Posts Tagged ‘entrepreneur’

The Business of Happiness

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

By Henna Merchant

We are all in the business of happiness, no matter the means. We make our daily living by serving others and delivering value to others.

Most of us know this regardless of education or experience, but as someone who operates a service-based business, my job is to help others be aware of it and optimize their assets to their fullest gains.

Our respective success ultimately depends on the extent to which we connect with others, and how skilled we are at establishing and maintaining relationships. This is nothing new. It is our personalities that we leverage to achieve relationships, and successful brands and companies are run by genuine people who practice this standard of communication.

One of my mentors, Rohit Bhargava, Senior Vice President of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, a genuinely nice person (and quite brilliant, if I might say so) is on the verge of launching his second book titled “Likeanomics,” the premise of which is that relationships are based on real interactions, with personality and humanity.

Prior to this book, Rohit wrote (and disclaimer: I was formerly his publicist on this one) Personality Not Included, a practical guide for brands on how to communicate with their publics and build successful relationships. As a persuasive communications practitioner, I mention these books because the concepts are powerful and they have helped me better serve my clients and also everyone else in my life. And they offer a great reminder: that we are all in the business of happiness.

Henna Merchant is the Principal of Clicked :: Digital PR & Marketing Communications, an agency that combines digital influence, social and traditional media, public relations and marketing to produce a persuasive communications mix.

To Be Paid or Not To Be Paid – That is the Real Business Question.

Friday, May 6th, 2011

By Colleen Rice Nelson

Being a small business owner I frequently get asked what to do when clients don’t pay me for completed work. There are 3 things you can do to minimize the risk of not getting paid:

First, any entrepreneur or freelancer who doesn’t take basic small business courses from SBA.org (many for free) or some similar program is asking for trouble. If you pay self-employment tax you are a full-fledged business in the eyes of the IRS – so act like it. Learning about how to set up your business plan will help you get organized; so that non-payment will either not happen or you will have some type of recourse set up in advance.

Second, get it in writing. If you are a business you need a good contract. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a lawyer, you just need to make sure that you include all the points about the service, product or work you are providing to your client, and points about situations that may or may not occur.

Finally, sometimes you need to “Just Say No…” thank you! If you have a gut reaction to a client that doesn’t sit right with you for more than 24 hours, say ‘no thank you,’ and move on. Chances are your gut is right. It’s your business and you can decide who you choose to work with and for.

The real difference between being a business or not is getting paid for your work. Setting up your business plan, service contracts and trusting your gut can go a long way in being perceived and feeling like a real business person. It doesn’t matter what you do or where you do your work – it just matters if you get paid.

Colleen Rice Nelson is a self employed business woman who runs a multimedia consulting business,The Ultimate Answer, helping her clients answer their questions about the world wide web.

6 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Business

Monday, July 20th, 2009

[From Inc Magazine]

Inventor or entrepreneur?

Inventor or entrepreneur?


1. Do you believe you have what it takes?
2. Are you able to let other people down?
3. How do you handle setbacks?
4. Are you really an inventor, rather than an entrepreneur?
5. Can you accept that your company may outgrow you?
6. When you look in the mirror, does an entrepreneur look back?