It’s the 15th of the month and you need to make rent by the 30th - The only things that I can think of that guarantee a lot of money in a short time period are illegal. If you need a paycheck in two weeks then you are better off getting a job.

Everyone is doing it- It’s true, a lot of people are starting businesses but at the same time a lot of people are failing in business.

You think it will be easier than going to work everyday - Easy is a relative word. If you don’t like being around people and you hate driving it may be easier for you to stay at home and work. But that doesn’t mean running a business will be easier. True, you are in charge but that means that you have to do everything until you can afford to hire someone. So not only do you have to handle whatever your main task is, but you’ll also have to handle accounting, marketing, advertising, planning, and taxes.

You want to make a lot of money without putting in much work- A lot of people think that if they start a business they’ll make lots of money without having to do much. This is far from the truth. Actually when you first start a business you’ll have to work long and hard hours. Often you’ll end up working more than if you had a 9-5 job.

You want to call yourself CEO - When you first start a business it’s tempting to want to call yourself CEO after all it makes you sound important. That’s not a good idea for two main reasons. First, unless you form a corporation, you are not a CEO. Secondly, if you are a one man (or woman) show, it makes you look ridiculous. Experienced business owners and executives will see right past that and you won’t be taken seriously.

So why should you start a business? The best reason to start a business is because you see a need somewhere and you believe that you have the drive, determination, and talent to solve it.

Donyell Nelson is the author of Jump Start Your Success: 9 Insider Secrets to Running an Online Business. If you are clueless about online business, out hundreds of dollars, you aren’t making a profit, and you are just about to throw in the towel visit http://www.9InsiderSecrets.com

Where has the time gone? In today’s world, the time is moving fast, making it more important for anyone to manage his or her time wisely. The world focuses more on money than time when they are laying out a plan to manage their time. This is the process of making mistakes. Time is more critical as the day’s progress. Technology has advanced so tremendously that everyday we are learning new information. Time is the most essential element to productivity.

When we manage our time wisely, the rest will fall into place. Time management schemes start with goals. When we set goals for our self, we often have to divert a plan to work toward the goals. Our plans should work in harmony with our goal, since plans are important in the process of achieving. Planning is the process of elimination in the sense we create a list of tasks that we must achieve to reach our goals. Each day we refer to our list to see what our demands are for the day.

When we finish our list of tasks, and have time left, we might want to work on the follow day tasks, since this cuts back time. If you follow this procedure, you might find your boss saying, take some time off (with pay) since you did a great job. Likewise, if you are attending college classes, or even school, you might want to work hard each day to accomplish your assignments. When you go home, you will notice you have time to do what you planned for the week.

Procrastination is the leading cause for stress and cramming. If you are putting off assignment or responsibilities, you are lacking in commitment, which affects your time. If you are investing time in cramming and stressed as a result of procrastination you are causing your mind and body harm. When the body and mind is not functioning right, most of your time is wasted. Time management is essential to make any plan fall into place and any goal come alive. If you have a problem with setting goals, you might want to remember that goals are the terminal point of any race.

This might help you sense the concept of competition comes into focus and most humans strive to become better, and often better than the next person…it is called winning the race. If you have a competitive attitude this is the best solution for setting up a time management scheme. Otherwise, if you are accomplishing your goals you can set your mind to ‘dream mode’ which means you have a strong desire to reach a goal. You have purpose! Everyone needs purpose in life and when we loose sight of our purposes our time management schemes often tumble. Don’t delay, set up a plan, and keep your goals in sight, and your time management schemes will work accordingly. If you follow instructions then you will not ask where the time has gone. Instead, you will say, “life is good!”

For more great free resources on how to manage your time visit Gabae Time Management.

Also for more informative articles on time management visit Gabae Time Management Articles.

Whether you want to become a leader, or have already earned your way into a position of leadership, your character is the key component to your success. When placed in a management role, one of two scenarios often exists:

A. the manager is a stranger to those they manage, having come in from outside the company, and has prevented other people from moving into the role

B. the manager is known to everyone they manage, and used to be a peer, resulting in a variety of biases, familiarity issues, and again, has prevented other people from moving into the role.

Even if the new manager is well respected, they are now under greater scrutiny, and boundaries will be tested on both sides of the fence. A leader’s character will determine the level of trust and morale their team can develop, and ultimately the team’s ability to achieve set goals.

Characteristics of a Leader

Transparency - the ability to acknowledge one’s imperfections, and deal with them publicly in such a way as to build trust and honesty among the team. If a strategy or directive fails, take responsibility, and work to make adjustments that suit you and your team while still aligning with corporate goals.

Trustworthiness - remember the “open door” policy must go both ways. Team members will often come to you not to discuss their own issues, but their issues with others. Discouraging backbiting from the outset is important, but when it inevitably occurs, walk out your “open door” and talk to the person being discussed quickly, then bring the parties together if necessary to resolve any issues. Distrust begins behind close doors that never re-open.

Emotional Stability - when mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. You control the temperature of the office. Your staff looks to you to tell them when to be happy, sad, excited, irate, frustrated and fulfilled. If your office seems to be on an emotional roller-coaster, look at yourself in the mirror first, before blaming those you influence.

Self-Control - handling extreme situations extremely well. Pick your time, environment, and words well ahead of time before dealing with any highly charged situation. Rash conversations and actions are almost always regretted, and difficult to explain, both to team members, and those who lead YOU.

Discipline - reflect the work ethic you expect from your own position. When your team knows you are working as hard as they are, or harder, not only will they work hard, but they are less likely to harbor resentments. If your team starts slacking off when they see you working harder, it’s time to re-evaluate your team.

Hospitable - willing to let people in. You don’t need to invite them over for a barbecue, or start a bowling team, though neither is a bad idea. Let them into your personality, include them in your successes (especially since they might be the source of many of them), and be open about losses (loss of a parent, etc.) - it makes you human.

Knowledgeable - be ready with answers. Know your job, their job, and the jobs of their competitors and clients. Or at least know where they can go to get the answer. Don’t want to be peppered with questions? Train them to find their own answers, and live with the results - or find a new profession.

Generous - with money, time, and most importantly, praise. Give back to your employees without taking credit for doing so. A Friday pizza party is great until the boss takes credit for doing it. Work with your employees one-on-one to mentor them. And always be ready with a compliment - a real compliment. Learn what praise your team-member require, it will be different for each.

Positive - regardless of the circumstances. Never get caught in the undertow - when the leader goes down, the team ceases to function. Be real, and acknowledge setbacks, but always be ready with a solution and encouragement.

Decisive - make timely and informed choices. Morale drops when uncertainty builds. If a new commission structure is being built, either announce it only upon completion of the details, or include your team on the decision-making process, setting a deadline for deployment.

These 10 Characteristics are developed through action and repetition. No one can be perfect in all things, but by striving for these behaviors, we improve ourselves both in and out of the office, and build stronger relationships with our employees, and hence, a stronger team.

Evaluate yourself against this list. Where are your strengths and weaknesses? When have you seen these characteristics fail or succeed in your own leaders? Once you’ve determined where you need to improve, start actively taking new actions and take notes regarding their effectiveness. You will be amazed at the difference. And so will your team.

Rich Hopkins is a speaker, coach, and consultant who aligns his clients with their own potential. He has 20 years of business background in marketing, sales, and customer service. He consults with individuals, student groups, non-profit organizations, and corporations. http://www.richhopkins.net

Have you ever considered that everything you want in life comes from someone else? The greatest minds in any field are keenly aware of the value of working with and involving others in life plans, business, work and personal commitments.

We often have the notion that we operate in a vacuum, and that we are solely responsible for everything that happens in our lives. It is true that you are solely responsible for the thoughts you think and the things to which you choose to be committed. But when you reflect on all of your accomplishments, it becomes evident that many people play various roles in your achievements and pursuits. Since others are almost always involved at some level in our lives, a good question to ponder is how to effectively involve others more meaningfully.

Synergy, according to Webster’s Dictionary is the “cooperative action of discrete agencies such that the total effect is greater than the sum of the effects taken independently.” Note that a single horse can pull several thousand pounds. Two horses of equal size can pull nearly 4 times that. One community volunteer, who learned late in life the value of working with others, commented upon receiving a presidential award: “I thought about how you can’t do anything by yourself, but with other people you can change things.” What a simple yet profound truth! One key area to focus upon is the manner in which they seek others to be enrolled in what is important to them. The first step, of course, is to realize the value of others.

Next, we need to select the right people to work with us, to flesh out what we desire to create. Potential helpers are everywhere. Another important task for effective people is to clearly communicate the project or goal at hand. The help that is needed will lift any project into the stratosphere. This is similar to the “mastermind group” as outlined in Napoleon Hill’s best-seller, Think and Grow Rich. In the chapter about the mastermind group, Hill expounds on the importance of aligning others in word, deed and advisement on any project. Hill further declares that a separate and distinct mind is created in the assembly of such a group and that the power derived from it is profound indeed.

Carefully look for more effective ways of communication. Not only is this enriching, the lives of others will also be enriched in countless ways. The real call here is to take on an attribute of leadership to draw others in. Synergy is a dynamic form of leverage. Avoid using it, and end up working four times as hard for half the results. Use it and watch the results expand exponentially!

Eric Johnson is a regular contributor to the Investor’s Value View newsletter. To learn how to reach Mr. Johnson for comments or to subscribe to the Investor’s Value View newsletter, visit http://www.valueview.net