By Debbie Gregory.

Some success is carefully and meticulously planned for over the long haul.  Other successes can come unexpectedly in the form of surprises. Either way, success in any part of your life, requires that you work hard both to achieve it and to keep it going.

Ways to Foster More Success in your Life

Be Open Minded and Optimistic:

This can be very challenging especially during times when you are going through a rough time.  We all often tend to feel a somewhat negative or defeated when things aren’t going our way. However, if you work at being both open minded and optimistic it will assist you to see opportunities and attract these opportunities that you might have otherwise overlooked.   There is nothing closer to attaining success than a positive attitude and being open to new things.

Ask for A lot but Expect Nothing:

In order to get what you want; you need to be bold enough to pursue opportunities.  You also must have the ability to be able to ask for more opportunities from those who can offer them to you.  At the end of the day, if you don’t ask, you don’t get.   At the same time, do not have huge expectations and expect anything to come from it. Just because you have asked doesn’t necessarily mean that you will receive.

Add Greater Value:

You cannot sit around all day wishing for opportunities to drop into your lap and expect that they will.   This is not reality. You must consistently demonstrate your value to others in order to be rewarded with better opportunities. Give more, do more, say more.  This means staying connected and networking most of the time.  Sitting on autopilot and hoping for something to plop into your lap does not work.

Become an Expert:

Not every path to success is clear or easy to figure out the route. If you excel at something, invest the time and energy to become the best at it and an expert and/or authority. Share your expertise with others. You never know what opportunities can come from it.

Generally speaking success = opportunity + preparation. Success can also be achieved through personal growth which in turn invites unexpected success into your life. Put in the work to create more opportunities for success in your life and you will never regret it.

By Debbie Gregory.

This year has gone by too quickly and it is amazing that we are approaching the holiday season. VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association wants to wish our members, fans and followers a happy and healthy holiday season with quality time to relax and enjoy.

Soon it will be 2020 and a new year. VAMBOA is a non-profit trade association for military and veteran business owners including Service-Disabled Veteran Business Owners.  We have over 7,000 members nationwide in every type of business.  Those who serve our country have the discipline and skill to become entrepreneurs and run their own successful business. They also are your shopkeepers, butchers, bakers, mechanics, repair people and more.

As we approach the holiday buying season, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you a little about Veteran and Military Business Owners.  I’d also like to provide you some compelling reasons to patronize their businesses. They are service oriented and are dedicated to putting forth their best efforts for you. This means they want happy and satisfied customers who will return. They want to earn your business and take pride in doing the best job possible and accomplishing their mission.

This Saturday, November 30^th is Small Business Saturday. It is a day to support and celebrate small businesses and all they do for their communities. American Express began this tradition in 2010 and it has grown to become enormous. In 2018, more than 95 million consumers shopped on Small Business Saturday.

This day has been recognized by the Senate and elected officials in each state as well as being promoted by local communities. Please support all small businesses and especially Veteran and Military Small Businesses that are neighborhood champions that rally and are dedicated to their communities.

Small business is the engine that drives our nation’s economy.  Veterans and Military play a significant role in our economy. To provide you an idea of the impact of Veteran Small Businesses, below are a few statistics to share from the last census. I believe in the next census, these numbers will dramatically increase:

• 52 million Businesses in the United States are Veteran majority owned.
• 442,485 Veteran-owned businesses have employees
• 08 million Self-employed Veteran businesses (without employees)
• 1% is the percentage of all United States businesses that are majority-owned by Veterans
• $1.14 trillion is the total annual revenues of Veteran-owned businesses
• 03 million is the total number of employees of Veteran-owned businesses
• $195 billion is the annual payroll of Veteran-owned businesses

Those who have served along with their loved ones have made many sacrifices up to and including writing a blank check for their lives. They have served so we can be safe in a dangerous world and live and prosper.

When you are buying gifts now, on Small Business Saturday or anytime, I encourage everyone to patronize a Veteran or Military Small Business. When you need some type of service, go to a business owned by Veterans.  Not only will you obtain superior products and awesome service, but it is a sincere and tangible  way to say thank you.

By Debbie Gregory.

Hiring the right employees is one of the major challenges to growing any business. It is especially important for small tech related businesses due to the constantly changing nature of the industry. Your employees need to be prepared for the current technologies as well as the future ones.  They must be able, eager, and passionate about staying up-to-date.

Offer a career and not just a job:

Your perfect employee is one who isn’t simply qualified for the position but someone who is also passionate about the field and connected to the company. You need to be able to offer them challenges and opportunities for growth and advancement. You need to show that you care about your employees both professionally and personally. Offering a ‘home’ where employees can grow with the company and make their mark on it will go a long way towards attracting the right kind of employee; one who will make a long-term difference for your company.

Use/hire a pro to screen candidates:

In order to find and hire the right people you may need outside help from a professional in the field. This is especially true if you are not technical yourself. A professional will help you sort the good candidates from the bad ones and they will be able to provide you the right questions to ask in the interviews.

Test the candidates:

If you are hiring someone for a highly technical position, it is not uncommon to ask them to demonstrate their hands-on knowledge. You need to know whether they can perform as they say that they can before you each make a commitment to one another. Make the test relatively simple yet make sure it will show what you need to see whether that is hardware, software, coding, or design. Don’t overdo the test as too much heavy testing can frustrate good candidates.

Make sure they continue to learn:

The tech world is constantly evolving and changing. This means that your business needs to do so as well. Your employees need to be passionate about learning and able to change with the industry. You should ask candidates about trending tech topics and how they relate to your business, check their certification dates and ask if they attend classes or seminars on industry topics.

Make sure they fit with your company culture:

Knowledge and ability are essential to performing a job.  However, every employee needs to fit in with the company culture in order to be able to do their job effectively and be happy at your company. This can be difficult to gauge since because asking personal questions is a huge no-no in an interview. You will need to put together a list of questions that relate to your company culture that can help you find out a bit about the person without straying into illegal topics.   You need to be cautious.

Don’t forget:

When hiring a tech employees, you will also need to ask the standard interview questions such as:

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Tell me about a time where you had to overcome an issue or obstacle and how you handled the situation.
• What project are you the most proud of and why?

Also, always make sure to obtain references and actually contact them. Those references will help you determine if the candidate will be a good fit for your company and the open position.

Hiring the wrong employee can potentially open you and your business up to risks and even unhappy customers. Hiring the right employee means they will hit the ground running on day one and they know how to fix the issues that may pop up. Take the time to make sure you hire the right people.

By Debbie Gregory.

There are many people that consider starting their own business yet quit before they get anything off the ground. They get hung up by their fears or other hurtles and simply give up.

Five Biggest Business Challenges & How To Overcome Them:

Self-Doubt:

Most potential entrepreneurs stop before they even begin due to self-doubt and the fear of failure. Don’t let these concerns stop you from making your dream a reality. If you need assistance getting started, it is always a good idea to reach out to support groups or mentors to help you overcome these mental blocks and give you the encouragement you need to keep going.

Knowledge:

Most people begin a business because of an idea and not because they are fantastic business people. There are so many resources available today to help literally anyone start and run their own business. You can easily take online courses to learn what you need to get going, watch tutorials, consult with a mentor in the industry, join support groups, hire people who have the knowledge you lack, or use software to take care of certain tasks.

Legal:

Legal considerations and fears are a big hurdles for some people and can easily scare away potential entrepreneurs. You do need to be aware of any potential legal problems and prepare for them but it doesn’t have to be so daunting. There are plenty of online resources that can help guide you, sites such as the U.S. Small Business Administration or Legal Zoom.

Funding:

Financial fears are the number one issue that stop people from starting a business.  It is also the major reason for a business closing its doors. Funding fears are everything from the fear of not making enough money to draining your savings and trying to stay afloat. Most people are comfortable with a steady paycheck from a larger corporation and do not want to take a chance on the fluctuating income of their own small business.

Ways to generate money:

• Start the business on the side of your normal 8-5 job
• Work part-time as a rideshare driver
• Offer consulting services
• Start by selling online before transitioning to a brick and mortar storefront
• Rent a room in your home
• Rent your entire home out through services like Airbnb.

Website:

Marketing your business takes planning, proper administration, and a bit of know-how. The main marketing tool your business will need is its own website. You can opt to hire a pro to put your site together or you can utilize the multitude of do-it-yourself options. Most eCommerce platforms have very nice drag-and-drop templates that you can use. A lot of the website hosting companies do as well. Take the time to do a bit of research before you choose how and who to build your site and select the option that works best for you.

Too many people allow these challenges to hold them back from starting and running their own business. There is always a way to overcome or do a workaround any problem you may face. Don’t let anything stop you from achieving your dreams.

By Debbie Gregory.

Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is essential for small business owners.  It is important because it opens the lines of communication.  It also prevents misunderstandings, confusion as well as frustration that occur between management teams and their employees and team members.  Additionally, it also helps to foster and grow positive customer relations.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is quite complex. Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of and sensitive to controlling and expressing one’s emotions. It also means that a person can empathetically handle interpersonal relationships.

Do you have high emotional intelligence?

Below are some of the characteristics of people who have high emotional intelligence:

Self-Awareness:

Emotional intelligence begins with self-awareness. You must understand how emotions affect you and your behavior. Managing your emotions effectively allows you to make better decisions as well as identify and understand other people’s emotions.

Negative Thought Control:

We all have negative, self-defeating, or tempting thoughts that may make you lean towards doing something you know is wrong. People with high emotional intelligence don’t dwell on these negative thoughts; instead they work hard to replace them with positive ones.

Emotional Response Control:

Those with high emotional intelligence learn from their past emotional mistakes and work hard to correct those negative behaviors. We have all said or done something we regret as a knee jerk reaction while angry because we did not pause before acting on our emotions. It is important not to act intentionally nor to make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.

Criticism and Balance:

No one likes being criticized.  However, those with high emotional intelligence understand how to control their responses. They also tend to learn from what people say about them and do better. If one person has negative thoughts about them, odds are good there are others who share the same opinions. It is positive to take this information to heart and use it for growth and improvement. People with high emotional intelligence recognize that they have both strengths and weaknesses and they strive for balance and humility.

Acknowledging Others:

People with high emotional intelligence tend to show other people respect by acknowledging their presence. These acknowledgments are things as simple as a smile, a head nod, or saying hello as they pass other people during the day.

Questions to ask yourself to gauge your own emotional intelligence:

• Have I taken the time to really get to know myself?
• Do I act or speak differently when I’m in a great mood versus a lousy mood?
• Do I practice self-care?
• What are my emotional triggers?
• Do I focus on what I can control?
• Do I try to control my thoughts?
• Do I think before I speak?
• Do I know how to handle negative emotions?
• Do I learn and grow from negative feedback?
• Am I open to other perspectives?
• Am I too easily swayed by others?
• Do I acknowledge others?
• Do I praise others?
• Do I listen for the message, and not just the words?
• Do I show empathy?
• Do I keep my commitments?
• Do I have a balanced view of myself?
• Am I authentic?
• Do I give helpful feedback?
• Do I willingly and authentically apologize?
• Do I forgive and forget easily?

Asking yourself these questions should help you get a good idea of where your strengths and weaknesses lie. This in turn can help you determine where to work on yourself as well as identify where you already excel.

All of us possess some emotional intelligence and it is always a good idea to continue to improve upon you. Take the time to master yourself and make your emotions work for, not against, you.