If you think that entrepreneurism is a new trend, you are quite mistaken. Small business ownership is a proud American tradition with its roots in the Revolutionary period of our nation. Some of our most notable Presidents were also successful business owners with businesses that flourished even while their owner was away running their new nation. Here are a few of our country’s entrepreneurial presidents as well as how they turned their solid business sense into good governing skills.
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The AGEFICE, a body comprising employers within its Board of Directors, the General Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises, the Mouvement des Entreprises de France, the Assembly of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Professional Union Artesanal, since November 1993 is located in France.

I am always intrigued by logo design that represent entrepreneur related associations or magazines etc.
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If you think selling over the phone is easier than face-to-face selling, maybe it’s time for you to think again. Phone selling is very challenging given the high level of mistrust of many consumers and the lack of physical contact to gauge the openness of your customers. If this type of selling is vital to your business, you should consider the following tips:

1. Establish relationship in less than 10 seconds. Since you can’t convey your message with a good body language, you will have to rely entirely on your friendly tone and charming personality to forge a relationship. Make your approach more casual so your customers won’t know you’re reading a script.
2. Keep it short and sweet. Don’t bore your prospects with details by focusing on the key benefits of your product, the main message you want to tell, and some personal positive experiences from other customers.
3. Plan your calls. Segment each call if it’s a prospect, cold call, close, follow up, or existing customers. Each segment needs different approach and phone selling tactic.
4. Follow up. Don’t expect to make a sale after just one selling session. It takes time and persistence to win a customer. Remember, you’re not the only one pursuing that customer so take time to call again on the date agreed by both parties.

When starting a business, will you imitate the leading brand or do things your own way? While the latter is the typical answer, Marty Nemko of Kplinger.com says it’s better to replicate than innovate:

Being a guinea pig is so risky: Your idea or its execution could easily be flawed, or it can be so new that the public isn’t ready for it. Tivo, an unquestionable improvement over the VCR, lost hundreds of millions of dollars in its first five years as it tried to educate the public. You probably don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars and five years to wait for profitability.

Although our main goal is to differentiate our brand from competition, some situations justify the need for imitation:

1. Benchmarking or adopting best practices from another industry
2. When a particular feature, process, or service is considered a standard in your chosen industry. If these are not available then your business will not be considered at par with the leading players.

However, there are certain limits to imitation such as:

1. Using a confusingly similar brand name, trademark logo or colors.
2. Copying the content from your competitors’ websites, marketing brochures, sales letters, and other marketing materials.

Some entrepreneurs are afraid to take bigger challenges because they can’t handle the idea of failing. To make matters worse, some say “no” even without even trying. In case you are in this same situation, you might want to do some attitude adjustment. Here’s how:

1. Impossible is Nothing. This famous Adidas advertising slogan is the first step towards better attitude. When faced with a difficult task, you should not give up easily. Explore your options and ask other people for advice.
2. Think big. You should start a business with the dream of becoming a big company in the long run. Combining your think-big mindset and hard work, you can take on challenging projects without fear.
3. Prepare all the time. Instead of dreaming of overnight success, start sharpening your skills and learning new ones. When the big opportunity knocks on your door, you are more than prepared to seize it.
4. Focus on your strengths. Some entrepreneurs spend their time focusing on their weaknesses until they reached a point where they can no longer appreciate their strengths. Find your key skills and learn how to use it to your advantage.