Innovar Knowledge Solutions

Meetings are rarely free of conflict. Whether it’s a brainstorming session or completing a major project, tempers can run high when groups are under stress. If you have your goals set towards business success and advancement, it is important to know that meetings are a prime opportunity for making a positive impression, networking and nailing the contract.  When you are invited to or organizing your next meeting, here are tips to get you prepared: When going for a meeting, it is best to know the names of the people you will be meeting. Also, find out what their job entails and anticipate likely questions they may ask. Try to find out who will be responsible for making the final decision. Be careful about personal remarks. Don’t create mental barriers to communication. Mind your body language. Be mindful if you are in the habit of folding your arms across your chest. Sit up, Look alert and maintain eye contact. Discuss but don’t bring up disputes. If you are already sea

Here are five top secrets to making a successful presentation 1. Professionalism This is evident throughout your presentation, and it is evident in your dressing and personal appearance. If you show up looking ruffled or the suit you are putting on is not properly ironed, then your listeners may be put off by your appearance. Professionalism is also displayed in your demeanor, the quality of your visuals and your delivery. Your appearance must be neat and situational. This means that how you show up must be relevant for the audience. Your visual aids must contain no typographical errors. Get someone to help you proofread, or you can download Apps like Grammarly to help out. Grammarly is a great tool for correcting grammatical errors. Establish your credibility during the presentation. Why should your audience listen to you? You can do this through talking about past experiences or a brief introduction about who you are. During your presentation if you are unsure about

Business Coaching is a professional relationship that is designed to help people produce new results in their business or organization. As an entrepreneur, we have plans and actions we desire for our business but sometimes getting around to do those things might be difficult.  A business coach can help you monitor your progress towards implementing your plans and keep you in check. They also contribute to modifying the plan to best suit your needs.  Coaches are knowledge experts and can be valuable to small business owners. They can help you spot your weak points, identify your blind spots and give you unbiased counsel. As an entrepreneur we tend to want to do it all by ourselves, we work hard and are determined to become self-made. Why then do you need a business coach? Having a coach can help you change your business by recognizing values, and goals for your business. They can help with setting forth a plan of action for obtaining these goals. A coach can help you id

Creativity means doing things in a new or different way.  Creativity means seeing things from a different perspective and reshaping assumptions. Creativity enhances the process of problem-solving.  Creativity helps people improve how they approach their work. Creativity leads to happier and more devoted teams. Inspiring creativity among your employees is a sure way to success. The best way to inspire your employees to think creatively is to let them know that anything is possible is they put the mind to it.  Creativity means teaching your employees to think like there is no box. For people to solve problems creatively, they have to value new ideas and know how to deal with innovations when they are suggested.  To encourage the creativity of your team members: You must be willing to absorb the risk of failure . You need to give your employees the freedom to experiment. Experimenting come with errors, so expect mistakes and be ready to learn from inevitable failure. If you

It is easy for entrepreneurs to become overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to complete. Being overwhelmed with tasks, happens because we sometimes feel like you are the best person to do the job, or you do not have the time to explain tasks and individual projects to your employees. The result of this attitude is that you have a lot of unfinished projects. Also, employees who are interested in growing themselves and learning new skills become unsatisfied. Dissatisfied employees are less productive, and your business suffers in the long-run. Delegation means that you assign responsibility to your employees. With delegation, employees can make their decisions. To delegate effectively, you have to empower your employees. To empower your employees means increasing their involvement through participation in decisions that affect their duties. Empowering your employees through delegation can enhance their productivity. It is important you delegate as an entrepreneur

A goal describes a final destination point that you desire to achieve. The practice of setting goals is an on-going process.Goal setting provides you the opportunity to measure your success. Goal setting helps you measure the criteria for how you spend your time and energy or certain activities. As an entrepreneur, if you want to have a purposeful business, it is important that you clarify what you desire to achieve, know why it is important for the business and define an appropriate action plan. To ensure that you set the right goals for yourself and the growth of your business,  here are six strategies you can use to motivate you and your team to achieve set objectives: 1.  Make it Personal: When setting goal make it personal. The chances are that you will be more motivated to achieve goals that you have set for yourself. Your goals should be yours and something you desire to achieve and are willing to commit time and energy. Your goals should be a direct result of your b

Self-awareness means that you understand what inspires you, your emotions and your personality. As entrepreneurs, it is important you understand yourself, As Socrates said: “Know thyself.” What do you enjoy doing? What do you dislike doing?  What poses a challenge to you?. To be a successful entrepreneur, you must be a good leader, and you cannot effectively lead other unless you can lead yourself. Self-awareness is the foundation for developing effective leadership skills. We all are not perfect. When you understand your strengths and weakness as an individual, you gain insight into areas of your life that may need change or improvement. As entrepreneurs, it is important to build your self-awareness because you have a business that depends on you. If you are self-aware, you have the capacity to observe your team members and you can help them align their strengths to the benefit of the business. Here are four ways to increase your self-awareness as an entrepreneur:

1.    Plan Selling is a process where the exchange of money is the final step. If you have products or services to offer to customers, do not assume that they will automatically buy from you. As a small business what will be your strategy for getting new clients and when you get these customers what is you plan to retain these customers.  Create a sales plan that will give you details of your target market and segment them accordingly – Are your target customers male or female? What age group does your product serve? Are your target customers students or working class people? How do you intend to create awareness about your goods and services? How do you plan to leverage your existing clients? Answers to this question can help you in kick-starting your plan. Remember, your plan should be simple and straight to the point. 2.    Sell Yourself The people who succeed in business are the people who naturally market themselves to the right individuals in the right manner.  The k

The traditional 4 P’s  of marketing - Product, Place, Price and Promotion has been modified to the S.A.V.E model – Solution, Access, Value, and Education. How can small businesses use this new framework to reach more customers and make more money? By understanding and using this model, small businesses and entrepreneurs can design and define their unique selling point. Sell a Solution: As business owners, sometimes we tend to focus on the features and functions of our products or services. We tend to concern ourselves with the fact that our products use the latest technology or even the best form of advertising. The truth of the matter is that customers will rarely buy a product because of special features or technological advancement. The client is driven by two things need and solution. In designing our products or a service, one key question to keep in mind is – Why do customers need your product? What solution does this product help the customers to solve? It is easier t

Most people desire to some day run their own business. The idea of being an entrepreneur is attractive as you get to determine your hours of work and how much you earn.  Being an entrepreneur is also very challenging and requires a lot of hard work and dedication. If you desire to become an entrepreneur you must be prepared for the journey ahead and be truly ready to work no matter the circumstance.  If you wish to someday become an entrepreneur, here are the top five characteristics of a successful entrepreneur: Drive: Successful entrepreneurs have hardworking and have the drive. They hold themselves accountable for their success or failure. They are able to work independently and do not require anyone to manage them. Successful entrepreneurs are self-motivated. Successful entrepreneurs are determined from the beginning – even before they start. Thinking Ability: Successful entrepreneurs are creative thinkers – they are willing to think outside the box and create ne

To be empowered means that you have confidence in your ability. To be empowered means that you know that you can access the resources required to be successful in business or life. Being empowered is the capacity to get things done. As an entrepreneur empowerment means that you have confidence in yourself, your vision and your abilities. To be truly empowered as an entrepreneur there are three necessary requirements: 1.       Competence and Demonstration Competence is having the right amount of knowledge and skills that will enable take on different situations. Competence is the ability carry out a task efficiently and successfully. In other to be successful as an entrepreneur you must gain expertise in your chosen field of business. Increasing competence means that your employees, potential investors or even the public must see you as an expert in your chosen field. Having an academic degree or gaining specialist experience in your chosen field can prove competence. I

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, read this old  story about the mayonnaise jar and the coffee... A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes." The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectivel

Strategy is about focus. You can’t do everything, so you do the right thing. You can’t please everyone so you select who to please based on common sense, your strength and your weakness and how you are different. You can’t sell everything, so you sell what you are really good at, what makes you appealing different and what sets you apart. You can’t do everything so you do what’s most important, what gives you the most benefit per unit of resources, what aligns you best with your target market and your focused business offerings…Tim Berry A business strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim. Strategy means dreaming. Strategy is futuristic. As a small business owner, what is your business strategy? What strategies are you putting in place now to grow your business for the future? According to the Bloomberg research, out of every ten companies, eight fail within the first 18 months. In other to ensure the success of your business here are fi