Rules Archives - GUJRAT INDIA

Follow 10 Rules & Learn How Not To Lose Money In Stock Markets

Investing and trading are as professional as running a business. Just like any other business, much planning is going to invest and trade. The aims, aims, structures, targets, budget allocation and monitoring that apply to online stock trading and investing as much as they run in business.

However, losses are one aspect of online stock trading and investment that is at least understood.

In the business of investing and trading the stock market, there are two main inputs – information and capital. Information can be borrowed or it can be your own. By lending information, we mean relying on someone’s recommendation or listening to the media or just a friendly ‘tip’ to buy the stock. Capital is the money given for an online commodity trading business and investment.

Both inputs include information, especially whether a trader or stock market investor is similar to business assets, using which company is derived from its revenue. Money is on the other hand as consumables or raw materials that are used to add value and in turn generate more money.

When running manufacturing units there are some materials that will either be a waste or the output will not be in accordance with the quality norms. Initially, during the routeing process the losses would be more, but as production is stabilized, losses are falling and very negligible at all compared to the overall layout of things. Similarly, in online stock trading and investing the losses, the expenses one needs to take to learn.

So, the whole game of reducing your losses and leaving your profit is run.

Here are 10 ways that can help you reduce your losses.

1. Know what you want: The first thing for a person is to know if he is a trader or investor. Even in stock trading, he will have to know what kind of trading he would like to do. Would you like to be a sweeper, a daytime trader, a swing trader or a trendy and personal follower? Similarly, when investing, the person needs to question whether it is a value investor or you want to invest in growth stocks or turning stories. Knowing exactly what you want and what you’re looking for is half the battle you’ve won. In this way, one would not run to try the next great idea in the town and add to their losses without knowing what they were doing.

2. Getting a plan: Once the person has decided that he wants to be a trader or investor, the next move is to get a business plan in place. The plan not only includes the strategy that will be played but also the whole process of the amount of time allocated to research, money allocation, stockbroker choice, hardware and software requirements (trading app) and the work. But central to the business plan is the strategy that the trader or investor will use. The strategy must be studied to the detailed details before submitting it to a test. All levels of access and departure, loss prevention and re-registration in the trade should be calculated out. The idea behind having a plan in place is not to respond to stock market developments but to be proactive in advance for any backup.

3. Test of the scheme: Before starting to trade or invest with real money it is important to test the strategy. The post-test test gives an indication of how the strategy has worked over time. Knowing how long a period of losses gave an idea that a series of such losses could take place in the future. Therefore, the stock market trader is not harassed and losses are a trust in his strategy and succeed in the loss of loss losses. The majority of market losses are taken by traders who try many systems and jump from one system to another after taking a few losses. Undertake a proven strategy, but in the case of losses one can break down their position so that the losses are limited.

4. Trust yourself and your strategy: The most important feature of a successful trader or investor is that they trust someone else but their own and their strategy. They take their losses in their path because they know it is part of the strategy that they have been following for many years. Beyond the losses, there are profit strands. If there was nothing wrong in the process of acting in the trade then the profits will take care of the losses. Do not trust your strategy as a businessman who does not trust his own product. Is it possible for the businessman to succeed if he sells a product that cannot be trusted?

5. Getting enough capital to start: Before starting online trading or investing, even part-time, it’s important to get enough capital. This is not only important to cover the losses that will take place, but also because there are opportunities there would be more than one job open in the market and the trader may have uneven balances. If the trade with a higher capital allocation loses one, the trader would only lose confidence in its system due to one trade. Share online trading and investment work on large numbers law. The law states that no single trade defines the trader or the strategy.

6. Data must be collected over a series of trading and then evaluated. A trader should have sufficient capital to continue so that he can collect enough data from the trading series. Taking small losses is important as it will keep emotions out of play. Online commodity market trader in its initial days would not be enough capital and a great loss can be cut.

7. Managing money: If there is one thing that will define whether or not a trader succeeds, regardless of its strategy, then it is the responsibility of managing money. Managing poor money over time will result in losses even if the trader has developed the best strategy. Similarly, a good money management system will help the trader maintain over a longer period even if it trades a bad strategy. The idea is to get the best from both worlds. Capital must be divided in a way that does not compromise more than 1 per cent of your capital on a single trade. This will allow you to collect a larger data point before increasing your size or allocating more capital.

8. Abolition of noise: Noise in the media is a key factor in online trading that divides and invests, and does not think about traders or other investors. It’s normal to be driven by ‘experts’ in the media that says where the stock or market is headed, especially in the formative days. There will be a small test of what these experts said in the past and how the recommendation will have worked out enough for the trader to stay away from them. Social media jobs on these specialists also bring the experience of others who followed the experts. If you need to be successful you must be your own man. You need to take responsibility for the losses and profits and not blame others for their recommendation. This can only happen when you stop listening to others and get your own style. Your own mistakes, even in small things like the internet, have stopped working, because you should ideally have a conflict arrangement. Only profit will start to pour out.

9. Measure your performance: you are your best coach and the best book you ever read as a trader is your own trading logs. Learn from them and make them a point not to repeat them. It is important for a trader to keep track of the number of winning crafts, loss of crafts and the average size of the loss and average earnings. A trader must succeed in maintaining the average amount of loss and the number of losses as small as possible. Just keeping the number of losses is small but take big losses by extending the stopping point.

10. Learn from your mistakes: It is important that you make all the mistakes one can do when you are in the learning period because if you learn from it, you will not repeat it. And if you’ve hit all the mistakes that can be done when trading, very few things will be done. It is very important to keep track of your trades and read it regularly, not forgetting the mistakes you made earlier. It can be possible to reduce losses by not replicating your mistakes. Losing loss and not learning from it is a bigger loss.

11. Learning to forgive and forget: Trade is a new trade. The previous trade that has led to gain or loss is history. Learn to forgive yourself if the previous trade was a loss and forgetting a winning trade because the next one can block you. Like a cricket where the bat cannot be over-confident even if it has hit the five previous balls out of the border, the sixth one can send it packing. It is important to maintain discipline and not go over the road in a winning streak as well as not having depression with a series of losses and trading stop. Online sharing trading has a lot to do with cricket, you need to stand in the wicket, a score of so many belts, although many can lead to a single and maybe few will not lead to any, but the key is to stand there for the loose ball that has to be hard and one you do not need to waste it. Rule 80-20 applies to trade as it has too many other areas. 80 per cent of the profit comes from 20 per cent of trading, but one will have to be there to take all the trading.

12. A trader should not join psychological losses, he should not take it personally, and that’s why it’s important to have a small trading when learning the ropes.

The 5 Simple Rules of Business Etiquette

There has always been an unwritten code of socially acceptable norms and standards throughout the history of human civilization. There are just some things you do and other things you don’t do; some things that are appropriate and others that are not. But these unwritten laws don’t just apply to hospitality or fine dining. They are just as valid in the world of trade and commerce.

Unlike other industries however, in the business world, poor business etiquette can have unpleasant and even financially unviable consequences. For example, failing to be sensitive to certain codes of conduct can rub a client the wrong way and jeopardize a vital transaction or contract, resulting in financial loss and damage to credibility. Appropriate professional etiquette is vital to the healthy functioning of companies, not only with other companies but also within the numerous departments and levels of one company. In this article we will look at the importance of business etiquette and identify five key aspects:

The ‘Hello’ Handshake: The handshake is still the ‘platinum’ non-verbal standard for greetings, acknowledgement and gratitude. It is almost universally accepted as a normal gesture of introducing or meeting someone and also for purposes of concurrence or thankfulness. It is considered professional regardless of the situation, race or gender of the person being interacted with.

The ‘Politeness’ Policy: We are taught to say “please” and “thank you” as children and those manners really never go away. These coupled with a sincere smile and eye contact form the foundations, of not only corporate etiquette but also social etiquette.

The ‘Meeting’ Mandate: Meetings are the ‘pit-stops’ of the corporate world. The way one conducts oneself in a meeting is of primal importance to projecting the right image and setting the right impression to everybody involved. Arriving on time is considered courteous and respectful to the schedules of everybody involved. During the course of the meeting, it is professional to not interrupt someone who is speaking, even if you strongly disagree with his or her view. The temptation is to jump in to voice our opinion but one must control this urge to give everyone a fair and uninterrupted chance to express his or hers.

The ‘Written’ Wisdom: Written communication is probably the least likely medium to contain breaches of etiquette but it is still possible. In a world of text messages, tweets and emoticons, a new kind of ‘short-hand’ has evolved consisting of ‘intentional typos’, abbreviations and smiley faces. This is not professionally acceptable in official written correspondence. Letters and emails must be checked for spelling, grammar and typos before sending to the recipient.

The ‘Taboo’ Topics: Certain issues are considered private and thereby exempt from being discussed at a professional working environment. While some of these may simply be personal, others can be contentious matters and are better left out of the workplace. These may vary slightly between cultures or countries, but generally religion, politics and sexual orientation are topics best left unopened.

Business Etiquette Training is an integral part of formulating a working culture that respects unwritten or unspoken codes of conduct in the workplace and integrating it into the behavior of employees.

Getting Free Publicity For Your Business Depends on These Four Critical Rules

Getting free publicity for your business depends on a number of factors. Above all others, though, there are 4 cardinal rules you can’t afford to ignore if you hope to be successful. Not following them is a sure fire way to start depending entirely on luck instead of skill for your progress.

These rules that should be spray painted across the wall in the front office of every business are:

1. Be Organized. It’s fun and definitely rewarding, but getting free publicity isn’t a game. You need to have a good idea where you’re headed and how you plan on getting there. Success doesn’t come from a single “flash in the pan” encounter with the press. You become successful when you start developing a steady flow of press releases. This only happens when you’re organized. Carefully plan your campaign before you get started. Know exactly why you’re sending out a press release and what you want the end result to be. Have your press release, bio sheet and Q&A ready to go before you start any publicity campaign. Have several follow up releases ready to go. Send them to reporters 1-2 weeks apart.

2. Be Different. Remember you’re in the news business. By definition, something isn’t news unless it’s different. Being different isn’t that bad a business strategy, either. If you offer the same product everybody else does, packaged in exactly the same package, then you really have very little other than price to negotiate. If you can find ways to fill niches nobody else is, then you start building loyalty, and developing seeds for a powerful news stories. That’s the road to free publicity.

3. Be Consistent. The old adage about all news being good news is wrong. Just because your name appeared on the front page of the paper doesn’t mean you’ve made it. (Ask O.J. Simpson about that!) Yes, it offers momentum, but you need to be sure you’re rolling in the right direction. Earning the reputation of being self seeking and ruthless won’t help much if you then try to get free publicity when you open a series of homeless shelters. Chart your end goals and then move towards them, in a consistent, steady pace.

4. Be Persistent. Don’t give up. It’s all a numbers game. One press release sent to a few reporters won’t do much to help you to get free publicity for your business.

You might send out press releases to get free web publicity and get absolutely no response. That’s not a reason to give up.

Try tweaking it a bit. Change the headline. Make sure your format is correct.

You might need to frame your story differently. Is it practical? Would the average person stop in their tracks to take a second look at your headline? Does the content of your story constitute a news item or an ad for your product? If your press release is nothing but an ad for your business, you can be sure it’ll be tossed out. Reporters will see that you’re only looking for free publicity without giving them something to work with.

It’s about hanging in there, not giving up, when others might.

As long as you’re still in the ring, the fight isn’t over.

Being prepared before you launch your publicity campaign and systematically sending out your press releases every week or two will go a long way toward leaving a lasting impression about you in the minds of reporters. That, in turn, will increase your chances of getting calls from reporters to do interviews and getting free publicity for your business.

The High-Performance Entrepreneur – Golden Rules for Success in Today’s World

Subroto Bagchi, most of us would have heard this name either knowingly or unknowingly. I knew him right from my college days, when he was writing an article for Business world weekly magazine at that time. I was really impressed by his ability of analyzing things and correlate it to real life experiences. He is the co-founder of well known Indian software firm called Mind Tree Consulting.

The latest to this is his new book : The High-Performance Entrepreneur: Golden Rules for Success in Today’s World. If you wish to become an entrepreneur then this book is for you, though he wont teach you any magic formula, but he has given enough information to be a successful entrepreneur.

He has provided wealth of advice gained from his personal experience that can put you in pursuit of success.

You want to become an entrepreneur and you don’t know how,when,what…… Then this book will answer your every damn query. There are some brilliant chapters titled ” when do i know If I am ready” which makes you to think about yourself and your dream.

This book teaches you from scratch. Right from building a core team to choosing investors, How you should manage your resources, How you can create a niche for yourself, how to create and manage a brand name…. and so on. He even manages to teach you the most controversial topic of the industry IPO.

This book is so simple to read that you don’t even need a dictionary. Language and his choice of words are superb. No hi-fi jargons, all in simple English.

This book can change your way of thinking wrt entrepreneurship.. Sometimes you will feel like Subroto Bagchi has put all his entrepreneur experience into one book. Most of the contents in this book are all based on his real life experiences. He even talks about Deccan Airways and Cafe Coffee Day to narrate some of the facts..

Overall you can have a very enriching experience throughout this book..

I got mine 395/- bucks back…. what about you!!!!

Rules to Setting Business Goals and Objectives: Why and How to be SMART

We all know that nothing runs without a plan, and a plan cannot run without having its objectives set.

That applies to any kind of plan, whether we’re talking business or personal finances, university degrees or NGO programs, website promotion or weight loss.

Setting objectives and milestones is of crucial importance for any planning activity and is the core of its success, or failure.

Knowing how to set objectives is not exactly rocket science in terms of complexity, but any strategist should know the basic rules of how to formulate and propose objectives. We will see in this article why objectives play such a major role within a company’s planning and strategic activities, how they influence all business processes, and we will review some guidelines of setting objectives.

The Importance of Setting Objectives

One might wonder why we need to establish objectives in the first place, why not let the company or a specific activity just run smoothly into the future and see where it gets. That would be the case only if we really do not care whether the activity in discussion will be successful or not: but then, to use a popular saying, “if something deserves to be performed, then it deserves to be performed well”. In other words, if we don’t care for the results, we should not proceed with the action at all.

Setting objectives before taking any action is the only right thing to do, for several reasons:

– it gives a target to aim to, therefore all actions and efforts will be focused on attaining the objective instead of being inefficiently used;

– gives participants a sense of direction, a glimpse of where they’re going to;

– motivates the leaders and their teams, since it is quite the custom of establishing some sort of reward once the team successfully completed a project;

– offers the support in evaluating the success of an action or project.

The 5 Rules of Setting Objectives: Be SMART!

I am sure most managers and leaders know what SMART stands for, well, at least when it comes of establishing objectives. However, I have seen some of them who cannot fully explain the five characteristics of a good-established objective – things are somehow blurry and confused in their minds. Since they can’t explain in details what SMART objectives really are, it is highly doubtful that they will always be able to formulate such objectives.

It is still unclear from where the confusion comes: perhaps there are too many sources of information, each of them with a slightly different approach upon what a SMART objective really is; or perhaps most people only briefly “heard” about it and they never get to reach the substance behind the packaging.

Either way, let us try to uncover the meaning of the SMART acronym and see how we can formulate efficient objectives.

SMART illustrates the 5 characteristics of an efficient objective; it stands for Specific – Measurable – Attainable – Relevant – Timely.

1. Be SPECIFIC!

When it comes of business planning, “specific” illustrates a situation that is easily identified and understood. It is usually linked to some mathematical determinant that imprints a specific character to a given action: most common determinants are numbers, ratios and fractions, percentages, frequencies. In this case, being “specific” means being “precise”.

Example: when you tell your team “I need this report in several copies”, you did not provide the team with a specific instruction. It is unclear what the determinant “several” means: for some it can be three, for some can be a hundred. A much better instruction would sound like “I need this report in 5 copies” – your team will know exactly what you expect and will have less chances to fail in delivering the desired result.

2. Be MEASURABLE!

When we say that an objective, a goal, must be measurable, we mean there is a stringent need to have the possibility to measure, to track the action(s) associated with the given objective.

We must set up a distinct system or establish clear procedures of how the actions will be monitored, measured and recorded. If an objective and the actions pertaining to it cannot be quantified, it is most likely that the objective is wrongly formulated and we should reconsider it.

Example: “our business must grow” is an obscure, non-measurable objective. What exactly should we measure in order to find out if the objective was met? But if we change it to “our business must grow in sales volume with 20%”, we’ve got one measurable objective: the measure being the percentage sales rise from present moment to the given moment in the future. We can calculate this very easy, based on the recorded sales figures.

3. Be ATTAINABLE!

Some use the term “achievable” instead of “attainable”, which you will see it is merely a synonym and we should not get stuck in analyzing which one is correct. Both are.

It is understood that each leader will want his company / unit to give outstanding performances; this is the spirit of competition and such thinking is much needed. However, when setting objectives, one should deeply analyze first the factors determining the success or failure of these objectives. Think of your team, of your capacities, of motivation: are they sufficient in order for the objectives to be met? Do you have the means and capabilities to achieve them?

Think it through and be honest and realistic to yourself: are you really capable of attaining the goals you’ve set or are you most likely headed to disappointment? Always set objectives that have a fair chance to be met: of course, they don’t need to be “easily” attained, you’re entitled to set difficult ones as long as they’re realistic and not futile.

Example: you own a newborn movers company and you set the objective of “becoming no. 1 movers within the state”. The problem is you only have 3 trucks available, while all your competitors have 10 and up. Your goal is not attainable; try instead a more realistic one, such as “reaching the Top 5 fastest growing movers company in the state”.

4. Be RELEVANT!

This notion is a little more difficult to be perceived in its full meaning; therefore we will start explaining it by using an example in the first place.

Imagine yourself going to the IT department and telling them they need to increase the profit to revenue ratio by 5%. They will probably look at you in astonishment and mumble something undistinguished about managers and the way they mess up with people’s minds.

Can you tell what is wrong with the objective above? Of course! The IT department has no idea what you were talking about and there’s nothing they can do about it – their job is to develop and maintain your computerized infrastructure, not to understand your economic speech. What you can do it setting an objective that the IT department can have an impact upon, and which will eventually lead to the increase you wanted in the first place. What about asking them to reduce expenditures for hardware and software by 10% monthly and be more cautious with the consumables within their department by not exceeding the allocated budget? They will surely understand what they need to do because the objective is relevant for their group.

Therefore, the quality of an objective to be “relevant” refers to setting appropriate objectives for a given individual or team: you need to think if they can truly do something about it or is it irrelevant for the job they perform.

5. Be TIMELY!

No much to discuss about this aspect, since it is probably the easiest to be understood and applied.

Any usable and performable objective must have a clear timeframe of when it should start and/or when it should end. Without having a timeframe specified, it is practically impossible to say if the objective is met or not.

For example, if you just say “we need to raise profit by 500000 units”, you will never be able to tell if the objective was achieved or not, one can always say “well, we’ll do it next year”. Instead, if you say “we need to raise profit by 500000 units within 6 months from now”, anyone can see in 6 months if the goal was attained or not. Without a clear, distinct timeframe, no objective is any good.

Why Litigation Is Nothing More Than A Business Tool – 26 Unbreakable Rules of Litigation!

From Bill Gates at the end of the last century to John D. Rockefeller at the end of the previous century; from Rick Scott, founder of Columbia Health Care, to AT&T: from Richard Branson and British Airlines to Dan Peña and The Financial Times; from government, banking, insurance and every other facet of world commerce – to grow geometrically and stay around, litigation must be (prudently) used and mastered.

I will, as briefly as I can, memorialize the salient points of using litigation as a business tool.

Now before I start, I want it on the record, some 50% of my 30-year track record of litigation has had nothing to do with winning money, i.e., many lawsuits have been over principle, some were to right a heinous wrong such as slanderous remarks made about me; and some were because an entity just needed a good comeuppance and nobody else would carry the flag into battle.

I, like Don Quixote, have fought many a windmill.

As you’ve heard me speak and write about, when building your ‘Dream Team,’ you want Big Five accountants and a large national or international firm of lawyers – the best representation you can’t afford!

Unlike the success-oriented fees I coach you to use when facilitating transactions, no law firm will litigate initially on this basis.

Perhaps if your case is especially strong, they will do it on a contingency basis. Unfortunately, you will be using, from time-to-time, litigation as a positioning tool and your case may not be something you can seriously leverage.

A year or two ago, being left with a pig-in-a-poke, I had to litigate a case having specious facts at best to support my desired outcome. Fortunately, our (my) apparent lust for litigation was stronger than their desire to fight a hard fight, so a reasonably good settlement was finally arrived at.

Of course, during this process my good lawyers counseled us, advising our case needed to be much stronger, etc. Even with great lawyers, it is their job to tell you the downside risks. Again, what happens is you are often scared from pursuing your case.

Good lawyers win so-so lawsuits. Great lawyers can win lawsuits in which you have little or no chance to win.

Three of my favorite litigators over the years are Steve Susman and Cyrus Marter IV of Susman Godfrey in Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle and Tim Harris of Charleston Revich & Williams in Los Angeles. All three have dug me out of some pretty big black holes.

I’ve dealt with them 10 and 20 years respectively. They are worth every penny they charge!

Our judicial system works, but we grow up being afraid of it. It’s way out of our comfort zone so we preclude ourselves from benefitting from it. Normally the cost associated with it keeps us from using it.

In fact, I’m currently embroiled in litigation where the ancillary players to the litigation have rights which are being severely violated. A large group of people could bring great pressure to bear, but they’re afraid because of previous bad experiences. They could get what they deserve but aren’t pursuing their best interests.

There are lawyers who take on cases for humanitarian reasons, if the case warrants, in business as well, i.e., big major corporations taking advantage of the system because of their size alone.

Why do you want to initiate the lawsuit so you are the plaintiff? As the plaintiff, you pick where and when the lawsuit is fought and probably ultimately adjudicated.

This can be a huge advantage. And secondly, the plaintiff is allowed two closing arguments, meaning you (your lawyer) gets to address the judge and/or jury once and then again after the defendants’ closing argument. This can also be very important.

26 Unbreakable Rules of Litigation

#1 CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES

#2 CHOOSE THE VENUE

#3 BE THE PLAINTIFF

#4 HAVE THE BEST REPRESENTATION

#5 LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

#6 DON’T LISTEN TO YOUR SICK STOMACH WHEN YOU’RE OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

#7 DON’T LISTEN TO RELATIVES, FRIENDS, ET AL

#8 LISTEN TO EXPERIENCED LITIGANTS – LIKE ME!

#9 GENERALLY SPEAKING, DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE COST (THIS IS VERY HARD!)

#10 BIG LAWSUITS ARE BETTER THAN SMALL ONES

#11 ELECT JURY TRIALS, AS OPPOSED TO A JUDGE ONLY

#12 PREPARATION (YOURS) IS EVERYTHING – KNOW THE FACTS

#13 PRACTICE DEPOSITIONS AND TRIALS

#14 IF YOU ARE THINKING OF A BETTER STRATEGY, GET A NEW LAWYER (NOT TRUE IN MY CASE)

#15 NEVER GIVE UP

#16 DON’T BE INTIMIDATED BY THE PROCESS

#17 USE MOCK TRIALS (PRETEND TRIALS YOU DO IN FRONT OF A HIRED JURY)

#18 DRESS SIMPLE AND CONSERVATIVELY IN COURT – NO JEWELRY EXCEPT A WEDDING BAND; WHITE SHIRT, PLAIN TIE AND DARK SUIT FOR MEN AND THE EQUIVALENT FOR WOMEN; SHORT GROOMED HAIR FOR MEN

#19 DON’T LOSE YOUR TEMPER IN COURT – IT’S OKAY TO CRY IF IT’S REAL

#20 HAVE YOUR SPOUSE IN THE FRONT ROW EVERY DAY. CHILDREN ALSO IF POSSIBLE. OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS IN SECOND ROW IS OKAY

#21 NO QUOTES TO THE PRESS OTHER THAN ‘WE BELIEVE IN OUR CASE AND THAT IS WHY WE WENT TO COURT’. YOUR WORDS CAN EASILY BE TURNED AROUND.

#22 WHEN YOU BREAK FOR LUNCH OR A RECESS, REMEMBER NEVER TALK IN PUBLIC ABOUT THE CASE – YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MIGHT OVERHEAR

#23 WHEN YOU FIND A LEGAL TEAM THAT WINS, STAY WITH THEM

#24 ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH, NO MATTER WHAT. THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE.

#25 DURING VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITIONS AND IN COURT, LOOK AT THE CAMERA AND THE JURY. MAKE EYE CONTACT.

#26 WHEN TESTIFYING IN A DEPOSITION/TRIAL, IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER, SAY YOU DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER

It’s a closed world of top litigators. Virtually all big law firms have good to super-good lawyers. All big law firms don’t have great litigators. You don’t always need a great lawyer, but sometime if you grow geometrically, you will.

Like any other project management, litigation must be managed. Unfortunately, like speech-giving, you become a great litigant by going through a learning curve.

I don’t mean you have to get involved in losing efforts (like making bad speeches so after some time you make good speeches) to get in a position to win in court. Large law firms will allow you to get ahead of the learning curve.

The Quantum Leap methodology talks ad nauseam about following your dreams. Life without dreams is like a bird with a broken wing – it can’t fly. I wrote this newsletter because sometimes you’ll need litigation to follow your dream.

Go out and kick some butt, and don’t let conventional wisdom keep you from achieving your dream.

Conventional wisdom says Don’t Litigate.

All high-performance people and the great organizations of the last one hundred years did and do litigate as I write this letter.

Don’t litigate frivolously – but don’t be afraid to either.

To Your Quantum Leap,

Daniel S. Peña, Sr.

5 Simple Rules To Become A Successful Entrepreneur

If you want to become an entrepreneur, you may want to understand what it really takes to become one. There is no shortcut to success in any field. Many people made a lot of unsuccessful attempts before they gained success as entrepreneurs. So, these entrepreneurs have shared some rules that beginners should follow in order to achieve success. In this article, we are going to discuss 5 of the must-follow rules that you can follow to climb the ladder of success as a business owner.

1. Work smarter, not harder

If you think an entrepreneur is a professional who works day and night, you need to think again. Although hard work is the key to success, the reality is quite different. If you work every minute of the day, no one can guarantee that you will achieve the success you desire.

As a matter of fact, overworking can cause extreme fatigue. As a result, you will make mistakes that can cost you a lot of time and money. Apart from this, you cannot have all the skills required to take care of different aspects of your business. Therefore, you may want to work smarter, not harder. This is how a lot of people have made millions in the here and now.

2. Consult experts and hire professionals

Consulting experts is a great idea if you want to get effective guidelines to run your business affairs. For instance, you can consult Charles J Mosley Jr who is a self-driven goal-oriented entrepreneur. Also, he is the founder of Echelon Productions in Dallas, Texas. His insights can help you with your business matters.

If you are not good at something, you want to hire a professional that can take care of other assignments. This will give you plenty of time to focus on other aspects of your business that you can easily handle. Good entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of delegation.

Although it can be scary to add more employees and team members, you have the option to hire remote workers. They can work from their own offices and homes, and you don’t need to arrange special workplaces for them.

3. Get more done in a cost-effective fashion

Although hiring the services of freelancers may not be an ideal choice for an established business, it can be quite an affordable option for a startup. The reason is that most freelancers are from third world countries where the cost of living is quite low. Therefore, this approach can be quite cost-effective compared to in-house full-time employees.

4. Face your failures

If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you may want to look for the right people for your business projects. However, this approach cannot guarantee success, which is why you have to be realistic. Sometimes, unforeseeable situations happen that ruin your momentum. In some cases, you have to suffer losses as well. The point is to avoid being afraid of failing. If you be patient and continue to struggle, you will achieve success.

5. Wake up early

You must wake up early every day and work hard until you see the results you want to see. You should keep moving even during difficult times. Life can be broader in your eyes if you understand the simple fact that the things you see around you are made by people who are just like you.

In short, you can follow these simple rules for success. They will help you keep moving and avoid making common mistakes that will slow you down. Hope this helps.

10 Twitter Rules for Business Success

As far as I am concerned, Twitter is a must have for business; whether you are using Twitter to promoting your business or establishing your expertise is a field it is a crucial piece of the puzzle to getting recognized and building relationships. But with all the clutter in the Twitterverse it’s important not to ignore the etiquette of Twitter, otherwise you might find that you are not getting the most of this popular social networking platform.

Top 10 Twitter Etiquette Tips for Business

1. Listen to your mother and Mind Your Manners
This is just good common sense. As someone who is a marketing professional first I always like to say, “New Tools Old Rules.” If someone mentions you or retweets you, if at all possible thank them. Not only do People like to be recognized for their efforts but this is a valuable action so not thanking them would be rude. This is also a great way to begin building a relationship on Twitter. This small gesture may open the lines of communication between you and a potential customer or business partner. Show your appreciation, and people will be more likely to re-tweet your offerings again and again. Even better, return the favor and retweet one of their posts.

2. Use #Hashtags Appropriately
I personally love hashtags, they are a great way to encourage participation not to mention help others track and find information. Having said that it is important not to overuse them. While I like the long hashtag as much as the next person, using it too often or putting a hashtag in front of every word of your post will do nothing more than annoy your followers.

3. Resist the Urge to Tweet Too Much
Time and time again, research has shown that there is a fine line between just enough sharing and too much. Often times business that are new to Twitter, don’t yet understand this principle. Don’t fill your followers’ feeds with spammy Tweets. The best way to engage your audience is to post relevant, interesting, useful, and original content. Before you post, ask yourself: “Would I care about this if I were a follower?”

Tip: If you have a lot of ideas, use a program like Hootsuite to schedule your tweets so that they can be spaced out.

4. Warn Followers if You’re Going to Tweet A Lot
If you want to live-tweet an event at your business or charity gathering, you will need to tweet a lot!. While it’s a good idea, you may lose more followers who feel assaulted by a barrage of tweets. A little fair warning will be much appreciated, and your followers will likely give you a pass for the day.

Tip: Tell them to check out Twalala or Twittblocker

5. Watch What You Tweet
There have been some famous and embarrassing blunders on social media that have gotten both individuals and even entire companies in a lot of trouble. Never use your brand’s Twitter account to discuss controversial topics, send inappropriate photos, or use explicit language. If you’re on a personal account, the sky’s the limit and you can debate anything you like. However, in a business setting, unless it directly pertains to your product or service, it may be best to leave certain incendiary subjects like religion and politics alone it may bring you more trouble than they’re worth.

6. Don’t Get Too Personal
Developing relationships with customers is one the primary goals of Twitter, but you should try to keep your posts about relevant business information. Your followers don’t need to know your personal business. I will concede that there is a benefit to adding a personal touch from time to time, especially in a small business. If you’re getting married or a favorite employee just had a baby, you may want to share the news for your brand loyalists to celebrate with you. Just be careful when considering what is appropriate to share.

7. Write Professionally
Your social media presence is an extension of your business persona. Always use proper grammar and spelling it will help you maintain a professional image. (No one wants to see a law firm or accountant office tweet “OMG! Its not 2 late 4 u to file ur taxes!”).

Tip: Be sure to use proper forms of commonly misused words like there, they’re, and their.

8. Be Aware of Your Audience
Keeping rule #6 in mind, try and tailor your content to fit your audience. If your brand is focusing on tweens and teens, speak their lingo. If you are a B2B company, you will definitely want to use industry jargon. Be sure to post information that is relevant and timely to those following you and those you want to follow you.

Tip: If applicable awards shows and sporting events are great ways to engage customers.

9. Be Timely With Communication
Once you’ve started a conversation with someone on Twitter, it is imperative that you respond to them in a timely manner. Even more importantly, if someone poses a question to you, answer them! Social media is great for giving you an opportunity to engage immediately and directly with your consumer base. Nothing is worse than asking a company a question and not hearing back from them for 3 days.

10. Address Customer Service Issues Privately
Almost any customer who tweets you with a complaint or concern wants to be heard, but not all want to engage in a public dialogue. Directly address consumers through direct message, off the public “floor.”

Tip: you can even ask them for a phone number and call them personally to show them you care about fixing the issue.

BONUS: Don’t buy into personal attacks.
There are always those people who complain and no matter what you say they will never be happy. To make this worse, Twitter is a medium of text communication which means a definite margin of misunderstanding because there’s no way to hear someone’s tone of voice or observe their body language. What may be meant as a joke could escalate into something more negative. if it seems a conversation is deteriorating into something contentious it’s wise to just walk away. Trust me, It’s just not worth it.

Twitter is one of the most effective ways to marketing your business of the last decade. Follow these rules, and you’re sure to have many happy tweets ahead of you.

Build Your Buzz!!

15 More Press Release Writing Rules For Better Exposure

In my last article I shared 15 tips for effective media release writing. I understand that to the business owner writing a press release might seem like a daunting task at first to you. However, with a little knowledge and practice you will be able to write a news release that gets results. So in addition to the previous 15 tips I shared with you, we’ve developed 15 more guidelines for writing and distributing your press release.

1. Include Company Information – If your company is going to take the time to write a news article, you should probably take the time to write a paragraph about the company. This gives the reporters a little background information on the business and qualifies the source of information.

2. Interest Your Audience – Keep your audience and the publications readers in mind. Before writing your press release you should consider why the news matters to them. Ask yourself if you’d want to read the press release, if you were in their shoes.

3. Compelling Headlines – Just like the rest of your marketing, you need a headline that will catch the attention of your intended audience (in this case the news editor). It will likely be the first thing the editor reads. If it doesn’t catch his attention, it will also be the last.

4. Personalize The Angle – As soon as possible, you should provide your personal angle. The personal angle on the news is usually what is getting your organization plugged in the story. An effective way to do this is by utilizing quotes from well-known or qualified individuals.

5. Keep Up-To-Date – News by its very nature should be current. If the news in your release is outdated you shouldn’t be sending it. Yesterday’s news is today’s history.

6. Build Credibility – Quotes from your company’s senior executives should do. News releases are taken a much more seriously when the boss’s name is on the line.

7. Condense The News – You should try to tell the entire story in the first paragraph. The rest of the release can contain more details. But it’s nice to know that if everything else is cut, you still got your main points across. Being “top heavy” is a good thing.

8. Positive Perception – If the local community could perceive your news in a negative manner, you should take extra care to highlight the potential positives of the announcement.

9. Deal With Facts – News articles should include factual information. Leave the opinions for the editorial column. It is OK, however, to include quotes that feature opinions.

10. Appropriate Demographics – If you have an executive that better matches the demographics of your target audience, it is a good idea to use their quotes in the story. For example, a magazine on women’s business is much more likely to run a story, with a female spokesperson.

11. Get Permission – When including individual’s quotes in your press release it’s always a good idea to get permission. Verbal permission is always that is usually required, but this can prevent future problems as well as clarify any misunderstandings.

12. Make Yourself Reachable – Provide a specific contact person with a phone number where they can be reached. Don’t make contacting you a challenge. In fact it’s a good idea to include an email address, web address, and fax number as well.

13. Relate to Popular Topics – One method that can earn you coverage is link your news, organization, or business to popular news. Many news stories do nothing more than explain how a particular industry is affected by something else that happened.

14. Show Professionalism – Using a professional layout and avoid sloppiness to indicating seriousness. Understanding and abiding by industry standards for writing press releases is a great start. For example, always write your press releases in the 3rd person and end your press releases with “-30-” or “XXX”.

15. Verify Accuracy – When it comes to numbers, names, and locations it’s easy to make mistakes. You should always double-check everything to avoid embarrassing mistakes.

If you apply these rules for improving your media releases, you substantially increase the chance of your media release being published. To discover even more ways to improve your press release writing you should read these press release rules.