I've spent the past couple of weeks constructing a shed from bits of wood in the back garden of my house. I can hear you ask already what that has to do with business. Quite simply, while building the shed, I realized the process involved was very similar to building a business. Hang on - it makes more sense than you think.
Metaphorically speaking, building a shed is very similar to building a business. There are many ingredients that you need, and missing any one of them out will mean the results will range from achieving nothing to the disastrous. But one ingredient stands head and shoulders above the rest.
It's a simple four letter word...
... P-L-A-N.
With the benefit of a clear plan that's focused on reaching your goal, and the right amount of experience and knowledge, you'll know exactly what tools and materials you'll need. With enough focus, hard work and persistence, you simply follow the plan to achieve the end result.
Let's go back to the example of building a shed, and examine what might happen if you had no plan, or just say a quick sketch on a scrap of paper to rely on:
- You would struggle to know what materials you needed, and have to make repeated trips to the hardware store, greatly reducing the efficient use of your time and needlessly wasting your energy.
- When you start to build, the various parts will likely not fit together properly. As a result, you will either have to start again, or carry on, trying to patch it up as you go along. Of course, it's demoralizing, you may lose faith in yourself, and give up altogether.
- If you manage to continue, the end result is likely to look shoddy, unprofessional, and cheap - and it will be a lasting, and embarrassing reminder of your approach.
But such a result is so easy - really, it is *so* easy - to avoid.
If you spend your time more efficiently before you even start, and develop a clear plan that you feel confident in, let us see what happens:
- You can work out exactly what materials you need, and make a trip or two to the hardware store to get them.
- You can follow the plan to build the shed, and fit the various parts together to achieve a solid construction that is both fit for purpose and aesthetically-appealing.
- The end result will look professional, and one you can feel proud of.
And you know what, it will also do wonders for your confidence and self-esteem - you will be planning bigger and better sheds in your sleep that before you wouldn't have even dreamed of attempting. Yes, I am metaphorically referring back to business, so let's get straight, and see exactly how this applies to your business.
Without a plan, your results will be unintended by definition. You are instead holding out for a lucky break, for good fortune to come your way - you're relying on a simple throw of the dice.
If you plan, you are planning to achieve a specific result - and your results are much more likely to be as intended, or at least, some way towards them. Of course, you can never predict exactly what will happen, but reach for the stars and you may at least hit the moon! And the experience you gain along the way is one of the most important assets for your business.
The first time I developed a plan for my business, and followed it through, my business doubled in a few short months. Developing a plan meant I had to define a target, and then define a plan to achieve it.
A plan gave me both focus and clarity - I knew what I wanted to achieve and how to achieve it. It encouraged me to ignore distractions, and remain focused on the plan - if I stayed on track with the plan, I could achieve the result I wanted.
In fact, I believe it is the single most important ingredient of all. With a plan, you know what else you need, like the following:
1. The correct tools and materials - what will you need to use to reach your goal?
2. The right experience and know-how - even if you don't have it, it's not difficult to find someone else who does, and learn! For example, there are countless successful Internet marketers for example who can barely construct a web page.
So what should you do now? Quite simply, define a target you want to reach, formulate a plan to reach it, and follow it until you reach your goal!
------
Steve Shaw's article distribution service, SubmitYOURArticle.com, distributes articles to hundreds of web sites in an instant. Find out more about how article distribution can help your online business at: => http://www.submityourarticle.com
Asia Businesses Online
The internet is such a special creation. Its borderless
nature, accessible to anyone in any part of the globe at
the push of a button, provides information to anyone as
and when they need it.
Similarly, the same flat structure of the internet also
provides opportunities to any individual to have their
own space and exposure to the world via a tool of mass
media. It presents the average Asian will an opportunity
to stamp his mark online.
Asia has seen a number of businesses make a presence for
themselves starting from just having a website in the
virtual world. As more and more of Asia obtains broadband,
3G and even WiMax access, the online market increases and
more and more people recognise the internet's potential as
a cheap and wide reaching entry point for business.
Here are just a few notable online movers and shakers in
Malaysia:
a. Realestate.net.my: a simple, typical mode of a successful
website, the site ranks 118,909 on Alexa at the time of
writing and provides free use of a forum and property listings.
In exchange, it shows a multitude of Google ads at
strategically placed locations, no doubt taking a small sum
out of Google Adsense for little effort at all.
b. Malaysiakini.com.my: Founded by a former mainstream
journalist wishing for more latitude in his reporting than
possible in pro-government mainstream newspapers, this online
newspaper was started online and hence enjoys the benefit of
not requiring a press and printing licence that its mainstream
contemporaries do. Accordingly, the prospect of having its
licence cancelled does not constrain its every move. The public
enjoys the comparatively frank reporting coming out of its
website and indeed, it has probably done its bit to give more
wholesome reports on socio-political issues in Malaysia. All
this, whilst raking in a bit of cash for itself.
c. Kennysia.com: Malaysia's No. 1 blog comes from Kuching,
East Malaysia, by former IT professional who studied in Perth.
With his amusing wit and positive slant on issues, he tells
all about the transition of returning from Perth to Kuching,
trumpets his love for Kuching now and whips up a joke or two
about current issues and happenings around the region.
Article written by InvestAsia.
Get some modern plasma TV over here - california home theater - orange county home theater - home theater
American Idol
Competition encourages a person to strive towards greatness with the intention of achieving dominance. A person competes with others in various fields in which he/she is good, such as education, sports, music, dance etc. The person demonstrates his ultimate capacity in the specific field in relation to his competitor/s. The result comes out with an order of performances with the leader standing first in the winning list. The highest scoring participant is declared the winner or the Idol. The Idol becomes an icon that people recognize and later on accept as their role model.
Competitions
The competition and the events take place locally, regionally or internationally. Miss County, Miss Continent, Miss World and Miss Universe, Mister Universe etc. are examples of popular competitions that happen every year. There is a very exciting talent competition that has been popularized in America called American Idol. It is a competition platform that seeks out talented people from across America. This is incredibly entertaining; the talent show and the television industry bring together many people with wonderful results.
American Idol a concept
American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition that started on June 11, 2002. The concept was taken from the UK reality program Pop Idol. American Idol is a part of the Idol franchise. The objective of the program is to seek out and to discover the best young singer in the country. The talented singers are scrutinized through a series of examinations and make it to the final rounds of the competition via the approval of a panel of judges. The nationwide auditions are also a part of the judgment as verdict. The latter stages of this competition are wholly determined by public voting.
The American Idol competition show has three great judges who frequently critique the contestants' performances in order to facilitate the voting. Randy Jackson –the record producer and bass player; Paula Abdul –a former pop star; and Simon Cowell –a UK producer and manager are the three judges of American Idol. Ryan Seacrest is the current host of the competition show.
Popularity
American Idol has been telecast on the Fox Network in the United States, on Fox Network and CTV in Canada and ITV 2 in the United Kingdom. The Idol series was first created by Simon Fuller, manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7 and developed by Simon Jones of Thames Television. The directors of the show are Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video), Nigel Lythgoe (a judge on So You Think You Can Dance), Simon Fuller (creator) and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and Grudge Match). Apart from American cities, American Idol has been broadcast to over 100 nations outside of the United States.
AniBoom Eyedoll and American Idol
AniBoom Eyedoll is a parody contest based on the 'American Idol' TV show. This competition is an event program under the AniBoom Animation content project. The objective is to receive entries based on short animated parody/satires of the 'American Idol' contestants. The character sings a song that is either the animator’s own original song parody or one of 26 downloadable song parodies produced by AniBoom for this competition.
