Sakib Mahmud Aka Visionary Geek

After reading a post about Ego, I’m feeling that ego can kill a person’s working productivity, efficiency and making a man fully inactive. Even, a man normally don’t understand wand fell about this matters and but gradually  it is decreasing potentiality and that’s really important and happening inside human being. Don’t you think you should track and keep away from Ego type things.

Written on 9/14/2009 by Srinivas Rao. Srinivas is a volunteer for the Quality of Life Project. The website shares best practices on getting the most out of life from well known types like Richard Branson and Tom Skerritt to lesser known but equally interesting individuals. The mission of the organization is to help people live more enjoyable, purposeful and contented lives. Srinivas also writes at www.theskooloflife.com.

The ego is one of most self-destructive mechanisms of a person’s character and his or her abilities. In fact if you look at some people who’ve achieved massive success only to lose it all at the end of their lives, it’s almost always a function of the ego that results in this. As strange as the following examples might be, drug dealers, and gangsters in the movies are blatant examples of people whose egos have ruined their success. There are two characters that really exemplify this: George Jung (Johnny Depp in the movie Blow) and Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington in the movie American Gangster).

If you have seen the movie Blow, you know that the life of the main character is driven by the desire to never to be poor after growing up in financial dire straits. As a result he chooses a career as a drug dealer. Early in the movie, he becomes quite successful, ending up with a dream home, his dream girl, and almost everything you think would be enough in life. In fact every single time I watch this movie, I think “If he had just quit while he was ahead, then imagine how different his life would have turned out.” But, greed, and perhaps the desire to keep proving to himself that he was capable of more, ultimately his ego, led him to 60 years in prison.

The character of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington in American Gangster) is another example of how ego got the best of somebody who could have quit while he was ahead. Although he was off to a bad start from the get go, even more so than George Jung, there comes a turning point in the movie when the ego of Frank Lucas takes over. In the desire to to keep expanding his operation Frank starts to partner with other people and eventually attracts the attention of the police. What’s interesting to note however is that there is a point in the movie where he acknowledges the destructive power of ego when he tells his younger brother “The loudest person in the room is the weakest.” Yet, he still falls victim to his own ego.

6 Signs That You Are Ego Driven

1. Concern with Approval of others
   In his book Manifest Your Destiny, Wayne Dyer mentions that there are three tenets of self actualizing people according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. One of those is that you should be independent of the good opinion of other people. It’ s easier said than done, but comes with a sense of freedom and liberation that allows you to truly shine. Who you are independent of the good opinion of other people is the most authentic person you will ever be. This is the most attractive quality in anybody, in a world where people are overly concerned with looking good in front of others. Ironically I learned this in a business school class and of all places, the corporate world may seem like a strange place to not concern yourself with the good opinion of others. But if you come from a place of authenticity and hard work, you will be much more well liked by your corporate peers. Self actualization is at the top of the Maslow hierarchy and most leaders are self actualized.
2. Fear of asking for help
   If you are afraid to ask for help, or you don’t want to ask for help because you want all the credit, then your ego is driving you. I made this mistake a few years back when I attempted to launch a job web site for MBA students. In my own bad judgment, I decided to take on the project alone after discussing it with some classmates. The desire to get ahead quickly and launch the site was the work of my ego. Ultimately, it ended up being a failure. If my ego hadn’t gotten in the way, and I had worked with the other students, I would have saved a few friendships and the site might have succeeded.
3. Comparing and Competing
   People who are driven by ego often fall victim to what I call the comparative and competitive disadvantage. Comparing yourself to others is the ego in one of its most vicious forms. It’s a perpetual losing battle because there will always be somebody better and always somebody worse than you are. Even if you are the best in the world at what you do somebody will always be right on your tail. If you keep seeing your life as a competition with those around you, then you will continually be dissatisfied and the ego will drive your life.
4. The constant need for more
   Greed is also a function of the ego. I think if there’s anything our movie characters could teach us, is that there comes a point where you do have everything you could possibly want, and getting more just for the sake of having it is an exercise in futility.
5. Lack of presence
   Ego driven people continually live in the past and always plan for the future. They never live in the moment. They are always thinking of the next great phase of their life, even when this one is perfect. By forgetting to enjoy the present, we set ourselves up to live in an ego-driven limbo.
6. The need to always be right
   This is another one of the ego’s most destructive functions. People who have a need to continually be right are headed for the ultimate downfall. These kinds of people will often get far in life because of their persistence and aggressiveness. But, these are also the people that will fail when they are on the brink of MASSIVE success. Their need to be right will be their downfall and years of hard work can be destroyed in minutes when this portion of the ego takes over. Leaders with this attitude ultimately alienate all those work for them, and eventually stop receiving the kind of input that can propel them forward because they are so adamant about being right.

When you can learn to let go of the ego, the level of success and fulfillment you will achieve will be dramatic.

Only with your ego in check will you have the ability to reach your full potential.

Courtesy for the content and photo for How to Manage Your Ego So You Can Reach Your Full Potential

I’m little bit excited today and I’m just coming from an excellent  articles, where Gilbert Ross shared 20 Powerful Beliefs That Will Push You Toward Success — I’ve learned lots of new things from his great share and even I’m astionsed some points has existence inside of me and some are not. I’m trying to figure out and lets see the full contents below.

Written on 12/21/2009 by Gilbert Ross. For more great articles by Gilbert make sure to visit his Blog Soul Hiker. Subscribe to his posts here or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

I’m sure you have met at least one person in your life that is successful, motivated and self-empowered. This is someone that always seems to land on their feet, turns everything into gold and every success seems to come their way faster and thicker.

I’m also sure you have stopped to think about why these chronically successful people are so energetic, driven and successful with no apparent struggle while you seem to have such inertia impeding your progress.

Many believe that this is some unfair throw of the dice; that they just weren’t meant to become successful. Or perhaps it’s that the ultra successful people had some advantage or social lever that you didn’t. Occasionally this is true, occasionally success is inherited or stumbled into. However, more times than not, it’s created.

Success, first of all, is not a set of achievements or a combination of external factors; it is a mindset. Success is an attitude that comes from a framework of powerful beliefs and empowering thoughts. There have been many books written about this, probably some of which you have read. In the ones I have read, there always seemed to be a certain partiality – an incomplete picture – perhaps biased towards financial success or some other area but not another.

In the following list of beliefs and empowering thoughts, I would like to present a rounder view of success. One that I hope will give you a wider angle towards the meaning of success ranging from the material to the spiritual.

1. I am in charge of my life
   The belief that you and only you are responsible of what you make of a given situation. Life does not happen to you but is a result of how you respond to opportunities and challenges.
2. I can make tomorrow better
   The belief that you can change your future by your actions today. Some people are stuck in a fatalist (and dis-empowering) mindset where they believe they have little control on their life.
3. There is a lot of opportunity out there
   Successful people have their mind set on abundance and opportunity and not scarcity and lack. Trust me this makes a world of a difference. Believe that life, energy, positivity, love, opportunities, success, happiness are abundant…because they are!
4. I don’t need the approval of others to succeed
   If you are always looking for others’ approval and consent you will not go very far off and you will certainly not be self-empowered.Successful people follow their heart even when others are skeptical or do not consent.
5. My intentions have effect on my reality
   This is not to believe in magic where you can wish things into being…well almost. Most people are blind to this but successful people know, consciously or otherwise, that a focused and strong intention is indeed a powerful thing that will make a lot of things happen and certainly get you to your destination faster.
6. People are catalysts not barriers to success
   If approached in the right way and you network with the right people, you will leverage your efforts by a thousand fold. You will get things done faster by getting help from others.
7. Positive thoughts are powerful and empowering
   Successful people know very well that choosing to start a day with a positive rather than a negative outlook means having successful day as opposed to a frustrating one. It’s definitely in the attitude.
8. I am not separate from the rest
   This is a deep insight which only the truly successful and wise ones keep at heart. Commonly people believe that they are separate and cut off from the rest because they are individuals. True knowledge will tell you that everything is interconnected and success comes from acknowledging that you are not separate but one with the forces of life and the universe.
9. How can I use this situation?
   When life throws a bad streak at you or you your plans go down the gutter, ask yourself “How can I use this?”. My life changed as I started doing this. You can always turn a situation around even by just observing, learning and sharpening your attitude.
10. Hard work & perseverance are rewarded
    This is a rule of thumb even if perhaps reward doesn’t always come immediately but is paid off in the long run.
11. My past can be reviewed and rewritten
    Some people are locked in their past or think that their past circumstances determine their future. Successful people are skillful in the art of interpreting their past and reframinmg it according to their optimal advantage.
12. There are forces and energies which can help me if I’m conscious
    You might be thinking magic? Fairies? Not exactly. We cannot perceive certain subtle energies but some successful people believe in positive and negative energy flows from things and people just like ancient Chinese traditions believed in the flow of the Chi (Qi) or life energy. You can make yourself aware of this but it takes practice.
13. Failure is good
    As in point 9, empowered people can turn a failure into success by learning from it and moving on.
14. Don’t take it personally
    Get out of the trap of taking life circumstances personally or you will end up enslaved emotionally. When you get rejections, criticisms, cold shoulders, etc., put in within an impersonal bracket. They are not rejecting me, but an idea of me they have in their mind.
15. Bad patches are temporary
    We all pass through bad patches. It’s the cycle of life. But we all get out of them unless we chose not to. Think outside of the moment.
16. What I learn can be improved and refined
    Self-empowered people have a very dynamic view on life. There is always space for change and improvement especially on skills and lessons learnt.
17. I am constantly developing and expanding new capabilities
    Just like the previous point, empowerment comes from a non-static outlook where life-affirming mind states are believed to expand not contract.
18. Things are impermanent, don’t attach yourself to things
    This is a Buddhist concept which the real successful have learnt through experience. You might think that successful people are materialistic. I think the really successful are people who have a richer view on life and know how to ride life’s waves without getting emotionally attached.
19. Forget, forgive, rejoice
    Don’t get stuck in resentment and grudges. Travel light without dragging an emotional baggage full of past disappointments.
20. I already have all I need
    Self-explanatory. The path to success is through self-discovery and not world conquest as some would believe. People who have made it knew how to uncover their skills and true potential instead of obsessing with possessing.

content courtesy 20 Powerful Beliefs That Will Push You Toward Success

photo courtesy Fosteringsuccess.org

I’m always loving in-dependency and always dreaming to become a successful entrepreneur. So, to become a success need to hard work, have to plan, work and complete the tasks and touch the next plan or update the next plan, managing working cash flow and investing some little amount when earned and using some money for self. However, to running in same way or always busy to thinking that really harmful for the human body and soul — and sometimes you will be frustrated, when success not come to you and sometimes you will be excited when success knocked to you.

I’m just coming from 10 Tips for Saving Your Life From Your Business, Tim Berry who shared some awesome tips for us “Maximizing your chance for success means sacrificing health and family” and as well I’m excited when I’ve read Sacrifice your health for your startup — below I’m sharing the venturebeat’s posts and you really enjoy it.

(Editor’s note: Jason Cohen is an angel investor and the founder of Smart Bear Software. This story originally appeared on his blog.)

The Internet is full of good advice about how to lead a healthy, balanced work/home life.

If you don’t have your health and your family, it generally says, nothing else matters. On your deathbed, will you wish you had worked longer hours or been a better parent? Will you wish you had spent more time Twittering or more time exercising, extending your life by five years?

Compelling thoughts. And yet, in my experience this attitude is not the path to success in small business.

Maximizing your chance for success means sacrificing health and family.

This sounds controversial, but it’s not just me:

• Jeremiah Owyang of Web Strategist: “How do I Keep Up?” This is one of the most common questions I get from folks, or a variant: “Do you sleep?” or “Do you have a family?” I can answer succinctly: “I don’t, in shifts, and yes… I think.” … I’m lucky I fell into my passion. It comes with costs however, I’m out of shape, stressed, I don’t sleep well, and my blood pressure is up.
• Mark Cuban, self-made millionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks on how he acheived success: “I slept on the couch or floor … Because I was living on happy hour food, and the 2 beer cover charge, I was gaining weight like a pig. But I was having fun. … Every night I would read [software manuals], no matter how late. … I remember sitting in that little office till 10pm … I would get so involved with learning that I would forget to eat …
• More from Mark in an interview with YoungMoney Magazine: Question: “Did you have to sacrifice your personal life in order to become a business success?”  Answer: “Sure, ask about five of my former girlfriends that question. I went seven years without a vacation. I didn’t even read a fiction book in that time. I was focused.”

“So what,” you could argue, “just because many successful entrepreneurs are workaholics doesn’t mean that’s the only path to success.”

Indeed, study after study has shown that “working more hours” doesn’t translate into “accomplishing more shit.” If you’re not getting enough sleep, for instance, working extra hours doesn’t make up for your foggy brain.

Also, optimizing how you spend your time can increase productivity several times over — an increase you couldn’t possibly match by working more hours.

Yeah, but here’s the problem.

The “Rule of Closets” is that the amount of crap you own will expand to fill all available closet space. You can create more space by adding shelves and organizers, but then you’ll soon discover you have more stuff.

Well I have a “Rule of Time in Startups”: How much time does a bootstrapped company take? All of it.

Even ten people could hardly keep up with everything you do in small business — creating, consulting, designing, fixing, self-promotion, blogging, networking, bookkeeping, taxes, customer support and cultivation and all those little crappy things like losing an afternoon troubleshooting your fancy outsourced IP phone system that was supposed to let you “work from anywhere.”

One, two, or even three people can’t do everything, so of course it takes all your time. If you’re working a day job while starting something on the side, of course you don’t have time to exercise or play with your kids before bed.

It takes obsession to make a little company go. Forget “passion” — everyone’s favorite word — it’s “obsession.” It’s not just that you love working, it’s that you can’t stop working. You’re putting your entire self on the line — your finances, your career, your ideas.

The obsession is there even when you’re away from the office, having lunch with a friend or reading to your kids. As my wife would frequently point out in the early years of Smart Bear, my “mental and emotional bandwidth” was entirely consumed. You’re physically there, but you’re not really there.

Read those quotes above again and you’ll see not just passion but self-destructive devotion. You don’t put yourself through this meat grinder just because you “like something a lot.”

“If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?”

Exactly.

Of course those life-coaches are still correct: This isn’t a great way to live your entire life. You need to accept that this is going to happen and ask whether it’s OK to incur this penalty right now. For me, I did all this in my 20’s when I had no kids, I had enough savings to risk everything for a while, and I had a wife who had her own business and who therefore understood how much work it took and why I was spacing out over dinner.

Bottom line: Every successful bootstrapper I know puts work before self. (Until financial freedom is achieved.) I did too.

(Curious what Jason’s wife thought about this? Check out her rebuttal.)

Photo by a.drian via Flickr

Via Sacrifice your health for your startup — Entrepreneur Venturebeat

I’m just comping from Neil Patel’s blog and he shared an existing posts. Given below,

I was reading an article on the New York Times blog today that breaks down why all entrepreneurs should write business plans.

Careful academic research on the business start-up process reveals that many entrepreneurs never write a business plan.

These studies also show that writing a business plan helps entrepreneurs in a number of ways, including improving their odds of successfully developing a new product, organizing a company, accessing external capital, obtaining raw materials, generating sales and surviving over time. Regardless of what measure of performance academics have looked at, research shows that writing a business plan has a positive impact.

I am not a fan of writing business plans! I have started a fair amount of companies and have never written a business plan. Now you could say that is the reason why a lot of my businesses failed, but I could make the argument that financially I’ve still came ahead.

Here is why I think you shouldn’t write a business plan:

Business plans ≠ Funding

If you are trying to raise money, you’re probably considering writing a business plan, right? Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t know anyone who has raised money from writing a business plan.

Roughly 30 of my close friends have taken some sort of venture capital or private equity financing. And none of them raised that money by writing a business plan.

Most of them did make a power point presentation and a few even wrote executive summaries, but they didn’t write business plans.

Remember, most investors don’t want to invest in a “plan” they want to invest in a business that is up and running. You don’t have to be making money, but they want to see something more than just a piece of paper.

And if a potential investor happens to request a business plan from you, ask them if they are actually going to take the time to carefully read through it. The chances are, they won’t even skim it.

You can’t predict the future

You can try and plan for the future, but your plan will never account for everything. Things change, so why would you waste your time writing a document that won’t be up-to-date.

Or if you want to take it to the next level, why would you start writing a plan that will never be complete? Your business will constantly evolve and change, and if you want your business plan to stay up-to-date, you’ll constantly have to modify it.

Once you start your company, you’ll soon realize that a lot of decisions will have to be made on the fly and that you are going to have to rely on your intuition. There is no a written document can help you with any of this.

Time is money

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration over 50% of small businesses fail in the first 5 years because of lack of capital and lack of entrepreneurial experience.

As I mentioned above, writing a plan isn’t going to help you get capital. And if you are looking to gain experience, you are better off spending time working on your business than writing a plan.

The biggest reason I never wrote a business plan is that it takes my time away from the business. I am a doer and spending weeks on something that has no proof on impacting the success of my company is a waste of time.

If you have somewhat of an understanding of what you are going to do and where you plan on taking your business, you should spend all of your time acting on it. Writing a plan will just slow you down from succeeding.

The businesses world has changed

For a moment, think about all of the things that have changed in the past year. A lot has changed, right?

And now, take a moment and think about all of the things that have changed in the past ten years. So many things have probably changed that you take a lot of them for granted.

Technology is constantly evolving and the way you go about operating your business isn’t the same as it used to be. But the problem with business plans is that they haven’t evolved with the business world. So why would you spend time on something that is old and out-dated?

Conclusion

If you think having a business plan is going to increase your odds of success, it won’t. There are no stats proving that writing a business plan is going to help you succeed… so do yourself a favor and save your time.

And on a closing note, I would like to leave you with a few words from Steve Rappaport.

Many successful businesses today would not withstand academic scrutiny. A perfect example is the company Red Bull. There are so many holes in the plan without the 20/20 hindsight. I can imagine what would have been the comments — didn’t we do this in the 80’s as “jolt cola” or “entrenched drink competitors will crush you if it ever becomes popular.” I think a plan is good, but serendipity and opening the business up for opportunities can be even better. In other words, diverting from the plan. Red Bull’s initial aim was a drink for long-haul truck drivers.

Do you think it’s worth creating a business plan?

Why Entrepreneurs Shouldn’t Write Business Plans [via quicksprout]

Internet a great place where people can learn more then any other environment, through brain works extremely inside class room. I’ve been looking for great blog articles for entrepreneurs, where an entrepreneur can learn tons of things. Entrepreneur should keep learning news things and start to implementing in different situations. Have to learn, how become successful entrepreneur or 10 Reasons You Are Not A Successful Entrepreneur and how to make business plan, about startups organizing, managing the business, team management, surviving with business, leveraging costs, increasing revenue, leading, raising money, fining angel investors, learning from mistakes and understand common mistakes and analyzing business growth so on things you will learn.

Starting Up

Read these posts when you’re starting to get serious about opening up your own company.

1. A Boost for Young Entrepreneurs: This post should encourage young entrepreneurs who are wondering if they’re experienced enough to start out.
2. 9 Conflicting Tips for Start-ups: This post plays devil’s advocate to common suggestions for entrepreneurs.
3. Entrepreneur vs. Business Owner: Believe it or not, these two positions are completely different.
4. The Secret to a Good Business Name: If you need help coming up with an effective company name, read this post.
5. Prepare for the Worst-Case Scenario: This post highlights the business survival guide which can help you prepare for worst-case scenarios.
6. Tactical Tips from the Trenches: Get tips for picking a name, building a website and monitoring competitors.
7. 10 Tips for Startups to Survive the Recession: Simplify, stay flexible and avoid capital expenditures: these are tips shared for entrepreneurs struggling in a recession.
8. 12 Facts About Entrepreneurs That Will Likely Surprise You: Get surprising statistics about the education, experience and personality traits of entrepreneurs.
9. How to survive the first 3 weeks of launching your company: Learn how to use feedback and market your product in the early stages.
10. How You Can Leverage a Lay-off: This post points out that being unemployed could be the perfect opportunity to start your own business.
11. Startup Help — at the Unemployment Office: Read this blog to find a new place to find assistance for your new company.

Getting Financed

These posts will introduce you to strategies for finding, pitching and winning over investors.

1. Raise Money for Your Business Despite Recession: Getting financed during a recession isn’t hopeless, and this post tells you why.
2. Getting Financing for Your Business: Learn how and where to find “smart” money.
3. Startup Financing with a Twist: Share Your Future: Discover how to share profits with investors by reading this post.
4. The Best Startup Funding is Initial Sales: Learn to focus on sales even in the earliest days.
5. 5 Rules for Pitching the Very Rich: If you want to attract private investors, read this post.
6. How to raise money for your start-up: This numbered list has easy-to-digest suggestions for raising money.

Education

Do you really need an MBA to start your own company? These posts can help you decide what kind of experience is right for you and your business plan.

1. Do you need an MBA to become an entrepreneur?: This post considers the real ROI of an MBA.
2. Do you really want that MBA degree: Here you’ll get help weighing the option of going to business school.
3. More on Entrepreneurship: Book Smarts or Gut Instinct?: This post may help you make the decision to go to b-school or drop out.
4. 5 Entrepreneurship Basics B-Schools Don’t Teach: You’ll need to work on people skills, ethics, work-life balance and risk on your own.
5. Can B-Schools Teach Entrepreneurship: This post will help you understand what you’ll learn in b-school.

Management

You have to be a terrific manager of yourself, your time, and your employees if you want to succeed, especially in the early days.

1. The Truth About Managing Generations X and Y: Learn how to manage professionals who are obsessed with technology and contributing from the get-go.
2. Staying with No: Read this post to learn how to stick to your decision to say “no.”
3. Why Managers Don’t See Problems Until It’s Too Late: You’ll have to learn how to ask employees questions and find out what’s going on without relying on anyone telling you the truth.
4. Build Your Management Team: This post will help you appoint other managers to oversee operations.
5. Professional Team Management Tips for Creative People: This post clearly outlines why and how creative types can be good managers.
6. The Manager’s Cheat Sheet: 101 Common-Sense Rules for Leaders: Get 101 management tips and ideas, from using correct body language to meeting deadlines to getting along with employees.
7. Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis: Decision Making Made Easy: Study the Lewin Force Field Analysis method for making better decisions.
8. 20 Tips for Project Management Success: You’ll learn how to prepare for and execute streamlined projects by managing a team when you read this post.
9. How to Deal with a Difficult Boss: Solutions to 7 Types of Bad Management Styles: Make sure you’re not guilty of acting like the control-freak or absent manager.
10. How to Find the Right Management Style: Read this article for tips on adopting a management style that meshes with your personality.

Marketing and Branding

These blog posts share tips for creating and building your brand and getting the word out about your company.

1. Personal Branding Tip: What if I’m a Jack of All Trades?: Here you’ll get tips for focusing on your company while reconciling your multiple talents.
2. 14 web marketing tips for startups: Scott Clark shares web marketing tips for newbie entrepreneurs.
3. 10 Most Common Publicity Mistakes: You’ll want to avoid thinking like an advertiser and keep a safe distance between yourself and your product.
4. 10 Tips for Entrepreneurs: David Vinjamuri of Accidental Branding can help entrepreneurs stand out and build their reputation.
5. Creating a Business Other Companies Want to Buy: Here you’ll learn how to make your company attractive to bigger companies.
6. If You Do Just One Thing: This post cautions you against trying to offer too many products and services under one brand name.
7. Top 5 Branding Tips: These straightforward branding tips ask you to consider design, slogans, consistency and customers.
8. Rock-Solid Marketing Tips for Trendy Times: Discover how to create a stable marketing strategy to attract loyal customers.
9. Practical Marketing Tips for New Entrepreneurs: This WSJ article answers questions like “How do most new businesses get their first customer?” and “What do new business owners usually do well in regard to marketing?”
10. Street Smarts: Your Good Name: Find out how to get your competitors to sing your praises.

HR and Office Management

Learn how to promote an efficient office culture and recruit and retain quality employees.

1. Are Gen Y Workers Good for Business?: Read this post to find out if you should be hiring workers from Generation Y.
2. How to assemble the perfect team Learn how to recruit executives for your team.
3. Hold On to Top Employees by Making Them Marketable: This post explains why training and investing in employees can make them stay with you.
4. Hiring a Manager: Find out how to screen employees and applicants for management positions.
5. Ten Employee Training Tips: Even before you start training, learn how to identify your own needs and promote a culture of learning.
6. Keep your workers and dump your real estate: Rosemary Peavler believes that your workers are more valuable than office space.
7. The Office: Damned with Faint Praise: Learn how to praise your employees.
8. Performance Management: Get What You Request and Reward: Susan M. Heathfield’s guide to performance management encourages you to develop clear job descriptions, provide coaching, and conduct quarterly evaluations.
9. Promote self-discipline: Create a work environment that promotes self-discipline and allows your employees to clearly understand your expectations.

Leadership

Being a strong leader means being innovative, accountable and ethical. You’ll find tips and insight into working on your leadership skills here.

1. You Will Make Mistakes. Deal With It: When you feel like a failure, turn to this post.
2. The Difference Between a Manager and a Leader is Innovation: Learn how to become a more innovative leader and not just a delegator.
3. How to ask for help – without looking stupid: This post can help you master the art of asking for help without looking unprepared or inexperienced.
4. 5 Tips to Keep You Sharp: Scott Halford reinforces the idea that lifelong learning is paramount for entrepreneurs.
5. Test Yourself: Would You Act Unethically on the Job?: Find out if you’re strong enough to make tough decisions.
6. Leadership isn’t about You: Being a leader isn’t about being the most powerful person in the room. Find out what it is about.
7. Win-Win Negotiation: How to Get the Best Solution for All Involved: Learn how to anticipate and plan for the needs of everyone, not just your own agenda.
8. 10 Tips for Taking Yourself Seriously, So Your Employees Do, Too: Tips like “be on time everyday” and “don’t go drinking with your assistant” will help your employees view you as a true leader.
9. 11 Principles of Entrepreneurial Leadership: Learn how to accept responsibility, lead by example and become a better brainstormer.
10. Leadership Tips to Create Greater Accountability in Your Organization: Being a good leader means being able to inspire your employees to become more accountable too.

Work Culture

Before working for yourself, find out what you’ll have to sacrifice, and what you’ll get in return.

1. Three Reasons Not to Become an Entrepreneur: This post points to stability, success and social interaction as things you may not find as an entrepreneur.
2. MBAs vs. Entrepreneurs: Who Has the Right Stuff for Tough Times: Just based on your experience, find out if you have what it takes to survive a recession or slump.
3. Where to Focus: Passion or Ability?: Should you throw yourself into a business that focuses on what you love or something you’re naturally good at?
4. How to benefit from a freelancer’s mind-set: Here you’ll learn tactics for hustling, finding your passion and monitoring your reputation.
5. Stress Management Tips for Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners: Figure out how to take time out for yourself.
6. 6 Time Management Skills for Entrepreneurs: Learn “anti-multi-tasking” and strategies for disconnecting.
7. Epitaph for an Entrepreneur: If you have a family, read this post for tips on managing time at home and at work.
8. Entrepreneurs take lead in offering best work-life options: Good entrepreneurs extend their own flexible schedules to their employees, too.
9. No Time to Read This? Read This: This article will coach you to better time management practices.
10. Creating a Business Culture: Watch this video to learn how to set up a productive, enjoyable business culture.

Internet and Technology

Get social media marketing tips and ideas for saving money on tech costs here.

1. 5 Misplaced Social Networking Fears: Starr Hall shares 5 tips for calmer, more effective social networking for business owners.
2. 4 Tech Tips to Keep Ahead of the Game for New Entrepreneurs: Find out which tech tips are most important for staying relevant.
3. 51 Tips for Saving Money on Technology: Cut your IT costs with the help of these tips.
4. Take a Vacation from Your Email: Try out this experiment if technology is getting the best of you.
5. How to Make Your Website Really Sell: Your website shouldn’t just be a place to share information, it should be a platform on which to win customer loyalty.

Customers and Sales

These blog posts focus on reaching out to customers, old and new.

1. How to Take Your Customers from Happy to Wowed: Having happy customers isn’t enough: learn how to wow them instead.
2. 9 Principles of Quality Customer Service: Read this guide to understand why customer service costs money.
3. Training Salespeople to Stop Choking and Start Selling: The Secret to Building Sales Confidence: You’ll get tips for building a quality team and increasing sales here.
4. Milking Customer Loyalty: Find out how to use your customers’ loyalty to find new business.

Money

From tax issues to accounting to saving money, aspiring entrepreneurs will learn to anticipate a range of money matters after reading these posts.

1. The Accounting Cycle for a Small Business: Here you’ll find a guide for organizing business accounts.
2. 50 Ways to Save Money in Your Business: You’re probably trying to cut costs any way you can, and this post can help.
3. How Strong Are Your Business Finances? Can You Pass the 3 to 6 Test?: Can you set aside 3-to-6 months’ worth of fixed costs?
4. 10 Money Tips for Young Entrepreneurs to Avoid Premature Bankruptcy: Don’t ruin your golden idea by going bankrupt.
5. 20 Tips to Save Time and Money in Your Small Business: Shop around for banking deals, do more tasks yourself, and save electricity and other utilities.
6. Use Your Personal Credit Card for Business Operations: Find out why using your personal credit card may help you in the long run.
7. Debt Financing: Pros and Cons: Read about debt financing here if you’re considering going this route to pay for start-up costs.
8. 10 Ways to Save Money on Small Business Taxes: This post encourages you to track expenses carefully, pay taxes on time and outsource some business functions.
9. Before You Apply for a Business Loan: Get organized and do the numbers before you apply for a loan.
10. Startup Financial Tips from Mark Cuban and 4 Other Entrepreneurs: Get financial tips from other entrepreneurs.

Business Plans and Project Management

Learn how to develop, pitch and manage business plans from day one through your entire entrepreneurial career.

1. Live with Planning, Not Just the Plan: Get tips on organizing Plans A and B.
2. What Your Company Can Learn from Netflix: Netflix has stolen business from DVD-rental stores, and find out how you can model your business after a similar plan.
3. Business Plans are Always Wrong: Discover the paradox of business planning.
4. Plan-as-you-go Business Planning: Learn this strategy of business planning.
5. Why You Need a Business Plan: This WSJ post makes a good argument for being prepared.

Miscellaneous

Get even more tips from other entrepreneurs on saving money, learning from your mistakes, and getting started in these posts.

1. 10 Lessons Learned in 22 Years of Bootstrapping: Check out this list to see if you’re making the same mistakes.
2. 6 Tips for Involving Your Kids in Your Business: If you want your kids to eventually take over the family business, read this post.
3. 25 Tips for Entrepreneurs by Entrepreneurs: Tips here include “avoid isolation” and “get trained.”
4. How to Cope with Overnight Success: It might sound great a first, but overnight success also means a lot of sudden responsibility.
5. Become a Natural Presenter with this Simple Oral Presentation Checklist: Whether you’re pitching investors or giving an office pep talk, this guide will help you become a natural presenter.