Do Business Well

Perhaps one of the best examples of caring for employees is Raymond Ackerman, who credits part of his success to his good relationship with them. He has always attempted to pay the highest wages and provide the best working conditions in the retail business. He celebrated his sixtieth birthday by sending cake to every one of Pick ‘n Pay’s 27 000 employees!

Keep out the red tape where possible - high achievers are intensely demotivated by it. If you nit-pick about unimportant aspects like taking leave you are on a losing wicket. Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

The performance of his product was his best publicity! Let it also be yours.

If you are the first in the right market you may need little advertisement. Sun Microsystems’ workstations were the first on the market with the new UNIX operating system and needed no advertisement. They became the world leaders with their Sun workstations and in the early nineties were voted the fastest growing company on the Fortune 500 list, with a phenomenal 114 per cent compounded annual growth rate. Continue Reading »

3 Comments »

With all of this talk about the importance of implementing a personal development program, you might say, how is this possible? How do these people have time or resources for reading books and listening to CDs? How am I going to afford a three-day intensive workshop, or scarier yet, long-term one-on-one coaching? And if this kind of training has such an impact, not only on the individual but also on the companies they represent, why don’t employers make this training easier to pursue? Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. I have found it very interesting that the opposite also seems to be true: the less you learn, the more you think you know. As the saying goes, ignorance and arrogance go hand in hand. If we’re not working on ourselves, we don’t realize the wealth of knowledge out there waiting for us. We are living in the information age, and if you don’t spend time learning, keeping up with technology, and increasing your knowledge base, you will fall so far behind that it will be extremely difficult to catch up. Knowledge is the key to success in today’s world. Studies consistently demonstrate that those who are learning and growing every day are more successful and optimistic about life. Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

I’d say now is the time to take a careful look at your personal development program. Are there ways it can be enhanced? Every day, you are either learning or deteriorating. You are either closer to or farther away from your goals. Learn to model the best in your field. Find those who excel in your industry and benchmark what will work for you. Pay the price to become an expert in your field. Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

Many of us know what we want, but we still don’t take the necessary steps to get it. Even when we want it very badly, we often give ourselves as many hoops to jump through as possible to put off the most painful or difficult steps. We desperately want to achieve our goals and dreams, and yet we use avoidance behavior to protect ourselves from our irrational fears. We want the perks without paying the price. We want improved circumstances without improving ourselves. We live each day waiting and dreaming and hoping for the stars to line up in our favor or for the winning lottery number. If this describes you, it’s time to take a long, serious look in the mirror. That day will never come while you’re waiting. It will only come when you bite the bullet and do what has to be done. I love what Richard Taylor, author of The Disciplined Life, has to say about this: Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

• You can start your business career at any age. Karel Bos began manufacturing exhaust systems for motor cars in Bosman Street, Pretoria, when he was 23. His business was called Bosal and has grown into a multinational exhaust system manufacturer.

Astrid and John Sinclair were 17 and 20 respectively when they opened their first antique shop. Today they own the very successful Sinclair Interiors.

Ray Kroc was 52 years old when he started McDonald’s, the most successful fast-food franchise in history. Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

• You may want to donate a portion of the proceeds of your business to a good cause like the church, medical research, a university or a charity. Money and knowledge are the same. They mean little if you simply collect them, but mean everything when you employ them, share them and put them to work.

Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

You start a business to find fulfilment and greater peace of mind.

It gives you the freedom to become wealthy and famous.

Why would you want to start a business, what would fulfil you? Are you being forced to do it? Have you been fired or don’t you enjoy your job? What would make you happy, what would give you peace of mind? Some of the following may be applicable to you: Continue Reading »

2 Comments »

One of the first questions you should ask yourself is if you will be able to run and manage your new business with the resources you’ll have at hand. For example, if your budget projects that you won’t be able to hire help for the first three months, and you plan to work six full days a week by yourself to be available to serve customers, when will you find the time to do the bookkeeping, recordkeeping, marketing, Continue Reading »

2 Comments »