The Harvard Business school did some research on how we can be more productive while working.

When we search for anything online, we typically have to sift through pages of information, some relevant but most not. And often, we’ll start out by searching for one thing and then bump into something even more intriguing and veer off in that direction. We often repeat this pattern many times. Before you know it, the search for “tickets to Hawaii” that you started at 8 pm has morphed into a search of “great battleships of the Pacific” by 10 pm…then “movies by Stanley Kubrick” at 11…and so on ad nauseam. Meanwhile, your wife is angry because you promised to help your son with his homework hours ago and everything else you had planned that evening didn’t get done, such as responding to your sister’s text, friending your old college buddy on Facebook, and responding to someone who flamed you in their forum. You may ask yourself, well…how did I get here?

1. Sleep well: A well-rested brain is less likely to be distracted.
2. Eat well: Good nutrition is important to brain functionality.
3. Minimize stress and anger: it tends to ramp up production of brain chemicals such as norepinephrine and cortisol, which can lead to problems.
4. Watch out for time wasters: It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole while reading blogs (except this one of course) or online forums. Stay focused by setting time limits for online activity.
5. Work smarter, not longer: If you’re working too hard or long hours without a break, your brain will seek out diversions at some point — whether you want it to or not. Schedule breaks in advance; you’re better off putting in six productive hours than of 10 hours of mindless search engine trolling or social networking.

http://shar.es/aaPMp

You might have considered trying something on your own – Perhaps owning a local boutique, restaurant, online business, etc. The problem most people run into is their risk level (wall) comes up and says to you – “Don’t do that, it might be too risky”

Not all of us have the need to take some of the risk associated with owning a business but all of us have the opportunity to start something – Even if it’s small at first! Here are some tips of raising some start up funds”

Entrepreneur Start-Ups said, With the economy in the grips of a major recession and credit crunch, many entrepreneurs have little choice but to tap friends and family members for their startup capital. But that doesn’t mean you should treat them like “friends and family.”

Nobody gives you money to start a business. People either loan you money–which you must pay back with interest over a specified time period–or they make an equity investment in your business–buying the right to receive a percentage of your future profits. Without proper documentation, there’s no way of knowing whether your uncle is making a loan or an investment. If your business becomes successful, he will want a piece of the action. If your business fails, he will want his money back with interest.
Let’s talk about how you can get started!!

In my opinion, Facebook is worth the investment because it allows you to use the platform such as groups or pages to send people to you. Then you also have the option to communicate with them and continue branding them. When using craigslist, you’re most likely sending them to a place such as your website that will have to convince them to stay and communicate with you. Now if you’re selling a used piece of furniture…craigslist knows how to get that thing sold in about 2 minutes. How do you attract your clients?

What profession are you primarily in?
Web designer          41.4%
Graphic designer   25.4%
Programmer           12.7%
Writer                      6.4%
Illustrator               4.0%
Video                       2.5%

I’ve been traveling a little for Hunting Square – One of our online classifieds section for outdoorsmen. We just went up to the QDMA ( Quality Deer Management Association ) and gain about 200 members from the show! Great success for us.

I’ll be writing soon to tell you about the next project I’m working on once I have the final beta site up for viewing…no sneak peeks yet. Also working hard to sell a dotcom business we’ve been working on for the past year.

Time to focus – To be continued…

Bill Bryan, a counselor with the Northern Illinois SCORE, gives some advice:

The ultimate key to small business success is finding a niche that is not covered. If you can identify your own niche, you’ll probably do well. We are all trying to do business in an overcrowded marketplace and soft economy. The consumer is inundated with commercial messages and often does not know which way to turn. Too many choices and too many sellers compete for a buyer’s attention. It’s enough to make some folks say, “To heck with it” and stay home with their consumer dollars.

Finding a market niche — which you must defend by operating superbly and providing customer service without peer — is the secret for financial success.

When a successful baseball player was asked for the secret to his constant batting success, he replied, “I hit ‘em where they ain’t.”

SCORE has a wonderful device for teaching small business owners, or potential small business owners, many of the lessons they must absorb if they are to be successful. SCORE calls these lessons “60-Second Guides.” They can be found at www.score.org/guides. html.

Personally I think that having a great GPA is important and something to highlight in a resume. The industry that you’re trying to enter into will play a role with determining the importance of your score. What about the guys who hold a lower GPA and are considering whether to put it on their resume or not – Personally I won’t factor the GPA with any candidate that will apply for a position with our companies. Why? Cause I’ve been to school while running a business and this didn’t allow for much time to study and keep up a high GPA. Even if I did, I’ve never measured myself by the A’s and B’s because those measure a different part of me…Not the part where I feel that I would excel.

This is always a fun discussion to have with people but I thought I would mention it. Here are some words from the pros.

The Real World
When the only experience on your resumé is your academic transcript, employers will look at your GPA to see a snapshot of who you are. A good GPA tells employers that you can set goals and accomplish tasks. Be sure to include your GPA on your resumé, because many employers will consider its absence to mean it is low.

Nevertheless, don’t be shy about including a low GPA on your resumé. Emphasize your academic strengths as much as possible. Another suggestion is to include the GPA in your major if it is significantly higher. Some employers are more interested in your work toward your chosen field than your overall academic picture.

Keep in mind that a GPA is merely a reflection of your studies. It’s a scorecard, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Don’t let your GPA drive you crazy, but have a healthy respect for how it will affect your college plans and beyond.

http://usuniversityreviews.com/Blog/Educational_Information/The_Importance_of_a_High_GPA_-_Do_Grades_Really_Matter_.html

‘ Nothing kills startups like distractions. The worst type are those that pay money: day jobs, consulting, profitable side-projects. The startup may have more long-term potential, but you’ll always interrupt working on it to answer calls from people paying you now.

Calling ALL entrepreneurs!! This is such a true statement for me and I’ve heard this is the trend for most other entrepreneurs. Like musicians, we have to constantly be thinking over the next best thing while still paying the bills with the recent gig. Where does distraction begin to take part of the failing of a business? Dr. Jeff Cornwall is always getting on to me for not focusing because he mentioned to me that he too struggled with this and wants me to begin to develop this skill. It’s not that I don’t listen to him but I do have trouble with distractions.

At the age of 22, I’ve launched five companies with positive cash flows. If I focus on one of these will I be more successful than if I slowly grew the other four? This is my current struggle / drive to find the answer. I think a point to make here is that all of the businesses require greater attention than others. For instance, I’m partnering with an online wedding guide site that only needs to be checked up on every couple of days but it’s still providing some extra cash. If I were to invest 30 extra hours a week into this site would the business grow – Well I think so. But we’re also running a high end video company that is producing a much higher cash income so my focus remains with this company while still giving minor attention to the others.

Last point to make: Team building and prioritizing might be the solution toward running 4-5 successful businesses. If you can delegate certain duties within these businesses that can be watched and developed, I think that the companies can survive and grow at a healthy rate.

I recently had an idea that might work in the industry i was thinking but after finding out the expenses of the business I was able to take another approach toward the business concept. I tend to hop right into business ideas without giving the finacial side enough attention – I’m learning though. After talking with my entrepreneur professor, Dr. Jeff Cornwall, he helped me take a different approach toward my business ideas. It’s great to have a someone like him to toss ideas at and let him give me feedback.