With the right planning, effort and a little bit of luck, 2007 could be a great year to start up a business. But why would you want to go it alone in the first place? Here, Startups.co.uk gives you 10 great reasons why you should start up over the coming year.

1. You are your own boss – Sick of your manager giving you a hard time in a job you loath? If you start up your own business, the only person you have to answer to is yourself. Being your own boss gives you the freedom to do things your way and implement your own plans. Of course, you live or die by your decisions, but that’s what’s good about it isn’t it?

2. You get to do what you’re interested in – If you are stuck behind a desk selling insurance over the phone to uninterested pensioners, the chances are that you would rather be doing something else. The good thing about being an entrepreneur is that you choose what kind of firm you start up, and where. So, providing that you’ve done your research properly and there is a gap in the market, you can turn a hobby or interest into a profitable enterprise.

3. Your firm = your deadlines – Clocking on and off in a drab job that generates profits for your cigar-chomping boss can become slightly soul-destroying after a while. Start your own firm and you get to set and meet your own deadlines. Of course, you won’t be able to just lie in bed until 2pm thinking that you might do a few hours of work after Kilroy has finished - you will need self-discipline. But meeting your own targets can be a huge motivation to work hard and drive the business forward.

4. Get creative – If you have considered going it alone, you will have thought out how you would do things your way. Being an entrepreneur gives you the freedom to express yourself and develop your concept in any way you choose. Of course, there are always financial constraints, but the ability to be as creative as you like is far more appealing than a one-dimensional job that a monkey could do one-handed.

5. It’s not that hard to do – The news is full of stories about the amount of red tape and taxes that small firms have to face on a daily basis. However, over the past few years, several measures have been introduced that should make it easier to go it alone. From the Small Firms Loan Guarantee to various inner-city projects, the government certainly can’t be accused of doing absolutely nothing for budding entrepreneurs. With the Prince’s Trust, Shell LiveWIRE and other support organisations also up and running, you should be able to secure the help and funding needed to get you started.

6. It can be very profitable – If you think that it’s just large corporations that make big profits, you would be wrong. There are countless stories of entrepreneurs hitting on a great idea, exploiting it well and being well on their way to their first million by the end of the year. Although the startup process can be tough, with long hours and little money not uncommon, if you run your business well, the rewards can be huge. And, from a purely selfish point of view, you will get most of the profits yourself.

7. It’s varied – Dealing with spreadsheets one minute, suppliers the next and then having a look around your new office – an entrepreneur’s work is not just busy, it is also extremely varied. If you are uninspired by your monotonous job, starting your own firm will keep you on your toes and stretch your abilities to the maximum. If you want a career where every day is different, going it alone could be for you.

8. You can have a second career – Of course, if you don’t fancy giving up a regular income, you can always get the best of both worlds and stay as an employee while running your own firm. Although juggling the two can be tricky, having a successful sideline should be very profitable option. Do something that you are interested in and go for it.

9. Cut the commute – Although most small firms operate from offices, many entrepreneurs find that operating from home reduces costs dramatically in the early stages. As well as providing familiar, comfortable surroundings to work in, if you are based at home you do not have to endure the daily tangle with public transport or clogged up roads.

10. The big dream really can become reality – You may feel that starting up a small firm won’t lead to anything more than having your own desk and taking on a few extra staff so you can open that branch in Bracknell that you always planned. However, it is possible to make it really big – just look at Anita Roddick, who is now a Dame thanks to her entrepreneurial achievements. She started a small shop in Brighton on a shoestring in the 1970s. Before long, she had a chain of Body Shop stores across the UK and was launching her concept in the USA.

So, if you dream of being the next Richard Branson, don’t dismiss it at a mere fantasy – it really could happen. What are you waiting for?

Technorati Tags: start up a business, business, entrepreneur, Richard Branson

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Are you thinking of launching your own business startup? Or is it a business magazine? Maybe you have not decided yet but are certain you want to start your own business. Are you just seeking an escape from the mundanity of nine-to-five employment; maybe you can’t stand working for anyone else for a minute longer. You may have the feeling that perhaps you’ve just been made redundant or simply have an idea that’s too good to go to waste. Whichever it is, that first entrepreneurial seed has been sown, and before long you will be starting your own business.

But how do you grow that seed into a thriving, new business? Firstly, do you really want to? Are you cut out for it? Even if you are, is it too greater risk to give up a secure income? And just where should you start? You’ve probably got at least one of these questions, along with many others, swimming around your head right now – and that’s perfectly understandable.

Starting up your own business will change your life. It will change the way you think, the way you work, the way you spend money and the way you socialise. It will be one of the most demanding challenges you will ever be likely to take on. You will be made to work every hour possible to get your business off the ground and even longer to keep it afloat during the early days. You probably won’t have another holiday for a couple of years (especially when you want to combine it with your present paid employment) and virtually your entire life will become focused on making your business start up succeed.

“Starting your own business will change your life. It’ll change the way you think, the way you work, the way you spend money and the way you socialise.“

This is the harsh truth of starting your own business. If you thought you would be reducing your hours not increasing them and that, frankly, it all seems a bit too much trouble, you may need to stop reading now. Close this page now or possibly turn off your computer and think of a different way to improve your everyday happiness.

If you are still burning with that desire to launch your business solution, keep reading – you are already showing all the attributes an entrepreneur needs when starting up in business. The truth is that there will be plenty of anxieties and unanswered questions, but like every successful entrepreneur starting a small business, the thought of a challenge should excite and enthuse you.

If you are going to succeed, you will have to concentrate all your energy into the new business because it will be ‘your baby’ and you and your family will be the ones reaping the rewards. You will also have the enthusiasm and ideas to find solutions to the obstacles in your path.

What is more? Many successful entrepreneurs had no business qualifications or experience prior to starting up in business (for instance, I knew next to nothing on web hosting when we started Nairahost). Many spent months, even years, formulating their idea into a viable business proposition; and absolutely every single one has made mistakes, accepted help and learnt lessons as they’ve gone along.

The reason they have succeeded is because they have remained determined, focused, worked extremely hard and had the clarity of mind to realise they couldn’t do it all on their own. If you share these attributes, you’re half way there. And you need not be that scary. It might seem that you only ever hear bad news about the condition of the economy, but there’s never been a better time to start a business than now.

There has never been so much help and information from business startup services available to people wanting to do it as there is today. All you have to do is to be willing to ask people for help. Information is available everywhere. There has never been so much funding available for business start ups (most banks are now looking for where to invest their money).

“Starting and running your own business is an encapsulating, exciting and potentially life changing experience. “

Business start ups are now fundamental to the economy. The days of thousands of large companies employing millions of staff are no more. The number of aspiring entrepreneurs starting small businesses have surged in recent years. So, while you might be on the verge of starting your own business with the freedom to work when, where and for how long you want, you won’t, contrary to popular belief, be ‘going it alone’. There will be others going through the same experience, there will be others who have already gone through the experience and there will be business startup services to guide you.

The choice is yours not. Nobody is going to build your business for you while you sit. You are the master of your own destiny. Do something today.

Technorati Tags: business startup, start your own business, successful entrepreneur

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Just want to use this opportunity to wish every one compliments of the season. You have been the reasons why this blog still exists today. Thanks so much for being part of my story in 2006.

2007 is around the corner and it is full of many great promises. This is a call for us all to prepare ourselves to take advantage of the opportunities 2007 will provide. So, as we celebrate the remembrance of birth of Jesus Christ today, focus on what you can do to help your neighbour. Reach out to someone today, Bless someone, lift someone up… Merry Christmas!

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I woke up this morning and I feel on top of the world. Why? My write-up on There is a Science to Getting Rich was named “The best Post of The Week, Anywhere” by Political Calculation. This just confirms that word can actually become flesh. I am of the school of thought that you can use your word to create anything you want in life. You may not find it easy at the beginning but your commitment to succeed will surely help you to stay focused.

I am, therefore, using this medium to dedicate this great honour to all of you. I mean YOU, my reader, who have ever come in contact with my write-up either through constantly visiting my blog or RSS readers.. You have given me reasons to keep working on myself to serve you more. 2007 is a great year for us. Let’s prepare to change level.

Year 2006 has been full of many adventures. Many great lessons have been learnt and I would be moving on to year 2007 with those lessons. I had a plan at the beginning of the year to be a blessing to thousands of people either through my write-ups online or personal contact. The task has not been an easy one but I am gradually getting there. This actually placed a demand on me to keep developing myself. At first, I thought I was going to go crazy because of the numerous projects I set out to achieve before the end of 2006.

Starting and finishing a project take a lot of courage especially when it comes to starting a new business. It places a lot of demands on your especially when you are involved in like 4 different projects at the same time. I have therefore learnt that the best way to start is to start. Moreover, I learn that you have to be a lunatic with a strong and long-term belief in your business vision. You must be crazy enough to try anything and everything. You must also be willing to ask anyone and everyone for help. You must be at ease even if no one agrees with your ideas. You must be crazy enough to withstand the extreme highs and lows of business.

My 3rd lesson of the year is on learning how to handle failure. In business, you will ultimately experience more failure than the latter. It is how you handle yourself during dark times that matter. You must not blame yourself or others when failure strikes. Learn what you can about the failure, wallow in it for a couple of weeks, and then move on. Failure is a great teacher. It will teach you humility - a skill that you must learn to become a successful entrepreneur. Humility allows you to appreciate your successes and accept your shortcomings. Humility also allows you to value the contribution of others around you. When you learn the lesson of humility, you have less to lose.

Finally, I learn the importance of building a relationship before you may need it. What you are doing is not as important as who you are working with. A business idea, on its own, is meaningless. You will be making one of the greatest mistakes of your life if you wait till you need to get something done before you reach out to people. Other people mean everything. Your circle or friends can either make you or mar you when you need them most.

Maintaining relationship with the right people can make you millions. Going into business with the wrong people can cost you everything. If you are not certain of the kind of business you want to pursue or what you actually want to do with your life, start by finding a group of people you respect and admire. Choose people you can learn from and work with them on whatever type of projects they are working on. You need a good team. It is hard to accomplish great things when you are all alone. You need team members who can share in your successes and failures.

This post is part of Ben Instigator Yoskovitz’s group writing project.

Technorati Tags: Science to Getting Rich, year 2007, successful entrepreneur, business

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“The more you complain, the less you will obtain. We must not have the kind of attitude that makes one see the bad in every situation. What we see is what we get.” Rev’d Sam Adeyemi

Complaining creates a negative magnetic field around you. This negative magnetic field attracts negative people and circumstances toward you. I was at a bus stop one day and the crowd was too much. The rush for the available vehicle was too much and all people could do was to put the blame on the government. I just couldn’t understand what government has to do with the scarcity of vehicle.

This attitude is not peculiar to people at the bus stop alone. You see it everywhere you go. Instead of focusing on solving the problems at hand, a lot of people would rather look for someone to put the blame on. As long as you complain and look for opportunities to blame someone else for your current challenges, you would keep attracting negative people to yourselves. And this set of people will only make the matter worse.

If you are really ready to change your situation, stop complaining. A life of complaining is the ultimate guarantee for failure. Don’t complain. Things are not always as bad as they seem.

“When you complain, you explain your pain for no gain”.

Surround yourself only with people that see opportunities in every situation. Stay away from people who only complain and would not encourage you. Friendship is not by force, it is by choice.Also, you need to watch what you listen to. Screen the programs that you watch on TV. Not every good program is good for you. Your responsibility is to choose what is good for you. Anything that enters your mind controls your life. Stay away from listening to tapes that will strengthen your doubt. Listen to tapes that will lift you up. Do everything to guide your heart and to equip yourself. 2007 is around the corner. Choose today to make the year a complaint-free year…

Technorati Tags: attitude

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One of the worst mistakes you can make in networking is reaching out to others only when you are in need. You must, instead, reach out to others long before you need anything at all. You must be able to create a community that can help further your career in both good times and bad. Here are a few ways to do so:

1. Create a company-approved project that will force you to learn new skills and introduce you to new people in your organization.
2. Take on leadership positions in outside organizations that interest you.
3. Join your local alumni club and spend time with people who are doing jobs you might like doing.
4. Enroll in a class that can teach you things related to your current job, or a job you see yourself doing in the future.
5. Participate in online forums and visit blogs that interest you.

Every day brings in new opportunities to build relationships with other people. Focus on your immediate network such as family, existing friends and old acquaintances. They might be able to introduce you to people who can help you meet your goals.

The last thing you want to be anywhere you find yourself is invisible. You have to go out of your way to reach out to others anytime and anywhere. You must make sure that your social and event calendar is always full. The more connections you establish, the more opportunities you are given to make even more connections. So, start today. Invite a colleague out for lunch or dinner. Include other people and watch your web of contacts grow.

When meeting people, you have to take into consideration how and where you got to know them. Strong relationships are built on quality and not quantity. How you spent your time with a client is more important than how much time you spent together. Choose to meet people during events and activities you excel at. Choose to keep company when you are engaging in something you are totally passionate about.

Whether it be dining out in great restaurants, watching baseball games, or talking about politics, choose activities that can bring you closer to people. Whenever you meet someone new, always take it upon yourself to follow up. If you want to establish a relationship, you must make sure that you are remembered. Believe it or not, follow up is the key to success in any field.

Always give yourself between twelve and twenty-four hours to follow up after you meet someone. Send the person a quick note through e-mail and leave mental reminders as to who you are. You are going through all the trouble to meet other people and you might as well make sure that you are noticed. By the way, e-mails are very convenient but there is nothing like a handwritten thank you note to catch a person’s attention.

Here is a crucial point to remember when following up. Do not focus on what they can do for you. Rather, focus on what you can do for them. Give them a reason to want to follow up as well. If you want to build and maintain relationships successfully, you must learn the art of staying in touch. Quick casual greetings (pings) take a lot of effort but you must remember that it is only through repetition that you can become a fixed element in your contacts’ memories.

 

Technorati Tags: networking, career, relationships, success

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Are you still failing in your attempts to get rich or succeed despite the fact that you honestly desire an improvement in your life? Wait… you might be mistaking wishing for really wanting. Wishful thinking is what most people do. A wish is weak, changeable and passive. It doesn’t yield to concrete action. It is not strong enough to eliminate procrastination.

Wanting something spurs you to attention. It creates a sense of urgency in you. It doesn’t tolerate delay and it bypasses obstacles. If you have fallen short in every attempt you have made to succeed, ask yourself this question: did you mistake wishing for wanting?

A protege once asked his mentor what it takes to get wisdom. The mentor led him to a river and plunged his head under the water. After a few seconds, this anxious protege began struggling, afraid that he was going to drown. But the mentor continued to hold his head under the water. The protege started struggling even harder. Finally, the mentor let go of him just before he would have drowned and asked him, “when your head was under the water, what did you most want?“. “To breathe,” the frightened protege answered.

“Well, there you have it. This is exactly how much you must want wisdom“.

This applies perfectly to every phase of your life. Life gives you what you sincerely want. If you are content with a mediocre situation, you will never get out of it. No one will come to your rescue, giving you your ideal job or a million naira from the goodness of their heart. Many successful people had difficulty and improverished childhoods. They felt humilated by their inferior social status. Their desire to rise above poverty and never to be penniless again was so intense that it helped them to become wealthy.

Their dissatisfaction and frustration became highly productive. It can work like this for you. Besides, if you are still reading up to this point, it is because you are not perfectly satisfied with your present situation. Only feeble-minded are perfectly happy. You should not afraid to bring your disatisfaction into the open. The dreams you carry and nourish in your heart are part of you. They are actually the most noble part of you. Be ready to show your discontentment. Your dream must not become vague, irresolute or stagnant. Make it fuel in turn the action you will take.

Technorati Tags: succeed, become wealthy

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Wise people avoid negative souls like a plague. Some people can never see the good in anything. If you want to go somewhere in your life, you must first learn to avoid such people. “It can’t be done”, “Oh, this is Nigeria, it can’t work”. These same people can give you more than a million reasons why things can’t just work. They will give you enough reasons why you should not waste your time trying to do anything. But has it ever occurred to you why they are still at the same level?

There is no challenge facing you today that is peculiar to you only. Our issues are HUMAN issues! Simple! And how old are  you? Fine, you are far behind where you are meant to be, but the good news is that you can still do better. And 2007 is a year to put yourself on the right track. The only way out is for you to surround yourself with high - thinking and well driven individuals during this service year. Do not waste your time with people who have nowhere to go. 

Believe me, they are those who would know all the richest people in this world when they turn fifty, they have up-to-date information about the successful people in the world. They will have no personal result to show forth but many stories. They will be glad to associate with success but do not want to go through the process themselves. “That man called minister of finance was my mate in school”, most of them would say. They just believe nothing can work! Look, just excuse yourself from them, for they see only an ugly world, which is simply a mirror image of what they have and conceive inside.

The responsibility to choose your friends lies solely on you. Friendship is not by force, it is by choice. God has given everyone the power to choose who you associate with. You have the responsibility to choose your friends wisely. You do not need perfect people but you need people that want to grow like you, and that are teachable. Do these people give regard for life itself? And how do they see their parents, and the opposite sex?

Now, let’s balance up a little. That you should avoid negative people does not mean that you have to become paranoid. One strategy that is very good here is your ability to value people, and to recognize the right peg for a particular hole when you meet one. You have got to master the art of working with people. There is hardly anything you can do in this world without people. Some people will come into your life and you’ll rue the day you met them. Whereas, when you come across some other, you’d wish you had met them before because of the level of impact they have on you. Your responsibility is therefore to identify the right set of people and move with them.

 

Technorati Tags: Nigeria

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Dear fellow Nigerians,

This is Kayode Muyibi and Emmanuel Oluwatosin. We are the administrators of the new Nigerian Intellectual Forum with the name “Think Nigeria?”. We are also the administrators behind Nigerian Bloggers, a Nigerian Blog aggregator providing Feeds from Nigerian blogs in real-time.

We are using this opportunity to invite you to join our New Forum. We do perfectly understand if you are struck with a sudden hesitance or rather shock on the idea of a “New Nigerian Forum”, but the fact is we do need one that accommodates both freedom of speech and expression without censorship and of course with you as a contributing member.

So here we are taking the opportunity to invite you to join Think Nigeria - an intellectual forum that accommodates both the freedom of speech and expression without the least amount of prejudice from the administrators.

You might ask, “why should you join Think Nigeria?”

We invite you to join Think Nigeria because we believe that you constantly fight for the emergence of a new Nigeria – the Nigeria that presents everyone the opportunities to achieve their dreams. We also believe that it high time Nigerians take their place in the global market and at the same time be heard properly, accurately and appropriately. The news does not speak for who we are, nor thus censored information around the net. We would speak for ourselves through debating what has being supposedly delivered to represent us.

What do we need from you?

We need Contribution by participation through objectivity and un-biasness in discussing and debating your interest(s). We also do need you in correcting information that only is inaccurate but biased.

What amount of your time it would take?

What we need from you is simply a helpful contributory visit based on convenience and probably an input in thread entries and helping new members in guidance. With this amount of responsibility, we do think that it would only take 15-20 minutes of your daily online time. If this is too much to ask of you, you could cut the time by half or even a once in a week visit.

Out target is to establish Think Nigeria as an information hub that would be used to project the image of Nigeria to the world at large. As such, we need your un-biased contribution(s). As long as we need you to achieve our aim, you are not obliged to accept this invite. But always have in mind that whatever you do today would have direct and positive impact to Nigeria’s Image to the whole world.

How do you become a member of Think Nigeria?

Simply visit http://thinknigeria.com/index.php?action=register and fill the form to register. Log in at anytime that would be of convenience to you.

If you do have any further enquiries relating to Think Nigeria, feel free to reply this e-mail and we do hope you give us the chance in establishing a proper frontier of accurate uncensored information from Nigerians.

Regards,

Administrators

ThinkNigeria.com

Technorati Tags: Think Nigeria, Nigerian Bloggers, Nigerian Forum, Nigeria, Nigeria’s Image

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Will the road ahead be smooth? Will there be any adversity on the way? The truth that you have not achieved anything till now confirms the fact that challenges are meant to come. The difference between the successful person and the one stalked by failure is not the adversity. Everybody has that. What then is the difference?

The difference is your response – your attitude to the challenges you meet on your way. Do we regroup and hit it hard again, or do we just lay it down and quit? Many times we have made a u-turn when our success is actually around the corner.

Calvin Coolidge said,

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.“

Failure is never an end. It should be seen as a bend towards another destination. Setbacks should be seen as the foundations upon which we build future success or the final excuse for failure. The decision is yours. Nearly everyone who develops an idea works it until it looks impossible and then gets discouraged. That is not the place to become discouraged.

It is often at this point that many only see the obstacle and no longer sees their idea. They give in to discouragement, opposition and obstacles not knowing breakthrough is on the horizon. If only they were persistent. The dictionary defines persistent as: to continue firmly or obstinately. Persistence is a state of mind. In the words of Thomas Edison,

“Just because something does not do what you planned it to do does not mean it is useless…. Reverses should be an incentive to great accomplishment. Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is just one more step forward…. There are no rules here; we are just trying to accomplish something.“

It is therefore normal for someone to have obstacles before success. Even the dictionary puts the word obstacle before success. Obstacles are there to strengthen us and offer progressive measurement of our growing strength. Discouragement sets in when we misunderstand the purpose of obstacles. Persistence is a conscious decision. So, train yourself to be persistent.

Tags: Emmanuel, Oluwatosin, inspiration

Technorati Tags: attitude, Persistence, Thomas Edison

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