Written on 6:02 PM by KOWAJA
Kevin Eikenberry
I could start this article extolling the importance of listening in our everyday lives, in our ability to lead others, in our ability to improve relationships and communications in general. I could lament that while throughout our school experiences we were taught the communication skills of writing and speaking, but seldom was any time spent learning the skills of listening.
I could do those things, but I won't.
You've heard and said all of those things before. There is no value in me going over that litany again. Besides, if we had all bought into those arguments, we'd be walking around as better listeners. Sadly, for most of us, most of the time, this isn't true.
That chorus of comments assumes or implies that the heart of great listening is skills.
I don't agree.
Don't get me wrong, I believe the skills of great listening are important, I just don't think that is our problem. We know how to listen; we've exhibited the skills at some points I our lives. We just don't do it nearly often enough.
So, if it isn't skill that keeps us from consistent great listening, what is it? I believe there are three factors: Intention, Attention, and Effort. Let me explain.
Intention
When you begin communicating with someone your intention, conscious or subconscious, will directly impact how you listen. Consider this short list of possible intentions:
You want to persuade the other person.
You want your point of view heard.
You want to get through this conversation as quickly as possible.
You want to build the relationship.
You want the person to like you (more).
You want to “set them straight”.
You want to give them some feedback or coaching.
I could expand this list, but this is enough to make my point. Your intention at the beginning of the conversation will have an impact on how completely and carefully you listen during the conversation.
Want to be a better listener instantly? Set your intention on the other person instead of yourself. Intend to understand their message. Or, to be more blunt:
Stop being so selfish.
Great listening is an act of caring, of service and, yes, of love.
Make the conversation about the other person; desire to understand their perspective, ideas and thoughts. With this intention your mental mandate is no longer muddy and you will listen more effectively.
Attention
In every communication encounter we make a choice - subconsciously or consciously. The choice is whether or not we are going to pay attention. This is separate from our intention; however, they are closely linked. The reason I separate them is that even if our intention isn't crystal clear, we can make a choice in the moment to pay attention.
However, when our intention is clearly focused on the other person, it is much easier to make this choice. In fact, the best way to make the attention choice a habit is to get our intention in our communications more clearly set.
There are two parts to our attention in a listening situation and they are both important - attention to the person (which intention helps with significantly) and attention to the topic.
In short, get interested in both!
When you do you allow your listening skills to improve.
Effort
Listening is hard. We have to put our interests aside for the moment. We have to fight through our thoughts, unclear word choices, a million distractions.
It takes effort.
And it isn't a passive activity when done well - it requires energy and engagement and thought. It isn't a fluke that great listening is often called active listening. Great listening is an active, participatory process.
To do it well, we must work at it.
It is really just this simple. If you want to improve your listening effectiveness, don't ignore the active listening skills of paraphrasing, making eye contact and more; just don't start there.
Start with your intention and purpose for listening, continue by resolving to place your full attention on the other person, and based on those two factors, make the effort.
We all know the fruits of listening more effectively are many. Intention, Attention and Effort will give you a roadmap for success.
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Potential Pointer: Our ability to be a great listener isn't typically about skills. We already know how to do it. Rather, it is about intention, attention, and effort. These three factors are at the heart of great listening.
Article Source :
http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com
http://business-process-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com
Written on 6:00 PM by KOWAJA
Leadership is it… If you have ever wondered about what makes a solidly compelling and successful company, well check the list and see what you think…
A leader leads by example… If it’s a brilliant business the leader is brilliant and that excellence is passed down with ease. They follow excellently because they were led excellently, and when they get to lead they do the same.
A leader plans… For the future, for the next five minutes, for the next five years to ensure success.
A leader is creative… It’s the only way to have an edge in business, call it innovation or any other term it’s creative approaches that work in a changing world. Anything else is a cop out.
Leaders go for positive results… That’s what they do because it’s good for business, good for staff great for customers and in the long run it can be fantastic for the environment.
Leaders love people… They know that to get the wheels turning it takes people, people to buy, people to sell, people to create, people to manage and people to lead.
Ever had a doubt about what it is that makes a winning business? Well not now, I have just told you… leadership of the highest order makes the difference
Written on 9:17 PM by KOWAJA
I had a break through today in my thinking about being an entrepreneur. I have been curious for quite some time now about what kind of person is drawn to becoming an entrepreneur? Specifically, what are the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs? There have been many books written, many seminars presented, and numerous MBA classes offered to help people learn how to be successful entrepreneurs. They offer skills, techniques, models, tips, and "insider" secrets. My break through came when I began wondering if perhaps one of the critical characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is something that cannot be taught by traditional methods-the characteristic of dreaming.
Every once in a while I come across a different kind of entrepreneur. I meet someone who dreams bigger than their background, education and experience says then can. This person is someone I call an "entrepreneurial dreamer." They never stop dreaming regardless of their circumstances or obstacles. This is not to say they do not fail or get discouraged, but they are the kind of entrepreneur who simply creates another dream when their current dream dissolves. I also do not mean this in a negative sense, in that they are somehow irresponsible or negligent, but that they do not allow discouragement or disappointment to crush them. Are you an entrepreneurial dreamer? Are you the kind of successful entrepreneur who seems to have an almost innate ability to dream bigger than your experience, history or environment allows? Do you have the desire, the passion and the power to keep on going even in the face of insurmountable odds?
If these qualities and characteristics describe you, then I would like to ask you a couple questions:
1. Have you identified what your dreams are by writing them down?
2. Are you living out your dreams? Perhaps your dream is to be financially independent or building a multi-million dollar business. Maybe it is having a business where you can determine your schedule or how much time you work this month. 3. What is keeping you from dreaming bigger than you do now? Maybe you have had a recent setback financially or too many things are taking up your precious time. Identify those things that are holding you back and find a way to move past them.
4. How focused are you on expanding your dreams? Whatever your dream is and regardless of how well developed it is, I believe most successful entrepreneurial dreamers go through a process.
THE PROCESS OF DREAMING
I meet a lot of entrepreneurs, some are successful and others are simply looking for a clean exit strategy. As I talk with the successful ones and ask them about how they achieve their dreams, I have found a common process they go through. The process is
not linear, A + B = C, but cyclical. It all starts with a passion to dream big.
DARING TO DREAM.
This is often the first phase the successful entrepreneurial dreamer goes through. It is the realization that they have the ability to dream. Yes, everyone dreams, but successful entrepreneurs keep dreaming even when everyone and everything is out to destroy their dream. They are not a "normal dreamer." The normal person easily gives up their dream and follows the crowd, the successful entrepreneurial dream keeps going. Action Step: Most dreams come in moments of inspiration, not perspiration. Do you give yourself time to do nothing but dream (not day dream)? Think about where you find your creativity. Commit to doing something creative and stimulating at least 2 times this month for the purpose of increasing your dreams.
DEFINING YOUR DREAM-once you have found their new dream, the successful entrepreneur realizes they must talk about it, think about it, plan for it, and eventually define it.
Action Step: Do you have a dream? What specifically is it? Describe it in as much detail as possible. Write down every aspect of it. Revise it. Have others critique it. Memorize it. Tell others about it. Revise it some more.
DEATH OF YOUR DREAM-something happens, a setback, a crisis or a failure and your dream is crushed. It is at this point that many potentially successful entrepreneurs give up. They choose the well-trodden path back to "normality" or corporate life. The successful entrepreneur grieves their dream's death. Then they examine what went wrong and what they can apply to their next dream to make it even more successful.
Action Step: Write or talk about your dream's death as if it has already occurred. What will that look like and what will that mean for you and your future direction? What are 3 things that could kill your dream? What can you do to prevent those things from happening? What will you do if they occur next month?
DISCOVERING YOUR DREAM-this is more of a rebirth than a re-discovery. When the entrepreneur's dream dies, the dreamer must resurrect it. However, they must also realize that it is no longer the same dream. They are no longer the same person. They have experienced death and now their dream must be "reborn" and take on a life of its own.
Action Step: Meet with at least two experienced entrepreneurs and talk about your dream. Ask them to critique it. Listen as objectively as you can. You may walk away discouraged, but take their advice to heart and use it to make your dream better-to give it "new life."
DEVELOPING YOUR DREAM-you have come so far, but don't stop now. Defining your dream can be such a consuming effort that people forget the purpose of the dream is
not to have a dream just for the sake of having one, but to implement their dream. You must take positive action steps to begin implementing and realizing your dream.
Action Step: What 3 things are keeping you from acting on your dream right now? Outline the steps you need to take in order to make your dream become a reality, then set a time line for accomplishing these steps.
DIRECTING YOUR DREAM.
Once you are on your way to entrepreneurial success through developing your dream, you must learn how to most effectively channel your energy and resources so they produce the greatest returns. You must continually focus on revising your dream and implementing your dream in order for it to fulfill you in return.
Action Step: Find someone to hold you accountable for defining, developing and directing your dream.
Stephen Fairley, M.A., RCC is the President of Today's Leadership Coaching, a premier executive coaching and training firm, and a Registered Corporate Coach (RCC). Today's Leadership Coaching focuses on “Developing Leaders Who Deliver Results.” You can contact him at 630-588-0500 or at Stephen@TodaysLeadership.com
Written on 9:02 PM by KOWAJA
Every entrepreneur can make more money by giving something away for FREE. It is something that you don't have to create, you don't have to buy, and something you already have. It's your expert knowledge. If you are an entrepreneur or business owner, you have expert knowledge about something. It may be your product, your service or industry, but you can use this expert knowledge to attract people and turn them into paying customers.
Expert knowledge is one of the most cost-effective tools you can use to promote your business and make more money. One of the best ways to do this is to give away your special knowledge for free. Yes, that's what I said-for FREE. Many entrepreneur's are afraid if they give away something for nothing it will be perceived as valueless or ignored. They are often anxious about losing business by revealing too much to a prospective client. However, according to another perspective, namely that of your true potential customer, by giving away your expert knowledge you are adding value. They perceive you as someone who wants more than their money, you want a relationship. You are perceived as the honest expert. Your business is seen as one who wants informed customers. Let's take a look at what giving away your expert knowledge would look like.
PRODUCT BASED COMPANIES.
Those of you who own product based companies, where you sell "widgets," have numerous opportunities to give away your knowledge. Many of your customers want information and an education. They want to know about the benefits, the features, the options, how it will cut costs or make them more money.
For example, if your business sells computer network infrastructures then you probably know something about them that the majority of people do not. Most decision makers looking to purchase a network infrastructure for their business want to make a wise decision. They may be unaware of the complexities of various systems, how they can be used effectively, what kind of components they need and what to expect to pay. Most decision makers want an education-not necessarily a comprehensive one, but an overview of the critical buying points.
Action Step: A way to give away your knowledge is to have an "Ask the Expert" section on your website where anyone can email a specific question to you for free advice. If you have a store front, develop separate brochures for anyone requesting information or coming to your store: one written for the "lay" person and one with all the detailed technical specifications.
SERVICE BASED COMPANIES.
Entrepreneurs in many service based companies often have to work harder to develop customers. It is more difficult to sell something you cannot see, feel, or touch. However, your customers still want to know similar things about your service: what are the features, the options, the benefits, whether they can trust you, and how your services will either cut costs or make them more money.
For example, many business owners need special help in the area of financial management. They may know how to manage people, but not their accounts receivable. If your company delivers financial services, your job may involve showing them how your services can ensure their company's financial security by making their business more streamlined.
Action Step: One way to give away your knowledge is to host free quarterly seminars for small business owners on various financial topics like: "10 Keys to Small Business Financial Management" or "How to Ensure Your Business' Financial Future." Advertise the seminars through your local chamber of commerce, networking events, public radio, newspapers, on your website, direct mail, and via other services providers who work with your potential clients, such as attorneys. The people who come to these seminars are all potential clients. Develop a friendly way to keep in touch with them through email or periodic phone calls.
MORE IDEAS
Here are some other ways you can make more money by giving your knowledge away for free:
• Offer a complimentary consultation session
• Do a periodic survey of existing customers to see how everything is going, if they have any questions, to gauge their level of satisfaction, and to see if there is any other way you can be of assistance
• Write some website white papers that provide more detailed information
• Write an article for your local newspaper or a valued website
• Offer a toll free technical support line
• Host a free "How to" seminar for your prospective customers
• Find out what trade publications your customers read and offer to write an article for them
• Do a call-in radio program
• Have a Q&A section on your website (what do you mean you don't have a website!)
SOME FINAL PRINCIPLES TO REMEMBER
Be creative about ways to give away your expert knowledge, but as you do so remember these principles:
• One of the most cost-effective ways to make more money is to give away your special knowledge for free. I don't mean sell the whole farm, but provide enough information so your potential clients feel educated about the process of purchasing your product or service.
• Timing is everything. A person may not have a need for your services or product today, but might next month.
• Develop ways to keep in touch with your potential customers, not just your existing ones.
• Listen carefully to your potential customers. Look for their "pain"-why they need your help. Listen to their needs.
• Do not try to sell them something they do not need.
• Listen even more carefully to your existing customers. Reinforce the benefits of your service. Find out what you can do better. Listen for their future needs and how you can meet them.
• Meet your customers at their level and do not look down on them for their lack of expert knowledge.
• It's always easier and cheaper to keep an existing customer than to find a new one and a satisfied customer is more likely to refer others.
Written on 8:37 PM by KOWAJA
By Palo Alto Software, Inc
A business plan is not a one-time document, at least it shouldn't be. Most businesses put together a business plan during their start-up phase to organize, attract partners and employees, and to try and get a loan or financial investment. This is a great use of a business plan, however far too often once the company has started up the plan isn't touched again.
Ultimately, a business plan is about results, about making your business better. If you don't think doing a business plan will improve your business, then don't do one. Planning for planning's sake is a waste of time.
Where a plan is most likely to make your business better is by allowing you to:
1.Set priorities properly.
2.Track plan vs. actual results and make course corrections.
3.Plan and manage the critical numbers that aren't intuitive: not just profit and
loss, but the relationship to cash flow, balance sheet, and ratios.
4.Communicate your plan to others: partners, employees, lenders, and investors. You
may have a great plan in your head, but as soon as you need to explain it to
others, you need to write it down.
Reviewing Your Plan
So how do you maintain your business plan? We have to first establish that without regular review -- monthly or at least quarterly review of your planned vs. actual results, with practical analysis of the reasons for variance -- planning is likely to be a waste of time.
Real planning requires regular reviews just as much as navigation requires knowing where you are as well as where you were and where you wanted to go.
Every real plan needs to be full of specific dates, budgets, forecasts, and management responsibilities. People involved have to know there will be tracking and following up on specifics. Then that plan must be reviewed against results, and those reviews should produce course corrections and fine tuning.
Generally a business hopes for a consistent long-term strategy built on short-step incremental changes, not major revisions. Consistency is important to strategy, and the business should avoid the temptation to jump around from one strategy to another so quickly that no strategy is ever really implemented. Remember that even a mediocre strategy well and consistently implemented is much better than a brilliant strategy that wasn't implemented.
However, businesses do come to crossroads demanding major revisions in their business plan. These are some signs that indicate its time to review your plan:
Major changes in market situation. Look especially for changing market factors and changing market behavior.
*Have your underlying business assumptions changed? As an example, the Internet has changed the business landscape so enormously that in some industries almost any plan that was developed without a view of the Internet may need revisions. That may not be true for a landscape architect or restaurant, but for a travel agent, graphic artist, or market researcher it's obvious.
*Do you have new competition? Have new competitors emerged, or existing competitors changed the business landscape so much that you need to review and revise?
*Has the product or service picture changed? For example a new technology may have emerged, changing the market perception of what you sell. There may be new products or services offering related solutions to the same user needs you satisfy.
Major changes in internal situation. The most obvious major changes are changes in ownership, which are frequently the result of changing partnerships, divorces, deaths, and investment. The company takes on new partners, or sells out to a larger company. On a more ominous note, the company suffers significant declines in sales, profits, and financial health.
Always keep the revision in perspective. While you do want to review and correct constantly, you don't want to change a strategy unless you are sure it isn't working or you see real changes in the underlying assumptions that formed the foundations of strategy.
Maintaining Your Plan
The purpose of maintaining your plan is to use business results to guide your future decisions. The plan itself has no value if it doesn't help you improve business. That's regardless of how good or bad, how brilliant the ideas, writing, or how elaborate the tables and charts. Its value is the decisions it leads to.
That means, of course, that to make a plan worth the effort of developing it, you'll want to follow it up. Whether that's every month or every quarter, you need to track results, analyze the difference between plan and actual results, and manage. Change things that need to be changed. Compare what you planned to what happened in reality. Ask yourself the following questions:
*What went wrong, and how can we fix it?
*What went right, and how can we take advantage of it?
*What changes took place in the competitive landscape that could be updated in the plan?
*What changes took place affecting our market that could be updated in the plan?
*What changes took place internally in our organization that could be updated in the plan?
After you've answered these questions, update your plan accordingly, set new budgets and milestones, adjust your financials, and repeat the process with another review of your plan again next month or next quarter. Update your plan accordingly again, and keep repeating. You'll find that maintaining your business plan gives you a better grasp on your business, your market, and everything else that happens with your company.
Written on 9:09 PM by KOWAJA
While balancing work and family has received a lot of attention over the years, the truth is there’s more smoke than fire. People work longer hours in downsized and super competitive work environments that pressure people to make family a second priority. Many workers feel they must choose between work and family. Either they must conform to get promotions or sidestep their career for the family--a tough and bitter pill to swallow.
No wonder thousands of good people leave good jobs to take lower level, lower paying, more accommodating jobs elsewhere. This dilemma has fueled the dramatic rise of home-based and female-owned businesses in the U.S.
By creating a Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA), companies can keep good employees and not force them to sacrifice family life. An FWA will help them benefit personally and professionally and the result will be people who are more loyal, committed and productive.
FWA's allow more options to employees who do not want or need a standard work schedule. A properly prepared FWA allows greater flexibility in balancing roles of work and home. It also can help prevent valuable employees from quitting and taking a less suitable position somewhere else. Most of the time a FWA involves fewer work hours and possibly a proportional reduction of pay and benefits.
A survey by Flexible Resources of more than 500 women seeking flexible work arrangements found that 64 percent of them either quit or were planning to quit because of lack of work hour flexibility. What was alarming was 59 percent of these women never asked their employers to modify their work schedules because they assumed they would be denied or lose stature. Younger women are more assertive in seeking flexible work arrangements than older women; 72 percent of women between the age of 25 and 35 were willing to request an FWA compared to only 30% of the respondents of women aged 36 to 45.
Among those who requested a flexible work arrangement and were told "no," reasons for the refusal ran the gamut in the following priority:
*We can’t give it to you and not the others (52%)
*You will not be available to others (48%)
*We have never done it before (24%)
*You won’t be as productive as when you worked full time (8%)
*Your job is not conducive to flexible hours (5%)
*There is too much work to do (5%)
*It wouldn’t fit into a team atmosphere (5%)
But FWA's have drawbacks. People feel that physical presence equals more opportunity for promotions and advancement. Men are particularly vulnerable to the stigma that "if you are not at work full-time you are not competitive."
Working Mother magazine has recognized the innovative work/life programs provided by the Bank of America. Its "Child Care Plus" program pays eligible workers an additional $35 a week per child for employees earning less than $30,000 a year. After learning that turnover for participants was about half of the peer group not participating, BofA expanded the program to include workers with family incomes of $60,000 and began to allow workers two paid hours a week to work in their children’s schools. Finally, it added money for college. Bank of America gives $2000 a year for employees enrolled in undergraduate classes and $4,000 for graduate study. As a result they were able to reduce turnover by 50 percent.
Written on 8:52 PM by KOWAJA
As most of you already know, organizing successful business meetings is all down to a good logistics and planning. Don’t give special attention to this and your meeting could become a total failure. Here we have jotted down seven of the most important tip’s we think guarantee a successful business meeting:
1. First things first, where will your attendees be coming from? It is of course always important that the arrival time must be in a reasonable relation to the actual duration of the meeting (you will not expect someone to travel 24 hours for a half day meeting).
2. The type of location or venue you choose for the business meeting will depend on the subject and what it is you wish to deal with at the meeting. E.g. If you are inviting your sales force for a motivational meeting, the ambiance of your location or venue should be suitable (i.e. not a boring training hotel atmosphere).
3. The actual logistics’ and timing of the invitations is essential. On the one hand you need to distinguish what type of people you are inviting to your business meeting , the methods for various groups will be different. If you are inviting your own employees who you basically expect to come, make sure that they have the possibility to pencil in the dates well in advance, and then follow up with the actual invitation not to have unpleasant surprises in the last minutes. However if you are inviting a group of people where you are by no means sure that they will come you are better off not sending the meeting invitations to early, as they are unlikely to commit well in advanced.
4. Once you have invited your target group, you have the logistics of registrations, as well as the dissemination of information regarding the actual meeting. Nowadays there are some fabulous web based registration systems where the attendants can simply click on a link in an email invitation and register, often covering not only the actual registration to the meeting but also for Hotel accommodation, and sometimes even the travel. This could make your life and your guest’s life much easier and you might even save time and money by using this advanced solution. Who is paying what? Not to be caught out worth financials matters, make sure it is absolutely clear who is paying what. What is included in the fee for the meeting? Don’t leave these questions without answer as you might find yourself in a very unpleasant position which might bring some serious questions about your intentions in your guests mind.
5. Preparation and frame of mind will be crucial for the success of your meeting, make sure you communicate precisely what it is that will be handled at the meeting, if you wish the participants to prepare make this clear. This way you are sure that everybody has the same expectations. Also give special attention when you prepare your goals. These are the results you want to obtain by the end of the meeting. Write down your goals before the meetings. They should be complete, clear and of real importance for the future of your business so don’t focus on issues which make little importance for your business if they are fulfilled or not during the meeting. Also, make sure they can be achieved with available people, resources, and time.
6. When you have dealt with the invitations and pre meeting logistics make sure you plan the time during the business meeting well. You do not want to be left at the end of the meeting with the feeling that you only managed half. Organize a strict time plan! Being appropriately dressed is essential in making good impressions in the business and corporate worlds. Also a polished image is important in business survival and can be an important factor in career advancement. Periodically, it is a good idea to take a look at your business attire and the image you are presenting. Is it the image you want to project?
7. Let’s imagine your business meeting was a success, in most cases attendees like to have the information they receive during a meeting of this kind in either a printed or electronic format.
Written on 8:48 PM by KOWAJA
by Byron Lund
1. Eliminate waste
Eliminate reports, habits, products, duplicate input, and processes that waste time and money. These drain labor, money and energy from the business.
Two-thirds of products or services sold incur more costs to produce than they are sold for. These are a drain on profits. These losers can be reduced by either increasing prices, reducing direct costs incurred in producing the product or service, reducing overhead costs allocated to the products or services, or discontinuance of selling of the product or service.
Some of these profit robbing costs may be found through asking employees for feedback on duplication of efforts, unused reports, and other wastes of time or money, or through cost accounting or other analysis systems.
Eliminating waste increases the amount of space, labour, time, energy and money available for other profit-making activities.
2. Reinvest a portion of the savings in profit-generating activities.
Once the waste reduction frees up money, time, labour, space and energy, invest part of the savings in continuous improvement.
Some of these continuous improvements are already in most company’s budgets. Equipment replacement (depreciation), marketing, training and research and development are all current cost or expenditures to generate future profits.
An analysis of return on investment of discretionary expenditures should find further areas where the investment will yield results. Investment should be made in a combination of projects with short payback periods and those with high rates of return.
Byron Lund is President and CEO of Bizwiz Consulting Group Ltd., an international business analysis product developer and vendor that performs consulting services in business analysis, improvements and turnarounds in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Further information is available at www.bizwiz.ca .
Written on 9:39 PM by KOWAJA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Business and employment co-operatives (BECs) represent a new approach to providing support to the creation of new businesses. The first BEC was started in France in 1996, since when a further 55 such enterprises operating in 100 locations across the country has sprung up. The idea has also been adopted in Belgium, Sweden, Quebec, Morocco and Madagascar.
Like other business creation support schemes, BECs enable budding entrepreneurs so experiment with their business idea while benefiting from a secure income. The innovation BECs introduce is that once the business is established the entrepreneur is not forced to leave and set up independently, but can stay and become a full member of the co-operative. The micro-enterprises thus combine to form one multi-activity enterprise whose members provide a mutually supportive environment for each other.
A BEC thus provides budding business people with an easy transition from inactivity to self-employment, but in a collective framework. Intending entrepreneurs pass through three stages:
First, they remain technically unemployed but develop their business idea under the wing of the BEC; Next, if it looks like being a success, they become a ‘salaried entrepreneur’ with the security of a part-time employment contract; Finally they become a self-sufficient business, sharing in the ownership and management of the co-operative.
BECs allow a small business person to achieve control over their working life, but with the support of a group of people who are facing the same problems and want to pool their enthusiasm and expertise. They help to overcome one of the most discouraging features of becoming self-employed – isolation. They thus lower the bar for becoming an entrepreneur, and open up new horizons for people who have ambition but who lack the skills or confidence needed to set off entirely on their own – or who simply want to carry on an in dependent economic activity but within a supportive group context.
BEC clients are in all sorts of activities from cookery, industrial cleaning, furniture restoration and organic horti¬culture to violin making, jewellery, translation and web design. At the end of 2005, the 90 sites in the BEC network numbered 2,618 supported entrepreneurs plus 1,138 salaried entrepreneurs (including 60 member entre¬preneurs), with a combined turnover of €16.5 million in 2005. Two-thirds of entrepreneurs start off as unemployed, two-thirds are aged between 30 and 50 and 53% are women.
Business and Employment Co-operatives – a three-phase career
Stage 1 – Supported entrepreneur
Initially, the 'candidate business' works up his idea while remaining unemployed in legal terms. He or she continues to receive unemployment benefit while developing a marketable product or service, testing the market and establishing a client base. The BEC handles the business administration and accounting.
Stage 2 - Salaried entrepreneur
The entrepreneur agrees a part-time employment contract with the BEC, and in return pays over 10% of sales. He or she continues to build up the business, as well as receiving training and administrative support. Meanwhile he or she benefits from social insurance cover. The salary grows as the business grows.
Stage 3 - Member entrepreneur
When the business is self-supporting, the entrepreneur can choose to join the BEC as a full voting member, and take part in its management, continuing to pay an administration charge of 10% of sales. Optionally, the business can spin off as a totally independent entity.
Policy relevance
Business and employment co-operatives have aroused interest in various areas of policy-making:
- One of these is economic development in rural areas, as BECs are a good way to support the so-called SOHO-SOLOs, professionals who migrate to the countryside to carry on their business at a distance – and in so doing bring valuable skills, economic activity and social life back to depopulated areas.
- Another is the regularisation of informal work.
- A third is demography, and concern about how to raise the activity rate to counter the effect of an ageing population. BECs can help excluded groups such as ex-offenders to restart their working careers, and allow older people to work part-time.
Written on 9:23 PM by KOWAJA
Welcome to all members of Koperasi Seteguh WAJA Selangor Berhad..
