Business Book Summaries

Retirement is supposed to be the time in our lives when we are able to sit back, relax and reap the freedom of the golden years. What most people realize when they finally get there is that too much relaxation and freedom becomes boring.

They start to realize that: they need to keep working to break the boredom, money should be coming in instead of going out, the cost of living is climbing outrageously, and they need enough money to have the financial freedom to travel to places they've always dreamed to be. Those are the few realizations aside from missing that feeling of accomplishment when they were still working. And that's when business after retirement seriously comes to mind.

You need to plan ahead and build a good foundation if you are going to start a business after retirement. Here are the few tips that you might need to consider:

1. Assess yourself – are you a risk taker? Can you risk your retirement benefit? Because no matter how you look at it, starting a business involves monetary risk. Accepting that fact, you must also check if you have the ability and the will to work hard to be able to handle uncertainty. Most of all you must have the attitude of self discipline.

2. Pick the right business for you – if you are the kind of person who is driven by passion and wants to make a career out of it, chances are that you will attain success. The reason why increasing number of older Americans starts a business after retirement is know-how. After 50, you have gained the skills and experience that you are passionate about. That would really make a difference. For some people, owning their own business is fascinating. In this case, chose a business that has a demand and potential in times of growth and recession.

3. Come up with a solid business plan – As a retiree, you have a special advantage. You've probably had a career where you learned how to run a successful business, either through hands-on experience or through observation of how the business where you worked was run. Figure out what will make your product or service different or special, how you plan to attract customers and how you intend to beat the competition.

4. Find great people – In a small business, the impact of a single team member can be enormous. Every person you add to your team must have a star quality – which means that the person must reflect your ideas and goals and will work with you through it. Is that possible? Absolutely. First, make sure you define what a star is within each role in your company. Then you can go find them.

5. Market and sell – this is about getting the world to know about your business so customers come through your door or perhaps to your homepage. First, you'll need to know and study your target market. Then develop or create a marketing message that will reach them. Make sure you maintain that message consistently and must be reinforced repeatedly so you can build your own brand or identity. Consistency gives the people a clear reason to be interested in your business.

When you are younger, you can afford to make a mistake, go out of business, even file for bankruptcy and still rebound. When you are older, there is simply less time to bounce back from significant business problems. Still, the wisdom of the years never fails.

Dave Kotecki is an intelligent adventurer with a purpose: to enjoy financial freedom. He is a revolutionary businessman who breaks all traditional restrictions to find something new and go for it. He is the new image of enterpreneural courage. He shares his thoughts and ideas in his blog to those who wants to be successful like him as well. His principle "if you can't sell, you'll fail" echoes the truth in today's business society. He also writes well and always spontaneous with his ideas. His work and adventure in Afghanistan drove him to study internet business and became really good at it.

In today's economy price may be king, but value for the money someone is willing to spend is like the crown on the king's head! Your company may provide a service or product that is priced right and fills a need or want for that customer, but what can you do to make sure that you are more than a better price? That you become so valuable to your customers that you are like the air they breathe or the water they drink? You can provide thoughtful, value added customer service. You can provide your service or product, and then some.

Adding extra value doesn't have to be an expense or a cheap gimmick, but rather a thoughtful extra that lets your customer know you value them and their business.

How can I get my employees to adopt a thoughtful, value added customer service attitude?

1. Model- Employees observe team leaders, supervisors, managers and executives to see if customer service initiatives and themes are the "flavor of the month" or a way of life. Leadership needs to take the initiative in changing behavior.

2. Train – The younger your employees are, the more they will need to be taught what to say, how to say it and to practice those new people skills to master them.

3. Evaluate – Use a third party to evaluate customer experience and share those results with your team each month. The best evaluation system provides documentation and coaching for individuals along with team statistics.

4. Reward – Brainstorm with your team on what types of rewards they want. Some are motivated with public recognition while others prefer a personal thank you or money. Provide a coupon for an hour off or provide a front parking spot to reward your team without spending cash.

Remember: People seldom remember what you do, but they always remember how you made them feel.

For more information, contact Lori Miller, President of Tooty Inc. Tooty Inc. is a creative company devoted to evaluating, training, monitoring and mentoring your customer service and sales teams. lori@tootyinc.com 708-478-5772.

Corporate training has been one of the most basic ways of getting more out of the staff you hire without having to go through the costs, both financially and time wise, of recruiting through advertisements. However, with businesses becoming more cautious and with many people always looking out for the best deal on wages, time off and sick pay, more and more companies have been wondering if corporate training is still the best way to go.

With literally billions of pounds going into training people ever year for new job positions and with the great expansion of the European community, it is now much easier to find employees that will be able to carry out the job for you that already have the skills that you need. As such businesses have now been looking overseas more readily to fill the positions that require a very specific level of skill. However, such methods have generated high levels of media attention whether it is a firm that changes its contract to a cheaper manufacturer abroad or be it a new set of workers that are employed when the neighbouring towns are low on jobs. It is key to remember that even though the costs of corporate training might be slightly higher, the benefits of doing such or the consequences of not may be of a greater cost in the future.

There are many ways to do corporate training; it can be from shadowing another person in the position they will be filling to more formal education such as that which requires specific certificates. The most common of methods is to simply get another worker to teach them what they need to know in order to do their new roles. However, when the position to be filled is of a higher level, such as manger of a new branch, it may be necessary to send that person to university to learn management skills.

Either way the risk of them leaving for a better position can still be a troubling and make for a high deterrent to giving that individual the chance. With any risk such as these there is always a standard form, as such, that allows you do a type of risk assessment on the candidate you are choosing. Usually the best people to give corporate training to be those that have had a: low amount of sick days, do not always take their holiday, rarely if ever late and has proved a willingness to improve themselves. If all of these characteristics are featured in the person(s) chosen then it will be unlikely they will look for a better job when they see that their hard work is going to be rewarded.

In the end the choice between deciding if your business should use corporate training or not is simply down to a risk assessment and costs and consideration of repercussions or rewards. If the end equation gives a good reading then that may be best for your company.

A good way to train a group of employees is to take them to corporate seminars and conferences hosted by live talkers such as motivational speakers and business gurus.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_V_Powell

In order to be successful at what I do, I have to accept help from others. Collaboration and teamwork are the springboard where new ideas bounce off. Therefore, the quality of my work improves when I receive input from others.

In order to accept help from others, I must let go of pride, recognizing that others can have ideas just as good or better than my own. As long as we work toward the same goal, I benefit from the expertise of my colleagues.

I work hard to perfect the skill of identifying talent in those around me. I listen to others and watch out for their strengths so I can delegate appropriately. When I delegate, I am free from worry because I trust those with whom I work.

I delegate because I cannot do everything efficiently on my own without wearing myself out. I preserve my health and renew my strength when I maintain a manageable workload.

I need others to help me achieve my goals. Delegating the small stuff allows me to focus on the big picture.

Success is sweeter when shared with others. When I get to the top of the mountain I want to have someone with whom to share the view. The relationships formed along the way are as worthy of celebration as the success itself!

Today, I relinquish control of my affairs and accept the help of others. I enjoy time to rest and play when the workload is shared amongst a team of capable people.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. Do I accept help from others?
2. What task am I holding on to that I need to delegate?
3. How will my life improve once I allow others to help?

Technorati tags: self improvement, work productivity, empowerment, leadership

Dealing with conflict is hardly ever easy, but there are healthy and productive ways of getting through it. Conflict resolution goes to the heart of your communication skills. This means that it's something that might come naturally to some people, while others will struggle.

The good news is that you can strengthen your skills in this area. With some effort on your part, you can make your life easier as well as communicate on a deeper level with those around you.

Here are a few strategies you can use to better deal with conflict:

1. Recognize differing opinions. Conflict generally arises when people fail to recognize or understand a differing opinion in another person.

• If you're mediating a conflict between two people, tell them to put themselves in the other person's shoes.

• If you're in the middle of a conflict, take the time to truly listen to what the other person is saying and try to see where they're coming from in the situation.

1. Work on communication. How many times have you found yourself dealing with conflict because of a miscommunication issue? Communicating effectively in the first place prevents many conflicts from ever developing.

• Remember that communication is a two way street, so practice both your verbal and listening skills.

1. Allow everyone to speak. It's vital that everyone involved in the conflict has a chance to speak. There will be no true resolution if everyone's needs are not heard and met. It would turn out to be a band-aid solution and only a matter of time before the conflict reared its ugly head once again.

2. Stay calm. This is one of the most important keys to expressing yourself in a healthy fashion. When conflicts arise, things can get quickly heated if you don't make a conscious effort to stay calm. Emotions start flying and you may say something you later regret.

• If telling yourself to stay calm isn't effective, take a break and let emotions cool down before you return to any conflict resolution.

1. Talk about mistakes. Everyone knows that people make mistakes because it's human nature. However, it also seems to be human nature to fight acceptance of those mistakes. Conflicts often arise from mistakes, so it's best to be upfront about them.

• Identify the mistake that led to the conflict. • What was the intention behind the mistake? In many cases, the person causing the mistake didn't intend for it to happen. • Work on forgiveness and setting things right again.

1. Discuss resolution. Every conflict needs a solution. The best resolutions involve a win-win scenario for everyone. However, remember that everyone may not be completely happy with the solution. In this case, ensure that everyone at least accepts the compromise and is at peace with it.

2. Learn from it. Resolving conflicts can result in some valuable life lessons. Discuss what each of you has learned from this conflict, and then leave it behind to move forward to better things.

Once a conflict has been resolved in a healthy manner, it's good to identify the steps you took in order to achieve a resolution. Your successful process may help you in the future when you need to manage conflict again. Technorati tags: self improvement, productivity, empowerment, work ethic