Four great places for entrepreneurs to learn
“It’s not enough to want something in life. You have to prepare yourself to receive it.” For years, that has been one of my favorite quotations. Desire alone is not enough. That’s why I’ve always been a strong believer in education. Growing up in the Hispanic community, I was actually encouraged by friends and family members to leave college early, rather than hang tough and earn a degree. I fought for my education every step of the way, which is probably one reason that I value it so much. But learning means so much more than taking college classes. Professionals, business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs should make learning an intentional and important part of their everyday lives. When you open your mind to the ideas of others, it can completely transform your world – both personally and professionally. Let me give you an example from my own professional life. Several
Four strategies for employee retention
You train. You reward. You compensate. And then you lose valuable resources when employees walk out the door. Losing employees to other job opportunities is expensive, time-consuming and frustrating. That’s why it’s important for businesses to address the four major reasons that people leave their jobs: lack of a challenge, geographical preference, money and environment. When these four factors are working in favor of employees, turnover decreases significantly. When we recognized this at Pinnacle Technical Resources, we took specific steps to address each of these areas. Follow our formula, and retain your most valuable assets – your people. Congratulations, you’re in charge! High-quality employees love a challenge. They get bored in jobs that are static and repetitive, and they loathe a workplace that discourages fresh ideas. At Pinnacle, we decided early on to hire go-getters willing to drink from a fire hose. There is no lack of challenge, and responsibilities
Get your team on the same page with creative communication
No matter what size your business, communication isn’t always easy. Your team members are busy. The messages from management might be mixed or unclear. And it’s hard to remember directives in such a way that they are applied to day-to-day work functions. Yet clear communication is absolutely critical to the success of an organization. Team members must understand the company’s vision and mission. Beyond that, they need to buy into those goals and make working toward them part of each day. Don’t fall into the trap of sending out these messages electronically. Yes, email and voicemail can play support roles in keeping your team on the same page. But when announcing goals for the year, new business initiatives, and strategies to solve key problems, there is a much better way. At our organization, we’ve established a schedule of quarterly meetings. But these are not your grandmother’s boring organizational gatherings. We
Growing entrepreneurs in-house
It takes an entrepreneur to start a successful business. But what does it take to grow that organization to the next level? Perhaps no strategy will help your business grow faster and more responsibly than to create an entire company full of entrepreneurs. Transform your employees from cogs in a faceless organization to owners over their jobs, and they will solve problems, invent innovative strategies and move the business forward. To do this, business owners must delegate. Only by handing over important responsibilities to your team members will they develop the ownership and entrepreneurial spirit key to your company’s future growth. This is easier said than done, however. Almost all business owners have difficulty delegating. It’s not that they don’t trust their employees. Because they feel such tremendous ownership over every aspect of their companies, entrepreneurs can’t believe they could put critical processes into another person’s hands and not see
Building an entrepreneurial empire
How does an entrepreneur transform her business into an empire? That’s a question I’m working to answer in my organization every day, as the management team at Pinnacle Technical Resources strives to grow the business into a force to be reckoned with in our industry. On our journey, I’ve learned some key early lessons that other entrepreneurs can leverage on their quest to build an empire. Let’s back up for a moment. In my last blog, I asked readers to consider what kind of entrepreneur they wish to be: Lifestyle entrepreneurs work hard so they can enjoy a particular way of living, whether that means travel, hobbies, sports or a focus on family. Empire builders wish to take their company to the next level, creating a brand that is far greater than themselves as individuals. Ultimately, empire builders sacrifice time and money in the short term to construct large-scale organizations
What kind of entrepreneur are you?
The word “entrepreneur” gets thrown around like a one-size-fits-all label. Generally seen as risk-taking business owners, entrepreneurs may also be viewed as slick operators, workaholics or casual careerists. Ultimately, in my mind, there are two kinds of entrepreneurs. Both can be wildly successful, fulfilled and happy with their positions. The real challenge? Deciding which kind of entrepreneur you are – and which kind you want to be over the long term. Which one are you now? Lifestyle entrepreneurs generally work hard and play hard. These successful business owners do what they do so they can enjoy a particular way of living, whether that means travel, hobbies, sports or a focus on family. Some lifestyle entrepreneurs consider their business to be a job that allows them to support more important facets of their lives. Other lifestyle entrepreneurs work on a part-time basis, again to support their choice of living conditions and