5 good #intentions: #entrepreneurial #habits

Entrepreneurial Habits to Develop

Joe Pulizzi recommends in his blogpost two habits to acquire as an entrepreneur:

1. Start with writing down your business AND personal goals
2. Thoroughly review these goals

I can support his idea to keep your eyes fixed and to keep your focus on your goals. If you still want some end-of-the-year reading you can also read one of his recommended books (7 habits of highly effective people by Covey). If you want to go more in depth on Entrepreneurial Habits feel free to follow Mark Hopkins. Especially the focus on "I can do it" in his posts are highly motivating.
My personal Effectuation-approach has helped a lot of entrepreneurs in succeeding. It contains only 5 easy principles:

1. The Bird in Hand Principle. Entrepreneurs start with what they have. They will look at who they are, what they know and who they know. Their education, tastes and experience are examples of factors which are important in this stage. Besides these examples, this is also the stage where entrepreneurs look at their 3F’s, better known as friends, family and fools. From this point, they will look at their abilities. So an entrepreneur does not start with a given goal, but with the tools he or she has. 
2. The Affordable Loss Principle. An entrepreneur does not focus on possible profits, but on the possible losses and how they can minimize those losses. 
3. The Crazy Quilt Principle. Entrepreneurs cooperate with parties they can trust. These parties can limit the affordable loss by giving pre-commitment. 
4. The Lemonade Principle. Entrepreneurs will look at how to avoid contingencies. Surprises are not necessarily seen as something bad, but as opportunities to find new markets. 
5. The Pilot-in-the-plane. In this stage, all the previous principles are put together. The future cannot be predicted, but entrepreneurs can control some of the factors which determine the future.

Every year in May infinite.company members can stretch their ideas in the "Effectuation Weekend". If you want to join our network of succesful entrepreneurs or want to be instructed on Effectuation feel free to mail me at jackie@infinite.company.


http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238403
http://diversitymbamagazine.com/ten-entrepreneurial-habits-for-a-successful-career
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effectuation

5 good #intentions to pave your #entrepreneurial #road

What kind of good intentions will you make for 2015?
Some entrepreneurial suggestions by experts in the upcoming days.

Get completely in control 

Don Hofstrand said that Entrepreneurs tend to have a strong internal locus of control. Locus of control is a concept defining whether a person believes he/she is in control of his/her future or someone else is in control of it. For example, we all know people who believe they have no control over their lives. They believe that what happens to them is dictated by outside forces. People who feel they are victims of outside forces have an external locus of control.

 “it’s not my fault this happened to me.” 

By contrast, entrepreneurs have a very strong internal locus of control. They believe their future is determined by the choices they make. Entrepreneurs want to be self-directed. They want to be in control of their activities. This is linked to the “locus of control” discussion above. Entrepreneurs often don’t fit well in traditional employment positions. They don’t want to be told what to do. Entrepreneurs know what they want to do and how to do it.

Break patterns 

Carrying the issue with you 

Have you become so attached to your issue that you can’t seem to drop it? Some people constantly have the problem they face on their back. One gets the sense that they get some satisfaction out of it. It is rarely about the issue, it is the habit of constantly carrying it. In a way we become addicted to our issues, sometimes even carrying it with pride.

Constantly checking on the issue 

We drop the issue, but we constantly check on it. This pattern is like someone putting a baby down to sleep and then lifting the covers so often to check if it is still asleep, that soon it wakes up. Scratching until it itches, just to make 1000% sure. Again, it is not the baby (issue) that is awake, but the person waking it with their pattern. This person really does not have any intention to drop the issue.

When this (happens)…then I’ll… 

We have probably all been guilty of this pattern at some point or another. Constantly holding out for something else, getting ready, waiting, never doing. We actually get to believe ourselves when we say that, but who are we fooling? Only ourselves!

Not being totally committed 

Talk is cheap but if in your heart of hearts you are not totally committed and prepared to break the pattern, you won’t. You can’t have one foot in, one foot out. This pattern is actually easier to break than one would think - sometimes just asking yourself whether you are committed will already help you make a shift.

So now what? Celeste Du Toit, the YES paradigm coach, recommends in her article to that once you realise the pattern you can do something about it. So stop doing it! Don’t do less of it; stop totally, and turn around. Notice it constantly and break its neck. Get help if you need to, a coach or a confidante, but there is no going halfway - the only way out of a pattern is to break it!

Next time we I will talk about:

1. Developing entrepreneurial habits 
2. And how to pass your skills on to your team

http://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/wholefarm/html/c5-07.html
http://www.entrepreneur.co.za/breaking-pattern/

5 Steps on your Path to Business Success

The idea of infinite.company is to encourage small and big entrepreneurs to go from idea to market, linking a lot of talents available in the market.
In my way of dealing with new businesses this makes a lot of sense. It means you’ll start, even if you don't have the money,  as early as possible.
Our way for a quick launch puts you ahead of the competition. This is especially important when you’re capitalizing on changes in the marketplace or new technology.
Back in the mid-nineties, I was working at a Bank. I had the idea of using XML-based payments on an asynchronous way. I had the opportunity to do my project. On the day of launch, we knew one other bank in the world doing the same. Just two months after launch, seventeen Banks launched the same. A month later this figure had risen to 100. Our early start was a huge competitive advantage in bulk payments and brokering transaction messages for dealers. Compared to other EAI-tools I spend 13% of the budget, focussing on what was needed for the Bank.
Knowing this, you’re probably wondering:

What’s the shortcut to launch my business quickly? 

In my years of experience, I’ve found that only one shortcut ultimately leads to success.

 The best shortcut is to take a long-term view. 

In other words, even if you want to launch your business at speed, there are no shortcuts. There’s no way around putting in the hours. Any entrepreneur who’s started a business can tell you plenty of battle stories about how hard they worked in the early days.
There’s a good reason for that: building a business is hard work. There’s no way around any of the following. In fact, it doesn’t make sense to talk of a way “around” them. These aren’t obstacles blocking your way, but the path to a successful business.

1. Do your homework. As an entrepreneur or a business owner, being well-informed about your business, your industry and your target market is very important. However, you may be tempted to overlook doing your own research in favor of asking for professional help. Though this route may seem easier, doing your own research beforehand could save you time and money. Your research may also allow you to ask specific questions, rather than vague ones.
   
2. Step back when the feedback tells you to. You may believe you have the perfect idea. But if your research shows a less than ideal marketplace, or if there’s a high failure rate of startups in the sector, there’s a reason for that. Don’t kid yourself into believing your business will be different from all the rest. Learn everything you can about what went wrong for others, then decide whether the opportunity is still for you. If you really want to move forward successfully in today’s economy, it’s important to think long-term. In his recent bestseller about the hotel industry, Heads in Beds, Jacob Tomsky writes about his early days doing valet parking and other unskilled jobs. Thanks to cash tips, the money was good — the advancement potential, not so much. When he was tapped for a management position, he had a difficult choice to make. He’d be earning less money in the immediate future, but his long-term career prospects would dramatically improve. He ultimately agreed to move into the white collar ranks, but his dilemma highlights an important point. 
3. Become a member of infinite.company Chat with experienced entrepreneurs or ask advice from other starters. Becoming a member links you to a lot of possibilities, whether is in finding the right talents or asking advice from experts or even a business developer focused on your domain.  
4. Consider your timing. There is one critical element that many business owners fail to consider when embarking on their business startup. Timing! How is the current market and local economy? What is the current competition like in your industry? Is the timing right for you? Maybe you are not the expert in finding the answers to all these questions. We can help if you want to.
5. Adopt a beginner’s mind. Beginner’s mind is a zen concept that’s about dropping all your assumptions. By letting go of what you think you know, you’ll ask better questions, get better answers, and receive more insight into what’s possible and what’s not. I love this quote on Joel's blog:

We are all experts. Experts in our job, in raising children, in crossing the road, in signing our name. Its difficult to let go of being an expert. Because it means confessing that we really know nothing. What we know belongs to the past. Whereas this moment now is new and offers its unique challenges. If I let go of being an expert, I can listen to others with an open mind. Then I can find that even a beginner has something to teach me.”

So, remember, the best shortcut to a successful business is to repeat the mantra: There are no shortcuts.

Sources:
http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/blog/entry/4867/
https://hbr.org/2014/02/take-a-step-back-to-propel-your-career-forward/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2014/12/05/when-launching-a-business-timing-is-everything/
http://joel.is/tag/beginners-mind/
http://scottduffy.com/

1 big thing infinite.company does for business ideas

We all have our reasons for not getting started. Unlike Erik and Joeri, who were ready to jump right into entrepreneurship, some of us may be more hesitant to take the leap.

• Every time I tell people about Infinite.company, they want to know more. Not only is it an intriguing concept, but also it’s a concept that works. The Inifinite.company membership means a lot to theMatchBox: we saw in increase in business opportunities simply because together with other members we can apply for projects that we couldn’t handle on our own. And furthermore, there’s always somebody that can support you for technical or business issues, which is very welcome for a start-up company like theMatchBox. (Joeri Mesens, Belgium, founder)

• A few months ago, I took the big decision to start taking charge of my career and become a freelancer. A big motivator that fueled my decision was the fact that I could start on a nice project from the very start, a project brought to me by infinite.company. Without this opportunity in place I would not have had the kickstart I had now. In fact, it might have meant that I would not be freelancing right now at all, whereas it is probably the best decision I ever made in my career. Right now, I am happily continuing on subsequent projects through infinite.company's strong and pragmatic-oriented network. (ET4IT, Netherlands, founder)

Most of us create excuses and put up roadblocks for themselves:

• It's too late
• I have to be certain for my kids
• I can't afford it
• The project's too big
• I can't do that and do the job I have
• I'll just start tomorrow

And the biggest one of all?

• I'm afraid

Unfortunately, our fears, combined with the crazy stories we tell ourselves about why we can't succeed, keep us from getting started.
In order to bring your big idea to life, infinite.company created an environment to let go of all your excuses. Simply step away and get on with it.
If we believe in your market, we engage to find a first customer for your products or services and we go for it ... together!

Some testimonials on infinite.company by Early Adopters

Between my time at Cronos and Infinite.Company I got stuck in transition. I was really struggling to find my way, wondering what direction I would take next.
I had always liked creating and building things, so I was sure I wanted to build companies and help starting entrepreneurs. I also was sure I would leave their shares at them, unless they want me to participate in their idea. The possibility to make a difference in approach was attractive. How many times in your life have you been ready to make a move? I kept asking myself, how was I going to make an impact? How was I going to put my ambition to work?
Then a friend gave me a book that helped me to convince myself of my idea: The Starfish and the spider. It was really an enlightenment saying "You are right on the spot!". The book inspired me in many ways and helped me to take a look at the IT services from a whole new perspective. It got me to try a new business model in IT products and services, and to put myself into a better position to discover my Big Idea.
The first conclusion I reached was that the future is this new businessmodel. Everyone I talked to since August 2014 confirms this. Some companies I worked with in this model even stressed it with strong statements:

• Every time I tell people about Infinite.company, they want to know more. Not only is it an intriguing concept, but also it’s a concept that works. The Inifinite.company membership means a lot to theMatchBox: we saw in increase in business opportunities simply because together with other members we can apply for projects that we couldn’t handle on our own. And furthermore, there’s always somebody that can support you for technical or business issues, which is very welcome for a start-up company like theMatchBox.

• A few months ago, I took the big decision to start taking charge of my career and become a freelancer. A big motivator that fueled my decision was
  the fact that I could start on a nice project from the very start, a project
  brought to me by infinite.company. Without this opportunity in place I would
  not have had the kickstart I had now. In fact, it might have meant that I
  would not be freelancing right now at all, whereas it is probably the best
  decision I ever made in my career. Right now, I am happily continuing on
  subsequent projects through infinite.company's strong and pragmatic-oriented
  network. (ET4IT, Netherlands)
• "I recommend all my subcontractors and suppliers to work with infinite.company. It's the first company with clear added value to its clients and members." (procurement officer, https://www.wefashion.com/)

It seems a pretty smart idea. We offer help and it changes the course of business of some. The end of my struggle?

Guiding Principles of Infinite.company

Guiding Principles

INFINITE.COMPANY will be a 'non-risk' company, based on a network model. All profit that INFINITE.COMPANY generates will be paid back to catalysts, members, customers, charity and R&D.

• To be a community committed to the success of our Customers
• To embrace our competitors with ethics and respect
• To attain professional fulfillment while having fun at work
• To understand that profit is a consequence and not a goal

Culture

We believe that cross-company collaboration is better and more productive. That’s why we established a more flexible, horizontal network from the very beginning. The same applies for our own management structure. Trust, freedom and creative autonomy are our pillars. Our solution and network is focused on finding the best solutions for customers in a faster and more effective manner.

Our mission

To be the all-encompassing platform for businesses to attract, source and select the right talents and projects.

Read our full paper at infinite.company

How Infinite.Company will change the Consultancy Industry

Start with One Talent

Customers are facing a myriad of challenges when looking for the right Talents. The odds are that, if they use infinite.company for their search, there will be lots of Talent available for their projects or consultancy requests. We fix the gaps in their Talent Search.

Make Things Simple

Common practices (based on distrust) have led to an overly complicated and expensive consultancy industry a lot. We are grabbing the opportunity and disrupting the market by bringing in a trust-based transaction model. We simplify!

By solving a difficult problem the easy way, we have created a great opportunity for everyone. Searching for talent and project-teams (circles) has never been this easy.

Slash Prices Dramatically

By building trust in our transaction model, we significantly reduce costs and will pass these savings to customers and members. Entrenched players are not able to compete because their history and business models don't allow it. The different memberships are based on fixed fees.

Get Close to Customers

By creating a direct transaction between all people involved, we build a better relationship with customers than everyone else in our market. We translate requests into services that better address both needs and desires. Customers will have free access to the system.

Be YOU

Our system is completely open and transparant. So be authentic, learn and win.