Myth of the Business Plan

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSMZUojDUbJg2t_HNGHPsywZwmllhjx_8BEOCGhLOvnk_IwJuciqKzspu0chcN4jh1jQ17NTfEwOA_HW8wDAZeFLY9WDWMHW8Ybkqe3umi3Ijhc83AX7BsmxdNjOYa2jJ-Uu3Z3LIwO1c/s1600/myth-of-the-business-plan-703646.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5998094929977496690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjSMZUojDUbJg2t_HNGHPsywZwmllhjx_8BEOCGhLOvnk_IwJuciqKzspu0chcN4jh1jQ17NTfEwOA_HW8wDAZeFLY9WDWMHW8Ybkqe3umi3Ijhc83AX7BsmxdNjOYa2jJ-Uu3Z3LIwO1c/s320/myth-of-the-business-plan-703646.jpeg" /></a></p><div style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><h1 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:20px!important"><br></h1></div><div style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:5px 0px 20px;outline:none;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">What entrepreneur hasn't been told of the need for a written business plan? But most, when asked whether they have one, would cast a guilty look at their shoes. Well, fret no more. Continuing research at Babson College, regarded as having one of the top entrepreneurship programs in the country, finds no statistical correlation between a startup firm's ultimate revenue or net income and the supposedly requisite written business plan.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">"Some of the heroes of today's would-be entrepreneurs, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Michael Dell did not have business plans in hand when they embarked on ventures that changed the world," the study noted. Sadly, while the research debunked the business plan more than three years ago, the myth lingers.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Don't get me wrong. I'm all for having a<a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;color:rgb(54,89,119)" target="_blank">business plan</a> in the verb sense. I'm just not a big believer in the noun form. Writing a formal business plan invites the paralysis of analysis. It distracts the entrepreneur from slaying dragons and thinking big thoughts. And it's largely a waste of time. The result usually is a long-winded missive that's out of date almost the moment the ink dries.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Should you think through business planning issues such as how you're going to move from thought to action, how you're going to find customers and how you're going to pay the bills? Absolutely.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Should you agonize over writing everything down in a format that some scholarly journal says is the way to do it? "Unless you're entering a business plan competition, no," says Julian Lange, a co-author of the Babson study. "Your time would be better spent out on the street, learning all you can from potential customers."</p> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="10" width="220" style="margin:5px;padding:5px;outline:none;border-top-width:3px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-bottom-width:3px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);line-height:17px;font-size:12px"> <tbody style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><tr style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><td style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold"> If you Must Write One...</div><br>• Aim for your audience. An SBA pitch is different from one for Kleiner Perkins.<br><br>• Think "short attention span." Besides, if you can't say it in 15 to 20 pages, you don't really understand your business.<br> <br>• Write a killer executive summary. If it doesn't grab them in a page, two at the most, you've lost your reader.<br><br>• Don't obsess over the words. It's the thought(s) that count.<br><br>• Focus most of your attention on who's going to buy what you're selling and how you're going to reach them.<br> <br>• Focus the rest of your attention on the numbers. Offer well-researched and well-documented assumptions that the reader can believe. <em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">--K.L.</em></td></tr></tbody></table> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Won't lenders want to see a business plan? In my 10 years as a banker, I only saw one business plan, and it was out of date. In my eight years as a financing consultant and two decades as a business borrower, no lender has ever required one--at least not the kind you learn to write in business school. An SBA lender, for example, may request a business plan, but what it really wants are some cash flow projections.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Although the majority of unsolicited requests for venture capital are 30- to 100-page tomes, many of the deals that are financed shortcut the process with a killer executive summary and an introduction by a trusted advisor. No VC or private investor is going to walk away from a spectacular business concept and the wherewithal to turn it into a success just because there's no written plan.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">The biggest problem with business plans is that they offer pages of blah, blah, blah about the wonderfulness of the entrepreneur and the whiz-bang product followed by a few measly paragraphs about how every person in China is going to be a customer. Then pages of numbers promise huge returns but offer little more than wide-eyed guesses. The topper--if it's included--is the offer of a percentage of ownership based on an overblown estimate of the company's value.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Great business plans may earn you an A in business school, but in real life you only get A's for achievement. So stop dotting your i's and crossing your t's and go out there and slay something.</p> </div>

Myth of the Business Plan

What entrepreneur hasn't been told of the need for a written business plan? But most, when asked whether they have one, would cast a...

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Best Online Colleges for 2014

<div class="articleContentContainer displayBlock contentMarketingArticleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:24px"><h1 class="articleTitle" style="margin:0px;font-size:1.4em;line-height:1.4em"> <span style="font-size:16px;line-height:24px">If your New Year's resolutions include getting an education, but you're going to need to work around your job and family, an online education could be just what you need to keep your resolve.</span><br> </h1></div><div class="wikiContent" style="margin-bottom:0.75em;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;line-height:24px"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">To compile our list of the best online schools for 2014, we considered levels of programming available and variety of programs. We also researched whether online students had access to library resources, academic advisers and career services, as well as whether the schools had mobile applications, allowing you to attend classes, access course materials and take part in online discussions with your instructors and classmates while on the go.</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">As an added bonus, three of the six schools featured on our 'best of' list - American, DeVry and Walden universities - were named among G.I. Jobs' 2014 Military Friendly Schools. U.S. colleges, universities and trade/vocational schools are chosen for this list based on their support of active duty military and veterans who are pursuing an education. Flexibility and value are among factors taken into account.</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Keep reading to learn about program offerings and other features at our choices for the best online colleges for 2014.</p><p style="margin:0.5em 0px"></p><table class="wikitable" border="1" style="width:auto;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0px"> <tbody><tr class="odd" style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><th style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;background-color:rgb(205,203,185)">School</th><th style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;background-color:rgb(205,203,185)"> Mobile Applications</th><th style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;background-color:rgb(205,203,185)">Library Access</th><th style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;background-color:rgb(205,203,185)">Academic Advising</th> <th style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;background-color:rgb(205,203,185)">Career Services</th></tr><tr style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> <b>American University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">No</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td></tr><tr class="odd" style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> <b>DeVry University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> Yes</td></tr><tr style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> <b>Full Sail University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td></tr><tr class="odd" style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> <b>Grand Canyon University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> Yes</td></tr><tr style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> <b>Southern New Hampshire University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">No</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td></tr><tr class="odd" style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> <b>Strayer University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63);background-color:rgb(244,243,234)"> Yes</td></tr><tr style="font-family:helvetica,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:19px;font-size:0.85em"><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> <b>Walden University</b></td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)">Yes</td><td style="line-height:16px;font-size:0.85em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(63,63,63)"> Yes</td></tr></tbody></table><h3 id="section---InlineCompany746" class="articleSlider open" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowUp.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/American_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">American University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <div class="articleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">American University's MA in International Relations program with a concentration in sustainable international development prepares students to address global issues such as resource access and poverty. In addition to online courses that cover topics like inequality and global health, this program includes a capstone course that allows students to apply the professional skills they've developed to a research or policy project.</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Graduates of American University's master's program in international relations participate in the annual on-campus commencement ceremony and are full members of the AU and School of International Service alumni communities. They also receive personalized career services.</p> <hr></div><h3 id="section---InlineCompany23" class="articleSlider open" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowUp.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/DeVry_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">DeVry University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <h3 id="section---InlineCompany723" class="articleSlider" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowDown.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/Full_Sail_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">Full Sail University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <div class="articleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Full Sail University offers online education for creative minds, and we selected the university for its bevy of services for online students. This includes a career development program that begins the day you enroll and features help with networking, searching for a job and developing a portfolio and resume. The university also has a top-notch technical support team and offers a web-hosted platform where you can communicate with your fellow online students to discuss school as well as outside interests.</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Full Sail's fully online degree programs, which prepare students to work in media and entertainment, include more than a dozen bachelor's programs in areas like game design, media communications, and web design and development. The university also offers more than 10 master's programs in business intelligence, creative writing, and innovation and entrepreneurship, among other fields.</p> <hr></div><h3 id="section---InlineCompany153" class="articleSlider" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowDown.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/Grand_Canyon_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">Grand Canyon University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <div class="articleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Grand Canyon University offers great variety on the doctoral level, with online degree offerings in business and leadership, education, psychology, health care, nursing, and theology and youth ministry. You also can choose from the university's approximately four dozen master's programs and its nearly three dozen bachelor's programs. In addition to its various program levels and fields of study, we liked that Grand Canyon's online students take just one class at a time, allowing you to give your full attention to each course.</p> <hr></div><h3 id="section---InlineCompany727" class="articleSlider" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowDown.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/Southern_New_Hampshire_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">Southern New Hampshire University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <div class="articleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Southern New Hampshire University jumped out to us because it's won numerous awards, including a spot on Fast Company's 2012 list of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies. SNHU brings this innovation to its online degree programs and offers an impressive variety of nearly 100 undergraduate degree programs and dozens of master's programs, including over 40 MBA specialization options</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">The university also stands out for its 24/7 technical support, personalized academic advising and online tutoring as well as its merit-based grants and scholarships.</p><hr></div><h3 id="section---InlineCompany277" class="articleSlider" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowDown.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/Strayer_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">Strayer University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <div class="articleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Strayer University is a great choice if you're looking to save money on your online education. Through Strayer's Graduation Fund, bachelor's degree candidates can earn up to 10 free courses, one for every three courses they complete through the university. In addition to bachelor's programs, Strayer offers associate's and master's degrees, as well as a handful of certificate and diploma programs in business-related fields of study.</p> <hr></div><h3 id="section---InlineCompany173" class="articleSlider" style="margin:0px;font-size:1em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(153,153,153);border-top-width:1px;border-top-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0.25em"> <span class="sliderArrow" style="display:block;background-image:url(http://education-portal.com/images/mobile/greyArrowDown.gif);padding-right:1.5em;background-repeat:no-repeat no-repeat"><span><a href="http://education-portal.com/directory/school/Walden_University.html#tab0-page1" style="color:rgb(18,98,115);text-decoration:underline">Walden University</a><span></span></span></span></h3> <div class="articleContentContainer" style="padding:0.5em"><p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Walden University stood out because it offers both virtual residencies and virtual field experiences for students in some of its programs. Substituting virtual residencies for in-person residencies provides students with additional flexibility - a key quality for a top school.</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Walden also offers great variety in its online bachelor's, master's and doctoral offerings, with programs in counselor education and supervision, health services, human services, public health, business, psychology, public policy and administration, and education.</p> <p style="margin:0.5em 0px">Walden prizes interaction with faculty, and students can contact instructors by both email and phone. The university's learning environment is simple to use, especially its drop box for submitting assignments and receiving feedback</p> </div></div>

Best Online Colleges for 2014

If your New Year's resolutions include getting an education, but you're going to need to work around your job and family, an onlin...

Read more »

Building a Strategy Pyramid

<div class="Dtitle" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><h1 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><span style="font-size:20px">M</span><span style="font-size:20px!important;color:rgb(37,37,37);line-height:21px">arketing guru</span><span style="font-size:20px!important;color:rgb(37,37,37);line-height:21px"> </span><a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/05/alignment.html" style="font-size:20px!important;line-height:21px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;color:rgb(54,89,119)">Seth Godin</a><span style="font-size:20px!important;color:rgb(37,37,37);line-height:21px"> addressed alignment in a piece about iTunes falling over its own words and intentions. After reading it, I did a quick Google search on "strategic alignment," which brought up a lot of results and a lot of different meanings.</span><br> </h1></div><div id="article" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:5px 0px 20px;outline:none;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> To me, strategic alignment means lining up the details on the ground with the strategy up in the sky. For example, suppose a retail computer business says it focuses on "service seeker" small businesses. Revamping the physical location to create a long and inviting service counter is strategic alignment. Staffing it with friendly technicians in white service coats, like the auto dealers, is strategic alignment. Buying a white van with a huge sign on the side saying, "Installing Another System," is strategic alignment. Doing nothing but talking about it at meetings is not strategic alignment.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">It was strategic alignment, or the lack of it, that led me to develop the strategy pyramid back in the mid-'80s. I was consulting with the Latin American group of Apple Computer, led by Hector Saldana. I had done the group's annual business plan for three years when Saldana issued a challenge: "We want you to manage our annual plan again this year, but with a difference. This year we want you to sit with us the rest of the year and make sure we actually implement it."</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://m.entrepreneur.com/i/images/misc/article_images/strategy.jpg" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; border-width: 0px;" title=""></p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">The repeat business was, of course, good news, but there was a catch. The Apple Latin America group at that time was a collection of a couple dozen young, well educated, brilliant people. Saldana and I were the only ones over 30 years old. It was hard to keep that group focused. Strategy takes boring consistency to implement. The strategy was desktop publishing, but we'd been working with that for so long that multimedia was much more interesting--to the managers, but not to the market.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">So I came up with the strategy pyramid, which made it possible to track implementation and work on strategic alignment. We used it to build a database of business activities that we called "programs" and track them back up through tactics and strategy. One strategy, for example, was to emphasize desktop publishing. Tactics used included advertising, pricing of bundles and distribution channels. The detailed programs were things like advertising insertions, seminar marketing, bundling of hardware and software, and distributor pricing. Each program had a manager responsible, a start date, an end date and a budget. Sometimes the budget was zero, but there was room in the database for the amount.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">The result was strategic alignment. The next year we were able to sort and manage programs according to strategies and tactics. We could show a spending pie divided into pieces representing each of our strategic priorities. We could also track implementation to the level of specific tasks assigned to specific managers, with performance on start date, finish date and budget. In some cases we could even track sales back to projections in the plan. So seminar programs that began with sales projections had to live with sales results.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">You can use the strategy pyramid in your own planning. Focus on three or four main strategic priorities and build a conceptual pyramid for each one. Don't sweat the details like definitions of strategies and tactics; just make it work for you, in your business, with your pyramid. Do sweat the details like making programs with specific responsibilities, budgets and projected outputs when possible.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">You don't have to be a big company. Apple was a huge company to me in the mid-'80s, because it had more than 1,000 employees; yet the Latin American group had less than two dozen people. We made the pyramid work because we wanted to make it work; we wanted to build strategy, not just great parties.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Remember, good business planning is nine parts implementation for every one part strategy.</p></div>

Building a Strategy Pyramid

M arketing guru   Seth Godin  addressed alignment in a piece about iTunes falling over its own words and intentions. After reading it, I did...

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Plan Your Plan

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIjT9GPbEWQWQB9zHEJFeWOgtd2P9itZ41iDsBtg3nNf8TgmmIMwjmkIwYBZsQDklScKkYrjQ_Py4T6u2gzZzHZ9VhwV-FxoNn6GD3XLQCIzrW5ElJI_Q5NWdKOezEcxZVqBgEuOWwvpfJ/s1600/how-to-guide-60-great-how-to-sites-and-resources--c127b25536-789224.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5998091435446334898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIjT9GPbEWQWQB9zHEJFeWOgtd2P9itZ41iDsBtg3nNf8TgmmIMwjmkIwYBZsQDklScKkYrjQ_Py4T6u2gzZzHZ9VhwV-FxoNn6GD3XLQCIzrW5ElJI_Q5NWdKOezEcxZVqBgEuOWwvpfJ/s320/how-to-guide-60-great-how-to-sites-and-resources--c127b25536-789224.jpeg" /></a></p><div class="Dtitle" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><h1 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><span style="font-size:20px!important">Y</span><span style="font-size:20px!important;color:rgb(37,37,37);line-height:21px">ou've decided to write a business plan, and you're ready to get started. Congratulations. You've just greatly increased the chances that your business venture will succeed. But before you start drafting your plan, you need to--you guessed it--plan your draft.</span><br> </h1></div><div id="article" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:5px 0px 20px;outline:none;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> One of the most important reasons to plan your plan is that you may be held accountable for the projections and proposals it contains. That's especially true if you use your plan to raise money to finance your company. Let's say you forecast opening four new locations in the second year of your retail operation. An investor may have a beef if, due to circumstances you could have foreseen, you only open two. A business plan can take on a life of its own, so thinking a little about what you want to include in your plan is no more than common prudence.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Second, as you'll soon learn if you haven't already, business plans can be complicated documents. As you draft your plan, you'll be making lots of decisions on serious matters, such as what strategy you'll pursue, as well as less important ones, like what color paper to print it on. Thinking about these decisions in advance is an important way to minimize the time you spend planning your business and maximize the time you spend generating income.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">To sum up, planning your plan will help control your degree of accountability and reduce time-wasting indecision. To plan your plan, you'll first need to decide what your goals and objectives in business are. As part of that, you'll assess the business you've chosen to start, or are already running, to see what the chances are that it will actually achieve those ends. Finally, you'll take a look at common elements of most plans to get an idea of which ones you want to include and how each will be treated.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:16px">Determine Your Objectives</span></strong><br>Close your eyes. Imagine that the date is five years from now. Where do you want to be? Will you be running a business that hasn't increased significantly in size? Will you command a rapidly growing empire? Will you have already cashed out and be relaxing on a beach somewhere, enjoying your hard-won gains?</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Answering these questions is an important part of building a successful business plan. In fact, without knowing where you're going, it's not really possible to plan at all.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Now is a good time to free-associate a little bit--to let your mind roam, exploring every avenue that you'd like your business to go down. Try writing a personal essay on your business goals. It could take the form of a letter to yourself, written from five years in the future, describing all you have accomplished and how it came about.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">As you read such a document, you may make a surprising discovery, such as that you don't really want to own a large, fast-growing enterprise but would be content with a stable small business. Even if you don't learn anything new, though, getting a firm handle on your goals and objectives is a big help in deciding how you'll plan your business.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:16px"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Goals and Objectives Checklist</strong></span><br> If you're having trouble deciding what your goals and objectives are, here are some questions to ask yourself:</p><ol><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">How determined am I to see this succeed?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Am I willing to invest my own money and work long hours for no pay, sacrificing personal time and lifestyle, maybe for years?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What's going to happen to me if this venture doesn't work out?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">If it does succeed, how many employees will this company eventually have?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What will be its annual revenues in a year? Five years?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What will be its market share in that time frame?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Will it be a niche marketer, or will it sell a broad spectrum of good and services?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What are my plans for geographic expansion? Local? National? Global?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Am I going to be a hands-on manager, or will I delegate a large proportion of tasks to others?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">If I delegate, what sorts of tasks will I share? Sales? Technical? Others?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">How comfortable am I taking direction from others? Could I work with partners or investors who demand input into the company's management?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Is it going to remain independent and privately owned, or will it eventually be acquired or go public?</li></ol><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">It doesn't necessarily take a lot of money to make a lot of money, but it does take some. That's especially true if, as part of examining your goals and objectives, you envision very rapid growth.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Energetic, optimistic entrepreneurs often tend to believe that sales growth will take care of everything, that they'll be able to fund their own growth by generating profits. However, this is rarely the case, for one simple reason: You usually have to pay your own suppliers before your customers pay you. This <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/moneymanagement/index143938.html" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;color:rgb(54,89,119)">cash flow</a>conundrum is the reason so many fast-growing companies have to seek bank financing or equity sales to finance their growth. They are literally growing faster than they can afford.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Start by asking yourself what kinds of financing you're likely to need--and what you'd be willing to accept. It's easy when you're short of cash, or expect to be short of cash, to take the attitude that almost any source of funding is just fine. But each kind of financing has different characteristics that you should take into consideration when planning your plan. These characteristics take three primary forms:</p> <ul><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">First, there's the amount of control you'll have to surrender. An equal partner may, quite naturally, demand approximately equal control. Venture capitalists often demand significant input into management decisions by, for instance, placing one or more people on your board of directors. Angel investors may be very involved or not involved at all, depending on their personal style. Bankers, at the other end of the scale, are likely to offer no advice whatsoever as long as you make payments of principal and interest on time and are not in violation of any other terms of your loan.</li> </ul><ul><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">You should also consider the amount of money you're likely to need. Any amount less than several million dollars is too small to be considered for a standard initial public offering of stock, for example. Venture capital investors are most likely to invest amounts of $250,000 to $3 million. On the other hand, only the richest angel investor will be able to provide more than a few hundred thousand dollars, if that.</li> </ul><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Almost any source of funds, from a bank to a factor, has some guidelines about the size of financing it prefers. Anticipating the size of your needs now will guide you in preparing your plan.</p> <ul><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">The third consideration is cost. This can be measured in terms of interest rates and shares of ownership as well as in time, paperwork and plain old hassle.</li></ul><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Believe it or not, part of planning your plan is planning what you'll do with it. No, we haven't gone crazy--at least not yet. A business plan can be used for several things, from monitoring your company's progress toward goals to enticing key employees to join your firm. Deciding how you intend to use yours is an important part of preparing to write it.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><i style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Do you intend to use your plan to help you raise money?</i> In that case, you'll have to focus very carefully on the executive summary, the management, and marketing and financial aspects. You'll need to have a clearly focused vision of how your company is going to make money. If you're looking for a bank loan, you'll need to stress your ability to generate sufficient cash flow to service loans. Equity investors, especially venture capitalists, must be shown how they can cash out of your company and generate a rate of return they'll find acceptable.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><i style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Do you intend to use your plan to attract talented employees?</i> Then you'll want to emphasize such things as stock options and other aspects of compensation as well as location, work environment, corporate culture and opportunities for growth and advancement.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><i style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Do you anticipate showing your plan to suppliers to demonstrate that you're a worthy customer?</i> A solid business plan may convince a supplier of some precious commodity to favor you over your rivals. It may also help you arrange supplier credit. You may want to stress your blue-ribbon customer list and spotless record of repaying trade debts in this plan.</p> <h4 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:13px!important">Assessing Your Company's Potential</h4><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">For most of us, unfortunately, our desires about where we would like to go aren't as important as our businesses' ability to take us there. Put another way, if you choose the wrong business, you're going nowhere.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Luckily, one of the most valuable uses of a business plan is to help you decide whether the venture you have your heart set on is really likely to fulfill your dreams. Many, many business ideas never make it past the planning stage because their would-be founders, as part of a logical and coherent planning process, test their assumptions and find them wanting.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Test your idea against at least two variables. First, financial, to make sure this business makes economic sense. Second, lifestyle, because who wants a successful business that they hate?</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Answer the following questions to help you outline your company's potential. There are no wrong answers. The objective is simply to help you decide how well your proposed venture is likely to match up with your goals and objectives.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><b style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><i style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Financial:</i></b></p><ol><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"> What initial investment will the business require?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">How much control are you willing to relinquish to investors?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">When will the business turn a profit?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">When can investors, including you, expect a return on their money?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What are the projected profits of the business over time?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Will you be able to devote yourself full time to the business, financially?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What kind of salary or profit distribution can you expect to take home?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What are the chances the business will fail?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What will happen if it does?</li></ol><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> <b style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"><i style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Lifestyle:</i></b></p><ol><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Where are you going to live?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"> What kind of work are you going to be doing?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">How many hours will you be working?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Will you be able to take vacations?</li> <li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">What happens if you get sick?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Will you earn enough to maintain your lifestyle?</li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Does your family understand and agree with the sacrifices you envision?</li></ol></div>

Plan Your Plan

Y ou've decided to write a business plan, and you're ready to get started. Congratulations. You've just greatly increased the ch...

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Know Your Return on Innovation

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbOdD3OMH8i2Y-lpu1d_hbnswAwOPSeaBqlLBB7Zlamsv7xPsJ-dDASsItMMJFHGB_P6iyaKA0b6spYuVxXQuve-I3CYIGBqTNJ69Ak75hhsZrfo2nS8kygnDsblpUVlhPdNexuaRQ9P8/s1600/1396292187-6-things-never-say-employees-754932.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5998029012490856482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbOdD3OMH8i2Y-lpu1d_hbnswAwOPSeaBqlLBB7Zlamsv7xPsJ-dDASsItMMJFHGB_P6iyaKA0b6spYuVxXQuve-I3CYIGBqTNJ69Ak75hhsZrfo2nS8kygnDsblpUVlhPdNexuaRQ9P8/s320/1396292187-6-things-never-say-employees-754932.jpeg" /></a></p><div class="Dtitle" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><h1 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:20px!important"><span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-size:14px;line-height:21px">Eight months ago, employees at Handango had tons of concepts and plans but only few completed projects. "Very little was actually getting out to the consumer," says Bill Stone, 40, CEO of the 9-year-old Irving, Texas, company that provides content for wireless devices. "We suffered from too many ideas."</span><br> </h1></div><div id="article" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:5px 0px 20px;outline:none;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Welcome to 21st century innovation, where companies aren't lacking for ideas but are having trouble turning these ideas into profits. Only 43 percent of 332 executives in a recent Boston Consulting Group survey said that their companies track innovation as rigorously as their core business operations and business processes. "But what's interesting is that 3 out of 4 said 'We should,'" says James P. Andrew, a senior partner at The Boston Consulting Group and co-author of<em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation</em>. "So there's an acknowledgement out there that we need to be doing a better job of more rigorously managing innovation."</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">So how exactly are companies measuring innovation? The three most popular metrics are: 1) customer satisfaction, 2) percentage of sales from new products and services, and 3) overall revenue growth. The problem is that these metrics may not tell the whole story. A different BCG/BusinessWeek survey, released in August, of nearly 3,000 executives found that only 43 percent were happy with the returns on their innovation spending--a 9 percent drop since 2006--and fewer executives wanted to increase spending on innovation. "That's a real concern," says Andrew.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Company leaders are searching for the one innovation measurement that will tell them everything, but Mark Johnson, co-founder and chairman of innovation strategy consulting firm Innosight and co-author of<em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">The Innovator's Guide to Growth: Putting Disruptive Innovation to Work</em>, thinks businesses tend to break down when they obsess over a single metric. "So many companies will say, 'Well, what are the gross margins?' and they'll be laser-focused on the gross margins and everything else [becomes] secondary," he says. "They'll be focused on too short a list of metrics."</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Stone has come to rely on two metrics: First, he looks at Handango's return on investment for future product development. Second, he compares the company's "business as usual" scenario to the potential revenue from new projects. Ideas that make it past the brainstorming and prototyping stages are managed to meet small milestones that keep everyone motivated and deliverables on track. "What I see in the innovation process is that people lose interest in the execution," says Stone, who projects sales of more than $1 million this year. "You have to have milestones and celebrate them."</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Measuring decision-making speed, how much time employees spend on innovation and the time it takes to reach project checkpoints can be easy ways for small firms to see how they're doing. Trying too hard to measure everything, however, gets in the way of innovation. "If you have 20 innovation metrics, you have none; nobody is actively tracking 20 things in their brain," says Tom Kelley, general manager of industrial design and human factors firm Ideo and co-author of <em style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">The Art of Innovation</em>. "You want the kinds of things that everybody in the company can hold in their brain when they show up for work in the morning." BCG's surveys have found that most companies follow no more than five innovation metrics.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Stone wishes a single number could tell him everything about Handango's innovation efforts, but measuring the right things is most important. "We'll pick two or three metrics that make sense," he says. "They've got good strategic fit with what we're trying to do. We'll look at it, make a decision and go."</p> </div>

Know Your Return on Innovation

Eight months ago, employees at Handango had tons of concepts and plans but only few completed projects. "Very little was actually getti...

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4 Critical Traits of Great Leaders

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjQo67oZUG7hkK3v6Dug_wkFISIlHbPoMrRMKe-O0V6bHUdFX29-WMwGmNektXDJPysMB_VPxw68PchIbDM8Ix7cSSV2uRqJEF0oQRHvoFfiGWgbpV-mCSvoGbTQaI-1KkNi6TqIHYvbX/s1600/1395789516-4-critical-traits-great-leaders-mahatma-gandhi-2-727988.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5998028036740691714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjQo67oZUG7hkK3v6Dug_wkFISIlHbPoMrRMKe-O0V6bHUdFX29-WMwGmNektXDJPysMB_VPxw68PchIbDM8Ix7cSSV2uRqJEF0oQRHvoFfiGWgbpV-mCSvoGbTQaI-1KkNi6TqIHYvbX/s320/1395789516-4-critical-traits-great-leaders-mahatma-gandhi-2-727988.jpeg" /></a></p><div class="Dtitle" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><h1 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:20px!important"><span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-size:14px;line-height:21px">Most of us strive to become leaders. We want to do something great, be respected by our peers, make more money and acquire more responsibility. Overall, we want to make a difference at our job. However, most of us simply don’t know the proper way to gain heightened respect, confidence and admiration from those whom we work with.</span><br> </h1></div><div id="article" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:5px 0px 20px;outline:none;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> In reality, there is no simple answer to leadership. It takes devotion, time and patience. Most importantly, it takes knowledge.</p><h3 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:16px!important"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">A firm understanding of leadership</strong></h3> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Without a firm understanding of what makes someone more influential, you cannot begin to alter your beliefs, and practices accordingly.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Though, once aware of the traits that make someone more authoritative, you can formulate a plan to improve upon lacking areas and alter the behaviors preventing you from achieving management and executive status.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Below, you’ll find a list of traits that our sales and marketing headhunters look for in leaders, along with some exercises to enhance your influence and responsibility at work.</p><h3 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:16px!important"> <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Defining the traits of leadership</strong></h3><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">1. Strength</strong> - Begin to carry yourself with poise and confidence. People are drawn to confidence and shy away from nervousness, lack of authenticity and insecurity.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">How you feel about yourself will dictate your ability to lead and command authority. Essentially, if you don’t feel you’re important and deserving, don’t expect your co-workers to.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">If you have come across as anxious and unassertive with your co-workers in the past, don’t focus on these shortcomings.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Your co-workers, like anyone else will have a short memory and so should you. From now on, think of the prior experiences as a learning tool rather than a future forecaster.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> With that being said, here are some exercises on how to increase self-confidence and perceived strength:</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">a.</strong> Challenge the negative beliefs you have about yourself. Instead of focusing all your energy on what you don’t like about you, give equal weight to all your positive qualities.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">b.</strong> Focus on past successes rather than failures. Don’t mull over what you’ve done incorrectly. It’s more productive to think about all the things you’ve done right in the past. Reinforce these thoughts repeatedly.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">c.</strong> Stop always needing to be right. Understand there is nothing shameful about past work mistakes.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">d.</strong> Stop looking to others for acceptance and happiness. Learn that you don’t need anyone’s approval for your own self-confidence.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">e. </strong>The recruiters at <a href="http://www.kasplacement.com/recruiting-locations/st-louis-recruitment/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;color:rgb(54,89,119)" target="_blank">KAS Placement</a>strongly suggest that you let go of any anger that you are holding on to. Anger and resentment will prove a significant barrier to you becoming a leader at work.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">2. Positive Energy</strong> - Leaders show positive energy and optimism, showering their people with a can-do attitude. This outlook draws co-workers to them and paves the way for influence, respect and admiration from others.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">In terms of leadership, positive energy has a multitude of benefits and is nothing short of a crucial component.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> When you’re positive, you think in terms of solutions, not problems, you inspire risk taking, tend to be more resilient and think more clearly.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Moreover, you are more assertive and your candor allows for quicker, more open communication amongst the other employees. This is the foundation of strong leadership.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">3. Passion</strong> - Being passionate about your job means possessing a heartfelt, deep and authentic excitement about work. This excitement is infectious and naturally will draw others to your way of thinking.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">People follow positivity, effectiveness, intelligence and resiliency. All of which are byproducts of loving what you do.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> Until you learn to love work, you can’t hope to display the necessary positive energy leadership requires.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Either proactively search for the perfect employment or train yourself to become more passionate in your current job. Regardless, make a firm decision to stay or leave and follow through with it.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">Here are a few ways how to increase your passion for work:</strong></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">a.</strong> Increase your performance. Leaders do everything possible to increase the effectiveness of their work. They put in the extra time and sincerely enjoy what they do partly because others admire their efforts.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">b.</strong> Think about what is going right rather than obsessing about your problems. Understand that no job is going to be perfect and create a reality that is more upbeat and success focused.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">c.</strong> Stop focusing on what people “owe” you and begin focusing on what you can do to standout.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">4. Selflessness</strong> - Leaders are selfless. They are more interested in group achievements as opposed to chasing their own goals.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> By consistently pouring out encouragement, caring and recognition, your co-workers will become more drawn to you. Regardless of whether or not you are management, take every opportunity to inject self-confidence into those who earned it.</p> <h3 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:16px!important">In the end</h3><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Most significant things at work and in life require work, study and most important, practice. Leadership is no different. Understand that no one is born a leader. Rather, they decide to mold themselves into one.</p> </div>

4 Critical Traits of Great Leaders

Most of us strive to become leaders. We want to do something great, be respected by our peers, make more money and acquire more responsibili...

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7 Things You Should Never Say to Your Employees

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPru28Xm0h540JGTHAzfvgzT8sld6CdMksfRs3CqOFoaRdhyLfhTSbFEbCeo5mHzeZpr4Hy229dBUcoKRp5o2vmqsj3mHdIySH0FO1s7paRbtAM6bB0lna256kV9jeJWxJO0Rz9vHy80TF/s1600/1396292187-6-things-never-say-employees-798468.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5998025762947749922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPru28Xm0h540JGTHAzfvgzT8sld6CdMksfRs3CqOFoaRdhyLfhTSbFEbCeo5mHzeZpr4Hy229dBUcoKRp5o2vmqsj3mHdIySH0FO1s7paRbtAM6bB0lna256kV9jeJWxJO0Rz9vHy80TF/s320/1396292187-6-things-never-say-employees-798468.jpeg" /></a></p><div class="Dtitle" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:medium"><h1 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:20px!important"><span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-size:14px;line-height:21px">When</span><span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-size:14px;line-height:21px"> </span><a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/managing-employees" style="font-size:14px;line-height:21px;margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none;color:rgb(54,89,119)">managing employees</a><span style="color:rgb(37,37,37);font-size:14px;line-height:21px">, sometimes your patience is tested by a lack of motivation, a resistance to what you’re asking or one or more ‘problem’ workers. And just because you’re the boss does not mean you're perfect. Sometimes we all say things we regret later.</span><br> </h1></div><div id="article" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:5px 0px 20px;outline:none;line-height:21px;font-size:14px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"> But, unlike the average worker, it’s incumbent upon the boss to keep his nose clean when it comes to verbal communication. You don’t have the luxury of saying something off the cuff when you’re frustrated. The last thing you want is for your verbal missteps to demotivate your staff, causing even bigger problems for your organization.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none">Here are seven phrases to especially avoid, especially in the heat of the moment. An instant reactive comment can cause reputational damage and destroy any trust your employees have in you, which can take a lifetime to repair.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"I’m the boss. Do as I say." </strong>We’re all adults here. You can’t expect that your employees will take to your hypocrisy. If you are setting different standards for your employees than you have for yourself, you can’t expect that they will respect what you ask them to do.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"You’re lucky to have a job." </strong>If that’s how you really feel about any of your employees, then perhaps you’re the one who’s lucky to have a job. No one works well in an environment where they are made to feel like somehow they’re indebted to their employer. If it’s not working out with a particular employee then be a professional and deal with the issues at hand. Find a way to correct them or part ways with him immediately. The mentality that your employee should “kiss your ring” is immature and evidence that you lack leadership skills.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"If you don’t like it, I’ll find someone who does." </strong>As the manager, you call most of the shots, but that doesn’t give you a license to be a jerk. Anyone can call herself a manager or the boss, but a good one will use leadership skills to motivate employees and deliver results. Threatening employees with losing their jobs, as a way to get them to do what you want, is not sustainable. Sure, they may do what you demand at first, but eventually they will become demotivated and unwilling to do more than the bare minimum to get by. And that’s if they don’t quit first.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"Why are you the only one who has a problem with this?" </strong>If we are talking about an employee who is always resistant or who has performance issues, then address those immediately. If you’re talking about an employee who is relatively cooperative, who is giving you a hard time over a particular situation, then perhaps the problem is that you’re unwilling to listen to her concerns or alternative ideas. Or maybe she's just having a bad day. Whatever the issue, don’t assume she is being obstinate for no reason and definitely don’t ask the above question. Never compare employees. It’s like comparing your children -- also a bad idea.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"I don’t have time for this." </strong>Are you serious? You’re the BOSS. It’s your job to make time. Rather than flat-out rejecting your employee’s request for your time, block out a few minutes in the near future when you can give your employee your undivided attention.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"You have no idea what stress is." </strong>Everyone has his own stress. Just because you’ve decided that yours is greater than everyone else’s, doesn’t mean it is and doesn’t give you the right to discount others’.</p> <p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;outline:none"><strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:none">"Do you see my name on that door?"</strong> Yeah, so what? True that you may have built this business from the ground up or that you’ve invested your money and time into making this enterprise what it is today. But you’re not G-d and throwing your weight around is not a productive way to get employees to buy in. Without your employees, good luck servicing your clients or customers by yourself.</p> </div>

7 Things You Should Never Say to Your Employees

When   managing employees , sometimes your patience is tested by a lack of motivation, a resistance to what you’re asking or one or more ‘pr...

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How to clean your computer monitor

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1gjfJqsFufJ82aqYJJX3811dBB6HgUKhNVsTNA4tcLJ_1j0NTT_Yj0KesPbiIl-dhdimGEgDyHDcyfs1GN5v84fWdczSXTg7tYtQea3fY5Z8BXsesEiZycbqAzSHsvCRYf5hOK-nwTZE/s1600/dell-4k-monitor-550x0-746115.jpeg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5997775140327582722" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1gjfJqsFufJ82aqYJJX3811dBB6HgUKhNVsTNA4tcLJ_1j0NTT_Yj0KesPbiIl-dhdimGEgDyHDcyfs1GN5v84fWdczSXTg7tYtQea3fY5Z8BXsesEiZycbqAzSHsvCRYf5hOK-nwTZE/s320/dell-4k-monitor-550x0-746115.jpeg" /></a></p><h1 class="post-title beta" style="font-size:28px;margin:0px 0px 18px;line-height:36px;font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px">Your computer screen is going to get dirty. That’s just an unavoidable fact of life, unless you live in a totally sanitized environment or something like John Travolta in that</span><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px"> </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5a9ge8LKb4" style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px;color:rgb(96,120,144)">’70s made-for-TV movie</a><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px">. You probably don’t though, and that’s okay. We’ve got you covered with some pointers on how to keep your screen clean.</span><br> </h1><h4 style="font-size:18px;margin:18px 0px 1.33em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif"> Step 1: Turn Off the Monitor</h4><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">First of all, it’s easier to see smudges and stuff on a black screen, so turning off your monitor makes it easier to see what you are doing. It’s also safer for you and for your computer: cleaning your monitor while its on and the pixels are all fired up could damage your screen or potentially give you an unpleasant electrical jolt. So, turn it off!</p> <h4 style="font-size:18px;margin:18px 0px 1.33em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif"> Step 2: Clean the Casing and Frame</h4><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">If you’re going to clean your computer’s monitor, you might as well clean the whole thing. Spray Windex or some other gentle cleaning product onto a cloth and wipe the casing, frame, and keyboard. Don’t spray directly onto the computer though: you could accidentally get Windex on your monitor, which would be bad. Windex is ammonia-based, and ammonia (along with alcohol) can seriously damage your screen by stripping it of anti-reflective coating or by causing it to cloud up.  Use a Q-tip to clean spaces you can’t reach with the cloth.</p> <h4 style="font-size:18px;margin:18px 0px 1.33em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif">Step 3: Wipe Monitor with Cloth</h4><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">Do <em style>not</em> use paper towels. Paper towels are meant to clean up spills around the house–if you look at them super closely, they are fuzzy and abrasive. They can mess up the finely crafted, delicate piece of technology that is your computer’s monitor. So, use a clean cloth instead. Do you wear glasses? If so, use the cloth that you get whenever you go in for a new pair of glasses, known as a microfiber cloth. If you don’t wear glasses, find a friend who does and be all, “Gimme your cloth, yo.” Just kidding, don’t do that. Instead, buy some microfiber cloth, which you can get at Bed Bath & Beyond or any home-supply store. Microfiber cloth won’t scratch your monitor and it won’t leave behind any lint residue, so it’s perfect. Wipe the monitor with a dry cloth in broad, straight strokes, pressing as lightly as possible. Then, dampen the cloth with water and wipe again until all the smudges and grime are gone.</p> <h4 style="font-size:18px;margin:18px 0px 1.33em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif">Step 4: Create Your Own Monitor Cleaner</h4><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">If you have a stubbornly dirty monitor to deal with, you can make your own cleaning solution by mixing white vinegar and water in equal proportions. This will be strong enough to get rid of the worst of smudges but mild enough to not damage the screen. Dampen a microfiber cloth with this homemade concoction and wipe as normal. <strong style>Again, do not use ammonia- or alcohol-based cleaners!</strong></p> <h4 style="font-size:18px;margin:18px 0px 1.33em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif">Step 5: Let It Dry</h4><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">Gently dry your monitor with a microfiber cloth or let nature do the work for you. To avoid any moisture or electrical damage, make sure your screen is completely dry before turning your computer back on.</p> <h3 style="font-size:22px;margin:18px 0px 1em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif">Your screen is now clean. Enjoy!</h3><br>

How to clean your computer monitor

Your computer screen is going to get dirty. That’s just an unavoidable fact of life, unless you live in a totally sanitized environment or s...

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How to sell (almost anything) on Amazon

<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYauYozhUFdK8lwJRW-5-4hf61fBorsd6gksLVLuzWgGdHJxJ0w_4GvbVvkzwKECmVv8n7Nas7XeCydlDqCUlIxhlo7H6dA5UKPwYkREYuqCPe8jLlbt0Mu6uo6rvYWzB7O_bs4L5w1Fq/s1600/how-to-sell-on-amazon-copy-650x0-786862.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5997774026202162898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYauYozhUFdK8lwJRW-5-4hf61fBorsd6gksLVLuzWgGdHJxJ0w_4GvbVvkzwKECmVv8n7Nas7XeCydlDqCUlIxhlo7H6dA5UKPwYkREYuqCPe8jLlbt0Mu6uo6rvYWzB7O_bs4L5w1Fq/s320/how-to-sell-on-amazon-copy-650x0-786862.png" /></a></p><h1 class="post-title beta" style="font-size:28px;margin:0px 0px 18px;line-height:36px;font-weight:normal"><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px">Move over Craigslist, there is a less sketchy way to sell things on the Internet and it’s called Amazon. You know Amazon, the little company capable of </span><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/amazon-patented-anticipatory-shipping-system-predicts-orders/" style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px;color:rgb(96,120,144)">predicting the future</a><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px"> and</span><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px"> </span><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/amazon-prime-air/" style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px;color:rgb(96,120,144)">currently prepping for drone-based delivery</a><span style="font-size:13px;line-height:18px">? As with anything, there are different advantages and disadvantages to selling through Amazon opposed to classified sites such Craigslist and the auction-oriented eBay. While eBay and Amazon have a similar selection of products — which includes pretty much everything — eBay is better suited for collectibles and one-of-a-kind items difficult to find elsewhere. Specific items may be harder to find with Craigslist, such as certain records or films, but it remains the best option for picking up that swanky, fur-lined rug or General Electric mini fridge (everyone needs one right?).</span><br> </h1><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">Unlike Craigslist, eBay and other used-gear retailers, Amazon offers a set price for any one item. Bartering a la Craigslist isn’t an option with the Seattle retail behemoth, and an item’s price doesn’t fluctuate based on the number of people fighting for it as it does with eBay. It’s a nice perk as it guarantees a set amount of money for an item, however, depending on how high the price is set, it can also deter people from purchasing said item. Moreover, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=513058" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)">Amazon’s pricing options</a> are nowhere near as robust as those for sites like eBay. The latter, for instance, allows buyers to use credit and debit cards in addition to PayPal, whereas Amazon deals exclusively with credit, debit, and gift cards. Obviously, neither Amazon or eBay accept cash payments — or any other type of “negotiable” payment for that matter — the way Craigslist does.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">However, Amazon does let you forgo direct buyer interaction. All transactions are carried out directly through the site, so there’s no need to worry about someone leaving you horrendous seller feedback or having to set up a public meetings in the parking lot of your local Safeway. It’s a safer solution, one guaranteeing your money if you don’t mind dealing with shipping and handling. If you are looking for an efficient way to sell online, read on to see how to set up an account with Amazon.</p> <h3 style="font-size:22px;margin:18px 0px 1em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif">Set up</h3><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">First thing’s first, you will need a <a href="http://services.amazon.com/services/soa-approval-category.htm?ld=NSGoogleAS" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)">Amazon Seller’s account </a> to sell anything on the site.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 1</strong> — Unless you already have an Amazon account, create a username and password. Then decide whether you want to be a professional or individual seller. The individual plan is best for those who only intend to sell a few items, while the professional plan is catered for those selling in bulk. The individual plan is entirely free, but the professional plan runs a monthly subscription fee of $40 given professional sellers are typically selling at a higher volume. An individual account should suffice for most users, after all, not everyone needs access to Amazon’s API functions and inventory management feeds.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 2</strong> —<strong style> </strong>Add credit card information for a smooth transaction. A $4 charge will be applied to your account while Amazon verifies the card with your respective bank, but once verified, the money will be returned.  The only other time the card will be charged is if Amazon detects you didn’t complete an exchange, thus keeping would-be scammers at bay.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_setupstep1.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Credit Card Information" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532333" height="253" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_setupstep1-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a></p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 3</strong> — Add seller information detailing your desired display name, appropriate address and other pertinent information necessary for a valid transaction.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_setupstep2.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Seller Information" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532335" height="234" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_setupstep2-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a></p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 4</strong> — Verify said information. First, enter your phone number and click the yellow <em style>Call me Now </em>button. You’ll receive a call from Amazon shortly, and when prompted, enter the PIN number appearing on your screen on your phone prior to hanging up. Once finished, you should see a verification message on your computer indicating you’re ready to begin selling on Amazon.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_setupstep3.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Identity Verification" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532336" height="173" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_setupstep3-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a></p> <h3 style="font-size:22px;margin:18px 0px 1em;line-height:27px;font-family:sans-serif">Create a Listing</h3><p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif">Now that you’ve gotten your account information squared away, it’s time to write a listing for the item you’re attempting to sell. </p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 1 —</strong> Search for the product you want to sell.  There’s consistently a high volume of merchandise being posted and sold given the sheer amount of Amazon sellers using the site, so ensure your particular box set of <em style>Golden Girls</em> isn’t stocked to the brim already. Amazon functions akin to most used-gear retailers, meaning it’s rooted in a supply-and-demand economy. The more available offerings of one particular item, the lower the asking price will typically be. </p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_listingstep1.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Add a Product for Sale" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532374" height="175" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_listingstep1-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a></p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 2 </strong>— Afterward, Amazon will provide you with a list of items matching your specific search inquiry. If the product you wish to sell makes the list, click the yellow <em style>Sell Yours </em>button on the right-hand side of the page. If not, opt for the <em style>Create a new product </em>option<em style> </em>at the top and create your own product listing based on the item’s specifics. </p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_listingstep2.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="list of similar items on sale at Amazon" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532381" height="306" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_listingstep2-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a><strong style>Step 3</strong> — Once you’ve chosen either the product you’re selling or created a new category, it’s time to nail down the details. Fill out the product detail sheet with the correct information, ensuring an honest answer when you select the appropriate condition for the item you’re selling. Be honest with yourself, those bright-orange Nike Air Max should be considered “Used-Good,” not “Used-Very Good.” If you’ve chosen a product that already exists on the site, the photos and product descriptions will automatically be included in the product listing.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_listingstep3.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Product Details on Amazon" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532395" height="275" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_listingstep3-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a></p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 4 </strong>— Choose a price. The work sheet will offer the lowest price available for your item. You can either choose to match said price or fill in your own. Generally, it’s best to choose a price lower than those pertaining to already-listed items of the same nature, as it will increase your chances of underselling the competition and subsequently landing a buyer.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_listingsprice.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Listing: choosing your price" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532402" height="159" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_listingsprice-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a><strong style>Step 5</strong> — Note the required processing fees. Individual sellers are required to pay a referral fee hovering around 6 to 25 percent, along with a 99-cent fee per item. The latter is waived for professional sellers.</p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_listingshipping.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Listing: Shipping options" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532410" height="144" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_listingshipping-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a><strong style>Step 6</strong> — Once your listing is properly filled out, click the <em style>Finish</em> button and watch your item come to life. Exact processing time may vary, so don’t worry your listing takes 15 or 20 minutes to appear on Amazon. Also, you can always go back and edit any part of your product listing from within the Seller’s page of the Manage tab. </p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif;text-align:center"><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/amazon_fina.jpg" style="color:rgb(96,120,144)"><img alt="Amazon Product Listing" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-532412" height="125" src="http://img.digitaltrends.com/image/amazon_fina-625x625.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; border-width: 0px; display: block; clear: both; margin: 18px auto;" width="625"></a></p> <p style="margin:0px auto 9px;font-size:13px;line-height:18px;font-family:sans-serif"><strong style>Step 7</strong> — You’ll receive an email from Amazon, with proper shipping instructions and printable label, once a buyer purchases and appropriately pays for your listed item. It’s as simple as that — and all without actual human interaction. Let’s chalk it up to another wonder of modern technology. </p>

How to sell (almost anything) on Amazon

Move over Craigslist, there is a less sketchy way to sell things on the Internet and it’s called Amazon. You know Amazon, the little company...

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