DiTIPU di INTERNET!

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Pernahkah anda menerima email mengatakan anda telah memenangi sejumlah wang yang besar dalam satu pertandingan, tetapi tidak pula tahu menahu bila masa anda menyertai sesuatu pertandingan tersebut? Ataupun email yang berbunyi meminta tolong anda menerima sejumlah wang yang besar dari seorang pewaris yang kaya raya bagi pihaknya? Atau email memintak anda masukkan sejumlah wang ke akaun bank entah siapa yang menjanjikan anda akan mendapat pulangan bekali-kali ganda?

Mungkin pernah bukan?

Selain daripada mempelajari cara bagaimana kita perlu menjimat wang, serta cara mencari pendapatana tambahan, pastikan juga kita sedar bahawa terdapat juga pihak-pihak yang tidak bertanggungjawab di luar sana yang yang akan cuba sedaya upaya mencuri wang daripada anda secara senyap-senyap. Dengan adanya Internet, penipuan sebegini seringkali berlaku.

Hari ini saya ingin kongsikan dengan anda antara teknik-teknik penipuan di Internet yang selalu terjadi, dan selalu juga ramai antara kita tertipu sehingga beribu-ribu RM! Pastikan anda tidak terpedaya ...

Penipuan pertama: Penipuan phishing

Berasal daripada perkataan 'fishing' atau 'memancing', apa yang dilakukan di sini adalah, penipu tersebut akan menghasilkan laman web yang serupa dengan laman web yang lain- sering kali institusi kewangan seperti bank, kad kredit atau laman merchant seperti PayPal.com.

Anda akan menerima email yang berbunyi lebih kurang meminta anda log masuk ke akaun bank atau kad kredit anda untuk mengemaskini maklumat atau apa sahaja. Kadang kala emailnya berbunyi amat terdesak, mendesak anda log masuk ke akaun anda dengan kadar segera.

Apa yang terjadi adalah, apabila anda log masuk di 'laman web' tipu tersebut, penipu Internet ini akan mendapat username dan kata laluan anda melalui laman web yang serupa seperti laman web bank anda, dan mereka akan menggunakan maklumat ini di laman bank anda sebenar dan mengeluarkan wang anda!

Penipuan phishing, adalah untuk mendapatkan username dan kata laluan anda melalui laman web klon. Ianya agak sukar untuk dikenalpasti laman web phishing ini, oleh kerana ianya ditiru tepat seperti laman web asal. Namun, satu caranya adalah, untuk anda melihat URL yang tertera di bahagian browser web anda (Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox dan lain lain), sama ada URL laman web tersebut adalah laman web yang sebenar institusi kewangan, bank atau kad kredit anda. Laman web phishing akan menggunakan URL yang berlainan. Pastikan anda tidak tertipu!

Penipuan kedua: Penipuan minta bantuan

Antara penipuan terawal yang berlakuk di Internet adalah apa yang dikenali sebagai "Nigerian scam" mungkin kerana ianya berasal dari negara tersebut. Tetapi hingga hari ini, penipuan yang sama telah diadaptasikan kepada pelbagai cara- tetapi isinya tetap sama.

Kali ini, email yang diterima seakan meminta bantuan anda dan diberi upah yang tinggi untuk menerima sejumlah wang yang besar- mungkin kerana seseorang telah mewarisi sejumlah wang tersebut, atau sesuatu syarikat memerlukan tempat untuk memindahkan sejumlah wang, atau seseorang telah memenangi pertandingan tetapi perlu tempat di negara lain (mereka berasal dari negara yang lain) untuk depositkan sejumlah wang tersebut, atau apa sahaja alasan dan cerita akan dihasilkan untuk meyakinkan anda bahawa terdapat sejumlah wang perlu melalui anda terlebih dahulu. Awas!

Penipuan ini meminta anda memberitahu maklumat sulit bank anda kepada mereka oleh kerana dengan maklumat tersebut, bukannya wang yang akan dimasukkan ke akaun bank anda- tetapi, pastinya wang yang akan lesap dari akaun anda.

Penipuan sebegini sudah berlaku sejak dulu lagi, namun sehingga hari ini masih ada yang tertipu oleh kerana inginkan wang dengan mudah. Ingat, tiada cara mendapat wang mudah!

Penipuan ketiga: Penipuan meminta sedekah

Penipuan sebegini akan menarik emosi kemanusiaan kita untuk membantu sesuatu tragedi, mala petaka atau kisah menyayat hati dengan cara meminta sedekah atau bantuan. Di dalam email sebegini, akan tertera maklumat bank si penipu untuk anda masukkan sejumlah wang mengikut kemampuan anda sebagai tanda membantu masalah yang diketengahkan. Adakalanya email sebegini sememangnya benar, tetapi, jangan lupa bahawa terdapat mereka yang tidak bertanggung jawab yang akan menggunakan alasan meminta bantuan ini untuk kepentingan sendiri.

Sekiranya anda menerima email sebegini, dan anda sememangya berniat untuk membantu, apa kata anda ambil sedikit masa untuk melakukan sedikit penyelidikan, dan hubungi badan-badan tertentu yang sememangnya membantu atau mengendalikan masalah dan isu tersebut. Pastikan wang anda di salurkan kepada pihak yang sememangya memerlukan bantuan dan bukan pada pihak yang berniat jahat dan menggunakan sesuatu masalah sebagai ruang untuk meraih keuntungan.

Anda telah bertungkus lumus bekerja untuk mendapatkan wang, jangan pula wang tersebut dengan mudahnya jatuh kepada tangan orang yang berniat tidak baik. Sentiasa berjaga-jaga oleh kerana penipu wang zaman ini semakin licik!

Keusahawanan Internet

Bagaimana Memulakan Perniagaan Dari Kosong

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Kebanyakan daripada kita mahu menjalankan perniagaan sendiri, mahu bebas kewangan dan bebas masa untuk bersama keluarga. Sering kali, halangan yang kita hadapi adalah, kita selalu memikirkan "saya perlu duit yang mencukupi untuk menjalankan perniagaan".

Sekiranya MODAL merupakan faktor utama kepada anda, saya mencadangkan supaya anda menyemak dan mengenalpasti 3 kaedah ini untuk memulakan perniagaan dengan modal yang MINIMA iaitu;

1. TANGGUHKAN perniagaan yang biasa dilakukan oleh usahawan lain seperti menyewa pejabat, mengupah pekerja dan sebagainya yang melibatkan kos PERMULAAN yang tinggi. Menangguh bukan bermakna untuk selama-lamanya tidak mempunyai pejabat TETAPI ia adalah permulaan bagi kita dalam memulakan perniagaan - ianya boleh dijalankan dari rumah.

2. Menjalankan perniagaan melalui Internet menggunakan tools Internet yang sedia percuma, seperti blog, Facebook, dan Paypal, yang hanya memerlukan sedikit usaha daripada anda untuk menambahkan cara, kaedah dan strategi menjalankan perniagaan Internet.

3. Belajar kaedah menguruskan masa. Sebenarnya, modal dan masa adalah komoditi yang sama sifatnya. Sekiranya anda tiada modal untuk memulakan perniagaan, anda perlu mengorbankan lebih masa. Caranya adalah dengan mengetahui cara menguruskan masa anda dan memulakan perniagaan secara sampingan dari rumah.

Ada banyak lagi cara yang boleh anda lakukan untuk menjalankan perniagaan dari 0, antaranya mengetahui apa yang pelanggan mahukan, apa yang perlu kita tawarkan serta langkah yang boleh kita ambil secara percuma untuk mepromosikan perniagaan kita.

Keusahawanan Internet

Media Sosial - Media Wang! Jadikan Media Sosial Untuk Menjana Pelanggan

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Baru-baru ini, dilaporkan, 1 billion pengguna Internet di seluruh dunia mempunyai akaun Facebook yang aktif. Setiap hari, beratus juta pengguna Twitter aktif menggunakan Twitter. Tak juga YouTube pula yang mendapat 800 juta pelawat setiap bulan!

Tidak boleh dinafikan lagi, perniagaan yang mengabaikan media sosial, mengabaikan prospek dan bakal pelanggan! Sekiranya anda mempunyai perniagaan, dan masih belum menggunakan media sosial dalam menambah ramaikan pelanggan anda, maka, anda akan ketinggalan oleh pesaing-pesaing anda yang kini mula menggunakan media sosial.

Satu teknik yang anda boleh gunakan untuk menambah pelanggan anda adalah dengan menciptakan satu komuniti berdasarkan industri anda melalui Facebook. Buka satu akaun Facebook Page melalui http://www.facebook.com/pages dan mulakan komuniti anda. Pilih nama yang sesuai berdasarkan perniagaan anda.

Komuniti yang baik akan menyampaikan berita-berita terkini dan juga maklumat-maklumat menarik mengenai industri anda. Sebagai contoh, sekiranya anda menjual tudung (offline atau online), bina satu komuniti yang berkongsikan tip-tip fesyen muslimah, gambar-gambar fesyen tudung terkini, maklmat dan fakta menarik mengenai fesyen dan sebagainya.

Mereka yang berminat dengan fesyen, akan "Like" page anda dan sering berinteraksi dan berhubung di page Facebook anda.

Apa yang akan terjadi adalah, anda mengumpul prospek-prospek terbaik anda iaitu, mereka yang minat dengan fesyen muslimah di ruang Facebook anda. Dan setiap hari, mereka akan menerima feed/berita dari anda - termasuk promosi-promosi perniagaan anda.

Terdapat pelbagai lagi teknik menambahkan pelanggan untuk apa sahaja perniagaan melalui Media Sosial seperti Facebook, Twitter, YouTube dan banyak lagi.

Tanggungjawab anda adalah untuk mengetahui dan pelajari teknik dan kaedah media sosial untuk mengubahkan Media Sosial menjadi Media Wang anda!

Keusahawanan Internet

3 TABIAT KEWANGAN SIHAT

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Apa yang membezakan orang kaya dan berjaya dan mereka yang kurang berjaya dalam kewangan? Bezanya adalah, mereka yang berjaya dalam kewangan mempunyai tabiat kewangan yang sihat. Berikut adalah 4 tabiat kewangam sihat yang anda mesti miliki!

1. Bayar diri sendiri terlebih dahulu

Untuk berjaya dalam kewangan, tabiat kewangan yang sihat diperlukan. Tabiat yang paling utama dan penting adalah untuk membayar diri sendiri terlebih dahulu. Ertinya tidak kira perbelanjaan bulanan kita, sebahagian daripada pendapatan kita perlu diketepikan untuk diri sendiri SEBELUM melakuan bayaran bil, kereta, rumah, dan apa sahaja perbelanjaan. Dan pastinya, sebahagian ini bukan juga untuk dibelanjakan!

Buku-buku kewangan menyarankan sekurang-kurangnya, ketepikan 10% daripada pendapatan kita untuk diri sendiri. Namun, angka 10% ini adalah untuk permulaan. Apabila kita berjaya menanam tabiat menyimpan untuk diri sendiri, lama kelamaan, peratusan ini boleh dinaikkan sehingga 20% dan lebih!

Ada juga yang bertanya, apa perlu kita lakukan sekirnaya 10% pun kita tidak dapat menyimpan oleh kerana tanggungan perbelanjaan bulanan adalah tinggi? Jawapannya, mulakan bayaran kepada diri sendiri pada 2% dulu. Dan secara beransur-ansur, naikkan nilai ini sehingga 10%.

Kaedah menyimpan sebegini adalah amat penting supaya hingga satu masa, menyimpan tidak menjadi sukar dan ianya menjadi tabiat.

2. Tabiat menjejak wang masuk dan keluar

Kekayaan bukan sekadar berapa banyak kita perolehi, tetapi, ia juga bermaksud, berapa banyak kita belanjakan. Sekiranya kita berpendapatan RM10,000 sebulan, tetapi perbelanjaan Rm15,000 sebulan (jangan terkejut, ramai yang sebegini!), maka, kewangan kita gagal!

Setiap hari, amalkan tabiat mencatit segala perbelanjaan kita. Dengan mencatit perbelanjan, kita tahu secara terperinci di mana kewangan kita pergi. Dulu, mungkin saya menyarankan mencatit dalam buku nota 555 ;) Tetapi, hari ini yang serba canggih dimana ramai antara kita memiliki smart phone, apa kata anda download perisian mengurus wang yang boleh didapati secara percuma. Contohnya, Expense Manager untuk Android.

Tabiat mencatit segala wang keluar setiap hari akan membolehkan kita menjejak wang kita setiap minggu, dan setiap bulan.Dengan mengetahui segala wang keluar, kita boleh melakukan analisa sikap perbelanjaan kita dan pastinya kita akan tahu di mana perlu kita kurangkan perbelanjaan sekiranya perlu.

3. Tabiat menambahkan aliran pendapatan

Untuk menjadi kaya, hanya dua sahaja perkara yang boleh dilakukan. Iaitu, kurangkan perbelanjaan, dan satu lagi adalah, tambahkan pendapatan.

Melalui ilmu yang dimiliki daripada tabiat membaca dan belajar, fikirkan cara-cara menambahkan pendapatan kita. Dengan memiliki pelbagai aliran pendapatan yang berlainan, bukan sahaja kita bersikap berhati-hati sekirannya salah satu rezeki pendapatan kita terputus, tetapi, dengan mempunyai aliran pendapatan berganda, kekayaan dapat dibina dengan lebih pantas.

Aliran pendapatan boleh terdiri berbagai bentuk, termasuk pelaburan, hartanah, menjalankan perniagaan, royalty, komisyen dan sebagainya.

Kebanyakan orang kaya dan berjaya bukan sekadar mempunyai satu punca pendapatan sahaja, tetapi mempunyai banyak aliran pendapatan yang berlainan. Jadikan tabiat ini, sebagai tabiat anda!

Keusahawanan Internet

Masalah Perfectionist dalam perniagaan

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Mungkin anda mengenali seorang yang "perfectionist" atau "mahukan kesempurnaan", iaitu, kalau nak melakukan apa-apa, perlu lakukannya 100% perfect. Mungkin juga anda adalah seorang perfectionist.

Masalahnya dengan perfectionist adalah, ianya akan mengambil masa yang lama untuk melakukan sesuatu, mungkin juga tak mulakan langsung. Kerana ingin menjadikannya 100% sempurna. All perfect.

Tidak salahnya menjadi perfectionist sekiranya terbukti ia telah banyak membantu anda. Tetapi, sekiranya menjadi seorang perfectionist hanya melewat-lewatkan sesuatu kerja, atau langsung tidak mulakan sesuatu perniagaan kerana nak pastikan semuanya PERFECT atau SEMPURNA, maka, di situ timbulnya masalah.

Saya ada mengenali seorang kawan, dari dulu lagi nak mulakan perniagaan. Tetapi, dari dulu sampai kini, masih mencari ilmu, masih research, masih survey... sampai makan masa bertahun-tahun tak mulakan perniagaan... sebab dengan alasan, tak cukup ilmu lagi untuk mulakan perniagaan. Dirinya inginkan ilmu sepenuhnya & sempurna sebelum mulakan perniagaan.

Pastinya itu adalah kesilapan yang besar, kerana ILMU tidak akan CUKUP. Kalau belajar ilmu baru, sudah tentunya ada lagi ilmu lain yang belum belajar.

Nasihat saya, tak perlu jadi seorang "perfectionist" sekiranya ia hanya melewatkan matlamat kita. Sesuatu yang sempurna bagi kita (contoh: produk) mungkin belum lagi sempurna untuk orang lain (contoh: pelanggan). Go ALL OUT sementara motivasi dan momentum anda miliki. Cari ilmu dan juga perbaiki perniagaan kita along the way. Tak perlu tunggu sampai segala-galanya 100% perfect.

Mulakan sahaja langkah pertama anda dan lakukan konsep "Kaizen", di mana, setiap hari, setiap bulan, jadikan perniagaan, produk dan perkhidmatan lebih baik! Perbaiki dari masa ke semasa!



Keusahawanan Internet

Internet Entrepreneurship: First Step, Getting Started

Keusahawanan Internet

By Tony Gosling

First steps: choosing the business

When I was thinking about starting an internet business there were a few things that were must have requirements.

The first one was that I needed to be able to get the business to profitability for less than $1600 (£100). In practice each site has cost more than that when you figure in the marketing costs needed to get it off the ground quickly. The silk tie retailing site was set up for less than $300 but when you factor in marketing spend, then I have spent almost $800 per month on marketing, mostly Google Adwords and Overture. It is only after month three that I have got close to breaking even. Anyway, near enough and if you are more patient and make less costly mistakes than me then you should be able to do it for less.

Secondly. The business had to need as little manual work as possible. I am after a business that I can start working part time and as am a management consultant and sell my time by the hour, for me time really is money. I am also not keen on hiring people if I can avoid it. The internet has the potential to offer some really virtual businesses and I wanted to use this. For this reason as well as start-up costs this means that I do not want to stock or handle any products. I do a lot of supply chain consulting work so it was obvious to me that I could have a business that used other companies to buy, store and deliver the products. The easiest way to do this is by using dropshipping. Dropshippers are wholesalers that ship individual customer orders direct to your customers.

There is a lot of information on dropshipping online, however it has to be said that there are some terrible dropshipping companies where prices are too high or products too common to successfulull. Typical of these is thSelect which charges a fee to join, but once you join you find that the prices are often higher than they are being sold for on eBay and are widely sold with lots of competition. It is very hard to make good money from these sort of dropshippers. There are however some good companies out there with niche products where achievable margins are good.

The third requirement was that the business needed to have the potential to generate at least £1k per month in profit. That way with a few web businesses it could become my full time job. I decided that I was not trying to start the next Amazon, instead I was after a good profitable niche. Something not too competitive and with no house-hold names as competitors. This means that I have not gone into electronics even though it is the area I know the best, it is a very competitive market online and were competition includes Amazon and Dixons. To be successful in electronics you either need to find a niche not served by the big boys or spend serious money to get established.



I then started searching for business ideas. I read the get rich quick newsletters, internet marketing newsletters, internet business forums and drop shipping websites. I searched for dropship suppliers then when I found a product that I thought might be promising, did a search for it and checked out the competition. If after that it still looked interesting then I did a keyword search on Google AdWords to find out how many clicks I could get and at what cost.

While doing this I came across some sites selling ready-made business websites. Essentially they provide a shop template, a catalogue and a supplier of stock and off you go. These sell for between £50 ($80) and £500 ($800). I wasted a fair bit of money with a couple of false starts. I bid on a lingerie web business template on eBay with a starting price of £99; my wife was a lingerie merchandiser for Marks & Spencers and so I though she could help, then I saw a gadgets website from the same people and thought I would get that and see if I could find a gadgets niche and bid for that too. Trouble was I then did some more research and found that lingerie was very competitive online and that the supplier I would be getting had a limited selection of very tarty undies at rather high prices. I also found that the gadget supplier was the Select and as I have already said they are overpriced. I then found the tie web business and decided this was a better niche where margins really are 60% and bought that one from DpbUK who have been very good. Unfortunately no one else bid on the two on eBay and I ended up winning them although I no longer wanted them. $300 wasted. Oops. So do your homework carefully before buying; look carefully at the sample sites and try and find some clues to the suppliers, check the competition out and make sure the margins are high enough.

You can read more at my daily blog which you will find at http://specialist-paintings-ties.blogspot.com/ . You can also check out my retail businesses; woven silk ties at http://www.tiespecialist.com and reproduction oil paintings at http://www.artspecialist.co.uk.

You can read more at my daily blog which you will find at http://specialist-paintings-ties.blogspot.com/ . You can also check out my retail businesses; woven silk ties at http://www.tiespecialist.com and reproduction oil paintings at [http://www.artspecialist.co.uk]

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

Keusahawanan Internet

5 Strategi Menawani Pasaran Perniagaan Anda

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Apabila memulakan perniagaan, terdapat beberapa sudut anda boleh mendekati perniagaan anda untuk menawan pasaran dan pelanggan anda. Perniagaan datangnya dengan persaingan. Dalam menangani persaingan, berikut adalah strategi menawani pasaran dan pelanggan anda!

1: Tawani melalui kualiti yang tinggi

Kita sedia ketahui bahawa kualiti produk dan perkhidmatan akan menentukan kejayaan sesuatu perniagaan. Produk dan perkhidmatan berkualiti rendah sudah tentu akan mendapat masalah apabila pelanggan merasakan mereka tirtipu dengan belian mereka. Bukan setakat itu sahaja, berita perniagaan anda menjual produk berkualiti rendah juga akan mudah tersebar oleh pelanggan-pelanggan yang tidak berpuas hati.

Tawani pelanggan anda dengan produk yang berkualiti. Ia akan memberi keuntungan buat jangka masa yang panjang sekiranya kuliti produk dan perkhidmatan anda senentiasa diperbaiki.

2: Tawani melalui perkhidmatan yang lebih baik

Zaman kini, permintaan perkhidmatan menginginikan segala-galanya dilakukan dengan sempurna dan cepat. Percepatkan perkhidmatan perniagaan anda. Sekiranya bakal pelanggan menghubungi anda, layani dengan cepat dan sempurna. Sekiranya pelanggan membawa barangan rosak ke kedai anda, perbaiki dengan cepat dan sempurna. Sekiranya pesaing anda memberi perkhidmatan penghantaran dalam masa 2 hari, anda cuba lakukan penghantaran dalam masa 1 hari.

Permintaan kini menekankan kelajuan dan jangka masa sebagai salah satu factor utama dalam memilih perniagaan. Memang tidak hairan restoran-restoran "fast-food" mendapat permintaan yang tinggi!

3: Tawani melalui harga yang lebih rendah

Dalam pasaran yang kompetitif, harga memainkan peranan yang penting dalam pemilihan perniagaan. Ramai pengguna kini adalah pengguna yang bijak dan akan membandingkan harga sebelum membuat belian.

Tawan pengguna dengan memberi produk dan perkhidmatan anda pada harga yang munasabah dan bersesuaian dengan kualiti produk anda. Terdapat banyak perniagaan menggunakan model harga rendah dalam memenangi hati pelanggan dari gerai mamak sehingga ke Air Asia.

4: Tawani melalui memberi lebih daripada apa yang disangkakan

Memberi apa yang disangkakan oleh pelanggan anda akan menunaikan permintaan mereka. Tetapi, memberi lebih daripada apa yang disangka akan menggembirakan mereka!

Beri lebih daripada apa yang disangkakan kepada pelanggan-pelanggan anda, dan pulangannya adalah pasaran yang lebih luas. Ini kerana, pelanggan yang gembira akan berkongsikan pengalaman mereka dengan kenalan-kenalan mereka.

Buah mulut yang baik berkenaan perniagaan anda akan menawan pasaran pelanggan yang setia dan meluas.

5: Tawani melalui menjadi ketua pasaran

Menjadi ketua pasaran anda memberi pelbagai kesan baik kepada perniagaan. Pertama sekali, jenama ketua pasaran sering dikenali berbanding dengan persaingan. Menjadi ketua pasaran adalah dengan menjadi perniagaan yang pertama sekali memasuki sesuatu industri.

Sebagai contoh, Maggie merupakan ketua pasaran mee segera oleh kerana menjadi jenama yang pertama sekali memasuki pasaran
tersebut. Sehingga kini, jenama Maggie mendahului jualan segala mee segera.

Sekiranya anda ingin menggunakan strategi ini, ciptakan satu kelaianan dalam perniagaan anda. Kelainan tersebut akan menjadikan anda unik dan berbeza dengan pesaing sedia ada. Ini membuka peluang perniagaan anda kepada pasaran yang baru dan menjadi ketua pasaran tersebut.

Strategi yang sukar, tetapi dengan impelemntasi yang betul, akan dapat menawani pasaran yang besar. Perkara ini juga boleh diaplikasikan untuk perniagaan Internet.

Keusahawanan Internet

Jutawan Ghairah! (Passionate Millionaire)

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Sering kali kita dinasihatkan untuk lakukan apa yang kita minat. Lakukan apa yang kita ghairah (passion)! Tetapi, mengapa? Mengapa kita perlu lakukan apa yang kita minat? Mengapa kita perlu lakukan karier yang kita amat-amat sangat minat?

Apa kata kita lihat dari sudut lain pula. Mengapa pula kita hendak lakukan sesuatu yang kita tidak minat?

Dalam mencapai kekayaan dan kebahagian dalam hidup, ianya amat penting untuk kita lakukan apa yang kita minat. Mulakan perniagaan yang kita mempunyai keghairahan dalam bidang tersebut.

Untuk berjaya dengan cemerlang, jarang sekali kita akan jumpa seseorang yang melakukan apa yang mereka tidak minat. Pastinya usahawan jutawan yang kita kenali, semua mempunyai keghairahan dalam perniagaan masing masing.

Teringat saya kisah Bill Gates, salah seorang manusia paling kaya di dunia pernah berkata bahawa: "Kalau saya tidak mendapat walaupun satu sen, saya masih lagi akan mencipta perisian komuputer!". Menunjukkan betapa ghairahnya Bill Gates dalam bidang mencipta perisian komputer.

Kemudian, kita boleh lihat pengasas Dell Computers pula, Michael Dell yang menjadi bllionaire pada umur 30-an. Dell pernah menceritakan bahawa "Ketika saya di sekolah menengah, saya membina komputer untuk rakan-rakan secara percuma. Kerana membina komputer adalah minat saya!". Tidak dapat di nafikan lagi, keghairahan dan minat Michael Dell juga membawanya kepada status billionaire seperti Bill Gates.

Dan, pastinya semua mengenali Donald Trump, yang sememangnya mempunyai minat dan keghairahan pada bangunan-bangunan indah sejak kecil lagi. Kini, menjadi tycoon hartanah dengan berbagai-bagai banggunan mewah serata dunia dalam portfolionya!

Sering saya nasihatkan pelajar-pelajar universiti dan lepasan universiti untuk memulakan kerier dalam bidang yang mereka minat. Atau lebih baik lagi, menjadikan perniagaan yang mereka minat sebagai kerier pilihan.

Ada juga yang melakukan kerja yang mereka tidak minat, tetapi terpaksa. Apa pula nasihat saya?

Tidak seperti kebanyakan nasihat di luar sana, yang menagatakan "Jangan memilih kerja", nasihat saya pastinya berbunyi "Pilih kerja dengan tepat!" lakukan sesuatu yang didalam ruang minat kita sendiri.

Apa yang akan terjadi sekiranya kita tidak memilih kerja dan "dipaksa" melakukan kerja yang kita tidak minat, kita sendiri akan terperangkap dalam keadaan tersebut untuk tahun-tahun yang akan datang.

Terutamanya bagi muda-mudi, masih terdapat banyak ruang dan masa untuk memastikan karier yang dipilih adalah mengikut minat. Sekiranya terperangkap dalam kerier yang kita tidak minat, bahangnya akan terasa bertahun-tahun yang akan datang. Mungkin 3 tahun, mungkin 5 tahun... atau mungkin 10 tahun akan datang dan dalam keadaan itu, akan terasa pula perasaan "rugi" kalau berhenti dan melakukan sesuatu yang lain.

Apa yang kita tidak mahu terjadi adalah apa yang bakal berlaku dalam tahun-tahun yang akan datang. Pastinya kita tidak mahu diri kita terperangkap dalam keadaan kita siang dan malam melakukan sesuatu yang kita tidak minat!

Bagaimana kita hendak tahu sesuatu itu, sama ada kerier bekerja makan kagi, atau karier sebagai usahawan menjadi keghairahan kita?

Berikut adalah checklist untuk anda:

* Apabila melakukan sesuatu yang kita ghairah, kita tidak sedar betapa cepatnya masa berlalu!

* Apabila melakukan sesuatu yang kita ghairah, kita rasa seronok dan gembira melakukannya!

* Apabila melakukan sesuatu yang kita ghairah, kita tidak akan merasa bosan melakukannya!

* Apabila seseorang bertanya tentang perkara mengenai minat kita, kita akan mendapat sejenis tenaga dan dengan penuh keghairahan menjawab soalan-soalan yang ditanya!

* Apabila seseorang mengutuk atau mengeji perkara yang kita minat dan ghairah, kita akan rasa marah dan kita akan mempertahankannya bermati-matian!

Ketika saya mengendalikan program radio saya menemubual usahawan-usahawan yang berjaya, saya pasti mendapat jawapan yang panjang lebar apabila saya bertanya satu soalan yang pendek. Adakalanya, satu soalan pendek yang ditanya seperti "Mengapa anda memilih industri pengangkutan sebagai perniagaan?", jawapan yang diberi tetamu sehingga memakan masa 10 minit! Menandakan betapa ghairahnya tetamu saya tersebut dalam bidang perniagaan pengangkutan.

Sememangnya tiada jalan lain, untuk mencapai kejayaan dalam kewangan dan juga kebahagiaan hidup, kita mesti melakukan apa yang kita minat dan ghairah. Ada juga yang melakukan apa yang mereka tidak minat, tapi masih lagi memperolehi pendapatan yang lumayan. Tetapi, persoalannya adalah, adakah mereka bahagia dan seronok kerana terpaksa melakukan perkara yang tidak minat? Maka, kewangan berjaya, tetapi, kebahagiaan gagal.

Semoga, kita tidak terperangkap dalam melakukan sesuatu yang kita tidak minat untuk seumur hidup kita. Lakukan keghairahan kita. Jadi usahawan yang ghairah. Jadilah jutawan ghairah!

Keusahawanan Internet

RAHSIA SI KAYA - ALIRAN PENDAPATAN BERGANDA

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Apakah sebenarnya rahsia si kaya? Apakah persamaan yang terdapat pada mereka yang kaya raya? Apakah strategi mereka dalam menambahkan pendapatan mereka?

Jawapannya adalah ALIRAN PENDAPATAN BERGANDA atau bak kata mat salleh, "Multiple Streams of Income".

Aliran pendapatan berganda bermaksud untuk tidak bergantung kepada hanya satu punca pendapatan sahaja. Sekiranya anda mempunyai satu punca pendapatan sahaja, apakah akan terjadi sekiranya punca pendapatan tersebut terhenti?

Sebagai contoh, sekiranya anda sedang bekerja dengan satu syarikat, dan oleh kerana sebab yang tidak dapat dielakkan (seperti krisis ekonomi kini), syarikat tersebut terpaksa memberhentikan anda. Apakah akan terjadi dengan aliran pendapatan anda?

Sudah tentunya akan turut terhenti. Bayangkan sekiranya ini terjadi kepada anda. Sekiranya anda bekerja makan gaji, atau menjalankan satu jenis perniagaan, apa akan terjadi sekiranya pendapatan anda daripada satu punca tersebut terhenti? Berapa bulan anda dapat menampung kos kehidupan anda dengan simpanan yang sedia ada?

Bagi ramai antara kita, sekiranya kita lihat sinario ini, jawapannya amat mengejutkan. Mungkin wang simpanan yang kita ada hanya dapat menampung kurang dari tiga bulan kos kehidupan kita.

"Aliran pendapatan berganda adalah apabila anda mempunyai pelbagai punca pendapatan."

Bayangkan sebuah singki yang mempunyai satu pili. Sekiranya anda membuka pili tersebut pada arus yang deras, oleh kerana lubang aliran keluar di dasar singki tersebut, air akan tetap keluar dan tidak dapat memenuhi singki itu.

Tetapi, bayangkan anda mempunyai singki yang mempunyai 4 pili. Sekiranya keempat-empat pili tersebut dibuka dengan deras, walaupun terdapat lubang aliran keluar di singki itu, tidak lama nanti, seluruh singki itu masih akan dipenuhui air sehingga melimpah-limpah.

Bayangkan setiap pili tersebut adalah punca pendapatan anda. Air yang mengalir adalah wang dan lubang di dasar singki itu adalah perbelanjaan anda.

Bagaimanakah caranya untuk menambahkan wang anda? Adakah dengan hanya bergantung kepada satu pili sahaja? Ataupun menggunakan 4 pili supaya mendapat pendapatan yang berlimpah-limpah?

Aliran pendapatan yang berganda diamalkan oleh ramai golongan yang kaya. Mereka tidak hanya bergantung kepada satu punca pendapatan. Bagi usahawan yang berjaya, mereka bukan sahaja bergantung kepada satu perniagaan sahaja, malah, mereka memulakan beberapa jenis perniagaan untuk menghasilkan untung yang berganda.

Sebagai tambahan, untung dari perniagaan pula dilaburkan untuk mendapat pulangan pelaburan. Ini menambahkan lagi aliran pendapatan.

Apabila melabur pula, bukan sahaja melabur pada satu akaun pelaburan, tetapi, melaburkan pula pada beberapa akaun pelaburan untuk memastikan untung atau rugi disebarkan. Aliran pendapatan juga turut berganda dengan pelbagai akaun pelaburan yang dimulakan.

Ramai juga yang memiliki perniagaan, dan melaburkan keuntungan mereka juga turut membeli hartanah dan menyewakan hartanah tersebut untuk memperolehi lebih keuntungan. Bukan lagi rahsia bahawa industri hartanah telah melahirkan paling ramai jutawan sejak dahulu kala lagi sehingga kini.

Hartanah juga, boleh menjadi punca pendapatan berganda apabila melabur kepada beberapa hartanah dan bukan hanya pada satu sahaja!

Pepatah mat salleh berbunyi "Don't put all eggs in one basket". Jangan letakkan kesemua telur dalam bakul yang sama. Oleh kerana, sekiranya bakul yang dikandung terjatuh, kesemua telur akan pecah. Mengandung satu bakul sahaja adalah umpama bergantung kepada satu punca pendapatan sahaja.

Dengan mempunyai punca pendapatan berganda, kita akan dapat memperolehi aliran pendapatan yang berganda. Sekiranya si kaya mempunyai 5 punca pendapatan, dimana setiap daripadanya dapat memperolehi RM3,000 setiap bulan. Jumlah pendapatan kesemuanya akan menjadi RM15,000. Sekiranya mempunyai 10 punca pendapatan, maka, pendapatan bulanan si kaya menjadi RM30,000.

Fikirkan bagaimana anda boleh gandakan pendapatan anda ketika ini. Fikir bagaimana anda boleh membuka lebih banyak pili pendapatan untuk menghasilkan aliran pendapatan yang lebih deras seperti si kaya!

Keusahawanan Internet

Dapatkan Pelanggan Tanpa Had Untuk Perkhidmatan Anda

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Tahun ini ketika ekonomi down, ramai yang terlibat dalam bidang perkhidmatan (insurans, jualan langsung, jualan langsung online, kewangan, hartanah, takaful, mutual funds dan sebagainya) semakin sukar mencari pelanggan. Oleh itu, minggu ini, saya ingin kongsikan sedikit mengenai cara mendapat Pelanggan Tanpa Had- ketika ekonomi down.

Kita sedia ketahui, dalam perniagaan perkhidmatan terutamanya, networking memang penting. Istilah yang selalu sangat digunakan adalah "If you are not networking, you are not working!"

Menurut buku Love is the Killer App: How to win Business oleh Tim Sanders, beliau menyebut untuk "mencintai" network kita. Maksudnya untuk benar-benar ingin membantu dan melihat orang lain berkembang. Dan bukannya semata-mata menggunakan network untuk kepentingan sendiri sahaja.

Dalam mendapat network yang berkualiti, 3 perkara penting perlu anda miliki:

Perlu berlimu

Untuk mendapatkan network yang baik, anda perlu emnunjukkan anda seorang yang berilmu. Anda perlu banyak membaca buku dalam bidang anda sendiri. Sekurang-kurangnya 1 jam setiap hari berkenaan dengan industri anda. Ilmu ini dapat dikongsikan dengan network anda.

Perlu menambahkan jaringan

Cari peluang untuk ke majlis atau network gathering. Lebih ramai orang anda jumpa, lebih banyak peluang network anda boleh dapat. Satu peringatan di sini adalah, di sesuatu majlis, jangan terlalu sibuk berpindah-pindah tempat dan mengedarkan kad bisnes anda. Fikirkan KUALITI hubungan yang anda boleh jalinkan, dan bukan sekadar KUANTITI.

Perlu punyai perasaan tolong menolong

Utamakan network anda dan bukan agenda anda terlebih dahulu. Lebih banyak bertanya dan mendengar daripada anda sahaja yang bercerita. Sebolehnya, bantu network anda tidak kira bidang apa pun, sebagai contoh, sekiranya network yang anda kenali seorang pemilik perniagaan cetakan, selepas berjumpa dan kenal, cuba dapatkan pelanggan cetakan untuknya. Anda tidak akan rugi apa-apa. Malahan, dengan mengutamakan agenda network anda, pastinya memberi kesan hubungan jangka panjang untuk anda!

So, untuk memudahkan anda melakukan network, ingat 3 perkara itu:
Ilmu + Tambah jaringan + Tolong menolong = Network yang berkualiti!

Keusahawanan Internet

Essentials in an Entrepreneurship

Keusahawanan Internet

By Devi Anoop

Entrepreneurship is the act of compilation of various resources and transmute in to commercial products. The resources compiled by an entrepreneur includes innovative ideas, financial management, efforts in the growth and development of the venture, human resource management, marketing, customer relations as well as every minute input in business. The tasks of an entrepreneur are often laborious. This may range from small scale single business to large scale corporate business.

The innovative ideas in entrepreneurship include the methodologies and strategies to manufacture brand new products with the aid of spurring advanced technologies to market in novel markets. Wealth creation is a major aim of any entrepreneur. Hence the entrepreneurship must be advanced enough to tackle the demand by generating valuable cost worthy products to the customers. The main qualities required in an entrepreneurship are a seasoned professionalism, discipline and a well structured approach to handle thing in an appropriate manner. Systematical qualification is the major eligibility of an entrepreneur. Opportunity assessment and harnessing the valid opportunities is a major chore in an entrepreneurship.

An overwhelming intention to succeed, competitiveness, a solid determination, self confidence, ground breaking ideas, readiness to accept variety, incited and energetic nature etc are the major requirements for an efficient entrepreneurship. A good entrepreneur must be outstanding from the mass. A well performing entrepreneurship must handle the team of human resources proficiently retaining the team spirit of each and every employee for the efficacy of a better wealth creation. Uniqueness plays a key role in entrepreneurship also. It is not sufficient that the entrepreneurship just survive, but thrive. Relentless performance is what entrepreneurship demands.

Rather than skills, perception matters in the case of entrepreneurship. The world of an entrepreneur is always on the verge of risks. Successful entrepreneurs will be aware of the uncalculated risks. Opportunity risk is of little importance in a venture when financial risks as well as credibility risks are considered. Financial risk is a major issue since monetary issues are in to the matter. The capital input may fails to produce fruitful results in the flourishment of venture causing financial risks. It can even lead to the complete destruction of an entrepreneurship. The personal risk is laden with emotional and relational entailment. Credibility risk and value risks are another types of risks associated with entrepreneurship. Here the market fails to retain the signature of the products due to some reasons like any collapse in quality, supply, promotion etc. The entrepreneurship must be well armed to face these risks associated with the business.

The rewards of an entrepreneurship hits in various forms. A substantial entrepreneurship must give the venture challenging advantages that would create wealth. The broad experience and well seasoned entrepreneurship that perfectly balance the risks and rewards can bring out a fruitful business. The economic growth of a country highly depends on the entrepreneur clusters. Thus there is an invisible colligation between a successful entrepreneurship and national income.

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

Keusahawanan Internet

APA YANG ANDA PERLU BUAT UNTUK MENJADI JUTAWAN?

Keusahawanan Internet

Oleh: Irfan Khairi

Pastinya anda ingat rancangan game show yang sangat popular satu masa dahulu. So, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Anda ingin menjadi jutawan? Sekiranya YA, maka, berikut ada beberapa checklist untuk melihat sama ada anda layak untuk jadi Jutawan!

* Jutawan kerja > 70 jam seminggu. Dan bila sebut kerja, ianya betul-betul maksud kerja. Tidak membuang masa bersembang dan melakukan aktiviti-aktiviti yang membuang masa. Sering kali, mereka lah yang awal sampai pejabat, dan paling lewat tinggalkan pejabat. Minda dan jiwa fokus pada kerja yang perlu dilakukan. Sekiranya anda bekerja < 40 jam seminggu, maka anda perlu lipat kali gandakan usaha anda!

* Jutawan tahu secara jelas dan terperinci apa yang diinginkan. Matlamat mereka adalah jelas dan jitu. Matlamat mereka adalah besar dan sukar untuk dicapai- tetapi, tidak mustahil. Mereka yakin bahawa tidak kira besar mana pun matlamat yang di letakkan, pastinya ia akan tercapai. Keyakinan dan kejituan diri sendiri mengejar matlamat inilah mendahulukan mereka berbanding orang-orang lain. Sekiranya anda tidak mempunyai matlamat yang jelas dan terperinci, jangan teruskan bacaan anda. Berhenti dan tetapkan matlamat terlebih dahulu!

* Jutawan tahu untuk berjaya, mereka perlu bantuan orang lain. Bantuan dari segi ilmu, bantuan dari segi kewangan, bantuan dari segi sokongan, bantuan dari segi tenaga, bantuan dari segi idea dan sebagainya. 84% kejayaan seseorang bergantung kepada mereka yang dikelilingnya. Untuk berjaya, perlu sering bersama orang-orang yang berjaya. Sekiranya anda fikirkan anda "one man show" dan tidak mempunyai kenalan-kenalan yang berjaya, maka, GET OUT THERE! Kenali mereka mereka yang berjaya dan pelajari daripada mereka.

* Jutawan banyak membaca. Leaders are readers. Ilmu adalah senjata yang paling penting bagi jutawan. Sekiranya hilang satu juta ringgit, jutawan akan tahu cara untuk menjana dua huta ringgit lagi kerana aset yang paling penting bagi seseorang jutawan adalah aset ilmu di dada. Ilmu diperolehi daripada bacaan. Sekiranya anda tidak suka membaca, ketahui bahawa anda akan ditinggalkan oleh mereka yang banyak membaca.

* Tidak seperti sangkaan ramai, kebanyakan jutawan tidak suka berbelanja sesuka hati. Mereka tahu betapa sukarnya untuk memperolehi harta dan mereka sayangkan harta. Wang ringgit tidak digunakan secara membazir. Sering kali golongan jutawan menggunakan wang untuk membina lagi aset-aset seperti rumah, tanah dan pelaburan. Sekiranya anda fikirkan jutawan adalah seperti yang sering dipaparkan di kaca TV,suka membazir, maka, perbetulkan perspektif anda dahulu. Golongan ini mungkin ada, tetapi, teramat kecil. Mulakan langkah anda dengan tidak membazir.

* Jutawan banyak memberi. Menurut buku Dr Thomas Stanley, "The Millionaire's Mind" antara sikap-sikap jutawan adalah suka memberi. Hadis juga ada mengatakan bahawa sekiranya kita memberi satu dengan ikhlas, 10 akan kembali kepada kita. Jadi, sekiranya anda jenis kedekut dan tidak suka memberi, maka maaf, kelab jutawan bukanlah untuk anda!

* Walaupun bukan satu kemestian, kebanyakan jutawan lahirnya dalam bidang perniagaan. Malah, 74% Jutawan adalah hasil daripada perniagaan. Jadi, di sini adalah klu paling besar bagaimana hendak menjadi juatwan- mulakan perniagaan! Sekiranya anda tidak berminat dalam perniagaan dan anda lebih suka kerja di bawah orang, maka ianya menjadi semakin suakr untuk mencapai jutawan. Tidak mustahil, tetapi, lebih sukar... dan mengambil masa yang lebih lama!

* Jutawan tahu bahawa ianya tiada jalan pintas untuk menjadi kaya. Ianya perlu ilmu dan usaha keras siang dan malam. Maaf, no short cuts here! Sekiranya anda fikir bahawa ada caranya untuk buat duit banyak dengan cepat, duduk rumah goyang kaki boleh dapat duit berjuta, dan tanpa usaha yang setimpal, wang akan jatuh ke riba anda, maka anda silap, silap dan silap! Memikirkan bahawa terdapat cara mudah menjana wanglah terjadinya ramai "Mat jenin jutawan" terperangkap dengan penipuan-penipuan scam dan skim-skim cepat kaya.

Sekiranya anda setuju dengan checklist di atas, maka, selamat datang ke kelab jutawan! Anda telah melalui langkah pertama dan besedia untuk "bertanding" dalam "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" edisi realiti. Tetapi, perlu berpijak di bumi yang nyata. Membaca segalanya di atas dan memahaminya adalah satu perkara.

Mempraktikkan apa yang di baca dan mengaplikasikannya setiap hari dan setiap masa, adalah perkara yang lain. Kata-kata berbunyi "Knowledge is power" sebenarnya salah. Ilmu bukanlah satu kekuatan dan kehebatan. Ilmu yang DIAPLIKASIKAN adalah kekuatan yang sebenar.

Keusahawanan Internet

Internet Entrepreneurship - Your Options

Internet Entrepreneurship

By Elena Kazanova

There has been lots of talk about Internet entrepreneurship nowadays and more and more individuals are starting an online business. Yet, the concept of Internet entrepreneurship is still foreign and confusing to many individuals especially those who are not Internet and computer savvy.

If you are one of these individuals, then you have come to the right place because here you will learn about your different options when it comes to establishing an online business. So if you want to join the ranks of the Internet entrepreneurs, it is best that you first get to know the choices available to you so you can make a proper decision about where to invest your time, money and other resources.

Affiliate Marketing -- This is a way of making money on the Internet by working as an affiliate of companies or individuals and help them sell their products. You make money through the commission from every sale that you have made. Affiliate marketing is considered as one of the easiest ways to make money on the Internet because of the fact that with it you don't have to create your own product or develop a service.

Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) -- This is a very popular way of making money both online and offline. It is called as such because of the marketing structure involved in it which is usually made up of several levels. In MLM, you can earn not only from the sales that you have made but also from the sales of the people under you in the structure which are called downlines. This is a viable business opportunity that has produced many millionaires already.


Network Marketing -- This is often mistaken for MLM but it is actually a much broader concept. This is a form of marketing, used both online and offline, where social and interpersonal networks are used to promote a product or service. This is one of the best ways to make money on the Internet since it makes use of a very common human phenomenon which is linking with each other and creating relationships.

These are just some of the options available for those who want to become Internet entrepreneurs.

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

Internet Entrepreneurship

Getting Started In Home Business

Home Business

By Ian Canaway

If you're like most people, it's hard to make ends meet with just one income. If you are married, both partners must work, spending countless thousands of dollars on childcare and business clothes. To offset their monetary deficit, many people are looking into getting started in their own home business. Both full-time and part-time home businesses can be operated from the comfort of your own home.

Some people are making extra money to pay for extras, while others have turned their home business into a primary source of income. Some people use their home business as a diversion, to have fun and earn a little "pocket money." The important thing is that they are taking positive action, rather than waiting for a financial disaster. They are setting the stage to improve their lives - something you can do too.

Multi-level marketing, mail order businesses and other in-home businesses are very popular. If this way of earning extra income appeals to you, by all means check out the possibilities. These are not the only ways you can operate from home. There are many ways of getting started in your own home business that you should investigate.

Some other ways of getting started in your own home business include on-line businesses such as a typing service, ghost writing for others, creating ad copy, dating services, credit counselling service, producing how-to DVD's or videos on various topics, preparing resumes, etc. In reality, the options for getting started in your own home business are almost unlimited.

One of your first tasks in getting started in your own home business is to do some market research. Discover for yourself how many competitors you will come up against. Then take a look at how many potential clients would be willing to pay for your services. In other words, define your market and identify your potential clients and customers. After you check the pertinent data, discuss your plans with other knowledgeable people and get their ideas and suggestions. Your next task will then be to develop a detailed business plan. The more details you write out the better - cover all your bases as to just how you'll do everything that should get done, and the time line for doing them. You want to make it as easy as possible to be successful.

Your business plan should show how much money, if any, you will have to invest, your plan for getting the word out that you're open for business, the exact procedures you plan to use, and how much time you will need to invest. Avoid "jumping in feet first" without first getting all the facts and figures together to avoid finding out that the time and costs involved are too much, which could lead to failure and disappointment. It will pay off in the long run to develop your plans and outline them in a written report prior to getting started in your own home business. Your chances of success will be greater if you know what to expect before launching your home business.

After you have identified your target market and know who your potential customers will be, how you're going to get your service to them and you've identified the time and money it will take to run your business, you're ready to put your plans into motion and get started with your own home business.

I started out in home business following a business model created by Stone Evans aka 'The Home Biz Guy'; I found it to be an excellent starting point for launching my own home business. I now have my own new website, blog and newsletter; you too can achieve home business success if you truly want it. Set yourself goals and follow a clear plan of action to ensure you achieve everything you desire.

"A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well that no one at all would find fault with what he has done." -- Cardinal Newman

Start your home business today and live your dreams.

Copyright © Ian Canaway

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

Home Business

7 Reasons Why Entrepreneurship Development Must Be Massively Supported

Keusahawanan Internet

By Ajaero Tony Martins Ifeanyi

Entrepreneurship happens to be a subject I am very passionate about, right from age 15 till date. The challenge of building businesses from scratch, negotiating deals and investing in other people's business thrills me. Since the age of 15, I have been devoted to the lifelong study of entrepreneurship and investing. But even as an experienced entrepreneur, I still look up to my mentors for guidance and inspiration. I think it's worthwhile I mention their names and what I have been gaining from them all these years or better still, I will dedicate an article to them later on. Now let's proceed with the business of the day.

The word "Entrepreneurship" might sound unimportant or common to your ears, but I will advise you spend a little time on this article and get the tits and bits of what I am about sharing. The word entrepreneurship suggests several meanings and if a poll were to be conducted, I bet we will come up with 101 definitions of the term entrepreneurship.

Now what is entrepreneurship? According to Stevenson, "Entrepreneurship is the process of creating value by pulling together a unique package of resources to exploit an opportunity". It can also be said to be the readiness and skill of either an individual or group of personalities to sniff out investments opportunities, start business ventures and run enterprises successfully.

But the definition I find thrilling is still that of Howard Stevenson, a college professor, "entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regards to resources currently controlled". I feel this definition is the best so far and I thank my mentor, Robert Kiyosaki, for bringing it to my notice. So if the term entrepreneurship is now clear, then you may ask, "Why stress the need for entrepreneurship development?

Entrepreneurship development must be massively supported because it has the potential to achieve the following:

1) Create jobs through the formation of new business ventures.
2) Utilize available manpower and resources that might have remain idle and put them into productive use.
3) Entrepreneurship development makes it possible for individuals to create wealth, independence and status for themselves.
4) Stimulates growth in other sectors with increase in demand and supply.
5) Increases productivity by means of innovation.
6) Facilitate and increase the need for technology.
7) Boost the economy and increases the nation's GDP.
8) Entrepreneurship development can reduce dependence on social security and Medicare.

With this few points, I hope I have been able to throw more light on the need for individuals to embrace entrepreneurship as a way of life and a means to better the society. Join the entrepreneur's train and I will see you at the top.

I know you have been challenged by this article. To further boost your entrepreneur spirit, i am going to reveal to you 101 underground Secrets of building a Multi Million Dollar Business from scratch. If you are ready, Go now to http://www.strategicbusinessteam.com/

Article Source: http://www.ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ajaero_Tony_Martins_Ifeanyi

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Social Entrepreneurship - Now is the Time

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By Paul Van Putten

Social entrepreneurship is a major area of interest in many social and civic organizations and has a significant impact on many areas of society. During the past decade economic resources have become more difficult to acquire and society has continued to exhibit economic and cultural decline. Concurrently, communities are in need of initiatives that will enhance their financial viability and programs that will enhance the overall viability of the population.

Social entrepreneurship initiatives are ventures that can serve as a method of increasing the social value of a community, organization or cause while enhancing the financial viability of a not-for-profit organization. With this being stated, social entrepreneurship has been defined in different ways by many different theorists. Gary McPherson, Executive Administrator of the Canada Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, states that social entrepreneurship involves various individuals working toward meeting social and economic goals simultaneously; while Bill Drayton, CEO of Ashoka, defines social entrepreneurship as a term coined to describe "individuals who combine the pragmatic and results oriented methods of a business entrepreneur with the goals of social reform."

A more basic definition of social entrepreneurship states that it is "the process of using entrepreneurial and business skills to create innovative approaches to social problems." Therefore, it is a methodology that is presently being used to resolve community and societal concerns globally. Social entrepreneurship as an area of specialized entrepreneurship is not defined by the same titling in every culture. For example, in Latin America countries social entrepreneurship initiatives are referred to as "Micro Enterprise." In India the same program would be identified as a "Social Mission." Though termed differently in various regions, social entrepreneurship initiatives are being implemented to solve specific societal and community concerns by focusing on the needs and resource availability within specific geographic regions.

Social Entrepreneurship in Education Throughout the United States, many top tertiary level academic institutions are enhancing their business programs by including a curriculum that caters to the study of social entrepreneurship. In 2003, the Center for Responsible Business was launched on the University of California Berkley Campus. This subsidiary of the Haas School of Business was implemented with the intent of training students to be more principled and socially responsible members of society through attending "the preeminent educational institution in area of Corporate Social Responsibility." Stanford University also has established a Center for Social Innovation as a part of its graduate school of business. This center was founded with the mission to "build and strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations to develop innovative solutions to social problems for a more just, sustainable and healthy world."

In 1993, Harvard Business School started its social enterprise program with its mission of "generating and sharing knowledge to help individuals and organizations to create social value in the not-for-profit, private and public sectors," and the University of Miami has refocused its business school curriculum to include coursework in the areas of ethical-decision making, social entrepreneurship and community engagement with the primary focus being to expose students to various areas of civic engagement while concurrently teaching them leadership and team building skills.

Tertiary level institutions, including Duke, which has established a Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship as part of its Fuqua School of Business, and Columbia University where the research initiative on social entrepreneurship is embedded in its school of business, have also made strides to enhance the study and education of those seeking to venture into areas of social entrepreneurship and social venture implementation. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-International (AACSB - International) has identified over twenty-four tertiary level institutions that have included social entrepreneurship as a part of their business college and or business curriculums.

With social entrepreneurship being perceived by many as a new way of stimulating social change, Idee Winfield believes that the implementation of community-focused service learning projects is the first step in exposing youth to the various attributes associated with social entrepreneurship. Through community involvement, youth will begin to visualize and experience the various social issues within their community and envision ways to solve these problems. Winfield states that social entrepreneurship should be promoted in primary and secondary education, and coursework should be adjusted to allow students to "see how abstract socially focused concepts can have real world applicability." Jeffrey Soderborg, a member of the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Clearinghouse on Entrepreneurship Education, is also an ardent proponent of social venture education who believes that social entrepreneurship would be more readily accepted if youth were exposed to information expounding the laurels of these initiatives during their primary and secondary academic years.

As youth expand their horizons through the establishment of entrepreneurial efforts, knowledge and exposure to information about the process involved in the establishment of entrepreneurial business effectively plays a major role in the rate at which business entities are established. A study focusing on entrepreneurial interests among black youth ages 14 to 19 identified that 75% of the youth surveyed had interest in becoming entrepreneur. The study also found that these minority youth believed that more information about entrepreneurship should be presented through their schools. They also believed that entrepreneurs have a responsibility to reinvest in their community.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Personal values often serve as the justification for entrepreneurs to focus organizational efforts on socially focused ventures. The organizational decision to forgo pursuing financial gain with the intent of using the corporations' profit resources to enhance a community is often referred to corporate social entrepreneurship. Corporate Social Entrepreneur (CSE) is a term used to describe corporate initiatives whose primary focus is to enhance a social concern and whose secondary focus is financial gain. The corporate social entrepreneur differs from the financial profit seeking entrepreneur in the area of decisions made that affect the community and environment in which their organization functions. Research identified that in corporate social entrepreneurship business acumen serves as a factor in the success or failure of social venture initiative implementation. Research identifies that success factors associated with the implementation of social responsibility initiatives were linked to whether the entrepreneur exhibits behavior that is moral, amoral or immoral.

The amoral entrepreneur would pursue initiatives only if they were deemed acceptable by the organization as a whole. The immoral entrepreneur implements initiatives based on what can be potentially gained for self as well as for the stakeholders, while the moral entrepreneur would pursue social responsibility initiatives based on what was in the best interest of the organization. Individuals identified as corporate social entrepreneurs are individuals who are more active in community activities and are actively involved in social responsibility efforts. Corporate social entrepreneurs also are more likely to implement social responsibility initiatives based on an organization's long term objectives.

While many corporations are looking for ways to increase their social responsibility efforts, in some regions corporate responsibility efforts are not progressing. A policy paper, "Corporate Social Responsibility in Latin America and the Caribbean," documented that corporate social responsibility activity in this region has "stalled." The reason for stagnation in this region is "minimal government involvement" and the lack of "private sector involvement." It was also identified that initiatives to implement programs focusing on social responsibility are often initiated outside of the market, and then subsequently not embraced by stakeholders who reside within this geographic region.

Corporations are continually looking for ways to increase corporate advantage through their social responsibility efforts. While proponents of corporate social responsibility believe that corporations are obligated morally to engage in efforts to enhance social, community and environmental concerns, many stakeholders believe that social involvement should only be initiated if the efforts are going to strengthen the organization's image, brand, moral or stock value. With this in mind, corporations have separated social issues into specific categories.

These categories are social concerns that are general, social concerns that are value chain based and concerns that focus on social dimensions of competitive contrast. Generic social issues are identified as social concerns that do not directly affect the company's operation and do not have an effect on a company's competitive advantage. Corporations are least likely to get involved or invest in projects that focus in these areas because they will not receive a high value of return on their involvement. Value Chain Social Impact issues can significantly affect a company's operation and can have an impact on the way a company conducts business. Corporations are more likely to be involved in value chain concerns, but only after conducting due diligence studies to ensure that a return on investment will be achieved over time.

Social issues that affect a company's financial profitability or serve to enhance or increase a company's competitive edge are likely to be areas that a company will invest in because of the direct impact that these initiatives will have on the company's overall viability and stability. An example of a social dimension projects is General Electric's investment in under-performing high schools throughout the country. General Electric believes that through investing financial and professional resources in under-performing high schools in areas where they have substantial financial investment, they are investing in enhancing a community, as well as directly increasing their future employment prospects.

Whole Foods Market is an organization that has taken control of its social value position through purchasing products from local farmers. Also, Whole Foods maintains strict controls over all of the products produced and sold in all of its locations. They even have extended their social and ecological efforts through offsetting the use of in-store electricity with the installation of wind conversion generators, converting their trucks to operate on bio-fuel and trucking spoiled produce to regionally located compost sites. Though the investments in these technologies may be costly at the onset, the long term financial, civic and market exposure benefits far exceed any initial costs incurred.

In the area of corporate philanthropy many corporations are at a loss. They continue to be involved in the conflict between philanthropic giving and investor requests for increased profits. For this reason many corporations engage in context-giving programs. Context-giving programs are programs that are defined as allotting resources to specific projects that will enhance the community while simultaneously enhancing the corporation.

Examples of context-giving initiatives include the Cisco System Networking Academy, which trains computer network administrators and provides job opportunities to those who complete the program; the DreamWorks SKG film production program that trains low-income individuals in occupations that are needed in the film and entertainment industry; and American Express Travel and Tourism Academy which trains high school youth for careers in the hospitality and tourism industry. Corporations that invest in corporate-giving social venture programs are concurrently gaining positive return on their social investment, improving the economic climate of the communities where they are located and gaining positive exposure for their organizations.

At times social ventures do not have the intended impact on the community. A study focusing on the impact of community focused business ventures found that businesses started with the intent of enhancing a community often lose focus by becoming focused on profitability and competition. Competition and self-focused motivators were identified to be factors that played an additional role in the impact and economic role that entrepreneurial ventures have in community settings.

While many foundations, trusts and philanthropic organizations, accumulate and distribute resources with the intent of providing services to enhance specific community or social causes, many of these organizations are looking for ways to gain public exposure for their efforts. Organizations also attempt to leverage their gifting efforts through seeking not-for-profit organizations that are willing match the funding received. The success of funded programs is evaluated through performance outcomes and indicators, and through promoting the organization's work through success stories provided by program clients. These methods are viable ways for funding agencies to acquire value and exposure through their philanthropic efforts and simultaneously continue their efforts to enhance the communities in which they invest.

With the social philanthropic efforts of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates gaining a high degree of attention, and many leaders engaging in activities to promote social advocacy, corporations are seeking ways to also gain exposure with social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship from the corporate perspective can be defined as corporate social initiatives used by a corporate entity as vehicle to show support for social causes. In recent years, many Fortune 500 companies have implemented social ventures with the intent of enhancing their corporate image through providing funding for various social causes.

McDonald's is one such company that has funded social causes for many years. McDonald's primary social venture is the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Ronald McDonald House provides lodging for the families of adolescents, ranging in age from birth to 18, who are receiving critical care for illness in communities that are away from their community of residence. The Ronald McDonald House allows families to reside in these temporary living facilities throughout the child's period of treatment at no charge.

The Federal Express Corporation also funds programs focused on the implementation of socially responsible programs. FedEx is a supporter of St. Jude's Children's Hospital and has been acknowledged by Reader's Digest as one of "Americas Best Charity Minded Corporation." Federal Express has also been recognized for providing funding for numerous community and civic organizations, including March of Dimes, Heart to Heart organization, an organization that focuses on delivering food and health resources globally, the United Way and the National Civil Rights Museum. These are just a few of the charitable initiatives that allow Federal Express to present itself as a socially conscious organization.

Virgin Mobile has partnered with Youth Noise, a not-for-profit organization that brings youth together for networking and brainstorming opportunities, and Stand Up for Kids, the largest all volunteer not-for-profit organizations in the United States, to implement an initiative to expand its corporate social responsibility activities. The project involves recording artists donating ring tones to Virgin Mobile and through partnership agreements, 5% of the proceeds received through ring tone sales are donated to various "Virgin Mobile Charity Partners." This initiative, established in June 2006, is being positioned to raise over $250,000 annually.

For social ventures to gain global acceptance, corporations need to become involved in ventures that allow employees and consumers to see the social, community and external benefit of these ventures. This process is identified in countries south of the United States, where the concept of social responsibility is one that has been embraced by many but implemented by few. Many government organizations expect non-government, or private organizations to take responsibility for ensuring the stability and longevity of the resources throughout this region while the private sector is looking toward government agencies for intervention.

Paul Van Putten, is an educator, entrepreneur and business consultant in the areas of social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial start-up, marketing, media management and leadership engagement. Dr. Van Putten has seamlessly transitioned between both academic and corporate environments having served as a College President and Corporate CEO. He has also served as a consultant with national and international organizations. http://www.nationaletc.com/

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

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Small Business Online (Entrepreneurship)

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By Michael Bustamante

If you have ever dreamed of starting your own Small Business, but cannot quit your current job to go to school, an online education in Entrepreneurship may be right for you. Via the Internet, you can study at your own pace, and earn 100 percent of the credits needed for a Certificate or college degree in Small Business.

An online course in Small Business prepares students for entrepreneurship by imparting the vital skills necessary to manage and administer a start-up organization. Through a distance learning course, students can learn such basic subjects such as accounting, finance, economics, communications, strategy, marketing, entrepreneurship, business ethics, and even business etiquette. Other Small Business subjects include writing a business plan, budgeting, funding, human resources management, payroll, and employee benefits.

Online study for Small Business Certification covers entrepreneurial finance, new product development, marketing management, strategic management, business law, and more. Small Business degrees are available as well, such as an Associate of Business Administration with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and a Master of Arts in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship.

If you are creative, innovative, and ready to take the necessary steps to start and maintain a small business, an online school of Entrepreneurship may be just right for you. For more information about the field of small business, feel free to research our site for more in-depth information and resources.

Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved
Michael Bustamante, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc. for SchoolsGalore.com

Notice to Publishers: Please feel free to use this article in your Ezine or on your Website; however, ALL links must remain intact and active.

M. Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Find Small Business Online at SchoolsGalore.com; meeting your needs as your educational resource to locate schools.

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The Secrets to a High Income Home Business Online Revealed

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By Jason Crew

How many times have you asked yourself "self...is there a more desirable job in the world than working from home? Then asking yourself the next question, "is the home business online?" Followed of course by "where exactly is this high income home business online?"

I am going to go over some valuable information for you take with you and I promise by the end of reading all this you will have learned something valuable to take with you through your successes to find the a high income home business online.

I am going to break down the concepts that produce a high income home business online with the following ingredients necessary. The first is what it takes to succeed in a high income home business online. Point blank it is consistency and knowledge. Here is what I mean. If you want to succeed you have to keep plugging yourself into all of the things that I am discussing on this page. This consistency of work must be applied everyday for the time you have set for yourself. The knowledge portion is about taking everyday as a learning experience. My best gift to myself for my first year was learning and soaking up knowledge everyday about home business online, learning from some mistakes, and most of all keep driving, kept going. I was consistent. Both the need for knowledge and consistent work combined daily will lead to growth and wealth for your business. Now, can you earn a high income fairly quickly from a home business online? Yes, I see it in my own team fairly regularly. I encourage that kind of drive. However, to sustain that high income levels for your home business online you are required good solid personal development and basic online business training. Guess where that comes from? It comes from that knowledge you seek everyday, soaking up and reading everything you see about home business online.

The second concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is lead generation. This ingredient is always necessary for any high income home business online. For this what you do need is a pipeline filled with prospects (leads). This pipeline can be manifested for your business in two ways; free lead generation and paid lead generation. Paid lead generation does wonders for your time management for your home business online. Here are a few paid lead generation tactics: P.P.C. (Pay per click), lead campaign buying, and ezine ads, just to name a few. Some of the successful free lead generation tactics are email marketing, forum posting, article writing, and my favorite video marketing. It is best to experience both paid and free marketing to see what works for you and your business. This experience and consistency of free and paid lead generation will create growth for your business, that I promise. The key is to generate more leads that you can handle in a single day. Because after you have gone through all the leads you can handle in that one day, you have the next day ready with enough leads from the previous day to work with. No single lead, prospect or person is the drive or success for your business. The only single person is you.

The third concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is true mentor and guidance. True mentorship and guidance is providing real value and teaching you about real marketing. It is to help build a mindset of a real entrepreneur. For me also what I do is really give out all the goodies. Duplication! All the tactics that I test that work and make money, I give out. Now that doesn't mean you won't be working hard to apply those tactics, oh you will. But there is no need to struggle on something that is already hard enough for most new people to grasp. What you need to do is look for true mentorship and guidance to produce a high income home business online for yourself.

The forth concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is effective marketing campaigns. It's all about what you are trying to do for your home business online. If you are direct selling for a company making $1,000 sales off of each sale it doesn't make sense to use crappy banner ads on a site for car ads. More than anything you must find out what works for your home business online. Called simply "testing." In a successful team for home business online the testing has been done for you before you join a home business online. When it comes to finding the best marketing campaigns for your home business online the true marketers have to test it. I personally tested my home business online before I went out to promote it to my list and new prospects. I would never want to market something to the masses that doesn't work. Once I tested the business itself, my team partners and I started testing out the marketing campaigns that would either work or not work for the home business online. I tested, tested, tested, until there is enough feedback that calls for the right adjustments. All that was left is the right direction to earn high income from my home business online.

The fifth concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is true leverage. Any online company that claims that they are the 9th wonder but they can't prove they DUPLICATE true leverage with their compensation plan in a reasonable amount of your attention span is not a wonder for you to waste your time investing in. To save yourself months or years of frustration on finding a high income home business online follow everything that I am discussing here on this page. You want 1 hour each out of 1000 people rather than 1000 of your own hours

The sixth concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is high conversions. Without high conversions there is no high income. The first crucial step in high conversations for your home business online is web copy. The web copy has to be crafted with content where that content contains a funnel that produces desirable information and opportunities. The business I work with contains $20,000 a page web copy. Most web copy for their home business online sites are not designed with the psychological conversions tactics needed to truly convert.

The seventh concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is automation. One of the big problems with ANY home business online is that people can not communicate effectively. People cannot close sales effectively. After the opportunity is surrounded their life, time and money, action is then required, they take action by get their prospects on the phone...then they screw it all up. Well let's start with the problem of the phone. If you are a high income home business online earner then chances you are not on the phone. Trying to convert your prospects on the phone does not earn you high income for your home business online. Automation. What you need is to remove human error of people who cant sell by setting up automation from a system.

The eighth concept that produces a high income home business online for yourself is a system. Here it is, the big reason for the success of anyone I have seen online. I can't tell you enough how key this is for any high income home business online. It is so important to have some sort of system in place so the human error of bad communication can be removed. Once human error is removed the system sells for you, trains your prospects, and automates your business for you. This way people you sign up can actually make money. Otherwise 95% of the people who join the home business industry and try to earn high income from their home business online don't make that much money because they have to do all the selling, all the training, with almost no automation. Unless you want to seriously develop the skills of communication that most humans lack so much in selling and be that system yourself. Get a home business online that has a system that communicates for you. Where can I find the right one your asking huh? Well, contact me and check out what I offer and I will explain more for you.

You can also see my squidoo page at http://www.squidoo.com/highincomehomebusinessonline for more information on how to produce a high income home business online for yourself.

To Learn How You Can Make Money Online Using Jason's Powerful Marketing Strategies Which Built Him A Massive 5 figure Monthly Income on Autopilot Visit: http://www.get2onlinesuccess.com

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Entrepreneurship: What does it REALLY mean?

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By Alvin Chan

Introduction:

In a world where ideas drive economies, it is no wonder that innovation and entrepreneurship are often seen as inseparable bedfellows. The governments around the world are starting to realize that in order to sustain progress and improve a country’s economy, the people have to be encouraged and trained to think out-of-the-box and be constantly developing innovative products and services. The once feasible ways of doing business are no longer guarantees for future economic success!

In response to this inevitable change, some governments are rethinking the way the young are educated by infusing creative thinking and innovation in their nation’s educational curriculum. In the same vein, they are putting much emphasis on the need to train future entrepreneurs through infusing entrepreneurship components within the educational system, especially at the tertiary level.

Some countries have taken this initiative to a higher level by introducing entrepreneurship education at elementary schools and encouraging them to be future entrepreneurs when they are of age. In a series of survey funded by Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, it was found that nearly seven out of 10 youths (aged 14-19) were interested in becoming entrepreneurs.

Being an entrepreneur is now the choice of the new generation as compared to the preferred career choices of yesteryears such as being a doctor, lawyer or a fighter pilot. In a recent visit to the bustling city of Shanghai in China, an informal survey was carried out among Chinese youths by the author. The results of the survey showed that being an entrepreneur, especially in the field of computer and e-commerce, is perceived as a ‘cool’ career and is an aspiration for many Chinese youths Prior to the ‘opening up’ of modern China, being an entrepreneur was perceived as the outcome of one’s inability to hold a good government job and those who dared to venture, were often scorned at by their peers. Times have indeed changed.

With this change in mindset and the relative knowledge that entrepreneurs bring forth increased job creations, the awareness and academic studies of entrepreneurship have also heightened. In many tertiary institutes, many courses of entrepreneurship and innovation are being developed and offered to cater to the increasing demand. The term “entrepreneurship” has also evolved with numerous variations. The proliferation of jargons such as netpreneur, biotechpreneur, technopreneur and multipreneur are coined to keep up with the ever-changing times and business conditions that surround us.

In view of these changes, it is important that the definition of entrepreneurship be refined or redefined to enable its application in this 21st century. To put it succinctly, “Good science has to begin with good definitions (Bygrave & Hofer, 1991, p13).” Without the proper definition, it will be laborious for policymakers to develop successful programs to inculcate entrepreneurial qualities in their people and organizations within their country.

The paper will provide a summary of the definitions of entrepreneurship provided by scholars in this subject area. The author will also expand on one of the definitions by Joseph Schumpeter to create a better understanding of the definition of the term “entrepreneurship” as applied in today’s business world.

Entrepreneurship through the Years:

It was discovered that the term ‘entrepreneurship’ could be found from the French verb ‘entreprende’ in the twelfth century though the meaning may not be that applicable today. This meaning of the word then was to do something without any link to economic profits, which is the antithesis of what entrepreneurship is all about today. It was only in the early 1700’s, when French economist, Richard Cantillon, described an entrepreneur as one who bears risks by buying at certain prices and selling at uncertain prices (Barreto, 1989, Casson 1982) which is probably closer to the term as applied today.

In the 1776 thought-provoking book ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Adam Smith explained clearly that it was not the benevolence of the baker but self-interest that motivated him to provide bread. From Smith’s standpoint, entrepreneurs were the economic agents who transformed demand into supply for profits.

In 1848, the famous economist John Stuart Mill described entrepreneurship as the founding of a private enterprise. This encompassed the risk takers, the decision makers, and the individuals who desire wealth by managing limited resources to create new business ventures.

One of the definitions that the author feels best exemplifies entrepreneurship was coined by Joseph Schumpeter (1934). He stated that the entrepreneur is one who applies “innovation” within the context of the business to satisfy unfulfilled market demand (Liebenstein, 1995). In elaboration, he saw an entrepreneur as an innovator who implements change within markets through the carrying out of new combinations. The carrying out of new combinations can take several forms:

The introduction of a new good or standard of quality;

* The introduction of a novel method of production;
* The opening of a new market;
* The acquisition of a new source of new materials supply; and
* The carrying out of the new organization in any industry.

Though the term ‘innovation’ has different meanings to different people, several writers tended to see “innovation” in the form of entrepreneurship as one not of incremental change but quantum change in the new business start-ups and the goods/services that they provide (egs, Bygrave, 1995; Bygrave & Hofer, 1991).

In the view of Drucker (1985), he perceived entrepreneurship as the creation of a new organization, regardless of its ability to sustain itself, let alone make a profit. The notion of an individual who starts a new business venture would be sufficient for him/her to be labeled as an entrepreneur. It is this characteristic that distinguishes entrepreneurship from the routine management tasks of allocating resources in an already established business organization. Though the definition tends to be somewhat simplistic in nature, it firmly attaches the nature of entrepreneurial action with risk-taking and the bearing of uncertainty by the individual (Swoboda, 1983)

In a Delphi study, Gartner (1990) found eight themes expressed by the participants that constitute the nature of entrepreneurship. They were the entrepreneur, innovation, organization creation, creating value, profit or non-profit, growth, uniqueness, and the owner-manager. The themes could be seen as a derivative and expansion of Schumpter’s earlier concept.

Expanding on Schumpeter’s Definition:

After digesting the numerous definitions of entrepreneurship, one would tend to see a strong link between these two terms: entrepreneurship and innovation. In retrospect, most of the definitions tended to be, to some extent, a re-work and expansion of Schumpeter’s definition of entrepreneurship (which is that of innovation being applied in a business context).

As defining the term of ‘innovation’ is highly debatable and would merit a paper on its own, the author has thus, for convenience, summarised the definition of innovation. Innovation can be perceived simply as the transformation of creative ideas into useful applications by combining resources in new or unusual ways to provide value to society for or improved products, technology, or services.

In the author’s opinion, the difficulties of defining “innovation” could be the reason for the quandary one finds in attempting to arrive at a clear-cut definition of the term “ Entrepreneurship”.

Take for example, if someone starts another run-of-the-mill hot dog stand in the streets of New York, will he termed as an entrepreneur? According to Drucker’s definition, he will be seen as one. However, if the above definition by Schumpeter was used as a guideline, the answer is probably ‘NO’.

Why? The core of the matter lies in what is so innovative about setting up another hot-dog stand which are in abundance in New York. On the contrary, if he is the first one to start a stand selling hot-dogs with Oriental Sweet and Sour sauce topping; he could be termed as an entrepreneur (even based on Schumpeter’s requirement) as he has done what others have not done before. In the context of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation are key points in the whole scheme of things.

In this manner, by adding “innovative” features to a product or services and setting up a business based on these additional features to compete in the existing market, new entrants may be able to gain this competitive advantage over existing market players.

In the case of the hot-dog seller, it may be argued that his addition of Oriental Sweet and Sour sauce toppings may be seen as nondescript. This runs in contrary to some scholars’ definition of entrepreneurship as requiring quantum changes in the products/ services to be justified as being entrepreneurial (Bygrave, 1985; Bygrave & Hofer, 1991).

Consistent with creating new products for sale, someone who starts a business by providing a totally new way of serving his customers/ clients is considered to be entrepreneurial too. Though, it is often argued that there are no real new products or services in a case where one does not look to the past products and services for ideas for improvements. Thus, the notion of incremental improvements should be accepted as being innovative too.

Innovation in the business sense may not necessarily involve, in the physical sense, the introduction of a new product or service. It can be in the form of what is commonly known as creative imitations. For example, if an individual starts selling a product that is already common in his area or country, he will not be seen as being entrepreneurial. However, if he is the first to sell the same product in a virgin locale or to an untouched market segment, he will be seen as an entrepreneur in his own rights.

Take Muhammad Yunus, for example. Yunus became an entrepreneur when he started a micro-loan program for the poor villagers in a rural part of Bangladesh named Grameen, with only US$26. The loan was divided among 42 villagers to assist them to buy small items such as combs, scissors, needles and other necessities to start their own home businesses. In the past 22 years, Grameen Bank has grown with over $2 billion loans granted. It has now become a model for several micro-loan facilities.

From the following example, Yunus created banking and lending facilities in Grameen specifically for the poor villagers. Banking and lending money activities are not new but Yunus was the first to provide such facilities in a rural part of Bangladesh and that is definitely innovation and risk-bearing on his part as a social entrepreneur. In short, innovation need not arise mainly from a new product or service but it could be an old product or service finding a new market for penetration.

An individual could be termed as an entrepreneur if he or she sells a product or service using new systems and/ or mediums of marketing, distribution or production methods as a basis for a new business venture. A good example will be Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the successful Web-based bookstore. He was one of the first to sell books on a large scale using an online store and also patented the one-click system for online buying. Though selling books is not an innovation in itself, Jeff Bezos was innovative in the use of the Internet then as a viable marketing and sales channel for selling books.

Another example from the field of e-commerce is Stuart Skorman, the founder of Reel.com. Reel.com is essentially one of the first cyber movie store with a very large inventory of over a 100 000 videos. Though setting a movie store was revolutionary then, Reel.com main distinction was being known as the first online store to expand by opening an offline store. The founder felt that by doing so, the online store could be an advertisement for the offline store and vice versa, thus strengthening this click and mortar business venture- an example of creativity and innovation applied in a profitable business context.

Conclusion:

This paper has started as an attempt to redefine the term of entrepreneurship but ended up ‘updating’ the wheel, based on the definition as proposed by Schumpeter. The paper expanded on this influential work by giving examples to illustrate what innovation in entrepreneurship was and hope that along the way, new insights were unearthed in the study of defining entrepreneurship.

In summary, the author hopes that this paper would further encourage the infusion of creative thinking and innovation within the educational system to nurture future entrepreneurs with a competitive edge. In the author’s view, the characteristics and capabilities to set up a new business venture based on doing things that have not done before should be encouraged. Innovation needs to be the cornerstone of entrepreneurship as opposed to the mere setting up of another new enterprise without implementing changes or adding features of improvements to the products and services provided and/ or its business processes.

About The Author

Dr. Alvin Chan is a Senior Research Consultant at First Quatermain Centre of Collaborative Innovation (http://www.firstquatermain.com).

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