LEADERSHIP

5 Tips for Renewing Yourself as a Leader

1) Take a time-out each day. Put a “Gone Thinking” sign on your door and don’t let anyone disturb you.
2) Pursue hobbies and interests outside your business. They’ll provide relaxation and may inspire creative ideas that you can feed back into the business.
3) Take a vacation or a sabbatical. (But first, make sure you leave the company in good hands!)
4) Spend time with your family. Kids provide a refreshing perspective.
5) Do something you’ve always wanted to do but never did—learn to build a house, or take a course in acting.


5 Tips on Managing Yourself

1) Recognize when you’ve outrun your abilities. When one entrepreneur saw that her skills were not adequate to manage her company, she hired a president to handle day-to-day operations.
2) Get a CEO coach. Skilled consultants can help you learn how to take your company to the next level. SCORE can help.
3) Open yourself to being transformed. Listen, really listen, to employees. Let go of old notions of leadership (managing by fear, for example).
4) Be self-aware. Many business owners say self-awareness is essential to understanding what leadership style works for you.
5) Be a servant leader. Consider it your responsibility to serve employees and customers.

SUCCESS STORY

Vermont Teddy Bear Company

SCORE Counselors are the Bearers of Good Advice for Teddy Bear Entrepreneur.

Sortino first got the idea for making teddy bears in 1980, not long after the birth of his first son. “He had 38 stuffed animals, not one of which was made in the U.S.,” Sortino recalls. “So, I made him one—named ‘Bearcho.’ I made others and soon fell in love with idea of making them.”

“Bearcho” became the ancestor of millions of other cuddy, customized teddy bears created by the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, the Shelburne-based business that Sortino founded a few years later. Made famous through its memorable radio ads and wide range of gift options, the company has capitalized on America’s long-standing love affair with the toy by creating customized teddy bears and shipping them to lucky recipients via specially designed “BearGrams.”

But while the Vermont Teddy Bear Company has indeed become one of the nation’s true business success stories, Sortino recalls that he was no different from other entrepreneurs who sometimes need help to turn their vision into reality.

“When possible, people should talk to SCORE counselors and get different perspectives, because they have so much information and experience to share. It’s like the gods of business coming in to help you be successful.”
—John Sortino, business consultant and founder, Vermont Teddy Bear Company

“Having a business sounds like a wonderful dream, but it’s really very tough,” he says. “You’re by yourself, your plans may not be working out, and you’re trying to figure out how to solve problems or keep things growing.”

Sortino faced no shortage of those challenges in trying to get his teddy bear business off the ground. When local retailers were initially reluctant to market the hand-crafted toys, he began selling them from a pushcart in Burlington, Vermont’s famous downtown marketplace. The bears’ popularity led to a small manufacturing operation and efforts to wholesale the products to specialty stores.

“The moral of Jim’s story was that customers often associate product details with quality,” Sortino says. “That story became a life lesson in marketing that I’ve used ever since. We began working details into our ads such as how our bears had 14 stitches per inch. We also expanded our radio advertising to New York City and other Northeast markets. It didn’t take long for sales to start climbing again.”

When Sortino planned a new factory to meet the increasing demand, he again called SCORE. Al Huber, an expert in factory operations, helped to engineer the bear-making process, including setting up the various manufacturing stages.

By the early 1990s, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company had become a national phenomenon. Soon after transitioning from a privately held business to a public corporation, the company was ranked 21st on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest growing public companies in 1994. The company has since added Internet shopping and broadened its product offering to include other gift items.

Sortino left the Vermont Teddy Bear Company in 1995 to pursue other interests, and he is now a highly sought-after business consultant. He also authored the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Successful Entrepreneuring, now in its fifth printing, and he is currently negotiating to write a series of business books for high school students.

source : http://www.vermonteddybear.com/

CARA MUDAH MENGHEMAT UANG ANDA

1) Catat Pemasukan Dan Pengeluaran Uang Anda
Buat rencana pemasukan dan rencana pengeluaran di mana setiap akhir bulan harus ada banyak uang yang ditabung. Disiplin ketat dan jangan pernah melanggar anggaran yang ada kecuali sangat penting dan mendesak.
2) Musnahkan / Simpan Jauh-Jauh Kartu Kredit Dan Kartu ATM Anda
Kemudahan untuk berhutang dan mengambil uang tabungan akan menjebak anda dalam kenikmatan mengeluarkan uang. Oleh karena itu sebaiknya uang cash anggaran bulanan anda simpan di rumah tanpa boleh mengutak-atik kartu-kartu penarik uang anda dan uang yang ada di bank.
3) Hilangkan Gengsi Dan Hobi Mahal Anda
Kalau anda malu terlihat kere dan katro, mulai saat ini anda harus berani tampil kere dan katro di hadapan kenalan anda, jika perlu pindah rumah dan mulai kehidupan baru yang kere dan katro. Sebenarnya tidak sampai harus kere dan katro, tapi lebih tepatnya hidup sederhana di mana pengeluaran anda hanya pada yang penting-penting dan murah meriah. Ubah hobi mahal seperti jalan-jalan ke luar negeri dengan jalan-jalan di komplek/kampung rumah anda. Yang hobi ke gym / pusat kebugaran ganti dengan lari joging keliling kampung atau main bola / badminton di lapangan dekat rumah atau di jalanan.
4) Hemat Pengeluaran Besar Rutin Anda
Tagihan biaya administrasi kartu kredit, pajak, pbb, listrik, air pam, tv kabel, tv satelit, sekolah elit anak, telepon, dsb yang jumlahnya sangat besar sebaiknya dihilangkan saja. Contohnya seperti berhenti berlangganan kartu kredit, koran majalah, tv & internet bulanan, dll atau pindah ke rumah baru yang kecil dan sederhana untuk menghemat biaya pln, pam, pbb, telepon, dsb. Kalau senang telepon-teleponan ubah dengan bicara langsung atau gunakan telpon seperlunya tidak bertele-tele.
5) Ubah Penggunaan Transportasi Yang Mahal
Dari yang biasa naik mobil pribadi ke mana-mana sebaiknya anda jual mobilnya dan beli sepeda motor. Kalau sering naik taxi dan ojek motor, sekarang gunakan motor pribadi, angkot atau jalan kaki.
6) Makan Dan Minum Di Rumah Saja Atau Bawa Dari Rumah
Yang pasti membuat makanan dan minuman sendiri yang sederhana biayanya lebih murah daripada jajan di luar. Sarapan di rumah, makan siang dari bekal yang di bawa dari rumah, makan malam di rumah, dll. Kalau lagi ngidam makanan enak lebih baik ditahan saja kalau perlu puasa utuk mengilangkan nafsu bejad yang menghancurkan keuangan anda.
7) Terapkan Gaya Hidup Sederhana Pada Anggota Keluarga
Paksa anak, istri atau suami anda untuk menerima kenyataan pahit bahwa kita harus hidup sederhana karena hidup sederhana adalah awal dari kebahagiaan yang sejati. Mereka pun harus siap hidup miskin kapan saja jika Tuhan menghendaki.
8) Hentikan Kebiasaan Bodoh Anda
Bagi anda yang merokok, minum miras, memakai narkoba, main jablay, selingkuh, melakukan tindak kriminal dan dosa, dsb hentikan segera kebiasaan itu karena tidak ada gunanya dan itu semua hanya membakar uang dan menghancurkan hidup anda baik di dunia maupun di akherat.
9) Hemat Belanja Anda Dan Jaga Nafsu Belanja Anda
Yang doyan belanja / shopping sebaiknya buat daftar belanjaan sesuai anggaran / budget yang telah dibuat agar tidak mudah tergoda dengan barang yang dijajakan selain yang anda butuhkan. Pastikan produk yang anda beli tidak mahal yang penting fungsi sama dan kualitas tidak buruk. Jika anda ngebet ingin membeli sesuatu, maka gunakan jurus manipulasi otak anda seolah-olah anda telah membeli barang itu namun sampai dirumah hilang digondol tikus.

sumber : organisasi.org