Keys Archives - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

New Book Teaches Readers Keys to Network Marketing Success

Ripple Marketing by David Skultety is a concise and up-to-date book on everything that network marketing offers the aspiring entrepreneur who wants to work part-time to earn a few extra dollars, have a home-based business, or go all the way to create a full-time, lifelong, and fulfilling business career.

We’ve all heard bad things about network marketing, but despite those stories, the truth is that it works for many, many people, and it works because people make the effort to make it work. David Skultety himself has led two different network marketing teams, taking them from 1 to 100,000 in membership, so if anyone knows about the benefits and the woes of network marketing, it’s him, and in this new book, he reveals how people can use network marketing to their advantage, avoid its pitfalls, and reap its rewards.

The book begins with a foreword by David Litt, a network marketing corporate executive, who states “There are people in my life who have lots of money and very little time. There are people in my life who have lots of time and very little money. But the only people in my life who have lots of money and lots of time are my friends who are network marketing professionals like David [Skultety].”

David Skultety then takes over and walks readers through the entire process of finding the right network marketing company for them, how to build up their network by finding other people to join them, and how to help the people below them as they build their networks so those people can succeed and still benefit the people above them; after all, network marketing is about far more than sales-it’s about creating residual income based on other people’s efforts. As David Litt says, as a result, “ultimately this book is a blueprint for long-term financial freedom.”

David Skultety impressed me from the first page, and I quickly understood why his friends call him a “networker’s networker.” He has always had an entrepreneurial mindset, as he tells us through stories about how when he was twelve, he had a coffee and lemonade stand at a gas station during the 1979 oil embargo when cars were lined up there. In the sixth grade, he was making $20 a day selling candy to classmates so he could buy a moped. He’s always been involved in some sort of business since then.

Ripple Marketing is far from being like an infomercial of hot air about the benefits of being in network marketing-though those benefits are worth mentioning, such as: the low investment, having a home-based business, tax advantages, ability to sell without borders, working part-time, time-flexibility, and eventual financial freedom. Beyond that, David Skultety gives practical advice and information about how the entire process works and how the reader can become successful.

Various chapter topics include how to find a mentor, accepting that building a business will take time, and how to focus on income-producing activities rather than getting caught up in the minutia of items like building your website and continually improving it or reading up on your products-important activities, but also things that people sometimes focus on in a pretense of working when they should be out selling and networking.

My favorite discussion in the book was about how to overcome fear and develop the three proper mindsets you need to succeed, including the mindset of success. David also gives his top five tips for how to develop the proper mindsets beginning with learning how to feel good about yourself. I appreciated it when he was honest and straightforward about what people have to do to succeed and how it all boils down to motivation. At one point, he states:

“Over the years, I’ve watched countless people talk a good game. They talk about building it big. They claim to possess all the skill sets necessary to succeed. They show up at events and set goals. But they can’t seem to get out of their own way because they have not made one simple decision-the decision that they are going to use the model of network marketing to achieve their dreams, goals, and aspirations.

“In order to make that decision, you may need to overcome your limiting beliefs, you may need to become fearless in talking to people, and you may need to be forever dedicated to working on yourself and helping others do the same.”

David talks a lot about the importance of getting out there and talking to people-you can’t succeed otherwise. He talks about how this can be done numerous ways, including by hosting a series of home launch parties, setting up conference calls, and using social media. In all these cases, you are able to connect with people, and when you understand their needs, find their pain, and put yourself in their situations, you can find out how your product can be a solution to their problems. David also walks the reader through how to make each of these types of connections successful.

Another key point David makes is that when you are selling your products, you can also be introducing people to the idea of entering network marketing themselves so that you can add to your residual income through their efforts. I was impressed by how David pointed out here that we cannot prejudge people, thinking someone will or won’t be interested in our product or business, and then only sticking with the safe people like our family and friends. Instead, we need to go out and sell both our product and our business to the brightest and best people we know if we really want our business to grow and create ripples.

I was also impressed by the information David shares about the importance of learning how to duplicate your products so that you can keep producing them and earning income from them without a lot of extra work.

There is so much more in Ripple Marketing, but I’ll just conclude by mentioning that David believes in servant leadership. He believes in serving the people below him in the network chain so that they can succeed. And, of course, that only benefits him and everyone else in the network.

The back of the book includes additional resources such as “Selecting the Right Company for You,” “The 10 Deadly Sins of Network Marketing,” and recent statistics on network marketing.

Of course, network marketing isn’t for everyone, but if you make the investment to read this book, I think you will be pleasantly surprised that as long as you’re willing to talk to people, it can be a lot more exciting and fulfilling an opportunity than you imagined, and before you know it, the ripple you make can become a wave you can ride for a lifetime.

How A School In The Kingdom of Bahrain May Hold Keys To The Future

As mentioned in a previous article, the world’s education systems are challenged to transform themselves to meet the needs of the knowledge economy. For world economic growth their graduates need to be able to get jobs or start their own businesses. There may be validity in the idea that education needs to remain somewhat separate from the needs of business, otherwise we have schools becoming little more than factories that turn out that people required by industry. At the same time the products that education graduate are people, and people want to have jobs and employment as well as to enjoy not mere survival but also the luxuries that they see others enjoying.

This is the second in a series of articles on the challenges and potential changes that face education in the 21st century. The obvious direct approach to preparing people of all ages for new work, is to teach them that work. This has led educators to see education in two tracks: one the academic that teaches students to think, process ideas, problem solve and to be scientific. The other, alternate track was vocationally driven. This often implied a somehow “less than” status to vocational work. Students were slotted to go one way or the other. The modern world is less compartmentalized than that, and seeing vocation or academics as two separate ways of being will no longer function. The modern employee or entrepreneur is required to maintain many of the same skills as the academic. Everyone needs to research information, organize it to meet the needs of their particular context, publish it in digital and non-digital formats, and be prepared to engage in active debate on the ideas they are working with. This is as true for a group of tradespeople as it is for professors, managers, business owners. The disconnect is that while some of these skills may develop during group work or project-based learning, most of the world still learns in classrooms with rows of desks, a teacher at the front, and students madly scribbling notes preparing themselves to regurgitate the content being handed to them when it comes time to take a test. What would a school look like if we started over? The answer to that question is being addressed in the Kingdom of Bahrain by their new Polytechnic University.

This article briefly discusses those ideas in the hopes that they are interesting to others and that they start a debate about new possibilities that are can be employed to transform education.

Bahrain Polytechnic University

All good action research starts with delving into current circumstances and understanding what is needed, perhaps that is the reason I like Bahrain Polytechnic so much. They started to design a program by conducting a series of interviews with human relations department to find out what they expected from the graduates they hired. Their findings demonstrated that the current perception of employers was that 49% of college graduates did not have the soft skills they needed (i.e. teamwork communication and problem-solving), 44% did not have the requisite language, math, or vocational skills that were needed, and 42% did not have an understanding of professional conduct or were not properly motivated to do good work. This puts a heavy burden on employers because their recruiting and training process is expensive and if almost 50% of the people they hire do not have the basics, they are inclined to go out of country for their recruiting. Using the interview process the design team for Bahrain Polytechnic then decided that they needed a curriculum that embedded these skills in the curriculum not just as an add-on or byproduct of the educational process. They concluded that traditional context and knowledge-based education must change and rapidly. This is not easy, it has a lot of things pushing against it. For instance, when you’re starting something new people don’t have confidence that you know what you’re doing, especially if what you’re doing implies that what they are doing is not good enough. Also there is a difficulty in finding staff through who will carry through on your vision, because, after all, your vision is new and likely to be misinterpreted. Finally, the facilities that you inherit from other models are, by definition, outmoded and get in the way of what you were trying to accomplish.

In spite of these challenges Bahrain Polytechnic has come up with three sets of skills, or types of growth, that will be overlaid and worked on concurrently throughout the students tenure at the University. There will of course be the academic studies, but alongside direct instruction will be employ-ability skills, and a continuously developing self-knowledge profile. In other words, these students will be continuously evaluated on their attitude, their delivery, and the coherency between those and how they see themselves. Marvelous! Educators will say things like, “that all sounds great but how are you can measure it?” Although this is still a work in progress, Bahrain Polytechnic has made great strides in answering that question. Still two years away from their first graduating class, they see their graduates having three transcripts that they will bring to future employers. The first provides an overview of the range of achievement levels on academic content, the same as provided by universities worldwide.

The second is what they call an employ-ability profile in which the student has had to demonstrate and been continually assessed by staff on what are considered the soft skills of communication, teamwork, problem solving, initiative and enterprise, planning and organization, self-management, learning and technology. Those same skills are evaluated by the students themselves in their self-knowledge profile. Then all three are graphically laid over one another in order to give the employer a visual representation of the whole person who is applying for the job. How is this done? Through a curriculum that builds on the foundation program of strong English skills, the ability to research, use of information technology and math. The degrees offered are bachelors or diplomas in: visual design, international logistics management, information and communications technology, business, office management, web media, and engineering technology. They are just starting the process of design for the new campus, where the architecture of the buildings they inhabit will help rather than hinder their mission through wide-open spaces, easy places to meet, an atmosphere that promotes project work 24/7 etc. It was my pleasure to be able to sit in on their discussion with the architect, and that alone should dramatically increase the ability to think creatively, as the students will no longer be contained in rows of boxes. Their campus fits with the lifestyle engendered by digital natives, who jump easily between social, organizational, and project design work.

This article looked into an innovative solution to the problems addressed in previous writing about the apparent disconnect between education graduates and the needs of the employers who will hire them. Even as a start-up, this university has good management and solid backing from the Kingdom of Bahrain. At this points it looks as thought there is every likelihood that it will fulfill its mission. I said elsewhere, it is easier to start fresh in some instances such as when you are making dramatic change, then to refit existing structures. Future articles in this series will look into the ways and means in which action research can help when education and policy are faced with a “refit” rather than start over is good process.

Five Secret Keys You Must Know To A Successful Home Based Internet Business

Are you already in the internet business? Maybe you are enjoying money rolling into your bank account while you are sleeping, or maybe you have tried a few online internet businesses but didn’t quite work out. Or are you just starting to look at what is available on the internet?

Well, this article is not about which scheme or program that will help you get rich fast, but it will provide the essential keys to developing a long-term successful internet business.

So, what are the secrets? Read on, and you will be amazed how true these secret keys will help you to start a successful internet business.

Secret key 1 – You must have a product – that will help you generates real sales and real value. You sell a product that other people are looking for. The various pyramid schemes that you may have heard of cannot help you develop long-term success online.

Secret key 2 – Make your presence known online. What do you need? You need a web site and an auto responder – this is a communication tool between you and your leads. Don’t expect that you can simply subscribe to some programs and money will start pouring in. You can’t become millionaire overnight with these programs and not doing anything!

Secret key 3 – You must work to make it happen. You must be willing to commit a certain number of hours each day working online. Be consistent, and not be tempted to take a few days off when things get too mundane or sales aren’t coming by. Finish what you have started!

Secret key 4 – You must be committed for long term success. In case you don’t know, internet marketing expertise and income don’t come just happen instantly to most people. However, if you remain committed and stick to your objective, success will continue to flow in. Once you build the momentum on the web, income will start coming in gradually and can be long-term. For every piece of hard work you put in, you will be rewarded with continued, real income in the long run.

Secret key 5 – Invest to widen your knowledge on online internet business. We are not born to know everything about making money online. The ‘gurus’, who have learned the hard way, have written books and programs to teach you what to do and how to do it in the most efficient way. So, be willing to invest some money on you education so that you can learn from these experts, and ultimately, achieve success in the online internet business.

These are the five Secret keys – simple, but if followed closely, you can be assured the key of success to anything online.

5 Keys for Startup Investors

Hundreds of thousands of businesses are formed every year. Many of them are in significant need of capital, presenting opportunities for investors.

While startup investing is not for everyone, those with a high risk tolerance can find it a stimulating and potentially rewarding pastime. The possibility of getting in on the ground floor of the next Uber or Facebook, speculative as that might be, can be compelling.

Suppose you hear about an exciting new company looking for investors. You are aware that a majority of startups end up failing within the first few years, but you think this one could hit it big. What do you do?

1. Check out the Management

You ultimately are investing not just in a product or an idea, but in the people running the company. No matter how innovative or promising the business concept may seem, the enterprise is unlikely to succeed without capable management. You should assess not only the founders, but also those promoting the investment. An initial review often can be done online. In the case of those with professional licenses (such as brokers, accountants, and attorneys), you can check their license status and any disciplinary history. You want the people running or associated with the company to not only have clean backgrounds, but also a record of success in other ventures. Look for qualities such as experience, intelligence, creativity, integrity, discipline, and leadership ability.

2. Determine How the Business Will Make Money

Lots of companies are based on an intriguing concept. But the company must be able to translate that concept into a product or service that it can produce and sell at a profit and in sufficient quantities to generate reasonable cash flow. What is the startup’s monetization plan? What is the market demand? Who are the competitors? What is the marketing strategy? Is the business scalable, having the ability to grow rapidly without sacrificing quality or profitability? If the company is unable to provide good answers to these questions, its likelihood of success is dubious.

3. Rely on Advisors

If you are buying a used car, it is good practice to hire a mechanic to look the vehicle over to make sure you are not getting a lemon. The same principle applies in evaluating a startup. It is crucial to use qualified professionals, such as an attorney and accountant. Make sure your advisors are familiar with startups-an attorney specializing in personal injury cases probably will not be a good fit. You may also want to consult with experts in the business sector in which the startup operates. Your advisors will provide various insights you would not have on your own. They also will help you command respect from the company.

4. Thoroughly Research the Startup

Ask lots of questions and request lots of documents. If the business is concerned about revealing confidential information, it can have you sign a nondisclosure agreement. You and your advisors will want to examine the startup’s business plan, offering memorandum, financial statements, budgets, capitalization table, and corporate documents (articles, bylaws, prior investor agreements, etc.) If the documents are shoddy or incomplete, that is a bad sign. Be wary of internal financial statements; statements prepared by an outside CPA have more credibility. Audited financial statements are best, but are less common because of their expense. If your investigation raises red flags, insist on complete explanations.

5. Review the Investment Documents

Your advisors can be of great help here. At the very least, you want to be fully informed as to how the deal is being structured and what rights and obligations you and the company will have. Your attorney can advise you as to what document changes might be in your best interests and help you negotiate with the company. Your accountant can let you know whether the valuation seems reasonable. Do not proceed unless everything is fully documented. You should not invest based on a handshake or mere verbal assurances.

Startup investing requires patience and hard work. Although there are no guarantees, you can reduce the risks and boost the chances of success by following the principles discussed above.

Three Keys to Developing a Personal Brand

The internet has sparked a trend called ‘Personal Branding’. Branding identifies and differentiates you, your business, and your products and services so you stand out from the crowd, get noticed – and get hired.

Personal Branding can be the most powerful tool for success in your self-marketing toolkit.It involves identifying your key strengths and expertise, identifying the real needs that you can meet for your ideal clients, and then communicating your message consistently in many different ways.

You can identify, package and market who you are to build a personal brand that leads to business growth, influence, and income.

Here are three key things you need to develop a strong personal brand:

1. A clear, unique strength, talent, or expertise.

Get clear on your personal strengths, talents, values, and core area of expertise. Understand how you connect best with people. Consider what your target audience needs and wants, and then identify the value and the experience that you can deliver to meet those needs and wants. Communicate in ways that reach into the hearts and minds of your target audience and connect with their core values and deepest desires.

2. An ability to clearly articulate that uniqueness.

The personal branding process is about having self-awareness of your strengths and talents, and then letting everyone know about your gifts, talents, and experience. It’s about giving a clear impression of who you are, what you value, what you’re committed to, and how you can be counted upon to act. It’s about having clear, key marketing messages to convey in all of your communications with prospects and clients.

Your branding statement must provide a clear, concise view of your unique set of strengths and tell why you can do it better than anyone else. You need to be able to state clearly and unequivocally why you are different than everyone else, and what services you offer that make you unique and set you ahead of your competition.

3. The persistence to communicate your brand consistently through many channels.

Consistency is one of the keys to building a strong personal brand. Be aware of being consistent in every interaction you have, both in what you say and how you respond.

Your brand is developed over time by all the associations made, the expectations met, the messages communicated, and the services delivered. A great way to deliver a consistent message is through an email newsletter that you send on a regular basis to clients and prospects. You can write articles in your area of expertise so that over time people come to know and trust you. They’ll know what you stand for, how knowledgeable you are, and how you work with clients.

Establishing a Professional Brand is absolutely critical to long term, sustainable business growth. In an overcrowded marketplace, if you’re not standing out, then you’re invisible. Branding your products and services will give you an edge over your competition and enhance your value to your target market.

Personal Branding will differentiate you, your business, and your products and services so that you stand out from the crowd, get noticed – and get hired.

The marketplace is waiting for you to make your mark on it. What are you waiting for?

Personal Branding is all about knowing what you have to offer to your marketplace and what makes you different from everyone else so that you can stand out and be recognized and remembered. It is having a reputation for delivering a product, program, or service that delivers extreme value to your target market.

Fill in your answers to the following to gain clarity on the unique aspects of your Professional Brand:

1. My top three personal strengths:

2. My top three talents:

3. My core area of expertise:

4. What my target audience needs and wants:

5. The value and the experience I can deliver to meet those needs and wants:

6. What I can do better than anyone else:

7. What services I offer that differentiate me and set me ahead of my competition:

Developing a brand identity is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. With some thought and creativity, all the pieces will eventually fit.

3 Keys To Starting A Small Business

Since the majority of startup small businesses fail, how can you succeed?

Before we answer this, who am I? I have set up and sold 4 small businesses over the last few years, all of which continue to be successful, so I know a few things about the subject.

Now, let’s get to the main points:

Planning

It is important to know what, when, why, where and how you are going to start your business. Unless you have clear focus, don’t even try, it will just be a waste of your time and energy.

In addition, you will want to do whatever courses are available that might help you achieve your goals. For instance, in my case, before starting my most recent venture, I completed a Certificate 3 in Business Studies, a Diploma in Digital Marketing, a Diploma in Sales, and, a Diploma in Project Management.

Practice

What I mean by practice is not to just dive straight in and learn on the job, no, what will really help you is to observe how SUCCESSFUL people have started the same kind of business that you are attempting to start. How can you do this? One effective way is by getting a job in the industry where you intend to work. Once you have done this, observe the process. If it truly is a successful business, they will have a highly organized and effective process.

Another possibility is actually starting the business. I know, I know, I said don’t do this, however, this suggestion has a little difference. Start the business with no expectations. Become the marketing director, accounts manager, sales director etc… do everything yourself. The problem with this approach is that it will take up huge amounts of time, amounts of time that will be saved, if you are able to work in a successful business that someone else has started. Yes, this suggestion is the harder of the two routes, however what it does do is go from theory to a complete practical knowledge of the industry, to become fully immersed in it.

Pursue

There is a reason why 4 out of 5 small business start ups fail, the rewards are hard to achieve and take inordinate amounts of time to achieve. How can you get over this obstacle?

The key is to Pursue. You need to be focused on your goal, and, never to look away or be distracted from this purpose. How long can you focus on your goal? Only you can answer that! However, realistically, it will take you some years to truly progress in your endeavor. If you are someone who gives up easily, you should really not try to start a business. Instead, look for a well paying job.

The Benefits

If it is all such hard work, why bother? The rewards can be huge. Consider just a few:

*Time – Have a flexible schedule, spend more time with your family or other priorities.

*Passive Income – Depending on the type of business you intend to start, it may keep paying you even when you are not working.

*Capital Gains – You have the possibility of achieving significant R.O.I on the outlay involved in starting your business.

Want to start a business? Go for it! But, remember to Plan, Practice and Pursue!

3 Tried & Tested Insider Keys to Captivating Your Audience

Do you know that the average attention span of a human is less than that of a goldfish? Wait, you had heard that already, but you forgot, didn’t you? I know I did.

In 2015, a Microsoft led study concluded that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000, to eight seconds over the last 15 years. The same researchers also found that the ability of humans to multitask has improved.

Your job as a speaker is getting more difficult with each passing year. Your audience is now checking the stock market, texting their family, dispensing a treat on their connected dog app, maybe even taking a selfie while they are supposedly listening to you. Phew! Is it any wonder that you now have to work twice as hard to capture their attention? No matter how good you already are, you will have to skill up your game significantly.

#1 Have a conversation

I work with a business leader who captivates audiences. Every time he makes a speech, he steals the show. Audiences can’t have enough of him, and other speakers prefer not to take the stage after him. I asked people why they love him, and the universal response is he makes them feel like they are having a personal conversation, the message directed specially to them.

If, like him, you want your audience’s unwavering attention, converse with your audience, don’t just talk at them. Speak, then pause and listen. Keep your audience active and focused on you, making them a part of your speech.

Here are some easy and fun techniques we use to involve the audience:

· have a show of hands

· use technology to conduct an “in-room” live poll

· leave some blanks on your slides and invite the audience to guess or fill these in

· ask for volunteers to help you demonstrate a process

· after you share an idea, give them a minute to practice it

· share an idea, and ask the audience how they would apply it to their own situation

#2 Tell a Story

I heard you groan, didn’t I? It seems like storytelling is the new “it thing”, and everyone wants in on it. Yes, that’s because it works.

Everyone loves a good story. It’s the earliest form of human communication. Stories are how children first learn to understand the world around them, and it works just as well later in life. So, use a story to set up your theme, weave a thread through your speech, and direct your audience’s attention to your key messages.

Recently, I was prepping a speaker who wanted to showcase the value of industry ecosystems as enablers of the Internet of Things. To set up this assertion, we told a story from India’s struggle for independence. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, aka India’s first revolt against British rule, may never have come to fruition if in 1851 the East India Company had not laid the foundation of a railway network in the country. For decades, there had been escalating unrest among various sections of Indian nationalists, and it was manifest as isolated small-scale protests scattered across the country. These uprisings had failed to capitalize on each other’s momentum?-?for lack of communication and coordination.

The Sepoy Mutiny began in the barracks in Meerut, when the soldiers rebelled against the use of cow and pig grease on bullets. At any other time, this is where it would have started and ended?-?but this time was different. The railway network?-?which connected a few major cities in the northern and central parts of India?-?enabled news of the uprising to spread. It also allowed for congregation of the various mutiny leaders in a short period of time, and transformed a localized mutiny into India’s first war for independence.

We then drew a parallel between this episode and how different industry clusters are going to ride the network (internet) and collaborate to build the Internet of Things. This helped the listeners to visualize the network as an enabler of ecosystems and growth.

#3 Timing is Everything

The way people process information is changing. A 2010 study asked students to self-report lapses in attention while attending three lectures, with different speakers and teaching styles.

The results revealed a pattern of attention loss, with “spikes” at

· 30 seconds into the lecture, indicating a “settling in” period

· about five minutes after the initial distraction

· seven to nine minutes into the lecture

· nine to ten minutes in, just a couple of minutes after the last spike

I have found that it is possible to keep your audience engaged, when you use attention-heightening techniques to counteract these attention lapses. Nudge the audience into active listening by varying the tone and pace of your delivery. Display a striking visual or write on a flip-board to keep their eyes focused on you. The conversational / interaction tactics we discussed earlier work particularly well at these times.