Start Late, Finish Rich
December 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under Books, Investing, Personal Growth, Wealth
A No-Fail Plan For Achieving Financial Freedom At Any Age
by David Bach (12400)
Even if you’ve neglected planning for your retirement until you’re in your thirties, forties, fifties or sixties, it’s still possible to get your own personal financial house in order and finish rich. Specifically, there are five simple strategies you can use right now to get back on track and stop worrying about your financial future:
1. Lighten Up
2. Spend Less
3. Save More
4. Make More
5. Give More
The key beliefs which underpin the start late, finish rich philosophy are:
1. It’s never too late for you to start working towards having a rich retirement, but you should start working on it today.
2. Even if you’re buried in debt, there are still things you can and should be doing to prepare for the future.
3. You don’t have to make a lot of money to be rich. Instead, you need to be smart about how you handle the money you have.
4. The best way to get rich in real estate is by starting small, not by taking huge risks.
5. You can get rich by progressively eliminating the ways you currently waste money and then using that money better.
6. It is possible to start a business on the side which you can use to get ahead while you continue to earn a paycheck.
7. You don’t have to invest in stocks to get rich.
8. You can spend elss, save more and make more — without seriously impacting on your current lifestyle.
9. You can and should reconnect with your dream of financial freedom and go after it regardless of your age.
It’s Not What You Say… It’s What You Do
December 24, 2007 by admin
Filed under Books, Management
How Following Through at Every Level Can Make or Break Your Company
by Laurence Haughton (12300)
In average companies, only about half of what actually gets decided is ever followed through on. The rest of the items just fall through the cracks and get ignored, usually inadvertently. A number of studies have shown that over the last fifty years, 83% of all corporate slowdowns were attributable not to external economic forces but to the lack of follow-through within the organization itself. Therefore, to improve your performance, spend less time worrying about finding the best strategy to use and more time closing the gap between what you say you want to do and what you actually end up doing.
To be more specific, there are four key building blocks you can use to close the credibility gap between what you say and what you do:
1. State a clear, unambiguous direction
2. Get the right people involved
3. Start well by having plenty of buy-in
4. Use personal initiative to keep moving
It’s Not What You Say… It’s What You Do
Fast Second
December 21, 2007 by admin
Filed under Books, Management
How Smart Companies Bypass Radical Innovation to Enter and Dominate New Markets
by Constantine Markides (12100)
The economic benefits of the first-mover advantage have been grossly exaggerated. The companies which develop and pioneer radical innovations are rarely the ones which ultimately end up dominating the markets they create. Instead, the major profits in any market tend to accrue to the established corporations which have the skills, resources and mind-set to take niche products and scale them up into mass markets.
With this in mind, established corporations should not even try to develop radical innovations. Instead, corporations should subcontract the creation of new and radical products to start-up firms, and concentrate instead on consolidating the results generated by these start-ups. This is the strategic model already widely used in creative industries to great effect. This same business model should also be picked up on and used in many more industries.
Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days
One Dynamic Blueprint to Maximize Profits and Increase Customers
Jay Levinson & Al Lautenslager (13100)
With 30 days of consistent effort, you can upgrade and enhance your organization’s entire approach to marketing.
The guerrilla marketing creed is that it’s possible to achieve conventional aims (like sales and profits) using unconventional methods (like investing energy in your marketing and not just more money). When it comes to marketing, the missing “secret sauce” is usually implementation rather than conceptualization. Loads of people spend all their time getting in position to start marketing when in reality they should be just getting into action. Energy, passion and enthusiasm can cover up a lot of gaps in your marketing know-how.
Guerilla marketers take the time to decide where they want to do business. They don’t even attempt to be everything to everyone. Instead, guerrillas focus on one part of the marketplace and serve that segment as well as possible. When it comes to marketing, knowing where you don’t want to play is just as important if not more so than knowing where to play.
Guerrilla marketers also view marketing as an investment rather than an expense. For example, if you spend $3,00 to generate an additional $5,000 in new business, your marketing hasn’t cost you anything. Marketing that works is an investment, and when marketing works well, the return on investment can be impressive. It’s only when marketing is done wrong and doesn’t work that it becomes an expense. Guerrillas focus on developing and using marketing that works.
Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days
Go It Alone!
December 20, 2007 by admin
Filed under Books, Management
The Secret to Building a Successful Business on Your Own
by Bruce Judson (12000)
The era of the go-it-alone entrepreneur has arrived.
Specifically, technology in the form of email, the World Wide Web and a broad array of off-the-shelf and on-demand business services now makes it easier than ever for anyone to start and build a tightly focused business enterprise. When this technology is combined with a sound business idea, any individual can create and grow their own business. Even more impressive, it’s possible to stay small but still reap sizable profits because the leverage of technology means the go-it-alone entrepreneur doesn’t need to build an entire corporation to sustain the business entity.
When you’re on your own, you know you’re capturing the full value of your work. If you work hard, you’re the one who reaps the rewards. When you accomplish something, you get the financial rewards and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re benefiting from your efforts. Over the past few years, changes in the way businesses work and in supporting technology mean there has never been a better time to start your own business.
–Bruce Judson