What Does It Take To Be An “Intrapreneur” In Your Company?

Big and small businesses alike are full of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are usually the starters, the people that think outside the box, make things happen, and create change. No matter what you do within a company, you can come at that as an "intrapreneur". Using the skills and talents of entrepreneurs will help expand your personal boundaries and business possibilities.

So what are the talents that entrepreneurs bring to the table?

· Innovative and forward thinking

· Focus on execution

· Awareness of the impact their products and services have on their market

· Ability to understand areas outside of their own focus for different perspectives

· Examination of their self limiting assumptions

· Development of a diverse network that provides new perspectives

· Facility for taking calculated risks

· Skill at identifying early adopter signals in the market

There is an expansiveness that an entrepreneur brings to their own business that an intrapreneur can bring to a company. Entrepreneurial muscles need to be identified, strengthened and focused on. Perspectives need to be shifted. Paradigms need to be broken. What can you do today that takes an entrepreneurial perspective to make a difference in your organization?

And, if you are thinking about starting your own business, let your current company benefit from your entrepreneurial mindset. As you build ...

Five Mistakes in Establishing a Business
by Richard Streitfeld, CPA

Obtaining proper advice will save you headaches, not to mention big bucks, in the long run.

Here are five mistakes that anyone starting a business should avoid at all costs, drawn from real situations.

· Not having a plan for your business. A passionate and talented karate teacher bought the studio from its founder a year ago. He borrowed heavily to finance the deal and the studio does not generate enough revenue for him to meet his obligations. The studio’s continued existence is now in doubt and the teacher has even considered personal bankruptcy.

At a minimum, a realistic budget before he purchased the studio might have illuminated the problem and given him pause. He may have looked to delay the purchase, renegotiate the deal or look for additional investors. Many entrepreneurs love what they do but are intimidated by numbers and planning.

A small investment – mostly of time – can make it possible for you to actually succeed at what you love. You don’t need a fancy printed business plan — but you do need to address a few core questions. What are your cash needs? What are the cash needs of your potential partners? Can the business meet those needs? If it cannot, what will your partners do? What will you do? Are there any periods when the business may need to borrow money? Alternatively, if you anticipate profits, will you be able to pay the related taxes when they come due?

· Not getting it i ...

In Stockholm, Wendy met with the very Sassy Pamela Mattsson. Pamela is a Life Coach who moved from the US to Sweden with her husband and three children seven months ago. She now coaches clients in both countries and has kept her business going strong! Hear an excerpt from our conversation having a latte. We'll have an interview to learn more about Pamela soon.
Pamela's website is www.passionatelifecoach.com.

A Day in the Life of a Work-at-home Mom.

I work from home two days a week. When I was halfway through my pregnancy, I left my cushy corporate job to start my own company. People used to say, “Oh, how nice. You’ll get to be home with your kids while you work. That’s ideal.” I used to nod dreamily, thinking of how the baby would play with blocks quietly next to my desk as I did client work. Then, the baby was born and reality set in. Now my baby and her baby brother are 5 and 3 years old. Working from home takes on a whole new dimension!  Here is a chronicle of a typical day:

5:00 a.m. Wake up. Realize “graduation day” has arrived. Go upstairs to write thank you notes to Jessie-Kate’s pre-school teachers. While it is quiet, I also write my company's email newsletter intro and outline the articles on paper.

5:35 a.m. Finish notes, and turn on laptop to start laying it all out. Stupid Microsoft Windows startup noise wakes up my light-sleeping 3-year-old, Nicholas. I’ll have to work on the draft later. Fix him some chocolate milk, then put on “Tom & Jerry” on DVR to keep him quiet while Jessie and Rich sleep a bit longer. Read ‘Working Mother’ magazine while we cuddle on the couch.

6:20 a.m. Jessie wakes up and joins CuddleFest. Magazine down, TV off, and ...

10 Keys To A Perfect Day At Work!
1. Plan the whole week based on your peak energy levels.
2. Schedule all your activities, personal, travel, rest and breaks.
3. Select your most important job and do it first.
4. Break up very large projects into chunks.
5. Stop working and relax for five minutes after you complete a chunk.
6. Delegate any task someone else can do.
7. Adjust your schedule as required.
8. Compliment everyone who speaks to you and continue your work.
9. When your day ends, clean your desk, update tomorrow's plan and STOP working.

• Stop being a victim of your circumstances.  Don't be angry, and don't blame others.  "Stay open" to the fact that your dreams are possible.
• Determine what your "next right action"  will be towards making your dreams happen. Then take that first step! You don't know if it will be a big step or a small step until after you take it!

If you ever need a day to connect with your girlfriends in a pampering environment, and you don’t want to splurge on a day at the spa, go to next year’s Love, Light and Laughter event, put on by aspire…magazine. Linda Joy and crew put on a spectacular event, which The Sassy Ladies were proud to be Passionate Parters of. Some key highlights from the day:

We had our first booth – we met dozens of current and aspiring entrepreneurs at the booth, and smiled all day as they shared their ideas, dreams, etc. Congrats to Joan Haymond for winning our raffle basket!  Thank you to Dunham Designs for some fantastic graphics!

We made new friends – our neighbor to the left was Ellie from Uplifting Connections. We were touched by the story of how she started her wellness center. We couldn’t resist bu ...

The Executive Women’s Golf Association of Rhode Island had its kick off event on Friday, April 13 at Potowomut Golf Club in Warwick, RI. There are Chapters all over the country. Carol Malysz of CWE fame is the President and has done a fabulous job of pulling together a great team of women to launch this organization. There were over 100 women at the event!

And let me tell you---these are SASSY WOMEN! The event began with DRUM SISTERS PERFORMING TROUPE! They were awesome. Check them out at www.dancedrumstory.com.

Wendy and Michelle are going to try their hand at golf this year with EWGA. There’s a beginner league with lessons……hmmmm..sounds good. For more info check out www.ewgari.com

All three Sassy Ladies, Michelle, Miriam and Wendy attended the Women’s Summit at Bryant University on March 16^th. It was the 10^th Annual Summit with almost 1000 participants!

We LOVED Tory Johnson, the CEO of Women for Hire (www.womenforhire.com)!  She gave such great advice like:
- “trust your intuition” when you are in an employment situation that isn’t serving you.
- “Dare to challenge yourself”- figure out a way to push yourself outside your comfort zone.
- “Cultivate Relationships” with women/people who are smarter………more risk takers, etc. (Tory started her businesses with twin toddlers at home!) AND
- “Toot Your Own Horn” was advice she used to get her where she is today!

There were many great sessions on Affinity Groups in Business, Feng Shui for your business etc. Alfre Woodard, award winning actress did a moving presentation as a key note speaker at lunch. The picture is Alfre on the big screen---the person standing who looks like a red dot in the picture is Sassy Miriam asking some smart and sassy questions!

A good time was had by all. We highly recommend you come to the event next year!