I Can't Find Funding. Is My Idea Dead? No, Consider a Campaign to License!
Most inexperienced entrepreneurs are unaware of the many options and alternative strategies available to push a new idea or invention to market. The most common approach they seek to implement is a classic funding round. When this avenue fails, and with overwhelming frequency it does, the idea often is dropped.Driven inventors attend invention trade fairs, venture capital conferences, small business incubators, and network at every possible opportunity in search of funding and working capital for their invention. It is commendable and a tribute to the pursuit of the American dream that such efforts are expended in this daunting effort. However, virtually all will come to a disappointing end with no funding and disappointment.In 2005 over 500,000 new business incorporations were organized in the United States. This does not include the hundreds of thousands of sole proprietorships, partnerships, joint ventures and strategic alliances formed. From this sea on creative, new opportunities only about 1000 were funded by traditional venture capital sources. The odds are so long against a successful funding round: the wonder is that so many entrepreneurs, with so much creativity to offer, are chasing so few sources of funds.There are other opport

Warning: The Dangerous Mindset That May Hinder Your Career
Keen to advance within your career? Then you're probably aware that there are a plethora of programs and courses that promise to help you with your career development. Well, I'm the first to suggest that you closely evaluate the cost-benefit of any such offerings... but, in general, I do think investing in your education is important.Taking courses or enrolling in college programs notwithstanding, I sincerely think that continuing your informal education should be a core part of your personal career development. That means reading books, newsletters, journals and other publications, attending seminars and workshops, participating in mastermind groups... and even going onto the Internet to read articles like this one!. In fact, if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that you should always be looking for opportunities to learn, and that this is critical to your career development.Now while you may agree with this in principle, it's also important to be open to learning things you "already know". In other words, even if you think you know something, you may not understand it from a different, deeper or broader perspective. Yet closing your mind to these other perspectives will almost certainly hamper your career development. Indeed, true masters

Where Do I Go From Here?
Making Your Future Work Better For YouIt’s the commonest concern people have about their careers. Where am I heading? Is this the right direction for me? How can I tell what will suit me best? Making good career decisions doesn't have to be agony if you clear away a few misconceptions.Break Out of Your Limits:Ignore the naysayers. We aren't limited from birth by some trick of inheritance. We make this mistake because we restrict our goals to a few, narrow areas: making that specific promotion, winning those specific sales, being CEO by the time we're 40. The goals may not even be our own; sometimes we pick up unrealistic aims from those around us.Find New Options:Setting your eyes on a single goal and achieving it through every obstacle makes a great story, but it’s like betting your life savings on a horse. If it wins, you clean up; if it loses, you lose everything. The more possibilities you can see, the more likely it is at least one of them will work out. Everyone has some untapped potential. You just need to recognize the flavor. Find what fits who you are and do that before everything else.Form Your Own View:Your future potential isn't defined by other peopleYou may want to consider changing the locks on your doors if those individuals who possess keys to your store are terminated or no longer work there for any reason. Each key that you disseminate to your employees should clearly say, "Do not duplicate." You may even consider using a card access or code system rather than traditional keys. Cards aren't as easy to duplicate and certain models can even trace the card back to a specific individual. Installing a security camera or indoor observation system will deter any wrongdoings. A simulated security camera can also be intimidating to those considering store vandalism, and it costs less than an actual camera system.

Profit Protection -Take large bills out of your cash drawers and keep them in a safe place, like a cash drop box with a secure lock. Allow only a supervisor to make cash drops, and record each transaction in detail. Make bank deposits daily or every other day. All of your other efforts to protect your store against fraud will be null if you leave money in your store that curious employees may find. It only takes one employee to overhear mention of the "safe" or the "vault" for your store to experience significant setbacks. Protect yourself and get the money to the bank.

Stringent employee screening and training - When interviewing a potential employee, include questions regarding honesty and integrity to let prospective staff members know that these issues are very important to your business and will be enforced. If you decide to hire the employee, provide them with a detailed description of company policies and procedures, and the consequences of not following them. This is not to threaten the employee, but rather to supply them the information they need to make honest decisions should they be found in a compromising situation. Maintain that he or she understands the guidelines presented, and acknowledge this understanding with a signature from each of you.

It's very important never to treat your employees like they've done something wrong, even if you suspect them of wrongdoing. If they are in fact innocent, they'll feel wrongly accused, mistrusted and unappreciated, and you may wind up loosing a good employee. Let them know you trust them and treat them with respect.

Teach your employees the concept of preventative maintenance. It is far better to try and prevent an employee theft than try to catch someone after it's already happened. Explain to your staff the nature of employee theft, and the problems it causes for everyone in the store. Most importantly, make it easy for employees to detect and report suspicious activity. Tell them what to report, when to report and the various ways they can report the information. Making yourself accessible to employees is paramount in any situation, especially issue of security. They need to know you support the work they're doing for your business, and when they express concerns you should trust them and take action.

Make sure all employees have proper training before they are left alone or assigned a busy shift. Require a written okay from a supervisor before an employee leaves their training module. As employees learn about your business and become more comfortable, supply them with needed product and pricing information, along with company policies and guidelines for ready reference. This will help avoid mistakes on the selling floor that can also be the source of great monetary loss for you.

A valuable extension of employee training is an evaluation or review. Many companies like to wait six months to develop an understanding of the employee's work habits and accomplishments before the review period, but depending on the nature of your business it may be sooner. One-on-one interaction with your employees builds trust and opens communic

ther efforts to protect your store against fraud will be null if you leave money in your store that curious employees may find. It only takes one employee to overhear mention of the "safe" or the "vault" for your store to experience significant setbacks. Protect yourself and get the money to the bank.

Stringent employee screening and training - When interviewing a potential employee, include questions regarding honesty and integrity to let prospective staff members know that these issues are very important to your business and will be enforced. If you decide to hire the employee, provide them with a detailed description of company policies and procedures, and the consequences of not following them. This is not to threaten the employee, but rather to supply them the information they need to make honest decisions should they be found in a compromising situation. Maintain that he or she understands the guidelines presented, and acknowledge this understanding with a signature from each of you.

It's very important never to treat your employees like they've done something wrong, even if you suspect them of wrongdoing. If they are in fact innocent, they'll feel wrongly accused, mistrusted and unappreciated, and you may wind up loosing a good employee. Let them know you trust them and treat them with respect.

Teach your employees the concept of preventative maintenance. It is far better to try and prevent an employee theft than try to catch someone after it's already happened. Explain to your staff the nature of employee theft, and the problems it causes for everyone in the store. Most importantly, make it easy for employees to detect and report suspicious activity. Tell them what to report, when to report and the various ways they can report the information. Making yourself accessible to employees is paramount in any situation, especially issue of security. They need to know you support the work they're doing for your business, and when they express concerns you should trust them and take action.

Make sure all employees have proper training before they are left alone or assigned a busy shift. Require a written okay from a supervisor before an employee leaves their training module. As employees learn about your business and become more comfortable, supply them with needed product and pricing information, along with company policies and guidelines for ready reference. This will help avoid mistakes on the selling floor that can also be the source of great monetary loss for you.

A valuable extension of employee training is an evaluation or review. Many companies like to wait six months to develop an understanding of the employee's work habits and accomplishments before the review period, but depending on the nature of your business it may be sooner. One-on-one interaction with your employees builds trust and opens communic

dge this understanding with a signature from each of you.

It's very important never to treat your employees like they've done something wrong, even if you suspect them of wrongdoing. If they are in fact innocent, they'll feel wrongly accused, mistrusted and unappreciated, and you may wind up loosing a good employee. Let them know you trust them and treat them with respect.

Teach your employees the concept of preventative maintenance. It is far better to try and prevent an employee theft than try to catch someone after it's already happened. Explain to your staff the nature of employee theft, and the problems it causes for everyone in the store. Most importantly, make it easy for employees to detect and report suspicious activity. Tell them what to report, when to report and the various ways they can report the information. Making yourself accessible to employees is paramount in any situation, especially issue of security. They need to know you support the work they're doing for your business, and when they express concerns you should trust them and take action.

Make sure all employees have proper training before they are left alone or assigned a busy shift. Require a written okay from a supervisor before an employee leaves their training module. As employees learn about your business and become more comfortable, supply them with needed product and pricing information, along with company policies and guidelines for ready reference. This will help avoid mistakes on the selling floor that can also be the source of great monetary loss for you.

A valuable extension of employee training is an evaluation or review. Many companies like to wait six months to develop an understanding of the employee's work habits and accomplishments before the review period, but depending on the nature of your business it may be sooner. One-on-one interaction with your employees builds trust and opens communic

support the work they're doing for your business, and when they express concerns you should trust them and take action.

Make sure all employees have proper training before they are left alone or assigned a busy shift. Require a written okay from a supervisor before an employee leaves their training module. As employees learn about your business and become more comfortable, supply them with needed product and pricing information, along with company policies and guidelines for ready reference. This will help avoid mistakes on the selling floor that can also be the source of great monetary loss for you.

A valuable extension of employee training is an evaluation or review. Many companies like to wait six months to develop an understanding of the employee's work habits and accomplishments before the review period, but depending on the nature of your business it may be sooner. One-on-one interaction with your employees builds trust and opens communication, thus regularly scheduled reviews are highly recommended.

Sales Transactions - Ensure your employees are ringing sales correctly and coupons or other promotional offers are logged and discounted accordingly. Check your register tape and cash drawers for unauthorized checks, voids or refunds. Keep a file of employee transactions so you may note when certain staff members have an extraordinary amount of over rings or other suspicious activity. If necessary, monitor the employee until his or her register counts reflect proper and honest work. In extreme cases, you may consider retraining the employee on how to ring special types of sales, for example. Hone in the problem and refer the employee's focus to the training manual until you see improvement. If your cash register is the type in which employees must enter their code in order to complete a transaction, this is a great way to monitor the production of each employee. Prohibit employees from using another employee's code or ID number for any purpose. Also, prohibit cashiers from taking a reading on their register. If there happens to be more cash in the drawer than the reading admits, the employee is tempted to balance the drawer for convenient self-profit. Require that all employees check out through a supervisor before finishing their shifts and exiting the store. This way you can be assured all employee information is correct and all duties are properly completed prior to leaving.

Employee purchases - Do not allow employees to take care of purchases for themselves, friends or relatives. If you reward your employees with a store discount, pay close attention that friends and relatives of employees are not also benefiting from your graciousness. You must require management authorization of all purchases made by employees. Staff members receiving a discount must pay for the merchandise before their shifts are completed. Require employees to keep the receipt for merchandise they purchase or consume for review at shift's end. Never allow your employees to wear or use your merchandise "on loan" or "on good faith." Don't set yourself up for risk. Every piece of merchandise that leaves your store must first be purchased. If your products require occasional cleaning or alteration, or are used for trade shows or some other purpose, make sure each piece is authorized and signed out at the door and organized in a log that's accessible only by a supervisor.

Teamwork concept - Payroll can be somewhat cumbersome on your budget during slow times, but many store managers are finding it beneficial to keep at least two employees on staff at all times. Schedule carefully. Make sure the employees on duty will hold one another accountable rather than serve as an accomplice to the other. Never allow one person to take care of the entire sale from start to finish. Another person should at least be present at the point of sale if possible to keep actions honest.

Prohibiting hide-and-sneak - Make sure your sales staff maintains a tidy register and they're not hiding merchandise in seemingly inconspicuous areas. Provide employees with lockers or a secure place for their personal belongings. An employee's bag or jacket is a perfect place for a small pair of earrings, golf balls, or other trinkets-even CD's, which can be a high dollar loss for the independent retailer. Keep back areas neat and clean so that store managers can easily detect irregularities or suspicious activity.

Vendor and inventory control - Require back doors for receiving be closed immediately after a delivery is made. These doors should be locked at all times and new shipments should not be housed on your shelves until they are properly checked-in and marked. To ensure that all