How Brain Training Games Can Help You Build Your Business

by Lindsay Lavine

Do you struggle remembering directions? Putting a customer's name to a face? What about staying focused for long stretches of time? If you find yourself easily distracted by your inbox or social media feed, you may want to give brain games a try.

Brain games have become a popular way to form better habits, with Lumosity.com, reaching 35 million users earlier this year. Brain games are designed to make you feel like you're playing a game instead of improving your memory or streamlining your decision making process. Joe Hardy, PhD and Vice President of Research and Development for Lumosity, says brain games are ideal for business owners.

"Owning a business is one of the most cognitively challenging jobs," Hardy says. Business owners have to process information accurately, balance projects, switch between tasks quickly and efficiently, divide their attention among tasks, and remember customers' names. We took a look at three popular brain game providers to find out what the buzz is about.

Lumosity.com
The largest provider of brain games, the site works to train your brain in five categories: speed, memory, attention, flexibility and problem solving. "Each exercise is designed to train a different cognitive function of the brain," Hardy explains. The games are based on neurological research performed by researchers from various institutions, including Columbia University and the University of California-Berkeley.

Lumosity's in-house team of developers creates games based on what research shows exercises various parts of the brain. For example, Memory Matrix requires players to remember which tiles appear in a matrix and recall the pattern from memory, which helps improve spatial recall and working memory. "Think of it as a personal trainer for your brain," Hardy says. He recommends that users spend 10-20 minutes every day playing brain games, as opposed to spending two hours one day and skipping out on the rest. "It's like going to the gym," Hardy says. "The more training you do, the better. The goal is to create a habit that's sustainable and keeps you engaged."

Lumosity offers a free limited membership that allows users to participate in some games, while the paid membership provides full access to the site and tracks your BPI (Brain Performance Index, a measure of cognitive performance) progress over time. Paid memberships range from monthly to lifetime options ranging from $15 a month to $80 a year.

Positscience.com
Positscience offers brain training in five categories: attention, brain speed, memory, people skills and intelligence. (A new category, navigation, will be available on the site soon.) Posit Science games include enhancing a user's ability to read facial expressions, from easy (happy or sad) to the more difficult (puzzled or embarrassed). Its games also help users improve facial recognition as well as matching names with faces and remembering facts about people you meet, an important skill in networking and business.

Posit Science has developed games in collaboration with researchers from nearly a dozen universities, including Yale and Stanford. You can try some of the games out for free without having to sign up. Posit Science offers memberships at $14 a month or $96 a year.

Cogmed.com
Cogmed is designed to improve working memory to allow users to learn new skills in academic or professional endeavors. Users are encouraged to spend up to 30 minutes a day, five days a week on training exercises over a five week period. Training is only available through programs offered by accredited coaches who monitor user results and provide motivation. Many programs are supervised by doctors or psychologists who specialize in attention problems.

Prices vary according to the program selected and the professional coach's fees. The program is best for people who have working memory issues caused by ADHD, anxiety in social settings, or adjusting quickly to new tasks. Visit this section of the site to find a coach in your area.

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How to Do Business in China

by Randy Myers

Yum! Brands, the fast-food purveyor whose brands include KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, generates approximately half of its global revenue in China. Lots of other U.S. companies do good business in the world's most populous country, too. Could your small business learn -- and earn -- from their example?

Yes, says China expert Stanley Chao, especially if your firm sells primarily to other businesses, is in good financial shape, and offers products superior to those already available in China. It also will help if your company supports an industry that China's government is trying to grow right now, such as aviation, nuclear power, biotechnology, automobiles or medical care.

Still, going to China is quite a leap. Why traipse halfway around the world in search of sales?

China, ho?"You can do well in the U.S., but if you're looking for the kind of growth we saw in the U.S. maybe 20 or 30 years ago, that's happening now in China," says Chao, managing director at All In Consulting and author of the recently published "Selling to China: A Guide to Doing Business in China for Small- and Medium-Sized Companies." "You're talking about potentially increasing your business by 25 to 30 percent, and sometimes 40 percent. There's nowhere else in the world where you are seeing the kind of growth we're seeing in China, and this is the time to tap into it."

While the opportunity in China may be enormous -- it is the world's second-largest economy, after all -- capitalizing on it can be hard work. China presents a stiff language barrier to U.S. entrepreneurs, and a business culture far different from the one most U.S. business owners know.

Consider the Chinese take on contracts. In the U.S., they're binding legal agreements. In China, they're more like an expression of good faith, one that symbolizes a desire to do business together but remains open to revision and reinterpretation as business conditions change. Chinese business partners will happily sign contracts, Chao notes, but those agreements are largely unenforceable under China's legal system.

Still intrigued? Make an honest assessment of your prospects, Chao advises, beginning with a close look at your balance sheet. "You've got to be financially stable and have some money in the bank," he warns. "You can't go to China to make up for your losses in the U.S. It's not a quick buck. It's going to take two to four years to get established, build sales and generate profits."

Next, ask whether your product already has a competitor in China, or if it can be easily copied or pirated. Beating the indigenous competition can be difficult without a clearly superior product, and selling something that can be easily copied could doom not only your China business but ultimately your U.S. business, too. Finally, make sure that you think China can become a meaningful part of your business. "If you're only going to add 5 percent to your revenues, don't bother going," Chao advises.

Get an inside lookAnswering questions like these can be difficult, especially if you're a China novice. To make it easier, Chao says, attend one of your industry's trade shows in China or even in another Asian country, where all the important Chinese players are sure to be represented. Then, if the early indications look favorable, begin studying the market in earnest.

Spend two to three weeks in China meeting potential partners, government officials and competitors. The latter are surprisingly open to Western visitors, Chao promises, especially if they see a partnering opportunity. Take along your business development experts or engineers if you think they'll be helpful, and pay special attention to finding a good translator. For your translator to be both effective and efficient, you'll want someone who not only speaks English and Chinese fluently but also understands your industry and its terminology.

If you don't have the time or confidence to do all this on your own, consider hiring a consultant, preferably one with extensive on-the-ground experience doing business in China. Campbell, California-based GraphOn Corp., a software company with about three dozen employees, hired Chao four years ago when it wanted to establish a foothold in Asia, including China, Japan and Indonesia. The company still uses Chao to help manage its business relationships there, says John Dilworth, GraphOn's vice president of sales and marketing.

Dilworth says that like many companies breaking into the China market, GraphOn has had to be patient. While the company is now generating about 15 percent to 18 percent of its annual revenues in Asia, its China sales still rank only about third or fourth in the region, owing in part to the challenging language barrier. Still, Dilworth says, his company is pleased with its prospects there.

"We have four major distributors in China, all of them stocking distributors, and we're doing very well," he says. "And in the past two and a half years we've tripled or quadrupled our sales. Our biggest challenge has been getting those distributors, or integrators, up and running. Once that is done, I think China is going to do much better for us."

For many entrepreneurs, China is the ultimate foreign market: big, complicated, exotic. But for those in the right industry who are committed to aggressive growth, its potential rewards may be too alluring to ignore.

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Richard Branson: To Be Successful in Business, You Need a Little Luck

by Jason Fell

Luck. Perseverance. Success.

These were all topics billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson discussed recently in a video interview with LinkedIn executive editor Daniel Roth. Branson was the first among the professional network's "Influencers" to cross the million-follower mark.

LinkedIn launched the Influencer network in October, allowing a select group of thought leaders in business to write posts and LinkedIn members to follow them. Other LinkedIn influencers include Barack Obama, Deepak Chopra, Arianna Huffington and Guy Kawasaki.

In the interview, Branson answered a sampling of questions submitted by LinkedIn members. Here are some highlights:

On luck in business: "You need lucky breaks to be successful. ... To create a business you've got to, initially, work day and night, weekends. It's really hard work. But lots of people do that and do not succeed. And, so, those who have succeeded do need to thank our lucky stars for the breakthroughs that got us to the top."

On women leaders: "I would encourage companies to work really hard towards getting a 50-50 [ratio] of women on their board. ... In countries where they've done it, like Norway and Sweden and Scandinavian countries, the companies seem to have benefitted from it."

On defining success: "To me, I've spent a lifetime creating things that hopefully I think can make a difference in people's lives."

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5 Secrets to Winning More Sales

by Grant Cardone

Sales is king in the new economy. Your success will be determined by your ability to generate revenue and sell, not just your products and services, but also yourself.

Here are five signs you're well positioned to succeed at the art of selling:

1. Remember you're in the people business.
Lots of salespeople get caught up in what they are selling and forget that they're in the people business. Your customer wants to be treated personally. I was recently at a dental office that had clearly forgotten they were not in the business of teeth, but of making patients happy and comfortable.

Getting attention and maintaining your customers' interest is a huge problem today. But walk into any big-box outlet, restaurant or professional office and you might not even be acknowledged. Before I visit or work with any client, I remind myself, "This is a unique individual who deserves distinct treatment." 

2. Focus on the results, not the effort.
The sales game is not one of organizing, planning or meetings -- it's about getting results. Sales people often spend time kidding themselves about doing busy work and don't get in front of customers who can buy their products.

Your success in selling is about getting results and that means getting your products into the hands of more customers. A great salesperson knows how to get the customer's attention and present their product or service in a way that causes the customer to buy. Don’t confuse results with efforts. You don't try to get an appointment -- you either get it or you don't.

3. Do the uncomfortable thing.
The best sales people I have ever known are willing to throw themselves into harms way. So convinced of their offer, they are willing to get in front of the tough customers, ask the hard questions and go for the close. Doing the uncomfortable thing is where the top performers live.

I always call my toughest clients first and keep calling on them long after everyone else has given up. Once a month, I make a list of our company's most difficult customers and create an attack plan on how to get those accounts. The first month we incorporated this strategy, I landed one of the biggest deals of my career. You can't bring the big deals home without getting into the deep waters where the big fish swim.

4. Wow the customer.
Great sales people look for ways to inspire a customer's emotional involvement and create the urgency to take ownership. When you wow a customer you make a difference and cause them to want to hold onto that experience. You can take any product -- even a boring one -- and make it a wow presentation.

I once showed a client the glass doors on a home by demonstrating how they would be hurricane proof, slapping on both sides to evidence their construction quality. This immediately got the customer's full attention and set apart the product and me from the competition. Average doesn't pay in sales. Wow them with your presentation, your dress, your belief in the product and the service you offer.

5. Ask for the sale.
This may seem very simple, but most salespeople never ask for the sale. This is hard to believe, but it’s true. We recently did a mystery shop on over 500 businesses and at more than 70 percent of them, the salespeople never asked us to do business. Regardless of your product, price or how professional you are, if you don't ask, you will only sell to those who are going to buy regardless.

I keep a tally of every time I ask a customer to do business with me. This keeps me focused and increases my sales.

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Franchise Takes the Cafe Concept on the Road

by Jason Daley

Mike Ash, who had worked in restaurants since he was 15 and earned a degree in hospitality management, hoped to one day open his own eatery. But as the years went on and he managed various restaurants and cafeterias, Ash, now 35, figured he was unlikely to ever save enough money to open his own place.

Then, flipping through a Costco circular in 2010, he saw an ad for the BikeCaffe, a British franchise concept that had recently come to the U.S. The idea was as simple as the name--a mobile coffee shop mounted on a four-wheel cycle, complete with Astoria espresso machine, blender, pastry bin, refrigerator and sink.

Ash signed on as one of the first U.S. franchisees and began fueling up downtown St. Petersburg, Fla. Today you can find him on the corner of Fourth Street and Central Avenue--or sometimes, especially if it's extra hot or rainy, inside the BB&T bank building. On weekends Ash sets up his mobile java machine at festivals and events.

Eventually, Ash hopes to step back from the grinder. "I would love to own multiple carts and spend my time marketing them," he says. "But until then, I still enjoy it. It's a pretty awesome job."

He filled us in on what it's like to be the go-to guy for to-go coffee in downtown St. Pete.

Coffee from a bike? 
That can't be very good. The coffee is really, really good! It's all fair-trade organic tea and coffee, and I think we're the only place in downtown St. Pete that carries that. The biggest comment I get is, "You can't make all that stuff on your bike, can you?" Our menu is the same size as Starbucks'; we can make macchiatos, lattes, chai--everything. We also make smoothies.

All the drinks are made to order. It's a little slower than pouring drip coffee, but the quality is 10 times better.

How do you like making your own schedule?
It's kind of weird to start a business thinking you can work your own hours. But you end up working the same number of hours as before, usually more. At the same time, it's kind of cool that it's yours, and what you put into it, you get out of it. I'm always working. I get here at 6:20 a.m. to set up and leave around 4:30 p.m. I also work weekends, so at least 50 hours a week. In 16 months, I've missed only three days.

What's your biggest seller?
Lattes are always popular. People also like my seasonal drinks. I have a chalkboard and carry three or four specials per day. I usually create them myself, things like eggnog lattes, mocha peppermint hot chocolate or caramel toffee nut lattes. We have a lot of freedom to experiment.

Do you get a good workout riding the bike?
Well, the thing weighs about 400 pounds. I don't think I've ever ridden it more than half a mile at a time. It's geared super low, so if there are no hills or rough terrain, it's easy. You wouldn't win any races on it. Florida is pretty flat, so I'm lucky with that.

What's the biggest misconception about your BikeCaffe?
People assume I sell hot dogs. Every day someone comes up asking for one.

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The Hottest Sectors for Franchising

by Tracy Stapp

As Entrepreneur's 2012 Franchise 500^® illustrates, in spite of tough times, the franchise world continues to grow--and these are the industries that our research shows are leading the way. From hotels and hamburgers to kids and convenience stores, if you're interested in franchising, you're bound to find a business that appeals to you.

This list can be a great place to start your research, but it is not intended as an endorsement of any specific franchise or industry. Always do your due diligence to find the opportunity that's right for you. That means reading a company's FDD, consulting with professionals, such as an attorney and an accountant, and talking to existing franchisees.

Business Coaching/Consulting/Brokerage Services

Children's Enrichment Programs

Children's Fitness Programs

Identification Services

Children's Retail

Tutoring

Miscellaneous Children's Businesses

Convenience Stores

Fitness

Hamburgers

Hotels & Motels

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts

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The Fastest Growing Franchises for 2013

by Tracy Stapp

The list of fastest-growing companies from Entrepreneur's 2013 Franchise 500® offers a quick snapshot of the types of businesses with the highest rates of expansion.

Quick-service restaurants are often the first category people think of when it comes to franchising, and for good reason: They dominate the list of fastest-growing franchises, with 25 out of 106 entries. Particularly popular this year is the frozen-yogurt sector, with four companies ranking, and sandwiches, with six--including this year's No. 1 company, Subway.

But fast food is far from the only sector experiencing rapid growth. Ten senior-care companies made the ranking, including one of the youngest franchises on the list, FirstLight HomeCare (No. 46), which jumped into this already-crowded category in 2010 and has proved itself quickly. Commercial cleaning companies continue to thrive as well, thanks in large part to low startup costs. Eight janitorial franchises ranked, including three in the top 10: Jan-Pro Franchising, Vanguard Cleaning Systems and Anago Cleaning Systems.

The companies on this list are ranked based on growth in the number of open and operating U.S. and Canadian units from July 31, 2011, to July 31, 2012. (Ties are listed alphabetically.) In that time, these 106 companies racked up an impressive 9,945 new North American franchise units.

Keep in mind that rate of growth, while a positive sign, is far from the whole picture when it comes to determining whether a franchise opportunity is right for you. Always do your research--read the company's legal documents, consult with an attorney and an accountant and talk to franchisees--before investing in any business.

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Top 10 New Franchises

by Tracy Stapp

The hottest franchising concepts right now are also the coolest. The first three spots on Entrepreneur's ranking of the top new franchises all go to businesses that specialize in frozen desserts: Kona Ice, Menchie's and Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt.

But there's plenty of variety to be found farther down the list, with relatively recent concepts such as Lego-building classes (No. 5), high-school sports marketing (No. 46) and fitness for seniors (No. 58). What they have in common is their youth: All the companies on the list began franchising in the last five years.

Along with that requirement, the 75 companies on the following pages were ranked according to Entrepreneur's objective, quantifiable criteria, including financial strength and stability, growth rate and system size. Other factors considered in the ranking include startup costs, litigation, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing.

The list is not intended as an endorsement of any particular franchise. Always do your research before investing in any franchise, new or longstanding. Read the company's legal documents, consult with attorneys and accountants and talk to existing franchisees about their experiences.

Top 10 New Franchises for 2013

RANK		FRANCHISE NAME	STARTUP COSTS
1		Kona Ice	$103.7K - 119.1K
2		Menchie's	$300K - 320K
3		Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt	$274.5K - 408.5K
4		ShelfGenie Franchise Systems LLC	$70.1K - 125.25K
5		Bricks 4 Kidz	$33.8K - 51.05K
6		Smashburger Franchising LLC	$317.5K - 789.5K
7		GameTruck Licensing LLC	$119.5K - 310.5K
8		Paul Davis Emergency Services	$40.78K - 147.82K
9		Signal 88 Security	$84.81K - 104.61K
10		Mac Tools	$87.74K - 206.23K

 

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10 Fastest-Growing Industries for Small Business

by Catherine Clifford

Past performance is no guarantee of future results, as the old business truism says. But you also may have heard that you can’t know where you’re going without knowing where you have been.

To get a sense of which industries small businesses are growing in, the analysts at Raleigh, N.C.-headquartered private-company financial-information company Sageworks ran some numbers for Entrepreneur.com. Here’s a look at the industries where U.S. companies with $10 million or less in annual sales have shown the highest and lowest percentage change from Jan. 1 to Dec 31, 2012. As a benchmark, the average growth rate across all U.S. small businesses in the time period was 8 percent, says Libby Bierman, an analyst at Sageworks.

Fastest-Growth Industries for U.S. Small Businesses in 2012

1. Residential building construction: 14.77 percent
2. Building custom software and servers for businesses: 14.29 percent
3. Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers: 13.75 percent
4. Management, scientific, and technical consulting services: 12.31 percent
5. Architectural, engineering, and related services: 11.40 percent
6. Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors: 11.37 percent
7. Building finishing contractors who make additions, alterations, maintenance and repairs: 11.32 percent
8. General freight trucking: 10.41 percent
9. Services to buildings and dwellings, including pest exterminators, janitorial services, and landscaping: 10.11 percent
10. Other specialty trade contractors, including site preparation activities and other specialized trades: 10.04 percent

Related: Hunting for Business Ideas? Consider Looking at These 8 Hot Industries

Slowest-Growth Industries for U.S. Small Businesses in 2012

1. Skilled nursing care facilities: -3.29 percent
2. Printing and related support activities: 1.86 percent
3. Automotive repair and maintenance: 2.81 percent
4. Offices of physicians: 3.00 percent
5. Highway, street, and bridge construction: 4.24 percent
6. Insurance agencies, brokerages, and other insurance-related activities: 4.32 percent
7. Lessors of real estate: 5.07 percent
8. Other miscellaneous manufacturing including jewelry and silverware, sporting and athletic goods, dolls, toys, and games, office supplies other than paper, and signs: 5.55 percent
9. Offices of health practitioners other than physicians and dentists, including chiropractors, optometrists, mental health practitioners, speech and occupational therapists: 5.98 percent
10. Other amusement and recreation services including bowling centers, golf courses, and recreational centers: 6.03 percent

Related: Franchise Forecast Continues Strong for 2013

The good news for entrepreneurs is that much of the fastest growth is in service businesses, which can be started without a lot of money to buy equipment and inventory, says Bierman. Software development, management consulting and architecture firms have been frontrunners have been for a few years now, says Bierman.

Not all of the businesses on the fastest-growing list are service based. In particular, the residential housing market has just started to recover, and that is supporting businesses related to the construction industry, including foundation and exterior construction and specialty contractors. A lot of construction projects were abandoned during the recession and so part of the bounce in construction is businesses and individuals picking back up old half-finished projects.

Business services and construction are looking strong in the coming years. “They provide services that are, maybe not critical, but very much needed by other businesses and people who are trying to even grow their homes,” Bierman says. “I don’t see these industries going anywhere. Maybe their growth rate won’t be as high as it has been, but I don’t think it will be a decline anytime soon.”

Related: Most New Business Ideas Hatching for 6 or More Months

A list of the fastest-growing industries for all businesses would include manufacturing, says Bierman, but most successful manufacturers have more than $10 million in annual revenue. “Manufacturing as a whole has been something that has pretty positive news lately,” she says. “If those manufacturers are having pull, the middlemen, or the wholesalers that are transacting those sales, will continue to see growth, too.”

During the depths of the recession, many industries were contracting. Now, almost all industries are growing, albeit some at more sluggish rates. The slower-growth companies are not seeing impressive growth rates because they are entrenched in technology that is becoming obsolete, such as printing. But some of those industries are seeing slower growth simply because they have relatively inelastic demand. For example, an economic recession does not change the fact that sick people need to go to the doctor. The growth rate for physician’s offices does not typically change drastically.

Overall, the home health-care industry has seen positive growth rates in revenue over the past year as consumers look for an alternative to moving into a nursing care facility, says Bierman. Skilled nursing care facilities come up on this list as a shrinking, but that’s partly because of the restrictions placed on the data. For this research, Sageworks included only those businesses with less than $10 million in annual revenue. The decline in skilled nursing care facilities may be an indication that smaller facilities are losing ground to their larger competitors or home health care alternatives, she says.

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How to Research a Business Opportunity

Protect yourself by learning what a business opportunity really is, how the government regulates them, and the steps you should take to ensure you've found the best opportunity available.

Just what is a business opportunity? That question has plagued a great many people trying to decide whether to buy a current independent business, a franchise, or what we'll refer to in this text as a business opportunity. To allay the confusion, we offer a simple analogy. Think back to elementary school when your teacher was explaining the difference between a rectangle and a square. A square is also a rectangle, but a rectangle isn't necessarily a square. The same relationship exists between business opportunities, independent businesses for sale and franchises. All franchises and independent businesses for sale are business opportunities, but not all business opportunities meet the requirement of being a franchise nor are they in the strictest sense of the word independent businesses for sale.

Making matters even more confusing is the fact that 26 states have passed laws defining business opportunities and regulating their sales. Often these statutes are drafted so comprehensively that they include franchises as well.

Not every state with a business opportunity law defines the term in the same manner. However, most of them use the following general criteria to define one:

1. A business opportunity involves the sale or lease of any product, service, equipment, etc. that will enable the purchaser-licensee to begin a business.

2. The licensor or seller of a business opportunity declares that it will secure or assist the buyer in finding a suitable location or provide the product to the purchaser-licensee.

3. The licensor-seller guarantees an income greater than or equal to the price the licensee-buyer pays for the product when it's resold and that there is a market present for the product or service.

4. The initial fee paid to the seller in order to start the business opportunity must range between $400 and $1,000.

5. The licensor-seller promises to buy back any product purchased by the licensee-buyer in the event it cannot be sold to the prospective customers of the business.

6. Any products or services developed by the seller-licensor will be purchased by the licensee-buyer.

7. The licensor-seller of the business opportunity will supply a sales or marketing program for the licensee-buyer that many times will include the use of a trade name or trademark.

The laws covering business opportunity ventures usually exclude the sale of an independent business by its owner. Rather, they are meant to cover the multiple sales of distributorships or businesses that do not meet the requirements of a franchise under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule passed in 1979. This act defines business offerings in three formats: package franchises, product franchises and business opportunity ventures.

In order to be a business opportunity venture under the FTC rule, four elements must be present:

1. The individual who buys a business opportunity, often referred to as a licensee or franchisee, must distribute or sell goods or services supplied by the licenser or franchisor.

2. The licensor or franchisor must help secure a retail outlet or accounts for the goods and services the licensee is distributing or selling.

3. There must be a cash transaction between the two parties of at least $500 prior to or within six months after the licensee or franchisee starts the business venture.

4. All terms and conditions of the relationship between the licensor and the licensee must be stated in writing.

You can readily see that the sale of business opportunities as defined by the FTC rule is quite different from the sale of an independent business. When you're dealing with the sale of an independent business, the buyer has no obligations to the seller. Once the sales transaction is completed, the buyer can subscribe to any business operations system he or she prefers. There is no continued relationship required by the seller. Business opportunity ventures, like franchises, are businesses in which the seller makes a commitment of continuing involvement with the buyer.

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The Unasked Question: Should You Open a Business?

by Carol Tice

There's been a lot of cheerleading for entrepreneurship the past couple of years. Many people laid off from corporate America have plunged into starting their own businesses -- driving the start-up rate to its 15-year high. 

But is that necessarily a good thing? No-nonsense business advisor Carol Roth says not really. The downturn is prompting many people to start businesses, she asserts, who probably could save a lot of money and aggravation if they just skipped it. 

In her new book, The Entrepreneur Equation -- Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business, Roth asks the question that is the 500-pound elephant in the room of most entrepreneurship discussions since the downturn: Should you start a business?

Historically, the vast majority of startups end in failure. Unemployed people starting businesses now out of desperation because they can't find a job will likely fare even worse, as many just aren't cut out for entrepreneurial life, Roth says. She's hoping her book can help guide would-be entrepreneurs into better business decisions -- because if we can improve the success rate of entrepreneurs, it would really ignite the economy.

"We can't have entrepreneurship be the engine that drives our country if nine out of ten people don't succeed at it," she notes.

One common flub is deciding to turn a personal passion or hobby into a business, without considering how that will change your relationship to the activity. Not every hobby should be your full-time activity, Roth says. Try to work in the type of business that interests you before you take the leap to see if you'd really like it.

"I had a woman in financial services working for a major Wall Street firm tell me, 'I'm passionate about healthy fast food, so I want to open a Subway franchise,'" Roth relates. "I said, 'That's nice. Go work nights and weekends in a Subway franchise and see if you like it.' A few weeks later she came back to me and said, 'If I never see another $5 foot-long in my life, that'd be fine. You just saved me from wasting a six-figure investment.'"

Too many people are plunging into entrepreneurship without assessing their skills, Roth says. Do you have management experience? Work well with others? Are you really ready for the 24/7 responsibility of launching a new enterprise?

Besides taking a hard look at your abilities, personality type is another factor to consider, Roth says. The perpetually broke will have a tough time getting a business off the ground, as will those with poor money-management skills and those who are too risk-averse.

What makes you cut out to be a business owner?

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Reid Hoffman's 10 Rules for Entrepreneurial Success

by Mikal E. Belicove

LinkedIn co-founder and angel investor Reid Hoffman says now's the time for bold entrepreneurship. Current economic conditions offer an ideal environment for startups, he says, because you have more time to get a new venture off the ground before the competition catches on.

At last week's the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas, Hoffman offered what he calls his "Ten Rules on Entrepreneurship." And if anyone is qualified to come up with such a list, it's this web-savvy wizard who was a founding board member and executive vice president of PayPal and now serves as a partner at venture capital powerhouse Greylock Partners.

Here are Hoffman's top mandates for entrepreneurs:

1. Be disruptive. Ask yourself: "Is this massive and different? It's got to be ten-times different. It's got to be something that changes an industry." Hoffman uses Skype as an example, calling it a disruptive company because, "it removes these very expensive cross barrier phone charges."

2. Aim big. You'll probably wind up plowing the same amount of time into a small business as you will a big one. So, don't be intimidated by your own big ideas, as there are multiple ways of realizing them.

3. Grow your network. Your network includes investors, advisers, employees and customers. With a broad network, you have the ability to make important, global-sized changes.

4. Plan for better or worse. Part of planning is that you might come across something you weren't expecting and you pivot. And if something doesn't work, you must ask yourself: "What is my Plan B?"

5. Maintain flexible persistence. On one hand, the goal is to have a vision and be persistent. On the other hand, flexibility and being able to change based on what your customers want is paramount. "The art is knowing when to be persistent and when to be flexible and how to blend them."

6. Launch early. "Unless you're Steve Jobs, you're most likely partially wrong about what your theory was." So launch early and often. Launching early attracts customer engagement, and it's the customer who's going to tell you what's wrong so you can correct it.

7. Seek honesty. You need friends who will tell you that you have an ugly baby. Keep your aspirations high, but don't drink your own Kool-Aid -- all the while leveraging the advice of your friends.

8. Be everywhere. It's important to have a great idea for a product, but it's downright vital to have a wide distribution of it. "You can have a kickass product, but if it doesn't get to millions of people, it's irrelevant."

9. Culture is key. You must get hiring right the first time. While experience is impressive, you'll need people who can adapt and thrive amid volatility -- especially in the beginning.

10. Break these rules. The rules of entrepreneurship are not laws of nature. You can break them. What's more, don't listen to all of the rules all of the time.

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Usaha di Saudi Arabia

Di zaman sekarang ini, tidak ada batasan dalam membangun usaha. Tentunya selama usaha yang kita bangun tersebut tidak melanggar hukum atau merugikan pihak manapun. Salah satu contoh yang paling mudah adalah dengan investasi, investasi asing tepatnya. Kami telah mengutip salah satu peluang bisnis investasi yang cukup menjanjikan dari sebuah forum lokal, yaitu di Arab Saudi. Di web ini, kami hanya akan menampilkan brief overview dan untuk info lebih lanjut, kami menyediakan contact person yang dapat dihubungi.

Kata Pengantar dan Pelontar

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Assalamualaikum Wr Wb.

Kami adalah Perusahaan Ahmad Hiba & Fatimah Binti Abdurrazzaq Corporation yang melayani di bidang : Trading, Transportasi, Investasi Perhotelan, Investasi Real Estate, Buka Usaha dan Umrah & Haji Plus yang berpusat di Saudi Arabia Mekkah.

Dengan ini Menawarkan Seluruh Entrepreneur dll, untuk Buka Usaha di Saudi Arabia Khususnya di ( Mekkah, Medinah atau Jeddah ), Seperti : Restoran, Toko, Laundry, Percetakan, Toko Elektronik , Cafetaria dsb,( Kategori Umum ).

Kami mempunyai atas nama Saudi yang terpercaya dan amanah, Kami Melayani Urusan urusan mengenai buka usaha di Saudi Arabia sampai dengan berdirinya usaha/cabangnya dengan sebaik - baiknya dengan menjunjung tinggi amanah dan kejujuran.

Kami Mencari Investor atau Pengusaha yang punya niat serta memiliki modal untuk membuka usaha di saudi arabia, sebagaimana kita ketahui bersama bahwa jika ada orang asing ( selain orang Arab Saudi ) yang mau membuka usaha dsb di saudi arabia,itu wajib menggunakan atas nama orang saudi, atau bekerjasama dengan orang saudi untuk terealisasi usahanya.

Misal : Membuka Restoran, Toko, Laundry, Supermarket, Mini market, Buka Kantor, Jual Beli Property dsb.

Yang diperlukan Hanya Modal Usaha dan atas Nama Orang Saudi, dan Alhamdulillah Kami memiliki keluarga yang kebanyakan rata2 orang warga negara saudi yang punya kuasa atas hal itu dan bersedia untuk memberikan lisensi usaha dengan syarat serius dan tidak punya niat untuk bertindak yang tidak sesuai dengan agama dan negara.

Seluruh Pengurusan kami yang handle,yang bapak/ibu perlu sediakan hanya dana untuk pengurusan sampai selesai berdirinya usaha itu dan kami tidak melayani begitu saja,artinya investor yang hendak membuka usaha ( atau Perwakilannya ) itu wajib datang ke Saudi Arabia untuk Melihat langsung kepengurusannya dan terjun sama sama dilapangan agar yakin 100% usahanya itu benar benar diurus.

Jika Usaha telah Berdiri, Kami Membebankan Biaya Fee atas nama dan pengurusan saja perbulan, dan kami tidak mengambil profit dari usaha itu sedikitpun, karena profit adalah milik investor 100%.

Otomatisnya Jika Usaha Telah Berdiri, Investor berhak mendapatkan devisa usaha/ kerja dan Punya kewenangan untuk memilih jumlah pegawai untuk usaha tsb.

Latar Belakang

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Sebagaimana yang telah diketahui bersama bahwa Saudi Arabia adalah Negara yang merupakan pusat dan focus daripada umat islam sedunia, disana terdapat Mekkah, Kota ini menjadi tujuan utama kaum muslimin dalam menunaikan ibadah haji.dimana pada kota ini terdapat sebuah bangunan utama yang bernama Masjidil Haram dengan Ka'bah di dalamnya.

Dan bangunan Ka'bah ini yang menjadi Patokan arah kiblat untuk ibadah shalat umat Islam di seluruh dunia, menurut catatan bahwa setiap tahunnya akan terus bertambah jumlah jemaah umrah maupun haji dari seluruh dunia.
Dengan demikian kota mekkah, madinah dan Jeddah adalah merupakan pangsa pasar yang sangat menggiurkan dan tidak ada matinya baik itu dari usaha, investasi,dsb.

Kami yang berdomisili di Saudi Arabia tepatnya di Mekkah Almukarramah melihat besarnya peluang yang sangat besar,sehingga kami mengajak pengusaha /Entrepreneur anak bangsa untuk ikut andil dalam mengambil peluang yang sangat mahal ini,yang mana kami telah mempunyai keluarga di Mekkah ( Paman dan Tante Pengurus ) sebagai warga Negara Saudi siap memberikan license Usaha di Saudi Arabia.

Maksud dan Tujuan

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Besar harapan kami, agar tercipta sebuah jalinan kerjasama yang dapat membangkitkan Semangat dan Optimisme dari Entrepreneur / Wirausahawan dari anak anak bangsa Indonesia, Demi terciptanya Pengusaha pengusaha handal dan berprestasi sampai di luar Negeri,yang mana Insya Allah kami siap membantu dalam hal atas nama dan seluruh pengurusan serta jalannya membuka usaha di Saudi Arabia. 

Jika anda tertarik, silahkan kunjungi link ini untuk mengetahui info detilnya.

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