 For any business owner, no matter the size of the company, a frugal mindset is essential. When you think frugally, you have the power to spend your money smartly. Being frugal is not being cheap. Frugality understands the value of the purchases being added to the company and being cheap means the focus is only on the sticker price.
In a way, that is the concept of being a lean startup. In a way, the lean startup idea is almost dead as most are spending lavishly on things that don't contribute to the core of the company. However, once the economy slows down, lean startup and frugality will be more relevant. A frugal business owner can carefully assess their business and wisely spend the money based on their needs. The cut in unnecessary spending could help the company to survive any unforeseen situations as a frugal business owner could operate at maximum capacity with lower costs than his/her competitors. Listed below are the five reasons to become a frugal business owner: Frugality is a Mindset Being a frugal business owner doesn't imply that you need to curb money at any expense. What will set your business apart from the others will be the careful decisions you choose to make from number and results and then to spend the money accordingly. Improving business operation is more important, even if you start with a minimum amount because such a mindset will help you in the long run. Frugal Owners have a Sharper Instinct Knowing how, where, and when to spend the money wisely is important as sometimes it is too tempting to pass off a perfectly good deal, and you can acquire a habit out of it. Or you end up making a purchase that does not go toward your goal. Business frugality means always taking sharp decisions, rather than acting rashly, which can turn out to be good for your business. Training Yourself for Emergencies Even if you end up saving your expenses, and your business is profitable, you can still face bad times. Companies have their ups and downs, and it's important not to lose hope when it starts to go downhill. That is why you should be prepared for any setback that shouldn't be viewed as a failure. Frugal owners know that in order to survive in the overflowing business market, one should always be prepared for setbacks. False Assumptions About the frugal owners, the common misconception that goes around is that they never spend big. The thing to note about spending money on big projects is that you carefully do proper research and see if you need to invest or not. Therefore, even if you are at the top of the game, you must always keep a frugal mindset. Tracking Expenses Certain assumptions that go on about successful owners are that they can buy anything as they please. But, a frugal owner would try his best to save the money that can be used for long term purposes. And they choose to live below their means, rather than living a luxurious life. Final Word From Charles Munger to Benjamin Franklin, all the successful people tend to live a frugal life below their means. If you are about to start a new business, it is important to note that you don't measure your success with others. As frugality requires a lot of patience, and sharp thinking to make an improved decision for their business. References https://www.thedailypositive.com/successful-entrepreneurs-lessons-frugality/ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293306 https://www.completecontroller.com/5-good-reasons-for-being-frugal-that-entrepreneurs-need-to-remember-when-they-succeed/
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 Overthinking is generally considered a negative trait in any scenario because of the negative impact it has. If you’re someone that suffers from overthinking when it comes to decision-making at your startup, then let’s get something clear. If you’re overthinking about details and taking too long to make decisions, then you’re going to lose out on many opportunities. This causes analysis paralysis, which is what a lot of brilliant founders fall into that trap. Overthinking causes problems that you probably don’t even exist in your startup. We’ll be discussing a detailed list of everything that goes wrong in your startup because of overthinking.
Leads to Procrastination Have you ever wondered why you’re unable to mark all your boxes on your checklist on time? One possible reason for this is your overthinking behavior. Once you start thinking about something, it isn’t very easy for you to stop analyzing it. This results in you only thinking about what could be done rather than taking any actions and getting work done. The initials days of startup make or break your business. If you’re going to be overthinking about things that are minute or don’t require too much time to resolve, then you will lose out. Lower levels of productivity Once you’ve become a victim of overthinking, you’re bound to be less productive at your work. How are you supposed to grow your startup if you’re unable to focus your energy and time on important matters? The more you overthink, the less productive you become, which in turn results in low or negative growth levels. Clogged mind with less creativity Having your mind stuck on a particular issue usually blocks all sorts of ideas. If you’re constantly overthinking about petty issues in the business, then you’re bound to be less productive. Overthinking plays with your ability to be creative and produce new content for your startup to grow. There are slim chances of growth if you can’t think of new strategies and game plans to improve your productivity and growth. Loss of business opportunities Overthinking leads to you losing important and futile business opportunities for your startup. The inability to decide whether a certain partnership or contract will be beneficial for you will leave you facing a loss. What you need to do is accumulate all the possible beneficial business opportunities and develop your startup. Pessimistic disposition Someone with determination to grow their startup has a sense of responsibility, and they’re quick with decision making. They’re optimistic. If you’re stuck in a loop where you’re procrastinating with low levels of productivity, you’re bound to be pessimistic. Pessimism is a negative trait to have when conducting business, and you need to have a positive outlook and take upon every challenge. Overthinking stops you from becoming a good entrepreneur. Your hyper-planning and excessive thinking only waste your time and resources. Learn how to be comfortable in making your decisions and then committing to them. Otherwise, your overthinking is likely to kill your startup as it rids you of all the opportunities to grow! References: https://reaganpollack.com/2019/08/why-overthinking-kills-your-startup/ https://medium.com/@stevenmills/overthinking-leads-to-procrastination-b22367634ace https://theladiescoach.com/read/overthinking-killing-business-mojo/ https://topyaps.com/6-deadly-effects-thinking/ https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-harms-of-overthinking-about-something  Introduction
Ideas play an essential role in our daily lives. It gives us an edge to improve and excel in different fields. Ideas also play a vital and pivotal role in business too. Amazing ideas can lead a company towards better earning and growth. The key to the success of a business is to have developed and integrated designs, which might include close analysis of the competitors, targeting a specific audience as per the nature of the product, mission and visions should be indicated. Above all, everything should be well-drafted. There are many benefits of good ideas for the business such as creative ideas lead towards building network and associations within the market, strengthens the brand name, generate active and passive income, expands the business and strengthens the economy as a whole. On the other hand, sometimes these business ideas can be proved dangerous for the world as well, even if they look innocent enough from the surface. Here are a few factors: Destruction of Humanity and Nature The greed for maximizing profits leads to the destruction of humanity and nature. These profit-maximizing ideas are based on threats to humanity and nature, which is what most defense companies are doing. They are producing weapons, and their excuse is to protect humanity, but in reality, they are doing the most destruction. Polluting the Environment Industries are polluting the environment causing health problems for the citizens. One notable example is the fast fashion industry. Most of them do not comply with environmental standards and pollute the water with their fabric dye. Even if their tags claim that they are environmentally friendly, the reality is that they are hazardous for the world. A Threat to Existing Economy Remember when fax, landline, and floppy discs became irrelevant with the technology advancement? People with existing jobs became irrelevant due to technological advancement. However, one could argue that this is a great thing for humanity as things are moving at a faster pace now. Harmful for Human Health Business ideas such as manufacturing cigarettes are harmful to human health. Startups who are inventing vapes need to grow their market share, and they are recruiting customers from the teenage population. Although the market to be for people who are quitting smoking, they are producing addictive fruity flavor vapes causing teenagers to be addicted to their nicotine products. A recent survey shows an alarming rate of 24.7% of teenagers is addicted to vaping. Creating Rivalries Mind-blowing business ideas such as penetrating in other markets by low balling can create rivalries on national and international grounds. This can affect the economy politically, socially, and economically. It can also cause severe tensions between trading countries in the world. Promoting Immorality and Indecency in the Society Some of the entertainment businesses can seriously affect and shape our society. This doesn't even need to be traditional Hollywood and blockbuster movies that affect teenagers. It was proven that social media affect teenagers, and recently, Instagram admitted that it didn't confirm the age of its users. Think about the many influencers on that platform that probably have been displaying inappropriate behavior to children under 13. Conclusion Although there are side effects to businesses, some are milder or could be a better side effect than others, some are positive, and some are negative. The examples used in the effects above all look like typical businesses, but all have some serious side effects. There are always advantages and disadvantages of what we do and pursue. This is why it should always be kept in mind that we should always strike a balance between right and wrong. Set the year right and change the world for the better instead of being too dangerous for the world. REFERENCES AND CITATIONS https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-39336-5_15 https://opentextbc.ca/businessopenstax/chapter/threats-and-opportunities-in-the-global-marketplace/ https://www.strategy-business.com/article/03308?gko=d78df https://www.newscientist.com/article/2201697-destruction-of-nature-is-as-big-a-threat-to-humanity-as-climate-change/ https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/pollution https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/print/17921-number-of-teens-vaping-hits-record-high-survey-shows  Every type of business needs a leader whose thought process must be followed. These leaders can be either pragmatic or idealistic. You can choose which approach you want to follow. Idealistic approaches could be great but at the end of the day, one could be burned out from being too idealistic. Typically, in businesses, the pragmatic approach seems more effective as opposed to the idealistic approach. There are times to be idealistic, but day to day business operations requires a more pragmatic approach.
Pragmatism refers to being able to derive results using practical and logical actions. The main focus of this ideology is to get to the result and answer questions regarding how to get certain things done. There are certain ways how you can practice pragmatism for your business and how it’s beneficial for you. How can you be pragmatic for your business?
Advantages of practicing pragmatism for your business
Many people believe that pragmatism is not an effective approach to take on when conducting business. They might be right because a pragmatic approach is a system. It is a system to get things done while your idealism is used as motivation to get you there. References https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2015/05/pragmatism-is-an-impractical-philosophy-for-business/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01732413 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1056492604268203 https://profitableandmoral.com/pragmatism-is-impractical-why-does-it-rule-in-business/ https://www.scribd.com/document/92736679/Pragmatism-and-Business-Ethics  Open communication is key in every team no matter what type of organization you are running. Having bad communication in your team could be more than disastrous.
What is open communication? Open communication is when everyone on the team has access to information happening at the company. How does it help with the company culture? This could establish trust among everyone on the team as there is open access to everyone in the same. It also establishes a sense of belonging and motivation for the team. Every team should have an open communication flow that entails sharing:
The concept behind open communication is simply to enable the members of your team to freely speak and provide suggestions in areas that the leader may be wrong as a feedback system. However, there are diverse ways to effectively promote open communication. While the majority of it comes down to nothing else but behavior, it is still shocking to know that some leaders unintentionally act in ways that go against any form of open communication. Nonetheless, open communication can be encouraged by:
Most leaders have this open-door policy yet, there is a huge difference between people walking inside such an office and having an open door. The fact is that there are little signs that show that you are paying close attention. They include:
Whenever a person in your team has any suggestions, you should try to accept it in areas where it is needed. This creates a feedback system that is needed so we are not operating in a fantasy land that only exists in our fantasies. This is why every team needs a realist. Although it is crazy to make use of every idea that your team brings forward, showing your team the part of you that is willing to transform your approach based on their ideas is a strong reinforcement of free and open communication. Also, should someone come up with a suggestion that you know will not work out, do not shut them down but explain politely why it might not work out.
If a person in your team has a great concept and it is fully implemented successfully, you should give them their credit publicly. This will allow them to have more passion for their work and even bring more ground-breaking ideas. To Wrap It Up Communication within team members cannot be overemphasized. You can always encourage your team members to be open when you easily accept their feedback. You do not just have to accept it, you should also act on it where necessary. https://www.amanet.org/articles/open-communication-vital-to-business-success/ https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communication-feedback-3176.html https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287266866_Leadership_feedback_and_the_open_communication_gap https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/10/03/4-steps-for-building-a-culture-of-open-communication/#7e56d92561d7 Originally posted on http://www.wynd.hk/all-you-need-to-know-before-starting-up-in-hong-kong/  Considering one of the best cities for building your own business, the number of registered local companies in Hong Kong has approached 1.4 million in early 2018 while around 43,000 newly registered companies are added to the list during the period of 2016 and 2017. The statistics are stunning, and it has proved the attractiveness of Hong Kong’s business environment. Further to the government resource, nearly 160,000 local companies have been registered in 2017 and the result matches the third position held by Hong Kong in the World Bank’s report on “starting a business” internationally. Isn’t it exciting to start a new business in Hong Kong? If you have a fantastic idea wanted to start with, don’t wait until the last moment, come to know more about how to start your own business in the most competitive city in the world.  Company Name and Type Well begun is half done. A good business always starts with a great name which is better to be precise and easy to be familiar with. You should be careful with the duplication issue and you have to check through the Companies Registry’s Cyber Search Centre or the Company Search Mobile Service to ensure the legality of your chosen name. You should also make your consideration according to the guideline from the official. Besides, depending on your needs and requirements, you need to consider the business entities of your company. In general, there are several types of entities available in Hong Kong, including limited company (public or private), sole proprietorships or partnerships. You may select the most suitable type for your start-up after clear understanding and careful consideration. Our team (WYND Co-working Space) is always ready to help with if there are uncertainties or confusion with the registration process. Company & Business RegistrationThe application of a company in Hong Kong has been simplified throughout the years. The following required documents can be hand in via, the online E-Registry, “CR e-Filling” mobile application in App Store or Google Play Store, or in-person to the Shroff on the 14th floor of the Queensway Government Offices :
** Details of the business registration fee can be referred to this link for further information. Further up-to-date information for both registration processes can be found in Company Registration as well as Inland Revenue Department or you may hold a meeting with WYND team, we are eager to help and explain all you are not clear with. After Successful Registration Softcopy Application With well-prepared planning, the online and mobile application for company and business registration can be completed within around an hour. Once the request is approved, the certificate can be downloaded and printed accordingly from the email received from officials. Hardcopy Application With the hard copy application, the process of evaluation will take 3-5 working days. Moreover, the corresponding certificates will be issued or faxed out within 4 working days. If you are WYND‘s member using our address for business registration, our team can help to collect and display the certificate to avoid any delay or legal issues. Rules and RegulationsConcerning some special business forms sat, specific permits or licenses may be required for your company, more details can be found in import and export operations or other business operations. For start-up operators, you must be familiar with the taxation system and labor legislation in Hong Kong in order to make sure that your business is legally running with proper management with rules and regulations specified by the Hong Kong SAR Government. Although setting up a new business in Hong Kong is relatively easy compared with other cities in the world, there are still basic responsibilities and duties needed to be understood and followed, for instance, Intellectual Property, Code of Practice on Employment or MPF system, you can find out more detailed information on GovHK. Moreover, as a start-up founder, you can also easily have the administrative assistant in a co-working space, like WYND to have professional consultation services for any problems with a start-up business.  Hong Kong as the Pearl of the Orient has its own attractiveness for start-up entrepreneurs who wish to become the most outstanding one. After your completion of the registration process, you have now become a newcomer to the Hong Kong market, yet you still have a lot of challenges needed to be faced and solved respectively. About the Author: WYND Co-working Space is located in Central district, in Lan Kwai Fong and near SOHO. The vicinity is the most diverse and vibrant neighborhood in the prime core of Hong Kong. It is the stronghold of international corporations and distinguished local businesses. A place where top talents worldwide gather to live their dreams in career and leisure. Wynd is a platform to synergize the talents and opportunities offered by the city for entrepreneurs, innovators, and pioneers alike.
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The ideal dream team is the one that works together and promotes positivity to create a learning and growing environment that can help in flourishing the company and its profitability. While the research always for such employees who can work in a team and lead it to prosperity however sometimes you might even encounter a toxic employee who basically drains the employee happiness and productivity and hinders the profitability of the company as well. No HR manager ever wants to hire a toxic employee as it is said: “One bad berry can spoil the whole basket.” Effects Of Toxic Employees On The Organization: A toxic employee can damage the company daily as well as in the long term. The research has shown that 56% of employees tend to leave a job because of a toxic co-worker. The toxic employee can blame the other workers for the failures of his own, bullies other workers around, or creates drama where other teammates feel annoyed and humiliated. These things make the working conditions hard for the other employees and they tend to leave the job to find a much peaceful one. Identifying Toxic Employees: So now, the question arises: How can one identify a toxic employee? Mostly in organizations, the toxic employees are pretty much visible if there is any. However, some of them are too clever and know how to keep themselves low key or their manipulative nature leads people to believe that it was others' fault. The basic traits of toxic employees are that they are defensive and aggressive with other workers, they do not take responsibility for their faults, and they tend to resist growth or change. You can even find them bullying and gossiping about others. No matter what they do in the organization, the result is that they damage the efficiency and morale of others on the team as well. Dealing With Toxic People: It is easier said than done that toxic employees should be weeded out during the hiring process especially when the core team is being built. However, some toxic people make the hire because of their resumes. They sell themselves well on a piece of paper and they are even better during the interview process as sometimes the toxic people are charismatic. However, their toxic personality often shows up after they are given responsibilities, left with coworkers or given challenges. Although, still the best way to counter such toxic employees during the hiring process so it needs to be aligned accordingly. The interviewers should be sharp enough to ask questions which can show how civil the candidate is and what can be achieved by asking them how they will resolve conflict instead of asking them how they will handle the difference in opinion with other teammates. Make sure that during the interview you have investigated the candidate about their previous experiences at other companies and how they handled different conditions and personalities there. It doesn't matter what kind of organization you are running, from nonprofit to startups. It is quite important for you to not allow toxic teammates to enter from the start as it can create a blockage in your growth and productivity. The best way to tackle it is during the hiring process to prevent negativity. If it still surfaces, then take action upon it as soon as you get to know. Once the employee is in your organization, you need to provide honest feedback. Maybe the toxic employee doesn't even know that he is being toxic. However, if the behavior continues, you should figure out a strategy to rid him/her ASAP. References and Citations https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-manage-a-toxic-employee https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/toxic-employees https://www.tlnt.com/a-data-driven-guide-to-dealing-with-toxic-employees/ https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251614 https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-handle-the-brilliant-but-toxic-employee-3575677 https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2019/04/29/how-smart-managers-deal-with-toxic-employees/ |
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