Nagesh Belludi

It is not a lucky word, this same impossible; no good comes of those that have it so often in their mouth.
—Thomas Carlyle (Scottish Historian, Essayist)

When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal, and suspicion, then our democratic society is outraged, and democracy is baffled. It has no apparatus to deal with the boor, the liar, the lout, and the antidemocrat in general.
—J. William Fulbright (American Politician)

There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience, or none at all.
—Ogden Nash (American Comic Poet)

It is justice, not charity, that is wanting in the world.
—Mary Wollstonecraft (English Writer, Feminist)

All those things [meaning works of art] have given me the greatest satisfaction and contentment because they are not only for the honor of God but are likewise for my own remembrance. For fifty years, I have done nothing else but earn money and spend money; and it became clear that spending money gives me greater pleasure than earning it.
—Cosimo de’ Medici (Florentine Statesman, Banker)

Without all doubt, charity to the poor is a direct and obligatory duty upon all Christians.
—Edmund Burke (British Philosopher, Statesman)

You should never ask anyone for anything. Never- and especially from those who are more powerful than yourself.
—Mikhail Bulgakov (Russian Novelist, Dramatist)

Falling in love was simple; one had only to yield. Digesting another person, however, and sustaining love, was bloody work, and not a soft job.
—Hanif Kureishi (British Novelist, Screenwriter)

If you have the words, there’s always a chance that you’ll find the way.
—Seamus Heaney (Irish Poet, Playwright)

I will go anywhere, provided it is forward.
—David Livingstone (Scottish Missionary, Explorer)

Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (American Physician, Essayist)

Love points the way. Desire is its ignorant advisor.
—Elfriede Jelinek (Austrian Author)

Entrepreneurs have changed the entire landscape of the business sector. With their innovative strategies, new-age solutions, and enthusiastic attitude, entrepreneurs have brought about a mindset shift in the industry leaders and consumers.

While many youngsters aspire to join the ranks of entrepreneurs, only some turn their dreams into reality. After all, regardless of how glamorous the entrepreneurial life looks from a distance, it requires nothing short of everything you have. Blood, sweat, and timepave the way to a successful entrepreneurial venture.

Is Entrepreneurship for me?

We want to make an idealistic statement, such as entrepreneurship is for everyone and anyone. Unfortunately, that’s all such a statement would be – idealistic. While today’s business environment allows everyone to dip their toes into entrepreneurship, some innate qualities are required in a person to survive as an entrepreneur.

Above all else, entrepreneurs must be motivated, dedicated, persistent, and thick-skinned. The road to entrepreneurship is often long and grueling,lined with failures and criticisms. The ability to not let such things weigh one down and soldier on against all odds make for a successful entrepreneur.

Tips for Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur

No set rulebook guarantees success as an entrepreneur. However, with the right preparation and guidance, you can increase your chances of success. If you’re up for the challenge and want to start right, here are our top tips for becoming a successful entrepreneur.

1. Learn the Ropes

The first thing you need to do before starting on this journey is to learn the essential skills that are required to run a business. One way to do that is to enroll in an online executive MBA program to help you understand the basics of marketing management, strategic planning, and accounting. An MBA degree makes up for the skills acquired through experience and can contribute greatly to entrepreneurial success. The best part about opting for an online MBA is that you can study remotely at a flexible pace. This way, you can also focus on building your business alongside learning all you need to succeed.

2. Make a Business Plan

The business plan is the holy grail for a businessman. It is the physical, attainable, organized manifestation of their lifelong dream. Therefore, developing a strong and coherent business plan is important before starting out. A business plan covers all the fundamental aspects of running a business, such as the business model, an industry analysis, the target market, the leading competitors, and an operational plan. Some things require you to do homework beforehand, such as thorough market research. However, having clarity on these ends will help you immensely in the initial days as you will have an organized guidebook to turn to.

3. Start Low-Risk

Entrepreneurship is as much about being smart as having the right skills and knowledge. In entrepreneurial ventures, external funding usually comes in during the first few years. Due to this, entrepreneurs often tend to take on excessive development and expansion projects. While this is a good way to grow a business, in the initial years, it is best to avoid such aggressive techniques and minimize the risk you take. For instance, if you want to introduce a new product, you can start by offering a limited quantity online. It will help you gauge the market reaction and expected demand before you invest heavily in the product.

4. Find your Clan

A business is nothing without its people. For an entrepreneur, the team you lead is the biggest asset you hold. Find like-minded people who share your passion and drive. Focus on skills such as agility, creativity, and emotional intelligence, rather than fancy degrees and titles. It will help you find people who bring value to your enterprise. With the right people working for you who can handle their teams and functions effectively and efficiently, you can focus on your primary tasks without being pulled into unnecessary matters. Once you find your people and build your clan, success will only be far away.

5. Focus on Networking

Networking is essential for anyone working in the business sector. You need to build effective professional relationships inside and outside your industry. There are many benefits of having a strong network for entrepreneurs, such as having experts to turn to for advice and getting early information about new opportunities for business development. There are many ways you can build your network. If you’re an extrovert, you can attend professional networking events and seminars to meet individuals working in your industry. However, if having to mingle with strangers in a public event gives you anxiety, you can use social media platforms such as LinkedIn to connect with others.

6. Stay Updated

For entrepreneurs or professionals, staying updated is one of the most important things for success. Theories, ideas, and technology are all dynamic in today’s business landscape, and it is essential to learn and adapt to stand with the competition. Entrepreneurs mustremain updated on the latest industry trends and incorporate them into their business as and when practical. Entrepreneurs should also continuelearning to improve their knowledge and skills. It is, after all,a leader’s job to inspire and motivate their team.Hence, the better you are, the better your team will be.

7. Use Technology to Your Advantage

There is no count of the number of ways in which technology has made life easier for us. For businesses, technology has brought about a true revolution. Today, businesses can use social media to establish an online presence, which allows them to reach and connect with their potential customer base. Additionally, digital marketing, helps businesses grow immensely. Entrepreneurs can take advantage of many digital marketing techniques, such as pay-per-click advertising, e-mail marketing, and search engine optimization. By using these low-cost tools, entrepreneurs can grow their businesses at an affordable cost.

Final Words

For aspiring entrepreneurs, the road is long and hard. However, the reward at the end is just as great. With the above tips like leveraging technology, staying up-to-date, improving your skills, focusing on building your network and finding the  right people for your team, you can all but ensure that your entrepreneurial venture will be a success.

In charity there is no excess.
—Francis Bacon (English Philosopher)

Ah, great it is to believe the dream as we stand in youth by the starry stream; but a greater thing is to fight life through and say at the end, the dream is true!
—Edwin Markham (American Poet)

Film as dream, film as music. No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul. A little twitch in our optic nerve, a shock effect: twenty-four illuminated frames a second, darkness in between, the optic nerve incapable of registering darkness.
—Ingmar Bergman (Swedish Film and Stage Director)

Leadership is an intense journey into yourself. If you can go to bed feeling beaten up and rise the next morning ready to keep listening and learning, then I believe you can lead.
—Jeffrey Immelt (American Businessperson)

Nor is it wiser to weep a true occasion lost, but trim our sails, and let old bygones be.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (British Poet)

It would be naive to think that the problems plaguing mankind today can be solved with means and methods which were applied or seemed to work in the past.
—Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Head of State)

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
—The Holy Bible (Scripture in the Christian Faith)

Develop purity in yourself if you wish to encourage others to follow the path of purity. Discover real peace and harmony within yourself, and naturally this will overflow to benefit others.
—S. N. Goenka (Burmese Mediation Teacher)

Life is doubt, and faith without doubt is nothing but death.
—Miguel de Unamuno (Spanish Philosopher, Writer)

Nothing succeeds like success.
—Alexandre Dumas pere (French Novelist, Playwright)

All Presidents start out pretending to run a crusade but after a couple of years they find they are running something less heroic and much more intractable: namely, the presidency.
—Alistair Cooke (British-American Journalist)

If you come to a fork in the road, take it.
—Yogi Berra (American Sportsperson)

All of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.
—Theodore Hesburgh (American Catholic Educator)

Pity makes suffering contagious.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (German Philosopher, Scholar)

Mindfulness is no longer a catchphrase only associated with yogis. Now, it’s something that everyone needs to practice, especially when it comes to your finances. The thing is, not everyone knows what mindfulness really is or how to practice it. Your relationship with money can be complex and, at times, emotionally draining. That’s why you need to learn how to be mindful when making financial decisions. Mindfulness isn’t learned overnight, but it can be a massive help to you when getting your finances in order. Here’s how to practice mindfulness with your finances.

What Exactly is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is all about being present. It’s about being able to connect with your feelings outside of what’s happening around you. Instead of focusing external stimuli, you’re able to concentrate how you feel right now, and not thinking about the past or what might happen in future. So, when it comes your money, mindfulness can improve your financial well-being.

Be Aware of Your Spending Habits

When you learn how to live in the now, you become more aware how you’re spending your money. You may be more aware of patterns that lead to impulse spending or identify habits that lead to overspending. It’s important to identify where your weaknesses are and how you can ensure you are able to make better financial decisions. If you’re thinking about getting a credit card, you need to understand how they work.

If you’re a student, there are credit cards options out there. However, you need to arm yourself with the right information before you apply. If it’s your first card, you can review a guide that explains the different types of cards and to choose the right one for you. Choosing your first credit card can be difficult because of the potential APR rates that come with them. Most credit card companies offer their clients a grace period of a year without this rate. But once it ends, you could be facing a rate of 20 percent or more. Diligence is vital in this scenario.

Less Financial Worry

No matter how old you are, in some regard, money can buy happiness and financial problems are the leading cause of stress. In the best case, you have financial issues that are quickly resolved and never happen again. In the worst case scenario, your money woes snowball out of the control, causing you to lose sleep, fall behind on other bills, and possibly cause strife in your relationships. But when you’re more in tune with yourself, you’re more equipped to prevent major financial downfalls from happening. You’re on top of your spending and always make sure you have enough to cover your expenses.

Make Better Investment Decisions

People as young as 18 can start investing, so knowing how to practice mindful investing is a must. Mindful investing includes taking as much as time as you need to research the different types of investments and how each one can affect you. Investing isn’t something to take lightly; the negative effects can be nearcatastrophic if things go the wrong way. When you’re mindful, you’re less likely to make impulsive investment decisions. In fact, many professional investors will tell you that backing out of deals or refraining from purchasing a specific asset saved them thousands.

How to Avoid Triggers

Truth be told, even the most dedicated savers make money mistakes. But just because you make a few mistakes doesn’t mean you need to throw in the towel. There are ways to get back on track and avoid what triggers you. First, identify what these triggers are. Since we’re talking about saving money, a very common trigger is purchasing everything that piques your interest. It’s normal to want to splurge and buy something we really want, but you need to think of the potential ramifications first. Will you still be able to afford your monthly expenses after all is said and done? If your answer is yes, then there shouldn’t be too much of an issue.