Whatever you do, do it with all your might.
Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a single hour that which can be done just as well now. The old proverb is full of truth and meaning, “Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.” Many a man acquires a fortune by doing his business thoroughly, while his neighbor remains poor for life, because he only half does it. Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.
Read full storyAvoid Debt Like a Plague
Young men starting in life should avoid running into debt. That’s a given. There is scarcely anything else that drags a person down like debt. It is a slavish position to get ill, yet we find many a young man, hardly out of his “teens,” running in debt (and yes, this has been going on for centuries as long as men and history could remember). He meets a chum and says, “Look at this: I have got trusted for a new suit of clothes.” He seems to look upon the clothes as so much given to him; well, it frequently is so, but, if he succeeds in paying and then gets trusted again, he is adopting a habit which will keep him in poverty through life. Debt robs a man of his self-respect, and makes him almost despise himself.
Read full storyDon't Mistake Your Vocation.
The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young man starting in life, is to select the vocation which is most congenial to his tastes. Parents and guardians are often quite too negligent in regard to this. It is very common for a father to say, for example: “I have five boys. I will make Billy a clergyman; John a lawyer; Tom a doctor, and Dick a farmer.” He then goes into town and looks about to see what he will do with Sammy. He returns home and says “Sammy, I see watch-making is a nice genteel business; I think I will make you a goldsmith.” He does this, regardless of Sam’s natural inclinations, or genius.
Read full storyMaking wise decisions.
The old suit of clothes, and the old bonnet and dress, will answer for another season; the Croton or spring water taste better than champagne; a cold bath and a brisk walk will prove more exhilarating than a ride in the finest coach; a social chat, an evening’s reading in the family circle, or an hour’s play of “hunt the slipper” and “blind man’s buff” will be far more pleasant than a fifty or five hundred dollar party, when the reflection on the difference in cost is indulged in by those who begin to know the pleasures of saving. Thousands of men are kept poor, and tens of thousands are made so after they have acquired quite sufficient to support them well through life, in consequence of laying their plans of living on too broad a platform. Some families spend as much as twenty thousand dollars per annum, and some much more, and would scarcely know how to live on less, while others secure more solid enjoyment frequently on a twentieth part of that amount.
Read full storyBut the trouble does not end here.
Feeling that she is so economical in tallow candies, she thinks she can afford to go frequently to the village and spend twenty or thirty dollars for ribbons and furbelows, many of which are not necessary. This false connote might frequently be seen in men of business, and in those instances it often runs to writing paper. You find good businessmen who save all the old envelopes and scraps, and would not tear a new sheet of paper, if they could avoid it, for the world. This is all very well; they may in this way save five or ten dollars a year, but being so economical (only in note paper), they think they can afford to waste time; to have expensive parties, and to drive their carriages. This is an illustration of’ Dr. Franklin’s “saving at the spigot and wasting at the bung-hole;” “penny wise and pound foolish.” Punch in speaking of this “one idea” class of people says “they are like the man who bought a penny herring for his family’s dinner and then hired a coach and four to take it home.” I never knew a man to succeed by practicing this kind of economy.
Read full storyMake Good Investment Decisions - Some Pointers.
An investment is always made with the motive of gaining profit in future. And though there are various online resources available and a lot of people think they can handle it on their own, the fact is figuring out what to invest in is not that easy. There are many sectors in which you can park your funds but you should choose your investment area according to the timeframe in which you want your capital to grow and the risk will you be able to take for future returns. There are many factors that you have to consider for making this decision like returns, age, individual goals and targets, and most importantly your income source. Investment is only made if one is sure that it’s going to be a profitable venture. And making this decision is not easy. Set up a financial target for long term benefits and hire an investment management company to handle the job for you. Here are a few pointers to help you make good investment decisions.
Read full storyLean Principles for Faster Time to Market and Innovation
To generate transitory monopoly periods with maximum revenue, companies must develop innovative and high-quality items faster than their competitors. For new product development initiatives, they frequently have tight timelines and restricted resources. To meet this problem, high-performance organizations use a "lean" business analysis, design, and development methodology inspired by Toyota's automotive manufacturing system. Lean is primarily concerned with eliminating muda (waste) across the product development lifecycle (PDLC) and reinvesting the savings in creative ventures.
Read full storyGuides to building a successful enterprise.
Don't be misled by the phrase "small-to-midsize business." Almost every company starts out small (i.e.: employing one to five people). Indeed, 90 percent of the world's small-to-midsize organizations (SME's) employ a similar amount of the world's working population, implying that small-to-midsize businesses support a large portion of the global economy. This is why the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2015) declares year after year that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are and will continue to be a major source of new and existing jobs around the world. Furthermore, SME's are more inventive in knowledge-intensive services and new technology, and they make up the majority of the tourism industry (the world's largest industry), accounting for up to 97 percent of all businesses.
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