Thorough sales forecast is deemed important when an entrepreneur is juggling between limited capital and demand to produce more variety of products and/ or services. In order to accurately produce and replenish products or services in a new business, we can take simple approaches as follow:
1. Determine as many facts as possible from city government/ agency data or from readily available trusted internet data: population of your target city, population demographic, the number of direct competitors or similar company who is doing similar business to yours.
2. Calculate the number of potential customer from the pool of potential consumers who might be interested on your ideas of product or services. Divide by the number of competitors. It will yield the number of potential customers from the pool of general potential 'might be' interested consumers.
Add with the number of existed competitors' customers if this data is available. This number will give you the potential slice of pie's size that you can grab in general
3. Determine the possible frequency of your product/ service consumption.
If your customer is a business instead of end-user, you need deeper analysis on the business customer's end-users such as how many and how frequent they buy the product / service as well. This number multiply by the target slice of pie's size above will be your target production in a certain period of time
4. Manage your budget or capital accordingly by scheduling ingredients' cost, labor cost, sunk cost, overhead cost (such as: space rent, utilities, fixed salary and benefit, etc).
5. Then, you can derive your sales forecast number, projected revenue and expenses, and forecasted profit.
Rabu, 05 Oktober 2011
How to Deal with Frenemies
How to Deal With Frenemies
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditWould you even know if you had frenemies? They're the people in your life who purport to be a friend but do some oddly enemy-like things to you on more than an occasional basis, and in a way that seems pretty predetermined to unsettle you. Spotting them and dealing with them is vital to preserve your own sanity and to know when to ditch the friend who pushes things just a bit too far.
Steps
- Spot the frenemy in your life. Before you can deal with a frenemy, you need to know you're friends with one. Some indicators might include:
- They are never able to enjoy your good fortune. If something good happens to you, their bottom lip curls into a sneer and they just have to say something derogatory, undermining and barbed.
- They're a master at the art of backhanded compliments, those compliments which sound okay on the surface but actually can be taken another way to mean something less than flattering. And they seem to use this "art" on you a lot.
- They gossip about you. When it gets back to you and you raise it with them, they deny knowing anything about it or lie through their teeth and say that someone misinterpreted what they meant.
- They are never able to enjoy your good fortune. If something good happens to you, their bottom lip curls into a sneer and they just have to say something derogatory, undermining and barbed.
- Listen to your own instincts. How does being with this person leave you feeling? Are you uplifted in their presence or do they always manage to take the wind out of your sails and leave you feeling down and unsupported? If you find that whenever you're down and miserable, they're around a lot more than when you're upbeat and in control, this is an indicator that you're with a person who soaks up misery and sees someone down on their luck as a target for control and manipulation. Moreover, if after spending time with them, you're left feeling sapped and bad about yourself, then you're not with a good friend – good friends make you feel good about yourself. Take note of anything like the following and be wary:
- Whenever you try to improve yourself, such as by losing weight, studying harder, going for a promotion, etc., they do their best to sabotage the efforts. Indeed, they may even encourage you to do things that will harm your progress, such as badmouth the boss or eat sweets on the weekend. Frenemies tend to bring out the worst in a person because the relationship is a bad fit.
- They never have your best interests at heart and you know it. In fact, you feel that every time you want to talk about something with them that they're likely to get really argumentative, roll their eyes, make unkind remarks or simply be negative about everything you're trying to do.
- You asked this person to support you on something weeks ago but when the time comes, they have a truly lame excuse for wriggling out of the promise. And they do it time and again to you.
- Whenever you try to improve yourself, such as by losing weight, studying harder, going for a promotion, etc., they do their best to sabotage the efforts. Indeed, they may even encourage you to do things that will harm your progress, such as badmouth the boss or eat sweets on the weekend. Frenemies tend to bring out the worst in a person because the relationship is a bad fit.
- Make changes. If you're not sure whether or not this person is a frenemy, talk over your concerns with a friend you're absolutely sure about and don't feel unhappy around. This person may throw new perspective onto the situation, perspective that helps you to realize the value of your relationship with the frenemy. Obviously, be certain you're talking to someone whom you can trust and isn't likely to pass this back to the frenemy. A frenemy who suspects you're onto them through talking to other people (and thereby warning others) can be a very unpleasant person to be around.
- Talk to the frenemy outright. Instead of skulking around and carrying this burden on your shoulders, come out and express your concerns to this person. Avoid acting vulnerable or distressed; simply stick to the facts and express how certain things that have happened make you feel. For example:
- "I felt really put down when you suggested my costume was too tight for me in front of our dance class. Did you really mean to be so unkind?"
- "I consider you to be a friend. As such, it really hurt me yesterday when you said I was too ditzy and easily distracted to be a good speechwriter in our group talk. I know you think you said it in a joking and funny way but as I am a bit vague at times, it really struck me as a bizarre way to make a joke, as I felt it came at my expense."
- "I feel really disappointed when you say things that say one thing but mean another, such as telling me the jeans I bought were great... for the price I paid, as if you were intimating that I had bought cheap jeans that didn't really look so nice. Why is it so hard for you to be friendly and frank with me instead of mocking all the time?"
- "I felt really put down when you suggested my costume was too tight for me in front of our dance class. Did you really mean to be so unkind?"
- Expect your frenemy to be surprised or in denial. Being forthright about your feelings is basically calling out the frenemy and forcing them to either own up to their subterfuge or deny it. It could go either way and even if they deny it, they may not stop the behavior and just keep on doing what they've been doing to hurt you. Or, they may become angry with you and refuse to discuss it, in which case you're getting a very clear indication that it's probably time to let go of this so-called friendship.
- Remember that if they blow a fuse, that you're not much into them by this stage anyway. At least the truth is out in the open and allows you to begin focusing more on other relationships in your life.
- Remember that if they blow a fuse, that you're not much into them by this stage anyway. At least the truth is out in the open and allows you to begin focusing more on other relationships in your life.
- Be realistic about the chances of staying friends with the frenemy. While it is important to be compassionate and realize that your frenemy may have gotten into a pattern of difficult interactions with others and see themselves as clever, witty or superior, it's equally important to look after yourself. If the frenemy can only ever interact like this, you're never going to feel safe, supported or happy around them.
- Look to thyself. Is it possible that you have some of the traits of a frenemy too? Hanging around people who use wit and words to denigrate others can soon rub off, especially if there is an attempt to be part of the popular group or the alpha. Be honest with your self-assessment and own up to yourself if you've been carrying on frenemy-like behaviors and attitude with your friends. And put a stop to it.
- Make the break. Once you realize that you are dealing with a frenemy and you've asked for reasons but there is no likelihood of change in your frenemy's behavior and attitude, then withdraw yourself from the failed friendship. Remind yourself that it isn't a friendship you're ending but a round of toxic interactions and that both of you will be better off for being apart and for going your own ways. Above all, remain polite and nice toward them in a distant way. There is no need to rub salt into the wound.
Tips
- The word “frenemy” originated in 1977. It was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2009.
Sources and Citations
- Adapted from Howcast, http://www.howcast.com/videos/393676-How-To-Spot-Frenemies. Shared with permission.
How to Start a Successful Business
Anyone can start a successful business regardless of age. The question is just how success or big or how famous the business will be.
Factors that may play in your success creation are: 80% hardwork, resilience and persistence, 10% environment and genetical quotient superiority, 10% luck or so called factor X. Factor X is usually a hard-to-explain factor that a human can be blessed with. I believe God plays this major factor and bless success to whom He wants to bless and fluorish unexplainably by human understanding. This factor will unexplainably make some inventor meet another venture capitalist who believes in the product or service or some real estate entrepreneur somehow got approved on high capital funding from a financial institution and so on.
How to start a successful business as a child or a teenager:
1. Find what your strength and your given ability, then ask yourself is it incline with what you are doing.
2. Find what you truly love doing and find your passion. Pursue it persistently.
3. Start defining a mini business plan by defining your product or service. As a teenager, you have the advantage of seeing and making your school friends everyday as target mass consumers, also your neighborhood is another friendly target customer. Nothing should be underestimated no matter how small you might think the idea is. You can do something that is totally new or innovative or simply doing something or offering product and service that is already exist. For example: pet salon, elderly care for home-bounds elderly, creating jewelry, creating children play community, selling cupcakes, selling T-shirts with hand-painting pattern, etc.
4. Build your product or design your service well just like when you, yourself, is the buyer / customer.
5. SELL, SELL, SELL. Keep knocking on doors and make cold sales. Don't be afraid of rejections. Don't give up
6. Evaluate any customer feedbacks and make any improvements or modifications if needed.
7. Keep selling. SELL, SELL, SELL....Make your product or service has a distinct 'brand' and make it stands out
8. Organize your business process and manage your revenue, expense and profit.
9. Repeat the selling process, business process betterment and profit management. Your business is growing ...
*** Never Give Up. Be Thankful even on Small Progress or a Digress. Good Luck !!!
Senin, 03 Oktober 2011
Requirements to succeed in working world Generation X, Y, and beyond
Based on my past life and current life both as employee and employer, I figure out there are several basic requirements that I see in a team or in a person before I could reward them or promote them. I usually entrust a proven track-record person with more complex responsibility first, even before I promote them with the new title or the new compensation package, and see what the result is.
I view micromanagement is a waste of time and proven ineffective way to manage a cohort of young employees especially generation Y and younger since we should trust them to do their job. I , myself, respect bosses who trust me on my ability and let me do my own approach and drive the result, and thus, I dislike bosses who are hovering around me and micromanaging in every single task or in-progress-project that I am completing.
The basic requirements that I see and want to see in general in a person or a team performance are:
1. Character. Character of person defines what he/ she believes and how he/ she act when nobody around him / her and it carries out throughout his/ her life.
- Fear of God: I believe in God and his divine power. When a person is fear of God, he/ she will be at all time responsible of his/ her own action event though there is nobody around him/ her watching. Always doing the best thing we can, is another ingrained character that can be resulted by the fear of God. A person who fear of God believes that life is precious and should not be wasted. Whatever talent given in our life and circumstance that we are born with will not be an excused of giving less than our best effort in our work.
- Honesty: a person who is honest will be abe to held accountable in every little thing and never underestimate the importance of a task or trust , no matter how little it is.
- Loyalty: I view a person who is jumping around just for the sake of salary difference as unable to communicate. Loyalty is as important as I, as the entrepreneur building a company and creating jobs for employee, strive to give the best environments, sustainable company growth and reward to my employees.
- Integrity: Let A be A and let B be B. Don't be manipulative and keep changing a process or covering a failure just because you want to look good. Although not always beneficial, I see an idealistic person who has a good characters and vision usually has better integrity than one who is not. Saying and doing the right thing consistently and being accountable for a trust is crucial in growing a company. Not only outward purpose, building customer trust towards our brands and our company but also inward purpose, building trust among working co workers, teams and management. The key is being consistent to your good-intention strong principles.
- Drive: I value people who has a drive and ambition to move forward, not staying stagnant. Given any circumstances or limitation, I expect my team to be driven and excel in exceeding expectation. A high performer will be rewarded commensurate with his/ her performance result, drive and initiative.
2. Contribution. Evaluating how much a person contribute is very important in structuring a reward system in an organization / a company. Not only based on quantity such as how diligent you show up on time at your job, but also quality-wise. Measuring quality needs sharp observation on past behavior, current behavior and overall end-results. Does profit go up or does customer patronage frequency increase? It needs thorough analysis and evaluation.
Contribution itself has several aspects tie into it:
- Capability and Creativity: Capability can be learnt and creativity can be stimulated. Human are a creature of comfort. In a stagnant condition, human's tendency is to stay afloat without frisking any wave. If ourself and our employees can have different mindset and keep challenging themselves professionally to be able to increase their competitiveness and their capability to perform, it will certainly drive business performance into better direction
- Skills and Experience: Skills can be based on what an inexperienced person learnt in academical circumstance but when it is in real world, what he/ she learnt in the past could be different or need some other practical adjustment when he /she starts the real task in the job. Therefore, learning by doing, often called training on the job, is proven efficient by many trainers who train fresh graduate in the first 3-6 months of the learning curve on the job. To update new skills, an employee can train themselves too by taking additional responsibilities or training class outside the job. Experience is retained after a person experience doing something or experiencing a difficulty in the past. Therefore, usually, as time progress, a person are able accumulating more experiences to be able to perform better.
I view micromanagement is a waste of time and proven ineffective way to manage a cohort of young employees especially generation Y and younger since we should trust them to do their job. I , myself, respect bosses who trust me on my ability and let me do my own approach and drive the result, and thus, I dislike bosses who are hovering around me and micromanaging in every single task or in-progress-project that I am completing.
The basic requirements that I see and want to see in general in a person or a team performance are:
1. Character. Character of person defines what he/ she believes and how he/ she act when nobody around him / her and it carries out throughout his/ her life.
- Fear of God: I believe in God and his divine power. When a person is fear of God, he/ she will be at all time responsible of his/ her own action event though there is nobody around him/ her watching. Always doing the best thing we can, is another ingrained character that can be resulted by the fear of God. A person who fear of God believes that life is precious and should not be wasted. Whatever talent given in our life and circumstance that we are born with will not be an excused of giving less than our best effort in our work.
- Honesty: a person who is honest will be abe to held accountable in every little thing and never underestimate the importance of a task or trust , no matter how little it is.
- Loyalty: I view a person who is jumping around just for the sake of salary difference as unable to communicate. Loyalty is as important as I, as the entrepreneur building a company and creating jobs for employee, strive to give the best environments, sustainable company growth and reward to my employees.
- Integrity: Let A be A and let B be B. Don't be manipulative and keep changing a process or covering a failure just because you want to look good. Although not always beneficial, I see an idealistic person who has a good characters and vision usually has better integrity than one who is not. Saying and doing the right thing consistently and being accountable for a trust is crucial in growing a company. Not only outward purpose, building customer trust towards our brands and our company but also inward purpose, building trust among working co workers, teams and management. The key is being consistent to your good-intention strong principles.
- Drive: I value people who has a drive and ambition to move forward, not staying stagnant. Given any circumstances or limitation, I expect my team to be driven and excel in exceeding expectation. A high performer will be rewarded commensurate with his/ her performance result, drive and initiative.
2. Contribution. Evaluating how much a person contribute is very important in structuring a reward system in an organization / a company. Not only based on quantity such as how diligent you show up on time at your job, but also quality-wise. Measuring quality needs sharp observation on past behavior, current behavior and overall end-results. Does profit go up or does customer patronage frequency increase? It needs thorough analysis and evaluation.
Contribution itself has several aspects tie into it:
- Capability and Creativity: Capability can be learnt and creativity can be stimulated. Human are a creature of comfort. In a stagnant condition, human's tendency is to stay afloat without frisking any wave. If ourself and our employees can have different mindset and keep challenging themselves professionally to be able to increase their competitiveness and their capability to perform, it will certainly drive business performance into better direction
- Skills and Experience: Skills can be based on what an inexperienced person learnt in academical circumstance but when it is in real world, what he/ she learnt in the past could be different or need some other practical adjustment when he /she starts the real task in the job. Therefore, learning by doing, often called training on the job, is proven efficient by many trainers who train fresh graduate in the first 3-6 months of the learning curve on the job. To update new skills, an employee can train themselves too by taking additional responsibilities or training class outside the job. Experience is retained after a person experience doing something or experiencing a difficulty in the past. Therefore, usually, as time progress, a person are able accumulating more experiences to be able to perform better.
Sabtu, 01 Oktober 2011
How to Understand and Handle Complexities of the Career World and Business World
Business world and Career World often synergize and collapse into one inseparable universe. In other word, I think Business World is intertwined with Career World inseparably. Whether you are working for a company or partnership, big or or small, or working for yourself as entrepreneur creating business or work as a self proprietor/tress, you will see that competition is fierce and business know-how transfers and being copied as fast as light travels.
In order to understand the complexities above and better in handling them, a company or a person should have a better self-reflection and often evaluate their own business traits and / or personal traits:
1. Resilience. Resilience allows a business or a person to bounce back from any adversity. Put aside one's ego and past conflict, you need resilience to move forward. Keep trying and keep knocking on doors whether it is to close a contract, to get promotion, to seal a deal, to finish a project, to refine a product or to market a service.
2. Aptitude and Business Acumen. It enables a business owner or entrepreneur to quickly observe a business weather change or create a new trend and then react towards it, better yet, proactively change your direction before the prediction comes realized. Sharpness in noticing what your company's goals and direction also helps to put you ahead in the corporate ladder as well. Likewise, in navigating a career world, a person need aptitude and business acumen to do problem solving, and contribute to the maximum possible for the company.
3. Integrity. Integrity is heavily relied in the age of this fast information-spread both in real world and also in internet world. Whether you are trying to categorize which persons to be included in your personal networking site and which persons will be put into business acquaintance category, you must filter and separate your personal life information from your business matters. Indeed it is not always easy, but try to attempt to categorize and dare to say no or reject inappropriate personal comments. You don't want your future employer or future potential business clients see you or your business accidentally deemed as 'not serious' or way too casual. In short, categorize in the separation between personal and professional business matters. You can cross network between the two buckets but still by being the appropriate authentic 'You' or 'Your Business Value and Vision'.
Respect, be truthful and be consistent what you say, you do and you act in the same manner you expect anyone to do the same to you.
In order to understand the complexities above and better in handling them, a company or a person should have a better self-reflection and often evaluate their own business traits and / or personal traits:
1. Resilience. Resilience allows a business or a person to bounce back from any adversity. Put aside one's ego and past conflict, you need resilience to move forward. Keep trying and keep knocking on doors whether it is to close a contract, to get promotion, to seal a deal, to finish a project, to refine a product or to market a service.
2. Aptitude and Business Acumen. It enables a business owner or entrepreneur to quickly observe a business weather change or create a new trend and then react towards it, better yet, proactively change your direction before the prediction comes realized. Sharpness in noticing what your company's goals and direction also helps to put you ahead in the corporate ladder as well. Likewise, in navigating a career world, a person need aptitude and business acumen to do problem solving, and contribute to the maximum possible for the company.
3. Integrity. Integrity is heavily relied in the age of this fast information-spread both in real world and also in internet world. Whether you are trying to categorize which persons to be included in your personal networking site and which persons will be put into business acquaintance category, you must filter and separate your personal life information from your business matters. Indeed it is not always easy, but try to attempt to categorize and dare to say no or reject inappropriate personal comments. You don't want your future employer or future potential business clients see you or your business accidentally deemed as 'not serious' or way too casual. In short, categorize in the separation between personal and professional business matters. You can cross network between the two buckets but still by being the appropriate authentic 'You' or 'Your Business Value and Vision'.
Respect, be truthful and be consistent what you say, you do and you act in the same manner you expect anyone to do the same to you.
How to be Content in Your Current Job
It is easier to complain and see the negative sides of many things in our professional world. Moreover, if you have work burn-out or you feel devastated due to your stagnant career or job / salary / performance-based bonus growth.
I suggest several points on How to be Content in your Current Job:
1. Be thankful because you are one of the lucky ones still holding a job in a difficult economy situation where jobs are scarce, hundreds of people competing for less than five openings. Personally, I believe in God so for those who also believes in God, being thankful to the Creator is a key to surrendering to Divine authority albeit all our humanly best efforts
2. Be grateful for the people in your life. Whether it is your spouse or life partner, children or nieces+nephews, friends and colleagues, and more; their existence makes life more colorful
3. Be confident of yourself because you are being trusted to do your job although you may have a salary cut, deferred promotion, must complete tasks beyond your job definition or must cover 3-more persons responsibilities
4. Be optimistic and always put things into perspective. Don't underestimate the power of positive thinking since making yourself staying active, hopeful and positive will encourage yourself and people surrounding to make the best out of every situation professionally and personally
5. Be flexible. In this competitive and challenging global workforce, try to be ready to change and to update your skills. Learning new things can open your view and may also lead to other better opportunities.
I suggest several points on How to be Content in your Current Job:
1. Be thankful because you are one of the lucky ones still holding a job in a difficult economy situation where jobs are scarce, hundreds of people competing for less than five openings. Personally, I believe in God so for those who also believes in God, being thankful to the Creator is a key to surrendering to Divine authority albeit all our humanly best efforts
2. Be grateful for the people in your life. Whether it is your spouse or life partner, children or nieces+nephews, friends and colleagues, and more; their existence makes life more colorful
3. Be confident of yourself because you are being trusted to do your job although you may have a salary cut, deferred promotion, must complete tasks beyond your job definition or must cover 3-more persons responsibilities
4. Be optimistic and always put things into perspective. Don't underestimate the power of positive thinking since making yourself staying active, hopeful and positive will encourage yourself and people surrounding to make the best out of every situation professionally and personally
5. Be flexible. In this competitive and challenging global workforce, try to be ready to change and to update your skills. Learning new things can open your view and may also lead to other better opportunities.
Taxation in US
A simple proposal that I can suggest to US Tax system is restructuring. US Government needs bigger revenue and it is coming from tax. Individual tax income so far does not suffice. How are we going to solve the debate among the proponent and the supporter of tax restructure?
Here are my tax restructuring suggestions:
1. Business or Corporate tax income should be left alone or even got lowered since more small businesses/ entrepreneurial entities need tax breaks to fuel their business growth in this challenging global economy.
Big businesses should be taxed slightly more on their Net Operating Income than their smaller business counterparts.
2. I believe in open market economy and market efficiency but I do object CEO salary and compensation's exaggeration. A company should limit CEO compensation meaning both salary and stocks+option+benefit package no greater than 20 times the average salary of regular mid-level salary of the managerial level in the same company. Say if the average mid-level salary of the managerial level (based on market salary competitiveness) is USD$150,000 then the CEO's total compensation shouldn't be greater than USD$3,000,000 overall.
Too many times, US CEO's is rewarded way too much than their truly worth and even when CEO doesnot perform well or being fired, he / she is still compensated excessively. Truly, do you believe one CEO's job should be done by more than 20 mid-level Managers ? I don't. Plus if a CEO is fired from doing an awful job, don't pay him / her all the compensation promised just the suffering package that should be in the lower amount than the compensation promised at the beginning of the contract / job appointment.
3. Tax Individual Income a Flat Rate. What I mean is that for individual income can be coming from salary or dividend or gain / loss from long term investment + short term investment + any other income prodicing activity (such as: sole-proprietorship activity, landlording activity, etc). Dividend and gain/loss shouldnot be taxed at lower rate but include it in the individual income. For example: if everyone is taxed at 25% then from a wage earner of USD$35,000 to a high-networth individual earning USD$3,000,00 both will contribute the same proportion of tax revenue to US Government.
Here are my tax restructuring suggestions:
1. Business or Corporate tax income should be left alone or even got lowered since more small businesses/ entrepreneurial entities need tax breaks to fuel their business growth in this challenging global economy.
Big businesses should be taxed slightly more on their Net Operating Income than their smaller business counterparts.
2. I believe in open market economy and market efficiency but I do object CEO salary and compensation's exaggeration. A company should limit CEO compensation meaning both salary and stocks+option+benefit package no greater than 20 times the average salary of regular mid-level salary of the managerial level in the same company. Say if the average mid-level salary of the managerial level (based on market salary competitiveness) is USD$150,000 then the CEO's total compensation shouldn't be greater than USD$3,000,000 overall.
Too many times, US CEO's is rewarded way too much than their truly worth and even when CEO doesnot perform well or being fired, he / she is still compensated excessively. Truly, do you believe one CEO's job should be done by more than 20 mid-level Managers ? I don't. Plus if a CEO is fired from doing an awful job, don't pay him / her all the compensation promised just the suffering package that should be in the lower amount than the compensation promised at the beginning of the contract / job appointment.
3. Tax Individual Income a Flat Rate. What I mean is that for individual income can be coming from salary or dividend or gain / loss from long term investment + short term investment + any other income prodicing activity (such as: sole-proprietorship activity, landlording activity, etc). Dividend and gain/loss shouldnot be taxed at lower rate but include it in the individual income. For example: if everyone is taxed at 25% then from a wage earner of USD$35,000 to a high-networth individual earning USD$3,000,00 both will contribute the same proportion of tax revenue to US Government.
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)