SHIRE

[investment group] in the works

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#Apple is revolutionizing debit/credit payment using #ApplePay. #goodforbusiness #high5

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"People who spread rumors have low IQ." -Mr. Grape Vine

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To build a strong community, stop “community managing”, be a Tummler instead.

http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2014/04/community-management-tummling-a-tale-of-two-mindsets/

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How To Fund Your Coworking Space

http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2011/09/how-to-fund-your-coworking-space/

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How Much Does It Cost To Start A Coworking Space

http://dangerouslyawesome.com/2012/01/how-much-does-it-cost-to-start-a-coworking-space/

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11 Startup Skills You Won’t Learn in School BY YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR COUNCIL @YEC

School’s back in session soon, but some startup lessons just don’t translate in a classroom.

While some people knock advanced degrees, many entrepreneurs benefit from formal business training. But there are certain things even the best programs don’t usually teach (or teach well) that are critical for you to master.

Eleven founders from YEC name the startup skills that only on-the-job experience can equip you with:

1. Startup-Style Leadership

Small teams are a totally different beast than a corporate environment. You have one person filling multiple roles, no clear ladder for advancement, and people who often have to train themselves. Employees in startups need to be much more empowered and forward-thinking than in traditional companies. It’s not something that is taught in school.—Laura Roeder, LKR Social Media

2. The Power of Networking

A large part of success in business comes from the people you know and the power of your network. Schools don’t talk about growing and cultivating networks or the many facets of networking (actively or passively), but everyone has a network and it would behoove students to learn how to maximize them. —Darrah Brustein, Network Under 40/Finance Whiz Kids

3. Grit in the Face of Failure

You cannot learn grit in a classroom. Being an entrepreneur is about making the effort to create something from nothing. You can learn theories and best practices in a classroom, but you cannot learn the grit and dedication it takes to see your vision to the end. So much of success is in the willingness to invest 100 percent of your energy in the face of great uncertainty, and to wake up the next day ready to do it again. The path is not smooth and you will take your lumps. Grit is about falling down and getting back up, again and again. You can’t learn that in a classroom.—Andrew Thomas, SkyBell Technologies, Inc.

4. The Loneliness of Being a Founder

Not to sound all melancholy here, but being a founder is lonely because all of the bucks stop with you. There is no one to complain to (negative feedback should only go up) and your job is to create solutions and constantly pitch in a positive light. “Never a bad day at a startup,” a VC recently told me. That creates a barrier between a founder and the rest of the world around them. It’s an interesting challenge, and finding a support system of mentors and advisors is crucial.—Trevor Sumner, LocalVox

5. It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Schools breed ambitious workers who run toward the finish line and try to answer every question right first above all, but this is simply not the best approach in the real world. There will be lessons you only learn by looking back, and there will be long droughts filled with disappointment. Instead of wallowing in that, reassure yourself that you’re working toward a larger goal. You’re in it for the long haul, and that is more valuable than any short-term victory.—Rob Fulton, Matikis

6. How (and When) to Scale

No school can teach you when it’s the right time to expand your business, make new hires, and take on more responsibilities. A lot of the time this will come from a gut feeling and the strategic relationships you have built. No textbook can teach you this skill.—Jason Grill, Grill Media | Sock 101

7. An Effective Sales Process

For all that you learn about marketing, they don’t teach you about effective sales. Nobody teaches the process from prospecting to suspecting, to lead development and nurturing, to closing the sale. —Jon Cline, Rokit SEO

8. Hustle

You can learn it. But you won’t learn it in school. —Patrick Vlaskovits, Superpowered

9. Product Design and Creation

You can learn marketing theories and business operation strategies in school, but school can’t teach you what to sell. You need to understand how to identify the market and how to create a product that your market will consume. This is very hard to teach, and usually comes into effect by someone stumbling upon it or being in the right place at the right time. I do think it’s a great exercise to design MVP products or even just landing pages that are designed to promote an imaginary product. These really bring the product to life and can teach you a lot about what product creation is really all about.—Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff.com

10. Adaptability

School by nature is very static, with a built-in roadmap for how to graduate. It does not teach you how to scrap a roadmap and change your destination, as entrepreneurship often dictates. Learning how to adapt is essential to having even a chance at success in being an entrepreneur.—Phil Chen, Systems Watch

11. How to Live With Pressure

In school, the feeling and emotions that accompany stress come and go depending on tests, quizzes, and assignments. You stress, you take the test, then you are free to breathe a sigh of relief. Entrepreneurship is living with the fact that there is no sigh of relief, ever. Instead you learn to live with stress, you acknowledge it, and you learn to cope with it daily. Learning to live with stress and pressure is something no one can teach you but a challenge you have to face and overcome within yourself.

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Make it rain 💲💲💲 #Crumbs #Clopening

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All that Hard Work and Determination really paid off. Thanks for the Prayers.. #PASSED 👊😎 @sidarna

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"What matters in a startup is vision, energy and competence."

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"5 Rules for Choosing a Business Name" What's a winning business name? A business name that draws business in itself. Creating a winning business name takes some thought but is one of the most important things you'll do during the process of starting a business. Starting out with a weak business name is like trying to golf with only one club in your bag. You may sink some shots but it will be a whole lot harder. So how do you create a winning business name? Get your family, friends and/or colleagues together for a business name brainstorming session and work through these five rules for choosing a business name: 1) A winning business name has to be memorable – but easy to spell. Obviously, your potential customers and clients need to be able to remember your business name. But they also need to be able to find it easily if they’re looking for it in a phone book, directory or online. So choosing a business name such as “Crychalwellyn” is a bad idea. Unique is good but difficult spellings are a bad idea. 2) A winning business name needs a visual element. What popped into your head when you read “Crychalwellyn”? Anything? Most people don't visualize anything when they read this business name that I invented. But generally we are hard-wired to “see” images when we read or hear language, and incorporating a visual element into your business name can be a powerful aid to customers’ memory (and a powerful advertising tool). So you want your business name to have a strong visual element to it. The catch is that... 3) A winning business name has to have positive connotation. Many words have both denotation (literal meaning) and connotation (emotional meaning). A word’s connotation can be positive, neutral or negative, depending on the emotional associations that people generally make. The classic example is the difference between “Mom” (which has a very positive connotation) and “Mother” (which has a neutral connotation). Now you know why they called them “Dad’s” cookies, rather than “Father’s”! What it means to you is that when you create a business name, you need to choose words that have the positive connotations that you want people to associate with your business – and make sure these connotations are suitable for your business. If you are starting a trucking business, for instance, you don’t want it to have a weak sounding or negative name, such as “Willow Twig Trucking” or “Kitten Transport”. You want a business name that conveys strength and reliability. A choice such as “Stone Creek Trucking” would be much better. Notice how all these names have a strong visual element. 4) A winning business name needs to include information about what your business does. Chances are good that your new business is not going to become an international brand. (Learn more about branding your small business.) It certainly isn’t instantly going to become as well known as Nike. So you need to be sure that your new business name at least gives your potential customers or clients some clues about what you actually do. That’s why you see so many landscaping businesses that have the word “landscaping” in their name, and hair styling businesses that include words such as “salon” or even “hair designs” in their names. Including information about what your business does in your business name also makes it easier for potential customers and/or clients to find your business in phone books and directories (both off and online). 5) A winning business name has to be fairly short. Once again this is vital because you want customers and clients to be able to remember your business’s name (and be able to tell other people what it is)! But it’s also important for promotional purposes. You want a business name, for example, that will fit well on a business card, look good displayed on a sign or in an ad, and perhaps even a business name that will serve well as a domain name and show up well in search if you have an online business. So keep it as short as possible. And a last tip: think about colours when you’re choosing a business name. Colours will be an important component of your business logo and other business promotion materials and your business web site, and colours have strong emotional associations, too. Red, for instance, is an aggressive colour; its fiery elements are associated with speed, excitement and passion while green is a calming colour associated with growth, renewal and nature. For more information on colours and their meanings see Color Meanings and Colors That Go Together by Jacci Howard Bear. You’ll want to create at least two winning business names, and three is even better, because once you’ve chosen a business name, the next step is to register it and your first choice may already be taken.

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just sayin'.. 😶

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does this confirm anything?! Just finished my NCLEX. #BigDay #BePositive

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who knew? #Bigday

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28-Year Old YouTube Sensation Leverages 2.5 Million Subscribers to Pay Mortgage

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Test: What type of investor are you? Here's a simple, six-question test to check what type of investor you are. Don't worry, there are no right or wrong answers. Your score is simply an indication of how you balance risk and opportunity. The corresponding meaning of your score illustrates a suggested mix of instruments selected to suit your profile. Take note that this test is not a substitute for investment advice from a professional. Ready? Grab a pen and paper and start answering the investor profile questionnaire below. For each of the questions, choose the letter of the sentence that best reflects you. 1. Which of the following statements best describes your financial situation? Please consider your regular expenses and your ability to repay outstanding loans as well as saving for emergencies and retirement. A – I need this investment to supplement my income. B – My financial situation is somewhat unstable. C – I do not currently need this investment to supplement my income, however this could change over the next few years. D – I do not expect to use this investment to meet current income requirements. However, should an unexpected situation arise, I may need to access some of these funds. E – My financial situation is stable and I have sufficient cash flow to meet most of my requirements. F – My financial situation is completely secure and I can meet emergency requirements without withdrawing these funds. 2. Which of the following statements best describes your current investment situation? If you do not currently have any investments, choose the response that best describes how you think you would manage your investments. A – All of my investments to date have been in time deposits and bonds because I need the stream of income and/or the security of capital. B – Most of my investments were made to generate income and preserve capital, but now I need some capital growth. C – Most of my investments tend to be mutual funds, although they are generally not aggressive funds. D – Most of my investments tend to be moderately aggressive mutual funds. My objectives are long-term, therefore I do not often make changes unless my reasons for investing have changed. E – I tend to choose aggressive mutual funds for long-term growth. 3. Which of the following best reflects your current knowledge of investments? A – Very low: I am starting to learn about investing. B – Low: I know something about investments, but do not have an in-depth knowledge. C – Moderate: I am familiar with basic types of investments. D – High: I understand that there are different categories of investments with different levels of risk and return for each type. E – Expert: I have a thorough knowledge of the three major asset classes, and am very experienced in investing. 4. Which category would you say best describes your investment goals? A – Security: My primary concern is the security of my investments. B – Income and inflation protection: My most important goal is to receive steady, consistent income from my investments, but I would also like my money to keep ahead of inflation over the long term. C – Income and growth: I want my investments to produce a fairly steady stream of income and to grow without major declines in value. D – Conservative growth: My first goal is the long-term growth of my investments but I am willing to accept a lower return to have less fluctuation in the value of my investments. E – Growth: I want to get the best rate of return on my portfolio over the long term, and realize that the total value of my investments may decline occasionally. 5. Which of the following statements best describes your attitude towards the level of risk or volatility that you are prepared to live with during the same time that these assets will be invested? A – In general, I would feel most comfortable with investments that tend to generate a more stable return year-to-year, as opposed to those that fluctuate widely in value. B – I would prefer a combination of fixed-income securities and blue chip equities, keeping the equities portion to less than ____% of my total portfolio. C – I am comfortable with volatility and seek more aggressive investments knowing that in the short-term, this strategy may result in declines in my portfolio value. D – I fully accept volatility, seek more aggressive investments and do not worry when the stock market drops significantly. 6. How would you describe your comfort level should the value of your investments fluctuate either up or down during short-term periods (i.e. up to three years)? A – Very low: My primary concern is the security of my investments. B – Low: Any drop in the value of my investments would make me uncomfortable, but I could tolerate a minor decline of less than 5% from time to time. C – Moderate: I could tolerate a modest decline, from 5 to 10%, in the value of my investments, provided that I receive a positive long-term return. D – High: I could tolerate a moderate decline, from 10 to 20%, in the value of my investments in anticipation of a positive long-term return. E – Very high: I could tolerate a decline of 20% or more in the short-term value of my investments, in anticipation of a positive longterm return. Done? Check below the point values of the answers you selected then add up all the points. Divide the total by six (6) to get your Final Score. Finally, compare the Final Score with the Scorecard to check your Investor Category and Risk Level. Point Values of Responses 1. A – 0 ; B – 0 ; C – 10 ; D – 20 ; E – 30 ; F – 40 2. A – 0 ; B -10 ; C – 20 ; D – 30 ; E – 40 3. A – 0 ; B – 10 ; C – 20 ; D – 35 ; E – 50 4. A – 0 ; B – 10 ; C – 20 ; D – 30 ; E – 40 5. A – 10 ; B – 20 ; C – 30 ; D – 40 6. A – 0 ; B – 10 ; C – 20 ; D – 35 ; E – 50 Scorecard Score: 0-9 Investor Category: Cash Risk Level: No Risk Your primary concern is earning a modest income while protecting your investment principal. You are willing to accept lower returns in exchange for greater security. Score: 10-19 Investor Category: Income/Conservative Risk Level: Income/Low You are looking for a combination of growth and income, with an emphasis on income. You would like your investments to produce a fairly steady stream of income and to grow without major declines in value. Score: 20-29 Investor Category: Balanced Risk Level: Moderate You are looking for a combination of growth and income, with an emphasis on growth. You would like your investments to grow over time without wide fluctuations in your portfolio value. Score: 30-39 Investor Category: Growth Risk Level: Moderate Your primary objective is to see the value of your investments increase that may reach 20% over the long term. You accept the risk of short-term declines in the value of your overall portfolio, in order to achieve long-term growth in your portfolio. Score: 40+ Investor Category: Aggressive/High Growth Risk Level: High You are willing to take the risks necessary to achieve potentially above-average long-term growth in your portfolio. You accept that the total value of your portfolio may decline substantially from time to time.

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