By d-mars.com News Provider
f you're asked for names of well-known entrepreneurs, a few obvious contenders might come to mind, like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. A recent survey asked questions about who are the most successful entrepreneurs - revealing insights into what people think it takes to make it big.
In the new survey, commissioned by Herbalife Nutrition, respondents were first asked to identify entre preneurs they felt were the "greatest of all time." His torical luminaries like Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison were featured mul tiple times in their answers. Interestingly, the survey found that nearly half of the respondents (48%) believed modern entrepreneurs are more influential than their historical counterparts were, while only one-fifth (20%) believed that mod ern entrepreneurs are actually less influen tial.
How can you identify people who are top entrepreneurs? One result is clear: from their innovations that make a dif ference in the lives of others.
"Entrepreneurs change our world for the better with their out-of-thebox thinking," said Ibi Montesino, executive vice president of distributor and customer experience at Herbalife Nutrition. "And their inventions have a great impact on our lives and society."
Regarding today's best-known entre preneurs, here are the top 10 names that
New Survey: What Does It Take To Become a Successful Entrepreneur? Vice President Harris Announces
came up in answer to the question: "Which modern entrepreneurs have made the most positive impact on society?"
* Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) - 21%
* Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder) - 18%
* Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple) - 18%
* Elon Musk (founder of SpaceX, CEO of Tesla) - 17%
* Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) - 17%
* Oprah Winfrey (co-founder of Oxygen, founder of O, The Oprah Magazine) - 15%
* Melinda Gates (co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) - 14%
* Sam Walton (Walmart and Sam's Club founder) - 13%
* Larry Page (Google co-founder) - 12%
* Ted Turner (CNN founder) - 11%
While many of these are household names, there are countless other Americans who make a real-life impact through their entrepreneurial efforts every day, whether they are groundbreakers in terms of building their own small businesses, helping their communities, creating something new, or simply using their energy and talents to provide for themselves and their families.
What does it take to become a top entrepreneur?
The survey also asked what is most important when it comes to entrepreneurial success. The top two results showed that each entrepreneur's personal accomplishments (24%) and contributions to society (22%) mattered most. And when asked what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur,
the most popular responses were that it required specific character traits (19%), having one "great idea" (15%) - and a commitment to hard work (14%).
Character traits that matter
When asked to clarify what specific character traits were considered vital for being a successful entrepreneur, these were the four top contenders:
* Creativity
* Intelligence
* Confidence
* Motivation
Perhaps the most surprising result of the survey was that nearly half (45%) reported having their own aims to become an entrepreneur - and 42% of them said they believed they had what it takes to be successful in that endeavor, claiming to have a "big" idea that they could turn into a successful business. Perhaps the secret to entrepreneurial success is combining ideas, creativity, and passion, with hard work, in addition to gaining strength from the support of family, friends, and colleagues.
"While there are numerous character traits that go into making a successful entrepreneur, the ones we work with, day in and day out, all have a common theme: they demonstrate a commitment to hard work and surround themselves with a supportive community," added Montesino.
Source: BPT
Slate of Actions To Help Black and Minority-Owned Small Businesses
ice President Kamala Harris used her time at Freedman’s Bank Forum to announce new public and private-sector efforts to advance racial equity.
Harris said the administration recognizes the continued difficulty that Black-owned businesses have in finding funding.
She acknowledged that they routinely are the first to suffer during an economic downturn.
Among a slate of new actions by the Biden-Harris administration, the vice president announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) would propose a rule this fall to expand its lender base by lifting the moratorium on new Small Business Lending Companies.
The action would allow new lenders to apply for a license to offer SBA-backed 7(a) small business loans.
Also, the Minority Business Development Agency (MDBA) will issue a $100 million notice of funding opportunity to provide technical assistance grants for entrepreneurship technical assistance providers to help businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals launch, scale, and connect with growth capital.
Harris said to facilitate greater availability of small-balance mortgages, HUD would issue requests to solicit specific and actionable feedback on the barriers that prevent the origination of these mortgages and recommendations for increasing the volume of small-mortgage loans in federal programs.
The White House said these and a host of other new policy steps follow two recent announcements by the administration of billions of dollars in investments for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs).
The actions aim to deliver capital and resources to underserved small business-
es and the community lenders who serve them, Harris stated.
“Small businesses are the engines of our economy and the path to economic prosperity for countless Americans in underserved communities,” the vice president asserted.
“Community lenders – including CDFIs, MDIs, and others – are vital to unlocking the full economic potential of these communities, turning previously sidelined talent into a source of economic growth and shared prosperity for all.”
The forum, launched in 2015, seeks to develop strategies to help stamp out and overcome systemic racism in the financial industry.
“Unfortunately, for too long, the small business ecosystem in underserved communities has struggled to keep up with better-funded businesses and entrepreneurs in more prosperous communities,” Harris stated.
Earlier, Janet Yellen, the U.S. Department of Treasury secretary, said the White House sought to use the Freedman’s Bank Forum to shine a spotlight on how the administration’s pandemic relief efforts supported Black – and minority-owned businesses.
“Entrepreneurs of color regularly report being turned away by traditional financial institutions for loans at higher rates than their white counterparts. And the community lenders committed to filling that gap similarly report that shortfalls in capital and technical capacity limit their ability to invest in the communities that need them the most.”
Source: National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
Want To Leave a Lasting Legacy? Don’t Delay Succession Planning
By d-mars.com News Provider
You've worked hard to build your business, pouring your heart and soul into its success. You've had to tackle complex problems and sometimes make tough decisions. It's not always clear which choices are best when running a business, but there is one thing you know for sure: thoughtful planning always pays off.
The same is true when it comes to the legacy of your business.
Whether you are a few years or a few decades away from stepping down, it's essential to plan ahead. You want to leave your business on your terms and achieve the outcomes you desire, which is why succession planning shouldn't be delayed. A formal exit strategy ensures your wishes are followed, whether that be family transfer, sale, employee buyout, or another path.
You may have thought about succession planning, but because you're busy, you've put it off or simply don't know where to begin. You are not alone. More than 70% of business owners fail to put a strategic, written plan into place.
The truth is no one knows when the day will come when they can no longer run their business. Delaying the critical task of succession planning typically leaves the burden to the family, who may be unprepared and therefore make uninformed decisions that impact the business and your legacy. Essentially, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
At Pinion, we have seen firsthand the costly dam-
age caused by a lack of planning, including undervaluing assets, misappropriating funds, and excessive tax implications. These are all examples of costly financial implications, but what can be even more devastating can't be boiled down to a number, such as when brand reputations are damaged, employee relations are diminished and family trust is destroyed.
Succession planning is primarily for when you plan to exit the business, but it can be an important legal tool at any time. One of the most memorable moments of my career was advocating for a $30 million family business serving as an expert witness in a case stopping the former son-in-law from taking a large share of family assets. The judge ruled in favor of the family because of the particularly clear terms in the successionplan strategy the family created.
Planning now matters
When is the right time to plan? It's never too early. We recommend no less than five years in order to properly designate, determine and develop a successor under your governance. Wondering where to begin? The process starts with a few discovery questions:* Who will be your successor?
* How much is your business worth?
* How much do you need to retire?
* When do you hope to tran- sition?
* What's next for you?
These questions will help form the foundation of your succession plan. To help guide you, consider the following components of any solid exit strategy:
1. Succession: The first step should include a path of discovery, which defines your vision for the business and the legacy you want to leave. This defines what will happen to the business that you've given so much to develop. It identifies future leadership and determines the progression, communication with family, and goals for every step of the journey.
2. Transition: A transition plan defines important components of timing and includes steps implemented in a strategic manner to reach your long-term goals. A succession plan consultant provides expert insight into planning in regard to financial benefits, maximizing assets and minimizing risks, and all other considerations surrounding the future sale, purchase, or transition of the business.
3. Estate: A good estate plan includes business and personal financial strategies that optimize inheritance, gifting, and entity structures while decreasing tax burden and protecting assets. It involves setting up plans that will complement legacy and transition strategies through the increase of wealth.
4. Legacy: Lastly, the legacy plan is the development and deployment of your long-term goals. How do you envision life after departure from the business? Furthermore, how can you protect this vision from the unexpected? This includes the accumulation and management of wealth, as well as meeting your retirement lifestyle goals, and accounting for life's uncertainties and risks.
Pinion Next Generation planning isn't just about the transition, it's about enriching your legacy. For additional insight visit PinionGlobal.com.
Source: BPT
