Would You Hire a Carpenter Who Never Measures? — Progress through Measurements of What to Work on
If you think you measure enough in your business, you may be wrong. Why? Do you know how much time you spend on important tasks? Do you know whether you are doing that tasks in the best way? Here’s more.
One CEO tells a Peter Drucker story about measurements that may fit you. Drucker had presented a seminar on personal improvement to the CEO’s U.S. Air Force group years earlier.
Each man was instructed to measure in great detail how he spent his time for a week. The CEO found this task to be a life-changing experience.
The measurements revealed all of his bad habits and put the CEO on guard to avoid those bad habits in the future. Unfortunately, this CEO’s example is rarely followed. Few want to know how they spend their time or what their output is.
Try this exercise for yourself: You don’t have to be a CEO to benefit.
Measure how much time you spend each week on the telephone, doing each routine task, commuting, watching reruns on television, and so forth. Then look at how much you accomplished. You will see that measurements can help redirect your efforts into more productive activities.
A Perpetual Measuring Machine
Visitors to the finance and data processing staffs of a large company were astonished to note that each cubicle’s walls were literally covered with performance measurements. The idea was to encourage more focus on expanding productivity. Almost all of the measurements had been developed by the workers for their own use. By looking at each others’ measurements, staff members could see how well they were doing in comparison. People pitched in to help lower performers improve so that everyone could earn department-wide, performance-based bonuses.
How did they do? Personal productivity gains of 25 percent were not unusual. Furthermore, corporate productivity in these same areas grew by a similar degree. By comparison, most organizations shoot for 2 to 3 percent annual productivity increases. Those low targets telegraph to everyone that they can take it easy.
End Results Versus Causes
Management of a luxury hotel chain learned that guests were dissatisfied because it took too long for room service breakfast orders to arrive.
The chain jumped in to solve the problem. It added more room service waiters. It even added more kitchen staff. But the situation got worse, not better.
Finally, they looked at how long it took for a waiter to make a delivery and return to the kitchen. Wait! Here was something.
The round trips took much too long. Management asked the room service waiters why. The bottleneck was quickly spotted. The waiters were delayed by as much as eight minutes by slow elevator arrivals at the kitchen and the guest room floors.
What was going on? Housekeepers were delivering a day’s worth of clean sheets and towels at the same time. Since housekeepers had to unload large amounts of linen on each floor, they usually stopped the elevators while the unloading occurred.
Understanding the cause, linen deliveries were rescheduled to another time. Room-service complaints dropped to near zero.
With enough of the right measurements to find the causes of your performance, you’ll soon be working on the right things, too.
Almost Perfect Is Often Not Good Enough
After many American manufacturers found that their quality badly lagged non-American competitors in the 1980s, quality improvement became an obsession. Soon, many companies were bragging that they performed at Six Sigma levels (hardly any errors per million activities).
Closer examination suggested that some of these companies had missed the boat. They had only achieved being nearly perfect in delivering outmoded offerings.
Motorola, for instance, the renowned Six Sigma innovator, saw its profits evaporate in the 1990s when the company fell behind Nokia and others in delivering new digital technologies to the market.
Some companies also didn’t know how to measure their performance.
They broke down every process into hundreds of aspects. Each aspect was measured for performance. Sure enough, almost all aspects were done perfectly more than 99.9 percent of the time.
Everyone was smiling … except the customers. As measured by what customers cared about, deliveries were deficient almost half the time. What was going on? It turns out that those little errors across hundreds of aspects compound and can cumulatively hit the customer hard. The firm should have been primarily measuring its ultimate performance for customers and then looking selectively into detail to locate where large strides could be made.
STALLBUSTERS
Use Measurements to Improve Your Personal Effectiveness
Ask yourself the following questions to better allocate your time and efforts:
1. How could I avoid having to do the least productive tasks at all and get better results?
2. How else could I have gotten these tasks done to get better results in less time?
3. How could I delegate these tasks to others for better results?
4. How could I inexpensively automate these tasks and meet my purposes?
5. When was I effective?
6. Why was I effective then?
7. When was I ineffective?
8. Why was I ineffective then?
9. How much time am I spending on time wasters?
10. How could I better spend the time I use on time wasters?
11. What will be the benefits to me and others of spending my time in these more productive areas?
Use Measurements to Improve the Effectiveness of Others
After you have acted on the answers to your personal improvement questions, you will be prepared to be credible as a helpful coach to others, especially with the answers to the following questions:
1. How can you interest other people in measurements?
2. How can you help others set up and use helpful measurements?
3. How can the message about the value of properly using measurements be spread even further?
Answer these questions and act on what you learn, and you’ll be soon making lots of breakthroughs.
Donald Mitchell is coauthor of six books including The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook. Learn about creating breakthroughs through 2,000 percent solutions by registering for free at
http://www.2000percentsolution.com .
Forex Demo Account - What You Need To Know
Newcomers to the Forex or stock market need time to be able to learn and comprehend the details of trading. Having a Forex demo account is an excellent method for rookies that are new to the investment world. Having a Forex demo account is where the newbie learns not to fumble away his or her investments.
Having a Forex demo account is where the newbie learns not to fumble away his or her investments. You always hear stories about traders losing money in the Forex market. Forex demo trading is a method whereby you can reduce the number of these stories. This technique allows the new investor the ability to practice without putting their investments in jeopardy. You do not have to pay anything for the Forex software as it is free and is readily available to any new traders that are looking to gain experience and knowledge in the Forex market.
Forex demo trading is all about learning how to be successful. It does not take the place of you having to have a trading plan or of technical and fundamental analysis. What Forex demo trading does is to test the waters by putting your own research to the test as well as a plan so that you are sure that you understand just what it takes to invest in the Forex market. Forex trading is a refined skill and it forces investors to master a very high level of expertise.
Large amounts of money can be made or lost in the Forex market. With this form of investing, you can lose a lot more money than what you had originally invested. Just like the NFL, the stakes are high so training is of the utmost importance.
Many of the brokerage companies that are involved in Forex trading have demo accounts readily available. Some of them are free and some may require a small fee. However, the fee that is paid is usually well worth it because a Forex trader can use his knowledge and skills to make vast profits after spending some time practicing with a Forex demo account.
You can easily and quickly set up a Forex demo account through a broker. You can always go online and find a great number of companies that are ready and willing to help the new student trader set up an account so as to enhance his or her trading skills. It is always a smart thing to know what you are doing no matter what game you are playing. Forex trading can be likened to an advanced financial game.
If there is any hesitation, then a Forex demo account is definitely the way to go. When you set up your own Forex demo account you are allowed to make trades as though you were using real money. As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect”!
In conclusion, having a Forex demo account is much like learning NFL. Forex trading can often seem like a contact sport, and if you are not careful you may be taking hits in your wallet if you do not learn the ins and outs of the game. A Forex demo account will help you learn the investment basics before you have a chance to dive into the real game.
Alex Olson is a professional in forex trading. In her articles at http://www.best-forex-broker.net she shares her oppinion, gives some pieces of advice and supplies you with a lot of information on how to be a success in forex trading and how to choose a forex demo account.
The Importance of Corporate Internal Control
The innovative developments in financial sector have led to increased demand for an effective risk management as well as sophisticated corporate governance. Every business organization is subject to some kind of risks depending upon several factors such as the products and services it sell, the market in which it functions, the sources through which it is financed, and the way it utilizes its resources. Hence, it is important to coordinate every aspect of a business organization in an effective way. Here comes the importance of corporate internal control system. In other words, a good corporate internal control has now become an integral segment of risk management framework.
Internal control systems (ICS) or corporate internal control is simply the effective integration of activities, policies, plans, and efforts of employees working together in an organization, in order to achieve the business goals. The prime purpose of corporate internal control is to promote economical as well as efficient operations that go with the objectives of an organization.
Other prime purposes are to protect firm’s resources against mismanagement or fraud, to ensure whether the company’s activities are in accordance with laws and regulations, and above all, to develop consistent financial as well as managerial data in order to present them timely. In short, the activities that are covered in the implementation of a good corporate internal control are overseeing activities in connection with authorizations and reconciliations, reviewing of employee performance, security of assets, and segregation of duties.
A host of benefits can be derived through the implementation of an effective corporate internal control system. Since a good internal control system ensures that the resources are utilized only for their intended purposes, a great advantage is that it helps to overcome the risk associated with the misuse of organization’s funds and other resources.
Another prime benefit is that prevents errors and irregularities by detecting them in a timely manner, thereby promoting reliable and accurate accounting records. Also, a great benefit is that it can quickly resolve issues arising as a result of reporting errors. Above all, it protects the interests of employees by clearly specifying them their duties and responsibilities and safeguarding them from against being accused of irregularities or misappropriations.
The type of corporate internal control system adopted in a business organization depends upon the varying requirements of an organization. However, the most common types that are implemented in many of the business organizations include preventive internal control, detective internal control systems, and corrective controls.
Preventive control system is designed in such a way to detect and eliminate errors and irregularities before they have occurred. In detective corporate internal control, it corrects errors and irregularities that have been detected. When comes to preventive control system, it is designed to avoid errors or irregularities from taking place in the first place.
No matter it is of any type, an effective internal control system consists of certain important steps, such as, control environment, assessment of risk, control activities, information as well as communication, and monitoring. The foundation for all others steps involved in internal control systems, control environment provides a framework for the organization by including in it elements such as integrity and ethical values.
Assessment of risk involves the analysis and establishment of plans in order to prevent the risks associated with the attainment of company’s objectives. Control activities include policies and procedures formulated by management in order to ensure the effectiveness of carrying out of activities with regard to the achievement of organizational goals.
The information and communication step covers understanding of policies and procedures, validation of information, and evaluation of employee performance. Perhaps the most prominent of all steps of internal control systems is monitoring, which is the practice of assessing the overall performance of an organization.
Above all, the full benefits of internal control system could be achieved only if it is implemented in an effective way. Hence, it is evident that it could be devised only by an expert. Perhaps for this reason, now many learning centers across the globe conduct specialized courses for corporate internal control, such as, certificate in corporate internal control, covering sessions such as concepts of Internal Control, risk assessment and management, defect management, and corporate governance and corresponding standards.
Our state-of-the-art learning centers are conveniently located in Wan Chai and Jordan, Hong Kong. We are strongly positioned as a total training solutions provider with online and classroom lessons in the areas of Language, I.T. and Business Skills. See more at http://www.newhorizons.edu.hk
Affiliate Program - What Is It?
Millions of people attempt to go into business for themselves on the internet each and everyday. However, many of them fail and the reasons for that are wide and varied. On the other hand, there are also some people who succeed greatly at the programs and businesses that they start.
One example of internet entrepreneurs who have repeatedly made a good name and an income for themselves is affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers are the individuals who join affiliate programs and take advantage of the multiple streams of income that are available to them.
Affiliate Programs Defined
What really is an affiliate program, though? An affiliate program is one in which individuals can sign up with some sort of business or program, generate a personal link to which they can refer people, and gather the profits and revenue that is gained from the sign-up of other individuals.
There are actually many benefits if you are going to use an affiliate program to make money. The first is that you’ll be generating money even when you sleep. For example, after you have advertised and marketed the program with your affiliate link then all you have to do is sit back and watch individuals sign up under you. There is no need to create your own website, your own material, or anything of the sort because all of the necessary tools are at your disposal from the affiliate program you have joined.
Example of an Affiliate Program
If you are wondering how you can get involved with affiliate programs, there are plenty of them to join all across the internet. In fact, the internet is like a vast array of programs and businesses and many of them do have affiliate and partner programs that you can join. An issue that you must think about, though, is the type of program that you’ll be promoting. For example, some of the best products to promote through affiliate programs are e-books and online material.
One example of an excellent type of program to promote, though, is a Forex affiliate program. In recent years the Forex trading business has become so popular for many reasons. For one reason, though, the amount of income you can generate simply by trading currencies is almost limitless and there are plenty of people who make a living doing just that!
Forex trading programs, though, usually have some sort of affiliate program that you can join in order to promote the business itself. Once you have signed up with the Forex affiliate program then a personal link will be generated for you so that you are able to promote it through different ways and arenas on the internet. Many people make upwards of thousands of dollars on just one affiliate alone; just imagine if you were able to refer only five or ten people in a week!
All things considered, though, affiliate programs really are the way of the internet and many people are using them to leverage their internet income! If you have not joined an affiliate program yet then the time is now to realize your full income potential on the internet through these affiliate programs and businesses!
Alex Olson is a professional in affiliate programs. In her articles at http://www.affiliate-forex.com she shares her oppinion, gives some pieces of advice and supplies you with a lot of information on affiliate programs.
Safety Changes In The Construction Industry
For people and businesses in the construction industry safe and efficient working practices should always have been at the forefront of your mind. Recent changes in the law have now seen the onus for safety extend to the client or persons having construction or building work carried out. This article looks at the implications the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 may have on clients, contractors and workers in the construction industries. And the first part of this article looks at Your Responsibilities as a Client.
To begin with it is perhaps worth looking at what the CDM regulations are and put simply they have been introduced to ensure construction projects are safe to build, use and be maintained whilst delivery good value to the client. As well as this they have also been put into place to ensure through good health and safety planning projects are well managed and problems and unexpected costs are kept to minimum levels.
For some this may seem like yet more regulation and unnecessary paperwork and processes but in reality the CMD 2007 regulations have been introduced to ensure construction and building work is done by competent people who work safely and efficiently.
When it comes to requirements of clients (or the person having the work carried out) the regulations do not apply to domestic clients. A domestic client is defined as being someone who will or does live in the premises where the work is being carried out. The premises at which at work is being done must not also relate to any trade, business or other undertaking for the client to be deemed as domestic.
So if you are a non domestic client under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 you have to take the following steps.
1. Appoint the right people. Trade associations are a great way to find designers and contractors who are competent, have sufficient resources and will carry out work safely.
2. Allow enough time for your project. Failing to allow for adequate time for the design, planning and construction is likely to mean more chance of it being unsafe or of a poor quality.
3. Information is vital. To ensure your project runs smoothly you have to ensure that your construction team is told what you want, how you will use it as well as details of the site, structures and hazards as this will allow them to plan, budget and work to your exact requirements.
4. Communication and co operation. Injuries, overspending at a later stage and misunderstandings can all be kept to a minimum if you, your contractors and your designers communicate and co operate as much as possible.
5. Management. Having adequate and suitable management in place is vital for construction projects as they can be extremely complex due to the various types of contractors and tradesmen all working together. And as some of these contractors are involved in high risk activities (for example, roofing contractors and scaffolding contractors) then it is important that management arrangements are in place to ensure all work done is safe and is completed in a timely manner. Clearly contractors like roofers and scaffolders will have their own ways of working and protection in the form of construction insurance, scaffolders insurance and contractors insurance but management of all parts of the project and checks should be done to ensure all parties are working with safety in mind.
6. On site Welfare facilities. You should ensure that workers on your site have been provided with adequate welfare facilities before work starts including any information needed for the health and safety file.
7. Workplace design. It is up to you to make sure your design team complies with the standards set out in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 if your project is for changes to an existing workplace (eg office or factory) or if the project is for a new workplace.
In addition to the above requirements as a client you also have to make sure you do the following for notifiable construction projects with the definition of notifiable construction work being that which lasts longer than 30 days or involves 500 person days of work.
For these projects you also have to ensure that.
8. You appoint a CDM co coordinator. Although CDM 2007 doesnt mean your Construction Design and Management coordinator has to supervise or monitor work on site you should appoint one before the initial design and preparation stage. Their role will range from helping you select competent designers and contractors to making sure the Health and Safety Executive is notified of your project.
9. You appoint a main contractor. A main or principle contractor will plan, co ordinate and manage work on notifiable jobs whilst construction work is being done
10. You have health & safety plans. Work should not commence on site until the principal contractor has produced a construction phase health and safety plan that ensures that work will be carried out safety
11. You keep a health & safety file. The health & safety file should contain a record of health and safety information and should be given to your at the end of your project by the CDM co coordinator. This file should be used in the future by anyone who is looking to maintain, repair or demolish the building.
Failure to comply with CDM 2007 from a clients point of view could result in construction work being stopped by HSE or your local authority. Likewise failure to take the necessary steps to ensure good health and safety procedures are in place could dramatically increase the chances of a dangerous or fatal incident occurring whilst your construction work is carried out. And in the most serious cases you could even find yourself open to prosecution.
Make sure your site is safe, you have a duty to do so.
Northern Counties Insurance Brokers are The UK Leading Business Insurance Brokers and Construction Insurance is available from them at http://www.northerncounties.com/construction-insurance.php
The History Of Air Conditioning
Air conditioning has come a long way since the concept was first thought of. Advances in technology and science have enabled modern - day inventors to design systems that are a lot more practical and effective than those that were thought of a hundred years ago.
An American physician, Dr. John Gorrie was the first person to try to make an air conditioner in the 1830s. He designed an ice making machine that blew air over a bucket of ice in order to cool hospital rooms. Needless to say this wasn’t the most effective method and on a very hot day sometimes the effects could hardly be felt.
A more effective but less practical method of air conditioning was developed in 1881 when President James Garfield was dying. Naval engineers constructed a box - like structure which contained cloths that were soaked in melted ice water and then used a fan to blow hot air overhead. Even though it helped by lowering the temperature of the room by 20 degrees Fahrenheit, it consumed half a million pounds of ice in the space of two months and therefore wasn’t very practical at all.
Air conditioning units became more advanced in 1902 when an American engineer, Willis Carrier designed a unit for his publishing company. He used chilled coils in the machine in order to cool the air and lower the humidity. This set the standard for air conditioning units and new developments were constantly being made.
They were first used in printing plants, textile mills, manufacturers and hospitals and it wasn’t until much later that they started to be used in homes. However, these units started out as big, expensive and dangerous because of the toxic ammonia that was used as a coolant.
In 1922 Carrier had two major breakthroughs. Instead of using ammonia in his air conditioning units, he used dielene which was much better for the environment and added a central compressor so that he could reduce the size of his units. A movie theatre was the first commercial operation to purchase an air conditioning unit and this was soon followed by office buildings, department stores and car manufacturers. This saw the beginning of a craze for air conditioning as everyone now wanted it.
It is undeniable that air conditioning is an invention that people can live without, especially in very hot countries. Thankfully these units have come a long way since the idea was first thought of an they now tend to go unnoticed as they can sit on a wall and are much quieter as well.
Kimpton Building Services has been providing essential building services to clients for over 40 years. http://www.kimpton.ltd.uk has a breadth of expertise across the construction and allied industries.
How To Build Websites In Cheap Way
If you want a professional designer to help your build or custom your website, you must be prepared to get out at least a few hundred dollars from your wallet. However, if you know where to find the best deals, the best designs for the lowest price, then things can change.
Following are some guideless regards to website design issues:
First, you need to understand that it is a rip off to get companies to design websites for you.
If you ever see these newspapers, in the classify section, you may have noticed that some website design company’s ads, which offer a 5-page website at $500?
One of the reasons for them to charge high fees is because these companies are established with physical locations, so their operating cost is higher than those firms that do not have physical location. The fees you see is already included some overhead cost, like office rent, designer’s wages, advertising costs and so on.
Therefore, it would be wise to find freelance designers who work from home that do not have a high operation cost to help your build the websites. Some of them have really good creative and design skills, the quality of work they deliver just like those designers from big companies, so it’s a “no-brainer” choice.
However, when you choose freelancers, don’t forget with care. The best way to do this is to go to elance dot com. In there, you can post the abstract of your project and you will get thousands of freelancers to bid on it, so get the best deal is not difficult.
On top of that, you can select and choose who you feel comfortable to work with based on their experience, past transactions and ratings; so your value for money will not be wasted.
Another cheap way to go is to design your website by yourself.
Think about it, if you only need 5 simple pages to display some simple information, why waste hundreds of dollars for it? Why don’t just spend a little time sit down and do it yourself?
You should believe your capability and your own potential; it is not difficult to put up a 5 pages website. Believe it or not, you can design your own sites even if you do not know a single line of HTML code with the help of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) programs, such as using Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Dreamweaver and some other website builder software.
In addition, to get things in order and let everything work well, you need to have a workable website design plan in hand. With have a well thought website design layout, you will be able to create a site that generates multiple streams of revenue for you.
If you don’t have a well planned layout and just want to get the site up online fast, your site will not get a single visitor and it will fall into wasteland, also the webmaster will not be motivated to update it anymore and eventually your sites will turn into wasted cyberspace.
So to get a well planned site layout in place is essential, clearly define each major blocks’ position will help you do better categorizing.
After you have a broader, better-defined scope of themes for your website, you can start to sell space on the pages to people that interested in advertising on your site. You can also put programs like Google’s Adsense and Yahoo! Search Marketing’s ads into the pages, and make some income if people surf to those themed pages and click on the ads.
As Internet becomes more widespread, advertising on the Internet will bear more results than on magazines or offline media. Hence, you should start to tapping into this lucrative stream of profit and get your website ready.
Ann Liu, internet marketer and author of http://www.onlineprofiting.com. To learn how YOU too can succeed in Internet and affiliate marketing, please visit http://www.marketingbyann.com.
How Does Air Conditioning Work?
Air conditioning can seem like a complicated concept if you don’t know how it works. Not many people do understand how the process works and therefore don’t know what to look for when buying a unit. However, it can actually be very simple and straightforward once you have a basic understanding of the topic.
Air conditioning units work in a similar way to refrigerators in the sense that instead of cooling just a small space, they can cool an entire room, house or even building. This is done with a chemical that is used to transfer heat from the air inside to the outside air. The reason why an air conditioning unit is able to do this is because the chemical that is used can easily convert from a gas to a liquid and back again.
There are three main parts to an air conditioning unit and these are the compressor, the condenser and the evaporator. The fluid that is in the unit arrives at the compressor as a cool, low - pressure gas which is then squeezed by the compressor. This is done to pack the molecules in the fluid closer together because the closer they are together the faster they move and the higher the energy levels and temperature are.
The fluid leaves the compressor hot and with high pressure and enters the condenser. By the time it leaves the condenser in the air conditioning unit its temperature is much cooler and has changed from a gas to a liquid under the high pressure. The liquid then goes into the evaporator and by the time it comes back out its pressure has dropped and it begins to evaporate into a gas.
This is where the air conditioning really starts to work because as this process is happening, it extracts the heat from the air around it making it cooler. In order to ensure that there is an even distribution of cool air, there is a fan connected to the evaporator which circulates the air inside the building.
This process is then repeated again and again with the fluid entering the compressor. It can be repeated as many times as desired until the correct air conditioning temperature is reached in the room. The thermostat senses that the temperature has reached the right setting and it automatically turns of the air conditioner. If and when the room starts to warm up again, the thermostat turns the air conditioner back on until the room reaches the desired temperature.
Kimpton Building Services has been providing essential building services to clients for over 40 years. http://www.kimpton.ltd.uk has a breadth of expertise across the construction and allied industries.
Running a Successful Online Store
Millions of websites exist for the sole purpose of selling things online. Making your own store that will be noticed and allow you to make money is sometimes easy, but usually lined with problems, disasters and frustrations. Learn how to overcome many of these frustrations and avoid much of the hassle. Remember, work is work, but you should enjoy your work in order to be truly successful.
First, if you are running an online store either you need to know some good programming skills, or you need to hire someone who is your web designer and programmer. The best way to hire someone is as a freelance person who you only use when you need them. Most businesses have no need for a programmer on a full time basis especially when you are first starting out. Look to find someone who works freelance to save money and have the services you need when you need them.
Second, ensure that once you have your programmer that you do some periodic updates and maintenance to your website. It is vitally important that you keep your site running smoothly, up to date, safe and secure if you are handling financial transactions online. You do not want customers experiencing problems and malfunctions with your website when they are attempting to place an order or look into your products that are available.
Third, look into purchasing a domain name and web hosting. While using the free domains and web hosting is obviously cheaper, it is not as professional to customers. In addition, remember what is easier to remember “yourbusiness.yahoo.com” or just simply “yourbusiness.com” you need to make a good strong and professional impression in order to achieve good success online.
Fourth, always make sure that you are keeping an eye out for any security holes in your website. Clients and customers do not want to be worried about their information being stolen and leaked out to people who prey on the innocent online. If you do not know what to look for, find someone who does. Have periodic checks around your site performed to make sure there are no problems. If problems are discovered, immediately notify your web designer so they can work to repair the security holes and restore safety to your website.
Last, never be guilty of SPAM. While people need to advertise, look into placing banner ads, using advertisement in the search engines and even placing ads in various newspapers and magazines, rather than sending out SPAM. You should consider also having your website optimized for SEO or Search Engine Optimization to help improve how easily potential customers can find you. If your site is too hard to find, people will be less likely to find you and purchase from you. Just as a brick and mortar store wants easy access, an internet store needs easy access as well.
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Choose The Right Partners For Your Business
Before you partner with someone, find out about their history. Talk to people who have worked with them before in the past. Has the person ever cheated before? Has the person ever lied before? And the moment the person has lied or cheated before; never ever work with that person.
I’ve got friends who have made this mistake and they got cheated by their partners because they thought, the person would change. But this person cheated them at the end of the day.
If you play golf, one way to find out about honesty is to play golf with that person. If the person hits the ball into the swamp and he throws another ball there, you know that person has an integrity problem. So integrity is Number 1, really important.
Number 2 is to find a partner who is easy-going but at the same time not a pushover. He has to be fair.
This is opposed to finding a partner who is not willing to budge on their ideas, that’s when you have problems. That’s when misunderstanding sets in. So the person has got to be fair and understanding.
The third thing is, the partner you choose must be someone who’s willing to work as hard as you, if not more and who’s able to create a lot of value with the company. Otherwise one of you is going to get jealous, one of you is going to be pissed off thinking, why am I doing more? Why is that guy doing so much less?
And the final thing, the most important thing of all is that your partners must have complementary skills. That’s what makes it special because that’s what brings the team together.
In fact, sometimes I find that if everyone has the same mindset and interests, the team may not produce very good results
For example, if you were to start a creative design company, and of you are all design people, it’s not going to work out. There will be no one doing the accounts, there will be no one doing the meticulous management of the staff. In a nutshell everyone’s got to be different.
I have also seen a number of people who’ve gotten down a trap because they start off as technical experts. So they are really good at doing certain tasks but they forget that there’s this whole business side of things to be done.
There are also people who say that it’s very interesting to start a business, that starting a business is a great opportunity, but soon, they forget that when they start a business, it becomes a responsibility. And if there isn’t a sense of responsibility to the business, the whole business setup will collapse eventually.
There are so many people out there in the market that I know who’ve been swindled and cheated before. And it was just within a matter of split seconds that suddenly everything collapses, just when they are not looking or paying attention.
So remember to do your homework on your partners and make sure what you bring to your team will lead you towards building up your business successfully.
Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and a self-made millionaire by the age of 26. Discover his million dollar secrets and claim your FREE bonus CD ‘6 Ways To Achieve Anything In Life’ at http://www.PavingTheWayToTheTop.com