Messages

136

Faculty Forum / Cultivating the positivity habit – 4 things to start with

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:09:47 PM »

Now that we know how beneficial positivity can be to our health and happiness, let’s look at some ways of building a habit of being positive.

1. Prepare your environment
Leo Babauta always has great advice on building habits, and this is one of my favorites. The environment we try to build new habits in (or break old ones, even) has a huge effect on how successful we are. Environment in this case includes the people we spend time with and the messages we hear or tell ourselves, as well as our physical environment.

The trick here is to ensure your environment is as conducive to you continuing your new habit as possible. Here are some of Leo’s suggestions for how to achieve this:

Hang out with people who are doing the habit you want to do.If there are people around you who don’t do the habit you want to do, talk to them about what you’re trying to do, and ask for their help. Ask them to support you, and not rag on you all the time for changing.Join a supportive community online who are doing the things you want to do.Read blogs and books that inspire you to do the habit.Have reminders all around you.Create a public challenge for yourself, to create accountability.Have a habit partner you report to each day, and make a vow never to miss.
In terms of being positive, you could find a friend or family member to do this with to keep you accountable, or set a daily reminder so you don’t forget. Filling your work space with positive sayings or images could help, and reading books that encourage positive thinking will reinforce this.

2. Start smaller than you think – The “floss only 1 tooth” – approach
Another of my favorite pieces of advice from Leo’s blog Zen Habits is to make your habit so small that you can’t say no. If you do this to start with, you can focus more on building a habit, rather than on results or how big your habit is.

Here’s Leo’s explanation of why this works:

Another common habit that too few people actually do is flossing daily. So my advice is just floss one tooth the first night.

Of course, that seems so ridiculous most people laugh. But I’m totally serious: if you start out exceedingly small, you won’t say no. You’ll feel crazy if you don’t do it. And so you’ll actually do it!

That’s the point. Actually doing the habit is much more important than how much you do.

Right now I’m just taking note of one great moment I noticed, at the end of each day. Sometimes it only takes a few words to share this, sometimes it’s two sentences. I’ve incorporated it into my daily practice of sharing what I got done with the Buffer team, so it’s easy to remember and easy to do.

Starting small has helped me to incorporate the practice into every day so it’s becoming a habit, without worrying about what a big task it is.

3. Take note of 1 positive moment every day
Noticing the positive things that happen in your everyday life has been proven to be a successful method of increasing your positive thinking. This doesn’t just happen when you’re doing the exercise: the effects can actually last much longer.

A study of 90 undergraduate students had one half of them write about positive experiences for three consecutive days. The second half wrote about control topics that didn’t affect their emotions. After three months, the study found that the students who had written about positive experiences still had better mood levels and fewer illnesses. If your best ideas and reflections of positive moments always happen in the shower like they do for me, not to worry, you can take notes there too with something like Acqua notes:

Shower paper notepad and pen

One activity that’s often said to improve positivity is to write down (or share with someone) three things you’re grateful for at the end of each day.

4. Try to Meditate – 2 minutes is enough
Meditating is beneficial for the body and mind. It not only improves mindfulness and positive thinking while you’re doing it, but it has been shown to decrease illness and improve mindfulness and feelings of purpose in life up to three months after being practiced daily for a short period.

Starting small works for meditating, as well. Leo Babauta recommends just 2 minutes to start with, which is easy to do and helpful in developing a strong habit. After establishing the habit for several weeks, you can slowly increase the length of your meditation sessions to an amount that gives you the most benefit.

Filling my head with more positive thoughts has made a huge change to how I see things. Have you experimented with any of the above before? I’d love your thoughts on building a positivity habit below. Or you can Tweet me @bellebethcooper anytime to chat.

137

Faculty Forum / Why be positive in the first place? – Consider these 3 key benefits

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:07:00 PM »

Before we get into building positivity into your life, let’s look at why we would even bother. What are the real benefits of being more positive?

The first thing I realized is how negative emotions affect us: they have proven many times to narrow our focus and scope of work. It’s one of the most powerful ways shut our minds off to opportunities or new ideas. This is why this post about listening with intent to agree is so great—it encourages listening with a positive emotion (agreeability) in mind, so that our minds will more naturally open up to what the speaker is saying.

We know that the effects of negative emotions are biological instincts programmed into our brains to help us survive. For example, if we were to come across a dangerous animal in the wild, the negative emotions of fear and anxiety would narrow our focus so that all we could think about was not becoming that animal’s dinner. This helped us to more efficiently direct our energy and mental functions towards that objective, without wasting our resources on unnecessary actions like working out which direction we’re going or thinking about what to have for dinner when we get home.

Of course, modern life doesn’t often put us in life-and-death situations like this, so allowing negative emotions to narrow our thinking can be harmful. It can make us less open, more hard-headed and more difficult to communicate with.

1. Negativity doesn’t work – Literally – Our subconcious brain can’t handle it
The other thing about negativity is that our brains can’t process negative words according to the latest studies. So when we hear phrase like “don’t smoke” or “don’t touch that,” our subconscious skips over these negative words and simply hears “smoke” or “touch that.” Our conscious mind can obviously process these words, but it’s the subconscious that makes a lot of our decisions without us realizing.

For young children, this can often be an issue because they haven’t learned to use their conscious minds to process those negative words and take control of the subconscious to make sure they follow instructions correctly. It’s no surprise why children decide that way if you look at the split between conscious and subconscious mind according to psychology:

Conscious mind versus subconscious mind

What this means for us is that we struggle to change our habits or thought patterns when we tell ourselves negative phrases, since only our conscious minds can take those in. We can make this much easier and let the subconscious do its job by using positively-framed phrases like “refrain from smoking” or “walk away from that.”

2. You’ll improve your outlook of the future
Positive thinking can actually improve our overall happiness. I’ve written about this before in terms of noting down things we’re grateful for on a regular basis and how that can improve our happiness.

A study at the University of North Carolina also showed that positive emotions are more likely to encourage people to plan ahead and think of actions they would like to take or activities they’d like to participate in the future. Negative emotions, on the other hand, led to participants being less inclined to think positively about their future.

3. You’ll be more healthy
Yep, positivity has shown to directly affect your physical health. Another study from the University of North Carolina used the ancient practice of loving-kindness meditation to test how cultivating positive feelings like love, compassion and goodwill towards others could affect the emotional and physical health of the participants.

Compared to the control group who did not participate in the meditation, the meditators showed increases in positive emotions like amusement, awe and gratitude during the research period. They also reported feeling more socially connected and closer to the people around them.

Physically, these participants showed improvements in vagal tone which is linked to cardiovascular health and a general indicator of physical well-being.

138

Alumni / সব বন্ধুরা কই ???

« on: July 02, 2017, 05:25:02 PM »

আমার সব বন্ধুদের সাথে এখন আর যোগাযোগ নাই? সবাইকে অনেক মিস করি। কখনো কি সবাইকে একত্রে আবার পাবো?
অনেক-কেই হারিয়ে ফেলেছি................................................।।

139

Alumni / Re: Proud Alumni

« on: July 02, 2017, 05:14:49 PM »

Me too.........................

140

Faculty Sections / Re: Belief : Hadith 40

« on: July 02, 2017, 05:10:35 PM »

সুব-হান-আল্লাহ্‌......।।

141

Faculty Sections / Re: প্লাস্টিকের ডিম চিনবেন যেভাবে

« on: July 02, 2017, 05:03:01 PM »

Me too............

142

Faculty Sections / Re: চিকন গুনিয়া রোগ প্রতিরোধে তুলসি পাতা

« on: July 02, 2017, 05:00:41 PM »

উপকারি তথ্য, ধন্যবাদ।

143

BBA Discussion Forum / 6 Tips for Improving Your Business Communication Skills

« on: July 02, 2017, 04:47:22 PM »

You know that good communication skills are essential to rise to the top in business. Communications skills can endear you among your peers, raise your value among your superiors, and cause you to be admired among those subordinate to you. So, how can you develop them to meet your true potential? Here are some helpful tips for improving your business communication skills.

1. Practice Your Listening Skills (and Your Paying Attention Skills Too)
Business communication
Listening requires a bit more than not talking while someone talks.
When others are speaking, are you really listening? We often confuse ‘listening’ with ‘being quiet’ but just because you aren’t talking while others are talking doesn’t mean you’re really listening. Learn to turn off your own internal dialogue and truly tune into what others are saying. It often helps to repeat what you’ve heard so that you know you’re paying attention and they know it too.

2. Collaborate, Don’t Dictate
Lectures, monologues, and ramblings don’t belong in business communications. If you find you’re speaking more than a few moments (except when giving a presentation or leading a demonstration), stop. Simplify what you’re trying to say as much as possible. Allow others to offer their input on the issue. Communication is about give and take, not dictating how things are going to be or how you think they should be.Vmoso Mobile Collaboration ad

3. Pay Attention to How You Spend Your Leisure Time
You probably didn’t expect this to be on the list. What do the TV shows you watch, the things you read, and your hobbies have to do with business communications? Well, the answer is twofold. First, they have the potential to expose you to new perspectives and important current events that help you grow your business intelligence. Odds are people who watch an hour of reality television daily aren’t going to be as capable of carrying a business-oriented conversation as well as those who spend their free time reading business journals and networking with successful mentors. Second, you will glean tremendously useful ideas and insights from more intellectual pursuits than from watching or reading less helpful material during your off time.

4. Invest in the Right Communication and Collaboration Tools
If you’re depending on email and social media for your communications, you’re probably receiving a lot of useless and redundant information and perhaps missing out on the most important conversations. A collaborative tool like Vmoso is the ideal way to streamline communications, collaborate on important projects, and build meaningful business relationships.

5. Don’t Wait Too Long to Bring Up Sensitive Issues
Allowing a situation to build and fester is a recipe for a breakdown in communications. It’s much easier, effective, and more professional to address an issue as soon as it pops up, while it’s still in its infancy, than to wait until it grows into a big, ugly, angry monster. Most of the time, a quick, direct discussion can resolve any interpersonal or professional issues without negatively affecting the relationship.

6. Learn to Have and Use a Good People Memory
Business communication
Dedicating time and energy toward remembering important bits and pieces of your coworkers’ lives can pay off big time.
Is Sheila a morning person, or is it better to approach her with a problem later in the afternoon? Does Samuel prefer a bagel when you swing by to pick up breakfast, or is he more of a sausage biscuit kind of guy? Is it Tuesdays or Thursdays that Becky has to leave as soon as possible to get her child to his orthodontist appointment? Do these little details seem meaningless to you? People are important. When you can remember details about their personal lives, it shows that you care for them beyond their work. This fosters a deeper, more meaningful relationship that will spill easily into a better, more rewarding business relationship.

As you can see, becoming a better communicator sounds a lot like becoming a better person. Any personal improvements you make in your own life flow readily and steadily into your work life. Now, take your skills to the next level with an audit of your communications tools in 10 Ways Your Current Communication Tools Are Wasting Your Time.

By - BroadVision Admin

144

BBA Discussion Forum / 15 Business Communication Tips to Help You Conquer the Corporate World

« on: July 02, 2017, 04:41:49 PM »

Whether you have high hopes of being the next renowned CEO or just preparing for an upcoming job interview, it’s important to learn how to communicate like a professional.

Envisioning yourself working in a big office or other corporate setting can seem daunting. How do I talk to my coworkers? Am I being too informal in my emails? Is there phone etiquette I should know about?

The corporate culture has evolved immensely with the emergence of social media and increased reliance on electronic communication. There are a few new best practices to follow in order to be seen as a professional.

We enlisted some experts to share 15 business communication tips to help you have the confidence you need to conquer the corporate world.

1. Proofread emails
“Always check your emails and messages for grammar, spelling and style errors before hitting send,” says Julie Titterington, managing editor at Merchant Maverick. In her opinion, there’s nothing more unprofessional than an email written in all caps or all lowercase letters.

2. Be confident
People who take ownership of their work are perceived differently than those who wait to take direction, according to Daniel DiGriz, director of digital strategy at MadPipe.

“In an age of automation and cheap labor, we're not looking for more 'yes people,'” DiGriz says. Instead, he says employers are seeking individuals who can pick up an area of company operation with energy, excitement and eagerness.

3. Be conscious of on-verbal communication
“Present yourself as open and inviting. At many companies, including my own, there is a focus on collaboration between different teams,” says Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation.

Sweeney also says that having an ego will kill any opportunities for others to help you: “Humility is a great asset to have if you want effective collaboration.”

4. Silence the cellphone
“If you're engaged in a conversation or meeting, leave your cell phone in your pocket or face down on the table,” recommends Jake Messier, Vice President of Client Services at Callanan & Klein Communications. He believes there’s nothing more impolite than checking texts or emails in the middle of a thoughtful discussion.

5. Work life & social life don’t always mix
Titterington urges professionals to refrain from discussing job details or coworkers on social media sites. Companies can monitor the Facebook or Twitter activity of their employees and it can come back to haunt you.

6. Don’t exclude colleagues
It’s important to keep colleagues in the loop about projects or conversations they are a part of.  “Everyone touched by a process needs to be in the dialogue. When a discussion starts, ask yourself who else should be involved and get them involved any way you can,” says Dan Strongin, founder of Manage Naturally.

7. Say what you mean
“Do not beat around the bush when you are in a workplace. Effective communication will lead to less confusion,” says Lisa Chu, CEO of Black n Bianco. Rather than complicating things with confusing jargon, do your best to keep things simple and understandable.

8. Keep emails professional
You might be wondering if it’s appropriate to use a smiley face or other emoji’s within an email. Is it ok to use abbreviations and slang?

“Don’t use emoticons or text speech until you know the culture and people - keep it professional until you know what is suitable - err on the side of caution,” says Richard Newton, managing director of Fresh Learning.

9. Keep your ears open
“Listen more than you talk. Be genuinely interested in your coworkers,” says Chris Martin, marketing coordinator at Charity Republic. Even though it doesn’t involve speaking, he believes listening is the most undervalued communication skill out there.

“Become an expert listener and everything else will fall into place,” he says.

10. Don’t complain
This tip is simple yet important for having a professional image in the office: don't nag and complain. It’s ok to want to vent about work, but save it for after you leave the office (and refer to #5!)

“Everyone has bad days so the occasional complaint is understandable but if you are a serial complainer, people will simply want to avoid you,” says David Erickson, VP Online Communications for Minneapolis PR firm, Karwoski & Courage.

11. Call people by name
“Use people's names. Everyone likes the sound of their own name and it will ensure that you remember each person and their role in the office. It will also make sure you don't confuse names,” says Martin.

12. Some things are best said out loud
It’s simple to shoot someone a quick email – sometime too simple! But don’t always take the easy way out. Information that can be easily misunderstood or messages that are personal in nature should be delivered face-to-face when possible, according to Strongin.

13. Avoid controversy
There are certain topics that just don’t need to be brought up around the water cooler or in the break room. Politics, religion and office rumors are a few at the top of the list.

“Try not to engage in controversial topics in the workplace. It may be hard to say ‘excuse me, I have to get back to work’ when the gossip starts to fly, but you can't get caught up in that,” says Ryan Hulland, president of Netfloor USA Access Floors.

14. Write clear & concise emails
In a business setting, people don’t want to spend as much time reading your email as they do reading a novel, according to Brooks Doherty, dean of the Rasmussen College School of Business. “You want to get to the point and get your message across quickly so you know it’s being read,” he adds.

For more specific rules and guidelines for writing a professional email, as well as free information and lectures about professional communication, check out this free online course on Professional Communication Essentials.

15. Just be nice!
It’s the golden rule we all learned growing up: Treat others as you wish to be treated. The office is no exception. Having trouble finding a conversation topic? Find some common ground.

“Be friendly but remember that you are in the workplace. Try to find things in common with colleagues such as the football team they support or vacation destinations,” says Newton.

Communicate like a professional
Now that you’re equipped with these handy business communication tips, you should feel more confident about making a good impression in your office. Conducting yourself like a professional will take some practice. Once you get out into the workforce, learn from those around you.

145

BBA Discussion Forum / Re: Financial Statement and its sources

« on: July 02, 2017, 04:36:03 PM »

It's core and Important for finance and accounting.

146

BBA Discussion Forum / 10 Things You Must Do to Be Successful in Business (and in Life)

« on: July 02, 2017, 04:32:39 PM »

There have been thousands of books written about what it takes to be successful in business, and a thousand more about achieving success in life as well. You can find another thousand articles on the web that discuss the topic, and a thousand more will be written tomorrow. With such a broad subject and with so many things that can play a role in making us happy, it can be difficult to boil it down to a short list of things that anyone can read and apply in their lives.

However, across those thousands of books and articles, among the countless legends and stories, you'll find some common themes woven throughout. You'll find principles about us as human beings that many of us think about but never try hard enough to achieve. You'll hear about ideals and decisions that we all wish we could aspire to but often fail to understand. Here are ten of those things you'll find among the tales of those who achieved success in business (and in life) - which ones do you currently have and which do you need to obtain?

1. Be Fearless
Want to know why becoming successful in a business venture is considered such a daunting feat by society? While there are obvious hurdles to face, one of the biggest challenges is in overcoming the fear of jumping into a business in the first place. Most people dream all day about launching a successful business while watching the clock tick at their mundane day jobs. The reason they never quit the security of a paycheck is because they are too scared by the unknown that comes with starting a business. If you want to separate yourself from that crowd, you need to learn how to manage your own fears. Don't worry, you're not alone. When I quit my job to start my business, I was making double my salary outside my day job than I was inside working my eight hour job. I still had that huge fear of failure.

However, this is only the beginning of the road for those who want to be truly successful in business. Overcoming your fears and getting started is noble, but the true tests of a fearless entrepreneur will be constant, from initiating a conversation at a networking mixer, asking for the sale on a major deal, severing ties with a partner who is causing harm to the venture, and perhaps the most frightening of all situations - watching a business fail (it happened to Henry Ford twice before he designed his famous assembly line!) One who can fail miserably and not be scared to dust themselves off and try again and again until they are successful is truly fearless.

2. Understand Finance
Now, people all the time will talk about how a well known business brand started at one time in someone's basement or garage, so much that it's become a romantic notion of sorts that going from rags-to-riches is what really identifies a true entrepreneur. The reality of most successful businesses ventures couldn't be farther from the truth - if you want to make it, you're going to need money. However, that doesn't necessarily mean you need to have a lot of it when you're just getting started, but more importantly understanding how finance works and how to use your money to grow in the smartest way.

Robert Kiyosaki is most famous for teaching the world about the importance in how financial literacy plays such a crucial role in the lives of successful entrepreneurs. Those who live from paycheck to paycheck are also those that fill their lives with liabilities - car and house payments, credit cards, and other materialistic things that cost them money. Those who are financially literate, however, understand the importance of building assets - things that make them money instead. Once you start having a positive asset column, you can then learn how to make even more money through investing. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to know how to take money and make it work for you.

3. Grow As A Leader
Once you harness your fears and make the leap to starting a business, you've already begun the journey of becoming a leader. As we'll discuss shortly, your ultimate success will have a lot to do with how you help others find their own. Many of us hold successful entrepreneurs on a pedestal much like football fans hold a star quarterback or wide receiver in high regard. However, there's always a team that these individuals lead that ultimately leads to their success. You must learn how to be a leader on some kind of level in order to motivate others to join you in your venture, believe in what you preach, or give you money for a product or service that you offer.

Just because you need to possess leadership qualities does not mean that everybody successful in business has to be the CEO, face of the company, or person "in charge". When Google started to really grow, the company's founders brought in a successful CEO in Eric Schmidt to come in and run their company - they were engineers, not CEOs. The ability to lead a team or lead the masses can sometimes come down to just having the right charisma and message to get the right people to do the things that need to be done in order for the entire thing to just work. A great soldier may be good at leading troops on the field, but not managing the entire war. An amazing product designer may also be a lousy salesperson. But a great leader will discover what they do best and where their weakness lies, and know who to put where in order to ensure that their company is one that achieves real success.

4. Use Your Leverage
One of the greatest challenges that will stand in the way of an entrepreneur from getting what they want is understanding what "to do" with the opportunities that fall in their laps along the way. This is where leverage becomes such an important concept that people going into business need to understand, and it takes a certain kind of mind to think "outside the box" in situations to find the value in a new relationship or circumstance. The same people who are too scared to quit their day jobs are also the same people who do not know how to leverage the assets and relationships in their life. A successful entrepreneur, on the other hand, is constantly finding ways to create profits and new opportunities each and every day.

The simple adage "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" is a great example of using leverage to move your business forward. Many people will make the lemonade and drink it themselves. A true entrepreneur will make lemonade and sell it to those without lemons, and use the profits to buy more lemons or move into another business. While today a polarizing political figure, Donald Trump is a great example of an entrepreneur who time and time again used leverage to acquire crucial pieces of real estate or strike very lucrative business deals. Love him or hate him, his book The Art of The Deal is a great resource on how leverage can make someone mega successful.

5. Acquire Partners
We talked earlier about how becoming a leader is one of the most important qualities one needs to "move the chains" in the game of business. In order to achieve greatness as a leader, one must then have a team of individuals who believe in the mission in order to move forward. That's where assembling a great team of partners plays such an important role in any profitable business. Many start out alone and the wearer of many hats, but a business can only scale so far if there is only one source of energy, of inspiration, and of the actual sweat equity it takes to keep the lights on.

As we will see in understanding the meaning of success both in business and in life, a true "business owner" is one who does not need to be a part of the day-to-day operations in order for the business to run and stay profitable. The classic book "The E-Myth" is a great story of how many try (and fail) at running a business all by themselves. Instead, you need to take those leadership skills and motivate others to take their own specific skillsets and apply them together as a team for the greater good of the company. This doesn't just include employees, but also includes knowing who to shake hands with, how to create strategic partnerships, and how to use that leverage we previously discussed to convince others to have an interest in your venture. And once you reach a certain level of success, it will be an even greater feeling when you get to share it with all who helped make it possible.

6. Having the Right Attitude
So far we've discussed some of the most important concepts you need to understand in order to achieve success in business - but how do you exactly justify what is true success? Is it money, or sales, or the influence your actions have over the environment around you? Ultimately real success in business only matters if it also equates to success in life, and that all starts with having the right attitude towards it. Nobody cares about those who are rich but hate the world they live in. Everyone knows the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge, the jaded old man that had all the money in the world but did nothing but create misery for others.

To have a truly happy and fulfilling life, it's important to know what's really important and to develop values around what you can do each and every day to make that world a reality. Sure, many who start a business venture want to achieve a certain level of financial independence. But what does one do with those riches once they finally have them? Those with the attitude that having money means they can buy more "things" to surround themselves with in order to feel superior to others will never be successful in their life. The entrepreneurs who focus on how they can create wealth that can help others and solve problems have the right attitude needed to obtain true happiness and be seen in a positive light by their peers and partners, and are the true embodiment of the word "success".

7. Showing Gratitude
We live in a world that is changing each and every day, at a speed that any of us can really truly appreciate. Technology over the last 30-50 years has altered the way we communicate not only with our neighbor and loved ones but our business contacts around the world. The generations that have grown up with this technology often take it for granted, never once stopping to "smell the roses" and to realize that they live in an amazing time in history and that much of what they have in their lives - everything from the electricity powering their lights, the cars that help them get to their next meeting, to their smartphones in their pockets are all things they should very much be thankful for.

Those who are happy in both business and if life are those who are grateful for the world they live in. These are the people who make sure to thank the barista for their coffee in the mornings, who open the door for others, who actually listen to those who they have conversations with. Successful entrepreneurs should never forget all the people, places and things that have played a role in their lives that helped them get from their humble beginnings to where they are today. The next time you're flying on a plane, remember the comedian Louis CK's amazing observation that you're "sitting in a chair in the sky", and be grateful for all the wonderful things we get to experience every day.

8. Staying Healthy
Your money and success isn't going to do you any good if you're not around to use it - so why would you live your life so dangerously that you would sacrifice your health? What good is all the passion you have for your business dreams if you're not going to be around to see them come true? Too many of us get caught up in the game of life that we never think about the damage we all do to our bodies along the way. As entrepreneurs our days are so full of work and juggling projects that are lunch breaks become mere small breaks in the day where we shove fast food down our throats to get rid of our hunger. I personally inhale my food.

Our nights turn into a time where we sometimes burn the candles at both ends, turning the stress of the day into an excuse to ease the pain with alcohol and drugs. While we worship the celebrities who died before their time, is that how we define success in life? Our obsession with money and material things makes us greedy and insecure of who we are and how others perceive us. Without our health, we can never truly achieve success. A leader needs to be strong, and we're not just talking about a lean body or muscles here - your mind has to be healthy in order to persevere through the day and not only achieve the success you're looking for, but to be able to enjoy it as well.

9. Keeping the Right Friends
We've discussed the importance of not going it alone along your path to building your business, and this same ideology applies to your personal success and happiness. What's the point of doing anything if you don't have special people in your life to share it with. No one wants to be the Bruce Wayne of their city, the quack who owns the huge dining room table with no one to dine with.

People are social by nature, and it's important to have a life outside of those you work with. Your friends are people to share your experiences with, who will be there to high-five you with every victory and also pick you up after every failure. Make sure they are also the ones who have the same attitude, give back gratitude, and remain a positive force in your life. Those who feed off of negative energy are the ones you can bring the whole house crashing down around you.

10. The Importance of Family
We've discussed in detail why we become entrepreneurs in the first place, and the importance of deciding what goals we're trying to achieve. Most will begin the journey with dollar signs in their eyes, or seeking some level of power. Many times these things are personal and selfish, but one who is seeking true success in their lives will be doing so not just to share with their friends, but more importantly their families.

Not everyone has the greatest of childhoods, and no one is expected to share wealth with their siblings just because of blood. Not every entrepreneur has a soulmate, not will we all have children. It is important, however, to think about success beyond just the material or power one might ultimately yield. Real success lies in having a positive influence on those who you call family and those who will eventually remember, and hopefully continue, the legacy you leave behind.

By - John Rampton
Entrepreneur and investor

147

BBA Discussion Forum / 9 Tips For Growing a Successful Business

« on: July 02, 2017, 04:23:37 PM »

To succeed in business today, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organizational skills. Many people start a business thinking that they'll turn on their computers or open their doors and start making money, only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. You can avoid this in your business ventures by taking your time and planning out all the necessary steps you need to achieve success.

1. Get Organized
To be successful in business you need to be organized. Organization will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to do this is to create a to-do list each day. As you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you're not forgetting anything and you're completing all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business.

2. Keep Detailed Records
All successful businesses keep detailed records. By keeping detailed records, you'll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome those challenges.


3. Analyze Your Competition
Competition breeds the best results. To be successful, you can't be afraid to study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more money.

4. Understand the Risks and Rewards
The key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. A good question to ask is "What's the downside?" If you can answer this question, then you know what the worst-case scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards.

5. Be Creative
Always be looking for ways to improve your business and to make it stand out from the competition. Recognize that you don't know everything and be open to new ideas and new approaches to your business.

6. Stay Focused
The old saying that "Rome was not built in a day" applies here. Just because you open a business doesn't mean that you're going to immediately start making money. It takes time to let people know who you are, so stay focused on achieving your short-term goals.

7. Prepare to Make Sacrifices
The lead-up to starting a business is hard work, but after you open your doors, your work has just begun. In many cases, you have to put in more time than you would if you were working for someone else. In turn, you have to make sacrifices, such as spending less time with family and friends in order to be successful.

8. Provide Great Service
There are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they'll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.

9. Be Consistent
Consistency is a key component to making money in business. You have to consistently keep doing the things necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money over the long term.

By - Chris Seabury

148

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / Entrepreneurial Quotation

« on: July 02, 2017, 04:02:19 PM »

“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” –Nolan Bushnell, entrepreneur.

149

Business Administration / Mobile Banking Offers Greater Ease, Better Deals

« on: June 14, 2017, 02:01:42 PM »

Mobile Banking Offers Greater Ease, Better Deals

(NewsUSA) - It seems that almost anything can be done with a click of a mouse or a downloaded app these days -- including your banking.

Online-only banks are gaining popularity for many reasons, as more people become comfortable with managing their finances online.

According to the Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2016 report from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, "forty-three percent of all mobile phone owners with a bank account had used mobile banking in the 12 months prior to the survey, up from 39 percent in 2014 and 33 percent in 2013."

Although checking one's account balance is the most popular mobile banking activity, mobile banking offers many other advantages, including:

-Greater efficiency. Mobile banking with an app allows consumers to bank 24/7, without the hassle of having to locate and visit a brick-and-mortar bank.

-Greater savings. Consumers who open a checking account with Republic Bank & Trust Company's MemoryBank can earn up to 1.50 percent Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on their deposits, so long as they meet a monthly minimum of one direct deposit and five debit card uses, and receive online statements, as detailed by visiting MyMemoryBank.com/info.

By contrast, rates at typical brick-and-mortar banks range from 0.04 percent to 0.06 percent. The reduced operating costs of a branchless bank allow MemoryBank to pass the infrastructure savings along to its customers.

-Fewer fees. Many brick-and-mortar banks still charge a monthly maintenance fee for accounts, as well as fees for using non-network ATMs; MemoryBank charges no maintenance fees for its EarnMore Checking account and offers access to more than 85,000 ATMs worldwide with no fee.

Although privacy and security remain concerns for consumers, most are taking steps to protect themselves while enjoying the benefits of mobile banking.

The Consumers and Mobile Financial Services 2016 report, which includes survey results from approximately 2,500 adults in the United States, finds that 84 percent of consumers use mobile banking install updates, 70 percent use password protection on their phones, and 58 percent use customized privacy settings.

Today's consumers use smartphones to inform financial decisions, according to the report. For example, 43 percent of mobile banking users in the survey who received a low balance alert moved money into the account.

For more information about the benefits of mobile banking, visit MyMemoryBank.com/info.

150

Business Administration / 5 steps to creating happiness in your workplace

« on: June 14, 2017, 01:58:55 PM »

5 steps to creating happiness in your workplace


(BPT) - Each workday, the average American spends 8.8 hours at work or on work-related activities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s even more time than people spend sleeping. And because we spend so much time at work, it's in your and your employer’s best interest to make workplaces the happiest environment it can be. Workplace comfort and happiness is highly impactful in retention and recruitment, as well as an individual’s productivity, satisfaction and ultimately, a company’s or business’s ROI. It’s not just free snacks, pizza or bagel Fridays, big windows or colorful conference rooms and ping pong tables. In fact, there’s a science behind what drives happiness in the workplace and what can be done to achieve it, through light, furniture, ergonomics and movement.

To ensure both employers and employees can create and maintain an ideal workplace environment, Dr. Mike O’Neill, lead global researcher of workplace strategy and market analytics at Haworth, a leading furniture company based in Holland, MI, shares five tips to improve the happiness of your work environment:

* Bring order to the chaos. If you have an important meeting coming up or you’re under a lot of stress, cleaning your workspace can help. A clean workspace allows you to arrive and immediately get to your most important task without wasting time. Plugging devices in to charge, color coding your files, even filling or cleaning your water bottle the night before can help. The more organized your workstation, the more organized you’ll be to start your day. For employers, ensure your employees have streamlined and legible space. Workstations tailored to individual and group tasks help to promote legibility in the workplace, with clear indications of space designed to promote certain activities.

* Adjust your workspace to fit you. Whether it’s a height-adjustable work surface, an ergonomic chair or even a wrist base for your keyboard, simple comforts can have a monumental impact on your productivity. Take the time to adjust your workspace and posture to fit your needs instead of “making do” month after month. And don’t be afraid to ask your employer for solutions to help. The tools you need may already exist, you simply need to raise the question. For employers, be cognizant of employee needs in seating and the functionality of their space. Not all employees or tasks require the same template. Consider seating options that promote ergonomic health, desks and stands that compliment required privacy or sharing, and structure that encourages movement and healthy habits.

* Let in the light. Everyone values the corner office or space closest to the window — and that’s not coincidence, as natural light is proven to provide renewed energy and vitamin intake. If your workstation leaves you lacking some sunlight, take a little time each day to find some natural light. A quick 15-minute trip to the office atrium or even a simple walk outside can leave you feeling rejuvenated. Make a quick coffee run or take your computer outside to catch up on emails — you won’t regret it. As an employer, it can be challenging to ensure daylight options depending on real estate availability. If there is minimal natural light in the office, consider expanding to incorporate outdoor workstations, or simply encourage remote work or brief breaks to increase sunlight exposure.

* Master your technology. We all recognize and understand the frustrations faulty technology can bring. And while you may have little input regarding the types of printers or computers your office uses or in who the conference call provider is, improving your technical knowledge will lower your frustration and your anxiety. Take any training sessions offered by your IT department and/or watch available videos to learn how to use any given technology more efficiently. Run that system upgrade you’ve been putting off — provided you have IT approval. Your machine will run more smoothly and so will you. For employers, it’s critical to understand the day-to-day technologies that impact employee productivity and happiness, for both individual and group tasks. Ensure costs have been allocated to optimize technology and training in areas that are most impactful, and cut costs in areas of least impact (or perhaps frivolous add-ons that can be eliminated). Ensure employees understand training and troubleshooting that is available to them.

* Stand up for storage. Adding storage solutions to your workspace is about more than simply clearing the clutter; it’s about taking ownership of the area where you spend so much time. A natural place to put your personal belongings or hang your coat makes your workspace feel more like home. As an employer, it’s important to empower employees with the control over their workspaces. Oftentimes, organizational tools and tactics can provide this — from designated compartments, shelving, cabinets and drawers. Customizable organization and storage can be critical to feeling control over the workspace and happiness in the workplace.

Until the day you retire, your workplace will be an integral part of your life, so as a reminder, make it the happiest it can be. For more whitepapers, case studies, infographics and shareable ideas on improving workplace happiness for yourself and your co-workers, visit www.atworkhappiness.com.