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Attend trade and industry shows in your field and talk with exhibitors. Join relevant professional associations. Build a strong social network with other entrepreneurs, both online (using social media and professional sites like Linkedin) and in person.  Attending networking events such as local fairs hosted by your chamber of commerce is a great way to connect with other entrepreneurs  in your area. These connections can provide you with support, ideas, and opportunities. Be generous to others. Don’t consider networking with other entrepreneurs only in terms of what they can give you. If you offer advice, ideas, and support to others, they will be more likely to want to help you as well. Nobody likes to feel exploited. Pay attention to others’ ideas. Even if you’re in direct competition with someone, you can probably still learn from them. You can learn from others’ mistakes as well as their successes, but only if you listen to them. You need to be able to effectively communicate your business to others in person and online, and that means having a strong brand presence. Professional-looking business cards, a website, and social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.) that provide information about your business in an attractive, cohesive way will help show that you’re serious about your venture. It will also give people the opportunity to look you up and learn more about you.  Look at the websites and branding of some successful companies. See what they have in common, what they do that’s interesting, and try to emulate that formula with your own brand. (Never steal or copy someone else’s intellectual property, though.) Consider starting a professional blog, especially if you are in a service field. This can be an excellent way to show off your experience and ideas and help investors and customers get to know you. Chances are, you know someone who knows someone who’s looking for something to invest in. Many investors won’t consider “blind submissions” (business plans sent without invitation) but are happy to hear a pitch from an entrepreneur recommended by someone they already know and trust. Remember to return this favor whenever possible. People are more likely to want to help you if they feel that you will help them when and if you can. Goodwill is essential for an entrepreneur to have. Pitch your idea to any potential investor to get money to start your company. The type of business you’re starting will help determine who wants to invest in it. Networking is an excellent way to hear about investing tips and opportunities.  Keep in mind that venture capitalists (often referred to in the business world as “VCs”) are focused on two things: how much money investing in your business will make them, and how soon that profit will happen. While hundreds of thousands of businesses are started every year, only about 500 a year get VCs as investors.  If you are providing a professional service, such as consulting, accounting, law, or medicine, consider forming a partnership with someone who is already established in that profession. Someone who is familiar with your field (and your knowledge of it) may be more likely to invest in your success. Starting small and pleasing a small number of customers at first is a high-probability way to get there. If you can get your business started without spending a lot of money, that might be your best route.

summary: Network, network, network. Develop a strong brand. Ask network contacts to refer you to investors. Acquire investors.


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You have obviously have employees who are more experienced in your company and ones that are less experienced. Through a mentorship program, the more experienced employees can help the less experienced develop their strengths.  Decide whether the program will be voluntary or mandatory. If it's voluntary, you may want to offer incentives for joining the program. Try to pair employees with like skills. For instance, if you notice an employee with good written communication skills who, at the same time, could still use a little work, try pairing him with a more experienced staff member whose skills are excellent. When putting together teams of people to work on projects, consider how their skill sets would mesh. If you can, try putting people together who can learn from each other as they work together.  For instance, one team member may be good at numbers while another one is better at seeing the big picture. The numbers person can help the big-picture person pay attention to the details, while the big-picture person can help the numbers person look beyond the minutia, helping to develop new strengths. Another way of look at this step is to put more experienced members with less experienced members. That way, the experienced people can help the less experienced members develop their skills in the group. Job shadowing is when one employee goes about her job while another person follows her to see how it is done. The first person should provide some explanation of what she is doing as it is possible.  Shadowing helps employees learn or develop skills by watching someone more skilled at work. How long one employee shadows another employee depends on you, the employer, and what exactly you want the person shadowing to gain from the experience. For instance, if you just want him to get an idea of what the job is like, a day or so is probably fine. If you want him to spend time developing strengths, you probably want to let it go on for longer. Usually, a person lower in the hierarchy follows someone higher up, or one person from one department follows someone from another department for cross-training. Job rotation is when employees switch out jobs to learn different skills. It is somewhat like job shadowing, except the employee is actually doing the job rather than watching someone else do it.  This step works well because it gives employees a chance to actually practice the skills rather than just watch. Job rotations can be short-term or long-term. You can have a day of rotation, or jobs could switch out every year.  However, it's important to leave some people in place who know what they're doing, so they can help the people rotating to figure out what's going on.

summary: Set up mentorship programs. Build teams mindfully. Try job shadowing. Use job rotation.


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It is important to check the local time prior to placing your phone call to ensure convenience for the party receiving your call.  Most phones have international time/date maps that display the time in different parts of the world. Take advantage of this handy feature to check the local time in the Canadian province you are trying to call.  If you don’t have a mobile phone, locate an international time/date map online. Canada is split into six time zones: Newfoundland Standard Time, Atlantic Standard Time, Eastern Standard Time, Central Standard Time, Mountain Standard Time, and Pacific Standard Time. Once you have gathered the required numbers, dial the number. Remember to include the exit code, country code, and the seven-digit local number, in that order.  For instance, take the number +1 456 789 1011. If your local exit code is 00, the country code is 1, and the number you’re trying to dial is 456-789-1011, you would dial 00 1 456 789 1011. After dialing, you should hear the phone ring. This is a signal that you’ve established a proper connection. International phone calls can be very expensive. You may want to contact your phone service provider for information on international calling plans or use a prepaid calling card to offset the cost.
summary: Check the local time. Dial the complete international phone number. Calculate the price of an international call.