your heirs’ estate. You will need to make provisions to guarantee your business’ continuity. A tax consultant could provide more details.

B. General partnership, the “VOF”

A general partnership is a form of cooperation in which you run a business with one or more business partners. You and your partner(s) are the associates or members of the general partnership. One of the characteristics of this legal form is that each partner contributes something to the business: capital, goods, efforts (work) and/or goodwill.

Setting up

A partnership contract is not a statutory requirement for the formation of a general partnership, but it is, of course, advisable to put down in writing what you and your business partner(s) have agreed upon. A partnership contract could arrange the following matters:

name of the general partnership;
objective;
contributions by partners in capital, knowhow, goodwill, assets and efforts (work);
distribution of profits and offset of loss;
allocation of powers;
arrangements in case of illness;
arrangements for a partner’s days off/ holiday.

Liability

An important characteristic of the general partnership is the joint and separate liability of the partners. Each partner can be held fully liable – including private property – if the general partnership fails to meet its obligations, even if these obligations were entered into by another, authorised partner. Creditors of the partnership may seek recovery from your business property and your private property and the property of the other partner(s). Restrictions agreed upon in the partners’ authority have to be officially registered in order to gain legal effectiveness towards third parties.

The general partnership usually has ‘separate capital’, i.e. the business capital contributed by the partners, which is kept apart from their private property and capital. This capital is to be solely used for business purposes. Should one or more creditors seek recovery from the partnership – for instance in the case of bankruptcy – they could do so from the separate capital. If this should be inadequate to pay the partnership’s debts, creditors may seek full recovery from the partners’ private property. If so, you could hold the other partner(s) liable for having failed to meet their obligations, but only after the creditors have been paid. In private matters creditors of partners cannot seek recovery from the partnership’s business assets or the private property of the other partner(s).

Because of this partners’ broad liability it is advisable to have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement drafted if you are married under a community of property regime. A civil-law notary could provide you with more information.

Taxes and social security

Each partner will pay their own income tax on his profit share. If the Tax Administration sees the individual partner as an entrepreneur, they are entitled to all kinds of tax allowances, such as the entrepreneur’s allowance, investment allowance and the tax-deferred retirement allowance.

As far as social security is concerned, the same rules apply for the entrepreneur – partner as for the owner of a one-person business.

Continuation of the business activities and business succession

Under Dutch law the general partnership ends when one of the partners resigns or dies. In order to secure the continuation of the general partnership, the partners can include a clause in the partnership contract arranging for the other partners to continue the general partnership – with or without a new partner – or to terminate it.

C. Limited partnership, the “CV”

A limited partnership, the “CV”, is a special type of general partnership (VOF). The difference is that the CV has two types of business partners: general, and limited or sleeping partners. The latter are only financially involved; they cannot act on behalf of the partnership. Besides, the name of a limited partner cannot be used in the trade name of the limited partnership.

Setting up

A partnership contract is no statutory requirement for a limited partnership, but, again, partners better put down the agreements. Apart from the matters mentioned in the VOF, the contract should arrange the distribution of profit between general and limited partners. When registering a limited partnership in the Trade Register, the personal details of the general partners are listed; the details concerning the limited partners are restricted to total number and their contributions in the partnership.

Liability

General partners can be held fully liable if the partnership fails to meet its obligations. Bankruptcy of the limited partnership will automatically lead to the general partners’ bankruptcy (not applicable to limited partners). A limited partner can only be held liable to the maximum sum contributed to the partnership. However, should the limited partner act on behalf of the partnership, he will be seen as a general partner and fully liable, in which case creditors of the partnership can lay claim on his private property as well. Restrictions agreed upon in the partners’ authority have to be officially registered in order to gain legal force towards third parties.

The general partners’ liability in a limited partnership is quite broad, so, if partners are married under a community of property regime they are advised to have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement drafted. A civil-law notary could provide more information.

Taxes and social security

General partners pay income tax on their share in the profit. If the Tax Administration sees the individual partner as an entrepreneur, they are entitled to various tax allowances, such as the entrepreneur’s allowance, investment allowance and the tax-deferred retirement allowance. As far as social security is concerned, the same rules apply to the entrepreneur – partner as to the owner of a one-person business. Limited partners, who cannot be held personally liable for the enterprise’s debts, are not seen as entrepreneurs by the Tax Administration.

Continuation of the business activities and business succession

Under Dutch law the limited partnership ends when one of the partners resigns or dies. In order to secure the continuation of the limited partnership, the partners can include a clause in the contract arranging for the other partners to continue the partnership – with or without a new partner – or to terminate it.

D. Professional partnership, the ‘maatschap’

The partnership referred to as ‘maatschap’ under Dutch law differs from the general partnership and the limited partnership in that it is a form of cooperation established by professionals such as doctors, dentist, lawyers, accountants, physiotherapists etc., rather than a cooperation established for the purpose of doing business. The partners are referred to as ‘maten’ instead of ‘partners’. Each ‘maat’ contributes personal efforts, capital and/or assets. The purpose is to share the income earned on the one hand and the expenses incurred on the other.
Setting up a professional partnership

A partnership contract is no statutory requirement for the formation of a professional partnership, but partners better lay down their agreements with the other professionals in a partnership contract. This partnership contract could arrange the following matters:

contributions made by the partners;
distribution of profits, pro rata each partner’s contribution – distributing all profit to one partner is not allowed;
allocation of powers – each partner is entitled to perform management acts, unless agreed upon otherwise; as of 1 July 2008 the professional partnership has to register in the Trade Register. This does not apply to partnerships that only act internally, such as a partnership in which costs are pooled.

Liability

Each authorised partner can enter into a contract, thus binding the partnership: all partners. Each partner can be held liable for an equal part. If a partner should act beyond his authorization, the other partners will in principle not be held liable: the partner in question is the only partner that has bound himself. A professional partnership has no ‘separate capital’ from the private assets of the partners. Creditors having a claim on the partnership can only seek recovery for equal parts from the individual partners; these creditors do not rank above creditors who have a claim on the private assets of a partner. To a married partner the same reservations apply as to the general partners in general partnerships and limited partnerships. They are advised to have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement drafted. A civil-law notary could provide more information.

Taxes and social security
Each partner pays income tax on his profit share. If the Tax Administration sees the individual partner as an entrepreneur, he is entitled to various tax allowances, such as the entrepreneur’s allowance, investment allowance and the tax-deferred retirement allowance. Regarding social security the same rules apply to the entrepreneur – partner as to the owner of a one-man business

Continuation of the business activities and business succession

Under Dutch law the professional partnership ends when one of the partners resigns or dies. In order to secure the continuation of the partnership, the partners can include a clause in the contract arranging for the other partners to continue the partnership – with or without a new partner – or to terminate it.

E. Private company with limited liability, ‘BV’

In contrast to the legal forms described above – enterprises run by natural persons – the private limited is a legal person: a person having rights and obligations, just like a natural person. The natural person who has incorporated the private limited cannot be held liable, in principle, for the debts incurred by the private limited. The BV itself is seen as the entrepreneur, whereas the natural person who is appointed director merely acts on behalf of the BV and cannot be held personally liable for his acts. A private limited company can be incorporated by one person – a sole shareholder BV – or by more persons. The capital of a private limited is divided in shares.

Incorporating

This involves a number of statutory requirements, most important of which:
Incorporation takes place through a notarial deed. This should include the articles of association of the company. The civil-law notary will check the legal contents of the articles.
A certificate of no-objection from the Ministry of Justice must be submitted before the incorporation can be effected. The Ministry checks whether the person incorporating the company has ever been involved in bankruptcy proceedings or fraud cases.

The incorporation of a BV requires a minimum capital of EUR 18,000 (cash or in kind) in the private limited.

Liability

The shareholder’s liability is limited to the total sum of his participation. Since the BV is a legal person, having its own independent rights and obligations, the persons involved – directors and supervisors – cannot be held liable for the debt of the company. In other words: the company’s creditors can never seek recovery from the private assets of these officers. However, a company director or officer may be held liable as a private person if he has acted negligently or culpably. If they are responsible for the company’s bankruptcy because of wrongful or fraudulent behaviour in the company’s policy, creditors of the company may file a claim against them.

In the formation phase of the company, a director may be liable for the company’s acts. This liability ends as soon as the legal person is incorporated and the acts are confirmed by the company. As long as the company has not been registered in the Trade Register, directors’ and officers’ liability continues. In practice, limited liability often does not apply because banks require the director and principal shareholder of the company to co-sign for loans taken out on behalf of the BV.

Taxes and social security

The private limited pays corporation tax – also referred to as company income tax – on the profits earned. The BV’s director and shareholder are employed by the BV His eligibility for social security under the Dutch social security laws depends on the relation of authority between himself and the private limited. A relation of authority is considered not to exist if:

the director, possibly with his or her spouse, can cast more than 50% of the votes in the shareholders’ meeting;
two thirds or more of the shares are held by the director and/or close relatives up to the third degree;
the director cannot be dismissed against their will.

Without a relation of authority, the director and shareholder cannot rely on the social security insurances. He will have to take out his own insurances; to him the same rules apply as to the owner of a one-person business.

Continuation of the business activities and business succession

Continuation of the company is secured by the fact that the BV is a legal person that exists independently from the persons having incorporated or managing the private limited. When the director dies, the continuation of the enterprise is not at risk, viz. the enterprise is run by the BV and a new director will have to be appointed.

A private limited can be sold in two different ways:

BV’s shares are sold;
BV’s enterprise (machines, inventory, stocks, etc.) is sold.

If the shares are sold, the proceeds are subject to income tax (box 2) if the shareholder has a substantial interest (holder of a minimum of 5% of the shares).

If the enterprise is sold, the BV will have to pay corporation tax on the profit or book profit on the sale. If the shareholder of the BV selling the enterprise is a BV itself, the structure is referred to as a holding – advantage of which: the holding will in principle have to pay taxes on the proceeds.

Registration of your enterprise

Before you are allowed to start your business operations, you have to register your enterprise in the Dutch Trade Register, which is administered by the Chambers of Commerce. Registrations in the Trade Register are public; everyone can check whether a particular person is authorised to act on behalf of an enterprise and which legal form it has: a one-man business, a partnership or a private or public limited.

The Chamber of Commerce could run a trade name investigation for you to make sure that the selected trade name does not infringe the rights of other enterprises. This trade name investigation is not free of charge.

Holland Gateway (the cooperation of the Netherlands Chambers of Commerce, Ministry of Economic Affairs and other official institutions) is located at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. This bureau promotes the ease of doing business in the Netherlands.

How to register your enterprise

Registration requirements

Once you have decided upon your business’ legal form, you can have your enterprise registered at the local Chamber of Commerce. Registration should take place within a period of one week preceding, and one week following the actual commencement of business activities.

Without registration in the GBA, you will need to submit authenticated proof of your residential address abroad. The person registering the business has to submit a valid proof of identity, which document has to be personally submitted at the Chamber of Commerce. The following documents are accepted as valid IDs:

a valid travel document (passport or European ID card);
a valid Dutch driving licence (non-Dutch driving licence not accepted);
a residence permit issued by the IND;
a Dutch refugee passport
a Dutch aliens passport

If you do not start your business at your home address but at a location you have e.g. rented, you will also be requested to show the lease to confirm the business address.

Once the registration has been completed, you will be given a unique eight-figure registration number. This KvK number should be referred to on all your outgoing mail. Free of charge, you will receive an extract of your registration, a KvK-‘uittreksel’(excerpt).

Who can register the enterprise

When an enterprise is registered at the Chamber of Commerce, it is of the utmost importance that the registration forms which are submitted have been signed by the right person. Depending on the legal form of the enterprise, the forms can be registered in the Trade Register by:

the owner of the one-man business (registration of a one-man business),
the partners (registration of a general partnership, VOF, and a professional partnership, ‘maatschap’)
or the general partners (registration of a limited partnership, ‘CV’)
If the enterprise is a legal person, a BV, the civil-law notary will usually see to the registration formalities.

The persons who should register the enterprise and sign the registration forms can also be held responsible in the event an enterprise is not registered.

In special circumstances other persons may be authorized and/or obliged to see to the registration of an enterprise. The Chamber of Commerce can advise you on these circumstances.

Registration forms

The registration forms can be downloaded from the Chamber of Commerce website. As a statutory requirement, all forms are in Dutch and have to be completed in Dutch. Translations in English of forms 6, 11 and 13 are available to assist you while filling in the Dutch form to be handed in.
Registration is not free of charge. When you register a business, a fee will be due for the calendar year the enterprise is registered in. After that initial year, an annual fee will be charged in the first quarter of each year. The total sum of this contribution depends on the legal form.

After registration

Once the enterprise has been registered, it is the owner or partner’s responsibility to keep the information up-to-date. With a BV the manager authorised to act on behalf of the BV is responsible.

Permits and Licences

Most business activities can be performed without any permits or licences, but for some activities, like catering business, transport or taxi firm, you do need a licence. And an environmental permit may be required if your products or business operations negatively affect the environment. Permits and licences can be applied for at the municipality or at the provincial authorities.

Check how you can use your degree or diploma for your business in the Netherlands. International Credential Evaluation: http://www.idw.nl/international-credential-evaluation.html

Some sectors require registration with an industry board or a product board. Registration is a statutory requirement, based on the Act on Business Organisations. An industry board is a kind of interest group for a specific sector. The same applies to a product board, which includes all enterprises in a production chain, from producers of raw material to manufacturers of end products.

Termination / dissolution of the enterprise

When transferring or selling your company, you will have to comply with a number of rules and regulations. You should also enter information about the sale into the Trade Register and reach a settlement with the Tax and Customs Administration. A business transfer within the family involves several other tax aspects.

Expatica will publish Becoming a self-employed entrepreneur the Netherlands (part 1) on Sunday 27 February.

Chambers of Commerce
The Dutch Chambers of Commerce provide information on starting a business, legal forms, registration in the trade register, international trade etc. We have accumulated knowledge, contacts and partnerships, which makes it the essential reference point for every firm doing or seeking to do business.

Drop by for specific information
Apart from general information, the Chambers of Commerce will be glad to provide you with further details regarding your specific position: either at the start of your business or while running it.

If you are located and/or interested in the Region Amsterdam:
Do call 020-5314684 for a consultation with one of our specialists of the Bedrijfsvoorlichting department.

www.expatica.com is the largest news and information provider for international community in Europe. Founded in 2000, Expatica’s mission is to help expats settle into their new country of residence by providing up-to-date English news and information. The rich content Expatica supplies cover all aspects of expat life, which makes it a must-read online source for expats.

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Part of 2010 Conference on Entrepreneurship. What things typically trip up an entrepreneur in starting and running a company? Is it getting the right business partner? Is it having the killer technology? How does one recover from major setbacks? A panel of seasoned entrepreneurs, angels, venture capitalists, and board members discuss the common pitfalls most new entrepreneurs encounter when building their businesses.
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19
Mar/110

Small Business vs Entrepreneurs

What were the basic parts of the Ball of Risk (4) we discussed in the last class and how do they apply to separating out Entrepreneurs from Small Business persons? Think back to the video for some ideas about who is and is not an entrepreneur. (hint: challenge, learning, innovation and growth)

To many people, the word entrepreneurial and small businesses have been used interchangeably without making any reference to the differences that exist between the two. Although the two are involved in business there are a number of differences between the two. Basically referred to as the ball of risk, there are four main factors that differentiate an entrepreneur from a small business. One of the most prominent distinguishing factors between an entrepreneur and a business is innovation. Entrepreneurs prefer creating activities which are manifested by innovative combinations that will assist in making more profit. Unlike a small business which replicated business ideas that have been practiced by other people and which has a limited expansion, an entrepreneur is involved in innovative activities that leads to development of new line of business which continually grows. (Carland et al., 1984)

The other factor that separate between the two is learning. An entrepreneur will be involved in continuous learning in order to get new ideas for business. An entrepreneur will be looking to learn more in order to connect different ideas that can lead to development of a new business. On the other hand a small business is more than satisfied with the basic book keeping skills that have been learned. Lack of interest in learning makes it difficult to operation small businesses a many of them end up collapsing.

The third factor is challenge. In our life not may people who like to be challenged. But for a successful person, success comes from overcoming a myriad of challenges in life. It is the same for an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur will get involved in a challenge that most people are avoiding so long as at the end they are likely to get profit from this challenge. The success for an entrepreneur comes from the way they get overcome these challenges. The hunger for success enables entrepreneurs to overcome different hurdles on their way. On the other hand, most small business operators are likely to run away from the challenges on their way.

The last factor which differentiates between the two is growth. A small business may remain stagnant for a long time. This is because they are satisfied with the nature and are not involved in activities that may stimulate their growth. On the other hand entrepreneurs are likely to record higher growth in a short period of time since they are determined to record higher growth. Compared to small businesses, entrepreneurs will grow and expand very fast.

What role does “faith” play in deciding the difference between Small Business owners and Entrepreneurs? You might consider what each has faith in … the scope of that faith.

Faith is an important virtue in our life. Faith moves us a long way to overcome some to the most devastating effects that we think we would have never overcome. In business faith is also a virtue that plays crucial role. In essence, the concept of risk in business is based on faith. When a business person buys the merchandise, they have full faith that their merchandise will be purchased and they are going to make profit. In other words, what we can refer to as optimistic faith is what drives our business forward.

Faith is another important factor that can differentiate between an entrepreneur and a small business. Since they are all in business, we can say that they have a degree of faith in their operation. However, the scope of their faith varies greatly. For a small business, their fear of risk of loss may confine them to their small operation for a long time. We may call it fear in our explanation but in essences it is the lack of faith in their operations. On the other hands, entrepreneurs have a lot of faith in their operation and they are assured that not matter what circumstances, they are going to make it through. This faith assists them to invest even in risk situation where not many people would be wiling to invest. It is this faith that helps them to overcome most hurdles on their way.

Find and discuss two other articles (use Google or Google Scholar) where this idea of a difference is discussed. List their arguments first and then your reactions to each.

There are a number of researchers who have also documented a great deal of difference between entrepreneur and business owns. Wagener et al., (2001) assert the entrepreneurs are the real business owners. From their study they found out that entrepreneurs were more independent, had a higher tolerance of ambiguity, had a higher risk taking prospects, and had more leadership attributes. However, they did not posses marketing oriented and self-efficacy attributes that were found in small business owners. On the other hand, small business performance well at consumer contact level but were devoid of innovativeness and risk taking.

On the other hand, Williams (2007) assert that there are several characters that set aside entrepreneurs from small business owners. Entrepreneurs tend to create a business that support their own talent and passions in life which is the main reason why they are likely to success more than small business owners who just get into business because there are individuals in that business. Unlike the small business owners, entrepreneur follows their inner calling and they have more purposes in business than just making money. From time to time, entrepreneurs keep on evolving their business fueling their inspiration.

From the article that we have reviewed, it is very clear that there are major difference between entrepreneurs and small business owners. I feel that these differences should exist and the factor that we have used to differentiation between that two are factual and they hold their ground. This is because in the business world we can apply all these factors in order to understand the difference between real entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The author is associated with Research papers. The author will assist you on how to write Research Papers.

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Tagged as: Business, Entrepreneurs, Small

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13
Mar/110

How to Become a Successful Online Entrepreneur

There is no doubt that many people would like to know exactly how to become a successful online entrepreneur

For a start let us take a look at the dictionary definition of entrepreneur. I think we need to be clear about what exactly an entrepreneur is before going any further.

Cambridge dictionaries online define an entrepreneur as someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves risks

So there is no confusion here. It is very clear. If you start your own business you are an entrepreneur but it does seem to have to also include an element of risk.

You could argue that any new business involves risk and that is certainly true, but successful entrepreneurs are willing to take much greater risks than your average new business starter

How exactly do you become a successful entrepreneur?

Well that has to be the million dollar question. If there were a prescribed and reliable formula, we would all be multi millionaires. There would be no risk and so paradoxically, perhaps no more entrepreneurs!

There are certain characteristics that successful entrepreneurs seem to possess, such as total dedication.

So what drives an entrepreneur and what makes them different to most other people? What is their vision compared to mere mortals?

For certain there are a number of qualities they all share and without them, they would probably not be entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial qualities

You could say that any person willing to work hard at their own business is an entrepreneur but it has to be more than that. Many people try unsuccessfully to make it on their own, and many, in fact most fail, often just giving up because their efforts do not produce the hoped for results quickly enough

The true entrepreneur is remorseless in the pursuit of their goal. It is as much about achievement as it is about money but the money, as you might guess, is the real proof of success.

Entrepreneurialism has making money at its heart but the means to achieving this is almost incidental.

You could sum up the major qualities of a successful entrepreneur as follows

A successful entrepreneur thinks outside the box and is never satisfied with mediocrity in any part of their life

A successful entrepreneur is not necessarily obsessive, but is extremely highly motivated and committed to achieving their goal

The journey will be determined by its likelihood of success, not because it is enjoyable or laudable (although it might be either or both). Ultimately the enjoyment is in the success

All successful entrepreneurs leverage the efforts of others. This is a good and beneficial thing as long as it does not involve exploitation

No obstacle (short of death maybe) is too difficult to overcome. Where there is a will, there is a way. It is all in the mindset!

There is no giving up even when the way is fraught with setbacks. Expect them

The successful entrepreneur will do whatever it takes to reach the goal even if it means starting again

The successful entrepreneur must be able to handle both risk and stress. If not, burn out is extremely likely

So where does that leave you?

It seems clear that the entrepreneur is a special breed

Is it your intention to become one or are you already an entrepreneur?

Do you think you have at least some of the above qualities? You will probably need them all unless you just happen to get lucky in some way

Are you or have you already been successful? This will help

The new Entrepreneur

I believe a new breed of entrepreneur is emerging. They have all the necessary qualities of determination but are of a different mindset and they want success quickly. Most of their business is conducted online often utilising powerful software and the opportunities provided by Web 2.0 (at least at the time of writing)

But it is not just about making money for many of them. Many are also dedicated to helping others and often set up and fund special projects to achieve this. This is not a show of wealth but a genuine act of benevolence

With this in mind, perhaps there is a further quality we should be adding to our list of what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur

Sharing success with others, and especially with those whose lives are deprived or impoverished in comparison to our own

The new successful entrepreneur is most likely an online operator because it is more than possible to have a great deal of success, even just working from home

The risks are much smaller working online and it is a relatively inexpensive start-up compared to most traditional businesses

The secret of how to become a successful online entrepreneur is quite simple. You need a proven system that can easily and quickly be tapped into where all the hard work has already been done for you. You just buy into the ride

There are many offers available but the best solution has to be a top tier, high ticket, business in a box, with a minimum commission of around 00 (one thousand dollars).

I would not involve myself in any other kind of business. Why bother when it takes no more effort to make a thousand dollars than it does to make a hundred

Article related website: YourMillionDollarGamePlan
Mike Fordham is a freelance writer, Internet marketer and musician/song writer.
His interests are Business and Abundance, Music and the pursuit of ‘The Truth’ in all things

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Tagged as: Become, entrepreneur, Online, Successful

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24
Feb/110

All About Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs

Malaysian women entrepreneurs today are still facing a considerable number of obstacles. You see, venturing in new markets can be a problem for Malaysian women entrepreneurs simply because of the fact that information can be hard to obtain.
We all know that you need information in order to start a proper business venture.

You will need to know about:

a) The market – is there an available market for your product? This determines how well you can expect your product or service to be received. The market determines how much profit you will be able to make. Do you think that people will be wiling to pay the prices you set? Will your market last, or are you experiencing some kind of fad?
Without proper knowledge of the market, Malaysian women entrepreneurs can end up spending a lot of money on complete and utter failures.

b) The finances – you also need proper information as to the costs and the profits you can expect from your business. Entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs mainly because of the objective of profit. By having the correct financial information, you can successfully plan out your business and where you think that venture will take you.
Difficulty in obtaining financial information can cause Malaysian women entrepreneurs to make wrong decisions. You see, you need to be able to estimate your finances ion the best possible manner in order to set up a business correctly.

c) Comparative studies – you need to obtain accurate information about similar businesses in order to know what to expect when starting your business venture. You see, it is often hard for Malaysian women entrepreneurs to obtain accurate and up-to-date information. This can lead to some pretty serious lapses of judgment.

Hypes and fads occur all the time. You need accurate information in order to see if a business that was popular last week is still feasible today.
Another problem encountered by Malaysian women entrepreneurs is lack of networking. You see, connections are important when running your own business. By establishing connections with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs you get a lot of advantages, including:

1) Information sharing – information is easier to obtain if you have a number of people keeping their eyes and ears open. By forming a network with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs, you actually get the opportunity to gather more information, providing you also share what you know.

2) Advice – in starting your own business, you need all the help you can get. How can you get it if you don’t network with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs? Nobody can claim to know everything about business, but within a network, you can come pretty close.

3) Pooling of resources – by networking with other Malaysian women entrepreneurs, you have the opportunity to share resources. We all know that businesses suffer losses. However, being in a network can help you recover quickly from any type of defeat. Entrepreneurial networks today actually have help systems which try and support members when their business is facing a crisis.

Fortunately enough, there actually is a group that Malaysian women entrepreneurs can turn to when they need help. The National Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Malaysia (NAWEM) was formed with the objective of helping Malaysian women entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground and become globally competitive.

NAWEM actually provides Malaysian women entrepreneurs with different types of help. The organization conducts trainings and seminars designed to help Malaysian women entrepreneurs expand their skills and gain more knowledge regarding entrepreneurship.
NAWEM also provides Malaysian women entrepreneurs with various opportunities to help them penetrate their target market.

You see, by joining an association like this, Malaysian women entrepreneurs finally get the edge they need. The group can act as a network, letting Malaysian women entrepreneurs share resources and information. The organization strives to fulfill the shortcomings of the individual.

NAWEM also helps Malaysian women entrepreneurs with their financial needs, giving them grants or loans in order to help them expand their ideas and business ventures. In doing so, they also strive to better the status of Malaysian women entrepreneurs. They also help these women by providing them with guidance and leadership. Entering the business world can be quite confusing, but an organization like NAWEM can help you find your way.

Dewa Buana Born at Bali Island now work as Tax Officer and free time Artist. Feel free to visit my website Mr Trusted Guide

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The Traits Of Successful Entrepreneurs

Are you planning to start and run your own business? Do you know the right qualifications and characteristics an entrepreneur must have to succeed? Does your profile match that of a successful entrepreneur? In this article we will explore and discuss the essential characteristics that every entrepreneur must have. There are several important traits and values that are common among successful entrepreneurs. Before you go and start your enterprise, it will be very helpful to think and reflect whether you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. If not, you can also start developing these character traits.

1. Successful Entrepreneurs are Self-Confident – to succeed in the highly competitive business world, confidence and trust in oneself is an indispensable trait. Self-confidence means trusting your own powers and capabilities. The world of entrepreneurship is not alien to failure and disappointments. To survive in such a cutthroat world, an entrepreneur must have the ability to look within himself and find the drive and persistence to pursue his enterprise. An entrepreneur must have the gumption to face any adversity and tackle any problems that may be encountered in the world of business.

2. Successful Entrepreneurs are Risk-takers – being an entrepreneur means having the ability to trust your hunches and acting on them. Great business ideas sometimes start as a hunch which enterprising individuals acted upon. There is always the risk of loss in any endeavor, and entrepreneurs have just the right confidence to take calculated risks to achieve their objective. However, an entrepreneur’s risk-taking does not depend on luck, but on sheer effort and hard work.

3. Successful Entrepreneurs know the value of money and are careful about their finances – to succeed in any business; an entrepreneur must understand the value of money and the cost of things. Typically, successful entrepreneurs learned how to earn and value money at a young age. Most of them started out by earning loose change as teenagers mowing lawns, doing groceries, babysitting for neighbors, etc.

4. Successful entrepreneurs have the so-called head for business – many entrepreneurs are gifted with intuition: they know what product or service is going to ‘click’ next. However, this ability does not involve clairvoyance or extra sensory powers of some sort, but rather, keen observation and understanding of what is going on around him. A good entrepreneur is always on the look out for new ideas and new ways to make money.

5. Successful Entrepreneurs are competitive – the world of business is a very competitive environment. An entrepreneur must be aggressive enough to pursue his goal despite having many rivals and competitors. An entrepreneur must know how to stay ahead of his competitors, either by introducing new ideas and exploring new ventures, all in the spirit of expanding his business.

6. Successful Entrepreneurs are honorable and have a good work ethic – although it is a fact that the business world is ruthless, but the successful entrepreneur will strive to make every business deal honorable. The mark of a successful entrepreneur lies in a good personal work ethic that ultimately leads to good business practices, excellent reputation and good association with industry peers and business partners.

7. Successful Entrepreneurs know the importance of leisure time – hard work and determination are very important values every entrepreneur must have. However, a good entrepreneur knows when it’s time to take a step back from all the rigors of business and enjoy some downtime with their family. Besides, we all do need a little relaxation to refresh the body and mind before plunging back into the challenging (and stressful) world of business.

These are just seven of the most important characteristics of an entrepreneur. Of course, the characteristics every entrepreneur must have are not limited to the ones mentioned. Having these characteristics is not a guarantee that an entrepreneur will be successful. But with these characteristics, an entrepreneur has just the right ingredients for success. All one needs to do is to find the right mix of these values, excellent timing, perhaps a bit of luck and, of course, faith in oneself. So, do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? Go over these characteristics and values mentioned and reflect if you do have these.

For tips on begonia bonfire, bing cherry tree and other information, visit the Gardening Central website.

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How Entrepreneurs Will Succeed by Doing Less

Michael Gerber wrote a very popular book entitled The E-Myth Revisited about the myths of entrepreneurship. He explained that entrepreneurs must have three skills to win. Gerber claimed that entrepreneurs must possess and execute the technical, the managerial, and the visionary skills to succeed as an entrepreneur by creating a successful business.

I believe that Gerber was only partially correct. He leaves readers with the impression that the entrepreneur (alone) must consistently possess and exercise all three of these skills for the business to succeed, and for the entrepreneur to win. I believe that the key distinction is that the three skills represent the three FUNCTIONS of the business that must be completed for the business to succeed. I believe that the entrepreneur does not have to perform all three functions personally. In fact, I am convinced that the business and the entrepreneur will be more successful if the entrepreneur DOES NOT personally perform all three functions.

A business is like a chain. It is only as successful as the weakest link in the chain. The three links to any business chain are the technical function, the management function and the visionary function. The success of a business will rarely exceed the level of poorest execution of the three functions. For example, if the entrepreneur performs the technical and visionary functions at an excellent level, but performs the management function at a poor level, the business success will rarely rise above the poor management level. Therein lies the dilemma. The business is limited to the lowest level at which these three functions are performed. Yet, it is extremely unlikely that any one person, in this case the lone entrepreneur, can exercise all three functions to a high enough level at one time to generate the expected business success. Hence, businesses where the entrepreneur must personally exercise all three functions will rarely succeed. Let’s look further at each of the business functions to learn why this is true.

The technical function of a business requires someone to actually perform the duties of that business, which attract payments. This could include repairing air conditioners, extracting teeth, painting houses, writing computer programs, or installing tile. People who do the technical work have almost total control over what they are doing, they frequently do something tangible, and they receive almost instant feedback and gratification. This is the “doing function.”

The managerial function of a business requires someone to direct, coordinate, and organize the business activities of other people (and themselves) to achieve the daily and weekly success goals. People who perform the managerial function have much less control, because of reliance on others to actually perform other duties, and they have delayed feedback and gratification from one day to a week.

The visionary function of a business requires someone to look years into the future, set goals, organize, and lead the business to the completion of the vision. People who perform the visionary function have virtually no control, because they must rely on others to actually perform the managerial and technical functions, and the many unforeseen things that will happen during the years. They perform even less, if any, “doing” type of work, and have delayed gratification and feedback from one-to-five years.

It is extremely difficult for one person to simultaneously perform all three functions well.

You can see that the type of skills, activities, control, and gratification periods vary widely for these three very different functions. The very different nature of these three functions, the very different skills needed to perform them well, and the very different types of people who would be mentally and emotionally capable of performing these functions requires three very different people. It would require one lone super-human person with three very different personalities and motivations, and with excessive energy and time to simultaneously perform all three functions at a level high enough for the business to succeed. These wide differences are the reasons it is so difficult for any one person to perform all three functions simultaneously. Yet, entrepreneurs are lead to believe they must execute all three functions themselves. In addition, most entrepreneurs feel not only compelled to do everything themselves, but most feel they are very capable of doing so.

The business will succeed because the lone entrepreneur will not perform all three functions.

But, when the lone entrepreneur feels compelled to work long and hard to execute all three functions of his or her business, the business will almost always fail. In essence, the business will fail because the entrepreneurs did too many things and worked too hard. This year, over 800,000 of the approximately 2,000,000 start up businesses will fail! Nearly 1,000,000 of those remaining will fail within 3 years. Clearly the sole entrepreneur doing everything approach is not working that well.

Smart and successful entrepreneurs discover the three functions they have the greatest desire to perform and will be the most successful at completing. You will also want to know the functions you have the least desire to perform and at which you will probably be the least productive. This is an extremely important discovery process about you, the entrepreneur. Once you have made these discoveries, you will want to design your business around you. By custom designing your business to suit you and your personal desires, passions, priorities, and talents, you will orchestrate your ability to enjoy and excel at the functions you selected for you. Likewise, you will avoid performing the other functions you would have suffered and struggled to execute well enough for the business to succeed. You will want to enlist others to perform the functions of your business that you do not want to do. You will want to join forces only with people who have a strong desire to perform the functions you do not want to do and have a strong desire to avoid performing the functions you love doing.

It really comes down to creating the best fit for you first, and then creating the best fit for the people performing the other functions. It is almost like the sport of baseball. There are nine positions in baseball that must be played well by all nine players in order for the team to succeed. In the entrepreneurial small business world there are three positions that must be played well for the business to succeed. Pick the position you want first then have others play at least one, if not both, of the remaining two positions. This way everyone will be much more productive, have more fun, and the business will thrive.

Hire a business coach.

But how do you as an entrepreneur or business owner discover enough about you to be able to understand which aspects of your business are best suited for you? You engage a business coach. A business coach is, in essence, a life coach who specializes in coaching entrepreneurs and business owners to business related goals. The most common business goal clients achieve with their business coach is to become more successful and productive entrepreneurs and/or business owners and do so on their terms. The initial discovery phase of business coaching will assist you to unravel the mystery of you, so you become The World’s Leading Expert on You! You can work with your equal partner/coach to develop your business to allow you to fulfill your passions, follow your beliefs and values, maximize your talents, avoid as many of your self-imposed obstacles as possible, and operate your life based on your own priorities. Now that you know what you want your business to look like because you have your business coach/partner to support you with options and clarity, and because you as the entrepreneur/business owner have ultimate control over your businesses, you have nothing stopping you from custom designing and completing your business to suit you. By building your businesses to suit you, you will be virtually assured of achieving outstanding success, and you will get to enjoy the ride along the way.

If this is true, then how do entrepreneurs get all three functions executed well enough for the business to succeed, if they don’t do it themselves? Entrepreneurs have others perform at least one of the three functions for the business. We are listing several possible methods entrepreneurs can have one or more of the three functions successfully performed by others.

The partnership solution.

The simplest way to cover all three functions is to have a business with two or more partners who execute different functions. This is a very common success tactic. Do the names of Gates-Allen, Hewlett-Packard, Jobs-Wosniac, Disney-Disney sound familiar? They succeeded in large part because they had at least two people accomplishing the three functions from the outset. Sometimes, it appears easier to go it alone, but if you can find a partner who wants to and is effective at performing one of the three functions, you are way ahead of the game.

As a side note, the most frequent reason business partnerships break up is because the partners are too much alike. Partners with like interests and personalities want to perform the same functions and compete to do so, while not paying attention to the other functions. Friction occurs and partnerships or businesses dissolve. How often do two programmers, or two electricians, or two salespeople, or two mechanics, become partners only to see their partnership and the business implode because they focus on the same function at the expense of the others?

The hiring solution.

Another way to solve this dilemma is to hire someone to perform one of the functions. Normally, the function that is the easiest to hire in is the technical function. However, this fact frequently creates a conflict with entrepreneurs. Normally, entrepreneurs begin their business by performing all three functions, including the technical functions themselves. The baker bakes, the plumber plumbs, the graphic artist does graphic artistry, the printer prints, the accountant accounts, and the list goes on. The sooner entrepreneurs can have someone else perform the technical functions of the business so they can focus on the management and visionary functions, the sooner the business will start down the road to success. When entrepreneurs have others execute the technical functions they transition from being a technician to becoming a business owner.

The Franchise solution

However, if you are excellent at performing the technical functions, you may want to bring in someone to perform at least the visionary and probably some of the management functions. The franchise structure of business has been used for years to allow performers of the technical functions to utilize the franchiser to perform the visionary functions and provide considerable guidance in performing the management functions. Look at the successes of the McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut and other such franchises. The headquarters of each of these groups perform all of the visionary functions and design and teach a large part of the management functions. The franchisee performs the technical functions and some of the management functions. Through this separation of duties all three functions get performed exceptionally well to produce great successes.

Conclusion

As the entrepreneur you have the power, control, and obligation to design your entire business around you. You want to discover and know yourself very well going into the design of your business, so you will know exactly which functions and duties you will really want to perform. You will undoubtedly create excellent results from the duties you want to perform. Likewise, you will want to find, attract, and surround yourself with others who will want to perform the other functions of the business you chose to avoid. They will also produce excellent results from performing their chosen duties. This way you get to do what you love, and you will do it well. You also have others producing exceptional results because they enjoy it so much at the other functions of the business you chose no to do. You win because you will work less and enjoy yourself more, your supporting cast wins because they will enjoy what they do and they will be rewarded for their high quality results, and the business wins because all three functions will be executed exceptionally well.

Everybody wins!

Provided as an educational service by Bill Dueease of The Coach Connection, where “connecting great people with great coaches” is their goal. You may contact Bill at 800-887-7214, 239-415-1777, coaches@findyourcoach.com, or http://www.findyourcoach.com/0o-business-coach.htm

Bill Dueease is the President of The Coach Connection (TCC), which he co-founded in May 2001 to assist people to achieve their greatest results from life coaching. Over 96.5% of TCC’s approximately 1,500 clients have achieved their intial life and career goals by connecting with their personally matched TCC Member Coach. You can reach Bill at bill@findyourcoach.com, www.findyourcoach.com or 800-887-7214

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Indian Women: Natural Potential to be an Entrepreneur

v Introduction:

It is general belief in our society that role of women is restricted in four walls of home or you can say women are involved in mainly household activities like cooking and reading. Economy of any country can’t boom without contributing women. The growing industrialization, urbanization and social legislation and with the spread of education and awareness women have shifted from kitchen to higher level of professional activities. Today’s women are taking more and more professional and technical degrees to cope up with market need.

The position of women and their status is any society is an index of its civilization. Women are to be considered as equal partner in the process of development. But, because of centuries of exploitation and subjugation Indian women have remained at the receiving end. Women in India have been neglected lot. They have not been actively involved in the mainstream of development even through they represent equal proportion of the population and labor force. As technology speeds up lives women are as emerging economic force which can not be neglected by policy maker. The world’s modern democratic economy depends on the participation of both sexes.

Today women is advance market economies own more then 25% of all businesses & women owned business in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America are growing rapidly. Women as an independent target group account for 495.74 million and represent 48.5% of the country’s population as per the 2001 census. No country can achieve its potential without adequately investing in and developing the capabilities of women. In the interest of long-term development it is necessary to facilitate their empowerment.

In many developing countries including India women have much less access to education, jobs, and income then men. Ever after five and half decade of planned development Indian women have not achieved expected success in the mainstream of life. Our country will be unable to have a competitive edge over others until and unless the status and role of women is improved. In Indian context, National level Standing Committee on Women Entrepreneur constituted by the Ministry of Industries The Govt. of India(1984) notes women entrepreneur as “An enterprise owned and controlled by women having a minimum financial interest of 51% of the capital and giving at least 51% of employment generated in the enterprise to women. ” However, the validity of such a definition had been challenged at every step particularly in 8th National Convention of Women Entrepreneurs held in 1990. Finally the schemes that were offered condescend to drop the second requirement but the first is applicable till today. The generally accepted definition includes women who create something new, organize production and undertake risk and handle economic uncertainties (Anuradha, 1988) to adjust their personality needs, family life, social life and economic independence (Singh and Gupta, 1985) .Further they may not necessarily be the independent organizer\manager (Singh et.al., 1986)

According to Kamala Singh,” A women entrepreneur is a confident, innovative and creative woman capable of achieving economic independence individually or in collaboration generates employment opportunities for others through initiating establishing and running an enterprise by keeping pace with her personal, family and social life.

According to Medha Dubhanshi Vinze, a women entrepreneur is a person who is an enterprising individual with an eye for opportunities and an uncanny vision, Commercial acumen, with tremendous perseverance and above all a person who is willing to take risk with the unknown because of the adventures spirit she possesses.

Thus a women entrepreneur is one who starts business and manages it independently and tactfully takes all the risks, faces the challenges boldly with an iron will to succeed.

Entrepreneurship before it was considered as a male dominated activity but time has changed the situation and brought women as today’s most memorable and inspirational entrepreneur. Today you can see a women in every where whether it is super market or departmental store. Even in rural area in STD PCO shop also. We can states the example of Shanaj Hussain , Kiran majumdar who started their business at small level now they have reached a great height. It is a good sign for country that Indian women are coming out from their home and contributing in national economy because a little beginning can show great results. Women have all the traits that are required to run an enterprise but there is only need to identify them and work on that direction. Being a woman is not a weakness for them it is strength or a god given advantage for them

If we look a site on physiological variables in men and women we will find that

v Female has more nerve cell in central areas

v Women transfer data due to larger corpus collusm making it easier for increased flexibility and multitasking

v Gray Matter the part that allows thinking is 55.4% in women and 50.8% in men

These data reveals us that women are empowered with natural advantage that aid in creating, developing and fostering relationship

If we see the role of a woman in their home we’ll find that the psychological characteristics that she required to mange their home best fit in their entrepreneurial characteristics. All the women who are running their home can successfully run an enterprise al effort in this article to correlate women inherit characteristics with entrepreneurial characteristics.

S.N.

Basic Characteristics of a Indian women

Characteristics required for a successful Entrepreneur

Indian women are known for juggling many tasks at same time in their personal lives for e.g. women can talk on phone and the same time she can easily handle their kitchen also.

Multi task oriented

This attribute is known as multi task oriented that is most essential trait for an entrepreneur this help in saving time and handling more works

Indian women can easily connect with people and they don’t hesitate to ask for help. Indian women always do this in their routine life like to take admission in new school she contact with guardians and get information about best school

This trait of women in our business language known as ability to make strong network

Indian women are very calm and they solve any family problem gently. Indian women show great extent of patience in their family life

Being patient is most urgent for an entrepreneur. To receive result an entrepreneur have to wait till the process is complete

Indian women always give emphasize on positive attribute of any product weather it is related to health or any home accessories. She always ready to tell others about their positive experience

Marketing skill

This skill of women in business language known as marketing skill women are natural marketer. To emphasize the benefit of their service to their potential customer this skill is required to run an enterprise.

Women are thorough with their daily task. they don’t get bored with their routine activities

This attribute of women is known as being consistent and thorough with daily task. This attribute help women to get more clients, they get more chance to be seen by potential customer if they consistently watching your name like providing consistently good product and services help with maintain customers

women can effectively mange their house budget, they are more aware about price of the product

Having cost conscious is very crucial to run an enterprise. To solve the problem of scarcity of funds an entrepreneur should be cost effective.

Indian women can easily grasp anything that is new either it is any food recipe or any new required skill

Open and willingness to learn is most essential for an entrepreneur to survive in this competitive world

Indian women can easily adjust in joint family and can work with them coordinately

This attribute of women show team work and loyalty in women that required if u work in a group

Indian women always fight for their problems and take initiative and try to solve any family matter

This attribute of women called as ability to focus intensely and decision making

In spite of having lots of responsibilities problem she always try to think about themselves like further study or career advancement

This quality of women shows that they are highly ambitious and an entrepreneur have to be ambitious

Effective entrepreneurs require certain basic qualities which can be listed as follow -

Innovative thinking and farsightedness
Quick and effective decision making skill
Ability to mobilizes and marshal resource.
Strong determination and self confidence.
Preparedness to take risk.
Accepting changes in right time.,
Access and alertness to latest scientific & technological information

In spite of having all the characteristics of being a women entrepreneur a women face lots of problems that hurdle them to be an entrepreneur

v Problems of women entrepreneurs

Women owned business are highly increasing in the economics of almost all countries. The hidden entrepreneurial potential of women has gradually been changing with the growing sensitivity to the role and economic status in the society. Skill, knowledge & adoptability in the business are the main reason for women to emerge in to business venture. Women entrepreneurs” is a person who accepts challenging role to meet her personal needs and become economically independent, strong desire to do something positive is an inbuilt quality of entrepreneurial women who is capable of contributing values in both family and social life.

Women is advanced nation are recognized are more prominent in the business world but the Indian women entrepreneurs faced many problem to get ahead their life in business.

A few problems can be detailed:-

The greatest deterrent to women entrepreneurs is that they are women. Male member think it is a big risk financing the venture by women.
The financial institutions are skeptical about the entrepreneurial abilities of women. The bankers consider women loonies as higher risk then more loonies. The bankers put unrealistic and unreasonable securities to get loan to women entrepreneurs.
The women entrepreneurs are suffering from inadequate financial resource &and working capital. The women entrepreneurs lack access to external funds due to their inability to provide tangible security. Very few women have the tangible property in hand.
Women’s family obligation also bar them from becoming successful entrepreneurs in both developed and developing nation. The financial institutions discourage women entrepreneurs on the belief that they can at any time leave their business and become housewives again. The result is that they are forced to rely on their own saving and loan from relatives and family friends.
Indian women give more emphasis to family ties and relationship. Married women have to make a fine balance between business and home. The interest of the family member is a determinant factor in the realization of women folk business aspiration.
Another argument is that women entrepreneurs have low management skills. They have to depend on office staffs and intermediaries to get things done especially the marketing and sales side of business.
The male female competition is another factor which develops hurdles to women enterprises in the business management process.
Lack of knowledge of availability of the raw material and law level negotiation & bargaining skill are the factors which affect women entrepreneurs’ business venture.
Knowledge of latest technological change, know-how and education level of person is significant factor that affect business. The literacy rate of women in India is found at low level compare to male population although great advance are being made in technology , many women’s literacy , structured difficulties and lack of access to technical training prevent the technology from being beneficial of even available to female.

The studies indicated that uneducated women do not have the knowledge of measurement and basic accounting.

10. Low level risk taking attitude is another factor affecting women folk decision to get into business. Low level education provides low level self-confidence and self reliance to the women fork to engage in business. Which is continuous risk taking and strategic decision making profession .Though the risk tolerance ability of the women folk in day to day life is high compare to male member while in business it is found opposite to that.

11. Achievement motivation of the women folk found less compared to male member. The low level of education and confidence leads to low level of achievement and advancement motivating among women folk to engage in business operation and running a business concern.

12. Finally high production cost of some business operation adversely affects the development of women entrepreneurs. The installation of new machinery during expansion of the productive capacity and like similar factor dissuades the women entrepreneur from venturing in to new area.

v Strengths of Women Entrepreneur

Despite the many challenges women face, this early socialization has given women specific traits and abilities that define the female model of business ownership. This different management style can be an asset and one from which men can learn. The style can be described as more cooperative than the competitive male model now taught in business schools. This style is often further developed through volunteer activities in early adulthood. The cooperative style naturally used by most women comes from their early experiences and focuses on the welfare of the group. Participation is shared among the employees with attention paid to their ideas and needs. The style often extends to social issues that are frequently driving forces within the company. The business strategy is formed through active listening and educational experiences and focuses on issues—not just the bottom line. The ability to build relationships is an asset with customers and suppliers, and in the international marketplace. In order to overcome the obstacles they face, women often come up with creative, out-of-the-ordinary methods to help further their goal.

These variables help define the cooperative style that has developed from early socialization of females. Once aware of these traits they become more apparent to observation. This cooperative style is easier to recognize in women business owners where the women are not conforming to a culture set by males in a large corporation. This new, distinctive business is one from which we all can learn. The new model of business for the next century will combine the talents of this cooperative style used by women with the more traditional business approach.

v Conclusion:-

Matching the basic qualities required for entrepreneur and the basic character of Indian women reveal that much potential is available among the Indian women on their entrepreneurial ability. This potential is to be recognized and exposed for utilization in production and service sector for the development of the nation. Women have all the disposition of becoming a successful entrepreneur just identify your passion and start living it

So wishing all the women the very best of their lives. We hope to have a world that is more respectful toward a woman

It is rightly said –well begun is half done

v Reference:-

Aliva Mohanty “Women in Management of Micro enterprise Problems and Prospects” Journal of social science vol.8 (3) pp.245-251 (2004)
Adhikari Shilpee “Women Entrepreneurs New Face of Women” , Saroj institute of technology and management , Lucknow: 2004
Medha Dubhashi Vinze ” Women Entrepreneurship in India” Mittal Pub. New Delhi,: pp112, 1987.
Mishra S.P. ” Factor Affecting Women Entrepreneurship in Small and Cottage industries” ILO, Nov. 1996
Prasad Anuradha, 1988Entrepreneurship development under TRYSEM; ICSSR reviewer, Kuldeep Mathur Concept Pub. Co., New Delhi
Singh, Kamala, Women Entrepreneurs, Ashish Publishing house, New Delhi, 1992.

Mrs. priya Dadhich

Research Scholar

MDS university, Ajmer, Rajasthan

Mob. 9413511969

mspamala@gmail.com

ms_priya07@yahoo.co.in

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Tagged as: entrepreneur, Indian, Natural, Potential, Women

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12
Sep/090

Why I decided to quit my job and start a business – The Advantages of Becoming an Entrepreneur

Enjoy the Advantages of Becoming an Entrepreneur – Why I Started my Own Business.

Among the many advantages of becoming an entrepreneur, 5 were directly responsible of my jump from a secure job to my entrepreneurial adventure. Four of these advantages can be summed up in one word: Freedom. The fifth one is, according to me, the most important advantage of becoming an entrepreneur.

The first advantage of becoming an entrepreneur: Financial freedom

The first and maybe most obvious reason why I started to dream about becoming an entrepreneur was money. You see, I grew up being told that I had to study long and hard to get a good, secure and well-paid job. So I ended up having a bachelor degree and a master degree, ready to receive the all the hard earned money I thought my academic degrees would get me. After all, I studied long and hard and accumulated huge student debts in the process, I would obviously be gratified with a really good salary, right? Wrong! As I got into the market, I soon realized that some friends with basic high school were paid nearly as much as I was! Even worse, they got out of school 6 or 7 years before me so they didn’t have debts and were able to accumulate a fair amount of money. I realized that basic demand vs. offer was much more important to get well paid than a master degree. This is when I began to read about all the advantages of becoming an entrepreneur. I didn’t take me too much time to realize that almost if not all the really rich people were entrepreneurs. Many had college degrees, many didn’t. The only important thing were their ability to identify market demands and to answer these demands with great value. If I could rapidly give the market enough value, in enough quantity, to answer its needs or wants, I would get rich. I would get out of debts much more quickly than by holding on to a secure job that would only get me a tiny raise every year. Getting rich quickly was the main advantage of becoming an entrepreneur that motivated me to quit my secure job. In fact, the only way to get more money by staying an employee would have been to get old! I could have changed the world, I wouldn’t have matter to my boss… the only way to earn more was to get older. The advantage of becoming an entrepreneur is that it doesn’t matter that you are 25, 40, or 60 years old or that you have a college degree or not. If you have a really brilliant idea, you will benefit from it.

The second advantage of becoming an entrepreneur: Time freedom

This advantage really struck me after becoming an entrepreneur. If I needed to sleep a little more because I had a bad night (a little bit of insomnia is part of the disadvantages of becoming an entrepreneur), I could. If I needed to meet someone for my business, I would set the meeting outside of rush hours so I could get there in few minutes instead of an hour. I recently calculated that the mere fact of becoming an entrepreneur had the advantage of freeing almost 7 to 8 hours each week, only because of traffic! That’s a whole day of work every week that I can use to create more business profit, go to the gym, sleep more, or anything that will bring me more happiness or money. The last way that this advantage manifests itself is by allowing me to adapt my schedule to my wife’s schedule in order to be there for important moments. The same is true for family, friends, or simply for events I would never attend if I were still an employee having to get up at 6 every morning.This is a huge advantage for me, although I didn’t really thought about it before becoming an entrepreneur.

The third advantage of becoming an entrepreneur: Freedom of location

If you develop a good business model and have good people in place to delegate important business tasks, freedom of location could also be one of the advantages of becoming an entrepreneur. It may take a little while to set it up, especially if you are into a “brick and mortar” business, but it is truly possible, and not that hard. Of course, you will have to be there in person from time to time, but with good people in place you will soon get paid even when you take a day off. You will even get paid when skiing for a week or two or when visiting a country with your family. To me, this advantage of becoming an entrepreneur also means that if my wife’s job gets transferred to another city, I can follow her and only come back to town from time to time.

The fourth advantage of becoming an entrepreneur: Freedom of choosing my projects

This advantage of becoming an entrepreneur was a real motivation to quit my job and do things on my own! Have you ever worked on a really, really boring, annoying, meaningless project that was nonetheless treated by your boss as if it were critically important? Me too! I mean, I have worked in so many places where all the minutiae and really absurd processes took at least half of my day. I think these were the moments where I felt the most urgent need to get out and become an entrepreneur. So many hours lost in debilitating processes. I honestly think that, on the long term, this kind of work could lead to issues like depression or other work related mental health issues. Think about it, being “forced” to do things that you know are unnecessary and for which you feel no gratification at all, and doing these things again and again and again. When you are becoming an entrepreneur, you have the advantage of being able to choose your projects and only work on those which are truly important or that you enjoy the most. Of course, becoming an entrepreneur necessitates that you accomplish some boring tasks. But even then, these tasks have a truly important meaning for you: they are the necessary steps for becoming an entrepreneur and living the life of your dreams! So they are relatively easy to accomplish because they mean something. The best thing is, as you are becoming a more efficient entrepreneur, you will be able to delegate these tasks to someone who like this kind of job, because everyone has their own talents and preferences.

The most important of all advantages of becoming an entrepreneur: Becoming a Master in life.

Above all the advantages of becoming an entrepreneur, I think this one is really the most important. After quitting a “secure” job that wasn’t really that gratifying or well-paid, you succeed by your own, doing something that you are passionate about. Soon, you realize that while everyone around you was safely staying on one side of a really dark forest… you had the vision and the courage to get into the dark forest, knowing that it would bring up many fears, insecurities, and maybe pain. You did it because you knew that sooner or later, you would get through and arrive on the best side of the dark forest, where you have more money, more time, and feel more joy and satisfaction. This is the true advantage of becoming an entrepreneur. Knowing that despite all the fears you had and all the fears people tried to push on you, you went and you succeeded. The next time you’ll face a challenge, you’ll know you’ll be able to succeed again. To me, this is the most amazing advantage of becoming an entrepreneur.

To learn more about the advantages of becoming an entrepreneur and, more importantly, to get free tips on how to become a successful entrepreneur, visit GrowMyselfRich.com. GrowMyselfRich.com is a blog written specifically to help new entrepreneurs or self-employed to create the lifestyle of their dreams by mastering the inner game of success, wealth and freedom. You can subscribe to Grow Myself Rich for free to receive the upcoming series about overcoming the fears of the new entrepreneur.

I’m the editor at GrowMyselfRich.com, a blog written specifically to help new entrepreneurs or self-employed to create the lifestyle of their dreams by mastering the inner game of success, wealth and freedom.

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Five Biggest Mistakes That Entrepreneurs Make
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11
Jun/090

Black Women Entrepreneurs : the 7 Traits to an Exceptional & Successful Business

How often have you either referred to or considered the expression, “Success is a journey and not a Destination?” Probably many times, yet often being in a hurry to get there, we forget that success is not an end unto itself, but is instead an ongoing process.

Though some people seem to have the Midas touch and easily turn everything to gold, most of us have to give our endeavors lots of time, effort and the sweat of our brow before seeing things come to fruition. The simple truth is that the majority of us are simply not born leaders, but become leaders by who we are and the actions we take. Consequently, whether or not you’re an established entrepreneur or just starting out on your journey, there are particular traits you’ll usually find operating within the exceptional women entrepreneur. In fact there are 7 particular traits you’ll generally discover deeply embedded within the exceptional and successful businesswoman.

If you’ve already taken the plunge as an entrepreneur, you know that it takes a great deal of planning, development and strategic marketing to succeed. At any given time, there are changes to be considered and new directions to examine. In which case, whether you’re the CEO, CFO, Chief Marketer or Chief Solutions Officer of your company, your journey to success is probably full of trials and tribulations.

To support you in your journey to success, be willing to open your mind and sense of reasoning as you consider whether these traits are part of your driving force. If they are not yet ingrained within you, I recommend that you give them some thought.

THE 7 TRAITS TO SUCCESS

1) Successful Entrepreneurs Gain the Respect of their Peers

One of the first and most obvious characteristics you’ll see operating in an exceptional entrepreneur is an equitable and unbiased disposition . Plain and simple the successful entrepreneur recognizes that no one is above or below. With an attitude of respect for others, the successful entrepreneur gains the respect from everyone they encounter. Strategies, attitudes and methods filter down to each person and reflect on all actions and activities. A successful entrepreneur gives everyone the space to be great. No matter how effective or beneficial your expertise, becoming a successful entrepreneur requires building up of your character muscles, traits and habits, which correspondingly make your dreams a reality.

2) Successful Entrepreneurs Believe and Trust in Themselves

The savvy entrepreneur is good at trusting her own ideas and instincts. Starting out as an entrepreneur requires persistence, determination and a high level of self-discipline. Continuing as a successful entrepreneur requires even more persistence, determination and self-discipline. The wise and successful entrepreneur knows this and works hard at developing their level of confidence. If you have a strong code of ethics and believe in yourself, then your ideas can work. Having the desire and passion are the first steps on your journey; getting there requires believing in yourself.

3) Successful Entrepreneurs Follow a Plan

The successful entrepreneur follows a plan. Haphazard or trial and error have no place for the triumphant entrepreneur, for no one gets to her destination without a map or a guide to follow. That doesn’t mean you won’t go off course if another road seems better, but it’s still more effective to have a plan in place. Most successful entrepreneurs start out by writing a basic business plan that acts as the impetus and guide for their endeavors. It doesn’t have to be fancy or lengthy but it should include marketing strategies, goals, intentions, ideas and why you can do better than your competition. A business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically for each new idea stirs and inspires other ideas.

4) Successful Entrepreneurs Think Creatively

Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid of thinking creatively. Whether a business idea has already been tried makes no difference to the exceptional entrepreneur. She sees better ways of doing things and knows that every idea can be expanded upon, made better, enhanced or broadened . The successful entrepreneur is willing to think outside or the proverbial box, which means using imagination, trying new things and expanding on a vision. The savvy entrepreneur pays careful attention as to whether a particular strategy is working. If after giving it her best shot the entrepreneur realizes the particular strategy isn’t working, they know there’s no point in continuing to invest energy, time and effort in the strategy. They move on to another approach and idea.

5)Successful Entrepreneurs Explore Their Exceptional Skills

Successful entrepreneurs realize that we each have our strengths and weaknesses as well as a multitude of skills and talents. Successful people ask themselves often what skills they have that no one shares in quite the same way. An exceptional and successful entrepreneur explores their particular skills until they find the ones that match most closely with their ideal. They don’t try to be and do everything. If the successful entrepreneur needs help, they’re willing to find someone who can do it better, and allows in the support. The successful entrepreneur stays open to change for they recognize that as they move forward, doors open in unexpected places that carry them to their next level of success.

6) Successful Entrepreneurs Envision Their Success

The successful entrepreneur gives time to envisioning how they want their business to look and how they want it to be. Intention is a powerful and dynamic tool. For those who are not inclined towards intention and visualization, talk to a successful athlete and you’ll discover that before each sporting event, the successful athlete envisions exactly how he or she wants things to turn out. Imagine what it will feel like when you’ve reached a particular set of goals. Get in touch with the feelings, you’d have as a successful entrepreneur. Practice and conceive of the sense of empowerment and the joy of having succeeded. The successful entrepreneur knows they have the power to live life the way they want, but to make it a reality, they know it has to be seen first.

7) Successful Entrepreneurs Never Give Up

Giving up is never in the vocabulary of the successful woman entrepreneur. Of course there may be days when a successful entrepreneur feels discouraged or disappointed, but giving up is not an option. Having faith, trust, confidence and determination are the qualities needed for the successful entrepreneur. To keep their focus on track, they seek out the support of those that know them, encourage them and bring out their natural enthusiasm. The smart and successful entrepreneur realizes that there will be good days and not so good days.

Being a successful woman entrepreneur requires accepting the ebbs and flows of business for it is in fact what separates the exceptional and successful entrepreneur from the one who gives up far too soon.

Robert Moment is an innovative small business coach and author of Invisible Profits: The Power of Exceptional Customer Service. Robert specializes in teaching small business owners actionable how to marketing ideas and strategies that generate profitable results. Visit http://www.smallbusinessmarketingideasstrategies.com and sign-up for the FREE Small Business Marketing Plan 5 day e-course.

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Tagged as: Black, Business, Entrepreneurs, Exceptional, Successful, Traits, Women

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