Prime Minister Stephen Harper Declares 2011 The Year of the Entrepreneur

"Be the Boss"  "Become An Entrepreneur"

Those were the signs at the front of the room when The Minister of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade for Manitoba, Peter Bjornson, spoke at a gathering to acknowledge the province's commitment to 2011 as The Year of the Entrepreneur.

First established by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Manitoba is the fifth province to take part in this program.  

As a former entrepreneur himself, Minister Bjornson encouraged people to "chase your dreams" recognizing it will take hard work and commitment.

There are 102,000 small businesses in Manitoba, comprising 97% of all businesses, creating one third of all jobs.  There are 2.3 million Canadians who are self employed or business owners.

"Entrepreneurship is driving our economy, recovery and prosperity," said the Minister.  "Opportunity lies at home."

There were many strategic partners present at the gathering, all in support of entrepreneurship.

As an entrepreneur myself, along with my husband, for the past 16 years, we know the amazing freedom that comes with owning your own business.  The consistent attention to growing and maintaining the business is well worth the effort.

In our case, we have the opportunity to help others become entrepreneurs as well, providing support as they take that step.  For many, this is a "Plan B" should their regular job or other business take a downturn.  And for many, entrepreneurship becomes their full time income and passion.

So, whether you live in Canada or not, make 2011 Your Year To Become An Entrepreneur.  Step out and chase your dreams.

Deanna Waters, Global Leader and Entrepreneur
USANA Health Sciences, Independent Associate
Questions?  Ready to Take the Leap?
1-204-237-8250

What Does It Take To Be Successful?

  Here's a great article by N. Michael Fernandes:

StrategyMakers Forum  

StrategyMakers Forum is written by N. Michael Fernandes, BA, MBA as an information resource for clients, associates and followers of StrategyMakers Consulting. We specialize in applying strategic principles and approaches in three areas: organizational strategy and leadership; business strategy and leadership, and; environmental strategy and leadership. Visit www.strategymakers.ca to learn more about our work.

 What does it take to be successful - 6 Factors

This blog is a short one…

What does it take to be successful? Let’s make a quick list…

1. Motivation – call it a dream, call it a vision or call it a “chip on your shoulder”. Doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s that inner (or outer) “voice” that keeps telling you that something must be done.

2. Initiative – you can’t win if you don’t play. Everybody daydreams of glory of some kind or another. How many people have the courage and drive to take action on those daydreams?

3. A solid,  but flexible/adaptable, Plan of Attack – Some people/teams like very detailed plans with “SMART” goals and clear accountabilities and lists…lots and lots of lists. Others have a certain disdain for that sort of thing and prefer to be more “entrepreneurial” and/or fly be the seat of their pants but even they have some concept of how they’ll move forward.

4. Practice and preparation – Even the fly by the seat of their pants type get better at what they do with preparation. After all, experience and “street smarts” are developed through practice.

5. Fight – Regardless of how good your plan is, if you’re not willing or able to fight it out in the trenches (execute your plan) you won’t be successful.

6. Luck/Fortune/Fate – Generally speaking, for every winner, there must be a “loser”. Fortune, whether good or bad, always plays a role too.

Don’t believe me? Watch tonight’s game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals (NHL hockey) and remember that each of the individual athletes was once a child at the local ice rink just learning to skate. Further, at the start of this season, both of these teams started with 0 wins, just like all the other teams they both knocked out of the competition earlier. Which team will be the one to capture glory? It will depend largely on the 6 factors listed above, no?

And by the way, it's not just about hockey or sports. Consider these 6 factors in any pursuit of success, from business, to art to environment, to social goals. It's the same factors, just a different context.

How is your organization/business doing in the context of these 6 factors? More importantly, what will you do about it?

Now I have to go…the game is about to start!

PS Regardless of who “wins”, I have a lot of respect for all of these athletes, coaches and the team people behind the scenes.

 

Visit:  http://strategymakers-forum.blogspot.com for more from Mike Fernandes.

Deanna Waters (Board Member, Winnipeg Entrepreneur Exchange)

USANA Global Leader

Eight Leadership Strengths for Success in Network Marketing

1.  Your mission is to make someone else's life better.  Center on them.  Ask what is important to them, what needs to change, and what they are doing to bring about change.  For example, "What's important about health to you?"  "What's important about finances to you?"  (Notice "to you" at the end?  It's all about them.)  "What are you doing right now to maintain or improve your goals?"

2.   People put their trust in YOU and in your system.  It's no secret that people want to join a winning team with a leader who will plug them into a proven system for success.  To avoid "buyer's remorse", show them the easy, fast way to get started and schedule a training session within 48 hours to verify and strengthen their decision. 

3.  Positive expectations bring positive results.  Your enthusiasm and belief in others will help them believe in themselves and to create a greater vision for their lives.Your vision for winning and pushing past discouragement, criticism, problems and barriers, will help others rise beyond their own expectations.

4.  Create community.  This requires more creativity, now that you can build a team around the world, thanks to the Internet.   This makes your e-mail system, webcasts and local events that much more important.  Affirmations are even more important today, acknowledging small and large achievements.

5.  Look for talented people to work with.  Look for people smarter than you and with varied talents.  Diversify the age groups, genders, backgrounds, skills and ethnic backgrounds.  A great leader looks for and develops other great leaders who do the same, resulting in a dynamic, solid organization for a lifetime.

6.  Excellent leaders are always learning, and encouraging others to fulfill their potential.  Where do you have the greatest need for growth?  Ask your team the same question.  Your business will grow in direct proportion to the personal growth of you and your team.  Seek out seminars, webcasts, books, DVD's, CD's, corporate events.

7.  Leaders do the right thing and they pay the price.  Integrity.  When a leader doesn't know how to handle a situation, they "do the right thing" for everyone involved.  Integrity includes being fully compliant with corporate policies.  Following through on a promise.  No gossiping.  Solving situations before they become a problem.

8.  Leaders offer real hope for a better future.   Have people strongly establish their "why" for succeeding in business.  What are their specific dreams if money wasn't an object?  Help them develop a strategy for attaining what they want.  Create "dream boards" in pictures.  Now put those strategies into action.  Make it a team effort and together everyone will win.

(This post was written for us, as well as for you.  Leadership is an ongoing learning and applying process.  We hang around successful leaders to learn from them, be inspired, and then put what we like from them into action.)

Dave and Deanna Waters, USANA Diamond Directors, Independent Associates
www.ddwaters.com
Get started achieving your dreams now.
Call: 1-204-237-8250