A family, a home and a steady job. 40 hours of work a week, a pay cheque, and your evenings and weekends off, which you could either dedicate to your better half, your kids or to your hobbies. Or if that doesn’t suit you, you could always hang out with your work buddies instead.
Life’s good, or okay at least. Or is it? While a huge majority of the human race might be complacent with this sort of bourgeoisie lifestyle, not all of us are cut out for it. And the very fact that you’re still reading this article is proof enough for me that you have no intention of identifying as a bourgeoisie.
Oh, I like you! Now of course there are a lot of technical requirements to starting a business. Coming up with an idea, creating a business plan, finding an investment, hiring employees, and the likes.
But before you get into all that, you need to make sure you’re actually ready for the whole being your boss thing. So here are 15 signs that you are ready to start your own business.
1. You are sufficiently motivated
“The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.” One of my favorite quotes from Napoleon Hill’s timeless cla$$ic “Think and Grow Rich”.
This one’s pretty straight forward. To be ready to start your own business and succeed at it, you would have to really want it first. Do you?
2. You have a confident personality
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” From the book “This is My Story” by Eleanor Roosevelt. We live in a cruel world. Bear that there will always be people trying to hinder or belittle you and your progress.
Now of course, there isn’t a thing in the world that should matter less than the opinions of those poor souls. But the bitter truth is, to most people it does.
To stand apart, to succeed, you will need to sport a confident personality; to always be sure about what you’re doing or where you’re headed. Are you?
3. You are tenacious
“Patience and tenacity are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness.” Thomas Huxley. Not all successful people possess genius talent. It would be a fair bet to say that a vast majority of them were no different from you and I when they started.
And they failed too. Often. But while most people tend to get demor*lized at the first sight of failure, what they did was get right back up and try again. And again. And again. Until they succeeded. Can you?
4. You are pa$$ionate about what you are doing
“Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” A timeless advice from David Frost. Work is hard. Always has been and always will be.
Trick is to choose a line of business you’re so pa$$ionate about, that you will actually enjoy working hard. Look at every person in history who started a business and succeeded at it. They’ve always been exceptionally pa$$ionate about their work. Are you?
5. You enjoy learning
“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship.” From the American novelist Louisa May Alcott. Like the world in its entirety, the business world is one big mystery. And people who actually believe they know it all might very well know nothing at all.
To successfully “sail your ship” you need to continuously feed yourself with knowledge and ideas. For which you must genuinely enjoy learning. Do you?
6. You have good people skills
“There is only one way to get anybody to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it.” Dale Carnegie, legendary self-improvement and interpersonal skills guru.
People constitute the world and influence how it runs. So it’s a no brainer that they ought to be at the essence of any business venture. Might be your investors, or your customers.
To succeed at business, you need to be excellent at understanding other people’s intents, and effectively communicating your ideas to them. Are you?
7. You are a visionary
“The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world.” From the author of the popular book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell.
Visionaries make lasting business people. What sets them apart from the casual folks is that they can see to the end. And accordingly, they know what needs to be avoided and what needs to be done to succeed.
If you want to own a business and be successful one at it, you must be know where it’s headed. Do you?
8. You have a good business team
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller. No successful venture in history was ever started alone. Behind every successful “self-made” person you hear about, are seldom heard of people that actually run the engines of the business.
The idea is not to be as independent as you can. That’s simply not how it works. What you need is to have is a team of loyal, dedicated and talented people that not only can, but actually enjoy laying the bricks to your castle. Do you?
9. You are creative
“The painter has the universe in his mind and hands.” Leonardo da Vinci. Creativity is the ability to create new things and find unique solutions to existing problems. Sounds like a pre-requisite to any aspiring business person.
To stand out in your line of business and succeed, you will have to bring something different to the table. Can you?
10. You despise authority
“If ever you feel like an animal among men, be a lion.” Criss Jami, in “Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality”. It is a rule of thumb. People who have a predisposition to starting a venture and succeeding at it have at the least a healthy disregard for authority.
The very fact that you want to start a business and be your own boss is proof enough that you have no intentions of directly working under someone else. You like to think for yourself. Don’t you?
11. You can take risks
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” John A Shedd. In a world surrounded by uncertainty, fluctuating market for instance, the one who embraces this uncertainty isn’t always safe from its claws. And this very fact scares a vast majority of your competition away from the game.
But you must know that security and success don’t always come hand in hand, especially not as long as you’re still chasing the latter. You’re not in the game for security. You’re here to risk it all and win. Aren’t you?
12. You know your limits
“Oh, I’m not just going too far, I’ve arrived.” Jose Saramago, in “Seeing”. Know when to stop. Even if the years don’t make you smarter, they always make you wiser. And at some point you just realize you can’t have anymore.
That’s when the wise one knows s/he doesn’t need anymore. Successful people can calculate success as well as they can dream of it. Can you?
13. You are organized
“For every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned.” Benjamin Franklin. Unlike the common folks, business people don’t like to waste more time preparing for a work than on the actual work.
For a business to succeed, you have to organize few things beforehand. Finding a retail partner or having your own website, as per the business needs, is a pretty good sign that you’re ready to dive into the world of business.
When that’s inevitable, they learn from the new experience and make sure it never happens again. They have everything they need whenever and wherever they want it. Simply put, to be in control you need to be organized. Are you?
14. You are a leader
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Warren Bennis. Often, it’s believed good leaders are born. Actually, good leaders are made, they’re product of experience, training and necessity, amongst others.
And you know a good leader when you see one. Given a vision and all the necessary tools and crew at his/her disposal, a good leader knows how and when to lead. Do you?
15. You know your game
No famous quotation for this one. Simply cause it’s a no brainer. Before you can play a game, you need to know the game. Always know that there are people out there who are already doing what you plan on doing. Many of them professionals. And they’re all your competition.
If you’re planning on entering a particular line of business, you need to make sure you know sufficiently enough if not as much as the people already in that business first. Only then you can act smart. And then, you dribble your ideas to goal. So do you know your game?
For a few weeks now, there has been a campaign on major social network platforms tagged #GodIsNotDead, repped by people all over the world. This is not just a campaign, it is an inspiring song that will get you jeered up for christmas and new year. Its Kingsley Adeyemi Popularly known as Keanzo teaming up with the multi talented Oyinkanade. Download and Enjoy. God Lives!!!
Here is a banger from the vanessa crooner GABAZI ft KT-BLIQZ, he titled this one 'ELEPON' i believe you will love this and deejay will definitely put it on repeat, its gona rock many parties. Contact Gabazin on 08050240281 Follow on twitter: @Ogabazin
Young Nigerian rapper named OGELE EMMANUEL whose stage name is “Charmbuck” falls into the class of the chosen ones. “Charmbuck” is a student of Kwara State University known as KWASU where he is studyingPlant and Environmental Biology (Botany) The promising rapper chose his Hip Hop path at the tender age of 7 and his mentors are Nas and Nigeria born American rapper, Chamillionaire. The tall and handsome rapper hails from Delta state and has graced several big stages in Ilorin, Kwara state university where he schools and his home-city, Ibadan. According to him, music is a part of him he can’t live without. His dream is to change the world with the strong messages in his songs. He preaches the message of joy,peaceful coexistence and rising above limitation to reach full potentials as several youths need to be inspired. “Charmbuck” has uncountable songs under his name and now here with a new joint titled #NewBlessings”#NewBlessings”* You can follow him on twitter and instagram @Charmbukology
If you frequently send and receive video messages via Skype and wish there were a way to download the clips to your phone, a new update might just make your day.
The latest version of Skype for Android lets you save video messages you’ve sent and received to your gallery so you can keep them for posterity (or blackmail). It’s only available for video messages, meaning clips that you send to your friends over Skype IM, not the video calls you make.
1.Updateto the latest version of Skype(6.11) on your Android device.
2.Long press the videoyou want to save in the conversation window.
3.Select Save To Gallery.
4.Open your Movies or Videos folderon your phone to find the clip.
Video files can be large, and storing them on your phone can take up precious space, so be judicious in selecting the files you download. Otherwise, you can delete the large files or back them up to a separate location to save space.
Other improvements in the latest version of Skype include enhanced search, which lets you look up content in your chat history in addition to contact and group names, as well as better conversation management tools.
As a small business owner, your plate is full of responsibilities; aside from ensuring your day-to-day duties as a leader within your company are carried out, your to-do list includes things like taking care of employee payroll, paying the rent on your office space, and keeping your team on track. Successful leaders often delegate these tasks in order to allow themselves to focus on critical responsibilities, however, small businesses do not always have the manpower to make this possible. As an alternative, consider incorporating these apps into your business processes to improve productivity, enhance business efficiency, and to avoid problems later.
Take a look at these apps below, which will facilitate everything from your company email newsletter to your social media posts.
1. IFTTT for Automation
IFTTT is an automation app that will save you time an money by allowing you to automate just about anything, from your shopping list to news alerts. Use IFTTT for things like automatically scheduling through Google Calendar and managing recruiting activity. It’s all synced across the cloud, and the best part is that IFTTT provides a huge database of “automation recipes” with step-by-step instructions to help you get set up.
2. Evernote for Notes
How many times a day do you have to say, “I have to remember this”? Evernote allows you to make a note of anything to use later. Track everything from business trips to your favorite web pages, or manage research for your next project.. Some tablets even allow you to jot down notes on the tablet’s Evernote app using a stylist, giving you the feel of pen and paper.
3. MailChimp for Email
MailChimp helps you to take control of your email by providing easy layouts to create newsletters for your company, tools to collect email addresses for marketing, and straightforward email templates. Collaborate with other employees with multi-user accounts, or independently use Mailchimp’s automation features for your online sales. Mailchimp also provides you with advanced analytic tools so you can track which campaigns are the most successful, allowing you to optimize your email effectiveness.
4. ZenPayroll for Payroll
Managing the payroll for you company can be very time-consuming, especially due to complex rules and regulations that require careful planning. ZenPayroll helps you avoid payroll confusion by handling most aspects of payroll for you, including features such as employee self-onboarding. Furthermore, ZenPayroll is an affordable solution used by many small businesses; ZenPayroll is a service you can trust.
5. CoSchedule for Content Marketing
When it comes to content marketing, developing a comprehensive editorial calendar is arguably the most important step. CoSchedule not only provides you with an easy-to-use online editorial calendar, but also allows you to collaborate with team members and automate both blog posts and social media shares. With CoSchedule, you can plan your content for an entire month and let the app do the rest of the work, saving you hours a week.
6.HipChat for Real-Time Communication
HipChat makes it easy for you to talk to your teams by providing you with a platform to engage in both group and individual chats in order to streamlining your communications. Using a chat service like this will help keep your inbox clear of tedious email updates while clearing the way for more important conversations.
7.Priority Matrix for Task Management and Collaboration
Priority Matrix is a task management app that allows you to quickly create action items within projects and collaborate with your team. The app utilizes the Eisenhower method of time management, which helps you categorize to-dos based on how critical and urgent you consider them, so your team stays focused on the right tasks. Finally, Priority Matrix can also be synchronized with your calendar and email platforms, making it easier for you and your team to stay on top of task due dates and keep track of important conversations.
By integrating just a few of these apps into your small business, you can save yourself hours a week, resulting in days of time gained at the end of each month. Just imagine the levels of productivity your business could hit by utilizing these extra hours to grow and improve.
Do you have any other tips or suggested apps that make your life easier? Leave a comment below.
In the month or so since the launch of the iPhone 6s, it’s become pretty clear that Apple’s latest iPhone iteration is well worth the hype. Featuring upgrades that go beyond simple aesthetics, it has been heralded by some as the “best iPhone Apple has ever made.” With the new 6s, users can now:
1. Create animated wallpapers
Using the iPhone’s new Live Photosoption, you can now create your own animated GIFs with the push of a button. Live Photos are not quite videos, but they definitely aren’t still photographs, either. The 6s can record 1.5 seconds before and after photos are taken, creating both still and animated versions of the picture being taken. You can then share either one with your family and friends, or set it as your lock or home screen wallpaper.
2. “Peek and Pop”
You’ve most likely heard of the new 3D Touch functionality the 6s now offers. But what can it do? By pressing down a little harder on your screen, you can “peek”into other apps or areas of your phone without actually opening up any new app, or closing out the one you’re currently using. You can then “pop” back to where you were, or to any other app that you need to get to ASAP, by lifting your finger over the proper space on your screen.
3. Unlock it
Just because you bought an iPhone under a specific cellular provider doesn’t mean you should be stuck with that provider if you want to make a switch. And you certainly shouldn’t have to get a brand new phone when switching providers if absolutely nothing is wrong with the actual device. But not all carriers think the same of this matter, so sometimes you have to take things into your own hands.
This is not so much a new function of the 6s as it is a piece of information all iPhone owners should keep handy so they don’t end up shelling out a ridiculous amount of money to their newandold service providers if they choose to switch. It’s your phone—you should be free to do what you want with it.
4. Find your phone around your house easily
Well, this new function isn’t meant exclusively to find a misplaced phone, but it definitely helps. Siri can now be activated at any time simply by saying “Hey Siri.” Although this function is available for older phones as well, they have to be plugged in for it to work correctly. With the 6s, Siri will respond to your calls of “Hey Siri” without needing to be tethered to the wall. Of course, if your phone is under your couch cushion or a pile of clothes, you might have to raise your voice a little bit.
5. Search for settings
THANK YOU APPLE. We no longer have to spend an inordinate amount of time looking through all the settings menus to find the option we’re looking to change. Need to delete some app data? Search for it. Need to check your storage? Search for it. Can’t remember where you saw the option you need to change? Search for it. Need to disconnect your phone from your friend’s spotty Wi-Fi? Search for it without having to go through menu after menu. And speaking of spotty Wi-Fi…
6. Utilize Wi-Fi a$$ist
Fair warning: If you don’t have unlimited or fairly high data plan skip this option for now. For the rest of us that can’t stand when a bad Wi-Fi connection gets in the way of our Pandora dance session, iPhones now offer Wi-Fi a$$istance. This setting will automatically disconnect your phone from a Wi-Fi connection if connectivity is too poor for proper functionality, allowing you to connect straight to your cellular network. If you have data to spare, Wi-Fi a$$ist will keep your Netflix and YouTube videos streaming continuously, even when your home network is at max capacity.
Featured photo credit: iPhone 6s / LWYang via farm1.staticflickr.com
