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Intrepid Entrepreneurs > Entitled Entrepreneurs

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Entrepreneurs|Intrepid Entrepreneurs > Entitled EntrepreneursIt’s very important to consider what kind of entrepreneur you hope to be once you decide to go it alone. More than simply branding yourself and wearing a cool suit, its the values and virtues you bring to this role that will really sustain you.

Some people may misinterpret that fact as meaning that as an entrepreneur, you have to get everything right. That would be nice of course, but it’s usually far from the reality of how success is actually gound. Entrepreneurs that come into their own and feel as though their willingness to take risks should define their success are not entirely wrong, but with that comes a sense of entitlement that can make them inflexible, immodest, and less open to opportunities that come.

It’s much better to be intrepid than to be entitled. Does that mean that you have to fly blind and think that nothing wrong can happen? Absolutely not. But it does mean curating a certain willingness to not only being taught the path through foresight, but through error too, as it’s almost impossible to ignore the latter. How can you achieve this? Let’s consider:

Follow Similar Thought Leaders

It’s good to follow thought leaders that focus on fearless visionary thinking while also never allowing that optimism to render their practical assessments useless. Dee Agarwal is a great example of this, and a sterling person to showcase how resilient business leadership should operate not just in general, but also the world of today. Thoughts leaders like this can show you just how visionary thinking works, and why it’s so necessary.

Learn From Your Mistakes With A Clinical Attitude

Learning from your mistakes isn’t easy. It’s not nice to say ‘this is where I messed up, and wasn’t prepared enough, and didn’t realize the error I was making.’ But it’s essential to do that, because even the biggest CEO’s in business make mistakes from time to time. A good way to look at this approach is to learn from your mistakes with a clinical attitude. Just see mistakes as tools and stepping stones to help you get to where you want to go. Feel your way forward and dont’ be afraid of making additional mistakes. Your character isn’t defined by the mistake you make, but how you react to and what you do with it.

Know The Value Of A Risk

Intrepid entrepreneurs know the value of risk. Some entrepreneurs think that risk is something to be minimized in all areas. But outside of safety precautions, that’s never really what you should chase. A healthy understanding of what the risks are and how to properly deal with them is much better than trying to eliminate them entirely and failing to make any progress because of that. This can help you become motivated to accept an investment, or try a service offering never done in your industry, or champion sustainability in an industry known for its waste. When you can more readily approximate a solution like that, you’ll not only achieve potentially resounding success, but you’ll have learned something from the effort.

With this advice, you’re sure to become a worthwhile and intrepid entrepreneur.

Unexpected Costs of Running a Small Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Small Business Costs| Unexpected Costs of Running a Small BusinessRunning a small business may seem easy to do on paper, but there really are so many other things that you need to think about. One of them is unexpected expenses because this can easily be the downfall of your business.

Extra Office Space

Sure, a home office may work for your small business, but zoning and other related regulations may require you to have something a bit more official. When making the decision to rent or purchase a property, you need to think about how much space you have now and how much you actually need. A lot of companies will offer you temporary office space, which is great if you are not quite sure which direction you need to take your business in, or even the arrangements that you are going to have. Utility costs can also eat away at your budget. Leased spaces will often include these types of costs as part of your agreement too, so look into those and always make sure that you are getting the best deal.

Equipment and Maintenance

The tools that you need to run your business need to be maintained. You may also need to pay out for equipment you didn’t think you’d’ need, such as a scanner, copier or even a shredder. Stationary should also be included in your budget because this can also eat away at your money more than you realise. If you want to save money here, then consider buying equipment second-hand from a range of auction sites. You should also buy stationery or any other related equipment in bulk, as this will help you to cut down on the cost per item.

Employees

Salaries, medical leave, health insurance and even training can factor in a large amount of cost for your budget. If you fail to invest in your employees by providing them with a reasonable wage or even a clean office environment then they will leave and this will cost you even more in the long-run. The cost of replacing an employee can be extortionate depending on the avenues you need to go through, so make sure that you set aside a good amount of your budget to accommodate this.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Small Business Costs| Unexpected Costs of Running a Small BusinessSecurity

If your business is not secure then you will be putting it at risk. It doesn’t cost a lot to invest in
CCTV installation, but you would be surprised at how much it could help you to prevent break-ins. You should also focus on securing your network as well. This can be done through encryption, which will cost you, but it is most certainly a worthwhile investment.

Shrinkage

Shrinkage refers to inventory loss at some point between the purchase you make for the items and the sale you make to your customers. Shrinkage can occur through vendors not shipping the required total of products, couriers losing packages or even poor inventory management. This expense can be entirely prevented by being diligent and by also making sure that you document and process every single step of the shipment until it reaches your customer.

How to Run a Successful Video Game Development Company

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If you grew up as a gamer or are still an active player, they you may have dreamed of being a game developer one day. Or maybe you saw the success of a seemingly simple game like Angry Birds and thought you’d have a go at it. Truth is, starting a game company is more than a pipe dream and definitely possible if you have the know-how and determination to do so. Here are a few tips on how to establish a successful gaming company.

Gather Extensive Knowledge

Before you even start thinking of establishing your company, make sure that you gather as much knowledge as you can about the industry first. Read as many news stories, analyst reports, sales numbers, magazines, target research and market analysis as you can. Be sure to also read up on the type of gaming equipment on the market, either to buy them for your company, or know what you’re up against. One product that we recommend checking out would have to be the gaming laptop from Razer’s site (https://www.razer.com/gaming-laptops) which is steadily gaining popularity in the market. Once you have all this information, you can identify your target market and on what platform you will develop games, may it be home gaming consoles, portable devices or browser based social games.

Try to Get a Competitive Edge

The best way to get a competitive edge is by hiring better. What separates gaming companies is not just funding and marketing skills, but the quality of their teams. Try to hire for creativity, problem solving, hunger, intelligence and most importantly, passion, and make it clear in your game designer job descriptions. The most successful teams hire people with a genuine interest in gaming, people who are avid gaming fans and gamers themselves. This allows them to create games with the player in mind first.

Once you’ve built your team, make sure you communicate your core principles to them, the principles that make your company unique and aren’t altered by market forces, platforms or competitive influences. Then make sure these principles permeate every part of their work. Communication is key to building a build successful team in any industry, so the importance of hiring experienced communicators in the video game industry is not to be underestimated.

Find the Right Partners

You’ll most likely have to seek financial aid or a partnership if you’re just getting started in the industry. This is why it is important that you partner up with people who also have a deep passion and understanding of the gaming industry. You have to go with someone who understands the gaming development process, believes in you and your vision and is ready to support you every step of the way.

You should also seek partnership from more experienced mentors that could educate you on some of the aspects of the industry you may lack expertise in.

Create the Gaming Company You’ve Always Wanted

What separates brands like Apple and Google is their culture. Both have very different ways of working and company cultures to other brands in their sector, and that’s what sets them apart and makes them so successful. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through when creating a company culture and focus on the aspects you value the most.

Building a successful gaming company can be done if you know what you’re doing, and you have the drive and knowledge necessary to make it. If you follow the tips in this article, you’ll be one step closer to building a successful game development team.

Why Your Small Business Needs a Toll Free Number

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Why Your Small Business Needs a Toll Free NumberThink your small business isn’t big enough to require having a toll free telephone number? Here are four good reasons why investing in one or more toll free lines can be an asset to enterprises of any size.

Conveys Your Legitimacy

In general, potential clients like to feel that they are purchasing from a stable, well-established organization. While you have probably worked hard to build a reputation that conveys this, there are also subtle things you can do as a business owner to create a sense of trustworthiness. Having a physical address, business cards, and a toll free phone number are seemingly innocuous measures that can do a lot to clue your clients into the fact that yours is a legitimate organization that is eager to serve them.

Makes You Mobile

Local telephone numbers may make you accessible to nearby clients, but unlike toll free numbers they won’t move with you. In the event that you relocate your business, with a toll free line you’ll be able to keep the same phone number you’ve already established. There’ll be no need to contact existing clients with a new phone number, no reason to reprint your business cards, and no extra money spent on changing advertising or marketing materials.

Increases Team Cohesion

With remote work on the rise, even small businesses often have employees who operate from far-flung locales. With a toll free company number, disparate workers won’t have to bother with setting up their own business lines or compromise their privacy by giving out their personal numbers. They may also find it easier to foster their client’s confidence by providing them with a nationwide number that can be reached from anywhere at any time.

Improves Your Tracking

Internet companies that provide toll free services to small businesses frequently offer additional technologies that work in tandem with the phone line, such as data tracking and reporting. With one of these providers, you’ll often have access to information such as what time of day most calls are received, where they’re coming from, how long they last, etc. that can prove invaluable when building a marketing plan.

Acquiring a toll free number for your business can be a smart way to build your brand and make your operations more mobile. It can even be critical to connecting your team and may also aid in your marketing efforts. No matter how large or small your organization is, don’t overlook this simple way to potentially improve your enterprise.

You Can’t Be All Things To Your Business

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Realising that your business needs to you be one step removed from the changing fortunes of its success never happens in the early days. In those frantic days, you live and breathe everything that is connected to your fledgling company. And that’s how it should be: without your energy, the company would be nowhere. However, there comes a point where you can’t be dying a thousand deaths a day just because some small details have not turned out as you had planned. You need to step above the humdrum of the daily concerns and think much bigger about your company and its future. It’s the only way you’ll achieve the levels of success you want to achieve. Here’s how you do it.

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Trusting Others

When you began your company, you were probably in charge of everything that happened. You assumed many roles in an amateur fashion in order to get things done. This was your baby, and it was to be born in your creation. Now the company is off the ground, though, it is no longer your baby. It’s able to walk on its own two feet, and it needs to have the best around it to make sure it stays on course. If you hire people to do a job for you, then actually trust them to do the job for you. It’ll be hard not being in control of absolutely everything, but your company will be better for it in the end.

Switching Off

You can’t be on call 24 hours a day for your business. You’ll burn out far too quickly if you try to do that. Instead, you need to have systems in place that enables you to switch off without worrying what’s happening with your business. If it’s online, then integrating SIEM (security information and event management) will give you the peace of mind that your website is well taken care of, even if you’re not in a position to see it for yourself. Similarly, if you have a whole team who are tasked with making sure that your social media profiles are updated in line with the company philosophy, there’ll be no need to be on your phone every few minutes making sure the right content is being posted. Switch off. It’s the right thing for you.

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Controlling What You Can Control

You control what you can control, and adapt to the other things that happen that you can’t. Realising that there will always be some things that just happen to you is a good lesson to learn as a business leader (also good to learn this as a human being, too!). Instead, you should be pouring your energy into winning what you can win. If you’re fretting over insignificant details that might yield small results, then who’s taking care of the tasks that will yield the big results? If it’s not you, then it’s nobody. Use your skills wisely and you’ll get a much higher return on your efforts. You can’t be all things to your business, so just be things that you can be well!