Philips Livable Cities - Latest to Reward Great Ideas

If you think of corporate America as cold, hard, and uncaring, you’re not alone. But several big companies have stepped up recently to prove they too have heart and want to help make our world a better place to live in.

The latest company with such a goal is Philips. Known for their electronics manufacturing of everything from MRI machines to big screen TVs, Philips has recently announced The Philips Livable Cities Award. This global initiative is designed to encourage and promote practical, achievable ideas for furthering the health and well-being of those living in cities throughout the world. As urbanization continues to spread throughout the world, and cities become more populated, common problems arise. Social, economic, and environmental challenges are growing rapidly and will continue to plague urban centers as populations become denser.

Philips recognizes that these issues require innovative solutions that will more than likely be presented by people within the entrepreneurial community. That’s why they’ve launched the Livable Cities initiative and are seeking input from those within that community.

So what do you get for solving the world’s problems? When you enter the Philips initiative in one of three categories (Healthy Lifestyle at Work & Home, Independent Living, or Well-being Outdoors), you have a chance to be awarded one of three grants, totaling $125,000, to help translate your idea into reality. Entries will be accepted through October of this year, reviewed by an international panel of experts, and awards will be announced in April of 2011.

So, do you have a simple idea that could improve the health and well-being of people living in cities? What are you waiting for? Watch the video to learn more, and then click this link to get started: www.because.philips.com

Success Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe

Why are some people wildly successful in business, while others just don’t seem to ever get anything going?  Sometimes the reasons are obvious.  Someone who’s lazy, unpleasant to be around, overly negative, or just plain dumb, for instance, doesn’t have much chance of being a business success.  They might win the lottery or something like that, but they won’t be able to successfully build a sustainable business.  It’s not always as clear why someone is successful though, and many people who haven’t yet seen success resort to believing and repeating common myths to explain it.

The danger in buying into these myths is that they rob power from those who believe them.  If you believe people are only successful if luck is on their side, for example, you’re saying success is out of your control.  So look over this list of myths and realities and endeavor to eliminate these beliefs from your mind.  Your business and your life will be better for it.

The Family History Myth: Some people are successful because they were born into a rich or entrepreneurial family.

Reality: As with most myths, there can be a piece of truth in this one.  If a person’s family has the resources to support their entrepreneurial dreams, or if they grew up learning about business, they can be said to have some degree of advantage.  Stories abound, however, of people who inherited the family business only to run it into the ground and end up broke.  There are also plenty of stories about people who were handed family fortunes and squandered them away.  The reality is that even though it can be helpful to have the advantage of a family history of success, a person with such a heritage still has to do what’s necessary to be successful with those advantages.  The reality is, even with an advantageous family history, you still have to work for your success.

The R.P.R.T. Myth: Successful people make it because they’re in the right place at the right time.

Reality: It does help to be in the right place at the right time.  Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to this.  But that’s not the whole story.  First, any successful entrepreneur who was in the right place at the right time, had to be the right person in the right place, at the right time.  In other words, just being clued in on a trend, discovering an innovation, or getting a hot tip isn’t enough.  In fact there are opportunities coming at us - all of us - all the time.  We’ve all been in the right place at the right time at some point, and we will be again and again.  It’s those who recognize those opportunities and act upon them who reap the rewards.  Have you ever had a brilliant idea that you didn’t act on and then saw the same idea come to fruition for someone else years later?  You were in the right place at the right time for the idea to come to you, and so was the person who made it happen.  The reality is that “R.P.R.T.” can’t make it happen.  Taking the opportunity given to you in the right place at the right time and making it successful takes work, dedication and focus, not luck.

The Who You Know Myth: People are only successful if they’re lucky enough to know the right people.

Reality: Many stories of success can be attributed to the saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know.”  In fact no true success story happens with someone doing it all on their own with no support from anyone else.  Knowing the “right” people can indeed contribute to your success in many ways.  What this myth fails to take into consideration is how successful people go about getting to know the right people.  Successful entrepreneurs are networkers.  They attend conferences, workshops, business fairs, and anything else they can find where they’ll have the chance to mix and mingle with like-minded business people.  It isn’t luck that they know the right people, it’s their dedication to learn and grow through those relationships that has led them to the right people.  Is it lucky that they happened to be at a conference with the one person who could help them take their business to new heights?  Maybe you could say that, but they had to meet that person, talk to them, and do whatever it took to get them involved.  No luck involved there.

The Timing Myth: Many successful people just so happen to launch their businesses at just the right time.

Reality: “The right time” is when there’s a need, and the most successful companies become successful because there is a need for their product or service.  That’s kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it?  But this rarely has to do with chance.  Entrepreneurs watch trends.  They stay tuned into the market and the needs of their customers and consumers in general.  Most importantly, they take that information and act on it.  Successful people don’t let fear stand in the way of their dreams.  They take risks, and often those risks pay off.  This myth doesn’t take into account that most entrepreneurs have started several businesses during their entrepreneurial life.  Some might have been successful, and many might have failed.  The key is that they keep going.  They keep trying until they make it happen.

The Background Myth: People who build successful businesses have the right education, training, work experience, friends, family, and mentors.

Reality: This myth combines several of the other myths and says that the only way to be successful is to be “lucky” enough to have outside factors working in your favor.  The reality is that, almost without exception, successful entrepreneurs have realized their accomplishments because of what’s inside themselves, not because of their circumstances.  Indeed, many have realized success in spite of their circumstances.  We hear often about high achieving people with no formal training, little to no formal education, and very few if any advantages over “average” people.  The truth is, success comes not so much from where you’ve been as from where you know in your heart you’re headed.

Successful people define luck as when preparedness meets opportunity.  Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you that matters”?  Maybe we can consider the “what happens to you” part as luck.  Often we have little control over what happens, so maybe that’s called luck - good or bad.  But when it comes to success, the luck piece of the equation won’t take you far.  It’s what you do with your luck that determines your success.  So if you’re counting on luck to make you a successful entrepreneur, good luck with that!

30 Days to Pumped Up Blog Traffic

It’s pretty much universally accepted these days that having a blog is a smart move for any business.  And because just about everyone understands that, just about everyone (and their uncle) has a blog.  What that means is that the competition for traffic to your blog is strong and growing on a daily basis.  After all, people can only read so much every day, so they’ll naturally gravitate to the blog content that is most relevant and meaningful to them.  But even the best-written, most content-packed blogs are useless if no one sees them in the first place.  So building traffic flow to your blog is at least as important as making it stick (getting people to follow you).

Especially if you’re just getting started with blogging, building traffic can be a bewildering, and often frustrating proposition.  With all the advice out there on what to do and how to do it, how can you know what works best for you?  The truth is, you can’t know.  Mostly, you have to research and see what makes the most sense to you, then try it and adjust as you go.  And once you have the formula down… well, actually, there is no formula.  If you think you’ve found the perfect formula, don’t get too comfortable.  It will change soon enough.  All that said, below are just four simple steps you can take immediately that will begin to increase your blog traffic.  It will take time to see significant results, and you’ll have to pick and choose where to spend most of your time, but these methods (as of today) will put you on the path to more traffic within 30 days.

1. Participate in forums. Forums, like the one at YoungEntrepreneur.com, are a great way to connect with fellow business people in your field as well as blog readers.  If you target your efforts at forums within your target audience, you’ll often find hundreds or even thousands of people interested in exactly what you’re talking about in your blog.  Get involved in the forums, offer real, useful advice, and when appropriate (and not too obviously), direct people to relevant blog articles on your site.  Also include your blog URL in your signature when allowed.

2. Use social media. We’ve written extensively on this site about the benefits of using social media sites like Twitter & Facebook and others.  So without going into great detail, let’s just say once more that social media is like no other medium in its ability to reach a targeted audience in a meaningful way, at little or no expense.  If you’re not using these tools, you’re missing out on traffic that you could be gaining right now.

3. Comment on other blogs. You probably read other blogs right?  So make it a point, whenever you’re on another person’s blog page, to comment on their posts.  This will often help to build a relationship with the blog writer, which can be beneficial in many ways, and it will allow you to post a link back to your blog.  As these are pretty much always no-follow links, you won’t benefit in that way, but you will benefit from the traffic generated by people clicking on your name.  Of course that won’t happen if your comments aren’t thoughtful or interesting, so, “Nice post” won’t help much.  For more on the topic of comment marketing, read this.

4. Make sharing easy. It’s amazing how many smaller blogs don’t offer an easy way for readers to share posts with others.  Even if you don’t like Twitter, for example, or if you don’t think having a Twitter account will help your business, you have to recognize that millions of people, including most of your readers, do use Twitter.  So at the very least, install TweetMeme or Topsy buttons on your posts.  If you want to really optimize the possibilities and you’re using WordPress, SexyBookmarks is a great plugin that makes it easy for readers to share on over 80 bookmarking sites.  Whatever you use, make sure people who love your stuff can easily tell others about it.  Word of mouth is still king when it comes to getting people to look at what you have to offer.

Is there more to driving traffic to your blog? Of course there is.  We didn’t even touch on SEO, SEM, backlinks, or a thousand other tools and methods you can use.  But these four steps are some that anyone can take without having to do much research or decipher complex methodology.  And if you start using them today, you just might see pumped up traffic in 30 days or less.

Avoid Becoming a Statistic - 5 Startup Hazards to Avoid

Statistics about startup failures are widely known by entrepreneurs as well as those thinking about starting their own businesses.  The SBA says that only 44% of new business startups can expect to still be doing business just four years after inception.  Even if businesses that were closed by choice, or due to retirement, the owner moving on to something else, or another planned exit strategy are ignored, and if we ignore non-traditional “business opportunity” type businesses, where commitment levels are infamously low, the statistic is still discouraging.  To those not sturdy of heart, numbers like these could be more than enough reason to want to throw in the towel before even beginning down the entrepreneurial path.  But don’t give up just yet.  While there are certainly no guarantees of success, planning for likely difficulties can considerably lessen your chances of becoming part of the bleak stats.

5 Common Startup Hazards

Be aware of these ten common pitfalls and keys to overcome them:

1. Family Ties. Starting a business is going to affect your family.  Whether you’re shifting around the family finances to cover startup costs, taking time away from home to tend the store, or converting an extra bedroom into your office, your family will likely need to make some adjustments to accommodate your new venture.  Success key: Get them involved.  Even if your new business isn’t the type where the kids can help in daily operations, just keeping everyone in the loop will go a long way toward mutual support.  From the beginning, let your family know what you’re doing and what sacrifices you’ll be asking of them.  Listen to their concerns, and even their advice.  Remember, they aren’t likely to be as excited about your new venture as you are, so they might just add some needed impartiality.  Talk about the changes you’re making, and avoid family matters deflating your ambitions.

2. Isolation. By nature, entrepreneurs tend to be independent people.  We love the idea of being “self-made.”  Be careful not to isolate yourself though.  Particularly in the beginning stages of business, we can easily get caught up in all that needs to be done and forget the importance of staying connected.  Success Key: Network, network, network.  The old saying is true: what you know isn’t as important as who you know.  Don’t try to go it alone.  In between your other activities, make time to network within your community of business people.  You’ll find valuable contacts to help you with everything from advice on your marketing and website, to the best ways to find suppliers and clients.  And once your business is going strong, don’t give up networking.  You’ll benefit from learning new marketing strategies, staying current on business trends, and building lasting relationships that can be priceless as you grow.  To find local groups that meet regularly, check out Meetup.com.

3. Overload. Any entrepreneur has a lot on his/her plate no matter what.  But one thing that will take the wind out of your sails and kill your startup before it ever really gets off the ground is becoming overwhelmed with all you have to do and not having a plan to deal with it.  Even if you’ve gone through all the proper planning and you’ve thought your business through backwards and forwards, it’s unlikely you thought of everything.  So although it looks like you can handle everything on paper as a one-person show, it doesn’t take many unexpected fires before you can start to feel like you’re in over your head.  Success Key: Delegate the stuff you hate. For all of us there are tasks we’d rather give to someone else.  They’re the ones that are boring, tedious, or take you longer than anything else, because they just aren’t what motivates you.  Another way to look at it is to identify those tasks that are not directly contributing to building your business.  For example, accounting is absolutely necessary, but if accounting isn’t your business, someone else should be doing it.  If employees aren’t in the cards, consider a virtual assistant for those tasks that are distracting you from your core responsibilities.  Whatever you do, don’t let overload kill your business.

4. Productivity Drainers. It’s 2 o’clock on a warm, sunny day, and your friend calls you up to invite you to have a couple of beers on the patio at your favorite restaurant.  You remember point number 2 above, and think, “Well, I don’t want to isolate myself, and hey, I’m my own boss, so why not!”  Hold on a minute.  There will be a time, if you do what it takes to make your business successful, when you can take it easy and goof off for the afternoon.  While you’re in startup mode is not that time.  Success Key: Create and stick to a schedule.  Especially when you’re first starting out in a new venture, making the best use of your time is critical.  Don’t let diversions pull you away from what’s important to you.  Also, you’ll want to be sure to organize your work area, use prioritized to-do lists, and implement a scheduling system to keep track of appointments and contacts.  Even if it’s just Outlook or the calendar in your Blackberry, putting your to-dos and appointments in something other than your head frees your mind to focus on your business and keeping headed in the right direction.

5. Money Issues. Just as starting a business is going to affect your family; it’s also going to affect your finances.  Hopefully, it’s a positive effect, but not usually for a while.  If you’re expecting to make a killing right off the bat, you have to know that’s not typical.  That’s not to say it can’t happen, but it would be foolish to count on it.  And nothing will kill your business and your enthusiasm for it faster than the worry and strife that comes with running out of money.  Success Key: Expect the best, and prepare for the worst.  Speaking of statistics… The number one reason startups fail is lack of capitalization.  The key is to balance your optimism about the success of your business with the reality that there are likely to be ups and downs.  Even in best case scenarios, business is cyclical, so simply plan for those cycles.  Make sure that you have enough reserve to get you through the lean times, and don’t spend like a drunken sailor during the good times.  Plan ahead, save, and spend wisely, and you’ll get to party like it’s 1999 soon enough!

Share your startup story, in the comments below.  What are or were your biggest obstacles?   What have you done to get past them and avoid the statisticians?

Building a Brand? Join the Crowd!

Most start-ups and entrepreneurs will by now have heard of “Crowdsourcing.” It is the Web 2.0 phenomenon that sounds almost too good to be true. It’s a simple way to find hundreds, even thousands of contractors who are on hand, ready and willing to work for your company. Crowdsourcing typically involves outsourcing a range of small task to a large, undefined group of anonymous workers.

Both new and established businesses have been taking advantage of having an entire crowd of employees at their disposal, for a fraction of the cost of hiring just a few. Crowdsourcing provides a pool of workers who are willing to help companies with, for example, their marketing, social networking and branding.

Why Everyone is Crowdsourcing

Start-ups and established businesses alike are using crowdsourcing as a quick and effective way to establish their company’s brand, and companies are really starting to see the value in treating potential customers as contractors and vice-versa. Crowdsourcing allows companies to let customers design and shape the brand which the company will become. In a sort of “casting call” move, companies can open their doors and put their contracts out for anyone to claim and complete.  The advantage of this is that companies find and hook their customers right from the start, by letting them have creative input from the get go. In this regard, Crowdsourcing is a true product of Web 2.0.

Benefit from a Pool of Creativity

There’s good reason small businesses are choosing to crowdsource their projects, rather than simply outsourcing them or submitting them to a bidding site. With traditional outsourcing services, ultimately, there will only be one person doing the work. That means only one set of ideas, one mind, one source of creativity. There are numerous sites such as Amazon Mturk, Cloudcrowd, crowdSPRING and 99Designs, all of which allow companies to submit various types of projects. The companies then get to choose between a range of finished products, not simply a variety of bids.

One of the biggest advantages to using crowdsourcing is that companies benefit from the work and creativity of many for the price of one. Even if, ultimately, only one project or design is chosen.  Sites such as 99designs and crowdSPRING allow start-ups and entrepreneurs to post design projects for members to complete on.  Once the competition time is up, the buyer gets to choose the logo or design he or she likes best. This kind of competition means that there are always plenty of quality designs to choose from, so crowdsourcing is a great way for buyers to take advantage of an entire pool of creativity, inspired by competition.

Try it Before You Buy it.

Before purchasing anything of value, you always like to sample it before you turn over your hard earned cash, right? So why would something as important as your company’s brand be any different?

With crowdsourcing, you can decide on exactly what you want done, and then harness the creativity of an entire crowd to get it done right. You can name exactly what you want and how you want it done, and then sit back while a bunch of eager people get to work on it. Rather than having to choose and commit to one designer, you can cut straight to the chase and choose from the actual designs.

Most Importantly

A lot of entrepreneurs and start ups are operating on a tight budget. Crowdsourcing offers an economic solution to getting a brand out there quickly and effectively. It is a fantastic way to get a business on the map, by quickly contracting out work such as logos, banners and article writing. It is also a great way to find an entire pool of talented people willing to perform tasks for your company, and it gives designers a chance to complete in a global creative environment and to get their work recognized.

So if you’re looking for a little help with your branding, consider crowdsourcing as a resource to get it done right - for less.  Have you used crowdsourcing for branding or another part of your business? Tell us about it in the comments!

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