How You Can Become A Great Public Speaker (Even If You Hate Public Speaking)
Feb 26, 2020

If there’s one thing that gets people’s guard up in an instant it’s public speaking. It’s estimated that three out of four individuals have speech anxiety and you’ve probably heard about folks being more afraid of public speaking than of death.

It doesn’t matter if you’re speaking about how to succeed in business or how to start an entrepreneurship blog or how to start a business or you’re talking about yourself, public speaking can be a chore and it can affect a career. On average, those who have speech anxiety make about 10% less than those who don’t.

But if you’re someone who has a propensity for public speaking, there’s a lot that can be gained from mastering a skill like that. You never know, you may even be able to turn that into a business. If you don’t believe it’s possible, think about famous self-help gurus or speakers or even politicians. Yes, those folks usually have an angle they’re trying to push, but they can command attention.

Even if you have a deep fear of public speaking, you can become a paid international speaker. How is that possible? These tips can help you make that happen:

  • Practice: The old cliché “practice makes perfect applies to a lot of things, but it especially applies to public speaking. If you’re talking about an entrepreneurship blog or offering self-help tips, you need to work and work and work at what you want to say and how you want to say it. This is backed up by research, which suggestions that the best presentations are 38% your voice, 55% non-verbal communication and only 7% of your content.
  • Keep the message simple: Let’s say you’re an expert on how to start an entrepreneurship blog or how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur. That’s great that you’ve got all that knowledge, but if you’re communicating to an audience, you need to keep the message simple. Why? Audiences need to hear, digest and retain your message. You don’t want to bore people right out of the gate and you don’t want to leave anything important out. By whittling information down to its core principles, this will make it easier to relate to an audience.
  • Have a plan: Depending on the content of your message, you’re likely going to need something of a mental road map to make you present all pertinent information. If you need to, keep note cards handy or even a notepad with bullet points. Think about what you’re trying to accomplish in your speech. What do you want the audience to remember? Knowing what you want to say in the order you need to say it will help you stay focused and composed up on the stage.
  • Show some personality and passion: The best public speakers have a great speaking ability, but the reason so many of them are so good (and you can be too) is by letting your personality and passion into what you do. How do you do that? You do that by telling some jokes or some personal stories that help illustrate some of the broader points you’re trying to make. If you’ve got a great story you can open with and a great one to close with, you’ll have the audience eating out of your hand.
    So if you’re passionate for example about entrepreneurship, let that shine through. Talk to folks interested in business about the benefits of reading entrepreneurship blogs and educated themselves about how they can succeed. It’s estimated that 69% of American entrepreneurs start businesses at home so you might be able to give a speech about succeed in business from the comfort of your couch.
  • Make a connection: If you’re trying to become a successful paid speaker, the best thing you can each and every time you speak is to make connections. You don’t have to prove to audiences that you’re smart. You need to prove that you can communicate and make them listen. Relax and show you’re an audience that you’re relatable, approachable and engaging.

Becoming a successful public speaker or doesn’t happen overnight, but with practice and persistence, you can become a fantastic speaker with a message that makes people listen.

4 Tips for Hesitant Tech Entrepreneurs
Feb 26, 2020

With limitless possibilities and new businesses popping up every day, the world of tech can be overwhelming. Getting your feet wet as a tech entrepreneur is a hugely intimidating task. Still, as scary as it might be, it is important to remember that it’s not impossible. Keeping in mind the following entrepreneur tips can give anyone who is learning how to become a tech entrepreneur the leg up that they need to succeed in the business of their dreams.

 

Take A Leap of Faith

This is the scary part. Taking the first step in any process is the hardest part. Still, when it comes to starting your own business, it can seem like you’re putting everything on the line with no guarantee, make no mistake, you are! There are no guarantees, but without taking a leap of faith, there can’t be any success either. Realize you are not alone, with about 69% of entrepreneurs in the United States start their business from home you are in good company. Taking a risk is how things happen, and realizing early on that as a tech entrepreneur you’re going to have to take risks every day is an important step when trying to enter the startup phase.

Use Your Strengths, and Know Your Weaknesses

Understanding what it is that makes your idea and your company so special is a valuable skill when becoming a successful tech entrepreneur. However, just as important as understanding your strengths is understanding where you and your business may fall short.

For example, let’s say that you know your platform is exceptional. But, you’re not a confident public speaker, lean into digital marketing as much as possible, and work on your public speaking in the meantime. Or better yet, if your company has the resources to outsource the “face” of the company to a more confident public figure, do exactly that, and do so with pride in using your strengths while knowing your weaknesses.

Learn from Your Mistakes, and Welcome Feedback

Completely avoiding entrepreneur mistakes is a task that will quickly reveal itself as impossible. With that in mind, it is important to realize that learning from the inevitable mistakes all entrepreneurs make is an invaluable talent when learning how to start a business.

Along with mistakes comes to feedback, and with feedback comes the inevitable pushback of constructive criticism. It is crucial if you are going to be successful as a tech entrepreneur to welcome feedback of all forms. Whether the feedback you receive is good, bad, or in between, it must be accepted if you’re going to be successful as a tech entrepreneur. It is critical that you accept entrepreneur tips and feedback if your business is going to succeed.

Stay Informed

Like all things in the modern era, tech is an everchanging field, and it is easy to fall behind on the latest trends. Unfortunately, in today’s business climate having a good platform and the smarts to back it up isn’t enough.

For a business to be successful, the people behind the scenes must stay up to date on current trends, successes, failures, and the newest technology. Staying informed can come via an entrepreneur tips blog or even understanding the mistakes of other entrepreneurs in your field. No matter how you keep your business up to date, it is crucial to stay informed!

In Summary

Starting any business is an incredibly challenging task, and a tech business is no different. Still, as long as you keep in mind the fundamental entrepreneur tips outlined above, you are off to a running start. There’s no easy way around hard work and perseverance, but with a strong head and a persistent mind, success is right around the corner for you. Take the risk, realize your dreams.

the digital entrepreneur

How to Succeed as a Tech Entrepreneur
Feb 7, 2020

Startups, especially in the tech industry, begin and die every day. In fact, approximately 20% of small businesses never make past their first year, while another 50% never make it past the five years mark. The good news is that you don’t have to be part of these statistics. You can be part of the 80% of businesses which make it to the second year. How do you succeed as a tech entrepreneur? The tips below will help you learn what you need to do to succeed in the dynamic world of the digital entrepreneur.

Work on Your Public Speaking Skills

As the digital entrepreneur on the quest to find success, you will at some point need to pitch your ideas to a potential tech entrepreneur partner or an investor. You will also need to introduce your product to potential clients. The only way to get them to buy into your ideas or have confidence in your product is by explaining what you bring to the table.

You need to convince them that your ideas, products, and services will be worthwhile. You cannot do so if you are a poor public speaker. You cannot achieve that if the thought of presenting your ideas to a group of strangers makes you cringe.

Start working on your speaking skills today. People who fear to speak in public often make 10% less than those who exude confidence during public speeches.

Focus on Your Strengths

The thin line between the digital entrepreneur and one who fails lies in how the two individuals handle their strengths and weaknesses. A successful techpreneur often capitalizes on their strong areas and outsources the weakness to experts.

As a result, their product or service ends up being reliable as the weaknesses it could have had were it handled by experts. Those who fail, on the other hand, try to juggle it all.

While it’s okay to believe you can get things done and overcome your weaknesses, trying to do everything singlehandedly is one of the most common entrepreneur mistakes, and also one you should avoid if you’re to become a success.

Surround Yourself with the Right People

As cliché as this may sound, it’s a proven fact that those who you surround yourself with can make or break you. If you are constantly surrounded by a bunch of pessimists, regardless of how optimistic you are, it will be difficult for you to achieve your goals as they’ll always discourage you.

You’ll probably not want to keep going after the first few tries as they’ll not give you the encouragement you need during the early, difficult stages of tech entrepreneurship.

On that note, surround yourself with people who motivate you, and those who support you and keep you on your toes constantly. This is the only way you’re going to propel yourself from ideation to fruition as a digital entrepreneur.

Read a lot

The tech industry is highly dynamic and with each dawn comes a horde of new ideas which disrupt not only tech, but also the entire business realm in general. While your skills and talents are great, the only way to learn what is coming up and create disruptive tech ideas is to read wide.

Read on current and upcoming trends, tech challenges, success stories of tech moguls, and the revolution of technology. This will give you exposure and help you become more innovative. Read books both hard and soft copies, tech entrepreneurship blogs, and always be on the lookout for insightful tech entrepreneur resources.

Remember there’s Nothing Like Overnight Success

Creating a legacy for yourself, especially in the ever-changing tech industry as an entrepreneur is a feat not meant for the faint-hearted. It calls for creativity and comes with a lot of discomforts, uneasiness, and ups and downs.

Successful techpreneurs like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg had to start from scratch. While they are at the pinnacle of success today, they’ve had countless setbacks. In that light, as an individual looking for tips on how to succeed as a tech entrepreneur, you need to keep in mind it won’t be easy. Therefore, be flexible to changes, be ready to make mistakes and learn from them, and remain consistent.

Rafferty Pendery

What You Need To Know About Finding the Right Business Partner in Tech
Feb 4, 2020

You have a great business idea that you know will make an impact on the market. Running a business alone can be tough, especially if you are new to it. Even though there are those things you can handle on your own, can you run the entire business on your alone?

You may want to consider getting someone with the right skills and passion to help you. Otherwise, you risk burnout, even before your project starts. Finding a business partner is one thing, but getting someone with the right vision and skills in tech is another.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the challenges you’ll face when trying to hire contract coders, tech partners, or technical director.

Initial Research

You may start by doing a lot of research before you can even begin shortlisting candidates. You can explore websites such as Built-In, Founder2be, Angel List, Co-Founders Lab, amongst others. Most of the resources are free to use.

The next step is to make a point of meeting your potential founders face-to-face. Don’t forget to network with people at the events you attend. Talk to the organizer of the meetup and pitch your presentation. As a public speaker, you can attract a lot of attention, which could pull in potential business partners.

Tech entrepreneurs have launched successful ventures that were driven purely by passion. If you have such a drive, you need someone that will meet you at the same level. Sometimes you can hang on to skills and abilities, and end up getting the wrong match.

If you are a person with a lot of passion, you’ll be better off finding someone based on their personality, interests, and preference. Skills can be updated, but a lack of vision and a discordant personality often end up being problematic.

Defining Your Tech Partner

Tech entrepreneurs have to be organized and ready to handle multiple issues as they arise. Your idea may involve many moving parts that need technical expertise. Finding the right person is not easy.

Take time to clearly define the function and responsibilities of the kind of partner you want. You can choose from three main options; CTO, Senior Programmer, or Tech Partner.

  • Tech Partner: Has the same skills as the co-founder, and shares the same vision. It could be a friend who shares the same passion or someone who has the expertise to take the company in the right direction. It can be a suitable option if you are launching and haven’t come up with a clear roadmap.
  • Senior Programmer: They usually have a lot of experience and skills in programming and web design. They have an understanding of the architecture and supporting platforms. They are best suited for a startup with a clear direction, but without a lot to offer.
  • CTO (Chief Technical Officer): They have a broader range of skills that you will need as a tech entrepreneur to start your own company. They have programming skills that they learned working on other successful ventures. However, they often demand a sizable technical salary.

There are several options you can choose when finding a business partner for your tech idea. You may choose to go it alone or hire a programmer or CTO. You need to be realistic about the kind of talent you want for your business. You can prevent a lot of issues by doing lots of research before making any major decisions.

In Conclusion

There are many entrepreneurs who have started successful businesses on their own, including Rafferty Pendery. As the tech entrepreneur Florida trusts, you can rely on his guidance to help your business or blog take off. After all, starting a business on your own can be daunting and nerve-wracking. Take time to research and vet your potential partners to avoid sticky issues down the line. Contact Rafferty Pendery today for more information!