Copyright 2006 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com
What's a Niffler, you ask?
Well, if you've read Happy Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you might remember that a Niffler is a critter that hunts treasure. Once it finds one treasure, it moves on quickly in search of the next prize.
Do you do the same thing in your business? Meaning, are you a constant gatherer of the things that you think will move your business ahead, but not so much the implementer of them? Do you get distracted by anything and everything that's new in your industry? Do you come up with one great idea after another, but you never fully commit to completely one of them?
Yes? I hate to break it to you, but there's probably a bit of Niffler in you! You could also call it distractiblity-disorder or failure-to-follow-through or fear-of-success/failure, or focus-challenged... but personally, I like having a bit of Niffler in me. It means I'm still passionate about what I'm doing, I'm still excited about learning new things, and I'm still interested in what's happening in my industry, which lends to my ultimate success.
But what can happen is that all those ideas and thoughts and half-completed projects don't move my business forward. For example, when I started my own business five years ago, there was about half the business-building technology and tools available that there are now. And it's so easy to want to jump on the cutting-edge bandwagon. But at some point, if I didn't focus on actually completing things, I'd still be spinning my wheels instead of driving in the fast lane.
So, how do you tame the Niffler in you?
The strategy that has worked the best for me (not 100% of the time, but close enough) has been to keep an Idea Log. The one I have now is just an old-fashioned composition book, and whenever I have a new idea or thought about something I want to do related to my business, I just jot it down in my Idea Log. Then I go back to working on my current project that I am commit to completing. I know my ideas are saved there for me so I won't forget them, and eventually I do go back and refer to what I've written and choose some to work on. That's when I add them to my Priority Card (read last week's article about my Priority Card).
What this also does, besides helping me to maintain my focus, is it stops me from wasting time on ideas that ultimately don't fit into my business. Many ideas end up almost self-selecting themselves out by virtue of time. So by keeping my focus on the ultimate treasure, I don't get side-tracked by fool's gold... :)
If you think you have a little Niffler in you, try this idea and enjoy a dramatic increase in your own productivity!
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Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™, Founder of http://www.ClientAbundance.com , and creator of "21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™, teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve.
For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com
Small Business Funding - Reach into your own #%&! pockets!
Every business has start-up costs and your new home-based business will be no different. As the old saying goes "You need money to make money"…You know that's right brother!
So where do you get the money you need to start a home business?
The simplest way for home business owners to get the money they need is from the principal owner's own pockets..that means YOU!
Like myself, many work at home entrepreneurs simply use their own savings to fund their businesses, using money from personal resources such as…
· Savings
· Personal Investments
· Credit Card Advance
· Sale of Assets
· Second Mortgage Loan
· Borrowing from Relatives (well maybe not)
…are all ways to finance a small business start-up using your own funds.
The alternative to funding it yourself is to apply for a small business loan. The biggest issue there is that unless you have sufficient collateral, or any related experience in your field of business, you may not qualify for this type of loan.
Luckily, the amount of cash you'll need to start-up your new home business will likely not be so much that it prevents you from raising the start-up cash on your own.
Well..Why?
Well in general, you should be thinking SMALL, or rather MICRO, home-business. That mind-set will help keep the amount of your start-up funds to a minimum.
Many people will have GRAND visions and will want to blow their whole wad right out of the gate. Now that might work on a rare occassion, but I think it's wiser to start smaller than you may think and then grow at a financially responsible pace. One that doesn't have you putting a third mortgage on the house or cashing in your 401K. That's just stupid!
Keeping your overhead low is key, which will be easy since you're working from home, and making sure you have the adequate funds necessary will also be vital to your success. You don't want to run out of money before you've had enough time to fully implement your plan. That would really suck!
Some recommend having enough cash to keep your business up and running for at least 6-months. My personal opinion is that your plan should include enough funds to keep your business afloat for the first year.
Proper planning is essential and calculating your expenses is crucial in order to determine how much money you will need to finance your new "Micro" business.
You should only budget what is absolutely necessary for you to start-up your business. Be reasonable and don't budget for unnecessary or luxury items.
Now you definitely don't want to skimp on the necessary items, because they will make your job easier, but there's no need for a flat screen monitor if it's going to cost you more or a $150 phone when a $50 one does the job just fine.
When it comes to funding your home business you should plan carefully, be realistic and do not jeopardize your personal finances. You still have to maintain an acceptable quality of life.
Ya got it mate?
© 2006 A Covert Operations, Ltd.
All rights reserved.
http://www.starting-a-home-business.org
Duh Idiot's Home Biz Start-Up Guide - The "Idiot's" on-line resource for starting a home business.
Planning A Team Building Weekend
One of the underlying concepts of a team building activity is that it is designed to foster at team spirit among the participants, and help them focus on what they need to do in day to day work in order to function effectively as a team. So you've just taken your team out on a wild weekend of river rafting and wall climbing, and everyone's returned to work energized and ready to tackle the latest project. How do you know if your team building event actually served its purpose?
One important part of a team building weekend that is often overlooked is the evaluation process. It's not enough to plan a fun weekend and hope that throwing your project team into the mix will bond them into a working team. A successful corporate team building event must take into account the goals and needs of the individual company and department in order to bring the group together. Before choosing a team building idea, your event planning team (and of course you're using a team to plan the event, aren't you?) should carefully evaluate each idea to see how it fits in with the company's goals.
How do you ensure that your team building event will actually do its job? Here are some tips to help you plan a corporate team building activity that will help your team pull together.
- Have a clear purpose for the team building activity.
Sit down with the project team leaders and brainstorm. Ask them to define areas that need work and skills that need polishing. Once you have a clear idea of what needs to be accomplished, you can choose events that fit the bill.
- Balance work time with fun team building events.
Skip the overworked touchy-feely trust building events and choose events that are fun for all. Choose activities where working as a team pays off – perhaps a scavenger hunt or a spy mission. There are dozens of team building activities that will challenge your group to become a team without boring them to tears.
- Make time to network.
Building teams starts with building relationships. Make sure that you don't pack so much activity into your team building time that your group has no time to kick back and relax. Schedule in some unstructured time when they can get to know each other outside work time.
- Put together a follow-up action plan.
Don't let the team spirit die when the team building weekend is over. Make an action plan that will be followed to put all the great ideas and plans into effect once you return to work.
Brett Danielson works for www.chillisauce.co.uk, a corporate events and tour operator based in the UK. Chillisauce specialises in planning unique cooperative corporate team building events and other corporate events for companies throughout the UK and Europe.
