Making The Most Of Partnerships For Long-Term Growth

Jennifer Warawa, EVP - Partners, Accountants & Alliances at Sage explores how strong partnerships can lead to business success

Traditionally business success could be achieved solely through entrepreneurship, acquisition, and the harnessing of capital to fuel growth.

While these strategies can still help keep a company in the black, my personal experiences have taught me that today's enterprises are more likely to find success in the long-term by establishing partnerships and alliances with complementary innovators and suppliers, rather than

attempting to forge ahead alone.

5 Tips To find Your Personal Purpose

Invest some time in figuring out your real story and you'll be happier, less stressed and in the right job. By Richard Hytner

What’s your story? Your real story, I mean. Not some carefully curated version of yourself designed to impress friends on Facebook or to look more employable on LinkedIn, useful shortcuts though these social media provide to people wanting to get to know you.

The most authentic and enduring brands are built from the inside out. The least convincing, destined for a short shelf life, are those that believe they can communicate their way to greatness. That’s not branding, it’s spin, and people see that for what it is – manipulative, too good to be true, an over promise that the brand can only ever fail to deliver.

7 EAGLE PRINCIPLES TO SUCCEED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

Eagles are large, powerful, resilient, courageous, daring and ever-soaring birds of prey. They have seven principles that have made them the greatest birds. These principles are
important for success in business and entrepreneurship. These principles are as follows:

Principle One:
Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or other small birds. No other bird can go to the height of the eagle. Stay away from Sparrows and Ravens. Eagles fly with Eagles. As an entrepreneur or an aspirant for success in business soar high on your goals, objectives and targets even if it means soaring alone and stay away from people who will bring you down or do not fly on the same high altitude like you.

How to Build Billionaire Habits

By Nick Papple

Picture yourself having coffee with a billionaire. Just imagine what you'd learn. One of my friends recently had this opportunity. In fact, he had the chance to have dinner with several billionaires at the same time. One thing he noticed was every one acted the same: They gave their complete and undivided attention.

It didn’t matter who was in the room. If someone was talking, they were listening. They weren’t distracted, checking email or text messages on their cell phones.
Ten years ago, this kind of behavior might have gone unnoticed. Paying attention was good manners. Something our parents, teachers and even strangers taught us, “pay attention.”

Today, you'll discover a simple four-step formula for overcoming a short attention span. It even works for teenagers.

Thomas Jefferson's 11 Rules for a Great Life

By Craig Ballantyne

"Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits." - Thomas Jefferson

Today marks what would have been the 272nd birthday of the 5th most popular President in History, according to the New York Times. Thomas Jefferson was a Founding Father, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, and the 3rd President of the United States of America, holding office from 1801 to 1809. He was also a man ahead of his time when it came to his healthy habits.

Next time they say you are too expensive...

In this issue, I will be sharing 3 ways to overcome fee sensitive clients!
If you are sick of talking to fee sensitive prospective clients, you are making 1 or more of 3 common mistakes, which I am going to share with you right now — along with the solution.
Let’s get started!

 

A quick look at value
I want to start by looking at the way your prospective clients think about value:
• It’s always too expensive, when the price or fee is considerably greater than the value.
• It’s always great value, when the price or fee is considerably lower than the value.

To get that price / value balance right, we have 2 options:
1. We can pump more value into the product or service.
2. We can lower the price.

Doing business in Africa is challenging and rewarding

A difficult 2014 has done little to tarnish sub-Saharan Africa's appeal as a
business destination for South African companies looking to expand their businesses.
But to succeed in this challenging and rewarding environment, companies must be
willing to weather volatility and adapt the way that they do business.

 

That's the word from Gerhard Hartman, Head of Department at Sage HR Africa. He says
that with the IMF projecting growth in excess of 5% for the region as a whole in
2014 and 2015, sub-Saharan Africa continues to offer a range of exciting
possibilities for businesses seeking to grow into new markets.

7 WAYS TO BE SEEN AS A LEADER IN THE NEXT 30 SECONDS

Nicole Brown, edited by Solomon Ojeagbase

NEXT: Think Outside The Cubicle: Photos Of Jobs Anywhere And Everywhere Around The World

Connecting with others, making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure the impact lasts are at the heart of leadership.

But the problem is that leaders tend not to have a lot of free time on their hands. So how can you engage in meaningful and memorable leadership with zero hours in the day to spare?

That’s where the 30-second challenge comes in. According to The Muse, it turns out there’s a lot you can do with a tiny sliver of time.

Nigerian millionaires will climb by 47 per cent in the next four years, this is according to a report by New World Wealth.

The number of Nigerians with investable assets of at least 1 million US dollars will jump 23 thousand by 2017.

The report that was released earlier this week also said that the growth in high net worth individuals is linked to the country’s GDP, the local equity market and the local real estate amongst other factors.

“We look at a number of factors, we look at trends in the market, the historical growth factors, we look at GDP growth going forward, the forecast on that and we try make estimates on how we think the property market and the real estate market is going to perform,” Andrew Amoils, Analyst at New World Wealth told CNBC Africa.

NFL Hall-of-Famer, Philanthropist, and Self-Taught Financial Wizard - How He Did It

By Amy Lamare


For fourteen seasons, Sunday after Sunday (and sometimes on Monday), down after down, play after play, this NFL Hall of Fame linebacker solidified a legendary career on the gridiron.  He is famous for never missing a single game during his professional football career which was spent playing for just one team; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


Derrick Brooks is considered one of the modern greats of the game and in 2014, he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in his very first year of eligibility. But the football field isn't the only place where Derrick has proven himself to be a champion. Throughout his career, Derrick devoted his free time to learning everything he could about wealth management and personal finance. He actually hired a business manager BEFORE hiring an agent. This dedication to personal finance is especially impressive considering the fact that when Derrick was in college, he didn't know how to deposit a check. He actually had never even heard of a checking account. Because of this experience early in life, today Derrick dedicates most of his time to helping to improve the lives and opportunities of poor kids all over Tampa.

BEFORE YOU START A BUSINESS

Planning For Great Success.By Eburuche O C Banito

It had become a widespread reality that you do not have to have a degree or an MBA in business administration or management before you could successfully run a business; be it the small, medium or large scale.  Though, the principles of business success are rooted in books but they reality and practical applications of these principles are beyond the pages. So, do not be deceived. The reality is that you could even have a PhD in Business Management yet end up a branded failure. Let’s look at it this way, how many successful businesses are managed by business degree, MBA or PhD holders? Just think about it.

7 Management Traits That Will Make All Your Employees Stay

A few days ago, I published an article titled, "7 Management Traits That Will Make All Your Employees Quit." Now it is time to look at the other side of the coin. The previous column sparked a tremendous conversation surrounding leadership. Several commentators made the point that they don't think bad leaders are capable of change. I'm not so sure about that. I think people can evolve professionally and as a leader, just like they do elsewhere in life. Consider this quote from, Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach of the Green Bay Packers, "leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile." I believe that with some effort put forth everyone can improve their leadership skills. That said, here are some managerial traits that good leaders exhibit that I think will encourage employees to stick around for the long haul. 

Be Supportive

A good manager gives his/her employees the tools they need to be successful. A bad manager assigns tasks with little or no direction, and then becomes upset when the employee doesn't meet the expectation. Remember the Seinfeld episode where George doesn't hear his boss' instructions, but he is too afraid of what his boss might do if he asks for clarification? He spends the whole week pretending to know what to do. Two words come to mind here, lost productivity. Be approachable so your employees feel they can ask questions.

How to Become a Millionaire

By Jeff Schneider

You’ve wondered what the person sitting at the desk next to you is making. How they afforded that all-inclusive trip to the Bahamas and still afforded a new car. 

But did that person sitting next to you just inherit some money? Are they bleeding through an old trust account? Or maybe just burning through savings? Or worse, one of those horror stories you hear about racking up $60,000 of debt on credit cards. 

Perhaps your boss is giving them all those raises you’ve been missing out on the past few years. 

You can’t ask… 

Money is a taboo subject. 

It’s personal and you’d be better off ignoring those neighbors. 

Instead, we are influenced by these neighbors and it has left many people broke just a few years before retirement. 

A recent study of Americans between the ages of 50-64, showed that about 51% didn’t even have a retirement account. And those that did have an account, the average balance in all of their retirement accounts was $46,032. 

Are you overspending and under-saving, just like the rest of the nation?

 “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” – Helen Keller

 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on average American household spends 36.9% of their gross annual income on rent/mortgage and utilities!

 

So let’s do the math…

 

If your annual household income is $50,000, you’ll spend $18,450 on rent and utilities and will have $31,550 to cover all of your other remaining expenses.

How about this one: an average American household spends 5.7% of their annual income on restaurants – not counting regular grocery items. That’s $2,850 a year, or $237.50 per month, based on the $50,000 annual income.

7 Financial Decisions Made in Your 30s That May Haunt You in Your 50s

People often say “life is short” as a justification to do or buy something immediately rather than waiting. But the truth is, life is not short. Life is long. The average life expectancy for an American male is 76.2 years, and 81 years for a female. A thirty-year-old discussing a short life may actually be looking at another 50 long years.

This is good news! And, financially speaking, a long outlook on life is important, because the decisions we make early on have a significant impact on the remainder of our lives. Specifically, these decisions can make or break our retirement plans.

5 Smart Money Moves For Couples

Here are 5 practical steps every couple (married or engaged) can take to protect and strengthen their relationship, while implementing sound financial habits.

  

1. Straight money talk

  

Money has been a taboo subject among couples for way too long. It's time to break the silence and start talking. Set aside one night a month for your "money talk." Do it over coffee and dessert, or after your children go to bed so there are no interruptions. Be honest with each other and listen. Use that time to discuss problem areas and possible solutions. Don't waste it on playing the blame game.

Evaluate Your Business Idea

Knowing the investment of time, money and emotion that goes into starting and building a business, you’d be well advised to follow these steps to get some insight into what lies ahead...

There’s no guarantee that one’s business will succeed – there are so many factors that one has to take into account. However, if you have scrutinised your business idea and put it through a thorough "reality check" before launching into it, your chances of failure are substantially less. Too often, entrepreneurs get caught up in the excitement of a prospective opportunity, and fail to take a step back to work through the finer details. Knowing the investment of time, money and emotion that goes into starting and building a business, you’d be well advised to follow these steps to get some insight into what lies ahead...

Getting Momentum on Your Side

Get Started

If you want to roll a snowball downhill, it just requires a few simple steps. First, you get started. Nothing happens until you get started. Then you roll a piddly little snowball and push it. It gets bigger. You push it again. It gets bigger still. You repeat this sequence until suddenly the snowball is big enough to benefit from its own momentum and it starts rolling and getting bigger by itself. That's how success works in real life, too. Let me explain with a little history about the New ETR.

Craig Ballantyne

Whatever is in your way, you're stronger than it, you're tougher than it, and you're better than it. You're going to beat it.

What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

BY KEVIN PURDY

 | 

AUGUST 22, 2012

How much does the first hour of every day matter? As it turns out, a lot. It can be the hour you see everything clearly, get one real thing done, and focus on the human side of work rather than your task list.

Remember when you used to have a period at the beginning of every day to think about your schedule, catch up with friends, maybe knock out a few tasks? It was called home room, and it went away after high school. But many successful people schedule themselves a kind of grown-up home room every day. You should too.

The first hour of the workday goes a bit differently for Craig Newmark of Craigslist, David Karp of Tumblr, motivational speaker Tony Robbins, career writer (and Fast Company blogger) Brian Tracy, and others, and they’ll tell you it makes a big difference. Here are the first items on their daily to-do list.

Score a Promotion with These 11 Tips From Real Bosses

This story originally appeared on LearnVest.

Have you ever been promoted?

If so, congratulations. If not, there might be something you can do about that.

And we don’t mean “be more confident” or “be more passionate.” We mean specific actions you can take to impress your superiors—and take home a bigger paycheck.

Even if you’re not specifically looking for a flashier title or more money (although who isn’t?), these tips will help you become—or remain—a valued employee.

How did we find such useful tips? We asked the boss.