Posts tagged "family"

Advice Partnerships

Friends and Business

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“A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.” Anonymous

I firmly believe that partnering is one of the most effective ways of scaling your business. It is natural therefore to look within your network of friends/family and acquaintances to find potential partners. This is a strategy I have used, and even though a lot of people think that mixing friends/family and business is a bad idea, my experience has proved otherwise . Over the last couple of businesses I have been involved in, I have found that setting clear ground rules before starting a venture has been integral to their success.

One of the mistakes a lot of businesses are beset with when starting out with friends/family stem from there being so much left unsaid at the start. This is due to the fact that a mutual understanding is ‘thought’ to exist. The fact of the matter is, that unfortunately when money enters the picture a lot of these ‘understandings’ fall by the way side. Everyone wants to make money and start a successful business. The truth of the matter is that registering a business and starting one with no set plan is easy, making your business a success requires diligence, perseverance and structure.

Over the course of this week I will share with you certain ground rules to set when starting a venture or partnership. These rules have helped me tremendously in tempering expectations, getting ground realities realized and fostering an environment which promotes candour and honesty.

Time Management

5 steps to manage your time better

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“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.” Anthony Robbins

Time is probably the one asset that not many people think twice about spending. We need to start paying attention to where we are spending this non-renewable resource of ours. By taking control of where you want to spend it will be critical in achieving any degree of success. Below are 5 steps which provide a rough outline on how to start managing time better and achieving the results we have always wanted but never had the time for.

  1. SMART Goals: The first step will be to set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound goals for ourselves. We need these to provide the direction for where we will be allocating our time and energies. Without them life will pass us by and we will have no control over the course it will take. To read more about how to set SMART goals please click here.

  2. Prioritize: The second step will be to correctly prioritize the goals and task list which you have made for yourself. It is essential to focus attention on the activities which provide the greatest return on our investment. By following the 4D formula through which we dump, defer, delegate or do tasks, will help chart a list which will provide an efficient way of sorting tasks. To read more about how to prioritize your tasks please click here.

  3. Time Management System: The next step will involve charting the week in using preparation, best and rest days categories. This will allow you to achieve a balance as well as perform at optimal levels when you are doing the activities you excel at. To read more about how to implement this time management system please click here.

  4. Productivity Boosters: The fourth step will introduce you to productivity boosters to help manage time more effectively. It is essential that prior to buying PDA’s and tasking software you have a clear routine in place to help make it more efficient. To read more about these tools please click here.

  5. Balance: The fifth step is the most critical in managing time more efficiently. We need to bring balance to all areas of our life. We do this by setting goals in areas such as health, family, self and spiritual growth. These will help us avoid burnouts, strained relationships and other problems which occur when we live an unbalanced life. To read more about how to bring more balance to your daily routine please click here.

These initial steps will provide you with a framework to utilize your time in a more efficient and productive manner. Time management is not easy in the world we live in today due to ever increasing distractions and constant connectivity. Do not let life take over, make sure you chart a course as to where you want to go and then schedule your life around those goals. I wish you the best of luck.

Time Management

Balance

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“You must master your time rather than becoming a slave to the constant flow of events and demands on your time. And you must organize your life to achieve balance, harmony and inner peace.” Brian Tracy

I have talked solely about how to manage time to become a more effective entrepreneur. Another dimension is how to manage  time more effectively as an individual. We need to strike a balance in our daily lives and give substantial attention to other areas which will have a direct impact on its quality. Key areas where I have been focusing on to have a more balanced routine are;

  • Health & Exercise: We all have very busy schedules and often find ourselves rushing to work in the early hours of morning and returning too tired at night to even think about what this routine is doing to our health. Schedule a weekly exercise routine to get yourself physically and mentally in better shape. Avoid eating fast food and other unhealthy stuff regularly, these have a severely damaging effect on our health. Make a conscious effort to exercise and eat right.

  • Family & Friends: When life gets busy this is an area where sacrifices are made regularly. The effect of this sacrifice is not felt in the short term, as time goes by ties are strained and you could find yourself alone. Make an effort to use your rest days to spend time with family and friends. These are the memories which will be cherished further down the road.

  • Grow yourself: We should be in a constant state of learning. Pick up a new hobby and dedicate an hour or two every week to develop it. Read a variety of material to keep yourself up to date and informed. If you do not make an effort in this department you may find yourself disconnected from life. Schedule sometime every week to make sure you remain connected.

  • Spiritual: This doesn’t necessarily involve formal religious activities. It should be a dedicated time in the week to make sure that you are connected with yourself. It could be in the form of walks, reading or conversation. This area will help us remain grounded and allows us to see the bigger picture.

A healthy balance is essential for us to manage our time effectively, efficiently and wisely. By setting yourself goals in areas other than business/career, will help us grow more. It allows us to become more self aware about life and our purpose. Make a commitment today to yourself that you will do your best to bring a more balanced approach on how to lead your life.

Finance

Source #1: Friends and Family

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“The holy passion of friendship is so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring in nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.” Mark Twain

It is natural that when we first start out on any business venture, friends and family are the first ones who are asked to support them. I used this method of sourcing for money in my first media startup. However, it wasn’t like knocking on a door and saying, could I please have $5k. I wish life was that simple. Before you embark on taking money from anyone you have to be completely sure about what was talked about yesterday. We need to be completely sure where we are going with our idea, with whom and how. So when I approached an uncle of mine for a loan I prepared a detailed document outlining how the business is going to run. It was a basic executive summary which showed him:

  1. The market need
  2. Our value proposition
  3. The market size
  4. Our services
  5. My team
  6. Payback period

A lot of individuals overlook the fact that taking money from friends and family is risky business. We have a lot invested in our relationship with them and any sort of complication leads to friendships being lost and family ties strained. You have to make it absolutely clear to them from the very beginning what it is that you need the money for. I feel this gives them much needed relief, because from their perspective they will realize that you have put serious thought into the venture and that in itself is a good starting point.

Another factor that you have to take into account is whether they will be buying in to the business in return for equity or the funding will serve as a loan which will be paid back. I have a relatively strong preference for the latter. Involving family and friends is complicated as it is, if they buy into the company this further complicates matters and they may have completely radical ways of viewing your business model. If you take a loan from a friend or family member make sure that they are financially capable of withstanding the loan. If not you could get a call out of the blue one day requesting the loan money be returned straight away due to an emergency. That is another situation which can be the end of an early stage startup.

Whichever route you take be sure to do it professionally, with openness and honesty and get everything in writing. These will help safeguard both your relationships as well as your startup’s future.

p.s Source #0: Using savings that you may have. I have made the assumption that like most younger entrepreneurs you don’t have significant savings to initially fund the startup process. However if you have a some money saved up I would strongly suggest that you use that instead of venturing out to the next source.