In my experience, if you are looking to motivate individual team members you are going to be chasing a mirage. The reason I say this is because peoples personal motivation is fickle and ever changing. The other problem is that it is so varied that it would be a nightmare to manage any inventive program or management strategy on an individual basis.

No. What you need to look at is how you can unite your team behind a common cause that transcends their individual motivation.

I have an exceptional example of how a friend of mine got a company doubling its output simply by applying the common cause psychology. It would explain this perfectly but I just don't have the time right now to type it all out.

Best of Luck!!

The best time to launch a business is now.

Unless you have serious overheads to considder, I would launch in your quiet time and give yourself the benefit of a gentle ramp.

There are two things that are great at killing a business. Growing too slowly and growing too fast.

Hi there,

Before you start with a business plan you need to figure out if you have a business and then if you need funding for it.

If you need funding you might need a formal business plan in order to tick a box. If this is the case I would simply make use of an app called Stratpad. It it easy to follow and will give you a pretty decent business plan at the end

If you are not looking for investors then I would simply just go through something like the Business Model Canvass to give yourself a course to follow.

Not sure what business you are in but regardless this might be an appropriate quote. "A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." General Paton

Well, I don't think I have ever not made money in the first year. In fact, I generally make money in the first one to two weeks.

But, I guess what they mean is that entrepreneurs generally reinvest as much money as possible into expanding their businesses in the first year. To be honest, I think this continues well into the 3rd or 4th year.

The speed of profitability is really going to be dependant on the industry and competitive environment you find yourself in.

I am actually actively involved in training young entrepreneurs.

I think one of their bad habits is that they get disheartened really easily.

What product or service are you selling, to who and where in the world?

Just Franchise the business. But, as this is an IT related business it can be a tricky beast. Do you have a bit more information about the business and the service it provides.

Might be able to give you a few quick pointers.

One that my wife likes taking advantage of... and which makes the photographers a huge load of money is the following.

Groupon/Living social £20 deals for a photo shoot and a single photo. When you get there you are shown some "upgraded options" you can choose from.

Once the shoot is done you have to book an appointment to come back to choose your free photo (this has to be in person and cannot be online). When you are there they put you in a theatre of sorts, dim the lights and put on some emotional "city of angels" type music, show you a slideshow of photos and then say "which one of these beautiful photos would you like".

Let me tell you. This is a powerful business model that can make a ton of cash if done right.

If it was a pure survival situation...

I would pack in
> an Iphone & Ipad
> An all you can eat internet bundle
> Membership to two of the main breakfast networking groups.
> Cash to last 2 months.

I reckon that would do it.