NEW IDENTIFY THEFT METHOD

I posted a video some days back abouton my SM on  how I was told that,  my name is on Credit bureau list for a loan from a bank I have never in my life collect any facility from?

Well I calmed down on the investigation for a while because the said bank claimed they didn't submit my name anywhere as I don't owe them or ever collected anything from them.

And I am adamant about paying 5000 Naira to any bank for credit Bureau list.

But Anaebo Maureen just tagged me to this post in screenshots and THIS IS ALL SHADES OF CREEPY AND SCARY!

LIKE WTH???? what exactly is happening in our banking system in Nigeria? Like someone Somewhere can take another person's BVN and collect a loan and they'd later come after the owner of the bvn?
Don't picture of BvN owner and signature come up on their system? What is the finger print machine and all for?
LIKE WHAT DA! ...I'm literally scared right now! Haven't been going out much can't even drive cos I got a slight dislocated ankle, but I'm not about going to get arrested for a loan I know  nothing about, NAH! not in 2020!

My advise is, reach out to your banks and ask for a search of your name on the credit bureau agency because this fraudsters are not smiling.

Don't go down for something you know nothing of!

Christ!

Hi CEO'S 👋

We told you we were back in 2020 no jokes right?
Here is one of our features for the year.

Ensabmentoring's
T.I.B.E NEWS!

T- rending
I- nvestment
B-usiness/finance
E-ntreprenuership
NEWS!

There really is a lot going on that many business, career minded persons and entreprenuers are oblivious off.

Our team will be digging deep, researching, asking questions, visiting offices and bringing all those opportunities to you right here on ENSABMENTORING.

It's going to be fun, interactive, and informative
If you are not already doing so, follow all our handles and pages.

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6 Productive Things To Do When Unemployed And Broke

So you just graduated from the university, or you've probably been laid off your job, now the hard reality that you have joined the mass population of unemployed people in the country dawned on you, and you thinking about productive things to do
Now what?

You start submitting your CVs to various companies and openings, hoping to be given a chance for an interview with them. You were lucky, you've been granted an interview. You went and felt pretty satisfied with your performance. But to your utter disappointment, you never got the job.
Trust me, I have been there, and it wasn't a pleasant situation to find oneself. But rather than sitting at home doing nothing, waiting for that dream job to come by, why not invest that time into something productive and keep yourself busy. Because no matter how bad it is to be unemployed, your best option is to "always make the most of it". Remember the saying "when life gives you a lemon, make lemonade".

Listed below are useful things to do when unemployed that will help you get through this challenging phase of life.

Learn A New Skill

Learning a skill, whether it is related to your preferred job or not adds more value and depth to your life. There are so many skills in the world available to learn. Skills such as tailoring, writing, graphics design, cooking of various assorted dishes, coding, shoemaking, web development, etc. are always in high demand. And the good news is that you can always learn most of these skills online and for free. Just pick up the one which interests you and master it well.

Create A Network With Friends And Families

Most times, unemployed people feel awkward about reaching out to friends and families because of the inferiority complex. But it's worth noting that reaching out to people that matters increases your chances of getting a job. Let friends and families and even professional contacts know that you are in the market for a job and request their assistance in finding connections to the organizations that interest you.

Engage In Voluntary Activities

Volunteering is a great way to fill a gap in your CV. Employers highly admire it as it shows that money isn't the only important thing to you; rather, you are passionate about what you do and care about helping others. It also gives you a sense of fulfillment, knowing that you are doing a good deed to those who need it.

Update Your CV And Cover Letter

A common mistake most people make is to underestimate the power of a good CV and cover letter. Your CV represents your brand. It is Your first chance to make an impression on a potential employer.
CV usually includes the following;
Personal Details
Education & Qualifications
Employment History
Key Skills
Interests
References
When writing your CV, always have in mind that others will be applying for that same position as you and will be submitting their CVs as well, so it is essential that you make a good impression on the employers to attract their attention.
Don't just list all your past places of work and experiences. Also write about how what you did, benefitted the organization you did it for.

Become A Freelancer

The internet is a different world of its own, always presenting various opportunities to those who are ready to take action. One great way to spend your idle time while making quite a decent income is by venturing into freelancing, provided you have a skill.
Freelancing involves working on a contract basis for a variety of companies. There are lots of freelancing sites online where you can make decent money, but you will need to have the skill to offer.
Skills such as article writing, graphics designing, programming, and so on are in very high demand.
Example of such sites include
Fiverr, Upwork, Jolancer, Freelancer, etc.
So long as you've got something to offer, sign up for any or all of the sites listed above and start cashing out.

Generate Business Ideas

Untapped business ideas are all around you, open up your mind to the possibilities, and you might just be a winner. It doesn't matter if you have the means to go into it yet, it doesn't matter if you are thinking small-scale or big-scale, just think of one business you see yourself succeeding at and who knows, you just might become the next successful entrepreneur.

...contributed by STEVE OGAGA

Saudi Arabia today.

The King Abdullah Center for Petroleum Research and Studies (KACPRS), Riyadh, recently concluded “Launch Your Project,” a series of 15 workshops aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The event, attended by around 8,800 people, was created in line with the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 and the objectives of Vision 2030 to empower youth to initiate their own projects to drive economic development. It was supported by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
The event focused on four areas, based on Vision 2030: Promising economies, innovation, competitiveness, and leadership.
Itidal Al-Najim, general supervisor of “Launch Your Project,” said the event reflected the innovation of the participating entrepreneurs, concentrating on high-end technology and artificial intelligence in its interactive activities and workshops.
Panel discussions offered recommendations and consultation to startups, or to those wishing to launch their own small and medium enterprises (SMEs), she added.

 The three joint winners of the event’s “Future Star” platform will feature at this year’s Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) in Dubai.
Al-Najim added that she hopes the initiative will become the first stop for anyone looking to launch a startup in the Kingdom, and described “Launch Your Project” as an “important step” in helping to develop local SME projects by 2030.
She said the initiative seeks to be the first station in launching any startup project in the Kingdom in its capacity as an important step to empower and develop SME projects in the region by 2030.  

 CREDIT: Arabnews.com

My turning point as a marketer.

Great lesson, funny story line!

It was the year 2009 , brown skin, high cheek bones !

I remember this day , I was at podium block, state secretariat marketing stuff for mom!

I really didn't know anyone or who to go to, I just walked into the complex , noticed some bankers who had also come marketing gathered at where I now know as podium block , well I just followed them and as they entered into one office , I knocked at the next, it happened to be the office of the adviser to the governor on  certain (I won't mention this here) affairs.

I entered and as I walked towards the secretary who was male, I flashed my signature smile, introduced myself as simply Amalia and I was here to see oga, he smiled back , I was ready , white blouse on a wine colored high waist skirt, heels and bag to match, makeup on check👌

He asked if it was official or personal? I responded personal and he should just tell Oga Amalia (still standing and holding fast to my small travel bag 💼 with goods to sell and wondering what on earth was giving me such morale 😳)

He beckoned on me  to sit down , I did sit with two other men who were there before me, then one beautiful tall aunty so, walked in , ignoring those seated , waved to the secretary and asked if oga was around, at this moment I knew I found my golden moment,I started titling  my head from place to place just so I can catch her eyes as she cracked jokes and laughed with the secretary, she finally looked my way, I smiled making sure all comers of my 32 showed and greeted in the most girlish voice " good morning aunty 😁"

She responded " good morning fine girl, how are you?"

Without wasting time I quickly said " Aunty I have something for sale you will like" ( still in my girlish voice and brandishing my smile)

By then I could see the secretary from the corner of my eyes raise his head in surprise with mouth full open, 😂 .

Aunty said really? Follow me then , and I just stood up making sure I avoided looking at uncle secretary and we went into oga's office, aunty introduced me as her friend and she brought things for oga to buy for her and himself , aunty was a pro, she being a zenith bank marketer , omo, I literally poured out my bag and as I introduced each item, aunty told oga which is best for him and which she had already chosen( they  were alternative supplements)

Aunty even chose the breast pump and as I was wondering what she needed it for , (because she is blessed by the beautiful hands of momma nature, padded front and back) Oga asked her same question in my head, she began giving theory of how every woman needs good flow of blood and only God knows what she was saying 😂

TO CUT THE LONG EPISTLE SHORT!

I sold a whopping 150k worth of goods in that office that morning, I got half cash and half in postdated Cheque.

Mom couldn't believe it when I was dropped off home by a hilux with soldiers (based on aunty orders) and when I gave her 75k in cash and cheque and still returned her breast pump as aunty didn't need it!

THIS DAY WAS A TURNING POINT FOR ME IN MARKETING!

I learnt these things;
1) Dress the way you want to addressed.
2) Just take a step, success may just be waiting for you at the door.
3) WOMEN ARE POWERFUL.
4) I also recognised the  power in my smile😁

Lastly I learnt that I can SELL A STONE TO ANYONE, it's not always about the product , it's about your selling style, your approach and your convincing power!

Amalia Substance

Thinking Investment in India?

 8 things to know about India's economy.

India’s economic success in recent years has helped to ensure that South Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world – but it faces significant challenges alongside its opportunities for further growth.

Ahead of the India Economic Summit 2017, taking place in New Delhi from 4-6 October, here are eight things you need to know to understand the current state of India’s economy.

Economic and population growth

India is the world’s seventh-largest economy, sitting between France and Italy. Its GDP growth recently dipped to 5.7%; still, India is growing faster than any other large economy except for China. By 2050, India’s economy is projected to be the world’s second-largest, behind only China.

India is home to 1.34 billion people – 18% of the world’s population. It will have overtaken China as the world’s most populous country by 2024. It has the world’s largest youth population, but isn’t yet fully capturing this potential demographic dividend – over 30% of India's youth are NEETs (not in employment, education or training), according to the OECD.



READ MORE

ENTREPRENEUR'S CHOICE OF WORDS, THE DON'TS

Oh! so you thought, because it's widely and generally accepted as proper communicating words it's fine to use them?


Well here are 3 FILTY WORDS, SMART AND SUCCESFUL PEOOLE NEVER USE!

You're in mid-conversation with a work colleague, and out of nowhere (or so you think), that person disengages and loses interest. If you are keenly self-aware, you may even notice subtle body language that informs you something just shifted.

But what? Is it something you said? Most likely, yes. When you begin to pay attention to your vernacular, there are certain words we often use that hardly register on our internal radar. 

They are filthy little words that can hold us back. Now that you know that, here are the three culprits to listen for as you speak.
1. "But."

But is a filthy little word. It deceives us from our own truth, stops us from moving forward, and makes us victims of life. Most of the time we're not even consciously aware of its limitations on us.

Here's what it usually means: "Ignore all that good-sounding stuff that came before--here comes the truth."

The truth is usually not what people want to hear, especially if but is accompanied by its closest friend: if only.

    "If only I had more help on this project, I'd be ahead of schedule. If only my team was more supportive of me, I'd be jetting out the door in time for the game before traffic hits."

Then there's the dreaded "yes, but." This is the but we use when ignoring the unbearably good advice of others. Yes, but means, "Here comes the argument for my limitations."

Eliminate your but from your thinking, and enjoy a more positive outlook.
2. "Try."

This filthy little word also dominates our vernacular and severely limits us without us even knowing it. It's worthy of the most eye-rolls. Example:

    "I'll try to get that report to you by tomorrow."

    "I'll try to make it by noon."

    "I'll try and see if I can make the time for that meeting."

Try usually means: Even though I heard your request, it's not really a priority right now for me to follow through on that request, but I just can't be honest enough to tell it to your face.

Try doesn't get past really intuitive and emotionally-intelligent people. When they hear it, they know the truth, see through you, and peg you as inauthentic.

Try creates doubt -- in your own mind and ..

READ MORE

Source: INC.COM

What is an 'Entrepreneur'

An entrepreneur is an individual who, rather than working as an employee, founds and runs a small business, assuming all the risks and rewards of the venture. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services and business/or procedures.

Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy. These are the people who have the skills and initiative necessary to anticipate current and future needs and bring good new ideas to market. Entrepreneurs who prove to be successful in taking on the risks of a startup are rewarded with profits, fame and continued growth opportunities. Those who fail suffer losses and become less prevalent in the markets.


BREAKING DOWN 'Entrepreneur'
Entrepreneurship is one of the resources economists categorize as integral to production, the other three being land/natural resources, labor and capital. An entrepreneur combines the first three of these to manufacture goods or provide services. He or she typically creates a business plan, hires labor, acquires resources and financing, and provides leadership and management for the business.

Entrepreneurs commonly face many obstacles when building their companies. Three that many of them cite as the most challenging are: overcoming bureaucracy, hiring talent and obtaining financing.

Financing New Ventures
Given the riskiness of a new venture, the acquisition of captial funding is particularly challenging, and many entrepreneurs deal with it via bootstrapping: financing a business using methods such as using their own money, providing sweat equity to reduce labor costs, minimizing inventory and factoring receivables.

While some entrepreneurs are lone players struggling to get small businesses off the ground on a shoestring, others take on partners armed with greater access to capital and other resources. In these situations, new firms may acquire financing from venture capitalists, angel investors, hedge funds, crowdsourcing or through more traditional sources such as bank loans.

Definitions of Entrepreneurship
Economists have never had a consistent definition of "entrepreneur" or "entrepreneurship" (the word "entrepreneur" comes from the French verb entreprendre, meaning "to undertake"). Though the concept of an entrepreneur existed and was known for centuries, the classical and neoclassical economists left entrepreneurs out of their formal models: They assumed that perfect information would be known to fully rational actors, leaving no room for risk-taking or discovery. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that economists seriously attempted to incorporate entrepreneurship into their models.

Three thinkers were central to the inclusion of entrepreneurs: Joseph Schumpeter, Frank Knight and Israel Kirzner. Schumpeter suggested that entrepreneurs – not just companies – were responsible for the creation of new things in the search of profit. Knight focused on entrepreneurs as the bearers of uncertainty and believed they were responsible for risk premiums in financial markets. Kirzner thought of entrepreneurship as a process that led to discovery.

 CONTINUE READING

 Source:  INVESTOPEDIA

                           

Hi guys, it's exactly 349 days since my last article here, and I have missed y'all so much!
Life has been happening to me, and I plan on telling you guys every single bit of it, because, there are lessons to be learnt, ideas to recreate and new milestones to hit!
Welcome to a new day.

Your favorite entrepreneur!
Amalia Substance
13/11/2017

5 steps to Job freedom

If you are looking to have a true sense of freedom with your career and to finally find a job that affords you the freedom that you desire, then there is no better path than becoming an entrepreneur.

Here are five steps that you can take on your journey to becoming a self-employed, free and highly successful individual.

1. List your skills.

Before you can make a career for yourself utilizing your skills, you need to know what your skills are. Take the time to write down all of the skills that you have. Be honest with yourself and think about the skills that you really possess, not just the ones you wish you had. This will be your basis for determining what you can feasibly do with your future.


2. Write down all your goals in life.

In order to start growing and building your future you need to know what you are growing towards. Take the time to write down all of the goals that you have in life. Use these goals to motivate you on your quest towards freedom. What do you really want? To make a certain amount of money? To buy a house? To travel. Think about it and write it down.

3. Write down your dream jobs.

What is your dream job? What type of work would you do if anything in the world was open to you? Write down what your dream jobs are and then stop thinking about them as dreams. What is holding you back from taking that dream and make it into a reality? A list of dream jobs will help you realize what you truly want out of a career.


Continue reading

SOURCE: ENTREPRENEUR

How Your Business Can Thrive Even When a Recession Bites Hard

1. Leverage an urgent consumer need.

“Recession does not mean that the people suddenly stop spending money," said Will Rees, director of Worktop Express. "Price comparison certainly becomes higher up the agenda, but people don't buy on price alone. In my opinion, there is a real shift in priority towards value, during a recession. The consumer will carry out a fair degree of research -- and will usually choose to purchase the item that represents the best compromise between price and quality."

For instance, plastic credit cards were created to deal with the problem of fading cardboard credit cards. Airbnb came about as a new way to face the issue of expensive lodging, and it's still doing well. For similar reasons, companies like PayPal, 2Checkout and TransferGo are also still thriving: they solve the funds-transfer problem.

2. Source capital from investors.

If you have a promising project or business model, pitch your business idea to an investor. The objective is to solicit enough funds to get the business up and running and unleash its full potential to hit it big in the market.

3. Find creative alternatives.

During the 2008 recession, companies were closing down their branches due to the cash crunch. Macy's took a different path -- it took to creating virtual stores on the internet where customers could buy products from the convenience of their homes. Other companies, like Ford, Alaska Air and VW, also found creative alternatives.

Coming up with convenient, innovative and cost-effective alternatives will make your business more attractive to consumers. This is because during a recession, consumers look out for better deals.

Read more here

SOURCE: ENTREPRENEUR

10 Success lessons from Travis Kalanick – “CEO of Uber” for entrepreneurs

Here are the 10 success lessons from Travis Kalanick – “CEO of Uber” for the entrepreneurs,

1. Find something broken that you’re passionate about

The idea of Uber came when Kalanick faced the simple problem of finding a cab in Paris. Whether it’s Amazon or Google, every big business we see today is helping people solve a problem making their life that much easier and better. When your business is based on solving a specific problem, you add value to the life of your customer.

2. You will make mistakes; Learn and move forward

Kalanick is known to be brash and confrontational. When it comes to defending his company practices, he has stood against taxi industry, rival cab companies, local regulators and sometimes even his own customers. He is incredibly driven by what he does and is not afraid to show it. But there have been times when he has admitted that he probably take the right approach.

3. How hard is your problem?

The more difficult the problem, more effective would be the solution and that in turn would click with consumers. Travis calls himself the Problem Solver-in-charge at Uber

4. Roadblocks may slow you down but don’t let them stop you

Uber has had its fair share of difficulties and still is fighting regulation in new markets. The company even had to fight existing laws to expand it’s business. From cab unions to city regulators, while Uber takes every effort to make commuting as seamless as possible for its customers, it’s own journey has been very rocky. But every step of the way, Kalanick has stood his ground by doing what he calls ‘principled confrontation’.

5. Do not be afraid to start small

Just five years ago, Uber was only a four-person team in San Francisco. Like in any new venture, it was a difficult time with crunched resources and most of the effort went into keep the business afloat.

    
6. Adventure, doing the impossible is all entrepreneurship is all about!

The Uber team spent four weeks in Varkala beach in Kerala coding. Travis is a firm believer that doing the impossible is all entrepreneurship is all about. Talking about seeking adventure, he adds that Uber decided to do the impossible by trying to enter China, a market that almost no foreign company has been able to gain a foothold of.

Continue reading

SOURCE: KNOWSTARTUP

10 Success lessons from Jeff Bezos – “Amazon Founder and CEO” for entrepreneurs

1. Be Stubborn and Flexible

According to Bezos, good entrepreneurs must be stubborn and flexible. When referring to Amazon, Bezos says, “We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details.”

Sticking to the vision is the first part, and being flexible about the tactics is the second part. Bezos adds, “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.”

2. Base your strategy on things that won’t change

Selling lipstick, tractor seats, e-book readers and data storage is all part of one big plan with three big constants: offer wider selection, lower prices and fast, reliable delivery

3. Determine what your customers need, and work backwards

Specs for Amazon’s big new projects such as its Kindle tablets and e-book readers have been defined by customers’ desires rather than engineers’ tastes. If customers don’t want something it’s gone, even if that means breaking apart a once powerful department.

4.Make employees think like owners

When Bezos wrote this in the first Amazon annual letter, Bezos had 614 employees, up from 158 a year earlier. It has 230,000 now.

One key component of the approach has been to use stock options in hiring. “We will continue to focus on hiring and retaining versatile and talented employees, and continue to weight their compensation to stock options rather than cash,” Bezos wrote in the 1997 letter. “We know our success will be largely affected by our ability to attract and retain a motivated employee base, each of whom must think like, and therefore must actually be, an owner.”

5. “We are willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time”

Many of Amazon’s expansions look like money-losing distractions at first. That sometimes sends the company’s stock price skidding and evokes analysts’ scorn. Bezos shrugs. If the new initiatives make strategic sense to him, a five-to-seven-year financial payoff is okay.

6. Build a culture that’s right for your company

Amazon’s own culture is famously breakneck-paced, and notoriously cost-conscious, as befits a company that has run only a small profit, or a loss, under generally accepted accounting principles for most of its life as a public company.

“We never claim that our approach is the right one — just that it’s ours,” Bezos wrote in the 2015 letter. “Over the last two decades, we’ve collected a large group of like-minded people. Folks who find our approach energising and meaningful.”

Read more here

SOURCE: KNOWSTARTUP

10 Inspirational movie quotes for entrepreneurs

1. A Beautiful Mind

    “Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.”

If you are going to build a company, set out to do something nobody else has done before. If you are working to solve real pain for real people, you will truly distinguish yourself from the competition.

2. The Aviator

    “Don’t tell me I can’t do it; don’t tell me it can’t be done!”

Along the way you are going to hear from a lot of naysayers. People who are skeptical or don’t have the fortitude to do what you are trying to do. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Don’t let the insecurities of others hold you back.

3. The Godfather

    “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

You are going to be doing a lot of negotiating. You will be securing new partnerships and working to recruit top talent. What can you offer that nobody else can offer? If you are selling

4. Jerry McGuire

    “The key to this business is personal relationships.”

From customers to partners to employees, many times success comes down to one thing: the people. To build a great company you need to find great people. If you don’t nail that you are going to be fighting an uphill battle.

5. Pirates of Caribbean

    “Even a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a bad decision”

The decision-making process of a startup is one of the most important parts of the culture. How do you make decisions? What are your principles? Are you making decisions that yield short-term gain but create long-term pain? If you are not making decisions for the right reasons, then you may find that decision will create more trouble later on.

Read more quotes here

SOURCE: KNOWSTARTUP

3 Things That Matter if You Want to Be an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are born, not made. If you have an entrepreneurial mindset, you will know it. Successful entrepreneurs share three core attributes:

Leadership ability

At some point, you will see something that no one else sees. You will be able to develop a vision based on what you see and then convince others to commit time and money to help you explore opportunities and options. This is why founder-led businesses have greater success — the founders establish stronger corporate culture, define opportunities, and then provide the leadership needed to attract investors and employees.

An entrepreneur has the ability to create a vision that others usually can’t initially see themselves, and then serve, in effect, as the “backbone” of that vision.

Single-minded obsession

To put it bluntly, building a business is incredibly hard and requires careful attention to detail. Let’s face it: A company founder has to drive it all, tracking every detail and becoming obsessed with the company’s success. It’s not a lifestyle — it’s more like a disease, almost a form of addiction. Starting a company is not for the faint of heart.

Resilience

The stress that entrepreneurs experience is almost impossible to describe. Obviously, starting a company is nothing like working for a company.

But what you never do is give up. You have to be resilient, tenacious, and persistent no matter what.

No great businesses would be built if every entrepreneur gave up when things got tough. It gets back to those three characteristics of great entrepreneurs. When things get tough, remain obsessed and resilient as you lead your company to success.

More details here

SOURCE: FORTUNE

7 Keys to Finding That Perfect Mentor For Your Business

Why is it that only the most successful entrepreneurs, including Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Richard Branson, admit to having a mentor and actually use them?

Starting a new business is tough, and the last thing you need is to suffer the same mistakes that have killed businesses like yours before you. Yet many entrepreneurs I know are too proud or too shy to even ask for advice.

Most successful business people, whether retired or still active, would love to share some of the wisdom they have gained from their own experience, but are not inclined to impose themselves on others.

They expect you to take the initiative, to ask them, and to make it a fun and productive relationship. Here are some guidelines on how to make that happen:

1. Identify specific issues and goals where you need mentoring

First, you need to admit that you want mentoring, and in what areas. If you don't have any idea what you are seeking, you won't know when you have found it. It's tempting for technical founders to seek more depth on technical issues, when they need marketing and financial help.

2. Be willing and able to commit time and effort to the process

Finding a mentor won't help you if you don't have time to listen, and are not willing to do your homework to ask the right questions.

Mentors are people too, so they will quickly sense when they aren't valued. Sessions must always remain positive and not defensive, rather than excuses.

3. Ask for a reasonable time commitment from a mentor candidate

Even the best mentor may be of no value to you, if you can never reach them, or they never find time for you. Then make sure you never make yourself a burden by frequent calls or wasting time on trivial subjects.

The best approach is regularly scheduled small blocks of time.

4. Prepare and plan to lead each mentor session for best productivity

Don't expect the mentor to know and drive your business. Provide the mentor with your relevant business metrics and data, if possible, before each meeting, to allow them to do prior homework as required.

The most valuable insights may be for broader or future business implication.

Continue here

SOURCE: INC

What to do when your small business needs to grow its workforce

In the life of every small business, there comes a time when it has to get bigger.

But staffing-up isn't just about adding bodies to your organization – you need to build systems that will drive performance, create a culture of purpose and of course, find the most-talented people out there. And that's just the beginning.

Each points highlighted below has a video accompanied with it. Click on the link below to watch or get all the videos from Mashable

What to do::

Hiring to drive performance

Filling your business with top talent will create a culture of performance that replicates itself

Click here for video

Thinking about talent development

Talent development starts with your hiring process. Look for candidates with potential.

Click here for video

Creating a productive culture

Treat your employees like family and they'll work hard for you and your business.

Click here for video
Content.jwplatform.com/manifests/m3u8

Knowing your blind spots

You can't be good at everything, but you can surround yourself with people who fill your knowledge gaps.

Click here for video

Building out an expert staff

You may not think you can afford an expert, but you may end up spending more on outsourcing.

Click here for video

Investing in a.......... continue reading from source

SOURCE: MASHABLE

26 Fast Ways to Increase Teamwork Productivity

BEING PRODUCTIVE as a team is a lot harder than getting things done on a personal level.
As a manager or a CEO, you might be well aware of how to plan, manage, and organize your work. But it’s not you alone who contributes to important projects.

Your business success relies on the performance of your entire team and their ability to perform highly both on professional and personal level

Here are some tips to improve everyone’s productivity, and bring more efficient to teamwork.

1. Set clear goals

Working without a clear goal is like going on a journey without a map – you might reach the destination, but it’ll take you significantly more time. To outline your team’s top priorities, you need to step back and ask yourself: “What’s the ultimate goal we’re looking to achieve?”

Outline your key teamwork goals, objectives, and milestones to help your team decide which tasks fall into the Top Priority category.

2. Define the OKRs

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) is a popular technique for setting and communicating goals and results in organizations. The method’s used by teams in the Fortune 500 companies like Google, LinkedIn, Intel, Zynga, and Twitter. So, there must be a reason why all these highly talented people use the OKRs

Start by defining 3-5 ambitious, qualitative, time-bound, and actionable key objectives of the company and team levels. Under each objective, define 3-4 measurable results, not more. Your OKRs should be quantifiable and achievable, yet challenging.

As you’ve defined your teamwork OKRs, write them down on a shared whiteboard or why not even make a poster to hang on your office walls. The more you remind each other of important business metrics, the more likely you are to achieve them.

3. Redefine what’s urgent

While it’s important to keep to your goals and avoid shortsighted reactive work, you still need to be prepared for unexpected events.

Learn to set apart the urgencies that are best left untackled, and the crisis situations when it’s required to drop everything else and commit to solving the issue.

When redefining the notion of “urgency”, remind your team of your long-term goals and OKRs. If an urgent task will help you to get closer to a key objective, it should become a top priority.

4. Clarify expectations

It’s the team manager’s job to communicate the priorities and expectations for each role in the team. The last thing you want is for someone to begin his day thinking, “I have eight projects to work on, where do I start?”.

The requirement for efficient teamwork is that everyone’s aware of their role and knows what’s expected of them. If you’re able to make individual contributions actionable and measurable, even better.

5. Set clear responsibilities

In teamwork, it’s easy for the tasks and responsibilities to get mixed up.

To be more productive, it’s best if you clarify each team member’s responsibilities and areas of expertise.

But leave some room for trial and error as the tasks and projects depend largely on your key goals. When you give your team some room for approaching complex problems with creativity and flexibility, they’ll be able to adapt their skills according to the situation.

6. Keep your teamwork organized

Leaving your team’s performance to the chance is one of the gravest mistakes a manager can make.

For people to work productively, their work needs to be organized into prioritized projects and tasks. It’s a lot easier to stay organized on a personal level than to be systematic about your teamwork.

7. Use a work management tool

A work management tool will help you to create, track, and manage complex projects and daily task lists.

If you’d like to get a quick overview of your team’s current projects, time usage, and work performance, start using work management software that covers both project management and reporting

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SOURCE: SCORO

PERSONALITY TRAITS OF AN ENTREPRENEUR

So what is the stuff that successful entrepreneurs are made of? How do you define that certain je ne sais quoi that enables an entrepreneur to convince skeptics their idea is the next big thing? Moreover, what allows those entrepreneurs to take their idea and turn it into a profitable company? CNN representative highlights the following points

They're persistent

Launching a startup is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires stamina, and you have to be fit to sustain the lifestyle. Founders inevitably come up against failure on a daily basis. While some ideas work, more often they don't. You try, fail, and try again.
Nine to five? Forget about it. Most startup teams clock 80 to 90 hours a week in the launch phase. As one tech entrepreneur recently said to a CNN representative, having an idea is just the first step on a long road. You have to have the intestinal fortitude to put your head down and get through the process.

They're adaptive

The startup world can be a jungle, and the most successful entrepreneurs have a keen ability to quickly adapt to their habitat. So much can change from the inception of an idea to the final product -- unforeseen problems arise; the market changes; demand changes. Successful entrepreneurs recognize that and are willing to try a different approach when something isn't working. In startup jargon, it's called pivoting. They can duck, dodge, dive to escape the metaphorical bullets of the entrepreneurial landscape while remaining laser-focused.
One local entrepreneur admitted to a CNN representative without hesitation that being a pioneer is terrifying because it means you don't have a road map. As a founder, you have to become a jack of all trades. You are the manager, the IT department, the marketing department, and somewhere in between all of that, you have to get your work done

They're risk takers

Entrepreneurs are, above all, risk takers. They are willing to part ways with a job that offers a plush salary and benefits to pursue their idea or business. Or they start with nothing -- and no guarantee.
We often hear entrepreneurs' grandiose success stories, but we don't always hear about the long, tumultuous journeys that led them there. I once asked a solo founder about the scariest part of being an entrepreneur.

They're imaginative doers

After working with several fledgling companies early in his career, Andrew Yang started to believe entrepreneurship could solve many of the problems..... continue reading from source

SOURCE: CNN

Conceptions and misconceptions about Entrepreneurship

Four Misconceptions About Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is not about:

You: Building a startup is a trendy thing to do these days. Entrepreneurs appear on covers of magazines, get featured on reality shows, appear on advertisements. While a startup will not exist without the entrepreneur starting it, the last thing entrepreneurship is about is the entrepreneur himself.

Once the startup gets going, everything the entrepreneur does is about propelling the business forward. You as the entrepreneur often come last in the pecking order of importance. You are responsible not only for taking the spotlight in media interviews, but also for taking the trash out in the office, filling in for an employee that quit suddenly, or dealing with difficult customers.

The fancy office/free beers: When asked about what entrepreneurship looks like, often times people may say, “Ping pong tables! Free beers every Friday! Dog friendly workplace!” Today, with the proliferation of co-working spaces, entrepreneurship feels more like a fantasy land that adults go to to play. These fancy office spaces largely come from the need for creative solutions that entrepreneurship requires and often times long hours that are required from building something important. In the early days of running a company, entrepreneurs work excruciatingly long hours to get something started.

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What Entrepreneurship Is Really About:

Making something people want: Paul Graham, founder of YCombinator, says it best – make something people want. In the early stage of entrepreneurship, it’s about finding the product market fit.

The people: Beyond the product, the most important thing that takes a startup beyond a one-man idea is the team. Entrepreneurship is about recognizing your own blind spots, and actively seeking people who do things better than you do.

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SOURCE: FORBES