As a young man, Earvin “Magic” Johnson admired his father and other small-town entrepreneurs who created jobs and served as leaders in his Midwestern community. He worked for them, watched them, and his interest in building communities through economic development grew even while his basketball career flourished. His fame as an NBA star gave him access to some of the most successful business leaders in the country. It was Earvin’s own entrepreneurial spirit that inspired them to serve as his mentors.
Earvin made the transition from great athlete to greater entrepreneur through hard work and by avidly pursuing opportunities. He recognized that densely populated urban communities were ripe for commercial and residential development. He partnered with major brands like Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness, and T.G.I. Friday’s to lead a major economic push in these communities. The success of his businesses proved that ethnically diverse urban residents would welcome and support major brands if given the opportunity. Earvin continues to be a leader of urban economic development that provides jobs, goods, and a new spirit of community.
32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business will inspire and enlighten readers who wish to make a similar impact with their careers and business endeavors.
Donald Trump
The Celebrity Apprentice raises a lot of money for charities, as well as enhancing public awareness of the charities that are featured. It’s been a wonderful vehicle in the philanthropic arena, and has had terrific ratings. Since this format is working so well and on so many levels, we will keep it that way, but that’s not to say there won’t be another non-celebrity series again. Time will tell. Read the rest of this entry »
Robert Kiyosaki is an American investor, businessman, self-help author and motivational speaker, who has written 15 books, with combined sales of over 26 million copies.
Three of Robert’s books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant, and Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing, have simultaneously been on the top 10 best-seller lists of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times.
In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Robert Kiyosaki discusses what it takes to be successful in business, the No 1 skill every entrepreneur should learn and the five qualities required by every entrepreneur in order to become successful. Read the rest of this entry »
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in November 2008, I was laid off from a job that I hated. At a time when everything seemed uncertain, there were two things I was absolutely sure of. First, I absolutely love everything about marketing. And second, I wanted to start a company of my own.
I also knew that I was going to have to bootstrap a service-based business because I didn’t have a lot of money to invest in creating a product. This is how I went from being laid off to a 29 year old CEO of a marketing firm.
Read the rest of this entry »
Top salespeople use these simple rules to keep their customers buying from them–even in the face of steep competition.
Customer loyalty is the key to profitability. The reason is simple. It costs more–geometrically more–to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one. Without customer loyalty, customers leave. Then you can end up sacrificing as much as a third of your sales year just to get your numbers back to where they were the previous year. Ouch. Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t show ‘em the money (even if you have it). Here are nine better ways to boost morale.
The ability to motivate employees is one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur can possess. Two years ago, I realized I didn’t have this skill. So I hired a CEO who did.
Josh had 12 years in the corporate world, which included running a major department at Comcast. I knew he was seasoned, but I was still skeptical at first. We were going through some tough growing pains, and I thought that a lack of cash would make it extremely difficult to improve the company morale. Read the rest of this entry »
Sir Richard Branson
Q: How do you deal with the hundreds of emails you receive from readers? I know you are very busy. Do you have any secret? – Harvey Chen, China
A: Reading through recent emails, I was struck by the number of questions from readers about how entrepreneurs can better manage their own time as they manage their complex businesses.
As a successful business matures and expands, bureaucracy usually starts to take hold and members of the senior management team find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of meetings and volume of correspondence. At this stage, an entrepreneur faces the challenge of how to effectively manage this new structure — a transition that has been the undoing of many enterprises. Read the rest of this entry »
First, understand that you no longer want to be just a millionaire. You want to become a multimillionaire. While you may think a million dollars will give you financial security, it will not. Given the volatility in economies, governments and financial markets around the world, it’s no longer safe to assume a million dollars will provide you and your family with true security. In fact, a Fidelity Investments’ study of millionaires last year found that 42 percent of them don’t feel wealthy and they would need $7.5 million of investable assets to start feeling rich.
This isn’t a how-to on the accumulation of wealth from a lifetime of saving and pinching pennies. This is about generating multimillion-dollar wealth and enjoying it during the creation process. To get started, consider these seven secrets of multimillionaires. Read the rest of this entry »
As a business owner, you’re in sales whether you think so or not. Every day you have to sell yourself — and your product or service — to grow your business. If you’re not sure you have the personality to succeed in selling, consider these 13 simple rules to create a superstar sales mindset.
1. Stay hungry. Every good salesperson I’ve ever encountered is driven. They have a strong work ethic and a high energy level. They work harder and longer than their peers. When the economy is poor, they are still out there pounding the pavement, making calls. Read the rest of this entry »
