Top Small Business Site of the Week - Phoenix from the Ashes
June 30, 2007
Top Small Business Web Site of the week award goes to Phoenix from the Ashes. In the UK, business failure is still seen as a form of social disease by the vast majority. It seems that in the USA, everyone accepts that you have to fail a few times, before you get it right, but over here, if you’re not perfect the first time, you’re a total failure who can’t be trusted.
If you think that’s bad, you should know that talking about bankruptcy in the UK is a big no no. That is why Phoenix from the Ashes - Ian Denny’s blog is so wonderful and inspiring. Instead of hiding under a rock when his business went under, he got onto the Internet and began blogging about it. He’s picked himself up, learned from his mistakes and began his business all over again.Â
I wish Ian the very best of luck, and whether you’re starting out in business, or you’ve hit a rocky patch yourself, you should check out Ian’s blog, and follow his journey as he revives Phoenix.
Business Hazards to Avoid - Jealousy
June 28, 2007
Successful business owners are not normally a single bit jealous of another soul on the planet. I guess a lot of this has to do with the fact that if they want something, they do whatever they have to do to get it. Most of the fun is in the doing part, not the getting.
Jealous people, on the other hand, don’t like the doing part. In fact, they’d rather covet what everyone around them has and not do anything to get it themselves.
The problem is, most jealous people don’t actually want what you have - they want what they think you have. Obviously, these types of people are dangerous to even the newest of business owners. You see, unfortunately, most people who don’t run a business themselves seem to think that all business owners are rich - especially jealous people.
So, what harm can jealous people do to you and your business?
At the very least, jealous people will make snide remarks about you and your business, and most of them will gossip about you - eg. they will tell untrue stories, or exaggerate a story completely. This isn’t great news if you live in a small neighbourhood, like Low Hesket, where I live, particularly if you operate a small local business. You see the thing is, if you’re business is small people generally tend to see the business as an extension of you. So, even if the jealous local gossip spreads a personal rumour about you - eg. she caught you snogging the postman, or something equally vicious, this could still reflect on your business.
Sometimes jealousy can lead to other equally nauseating behaviours. For example, minor vandalism to your house, slashing of your car tires etc. But, at the very worst, jealousy can lead to violence and even murder.
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Believe me I’m not. Most people have been the victims of jealousy at some point, even if they don’t actually realise it. Unfortunately, business owners seem to get more than their fairshare of grief from these vicious people, and if you’re a woman business owner, you may as well lock yourself in the house right now and not come out ever.
So What Can You Do To Stop Jealous People From Harming Your Business?
I hate to say this, but if they’re just gossiping about you, you may never even know they’re doing it. However, there may be occassions when you actually catch them in the act, or some well meaning soul may even tell you about the latest nasty rumour that’s going around. But generally gossips only talk to other gossips. In this case, the best thing to do is nothing. You see, the thing is, if they’re just gossiping with other gossips, it doesn’t really matter, because you wouldn’t want those types as a customer anyway - would you?
Unfortunately, some gossip will escalate, depending on the nature of your alleged crime, and if it’s serious enough that ordinary people start to believe it, then your business could suffer. At this point, you’ll probably want to consider having your solicitor send a letter to the original offender, and if things get really bad and out of control, you may even need to make a statement to the press.
What if Your Friends or Family Are Jealous of Your Business Success
If your family are jealous, just go out of your way to avoid them like the plague. If you have jealous friends ditch them, and make sure you never see them again. Do you think that sounds a little harsh? Trust me, it isn’t. I once had a jealous friend - I didn’t ditch her, and the consequences were dire. Bad enough to leave me to ill to work for a long time anyway. And before you ask - no they won’t change. In my experience, jealous people seem to stay that way for life. If you bought a brand new car, and your friend managed to get the exact same one, she wouldn’t be satisfied, and she’d immediately find something else you had that she wanted.
On the bright side, you really have to pity these people - from a distance of course. As I said before, successful business people are never jealous, so you’ve probably already guessed that jealous people will never be successful.
Do Entrepreurs Really Need to Work an 80 Hour Week?
June 27, 2007
Most books on becoming an entrepreneur will tell you that you have to work 60 to 80 hours a week to become a success in business.  If I had been writing this post over a year ago, I would have agreed entirely. But how many of those entrepreneurs wasted much of their working week on tasks that they could easily have outsourced, delegated, or automated? Also, can you become truly successful if you spend most of your waking hours working? Sure, it might turn you into a financial success, but what about the other areas of your life?
In the past, I wasted so much time. I would spend a huge chunk of my waking hours carrying out mundane chores, because I thought I didn’t have the time to train someone else to do them. I took on complicated projects that I should have outsourced to people with more experience, and instead of updating the office technology I lost a ton of time due to malfunctioning equipment.
If you’re just starting out in business, you may think that outsourcing, delegating and automating doesn’t apply to you, as you couldn’t possibly afford to outsource or delegate anyway. While this may be true initially, you need to start thinking about freeing up your time as early in your business as you possibly can.
You may already have heard of the Pareto 80/20 principle, which states that 20% of your efforts will bring in 80% of your results. This is certainly true in business. Even if you don’t have the funds to outsource work initially, wouldn’t it be great if you could identify which 20% of the work that you do in your business, brings you 80% of the results, so that you could concentrate your efforts on the important stuff?
The best book I have ever read, which shows you how to manage your time effectively and concentrate on the most important 20% of your activities is Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. Even if you’re bootstrapping, you can’t afford not to read it, and it’s a short book, so you won’t waste valuable time reading it.
Grants for Business Start Up - Reality or Fiction?
June 26, 2007
Are there really thousands of available grants for business start up, or is this just a cruel rumour spread by the government to make it look as though they really want to help start up businesses?
The fact is, there are numerous grants available to businesses in the UK and the USA, and many are available to start up businesses. So why don’t you know anyone who has managed to get one of these grants then? After all, it’s free money to assist with starting up a business. You don’t even have to pay it back.
The truth is, many business start ups don’t apply for grants because they don’t know where to begin. Time is a precious commodity for a start up business, and searching for available grants is one task that is often put on the backburner.Â
Another problem is the application process.  Applying for any type of grant can be complicated and a small business start up is often required to jump through several hoops. For example, if you’re looking for a grant to assist with buying equipment for a small business, you will often be required to submit a detailed business plan, along with your grant application. If the grant is to be spent on marketing, you may be required to submit a detailed marketing plan.
All this may seem a little complicated, but don’t let it put you off. Raising the capital to start a small business can be tough, and some of these start up grants are worth thousands.
Here are some resources to give you a head start. If you live in the UK, this is a free searchable database of small business grants. There are currently 2474 available. Some will be for start up business, and some of the grants will only be available to established businesses. Going through the database can be time consuming, so do yourself a favour and create a file on your browser to store the ones that may be applicable to you. You may also find Grant Writing for Dummies a useful guide to helping you through the application process.
There is a fantastic resource for business start ups based in the USA.  In addition to listing hundreds of pages of grants available in the USA, this guide also comes with free grant application software.
If you’re looking for grants for business start up, bear in mind that many people just can’t be bothered to go through the process of applying, which will give you a head start if you’re willing to put in the effort. Good luck.
