DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

by Kathy Reiffenstein

“Success to me is not about money or status or fame; it’s about finding a livelihood that brings me joy and self-sufficiency and a sense of contributing to the world.”

Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

Thinking about making the jump into the world of the self-employed? Dreaming about being your own boss?

Before you give up your current job, before you even start planning what your new business will look like, there are some questions you should ask yourself.

WHY AM I STARTING MY BUSINESS?

If your main reason for starting a business is because you want to escape a job or boss you don’t like or you think owning a business is glamorous or you want to become rich quickly, perhaps you should reconsider.

Although starting a business may, indeed, accomplish these things, the person destined to become a successful entrepreneur starts a business because she is passionate about her product or service and sees a need for this product or service in the marketplace.

Without this passion, this strong belief in your vision, it will be very difficult to get through the many challenges that face every entrepreneur as she builds and grows her business.

CAN I BE HONEST IN MY ASSESSMENT?

Honesty and objectivity may seem to be the opposite of passionate belief, but a successful entrepreneur will clearly assess the obstacles and challenges to starting a new business. Passionate enthusiasm doesn’t have to be blind.

Beware of others’ unconditional encouragement, the “of course you can do it” attitude. While support is wonderful, be sure you have made a rational and objective assessment of both the challenges and opportunities of your business idea. Listen to the opinions of your critics – they may see issues that, in your enthusiasm and excitement, you have overlooked.

AM I COMFORTABLE WITH RISK?

There is not a new business venture in the world that doesn’t have some risk attached to it. Risk can range from the very practical to the more intangible:

• will customers buy my product or service?
• will my business make enough money to pay the bills?
• will I earn the respect of others in the business community?
• will my reputation survive if I fail?

A successful entrepreneur will certainly take steps to minimize the risks of starting a new business. But, bottom line, entrepreneurs can accept risk and even thrive on it.

So before you start your new business venture, ask yourself these three questions. Ask friends, colleagues and family too. Then listen honestly to all the answers.

[In a subsequent post, we will cover more tips on starting a business.]

DON'T YOU DARE APOLOGISE!

by Kathy Reiffenstein

Apologies certainly have their place in our lives...just not in our business presentations.

WHY DO PRESENTERS APOLOGISE?

We apologise because we're feeling inadequate, insecure, unprepared. We think that if we proactively point out all the things we feel aren't good enough about our presentation and delivery, then perhaps the audience won't judge us harshly.

Yet multiple apologies have the opposite effect: they annoy an audience and make them uncomfortable while severely compromising our credibility. When we apologise for not being prepared or for the small print on our slides that no one can read, we are doing two things: (1) drawing attention to aspects of our presentation that the audience might not otherwise notice and (2) sending the message that this audience isn’t important enough for us to do our best.

DON'T APOLOGISE FOR...

While you will definitely want to apologise for spilling hot coffee on someone or stepping on her toe, don't you dare apologise for these four things:

1. Misspeaking -- We all have the occasional slip of the tongue or we mispronounce a word. Either simply correct yourself (without apology!) or use a bridge such as "rather" to get to the correct word. [The final cost will be ten million...rather, ten billion naira.]

2. Clicking onto the Wrong Slide -- Simply acknowledge the slide was out of order and move to the correct one. [That slide was out of order…here’s the correct one.] Say something humorous if you’re comfortable with that. [The PowerPoint gremlins have been rearranging my slides again.]

3. Not Covering a Topic/Not Having Sufficient Material -- Bringing the audience's attention to something that's missing, through an apology, only highlights its absence and gives the missing piece undue importance. Either ignore it or factually and unapologetically explain why it's missing and direct the audience where they can obtain the information.

4. Not Knowing an Answer -- If after preparing your material thoroughly and anticipating what questions the audience will have, you still get asked a question you don’t know the answer to, you have nothing to apologise for. Admit you don't know the answer and either offer to get back to the questioner with the answer or direct him to where he can find it.

These recommendations are as relevant in business meetings as they are in business presentations.

Remember…the reasons that are causing you to apologise in the first place (nervousness, feeling inadequate) are known only to you, not to your audience. By not apologising, you’ll keep it that way!

Mentoring Training

Hello everyone,

Happy New Year. WIMBIZ wishes you the very best of 2010. Here's to inform you of our Mentoring Training scheduled for Saturday February 20, 2010.

Venue will be communicated to selected participants. Please visit our website for details.