Some easy to avoid traps that plague the novice entrepreneurs

We’ve spent a lot of time exploring all the ways in which businesses can be grown, restructured, created, and so on. Similarly, there have been quite a few posts willing to explore common mistakes people might make due to a lack of knowledge on the topic or a misreading of situations. However, there is one type of mistake that has not been touched on by any other posts on this blog and I think it is important to shed some light on it. I’m talking, of course, about the errors that come as a result of well-intentioned and yet mistaken advice. Oftentimes, the people pushing this particular brand of advice aren’t even aware that they might cause your business problems further down the road. They’ve just heard the tips before and are simply sharing them with you without considering that the difficulty in tracking down the originator means that they’re not all that reliable.

One of the classic blunders of the novice businessman is, of course, hiring people you know: friends or past colleagues that you are already familiar with. The idea isn’t too bad, at least on the surface. By hiring them, you would already have a very good idea of their skills and weaknesses, which can make training easier and help you get a better understanding of how your team will work together. The problem is that most people misunderstand what this advice means. No matter how comfortable you’d feel with a staff made out entirely out of familiar individuals, you should always prioritise the skills and experience they bring to the team. It doesn’t matter how great of a copywriter your friend is if the business you’re running desperately needs a good accountant. Don’t mistake familiarity for usefulness.

This mistake is related to the kind of businesses people set up. You might have heard that it’s better to make your own market than to try and take on an already saturated field. This isn’t 100% factually true. The most important thing for any business is what they add to the industry that no one has thought of trying before. Think of social media, for example. Livejournal was a massively successful platform back in the early 2000s, but it has since been overtaken by Tumblr. Both of these offered the same kind of service, a personalised stream of posts and images but Tumblr’s innovative reblog function allowed it to skyrocket to the top of the most used social media sites in recent memory. Obviously, if you can’t figure out a way to make your coffee shop stand out then it is better to cut your losses before you end up raising funds you might not be able to pay back. But don’t let your dreams be dreams out of a fear of failing to grab a market share in an established field.

The final advice concerns the way you market yourself. We are well aware that it is becoming increasingly difficult to grow as an enterprise without that Holy Grail social media presence. But there is tendency amongst incipient businesses to underestimate just how much effort goes into the upkeep of accounts. Keep in mind that even if you curate the number of accounts to run in order to have a highly focused strategy, you will probably end up with a few of them. Even with cross-posting, that is quite a lot of work that goes into maintaining audience engagement. Factor this into your calculations when putting the finishing touches on your marketing plan.

Investing in tech for your staff: The Trevor McClintock guide

Technology is an ever-changing world, with new models coming out all the time. Many offices stick to the motto that “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”, however certainly not at Trevor McClintock. Saving time equals saving money on staff costs and making more room to focus on bigger projects, so if a new solution arises, take it. However what is a good idea to invest in, and what are the areas you should really be looking into? Here is the Trevor McClintock guide, which will also include some useful tips regarding money-saving and keeping goods protected.

First off, you need to ensure what you buy will be compatible with the goods you already have. One thing we can’t live without in the Trevor McClintock office is remote access software, whereby staff can access their internal computer from a home laptop or computer. It has been invaluable on many occasions, but we have had to purchase various different versions that would work with the specific tech they have at home. Be careful to work out what would benefit each core team member, rather than investing in something that simply will not be suitable.

Next is the tried and tested method – literally. Select a couple of reliable staff (different ones each time) to trial new software or gadgets for a week or two, then get them to report back with pros and cons. Instantly you’ve saved yourself money on something which may have glitches or not be quite perfect for your company’s needs.

As Trevor McClintock is an insurance expert, it seems only pertinent to mention it in this article. You need to check that the cover provided will include “commercial use”. This is present in many policies, but your insurance on company phones, tablets and such will be null without it. You may also be able to get a better deal by purchasing in bulk and paying the annual fee upfront. It is recommended, therefore, to call an insurance broker and speak on the phone rather than simply using the web. This way there’s more bargaining room.

Similarly this face to face technique is advisable when purchasing gadgets themselves. You may want to provide corporate smartphones or wearable tech for your office, and that kind of multiple purchase is attractive to a brand and can allow you to negotiate a better deal.

Never be an early-adopter. This may seem like juxtaposing advice to that earlier, but it would be wise to wait a small amount of time after a product launch before buying it. Then you are able to avoid any costs and hassle with replacements or bug fixes in the initial stages. It may be worthwhile if it is simply for one staff member, but on a larger scale it can all add up.

Trevor McClintock’s Entrepreneurial Essentials

Your business idea may be perfect, you may have the figures down, but if you’re not living day-to-day as a successful entrepreneur, then that success won’t be achieved. As a lucrative businessman for many years now I, Trevor McClintock, have taken a lot of great advice, and condensed it into my top 5 tips for any entrepreneur. Whether you’re starting out, or you’ve been in the game for a while, there’s always time to take a look at your habits and work out where you can improve.

A tidy workspace is a tidy mind

This is probably a tip that your mother told you many a time during your schooldays, but it’s something that’s always been a mainstay in the Trevor McClintock household. This applies to your desk, of course, but also to any stock areas, filing spaces and anywhere else that is used by you and your employees.

Tidy as you go, and your whole life will be streamlined. As well as this, no potential client or collaborator wants to see the remnants of your lunch on your desk when they come for a meeting. Project the image of the self you wish to become.

Paper

Smartphones are a revelation, but there is no substitute for good old fashioned pen and paper. Brainstorming thoughts creatively is a cathartic process that forces you to free your mind and work through whatever the problem is. Not to mention the power of a post-it note to help you remember something important.

Of course filing and records need technology, but if you like to keep a paper diary or to-do list, you might find it increases your productivity immensely.

Take criticism

As mentioned earlier, Trevor McClintock is no stranger to taking advice, and because I live in the real world not all of that has been positive. There’s nothing I value more in a colleague than the ability to take criticism and build on it in the future. Remember, people aren’t looking to personally attack you, so if you take it as such it only breeds negativity.

Never settle

People often wonder why people like Richard Branson don’t just sit back and enjoy their success. Well, the reason is because they never settle. Why have just enough when you can have it all?! A goal-orientated lifestyle makes every day a challenge, and keeps you looking forward despite any setbacks you may have.

Love what you do

It’s not just a cliché that if you love your job you’ll never work a day in your life. Business requires self-motivation, and it’s much easier to achieve that with a genuine desire to get into the office every day. Then, your success will just be an added bonus to your everyday enthusiasm and drive.

How to successfully motivate employees

Many business owners struggle with the concept of engaging and motivating employees. Although it may sound a simple idea, it is of huge importance in terms of company productivity and success. Recent research has shown that the most effective way of doing so is to offer then the experience of ownership and responsibility.

Since the 1970s, major corporations have been testing the concept of ownership to motivate workers. As a result of an overall dip in productivity, the US Congress passed legislation incentivizing the sale of company stock to current employees, thus creating the employee stock ownership plan. The results were mixed and this led to a new area of ownership being investigated, that of ‘psychological ownership’, making employees feel that they own the company and are thus responsible for its success. Although this is a less quantifiable concept, it has certainly proved to be effective. Through experiencing a sense of ownership, employees feel increased responsibility for the success of the business as they feel it directly reflects on their own success and what they could potentially get out of it.

Retaining staff and reducing staff-turnover comes hand in hand with a happy, motivated working environment, which of course leads to profitability and success. In order to retain experienced and useful staff, companies must empower then, instilling this sense of ownership to ensure that they feel responsible, influential and that they have some control.

Both feelings of ownership and of empowerment should be an integral part of company and employee training and coaching. If you are to give employees greater responsibility and involvement with the workings of the company, they need to be appropriately trained. The other important area of training, much advocate by Trevor McClintock, is how much it unites employees. Group work and team bonding may feel a bit corny but there is enough research to show that it does work.

The essence of it is that empowerment and ownership directly improves employee commitment, creativity, productivity, satisfaction and motivation. Motivation comes from within but must also be encouraged daily in the workplace. Appreciation, meaningful work, a happy and flexible work environment and a feeling of personal achievement are powerful motivators and have proved to be much more so than financial incentive.

Trevor McClintock Overview of how to Successfully Freelance

There are all sorts of theories about the state of the modern workplaces and almost everything points towards less binding working relationships between individuals. Flexi-times and anything that falls under that particular contract umbrella are definitely starting to become more of a normal thing than they used to be a couple of decades ago, for certain. However, as far as Trevor McClintock is concerned, by far the most intriguing field to have emerged out of the new work era is that of freelancing.

It has a certain glamorous air to it, of course, given that the idea of working for yourself seems a lot like slacking off and making money for nothing when seen from an uninformed, outside position. This couldn’t be much further from the truth. As with anything else, there is an art to striking the right balance that can turn your hobby into a profitable venture instead of a stressing money and time sink and this Trevor McClintock guide aims to give you a couple of helpful pointers in this direction.

What everything will revolve around is building your own personal brand, in essence. You want to be seen and you want to be seen as someone who is trustworthy and offers a high calibre of services and products. A lot of places will give you advice such as buying your own domain name and building a site that expresses your character and these are all valuable pieces of advice but, in Trevor McClintock’s experience, these are things you will start worrying about later on in your freelancing career. There’s no shame in starting your venture on an existing website, such as Etsy or Tumblr. They come with a built in customer pool that can be later leveraged for getting traffic on your professional-looking personal site.

Unless your private venture is already doing quite well, do not under circumstances quit your day-job cold turkey. In fact, what Trevor McClintock has observed is that the freelancers that have survived in the long-term were the ones who did their freelancing gigs on top of a regular 9-to-5 for quite some time until the project became stable enough to earn them a daily living. Don’t feel discouraged if you are one of the many people for whom a freelancing career cannot replace a steady stream of income.

Realise that, no matter what happens to your venture, you are still adding value to your life in several ways, by diversifying your skills, work portfolio and source of revenue. In essence, what Trevor McClintock recommends is keeping your expectations reasonable so you will not be disappointed when the job fails to bring in the glamour you were hoping for.