10 People Who Will Destroy Your Business

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ISAIAH HANKEL

CONTRIBUTOR

Entrepreneur Speaker and Business Consultant

JANUARY 20, 2015

If you want to build a great business, you have to be very deliberate about whom you let into it. 

Emotions and behaviors may circulate through social networks in patterns similar to what’s seen in epidemiological models of the flu virus. Every positive person you let into your life increases your chances of being positive 11 percent, estimated a study published in 2010 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.  

"Just one sad friend was needed to double an individual’s chance of becoming unhappy," Wired summarized about the report.

Figuring out whom to avoid and whom to let in won’t always be easy. But with a little practice, you can get really good at staying far away from people who might bring your business down. Here are 10 people (whether employees or clients) you should avoid if you’re starting a business:

Related: What the NFL's Toxic Achievers Can Teach You About the Workplace

1. The siren.

Sirens are those amazing and enticing people who come into your business and completely distract you. More than anyone else, these people have a way of stealing your focus and throwing your efforts off track.

A lot of promising futures have been sacrificed to sirens. Some people have sold their businesses for way less than they are worth and others have given up on their businesses to chase a get-rich-quick scheme than some sirens pitched them. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t let an amazing person make you forget that you and your business have something amazing to offer the world, too.

2. The goat. 

Goats are those wildly charismatic, big-talking and full-of-luck people who seem to get away with everything. These people have many strengths.

The problem is that they use their strengths in devious ways. Goats have little ambition beyond convincing others to make bad decisions. If you find yourself constantly making bad business decisions every time you’re around someone in particular, it’s time to cut that person out of your business.

3. The elephant.

An elephant never forgets. Elephants are those people in your business who never let you live down past mistakes. They never let you live down who you used to be or how many times you’ve messed up.

Don’t let an elephant pull you back into the past. Everyone fails, especially entrepreneurs. If you’ve failed, it means you’ve learned. So stay on track and keep moving forward.

4. The hater.

Haters are people who want to be on top but don’t want to work to get there. Instead, they want to push everyone else around them down so it will seem like they’re on top.

Haters are losers but they also can serve as a source of motivation in a strange way. Don’t let haters into your business but use them as motivation to make your business as strong as possible.

Related: When Workplace 'Slackers' Derail the Cohesion of a Team

5. The narcissist.

Narcissists are talented people who are too consumed with themselves to take action. They’re especially bad at taking team-oriented action.

A narcissist might even encourage you to put the image of your business over its reputation. This is always bad idea. When starting a business, it’s best to be transparent and authentic. Don’t try to make things seem bigger than they are and avoid trying to be something you’re not. Instead, be real. Keep narcissists out of your startup and stay focused on your reputation, not your image.

6. The nemesis.

When you’re starting a business, sometimes you’ll have to work with someone whom you can’t stand and who can’t stand you. If you’re not careful, this can become a major distraction.

Try to realize that what you don’t like about a nemesis is probably something you don’t like about yourself or it’s something that you like too much about yourself. Either way, something is at odds with your identity and the only way to fix it is to turn the mirror on yourself, not the nemesis.

Your adversary can be your advisor in a way. If you bring a nemesis into your startup, use this person to learn about yourself. Once you do this, he or she won’t be your nemesis anymore.

7. The Ares.

Ares is the Greek god of war. Ares-type people love conflict. They are addicted to drama and winning at all costs, even if there’s nothing to be won. Any time spent trying to correct or even understand an Ares is a waste of time. You are better off ignoring these people and keeping them out of your business altogether.

8. The Dionysus.

Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, parties and pleasure. Dionysus sorts are pleasure seekers who have very little patience for anything other than instant gratification.

Be careful when letting these people into your business because base pleasure of any kind is both addictive and time-consuming. It’s important to have friends and have fun, but you should never sacrifice your startup to a string of late nights.

9. The black cat.

Some people can walk into a business and light it up. Others walk in and kill it. Black cats are the latter. They are the people who seem to have a dark cloud following them everywhere they go.

These people are unlucky, negative and always depressed. Don’t feel bad for these people. Odds are, they like sitting in the pits. They like the attention it gives them. So, let them sit. Just make sure they’re sitting outside your business.

10. The fat cat.

Fat cats are those people who will come into your business, throw a bunch of money around and offer you the world. Whether these people are angel investors or venture capitalists from top firms, don’t let their flash or their cash distract you from the fact that they want to control your company and make money off you.

Be very careful with whom give your business to. You didn’t work this hard to watch your brand and reputation go down in flames at the paws of some fat cat who is now calling the shots. 

Related: Motivating the Negative Nancy on Your Team

Your Personal Brand Needs a Growth Strategy

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CYNTHIA JOHNSON

CONTRIBUTOR

FEBRUARY 04, 2015

In recent years we have seen an increasing need for entrepreneurs and professionals to not only have a successful business, but they need to have a successful personal brand as well.  We are in the digital age and there is little room to be silent about who we are and the businesses we are involved in. There is a need for self-branding, and it is growing everyday. 

The issue that I see in most self-branding efforts is that people treat their personal brand differently than their business’s brand. 

Every business needs a growth strategy and an exit strategy.  We need to know what we are doing, where we are going and at what point we walk away.  A personal brand should be treated no differently than a business’s brand. Our personal brand should not be limited to the first set skills we’ve perfected. So what do you need to accomplish this for yourself?

When preparing your personal brand strategy, plan, research, and create actionable tactics and realistic goals.  This strategy may be the most important one that you ever create. Zach Binder, Chief Operating Officer at RankLab, chimes in on how to create a successful strategy,  "A successful marketing strategy is not created out of thin air. It requires a combination of research, innovative tactics, and keen intuition as a marketer." 

Related: 4 Ways to Make Yourself Memorable and Leave Great Impressions

Here are the steps in mapping out your personal brand strategy:

1. Market Penetration

In business, this would be taking the least risky growth strategy and a company would sell most of its current product to its current customers. For a personal-brand growth strategy, this would be walking into your first job, sticking to your niche within the company and doing it really well.  This is an important step in your growth strategy. Find the first thing you do well and do it really well. Make sure that everyone around you knows what you do and how well that you do it.

2. Market Development

Step two in your growth plan is planning a way to reach more people with your expertise.  A company doing this would start finding ways to sell more of its products to new regions. For personal-brand growth, this would be taking on more at work, working with other departments to help strategize together, or possibly taking a new job within your industry.

3. Alternative Channels

When a brand looks for alternative channels to grow its business, it is looking for new ways to reach customers. For personal-brand growth, this would be blogging, writing a book, volunteer work or speaking at conferences within your industry.  This step requires that you start working to become a thought leader in your industry inside and outside of the office.

Related: When Building an Online Brand, Start With the Foundation

4. Product Development

This is my favorite step in creating a growth strategy for your personal brand.  A company would create and sell new products, but as a person we learn new tricks.  An example of this would be a digital-marketing professional who expands to business development, public relations or business consulting. This step in the process ensures that you don’t get left behind as the industry changes, and the industry always changes.

5. New Products for New Customers

This strategy is common at major companies. You create products for the new customers.  For instance, if you are a marketing professional who now does business consulting, you may begin expanding on new areas of your industry and knowledge based on the needs of your new customers. This growth plan allows for you to have more than one part-time position, multiple revenue streams and an increase reach or authority within your industry.

In today’s world a personal growth strategy is necessary to keep from falling behind.  As you move through these steps, they get increasingly more difficult.  I suggest that you take one at a time, perfect the previous and then move forward.  For some people stopping at step two or three is absolutely fine.  Just remember to have an idea of where you are going and how you are going to get there. 

Have you ever thought about creating a personal brand growth strategy? I would love to hear of some steps other people have taken!

Related: Entrepreneurs Must Always Have Answers for These 5 Questions

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http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241370

Bankrupt But Stil Worth Millions

Bankrupt But Still Worth Millions?

By Fiona Ho . 26 November 2014 . Debt Management,Entrepreneurship, Money Management

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the bestselling Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of financial advice books, created a huge hoo-ha when he filed for bankruptcy protection for one of his companies in 2012.

Here’s what went down: when Kiyosaki’s company, Rich Global LLC was ordered to fork out about US$24mil (approximately RM80.6mil) to the Learning Annex and its founder, Bill Zanker, Kiyosaki filed for bankruptcy protection.

The back story? Kiyosaki had reportedly used the Learning Annex platform to organise several high-profile speaking engagements, including an appearance at Madison Square Garden in 2002.

The Rich Global-Learning Annex relationship reportedly generated sales of US$438 million (RM1.47 billion), of which Rich Global got nearly US$45 million in royalties.

However, the court agreed with Learning Annex that Rich Global did not pay the required percentage of profits and ordered the latter to pay just under US$24mil (approximately RM80.6mil).

The move to file for bankruptcy protection had many thinking that the author has gone bankrupt. In reality, it was Rich Global that filed for corporate bankruptcy, not Kiyosaki himself.

You may be surprised to learn that the American author and motivational speaker, who has 15 book titles under his name is estimated to be worth a cool US$80mil (RM268.6 million)!

Kiyosaki also operates as many as 10 other companies. Rich Global was just one of them and was said to be worth only US$1.8mil (RM6mil) in assets when it went under – barely a fraction of the US$24mil dollar judgment.

In filing for bankruptcy protection for Rich Global, Kiyosaki offers his fans yet another lesson in how the rich protect their assets. In Kiyosaki’s case, filing for corporate bankruptcy was a shrewd business strategy intended to safeguard his personal finances.

Below are some lessons that business owners can take away from Kiyosaki’s strategy to avoid financial downfall:

1. Choose the right entity for your business

A sole proprietorship (Enterprise or Trading Co.) is the cheapest and easiest type of business to start, but it may not be the best choice if you are considering protecting your personal wealth from business liabilities.

As a sole proprietor, you are personally liable for damages, which means that personal assets like your house, car and investments are at risk if a legal claim is filed against you or a business debt is called and you cannot pay.

Setting up an entity such as a limited liability company (LLC), also known as Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) in Malaysia, such as Kiyosaki’s Rich Global, will better protect you in the event of a lawsuit.

Limited liability companies are more expensive to set up and maintain than sole proprietorships, but it offers more protection from legal or financial claims than a sole proprietorship. It is a separate business entity and is not tied to your personal wealth, meaning you are not personally liable for business debts or damages your business might incur.

As Rich Global LLC is not tied to Kiyosaki’s personal wealth, he was not liable for the debts and damages caused by the company.

In Malaysia, other than LLP, a private limited company can also offer the same protection, where the liabilities of its members are limited to the amount of shares they hold in the company.

2. Keep your business and personal finances separate

If you are running a business or thinking of starting a business, your business and personal finances should be kept completely separate. It is advisable to maintain a separate chequebook for your business and use the company name (and not your personal name) on all business documents, including property titles and contracts at all times.

Kiyosaki had the foresight to protect his personal finances right from the start. For instance, he starts every new business as a separate entity, and is smart enough to run his business affairs through multiple companies.

Because Rich Global filed for bankruptcy protection, Kiyosaki’s personal assets were protected. Learning Annex could not touch any of his personal wealth.

He now conducts much of his business not via Rich Global LLC but under the Rich Dad Co.

3. Don’t take shortcuts

As with most things in life, taking shortcuts can sometimes come back to bite a business owner if someone who is suing you can prove you have been negligent or have acted fraudulently.

If you have acted fraudulently, the court has every right to “pierce the corporate veil”, a term used to describe a court’s action to hold LLC or corporate shareholders personally liable for the debts and liabilities of a business. What it means is, they can then come after your personal assets (including your house, car and investments) regardless of the entity of your business.

So “asset protection” isn’t so much about avoiding the consequences of fraud or negligence, as it is to protect yourself from the common misunderstandings and sour grapes that are part and parcel of the business world, as evidenced in Kiyosaki’s case.

Kiyosaki did not engage in fraud but, he and Learning Annex had a business disagreement. Learning Annex won, but because Rich Global was set up as a separate entity, his personal assets were protected.

No one starts a business with a mindset that it will fail. But in reality, disaster can hit your business anytime, so it is worth thinking about how you can best protect yourself should your business fall flat on its face.

Always think ahead so you can make plans to brace yourself and your wallet for the worst case scenario.

Want to start your own business but don’t know how? Make the best decision for your needs with our small business loan calculator and rate comparison tool

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Fiona Ho currently holds the position of Senior Writer at iMoney. Inquisitive by nature, Fiona remains keen in acquiring new skills and in finding new ways to expand her creativity (as well as her wallet).