Strike the Right Cord with a Perfect Business Idea!

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”

~ Richard Branson

If you dream of owning a business enterprise and possess the requisite expertise, adequate capital, and above all the courage to enter and excel in the world of your choice, then the sky is the limit for you!

Do not forget, starting a business is not a cake walk and requires extensive research, planning, expertise, and hard work especially if you are starting it from the scratch without any Godfather or financial cushion.

Keep the following factors firmly in mind before you take steps for launching your own business:

Think something that matches your expertise

All businesses sprout from an Idea. It is very important for you to choose your business idea from your set of expertise and knowledge. If you are launching a product or offering a service, you should have the complete knowledge of all aspects attached with what you are going to sell. 

Even if you opt for an all new business idea, something you do not understand much, study it in detail before finally making it happen.

Understand the market demand 

You cannot sell a product or service which has lost its market value. Also, be careful not to jump into a market which is dominated by some big players especially if your pockets are not that deep to challenge the giants. Pick a business idea that will allow you to carve out a niche, and about which you have a good, first-hand knowledge.

Identify your target clients or customers 

You should have a good knowledge about your target audience. Design your product or services keeping in mind a particular category of customers and then serve them with a USP. 

For example if you are opening a restaurant, you can focus on continental food to make it as your main USP. You can gradually come on to other cuisines once you grab the attention of food lovers.

   

Be very sure about your capital or investment cap

Decide on the kind of investment your business idea would require and how much you can afford to fork out. Once you know the kind of investment the idea entails, you can plan out your finance – i.e. raising funds, distributing capital, managing ROI and so on.

Share your idea 

Sharing your idea with like-minded and experienced professionals at CEO Clubs will help you get a reality check on how workable or feasible your idea is. If you are a member of a CEO Club or CEO association, you can thrash out your idea with other CEO peers who have had entrepreneurial experience from which you can gain valuable insights. The honest, no-strings attached opinions and feedback you get at a CEO Coaching not only helps you mature as a businessman but also boosts your confidence and widens your vision.            

Tips to Motivate Employees & Appreciate them

Appreciation is the biggest motivator for everyone. Everyone likes to be appreciated especially when they know they are working hard and contributing to the company's growth. Unfortunately most employers fail to understand the importance of appreciation.

Employees often feel that they are not being appreciated or their efforts are not being recognized. If such feelings persist, you stand to lose even your most loyal employees. Appreciating your employee doesn't harm anyone. Rather it works in the company's benefit. Check out the ways in which you can acknowledge your employees:

Applaud employees' efforts

Praise your employees whenever a job is done well. Acknowledge them for their hard work and contributions. Once in a while, send them a thank you note saying things like, “Well done. Great work.” All these little gestures indicate that their work is valued.

Make it a point, to praise an employee in front of other colleagues. If an employee has done something good, sharing the appreciation in front of others will not only motivate that particular employee, it will also encourage others to do better.

Even if the ideas given by the employees fail, appreciate them for the efforts they have put into creating those ideas or giving them shape. Keep encouraging your employees so that they keep coming up with new ideas. This will instill motivation and positive thinking in them. After all, winning is not important. Making the effort is.

Little rewards

If a certain project is delivered within deadline or if some department has excelled in a certain work, take them out for a lunch or a movie once in a while. Or gift them tickets to a concert. It is a great way to unwind and boost team work and bonding as well.

Be friendly

As a top person in your organization, you need to look beyond work and deadlines all the time. Ask your employees about their hobbies, families and how they spend weekend. It just shows that you value and care for your employees.

Bonus

Give your employees a bonus or an increment every once in a while. It indicates that you appreciate the excellent work done. If you notice a terrific improvement or a superb performance by an employee, you can offer them a raise or a give them a promotion.

Employees of the month recognition

Every month, you can choose an “Employees of the month”. You can dedicate a space in the office where you can place the picture of the employee of the month along with details about what accomplishment the concerned employee made to earn that reward.

To ensure harmony in your organization and to keep employees motivated, you can also consult experienced CEOs in CEO clubs or CEO associations to learn and understand how other entrepreneurs face and resolve such challenges and keep the morale of the employees high. 

Learn the Art of Retaining Employees

Recruiting employees is never easy. Retaining good employees is trickier.

One common refrain you will hear from your employees who are leaving the company for greener pastures is, “You know, I loved working here but I need better opportunities to grow and improve my skills”.  And you are left wondering, what are those opportunities that you missed giving and other companies offered to draw away your prized employees.

It can get frustrating when the most talented of your employees quit suddenly, especially those on whom you had invested quite a lot of time, resources and money.  Retaining the performing employees is critical for your company's growth and success. Here are a few tips for CEOs who are keen to retain the employees they have groomed and mentored:

Retain the right person

Not all employees are worthy of retention. Some departures might actually be a blessing in disguise as laggard employees are ones you can do without.

But there are employees who either have the necessary skills and performance capabilities or have been painstakingly trained and groomed by you to handle varied responsibilities.

When you are planning measures to retain employees, make sure you know which employees are assets for the company and you can thus have significant plans for them in the long run.

Let employees leave the difficult manager & not the company

Quite often, employees leave their job not because of the company but due to their differences with the manager. In such cases, you can allow employees to change departments and work with the managers they are comfortable to work with.

Give opportunities

Give opportunities to your employees to learn new things. As a CEO or a business leader, it is your responsibility to motivate your employees from time to time. You can assign them short term goals such as learning about new software or giving them a chance to lead a project. You can also make them undergo corporate executive coaching sessions to hone their skills.

Offer rewards

Pay your employees fairly. Money is the biggest motivator. From time to time, you can offer increments or bonuses to your employees. It is not just the money that can make you hold a strong grip on your employee. Even small rewards such as taking your employees out for a dinner or a movie can go a long way in strengthening bond. You don't need to indulge your employees all the time. Offer such rewards occasionally for a good job performance.

Be generous with compliments

Acknowledge your employees for the hard work they put in and compliment them. Treat them with respect. This will boost their morale and push them to perform better. Even when you criticize, be constructive about it and tactfully convey your message.

Be nice and yet assertive

Try to maintain a good rapport with your employees. As a CEO, you need to maintain a fine balance. Sharing a joke with employees is fun and healthy. But maintain a certain authority so that you are treated with respect.

You can learn the fine art of maintaining business relations and hone your leadership skills at a CEO club or a CEO corporate association. At CEO clubs, you get to mingle with experienced CEOs and presidents who can provide you guidance on retaining your employees and making your business a huge success.

Mastering the art of time management for a CEO

As a CEO, do you feel overwhelmed or totally stressed out at times, because of the work and complex situations you have to handle each day? Handling clients, conducting meetings, recruiting efficient staff, motivating employees – all of these can take a toll on anyone, especially on personal health and family life.

Being a CEO, handling heavy work pressure day after day can be taxing. Here are some tips to help you manage your time efficiently in office so that you are able to preserve your energy for healthy living and an enjoyable family life:

Plan

Maintain a to-do list in your diary. Plan your day in advance. This will give you a clear idea as to what you need to accomplish in that particular day. Besides planning and maintaining a dairy will help avoid confusions and enable you to complete more tasks than you thought you would.

Set your priorities right

Most importantly, learn to prioritize work. It might take some time, but it is essential to prioritize work according to their importance and urgency. When you fail to prioritize, you unknowingly waste a lot of your energy and precious time on things that don't need your immediate attention. Set your priorities right. It will help you remain focused.

Learn the art of delegation of work

As a CEO, you need to learn how to delegate your work. Managing all the work on your own can be exhausting for you. You need to learn to say no to tasks which can be managed by others. You need to have faith in others and delegate tasks to the right individuals. You can learn the art of delegating work by joining a CEO Club or CEO corporate association which provides corporate executive coaching. Proper delegation of work can reduce your stress and increase productivity.

Be realistic

Try to be realistic and break large tasks into small achievable goals. Handle one work at a time and give it your undivided attention. Besides, set realistic deadlines for your employees so that you get quality results in the end.

Keep a track record

Keep a thorough record of your undergoing projects. You can maintain a Microsoft Excel sheet which you must update regularly to keep a track on the progress of the targeted project. This will help you analyze how each project is going and what needs to be done to finish it within deadline.

Efficient time management is an art which every CEO must learn to master. You can join reliable CEO Clubs or CEO associations where you can meet experienced CEOs and like-minded people and learn the success secrets to take your business to higher level by managing time efficiently.

Tap into Linkedin for Expanding Your Network

Businesses now understand the importance of using Facebook and Twitter for marketing. However many small businesses have failed to tap the power and reach of Linkedin.com, the popular social networking site frequented by professionals, career aspirants, business owners, corporate leaders and self-employed people.

Linkedin can be a powerful tool for online marketing and business needs. Unlike Facebook, Linkedin is not merely a social networking site where you can post comments or pictures. Rather Linkedin is a huge network of influential people from around the world who are there to establish contacts with people relevant to their business.

Here is why you must utilize this powerful tool for your business:

Build contacts

Linked-in lets you build a strong network of contacts. You don't need to know the individual in person to get in touch with him/her. Either you can send an introductory message or ask a mutual contact to introduce you to the concerned person. So this way, you can meet potential clients, business providers and experts in your business.

Increased visibility

Having a profile on Linked-in increases your visibility and credibility. People are more likely to do business with you knowing that you have a good number of acquaintances on Linkedin which others also know and trust. Besides, Linkedin pages are also indexed by Google. So if your public profile on Linkedin has a high page-rank on Google, it works great for your business.

Get feedback

Whether you want to know about the feedback of your latest product or service, you can post your business related questions on Linkedin. The Answers feature on Linkedin allows you to share ideas, post questions to your connections and give suggestions. In short, you get instant feedback.

Hire new people

Linkedin is an effective platform for sourcing new talent. Whenever you require new people for your organization, you can easily search relevant profiles on Linkedin for recruiting people. This saves a lot of expenditure on discovering or searching for potential candidates.

Linkedin is one of the effective tools for marketing your business. As a CEO or a senior executive, you need to meet new people in business and learn from them. You can join a corporate executive coaching or executive business coaching sessions where you can meet experienced CEOs, presidents and senior executives and learn from their mistakes. You can share your fears without any hesitation as in an executive coaching as everything is confidential and get honest feedback.

Tips to Conduct a Business Meeting Effectively

Meetings are essential but not all meetings are always successful. You may have sometimes got a feeling after particularly stretched out meeting, “What a sheer waste of time. Now let’s get started on work.” Meetings can go off the track if you don't plan well in advance. As the CEO, you need to be thorough and well-prepared to chair a meeting. Here are some tips to help you conduct a meeting which is effective and leads to some fruitful results:

Set a time limit

Set a time limit for the meeting. And make sure to inform everyone attending the meeting about the start-time and end-time. Be precise and try to cover all the topics within the set time. Don't stretch the meeting for too long. It gets boring and is wastage of time as well. Stick to the topics you need to cover in a meeting within a set time limit. This helps you to be more productive as well. You can take inspiration from CEO peer groups or CEO clubs where exact topics are discussed and solutions are provided by the experts within the set time.

Set an agenda

Be sure what you want to discuss in a meeting and set a clear-cut agenda for that. Send a mail to the attendees informing them about the agenda of the meeting and the planned start and end time. This will save unnecessary time of explaining to attendees why they are in a meeting and what needs to be discussed. Besides everyone who has to attend the meeting will get an idea about the topic and can prepare or review any stuff that is to be discussed.

You need to prioritize things. If certain topics can be discussed later on, you should postpone such things till the next meeting.

Be clear about the objective of meeting

Having a discussion on a subject is not enough. As a CEO, you need to clearly outline the objective of the meeting. A meeting is futile if you just discuss about the issue. You need to emphasize what goals need to be achieved and the results you are expecting from the attendees. Assign responsibilities to certain people and set deadlines for them.

Invite executives who are crucial to meeting

Don't invite everyone to the meeting. As the CEO or a senior executive, you need to figure out which people are actually required for the meeting. Calling employees for a meeting who don't have any role to play in the meeting is a sheer waste of time for the employee and the organization too as a whole.

Sum-up

Summarize the meeting by reviewing the actions that need to be taken and targets that need to be accomplished. Besides, identify once again who will be responsible for which task.

Generally for CEOs and top-level senior executives, a good amount of time is spent in meetings, making strategies and in discussions. How you utilize your time in a meeting influences your organization's future and growth.

As a CEO, you need to keep improvising and learning new things to stay ahead of competition. You can join a CEO club or a corporate executive coaching where you can share your ideas with the other experienced CEOs from the non-competing industries and get practical solutions. Being in a CEO corporate association would help you understand how to conduct a meeting effectively and get maximum results.