June 2009

Are you an entrepreneur?

by admin on June 24, 2009

I love entrepreneurs especially when they are self made!

Entrepreneurs are fabulous people, they reek of passion and clarity, and they are usually visionary and can easily see the big picture. Entrepreneurs also enjoy the company of like minded people; they like great people around them and most find it difficult to suffer fools.

Entrepreneurs are born optimists, they are confident, generally willing to help others and adopt a double win attitude.

This website is based on my real life experiences; there have been many turning points in my business career. The purpose of this blog is to assist you in determining your turning point and hopefully I can give you the inspiration and sanity to continue on your life dreams and goals, even when the chips are down. If I can help one single person avoid the stupid mistakes I made this blog has been worth while.

Never give up despite the setbacks, keep moving forward.
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“tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

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So you would like to start a business?

by admin on June 21, 2009

Did you know that most small businesses fail within the first 12 months? Well this news is not new; most people starting out these days probably do understand that.
However I suggest also most people actually choose to ignore that fact.

The greatest book I have ever read that clearly spells this out is called “The E Myth” by Michael Gerber.
He points out the majority of people who start businesses are “Technician’s” and usually choose to work “in” the business rather than “on” the business.
This was the case for me when I started and when I read this great advice by Michael I still shudder with embarrassment.
My original business was the importation of hifi equipment and this was and still is a world full of hobby hifi enthusiasts who know very little about the running of a business.
The reality is though, schools give little or no business training and how can any budding entrepreneur be expected to know all about bookkeeping and accounting? Advertising and marketing? How to employ and train staff? Etc.

If you take a good look at it and what business really demands it can be daunting, however if you are anything like me it is exciting and there is no way I would let these things put me off.

In my opinion there are compelling reasons to go and work for you rather than work for a boss. In these days of recession there is no such thing as job security as one just has to take a look at the job agencies and the inquiries they are getting. There is also the television media each night bleating out the bad news at 6pm.

If your desire is to own your own business and control your own destiny then do not let anything or anyone discourage you. Just be aware of the pitfalls and problems that may arise but tackle them with enthusiasm and vigor. Never give up.

One major piece of advice I would like to pass on if you are just starting out:

Learn all you can about every aspect of running a business, get good people to support you and make certain you have a solid and clear business plan based on strategy not tactics.

Anyway, here is my other view about business:

“Passion and people create successful businesses”

“Get out when it stops being fun”

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Future charts for downloads

by admin on June 28, 2009

I will soon creating some charts for free download that are designed to help in your business.

These are in the form of questions with associated checklists to give you a wider knowledge of the state of your business.

I will also review relevant topics, which will outline the extent of options available to you and help you make the correct choice for your particular enterprise.

In the question and checklist section, there will be spaces to fill in details and circumstances of your own business.

When you fill them in you will that your answers, along with the further questions posed will stimulate your ideas and provide suggestions that you could adopt.

As an example, if your sales are falling during this recession, should you choose to cut prices, or stock or produce less?

Or maybe find the right mix of the two.

When sales pick up at the end of the recession, do you realize you business could then be more at risk?

In my reviews of relevant topics, I examine such things as pricing, cash management, handling of electronic data and taxation issues in more detail.

I include an additional section on exporting.

One thing to remember is these lessons here are not technical. They are far easier to understand than that. These will not answer all your specific questions relating to your own particular business. But what they will do is enable you to know exactly what questions to ask.

The main purpose of both exercises is to provoke thought in a logical and orderly sequence, and to encourage action in an orderly and profitable manner.

These are lessons I should have learned when I started Sound Group Holdings Ltd.

Actually there is nothing new here, but the layout is a new tool that allows you to stop, calculate and plan on how to manage your business more effectively.

If I had used these methods I would have not required a partner and even though my business was extremely successful the outcome would have been totally different today.

I provide all this as a framework for you to consider your problems and tackle the future with utmost confidence. I sincerely trust these exercises can help you prosper and meet your life dreams in a business that you build and continue to own.

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Introduction to running your own business.

by admin on June 27, 2009

The reason I have started this website is simple. According to the world media we are in the worst recession we have seen for years.
I want the small businessman or woman, budding entrepreneur or any person considering a start up to avoid the serious mistakes I made.

In the early 1980’s I started “Sound Group Holdings Ltd” a Hifi import, manufacturing, export and Distribution Company in New Zealand.

We were successful despite ourselves and had I understood basic business principles at that time the outcome for me may have been significantly different. My interest now is helping others avoid disasters and forging a road to success.

Therefore right now I want you to consider two questions:

1. What is the state of my business or current situation right now?
2. What must I do to ensure my business continues to survive, especially in tough times?

The purpose of these questions and this guide should provide you with a wider understanding of your own business. By following each part in detail and applying these lessons to your own particular business you will:

Learn how to analyze your business; you own ability, strengths and weaknesses in real depth.

Gather a clear picture of how your business is organized and set up for the future.

Being prepared to handle any forthcoming inflation, credit squeeze or an extension of the present recession.

Understand how you can best apply your talents, assets and resources.

Better understand the areas relating to taxation, computers, budgeting and cash flow.

Have confidence in your own ability, and that of your business, to cope with possible conflict with partners, staff, wage demands and any sudden change of regulations by governments etc.

Hopefully I can provide you with a vehicle to view your business from above; looking at it in such a way it provides a blueprint for future success.

It will make me very happy if I can help you manage the enormous responsibility of running your own business in which you must learn to be everything from production manager, accountant, bookkeeper, advertising expert and salesperson all rolled into one.

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Reasons for being in business.

by admin on June 25, 2009

Small business advice is often hard to give and even harder to take. All logic seems to fly out the window when a good idea surfaces.
Passion and desire becomes the only consideration.
If we just stop and think for a moment where technology has taken us over the last few years maybe we could look at it in a slightly different way.

Business really is about providing solutions to problems. Maybe that is where the inventor comes into the equation. Why do we still want to invent that car that flies like an aircraft when nobody wants it? Why do people still persist in inventing products nobody wants?

If we just take a look on the internet we can find out in a few minutes what people really want.

Maybe the inventor tries to make their own life easier rather than their fellow human beings? Quite frankly there are tons of good ideas floating around out there, some of which may even find a market and benefit us all.

Until then I strongly believe an easier way is with the machine at our fingertips, a computer that enables us to find whatever we want. Tuition is readily available for almost anything and we are only limited by our imagination.

Before you enter into any kind of business either on or off line just work out your real reasons and purpose for doing so.

My ex business partner described the only reason for being in business was to make money. Others say we are in business to make a profit. Are those statements true?
Do people go to work each day in ordinary jobs to make money?
It is very interesting to note, before I secured the “Yamaha Hifi” agency in New Zealand, their company philosophy was all about “enriching people’s lives.” Not a vehicle to get rich!
It is only now thirty odd years later this is making sense to me.

Perhaps entrepreneurs go into business for other reasons, such as enriching their lives and the lives of others. Being able to seriously contribute to the welfare of others and create jobs.
Unfortunately most humans have a basic and similar weakness; we are all selfish and greedy. We are generally all takers and we are weak at giving. I now believe the true entrepreneur goes into his or her business for other reasons than making money and making a profit. Stupid people do that!

I learned the hard way, I went into business originally for all the right reasons, I had the passion, vision and I trusted other people. I could see the big picture and I could see where WE as a business should aim.

The real problem was I knew me nothing about how success can change us. How money, power and greed can affect people in different ways.

In the coming weeks it is my intention to provide a platform or plan for anyone contemplating starting a business. I hope to provide simple and straightforward information and guidance that will reduce or eliminate any future pain.

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