SavvySugar

I'm Asking: Do You Take Career Risks or Play by the Rules?

SavvySugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:00:39 -0800

If there's one professional trait that I admire beyond bounds, it's an entrepreneurial spirit. It's hard not to be wowed by those who take charge, go out on their own, or create their own course when opportunity presents itself. That being said, taking career risks - whether a risky decision, move, or project - can be tricky and dangerous. Do you stick to the script at your job or in your professional endeavors, or are you a wild child when it comes to business?

How Did Self-Made Million- and Billionaires Get Their Starts?

SavvySugar — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 07:00:42 -0700

How does one get on the super rich list? Many of today's wealthy titans of business started with modest means and owe their wildly successful careers to their own wits and hard work. Do you know how these self-made million- and billionaire people get their start? Take the quiz!

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How Money Are You: Celebrity Entrepreneurs

SavvySugar — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:30:38 -0800

Most celebrities, as we know them, have earned fame in entertainment. Celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, and Gwen Stefani have tried their hands in everything from restaurants to fragrance and clothing lines. Let's take a peek at the extra-curricular entrepreneurial gigs of some famous folks who somehow find the time for various pet business projects. How well do you know your celebrity entrepreneurs? Take the quiz!

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Do You Have the Brain of an Entrepreneur?

SavvySugar — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:00:53 -0800

The idea that some people are right-brained or left-brained makes it possible to rationalize why someone isn't particularly smart in a certain subject, and new research shows this type of reasoning isn't limited to math problems and literature. A Cambridge University study found that entrepreneurs' brains have more activity in the region of the brain responsible for making "risky or hot" decisions.

The study is the first to assess entrepreneurs through neuroscience. Researchers gathered 16 successful entrepreneurs and 17 managers, and a series of tests showed entrepreneurs to be more impulsive and mentally more flexible than the managers. Because risk-taking is an essential part of the entrepreneurial process, the study hopes to identify ways to teach brains that don't have enhanced activity in the medial and orbital sectors of the prefrontal cortex to turn up that part of the brain.

Do you think the part of your brain responsible for taking risks is active enough to be an entrepreneur?

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I'm Asking: If You Owned a Business, What Kind Would It Be?

SavvySugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:30:43 -0700

Owning a business is a future many of you would want - 70 percent of you said you'd love to be your own boss. If you had the opportunity to put your entrepreneurial spirit to use, what type of business would you want to own?

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Brilliant or Baffling? Business That Lets You Break Things

SavvySugar — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:00:59 -0700

Sarah Lavely, a former veterinarian, put her entrepreneurial spirit and $200,000 to work when she opened her San Diego business called Sarah's Smash Shack. She liked to express her frustration by breaking things and figured that she wasn't alone, so her business lets people that need release throw things like dinner plates and wine glasses against a wall in a soundproof room. If they want to, customers can hook up their iPods and create their own soundtrack for their smash session.

Lavely says that ceramic white dinner plates are her biggest seller because of the explosive way they break, and customers can buy a package that lets them break 15 plates in 15 minutes for $45. Markers are provided so customers can write on their breakable item, and the effect can be therapeutic for some. What do you think of her business, is it brilliant or baffling?

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10 Tips For Getting Rich From Warren Buffett

SavvySugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:30:11 -0700

The wealthiest man in the world is self-made billionaire Warren Buffett, and the $62 billion dollar man was gracious enough to sit down with Parade and discuss his 10 best tips for getting rich. I'm inspired by Buffett's entrepreneurial spirit and tenacity for success; here are his five tips I like best.

Reinvest your profits. In high school, Buffett and a friend bought a pin-ball machine for a barbershop. They took their profits from that first investment and bought more machines for different shops, and Buffett took his proceeds to invest in stocks and a small business. By the time he was 26 he'd amassed $174,000, the equivalent of $1.4 million today.
Watch small expenses. Be aware and cautious with your spending, and your paycheck will go much further.
Limit what you borrow. Buffett's advice: Negotiate with creditors to pay what you can. Then, when you’re debt-free, work on saving some money that you can use to invest.

See two more of Warren Buffett's tips when you read more.

Be persistent.We've talked about this before, and it's a point that Buffett includes in his top ten tips: With tenacity and ingenuity, you can win against a more established competitor.
Assess the risks. Consider the worst and best case scenarios when making a difficult choice; seeing the consequences clearly will lead you to the smartest decision.

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Get a Whiff of Success: Grandma's Scent Sells

SavvySugar — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:30:14 -0700

Regular (ambitious) gal Jessica Dunne has demonstrated that a little niche goes a long way. The 32-year-old developed her first fragrance, Ellie, using $100,000 in savings and all of her savvy. Without any prior connections to the beauty industry, Jessica realized her dream of creating a perfume based on memories of fragrances worn by her grandmother, Eleanor.

A cold-call to Claudia Lucas, the perfume buyer at Henri Bendel in Manhattan, is what ultimately put Ellie on the market and has allowed Jessica to develop a second fragrance. Lucas was initially pleased with Ellie's bouquet, but she was sold on the story behind the bottle saying, "a brand is always a story well told."

Before she created her $180-per-bottle product, Jessica tested her hand in other areas like working as a sales assistant at Credit Suisse First Boston and managing an art gallery in Manhattan. Seems she's found her niche, and created one too, as a one-woman fragrance house with an appealing personal story.

Brilliant or Baffling: Compartmentalized Bag

SavvySugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 06:34:59 -0700

“My story connects with people, my story is the American dream about the girl next door who saw a problem and did something about it. People want to connect with the human side of a brand. They will have more loyalty to a brand that has a human side to it.” That's Jen Groover, entrepreneur and creator of the Butler Bag, talking about why her product is successful.

The mess that was Jen's purse frustrated her so much that she stole the dish rack out of her dishwasher and put it in her purse. Voila! Inspiration. Her bags run from $125 to $165 and her company is projected to generate about $15 million in sales this year.

A Little Monday Inspiration - Paula Deen

SavvySugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:02 -0800

Need a little Monday inspiration to get you going, then look no further than Paula Deen. The 62 year-old restaurateur, entrepreneur, and superwoman, makes the list of Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women, and opens up about her journey to the top and how she totally transformed her life.

You may not agree with her buttery-indulgent recipes, but Paula's personal story and professional mega-success certainly inspire - serving as a role model for anyone looking to make a career out of their passion, and as a reminder that it's never too late to redirect your career goals.

Explains Paula, "I came from an era where...I expected some man to take care of me...[till] 42 [when] I realized that I was just as capable as my husband," and opened her very own restaurant business, The Bag Lady - the first small step in a career move that has had a huge payoff. How's that for a savvy career woman?

To see Paula's complete interview read more.