Richard Branson On Turning An Idea Into Business

Vinicius Covas - Brazil

Q: I’m an entrepreneurship major who has a lot of ideas for new ventures. The one thing my college education hasn’t taught me, which always holds me back, is where to start. How do I know what to do first? I feel so lost! – Taylor Matysik, University of St. Thomas, United States

Regardless of how new you are to the process of starting a business, feeling lost or overwhelmed is understandable and for many people, simply part of the process. A degree in business doesn’t always include training in the practical skills an entrepreneur needs to start a company, and even when it does, actually applying what you’ve learned can be daunting. Once you’ve graduated, you may find that you need to keep topping up your skills with online courses,mentoring programs and – most importantly – real-world experience.

The good news is that a great business starts with a great idea, so you’re already well on your way.

The first step: Before you start doing anything practical, settle into a place you find relaxing – I regularly work from my hammock at my home on Necker Island – and envision the company that you can create based on your best idea. It should be a company that you can believe in, heart, soul and wallet.

Are you enthusiastic about how this business will make a difference in people’s lives? This is crucial, because if you love your work, you are far more likely to persevere despite the long hours and struggles that are an inevitable part of an entrepreneur’s life – and your successes and celebrations will be all the sweeter.

You mentioned elsewhere in your note to me that your minor is in the recording arts, so I presume that you have a passion for music. Have you spotted a gap in that sector? Having started my career in the record industry 40 years ago, I can tell you that it’s a fun ride. With the explosion of music services on the Web, there are sure to be new opportunities.

Next is the Mum Test, a method I’ve always relied on when deciding whether to pursue an idea. Ask your mother for her honest thoughts on your plans. If she glazes over when you describe the new venture, return to your hammock and start over. If she gets excited, you could be onto a winner. As a lifelong entrepreneur herself, my mum is an excellent judge on such matters, but even if your mother isn’t business-savvy, she’ll have your best interests at heart.

The next steps involve risk, which may be why you’re hesitating – the risk of putting your idea out there and of committing your time and resources. Some people hang back at this stage, trying to perfect their plan, and then end up spending more time on it than actually running the business. Successful entrepreneurs don’t wait for the perfect moment — they create it.

Develop some samples of what you intend to sell, and when you’re happy with your product or service, begin the best and cheapest form of market research you can — ask your friends, family members, neighbors and social media followers to try it out. If the reaction is negative, consider tweaking your offering. Don’t let this process get you down: A few changes do not mean that your idea wasn’t a good one — this is merely the first of many adjustments in your plan. Flexibility and the ability to solve problems creatively are great qualities in an entrepreneur.

Once you’ve made those changes, try selling small batches of your product or offer initial introductions to the service wherever you can — online, door to door, at street fairs, and so on. Continue asking for feedback, and keep in touch with those customers. Make sure you get the branding right: Does it stand out? Do your brand values attract eager customers? Will they also attract talented employees?

As your customers’ reactions become strongly positive, you’ll need to start thinking about providing more of the product or service, and of short-term concerns. St. Francis of Assisi said: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Practical matters will start coming up, like how to distribute your product and how to manage cash flow. It may be time to begin pitching your idea to potential investors and distributors, and also to start hiring and delegating.

If you’ve followed the steps above, you may soon realize that I’ve pulled a tiny prank on you: You’ve now got a working startup, without ever having set a launch date. Great work!

And good luck with your new business!

What I Learned From Carlos Kasuga, President Of Yakult

Vinicius Covas - Brazil

Listening is gold, speech is silver. This saying there are problems when we have the opportunity to listen to people who, in fact, are worth gold. In recent days I learned a lot from a Mexican named Carlos Kasuga Japanese, president of Yakult. What he told me was much more than 110 ml and 8000 live lactobacilli, but the exact dose that all we would need to take leadership, discipline, education and entrepreneurship.

I want to share with you some teachings of this leader.

As you may know, Yakult is highly beneficial to strengthen the body. In 1930 there was a severe shortage of Japan food that resulted in thousands of deaths from intestinal infection, and from there this drink was created. Hence already pulled the first lesson is to find the fault and meet somehow. That is, always be aware of the "gaps" that life offers and be ready.

Kasuga, like all good Japanese, is an example of a disciplined person. I really like what he preaches about being punctual for all. If I arrive 10 minutes late for some compromise, and this compromise expect me 10 people on this occasion were lost 100 minutes that will never return. One hundred minutes that could be being fully exploited in countless ways.

Kasuga Lord told me that once was accompanying the minister of Japan on a visit to Mexico and this day happened a manifestation of teachers, claiming higher wages. The minister arrived late without knowing what it was the manifestation and when he was informed by the President of Mexico, who told him with contempt, the Japanese representative stated that in his country teachers are among those receiving higher wages, as they are the basis of everything that moves your country. "The education of a people is the strongest industry. Those who receive the education that we offer today are the same that are already building Japan 2050 ", taught me Kasuga.

There are 4 principles that he seeks support in their business, but also in your life.

1) Well being: To be honest, punctual, clean, responsible and most importantly, worker. 

2) Well do:. Do it all from the beginning 

3) Wellness: Give more than you receive the family, to work, society. This will make you feel full happiness. 

4) Well have: If you meet the above three steps, you will achieve what you seek, including material things, like money.

Carlos Kasuga advises adopting a 'moral salary. " Nobody works only for money. You need to praise, motivate, make people feel cherished, useful and necessary. This moral salary will be converted into many benefits, including smiles.

In an anecdote, Kasuga told me that one success can be embedded in an aunt. Two situations: In one, the girl managed to get out and as he passed by her aunt room told her she was ugly with such clothing. The girl, sad, was the party. Getting there a super interesting guy called her to dance, and she embarrassed to be with such ugly clothes, not accepted. In another situation, the same girl all packed and aunt praised her, saying she was beautiful. It was the party and getting there, the interesting guy makes the invitation to dance and she accepted because he had the confidence to not slip on the application.

Learned from Carlos Kasuga we have to adopt a discipline ourselves and manage our life as if it were a company, governed by principles and goals.

I Learned.

SOS BUSINESS: The Book-Labeling For Your Business

Vinicius Covas - Brazil

One of the great powers for the creation and maintenance of business in the economy of the twenty-first century is the management of emotional intelligence. A leader off its axis, with no sense of direction and mental health will undoubtedly ruin all a business project. Based on this principle, SOS Business book, written by the Portuguese Aaron Warrior, Domingos Pereira, Sandman and Tiago Freire. SOS Business nortea some major points for the management of an effective and healthy business with an innovative combination based on financial management, planning, innovation, creativity in marketing and advertising, facial language associated with the business and pioneering techniques in energy medicine.

In SOS Business, the authors simplify and share the knowledge gained in years dedicated to business career and explore little known trends, but that can make the difference in time to draw a well structured and healthy business plan.

Merchants, entrepreneurs, workers, students and curious are most welcome to this reading. SOS BUSINESS is available for purchase on Amazon.com or on the CD www.sosnegocios.net

Mary Laurent Launches Couture Line Of Handbags And Shoes

Up and coming fashion label Mary Laurent has recently launched their brand new product line up for this season. Mary Laurent is an Anglo-French fashion label that currently specializes in accessories made from luxurious fabrics and unique materials. Mary Laurent currently produces accessories for both men and women.

Mary Laurent has produced an exquisite line up of women’s handbags that have been made with high quality materials and have been carefully hand crafted. We can expect many vivid colors and exotic prints in their current couture handbag selection. Mary Laurent has produced a large line up of designer women’s shoes ranging from sandals, boots, and elegant stilettos. This shoe line up is fashion forward and was crafted with the modern and fashionable woman in mind. Mary Laurent has also crafted a sophisticated line of mens shoes and briefcases that are geared towards the professional businessman.

The couture line of Mary Laurent is currently sold in only a select few shops throughout London, England and Paris, France.

Mary Laurent offers their full product line up through their online shopwww.marylaurent.com. The online shop is constantly offering many great promotions and specials to the public. Currently they are offering 20% off select handbags. Online customers are able to purchase and ship these designer products worldwide.

Mary Laurent is a high fashion label to watch out for within the coming months. At the end of 2014, Mary Laurent is launching a brand new and unique designer denim line up. Although they have only just released their couture line up, they are already competing with more well known brands. Mary Laurent is well on their way to becoming a top international fashion designer.

Mary Laurent | http://www.marylaurent.com

How To Make Money With Bitcoin And ALFAcashier?

Vinicius Covas - Brazil;

You know the ALFAcashier ? I also did not know, but these days I have been looking for cool and interesting methods to literally "make money on the internet r ", and it was then that I found the ALFAcashier , which is currency exchange platform "digital" as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, and also traditional currencies such as the dollar and euro. The difference is that the money type is not controlled by any central bank, but by encryption, so it becomes pretty sure.

My idea with this article is to help you understand how the market "bitcoin" and how we can profit from it. I had no knowledge of that, now I know that we can raise some money with this novelty easily and simply with a click of the mouse.

To enter this world is necessary to register in some of the sites that offer the service over the Internet, the ALFAcashier is one of them and during my research, I have given me has to be the best. Importantly, to conduct transactions, you must pay a small percentage for the service. With a clear and easy to use navigation and also has translations into other languages, the ALFAcashier also monitors for you possible currency fluctuations, ensuring the accuracy of your bank transfer.
How to profit from the new world of business "bitcoin" and the ALFAcashier?

This may be good news for you who has a blog, Facebook page, or who likes to deal with online business. The ALFAcashier has a partner program that aims to attract the proposal from online currency exchange for more customers. It's just you to register with the affiliate program and then enter the project banner on your web pages, which can be your personal blog or even your signature on any forum that you participate). This image should direct the user to the site of ALFAcashier . In this link there is a unique code which indicates that the visitor got to the ALFAcashier from you and it is then that you start earning. You can earn 5% to 20% of the value of any exchange operation by the user! And the more customers you invite to the site of ALFAcashier , the more likely transfers and thus more money will be deposited in the account. I have already signed up and started to make my first serves.
What are bitcoin? And how is the market?

Come on! Bitcoin is a criptomoeda whose creation and transfer is based on open source protocol encryption that is independent of any central authority. A bitcoin can be transferred by a computer or a smartphone without using an intermediate financial institution. The concept was introduced in 2008 in a paper published by a programmer Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym that called electronic system of peer to peer payment.