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Entrepreneurs Must Embrace Lady Luck: Luke Johnson

luke_johnson

Luke Johnson keeps providing thoughtful material which I share here in case you didn’t read him in the Financial Times: One of the reasons business is so fascinating is that success is unpredictable. So many apparent negatives can be turned into positives. There are winners who have overcome dyslexia, a stammer, a lack of academic qualifications, or being fired. A common complaint from would-be entrepreneurs is the lack of finance to start a business. But an inability to raise funding can eventually become a bonus. Founders who keep their shares do not suffer early equity dilution. If the business works, they [...]

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Hands Off My Favourite Word: Entrepreneur

entrepreneurtag

One of my very favourite words in the world, perhaps my No 1 all-time favourite, is ENTREPRENEUR. I love it so much I adopted it at AdoptAWord.com which helps children with communication difficulties. Their website allows you to buy merchandise with your word on it so I can see on my keyring every day that I am an ENTREPRENEUR, lest I forget, which is very, very unlikely but just in case. But, here’s the bad news. Increasingly people are bastardising my favourite word. The first culprit was Mumpreneur (yuk!), which has now been officially recognised and added to the dictionary. God. Help. [...]

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Helping A New Coach to Market Herself

Liberty

Yesterday I spoke to a prospective new client in New York, which also just happens to be one of my very favourite places in the world.   My colleague is anticipating the arrival of her coaching certificate at the end of January and is already beginning to think about marketing herself. She admitted that there was very little advice given to her during her course about how to create a business around her new-found coaching skills. This lady found me via another fabulous client who referred her onto me in answer to the question “you market yourself very well online, who [...]

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The Joys of Self-Employment

Self Employed

There’s a lot of talk right now about how self-employed people and Entrepreneurs are the future. With so many without jobs all over the world, a number of people – perhaps larger than in my lifetime – are faced with no choice but to roll up their sleeves and employ themselves. What does it take? What are the pitfalls? What do you fear? I’d love to know. I’ve been self-employed now since July 1977 and I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be right at the beginning of this journey. I can share that it is often worrying but that there [...]

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“Most Entrepreneurs Are Driven By Self-Doubt”: Sir Tom Hunter

Sir Tom Hunter

Dragon Peter Jones made an excellent attempt last night, where many have gone before, to discover whether the personality traits of one entrepreneur have anything in common with another. Mr Jones was comparing and contrasting Michelle Mone of MJM International, the makers of Ultimo bras, with Richard Reed one of the three founders of Innocent Drinks.   I like Peter Jones, he’s easy on the eye and I much prefer the programmes where we get to see him being chauffeur driven and flying in private jets to the tedious Dragons’ Den itself which, to my mind, does not showcase entrepreneurs very [...]

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Tips For Getting A New Business Off The Ground by Luke Johnson

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Over the weekend, in The Week, I read these start-up tips by Luke Johnson which were originally published in the Wall Street Journal Europe.   Luke Johnson, chairman of private equity house Risk Capital Partners, has made a success of businesses as varied as Pizza Express, bingo and dentistry. Here are Luke’s tips if you are contemplating going into business for yourself: Consider moonlighting or going part-time. A steady income to cover personal overheads can be a life-saver while you develop your concept. Do what you know. Don’t plunge into a new sector without doing extensive homework. If you start up in [...]

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Clutter Clearing Creates Clarity and Creativity

de-clutter-mm

Despite being a business mentor and wealth coach, one of the greatest differences I know I’ve made to clients over the years is in encouraging them to clear their clutter. And I’m perfect for this because I live such a minimalist and clutter-free life. That comes from the military discipline in my childhood you see, and travelling a lot and moving house all the time. In fact, sometimes I wonder what I have spent all my money on over the years I’ve worked, must be millions now, because it certainly isn’t visible round here. During the summer my niece was [...]

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