How To Increase The Luck Factor In Your Success

Entrepreneur blogger

How big is the luck factor when it comes to the amount of success you experience in your life? Many of us attribute any success in business or in other aspects of our lives to some ‘mythical’ luck factor. When you think about that what we are really doing is de-emphasizing our own involvement in any personal achievements we may have accomplished. I do not know about you, but I for one do not want to think I have little control over my own fate. I believe that each one of us is capable of achieving great success in our lives if only we apply ourselves. In fact this luck that we often attribute success to is something we can develop for use in our own personal pursuits.

Here are 3 ways in which we can increase our own luck factor to help us achieve any personal or professional goals we may have.

Concentration

Achieving success in business or otherwise starts with first identifying what it is you want. By determining your goals you are now better able to prepare yourself to pursue them. Preparation is half the battle and although it may seem like just dumb luck when you see people succeed what you did not witness was the preparation involved.

With a greater focus on what it is you are striving for also comes the ability to recognize any opportunities that can help you achieve these goals when you see them.

Repetition

As the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’ and this is so true in every aspect of our lives. Outstanding athletes get that way through many long hours of practice as do successful business people. In order to excel at anything it is almost always necessary to commit yourself fully towards learning and mastering any and all of the skills involved.

Persistence

The only thing true about becoming an ‘overnight success’ is that it takes commitment and perseverance over a period of time to achieve! There will be setbacks of that you can be sure but it is your willingness to work through the difficult and frustrating times that will ultimately set you on the path to great success.

Do not ever give up if you believe in what you are doing!

When we reference the luck factor that is involved in the success of ourselves or others it is important to understand this good fortune is something we can create. This realization helps people become aware how much control they have over their own fate. Whether it is success in business or in some other aspect of our lives we play the starring role in the creation of the luck involved in any personal achievements. You see luck is not something that happens just by chance but instead it is a coordination of circumstances which we can create and bring together. The 3 ways we spoke of above are efforts we ourselves can consciously put forth in order to create the luck we need to achieve the great success we seek.

Frank H. Crerie Is A Respected Entrepreneur And Business Investor

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Frank H. Crerie is an experienced businessman and has founded several businesses in his successful career of more than 55 years. Some of the companies with which he has been involved include Mundoro Mining, Doreal Oil and Gas, White Shield Oil and Gas, Corriente Mining, Minbanco. Under his guidance, he helped business ventures to reach new heights of success and gain excellent profits. An expert in the fields of investment banking, venture capital and corporate finance industry, he also served as a Director of Molina Mineral Exploration and was also the co-founder and financer of American Tidelands, Standard Uranium and Stan rock Uranium.

A lifelong entrepreneur, Frank H. Crerie, has been involved in initial public offerings serving as a co-founder and controlling shareholder on various major stock exchanges such as New York, London, American, Toronto, Vancouver and Alberta Stock Exchanges. At least two of his companies were listed on the American Exchange and more than five were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Vancouver Exchange. He founded and held the position of Chairman of White Shield Oil and Gas and the company was listed on LSE, TSE and NYSE.

Frank H. Crerie has started numerous companies which have attained great success in their chosen fields. While serving as a President of Crerie & Co. from 1951 to 1963, Frank H. Crerie underwrote and developed several resource projects globally. Along from his business ventures, Frank H. Crerie regularly donates to various humanitarian organizations and charities on local and national levels. He has also donated to Child Help USA and Arizona State Universitys Art Department. He has made donations to Scottsdale Contemporary Art Museum as well. Frank H. Crerie is also an artist and in his free time, he likes to paint abstract art and gifts his paintings to family and friends. He holds a B.A. degree from Columbia University, and also attended the Columbia University Law School.

How The Sa 8000 And Other Standards Are Shaking Up The Fashion Industry

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Environmental, social and ethical pressures on the global textiles and fashion sector emerged in Europe in the early 1980s. The main driver was consumer concern over the safety of the materials. However, in parallel with this trend, a minority group of ethical consumers demanded chemical-free and low environmental impact clothing and fashion goods. This resulted in the European and later the U.S. organic labeling system being extended to include criteria for clothing and textiles, such as organic cotton. As of 2007, the sector was the fastest growing part of the global cotton industry with growth of more than 50% a year. Regarding safety standards, the Oeko-Tex standard has become highly popular in the industry. Although unknown to consumers, it tests for chemicals such as flame retardants in clothes and categorizes goods according to their likely exposure to humans (e.g. baby clothes must adhere to the strictest standards for chemicals). Thus the issue of chemicals in clothing has become largely one of liability risk control for the industry with the consumers obviously expecting products to pose no risk to their health. Organic and eco fashion and textiles attracts a far smaller, but fast growing group of consumers, largely in Western Europe and Coastal U.S.

Of far greater concern to the global fashion sector is the issue of worker welfare. The issue was highlighted by pressure groups such as
Global Exchange in the U.S. targeting Levis and Nike and others.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s anecdotal evidence began emerging from labor activists in the U.S. and Europe concerning the supply chains and overseas factories of leading U.S. and European multinationals. A key target was the world’s leading maker of denim jeans Levi Strauss, but more significantly Nike, the world’s largest sports shoe marketing firm. Global Exchange launched its Nike Anti Sweatshop campaign, focusing on the firms sourcing in China and Indonesia.

A good deal of negotiations and stakeholder meetings led to a generally accepted code of practice for labor management in developing countries acceptable to most parties involved. The SA 8000 emerged as the leading industry driven voluntary standard on worker welfare issues. SA 8000 supporters now include the GAP, TNT and others and SAI reports that as of 2008, almost 1 million workers in 1,700 facilities have achieved SA 8000 certification. The Fair Trade movement has also had a significant impact on the fashion business. The standard combines a number of ethical issues of potential concern to consumers environmental factors, fair treatment of developing country suppliers and worker welfare. The Fair Trade label has show explosive growth.

Albeit on a very small scale and not always at the top end of the fashion industry, many niche brands have emerged which promote themselves primarily on sustainability grounds. People Tree in the UK states that it creates Fair Trade and organic clothing and accessories by forming lasting partnerships with Fair Trade, organic producers in developing countries. Leading fashion journal Marie Claire ranked its top 10 eco brands in a recent issue. The key issues remain chemicals in clothing (certified by organic and Fair Trade labels), worker treatment (certified by SA 8000 and Fair Trade) and increasingly mainstream environmental issues such as climate change. The worlds largest fashion brand Louis Vuitton recently acquired a small eco fashion label. It is clear, however, from the example of Nike and Levis, that certain issues are here to stay, such as a demand by Western consumers that leading brands manage the issue of worker welfare in their supply chain properly.

How To Find Angel Investors For Your Business

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A business small or big, irrespective of its nature always starts with some basic investment. The process of procuring investment is not new, rather has a huge history attached to it. Every era witnessed a different style of investment procurement. Earlier, people who had bulk money were entertained first and small investors were hardly a party to big shot companies. But with changing scenarios, the picture is no longer what it used to be earlier. Nowadays, small venture capitalists or angel investors give equal importance just like other industry big shots. Though, the amount invested by angel investors may be less, yet they serve as excellent vehicles to start a business.

Whether, you are expanding your small business or are looking into creating a start-up, you may need investors to help fund your endeavor. Though a small business loan is a good starting point. But, seeking investors allows you more access to funds which you generally do not have to repay on a set schedule. These investors become a party to your agenda and reap out profits what the business makes. However, it is not like investors will give you funding without expecting anything in return, and you may need to relinquish some control of your business in order to work with certain investors. The terms and conditions are liable to change with every business agenda.

As we say, nothing comes free of cost and has a price attached to it. Similarly, these angel investors may demand an ownership or shareholding in your company, if you are an entrepreneur. But, if we talk about the advantages of finding angel investors, they are multifold than going forward with huge investment companies or banks. Also, it is quite appropriate for angel investors to park their amounts in upcoming business models. This is a win-win situation for both the parties. It helps the investors to enjoy profits and make money, while proves outstanding for an entrepreneur to conceptualize his dream and introduce the product, technology or the business idea in the market.

There are many online websites which serve as excellent tools to bridge the gap between investors and entrepreneurs. If you have any business idea, then register yourself as an entrepreneur, while if you are interested in investing your money, then register as an investor. The website will definitely help lacunating the gap between the two parties. You can easily find investors for your business and vice versa. Go make money!

How To Improve Your Businesses Cash Flow

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Operating a business enterprise can be fulfilling both emotionally and financially. Of course, it can also be very demanding especially if the business is just starting out or is experiencing cash flow problems.

1. Manage Wisely

A person operating his own business should devote full time in managing the business if he wants to recoup his investments and make a decent profit. A hands-on manner in managing the business is often preferred especially for small to medium enterprises.

2. Cash Flow Is Everything

The cash flow of a business enterprise refers to the income of the business plus the corresponding expenses. In simple terms, the cash flow of a business shows if the business is indeed making money or is losing. By determining the cash flow of a business, the entrepreneur is able to determine if the business is operating by itself, that means it can pay the business expenses out of the money it has in its coffers.

A negative cash flow will mean the business is not able to operate on its own and there is a need to look for additional financial support every month. When this happens, it is best to take a closer look at what is wrong in the business operations to avoid further loses.

3. Determine Your Flow

To determine the business cash flow, the owner should take note of the monthly expenses of the business and see where the payment for these expenses will be coming from. If the income of the business is able to support and pay the business expenditures then there is a good or positive cash flow. Otherwise, the business may be in trouble and may be in need of serious evaluation.

4. Manage Funds Strategically

So how can an entrepreneur improve the cash flow of his business? A positive cash flow will require a strategic cash management. This means the entrepreneur should seek strategic means to improve the inflow of income and decrease the amount of business expenses. This means increasing the profit margin of the business as compared to the income and the expenses it incurs.

5. Price Products Intelligently

One of the best ways to improve cash flow is to increase the price of the products or services being sold by the business. Of course, this solution is not always easy since it will affect the patronage of customers who are always on the lookout for price increases.

If the product being sold is considered efficient and very useful by the customers then increasing its price will not really be a problem because they will always see the cost effectiveness of buying the said products. Most customers may be concerned about prices but they are more critical when it comes to product quality.

6. Maintain Quality

To maintain the viability of the products and increase sales, the entrepreneur should maintain the quality of his goods or services. Among the products that do not really experience a problem despite price increases are products that are already considered the best in its category, products for niche markets and products that are always in demand and are being produced only by a few manufacturers.

When choosing this strategy, the entrepreneur should make an analysis of the possible effect of the price increase in the volume of sales. The price of a certain product can likewise be increased without getting the ire of the customers by introducing improved features.

7. Minimize Expendatures

Another way to improve the business cash flow is to minimize expenses especially the cost for maintaining the business. By choosing useful business machines, the business can be more productive at lesser labor cost. The entrepreneur can also opt to outsource business functions that are not really regularly needed by the business or that are less expensive when outsourced rather than when the business takes it on its own.

The bulk of overhead expenses are related to labor cost so the entrepreneur should make a staff evaluation to determine that positions can be performed efficiently by a single person and determine if positions are no longer required entirely.

8. Have A Professional Billing System

A business experiencing negative cash flow should review uncollected income or as there may be credits that are already overdue. The entrepreneur should enforce an efficient collection strategy to turn the debts owed to the business into cash. The business may be experiencing a negative cash flow because of its failure to convert checks or debts into cash.