By now, anyone who hasn’t realise that the way in which we work, and where we work, have changed must be living in a lighthouse on a remote island. While the economic downturn drove large numbers of office workers to freelancing and contract work in 2016, technology continued to revolutionise the workspace. Global experts predict 2017 will be no different.
Freelancers, contractors, entrepreneurs and start-ups know the value of co-work spaces. They love the freedom, the services, the on-call IT guy, and the locations of modern co-working spaces. Now big business is starting to buy-in (not literally) to the whole concept. Why are they doing it?
Are you a morning person? Many aren’t. But the fact remains that a large majority of us have to, well, deal with mornings daily!
Brian de Haaff, CEO of Aha!, makers of product roadmap software, believes even though you might not be a morning person, a solid morning ritual can help you face the day. “Researchers have found that simple rituals can be effective at increasing confidence and alleviating anxiety,” he writes.
Dear Businessman
Over the past years business has become harder and harder to do. Almost everyone you know is starting a business or closing a business. While it is possible to succeed in business, the question of how is a complex one and there is no definite one answer to it. However there are some universal basics that the average Joe turned business human being can benefit from knowing and applying:
Social media is essential for a small business since the marketing budget is low for numerous startups. Social Media also offers you the liberty to reach people across the globe, and most importantly directs your message to your focused target market. After reading ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki in 2010, I decided to twitch my first blog PIE (People into Education/Entertainment/Economics). After a couple of weeks doing it and not getting ample hits, I decided to take it to my Facebook account. I told my friends about it and in just a week people began flooding PIE, leaving comments and sharing it with their friends. I felt great!
This triggered my interest in Social Media marketing and advertising. Social media is fun and easy to use because there are already people using it. It’s like China, the people are there, all you need to do is sell them something they like, and your sales and brand awareness will increase exponentially.
Amazingly it does not involve a high budget, just your time.
When you start a business is South Africa, it is important to understand the ecosystem that you will be a part of. South Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape changes every year as new developments and trends emerge. To be successful in business, you need to understand the impact of these changes on your business, so that you can adapt and thrive in your industry.
The concept of a business ecosystem supports the belief that no business operates in isolation. Instead, businesses form part of an intricate network of investors, financial institutions, customers, stakeholders, competitors, suppliers and partners.
Last week we had our 1 year anniversary of the GIBS Alumni Entrepreneurship Club. So far – rough guess – we have had over 900 alumni attending. Most of these amazing individuals are MBA graduates (we had a few PDBAs) and inevitably given the cost involved in doing an MBA, most of these were/are employed in mid-to-large organizations.
So why did they attend the Entrepreneurship Club? Everyone has different reasons of course, but here are the 3 categories I suspect most of the attendees fall in:
Tired of having a boss and experiencing bureaucracy Have an idea that’s been nagging them for the longest of time Think they have discovered the coolest thing since sliced bread
So you’re running your own business. Things are going well, you have enough customers and clients and the work keeps coming in. You’re working late nights, early mornings but you’re just not able to cope. It’s getting harder to focus and you’re getting to the point where you just don’t have the focus or the motivation to keep going.
Here’s the thing… You’re not alone. Managing time while maintaining focus is a challenge most entrepreneurs struggle with. So, I’ve put together a list of five of the best ways to manage your time, get your work done and maintain your focus.
Every business must market its products and services if it wants to stay in the game. No matter how big or small your budget is there are certain marketing activities that are essential to the success of your business.
You don’t have to spend thousands of rands on your marketing. There are many techniques that you can use to market your business on a shoe string budget.
Here are five essential marketing techniques that can help you get your business name out there.
You probably hear it over and over again how important it is to be positive, think positive and only engage in positive activity. In this day and age, being positive isn’t always an easy task.
Find out how he got over his fear of delivering speeches and his tips on a making a great speech.