Every so often, we encounter financial difficulties. Financial advice is required to get back to monetary stability. It also ensures that you do not delve deeper into debt. Note that this service is necessary, regardless of your income and financial status. The following are the top 5 reasons to get financial help.

Financial Planning

There are virtually unlimited ways to plan a budget and manage the finances. Such opportunities open up more earning opportunities, prevents debt, while consolidating the present assets. The financial world and the intricacies involved in financial planning are beyond the scope of non-professionals. A financial planner comes in handy in developing working strategies, feasible investments and rewarding ventures. All this is done in line with the client’s ambitions and financial capabilities.

Planning For Major Events

There are various financial sapping events that we encounter occasionally. The common ones include marriage, divorce, adoption, illnesses and sudden relocation. Such events require severe adjustments in the daily budgets and asset management. A financial expert has the expertise to strategies adjustments to cover for the events with minimal effect on our daily lives.

Acquaintance with Personal Finance

For a non-professional, the knowledge on personal finance rarely extends past basic budgeting. A financial planner can teach you the fundamentals of personal finance. This is more effective than going through the vast online resources and books.

Future Planning

Financial assistance is usually geared towards securing the future, both for our twilight years and our children. A financial expert comes in handy in helping the client plan the existing assets and establish plans for the children’s education, health, and savings.

Retirement

Old age comes with inability to work and expensive medical conditions. The government and the private sector also have measures that ensure cessation of work after a set number of years. It is safer to be financially prepared for this period. A financial expert comes in handy. The financial help covers pension funds, establishment of long term investments and alternative income sources.

How would your partner or children cope financially after your death? It’s a sobering thought.

Without your income, paying for food shopping, utility bills, children’s needs mortgage and loan repayments may become difficult or impossible.

What is Life Insurance?

In its most simplistic form life insurance pays out a set amount should the policy holder suffer loss of their life within the term of the life insurance policy. This money is typically paid directly to your dependents if the policy has been written in trust and named beneficiaries. Alternatively, the payout will form part of the deceased estate and will be used to pay any creditors before being divided between heirs of that estate and subject to inheritance tax.

Strictly speaking life ‘insurance’ is actually ‘assurance’ because insurance covers something at risk of happening but end of life is a certainty.
How much cover do you need?

There is no formula for calculating how much cover an individual might need and of course the higher the payout you require, the more it will cost to buy insurance. Thus you may need to find a balance between the amount of cover you need and what you can afford to pay for it.

Considering any outstanding debts is a good starting point. Mortgages and loans will still need to be repaid and life insurance should at least cover these debts.
Next consider covering a reasonable standard of living of any dependents you may have. What proportion of everyday expenses could be paid for by your partner’s income? Or, would your partner need to leave employment to provide care for your children? Or are your children older and able to support themselves financially now or in the near future?

To get the best life insurance check the provider’s terms and conditions for what is and is not covered and remember that cost is calculated on a number of factors including health and lifestyle choices.

Now you can easily buy life insurance policy in the UK with the help of the Internet, as most of the insurance companies offer free life insurance quotes to their customers on their websites. This is a highly useful service that can help you in deciding on the best policy after understanding the terms and conditions, and comparing different policies.

Requests for life insurance quotes online can be done in two ways. Firstly, you can directly submit a small form on the website of insurance company and within minutes you will receive a quote. Secondly, you can get multiple quotes from different insurance companies by filling up just one form on a comparison website. In this ways, you not only save time, but have access to several life insurance quotes, which makes the best one easy.

Usually the required information to be filled in these online forms is name, age of the applicant, medical history, profession, and whether he/she is a smoker or not, and if yes, then duration since on how long one has been smoking. All this information should be accurate as this can get you the best quote. All those who are young can get a much lower quote than older people because chances of young person dying during the term of the insurance policy are slim.

Your profession also affects your term insurance. Most of the insurance companies in the UK asses the hazards and risks involved in your profession, your workplace, and the kind of projects you undertake. If one is working in a risky profession, then an insurance company may have to hand a settlement on insurance before its term ends.
When interested in a life insurance policy, you should be honest and provide accurate information to the insurance company. Any inaccurate information can lead to the cancellation of your policy and all your premiums paid till date would mean nothing.

Best thing about getting life insurance quotes online is that you not only save your time, but can also complete the entire evaluation process without any hassles, because instead of making rounds of the offices of the insurance companies to get quotes, you can get them from the comforts of your home.

Technologically, it is probably the most advanced printing facility in the Balkan. It cost almost 2.5 million. It was constructed in less than a year. And it is in dirt-poor and war-torn Macedonia.

Behind this incredible tale of entrepreneurship, uncommon in these nether-regions, stands Zoran Rosomanov. A stereotypical visionary – mane, blazing eyes, imposing physique – this man, against nightmarish odds undreamt of by his Western counterparts, constructed, single-handedly, an impressive, star-trek like, factory.

Literally single handedly: digging the muddy soil, hoisting bricks onto cranes, driving earth-removal heavy machinery. He begged, cajoled, and persevered. And he made it. His story serves a lesson to all the forlorn dreamers in the sad countries of the East.

Thirty-six year old Zoran represents a new breed of “can-do” businessmen in Eastern Europe and the Balkan. His philosophy is the outcome of first-hand exposure to Western management techniques and ideology. He does not rely on the state to provide for him or for his enterprise. He actively seeks foreign inputs – in capital, contacts, and know-how. He is well-traveled, polyglot, affluent, a consumerist. He is enamored with technology and gadgets.

Still, he likes to think of himself as a creator, or an artist – rather than a money machine. He emphasizes the design-related portions of his company. He brags of his hobbies: photography, interior design, music. His home and office serve to advertise not his wealth – but his aesthetically-informed talents. He is smartly dressed and well-mannered, indistinguishable from his colleagues in the West. Though he loves Macedonia, his homeland, he is, in essence, a citizen of the world.

Zoran started off as a TV music editor in the Macedonian state-owned channel. The highlight of this brief phase in his career was a human rights concert in Budapest. But he soon discovered his true calling: business. He joined a Belgrade-based musical instruments trading firm as a traveling salesman. At the age of 21, he was put in charge of 185 people as head of the Sales Department.

But Yugoslavia was disintegrating. Yugoslavs lost their common identity overnight and woke up as Macedonians, Croats, Serbs, or Bosnians. Zoran went back to Skopje, where he opened, with his savings, a chain of 11 stores of electronic consumer goods.

But he noticed that how you sell is at least as important as what you sell. He discovered marketing. After a stint of studies in Milan, Italy, he came back to Macedonia and, in 1992 he established “Divajn”. “I noticed that everyone in Italy asked me about Macedonia. They were interested. So, I decided to connect people.” The company was the first to offer a vertical, marketing campaign-orientated service: from poster ads to sales force, a turnkey solution.

He also noticed that, the paperless office notwithstanding, there was a great demand for paper products. In a typical move, Zoran bought an expensive computer and began to design such products for his contacts. “But I noticed that, following a first satisfactory order, they circumvented me and went directly to the printer”.

So, he decided to become a printer as well – by merging with a print shop. He placed an ad and settled on one of the applicants. They have been inseparable ever since. Their joint company, “Bato and Divajn”, owns the new facility and Zoran’s partner supervises the daily work there. “Wealth is in people – not in money”, says Zoran.

His secretary has been with him for 11 years. Miki, the talented head of the pre-press division and quality control, has been working with him for a decade. Zoran values loyalty. He trains his staff personally. Every single one of his 40 workers (soon to increase to 55) has gone through a 6-month period of apprenticeship. Then they are on their own. “I believe in delegating,” says Zoran, “though I never lose sight of the details. And I am very demanding”.

When the combined business expanded, Zoran needed new machines. He tried to find investors, both domestic and foreign, but failed. So, he approached a friend of a friend in Holland. This guy owned an envelope factory and was interested to sell one of the used machines for a mere 400 thousand DM (i.e., c. 180,000).

In typical irresistible gall, Zoran offered him 13,000 as an advance payment. “I will pay you the rest over 3 years” – he pledged earnestly. “What is your guarantee?” – asked the shocked seller. “Your trust” – responded Zoran. The stunned Dutchman accepted. Zoran paid him back in two years.

This pattern of unmitigated self-confidence, infectious optimism, and non-conformism pervades Zoran’s way of doing business. He won an order for a million labels simply by waltzing in and producing samples he scanned off empty beer bottles. He is now the exclusive printer for this brewery.

Last April, as he was visiting another client – his firm supplies all the Macedonian blue-chips – he overheard a discussion about problems with a Slovenian supplier. “If I were to establish my own factory here, will you buy from me?” – he enquired. They said yes – and so did many others. “It was my market research” – he grins. Why import from Slovenia if there is a qualitative alternative in one’s backyard? Zoran is a great believer in import substitution and buying local. It is not only patriotic – but it makes economic sense.

He proceeded forthwith to find land. His firm designed the construction project. All he lacked was the printing presses. He had less than 100,000 in cash. He needed another 2.4 million. Others would have regarded this deficiency as insurmountable. Not Zoran.

He decided to get the best equipment money could buy – and that meant “Heidelberg”. So, he picked up the phone and called Alexander Hufnagel, Heidelberg’s director of East Europe. When he asked to buy on credit, they naturally demanded a bank guarantee. Zoran prepared a business plan and went to Komercijalna Banka, Macedonia’s second largest retail bank. He asked for 1 million, partly from IFC funds dedicated to small and medium enterprises.

Macedonia’s economy has been in dire straits long before its independence in 1992. Nearly one third of the workforce are unemployed. The heavily-politicized and under-capitalized banking system is largely dysfunctional. Lending to business is almost at a standstill. Zoran’s was an unprecedented application.

When Zoran dug the first foundations in an industrial park at the outskirts of Skopje, a civil war between Macedonians and Albanians has erupted. Fighter planes and helicopters buzzed above head and police and army streamed to the Aracinovo, a besieged village, not far from the site. There was palpable panic in the air.

Komercijalna Banka asked for a collateral and Zoran offered the new equipment. “Title will revert to me only when I finish paying you”, he explained. Unbeknownst to him he has invented leasing. He then turned around and offered Komercijalna’s money to Heidelberg as his equity. After a grueling few days of due diligence, Heidelberg agreed to give him supplier’s credit amounting to the rest. They asked to him to guarantee the credit personally. He willingly accepted.

Zoran then proceeded to convince them to establish a maintenance center, replete with spare parts, in his new factory. “I don’t charge them rent” – he discloses impishly – “My machines must work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is useful to have a maintenance crew and spare parts handy.” The next logical step is to become their representative in Macedonia. “I am working on it. But I want them to provide me with revolving credit to be able to offer financing together with the equipment”.

But this financial wizardry has depleted Zoran’s resources. He resorted to an old communist stratagem: the barter (“compensation” in East European argot). He traded print jobs for building materials. It was one of the worst arctic winters in memory with temperatures often dropping to way below the freezing point. But construction continued, the shivering workers spurred on by Zoran’s personal example.

When the equipment finally arrived, Zoran was presented with a 450,000 bill – for the newly imposed Value Added Tax. In a complex financial somersault, Zoran borrowed against future VAT refunds and overcame this obstacle as well. The NASA-like control panel, the printers, cutters, templates for different cigarette brands – all were finally installed in the half completed structure.

“This is my country” – Zoran toggles an unlit smoke – “It is beautiful. We just need help. I could never have done it without the help extended to me by Heidelberg, Komercijalna, the IFC, my clients. My wife stood behind me. This network of support is indispensable. There can be no entrepreneurship and initiative without it!”

“Aren’t you afraid to fail?”

“I have no fear. With all our problems – we still must exist. We must survive. Many say I am crazy – but time will tell who will succeed. You must persevere. If the bank would have said no – I would have gone elsewhere. There is always a solution. My advice: get your suppliers involved. Heidelberg now has a stake and they will refer clients to me. I said to them: you want me as a client? Then give me credit!”

“Operating in Macedonia is not easy…”

“A country should be run like a business and politicians should act like CEO’s. Macedonia has the potential to be this region’s Switzerland, though it must concentrate on exploiting its natural endowments: climate and soil. Agri-business is its future. All we have to do is encourage foreign investments by safeguarding property rights and overhauling the court system and law enforcement. We have to learn from foreign investors and emulate them.”

“But foreign investors are potentially your competitors…”

He tilts his head back and laughs uproariously:

“The Slovenians tried to arm-twist my clients, slander me, and spy on my operations. I can now easily compete with them in the Serb market. My transport costs are much lower. My machinery is so advanced that I can work for the strictest multinational anywhere from Switzerland to Turkey. We are getting the ISO quality certificate shortly. So, they are scared. What has been my response? I bought more land for future expansion…”

There are many sorts of qualities a person needs to look for when finding a solicitor. Finding a solicitor can be difficult, because a person should never simply hire the first solicitor that comes to mind. Rather, a person should definitely hire a solicitor that has certain qualities and offers affordable rates for his or her work.

The best solicitor will often be very respectful of clients and be willing to spend time meeting with them. Finding a solicitor is difficult, because not many solicitors have such a gracious attitude when it comes to working with clients. Working with a solicitor that has no respect for clients can be a huge turn off for any client. Many clients end up walking away from solicitors that are disrespectful of clients.

Finding a solicitor is also easy if a person knows how to get good references for a solicitor. If one knows a few practicing solicitors in one area of law, then one may wish to ask these solicitors for tips on finding a solicitor in other areas of law. Even solicitors that practice in a completely different area of law can often give great recommendations to someone trying to find a solicitor that practices in a different area of law. It is truly a great idea for a person to get as many references as possible, when he or she seeks to find a great solicitor.

In addition, when finding a solicitor, a person will want to keep in mind that solicitor’s pay rate. It is very important for a person to ask a solicitor how he or she charges fees to clients. Sometimes, clients are very surprised when they learn that a solicitor charges a very high hourly fee to clients, as opposed to a very low transactional fee. It is important to learn these matters up front, rather than learn them later in the process. A person may be required to pay these fees if he or she is not careful about handling this process right from the start.

Overall, it is easy finding a solicitor when one has these tips.

I caught up with the new entrepreneurs (Terry and Sherry Braley) this January at a Biker Rally. After talking to some fellow riders they were telling me about Terry and Sherrys new website (Road Rash Apparel) and how low their prices were on their Leather Apparel. So after digging through the crowd I finally met up with them. I introduced myself and we sat down and must have talked for over 2 hours about their new business. Well, they talked. I asked Terry and Sherry why they started their business and WHY! Do you sell your apparel so cheap?

Terry Well, we were on the Internet one night looking for some leather jackets and chaps to purchase. We must have searched for three hours looking at what seemed to be every site there was to look at and I couldnt believe the prices of some of them. I know you get what you pay for, but damn? I dont want to pay for the whole cow!

Sherry It seems that all the cheep leather was that patched leather or some call it Diamond Cut leather. We werent interested in that. Not to say theres anything wrong with it. If thats what you like, then buy it. To each its own.

Terry- Yeah. I had asked around about what kind of jacket to buy. The majority of the riders I had asked, told me to get one that was made for riding. You know, just in case you lay your bike down. And patched leather wasnt the best way to go.
Anyway, I made the comment that someone needs to start selling this stuff that caters to us poor bikers.

Sherry I looked over at Terry and said, We can do it

Terry A week later I quit my job and started building the website. I did A LOT of research on Leather. Types, thickness of it and where it comes from. I was almost sick of leather after about 3 days. Anyway, we decided we wanted to purchase our leather from an American made manufacturer and I ended up finding a company in Spokane WA that had what we were looking for. They manufacture leather apparel made for bike riders. And its damn good leather. And Ill tell you. What I pay for the jackets and what I sell them for, we dont make a big profit on them.

Now that we’ve covered those aspects of Biker Shirts, Leather Jackets, Motorcycle Apparel, Boots, Chaps, Vests, Leather Lingerie, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered.

Sherry Yea, were not in it to get rich. Just make a little money and help out our fellow bikers.

Terry Since weve went live on the Internet we have sold more T-Shirts than jackets. Thats okay. I think when people see our prices they think its cheep leather and stray away from it. But its Top Quality Leather! You cant find our type jackets on the internet for a better price I think

Well without going into the whole 2-hour conversation we had. We continued to talk and they told me more about what they sold on their site. T-Shirts, Leather Lingerie, Boots, Chaps, Vests and the list went on. Terry said right now we sale over 700 types of t-shirts and plan on adding more. By the time we get done, we will have well over 1500. Thats a lot of damn shirts

These were two of the friendliest people I have ever met. Both Terry and Sherry are from Georgia and reside in Douglasville Ga. And you could tell that these were just two people really trying to look out for fellow bikers and our shallow pockets.

I had the honor of speaking this week at a women’s business association luncheon on the topic of entrepreneurship. When I mentioned to my wife the day before that I was speaking to group of women entrepreneurs she asked, “Why on earth would they ask you to speak?”

In her defense, my dear wife has no idea what I do for a living. She’s never read a single one of the several hundred columns I’ve written. She’s never attended a function where I’m speaking or sat in the audience at any of my seminars.

She just knows that we live a very comfortable lifestyle and believes me when I tell her our money doesn’t come from the drug trade.

Beyond that, she’s incredibly happy in her ignorance of her husband’s skills.

When I feigned hurt feelings she waved a hand at me and said, “My point is, what in the world can a man tell a roomful of women that they don’t already know?”

Henny Youngman, Ralph Cramden, Rodney Dangerfield, Tim Knox. At least I’m in good company.

But she had a point. What the heck did I know about women in business? So as not to look like a total idiot in front of this group of what I now call “womentrepreneurs” I decided to do a little research on the topic.

Here’s what I discovered: while some still believe it’s a man’s world, when it comes to business, women are catching up fast.

According to the Center For Women’s Business Research there are over 10 million women-owned businesses in the US, employing 18 million people and generating 2.32 trillion in sales.

Women start businesses at two times the rate of men and women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all businesses in the United States and represent about 775,000 new startups per year and account for 55% of new startups.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was that the top growth industries for women-owned businesses in recent years were construction, wholesale trade, transportationcommunications, agribusiness and manufacturing, industries traditionally dominated by men.

In the past 25 years the number of women-owned firms in the US has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold.

Here is the question I sought particularly to answer: Do women approach business differently than men? I’ve been compared to a bull in a china shop when it comes to business. Would a female counterpart approach things differently? More gracefully, perhaps? As my lovely bride would say, “Duh.”

In her book, How to Run Your Business Like a Girl, Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin explored common female traits and how women entrepreneurs – and perhaps men, as well – can use those traits to their entrepreneurial advantage.

Baskin reported that women tend to use three unique strengths more than their male counterparts: trusting their intuition, focusing on relationships, and putting more emphasis on keeping their life in balance.

Trust Your Gut

Women are much more likely to make a decision based on a gut feeling. Women may gather the facts and figures necessary to back up that feeling, but they generally know what they want to do based on intuition.

Build Strong Relationships

Men play the game of business like a sport. They are out to win and dominate. “Women,” Baskin says, “are much more interested in establishing a connection.”

Find A Balance Between Work and Life.

A number of women interviewed for this book cited on quality of life as their reason for starting a business, alluding to their desire to find a way to juggle family and work. “If having more time for your family is important to you, find a way to work that into your day. It’s not so much how much work you do, but being able to decide when you’ll do it.”

Baskin offers one more piece of advice to women in the early stages of their business:

You Don’t Have To Know Everything.

My wife would argue this point because she really does know everything, but Baskin says when it comes to business, thinking you know everything is not the key to success.

“It’s amazing how many women say they didn’t know anything when they started their business,” Baskin said. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help – you don’t have to be perfect at everything.”

Solid business advice: for guys and gals.

Here’s to your success!

In my 25 + years working with professionals in Business Development, universally I’ve discovered that they have learned to think like entrepreneurs. This is what has allowed them to rise to the top of their profession. Each would tell you that along the way they have learned how to think differently.

True entrepreneurs struggle with their business opportunities for a variety of reasons. Among the most obvious are a lack of capital, lack of understanding about marketing, and personnel issues. However, from my own entrepreneurial experience and knowledge of others, there are three major reasons individuals fail in entrepreneurial ventures.

They tie the success of their business with their own self worth.
They neglect to set realistic goals and plans for themselves and their business.
They are not prepared to pay the price of success.

True entrepreneurs with the right thinking prevail over a period of time. They have learned to understand the axiom Roles, Goals, and Tolls.

Roles
Successful entrepreneurs, in contrast to those who struggle, have learned to separate their roles in life from their self worth or self-identity. They understand that role performance or failure with their own venture is not a judgment of them as an individual. People who tend to equate their self-worth to their composite role identity are inherently risk-adverse and look to maintain the status quo. Being able to differentiate these two identities allows them to be risk prone vs. risk adverse, a key ingredient to success as an entrepreneur. Individuals who have risked failure, experienced it, and learned from it, have not only learned how to differentiate their role identity from their self-identity, they have learned the lessons of risking and failing. They understand that early failure in ventures is a natural part of successful startups. They are able to embrace those experiences, learn from them quickly and move on. This is critical to success as an entrepreneur. They must be willing to face and deal with early failures in order to prevail over time.

Goals
Even though much is said and written about goals and plans being necessary for success as an entrepreneur, few people learn the mechanics of successful goal setting and planning. Its not the plan but the planning that is important, and the goal setting process allows them to develop the confidence to take risks and fail. Successful entrepreneurs are not only goal driven and goal oriented; they have learned to execute the process of strategic and tactical goal setting and planning. Visualizing goals, writing them down and putting together a detailed plan for achievement provides the confidence and motivation to prevail. More than just business or operational plans, they have goals and plans for all the important roles in their life. They have learned early that if they arent working their own plan they are probably part of someone elses goals or plans. They chart their own destiny, embrace risk-taking leadership positions, make adjustments as required and prevail over a course of time.

Tolls
Finally, entrepreneurs understand that there is a toll to pay. To be successful in any role in life you must be prepared to pay full price one time. There are really no overnight successes as an entrepreneur. In fact, Ive heard it said that overnight success generally takes 15-20 years. One of the early tolls that entrepreneurs are quite often forced to face is the re-making of themselves that can include growing beyond their current circle of contacts. Since most people tend to stay within their own psychological comfort zone, they begin to lose identity with the risk taker. They are comfortable with the type of person who is more like them. Quite often the entrepreneur moves on to a different circle of associates who understand the journey. Stepping out, being your own person and venturing into the risk prone unknown is lonely by itself. Consequently, there can be a newfound stress in old relationships. Its been said before that pioneers get shot in the front and the back, and only through a process of differentiating role performance from self-worth, being risk prone, prevailing through adversity, sticking to your goals, and adjusting your plans will you be prepared to pay the daily toll.

An entrepreneur has much to learn in order to be successful, including the day-to-day mechanics of running a business, producing products, delivering services, making money and dealing with people. The biggest challenge of all is developing an understanding of themselves. They come to grips with what they want and what motivates them; this sustains their willingness to prevail over the long term against adversity. Successful entrepreneurs have learned to transform their thinking, allowing them to prevail where others fail along the way.

Bill Scheessele is the President, Founder and CEO of Mastering Business Development, Inc., a 25-year Business Development consulting and training company. MBDi consults with firms in the energy, nuclear, engineering, pharmaceutical, IT, and other highly technical service industries helping them build proactive Business Development teams. He can be reached at or .

Studies have shown that successful entrepreneurs and home business owners possess the following characteristics. Do you?

1. Do you have Self-confidence?
This is the magical power of having confidence in yourself and in your strengths and abilities. This isn’t bravado or braggadocio but an unshakeable belief in yourself.

2. Are you Achievement Oriented?
Results are gained by focused and sustained effort. You concentrate on achieving a specific goal, not just accomplishing a string of unrelated tasks.

3. Are you a Risk Taker?
There is a chance of loss inherent in reaching for any goal, yet you have the confidence necessary to take calculated risks to achieve your goals.

So which of these three main characteristics is the most important? Believe it or not, it is self-confidence.

Without self-confidence, nothing else is possible. If you don’t believe in your abilities, then the first challenge that arises may knock you off the path to achieving your goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind for maintaining a higher level of self-confidence.

* Positive Thinking
It all starts with a positive attitude! Believing that something good will happen is the first step.

Negative thinking is just not allowed (so stop it right now). You must truly believe that there are no circumstances hard enough to deter you from reaching your goals.

Try the exercise created by French psychotherapist Emile Coue – every morning repeat “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” You might be surprised that this simple exercise has been getting results since the early 1900s!

Remember too, that positive thinking can be contagious. When positive thinking spreads, it can open doors to new ideas, customers, friends, etc.

* Persistent Action
All the positive thinking and believing in the world is useless if it is not applied towards a goal. You have to take action, no excuses allowed. This action must also be persistent. Trying once and then giving up is not going to be enough. Keep at it one step at a time. If you can’t get by a certain step, then find a creative way to try again or go around it.

Entrepreneurs are people who make decisions, they take action and control their own destinies. They are often motivated by a spirit of independence which leads them to believe that their success depends on raw effort and hard work, not luck.

As Ronald Regan pointed out: Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.

Look ahead and see yourself where you want to be, maintain a strong belief in yourself and your skills, stick with it, and never give up. If you can do that, you’re already half way there!

We’ll leave you with a couple of quotes from Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965):
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”
“For myself I am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”

Onwards!