4 Business Opportunities Suitable for Veterans

Are you a veteran? Do you have friends or relatives who are veterans? If yes, there is good news for you. Veterans can and do make great entrepreneurs and or small-business owners. From their training and service experience, many veterans indeed possess many of the skills necessary to survive in the business world. These skills include but not limited to leadership, orderliness, discipline, responsibility, teamwork and the ability to make snappy on-the-spot decisions. Some businesses especially require these skills to succeed. That is why they are very suitable for veterans. Here are 4 options to take a pick from if you are a veteran.

01. Security Consultant: Having served in any of the disciplined and armed services, it is assumed that through training and experience, many veterans have come to know a lot about security and the use of firearms. That is largely why many firms make veterans their very first port of call when it comes to designing, building and maintaining credible security infrastructure for their companies. Veterans are at home too when they do business helping to secure lives and property 24/7.

02. Retail Shop Management: Retail shop management is a good business option for veterans who excel in sales, marketing and supply chain management. Starting and managing a retail business works well for veterans who want to focus on selling a product with a military theme as many experts have correctly observed. Because people generally like veterans, they like to buy products or support companies which project veteran identity. Civilians like to support veterans by shopping at veteran-owned businesses perhaps to also be regaled with war-time stories many veterans relish in telling. That patronage is what keeps veterans in retail shop management in good business.

03. Franchise Ownership: According to Mark Rockefeller, a U.S. Air Force veteran and CEO of StreetShares, an online small-business lender, “Veterans are drawn toward franchising because it mirrors the military structure.” Franchising is exactly what by training and service experience, veterans are already very much at home with. There are other advantages veterans derive from franchising. With a franchise, they don’t have to start from scratch to grow a new brand. All the systems and procedures they need will already be in place when they buy a franchise. The exact training and support they also need is provided by the franchisor. That sounds really great for veterans.

04. Government Contractor: Traditionally worldwide, governments are usually the largest purchasers of goods and services. These governments who were the former employers of veterans already have a well-established relationship with them and there is the tendency to trust them with business as well. In some countries like the US, there are programs like, the “Vets First Contracting Program” which help all veterans better compete for government contracts. That naturally gives veterans some contracting advantage when bidding for government contracts. Some other countries have in place many more incentives which help veterans to thrive well in business doing government contracts.

“If we are born poor, it is not our fault, but if we die poor, it is!”…… Bill Gates

You Need Good Communication Skills to Sell

“Everybody lives by selling something.” --- Robert Louis Stevenson

Anyone who can’t express themselves can not by any stretch of imagination be good Salespersons. Salespersons are generally good talkers. I recently read an advert where the advertiser, was looking for someone “who can sell refrigerators to Eskimos.” This advertiser was obviously looking for good persuaders as Salespersons. You must be a good and effective communicator before you can succeed in persuading anyone. Both written and verbal communication is very important. I have heard it said that “it is not what you say that matters but what they hear.” Communication is not about talking to yourself but talking to someone else. You must be able to size-up your customer accurately to know how you can deliver your message. If you go around speaking “Queen’s English” to someone who has never been to school, you will sooner than later find out that you are wasting your time and the person’s time, particularly the person’s time. If you can’t get the message across effectively, you are not communicating. I once had a hobby that kept me amused no end. I used to collect pieces of communications I came across that appeared to convey meanings different from what the communicators meant. I will share just a few of them here with you.

“Don’t let overwork kill your wife. Let electricity do it.”___ Advert for a new electrical gadget.

“All flights have been cancelled for managerial reasons.”___ Sign at airline booking desk.

“The Doctor arrived too late to save my husband. He recovered by himself.”__Elated house-wife to a neighbor.

 “Pregnant women are allowed here without their babies.”___ Sign at the door of an Irish pub.

“We are the ones who dig the shit. They just sit there and eat it.”___ Complain from a frustrated laborer.

“Women are not allowed to entertain men in the rooms. They can do it in the restaurant.”___ Sign in a hotel lobby.

The person whose message conveys what he or she intends to say is the person who is communicating. These messages do not meet this test. It is your duty to learn and use effective communication if you want to be a good Salesperson.

 

What Are You Selling?

“Everybody lives by selling something.” --- Robert Louis Stevenson

No matter what you do, no matter who you are, you can’t make progress if you are unable to sell yourself.

An Applicant who can’t sell himself to an Employer may never get a job.

A Lawyer who can’t sell his client’s case to the Judge will be doing the client a disservice.

A Borrower who can’t sell himself to a Lender can never get a loan.

A Footballer who can’t sell his skills to a Club can never get a team.

A Politician who can’t sell himself to Voters can never get elected.

Selling yourself well will require that you master the principles of presentation, persuasion and overcoming obstacles in the market place. The competition is stiff and gets stiffer by the day. You need to master the skills that will enable you to survive in the market place. Napoleon Hill concludes this argument this way: “No matter who you are or how much you know, you will not succeed unless you are a salesman. You must sell your services. You must sell your knowledge. You must sell yourself. You must sell your personality.”

 

7 Great Opportunities to Negotiate a Raise with Your Employer

Whether in business or social life, it is inevitable that everyone has to negotiate. However, to negotiate successfully, timing is very crucial to the outcome. What ordinarily you may have been able to get easily, if your timing is poor, you could lose it. In any employment, keen observation and a quick decision on when to act, most times makes the difference between success and failure. For this reason, one person may succeed to get something out of a boss while some other person may fail woefully in similar attempt. The key is timing. It is of utmost importance to know when to take the opportunity to negotiate with your employer either for a raise or for some other concessions. The following opportunities come in very handy if you want to successfully negotiate a raise with your employer.

01. When your employer is in a very good mood. All humans have mood changes from time to time. Some persons experience these changes more frequently than others depending on individual differences. If you are able to time your employer very well, you can always seize the opportunity to initiate the matter of a raise with her when she is in a very good mood. At such times, your chances of success could be very good.

02. When you have just completed a major project successfully. As an employee, any time you are able to deliver to expectations on your job, it makes your employer happy. Such times usually present a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise.

03. When company reports indicate that the company’s earnings are up. Most employers are always in upbeat moods when their company’s earnings are up. Such periods are usually good opportunities for smart employees to negotiate a raise.

04. When you have just acquired a new training or skill useful to the company. With a new skill or training in your kitty, your value to your company usually increases. That is a very good opportunity to negotiate a raise. A good employer will at such times accede to a raise if she wants to retain you. If not, she knows she could lose your services to rival employers. 

05. When you have just brought in a very good and profitable business for the company. Only very valuable employees bring good businesses to their companies. If you are able to do that, it will make your employer happy. Negotiating a raise with her at that moment could earn you a very sympathetic and favorable hearing.

06. When your employer’s confidence in you is at the highest. Many employers do have plenty of confidence in employees who always deliver on promise. Any time you are able to deliver successfully on some valuable projects that earn you the commendation of your employer, such times are okay to negotiate a raise.

07. When you have just made a significant amount of money for your company. The bottom-line in any business is to make money. Employees who are good at helping their companies to make money are very valuable employees. If you are able to make a significant amount of money for your company and your employer acknowledges it, the time is conducive to negotiate a raise.

Many employers know that no employee wants to earn a fixed salary in perpetuity. Employees who are capable of making themselves extremely valuable to their employment and are able to time their moves very well usually get raises from their employers if they ask. With keen observation and action taken when the time is ripe and proper, more often than not, you can always succeed to negotiate a raise with your employer. That is what many smart employees know which enables them to get a raise from their employers anytime they ask for it.

5 Business Survival Skills

Going into business is not only fun these days, it is highly rewarding in very many respects. To survive out there, everyone needs skills, real practical skills. One of the most important skills you need to survive in today's business world is the ability to learn and to learn very quickly. Once you are able to do that, it becomes easier for you to learn and to quickly grasp all other survival skills. The act of learning is every bit as important as what you learn. Believing that you can improve yourself and do things in the future that are beyond your current possibilities is exciting and fulfilling. Among the many skills you need, these here 5 skills are some of the most essential skills which can deliver the biggest payoff for your efforts at surviving in today's business world.
 

01. Ability to take initiative. Initiative is the ability to take action without prompting. If you acquire the skill, it will take you far in business and in life. Anyone can always take initiative if they find ways to get over other things which usually get in the way. Knowing what to do and getting it done in spite of obstacles, requires initiative. In the business world, it is inevitable that you have to take risks and push yourself out of your comfort zone, until taking initiative becomes second nature to you. That is one great way to survive out there.

02. Time management skills. Management experts have determined that one of the biggest things that get in the way of effective time management is the "tyranny of the urgent." This is simply the tendency of little things that need doing now to get in the way of what really matters. If because of the supposed urgency of these little things you neglect other important matters, you end up spending more time doing things which will not help you to get the real work done. Learning to manage your time effectively is one essential skill you need to free up more time for you to perform optimally.

03. Emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships. It is a skill you can learn. Doing business is all about managing behaviors and relationships. Even though it may seem intangible, emotional intelligence is that something we all need to manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that make positive results. In every field of human endeavor particularly in business, emotional intelligence is the critical reason that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack. It distinguishes between genius and mediocrity, between high achievers and non performers.

04. Ability to stay positive. I am the first to admit that it is hard to find the zeal to focus on the positive when positivism seems like nothing more than wishful thinking. Emotionally, the real obstacle to positivism is that our brains are hard-wired to look for and focus on threats for the sake of our survival as human beings. This survival mechanism serves us well when it is a matter of life and death. But, in today's world, this mechanism breeds pessimism and negativity through the mind's tendency to wander until it finds a real threat. It is really a mind thing and the mind is subject to everyone's control. What you think about and focus on is thus subject to your own control. When you think positive, you stay positive. Thus, maintaining positivism is a daily challenge that requires real focus and attention. It pays to find ways to stay positive by deliberate efforts thereby preventing your brain from wandering off to fears and threats which it is naturally wired to look out for.

05. Listening skills. I once heard that the reason we have two ears and one mouth is because we are naturally expected to listen twice as much as we talk. Sure, it can feel so good to unload on somebody and let them know what you really think, but that good feeling is temporary because when you are at it, you can hardly know what the other person is saying. True listening is one effective way to focus solely on what the other person is saying and to think about a clear response strategy. It is about understanding, not rebuttal or comments. Learning how to delay judgment and focus on understanding the other person's response is one of the most important skills you can develop. In plain words, if you are not skillful enough to decipher valuable information from the other person's tone of voice, body language, and what isn't said, you could get left out of the game easily.