How to Make Your Business Grow

Every businessman dreams about making his own company one of the biggest enterprises, as much as possible. However, making that a reality is one great challenge that is not easy to achieve. While the climb maybe a great challenge, one should remember that your business’ success rests on your hands.

According to Steven Boccone, a successful business and management consultant, there are no shortcuts in trying to make your company grow. It takes time, great effort and concentration for you to be able to realize your dreams of putting up your own business empire.

Here are some additional tips that you might find useful in the management of your business.

-          Monitor the cash flow. Knowing how cash flows in and out of your business will help you manage your finances better.

-          Aim for something. Set short and long term goals to help guide your company in making the right decision.

-          Market your products well. Use low budget, but high impact marketing techniques to push your business to a wider audience with minimal expenses.

-          Acquire good business presentation skills. Being able to present your company well will help you get more investors which will help you grow your business faster and better.

-          Keep abreast of the trends. Nothing stays the same, especially in businesses that is why you should be able to monitor trends to help you position your business better.

-          Improve your skills. One way to make your business grow is by enriching you and your staff’s skills set to get yourselves ready for the bigger challenges ahead.

-          Motivate your staff. The best tool for growth is having an efficient and effective workforce. Keep mentoring your employees and motivate them to perform better with their respective jobs.

-          Work smart not hard and have time to play. Know your limits, and work on them. Don’t push yourselves too hard and find some recreation time. The secret to success lies on one’s mindset. Take breaks and learn how to have fun too to keep your minds energized.

Managing a business is one great challenge, and the only way that it could grow is if you have the right mindset and the right attitude about it. Following these simple yet very effective tips will definitely help make your business reach new heights.

Effective Business Management Tips

Starting a business and managing it may be a tough thing to do. People who have been on top of the business often spend most of their time studying things related to their businesses. These include studying in business schools abroad just to get the expertise and improve their skills in business.

But did you know that the most effective business strategies aren’t always learned in a business school?

Experienced business managers like Steven Boccone, will tell you that everybody has the potential to come up with their own simple, yet effective business strategies. These are just some of the things that every entrepreneur should always think about:

- You don’t need a business degree to be a great businessman. While knowledge about the ins and outs of businesses is important, not all successful business processes only come from textbooks and popular business schools. Sometimes, you only need to use your common sense in making the right business decisions.
- Hire the best people to help you move your business. You don’t really need people with PhDs. What you need are hard-working people, people who willing to learn, and have a well-rounded attitude who can help you make wonders on your business.
- Do not make hasty decisions. While there might be pressing problems that you need to resolve at the soonest possible time, making hasty decisions won’t help you either. It is not enough that you have half-baked answers for these questions, but sometimes, you need to come up with solid solutions that can only be derived from strategic planning. Whenever you face problems, solve it by carefully planning and implementing the said solutions.
- Strike a balance when it comes to promotion. While promoting from within helps keep workers inspired, some skills are just not available with the people that you currently have. If there’s a need, do hire officers from outside the company.
- Consistency is the key. By being consistent, you come up with steady business decisions. This also promotes better planning, professionalism, and fosters growth.

While capital, the know-how, and experience can give you the leverage you need to rise and move your business forward, these are not the only things that ensure a business’ success.

Looking for the Perfect Business Laptop

A successful businessman shouldn’t only have the right skills and education to excel in his job; he or she also needs to work harder and smarter, be informed of things and have an efficient assistant and staff to help him perform his duties. Otherwise he can make use of modern devices such as laptops to make things easier for him.

So what makes a good business laptop? Does it have to be the most expensive one? Does it have to be the most powerful one? Does it have to be slim or bulky?

For active and experienced business consultants like Steven Boccone, modern devices like laptops are essential tools of the trade. Laptops often serve as virtual offices for businessmen who are always on the go, allowing them to run their business while they are away and keeping them informed of what’s happening in business.

Here are qualities to look for in a laptop: 

- Power. Business laptops would often be used in multi-tasking. That is why you need a powerful laptop. If possible, get the laptop that offers the fastest processors, and the biggest system memory.
- Storage. You need to take with you a lot of files. That is why you need to have a lot of storage space as possible. Get the one with the biggest hard drive if possible.
- Simple graphics. Since you would often be using your laptop for Internet surfing, viewing documents and spreadsheets, as well as a little playtime, you don’t really need a video graphics card that is used by hardcore gamers. Having a simple graphics card will suffice.
- Connectivity. Wifi, Bluetooth, card readers, the works. You’d never know when you’ll need them so make sure you have these on your laptop.
- Size. A powerful laptop doesn’t always have to be huge. Try to get a laptop that will be easy to bring to places that you will be.
- Battery. You need a laptop that packs a lot of power for the tasks that you are about to perform. This way, you won’t have to worry about finding the nearest power source.

So go and start the hunt for that perfect business laptop for you.

Steven Boccone Joins Filipinos’ Fight against ‘Big C’

Steven Boccone, a long-time Filipino arts and culture patron and business and management expert, recently added another advocacy—this time as an avid supporter of the fight against cancer.

What many people also call as the ‘Big C,’ the said disease ranks as among the top causes of Filipinos’ deaths annually, and likewise among the leading killers in many countries worldwide. In fact, data from the World Health Organization revealed that there are more than 12 million people who get diagnosed with the dreaded disease on a yearly basis.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health estimates that some 50,000 cancer cases have been recorded, with a projected five-percent increase each year. Of all the recorded cancer cases, some 16 percent of the total deaths are caused by breast cancer, which incidentally comprises some 28 percent of all cancer cases.

Meanwhile, the top cancer types are (in descending order): breast cancer, lung cancer, cancer of the liver, cervical cancer, colon cancer, thyroid cancer, rectal cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. For men, lung cancer is the leading killer, with 27 percent of all known cases.

Fortunately, organizations, such as the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS), regularly hold events that aim to create awareness of the health risks of cancer, as well as to provide free cancer check-ups for early detection.  

Incidentally, Steven Boccone and wife Karen Adriano Boccone are among the biggest supporters of PCS. The couple regularly attends events sponsored by the PCS as their way of showing their sincere efforts in the fight against cancer. In fact, they were present at The Best Dressed Women of the Philippines, an event that aimed to raise funds for the various programs on cancer awareness and prevention. There, Steve and Karen donated generous amounts in support of the mission of the PCS.

Additionally, Steve is supporting La Hermandad Zamboangena Foundation, Inc., which sends to school children belonging to poor households.

Indeed, Steve is undoubtedly very Filipino at heart, given his intense love for Philippine arts, culture, and social causes like the fight and against cancer and poverty.

Steven Boccone: In the helm of a Finance Officer

    The world of Investment Banking does not revolve on money alone. A lot of factors are involved in making one Investment Bank stable and at the same time influential enough to make a difference. Different factors such as the economy, number of clients, business partners and excellently timed and thought out research affect the operations of investment banking making these the deciding factors whether a certain investment bank can attain stability and permanence. On the other hand, even if all the mentioned factors are present, the success of an Investment Bank would still depend on the people who fuel its operations. To name one, the Finance Officer of the bank plays one important role in making sure that the Investment bank’s operations run smoothly. The task may sound easy, but managing an Investment bank and ensuring that everything goes well is not exactly stress-free, especially if it means losing the clients’ money and trust.

Being the Finance Officer does not mean simply overseeing if everything is going as planned. The task of one involves assisting when it comes to performing tasks that are needed in order to achieve the bank’s mission, making sure that all staff is aware of financial management matters, working with CEO when it comes to visualizing the plans for the stakeholders, being atop of regulatory requirements, ensuring that new opportunities will be developed and delivery of those to clients. Steven Boccone, a Financial Officer for Standard Chartered Securities, was hired to fill in this position at an age of 25. Under Steve Boccone’s helm, Standard Chartered Securities remained to be one of the world’s longstanding banks. 

This shows that to be a Financial Officer need not have a lot of experience when it comes to banking. One must be passionate and motivated to get the job done and make things run smoothly. To be a Finance Officer requires the courage to step forward and take responsibility for making all operations go as planned. The CEO should definitely choose wisely as this position needs someone who can look into the smallest details and see the bigger picture as well in the form of the bank’s future. When a person with courage is assigned to this task, surely the economy, depositors, and business partners will know they have made the right choice.



Image via Ehow.com

Steve Boccone’s management traits and skills

     Managing people requires hardwork  and only a few seem to have the right combination of talent and skills to lead other men towards a common goal. History is replete with the remarkable achievements of great leaders but at closer look, these men have one thing in common: great leadership and management skills.

The management skills of Steven Boccone was honed by years of experience in handling people. As he took up various positions in the corporate world, he was able to understand how people work –their common habits, their frame of mind. He also became familiar with the way they behave in the workplace. 

Definitely, an effective manager knows where a company is heading but it is equally important to know about the people that make up a team as they determine the success or failure of a goal. A good manager should therefore be able to inspire and motivate people to achieve their goals. And Steven Boccone can do just that.

A good manager often has six essential skills  that enables him to manage people and projects effectively. 

•  Communicates clearly – A good manager should be able to communicate ideas and facts clearly as this is crucial in the workplace where successful results of a project lies on the flow of accurate information. It must be remembered that clear communication always defines good management.
• Assertive of ideas – Another trait fundmental to managers is the ability to express ideas, thoughts and emotions in a straightforward, honest way while being tactful and respectful of other people.
• Connects with people – Though business is all about results, it involves interaction with people and the exhange between them is an essential component of a successful relationship in the workplace. A good manager has the ability to connect with people to build rapport and trust.
• Motivates people – A good manager knows what motivates his people and responds according to this knowledge. He must be able to match the employees’ motivations and strengths with the tasks and their rewards or compensation. Given the complexity of the organization and the personality of each individual, this is something that a manager should master.
• Integrity – A manager with integrity honors his words and the employees often trust him and  know that they can count on him. Transparency in action, constructive attitude and performance often results from having a manager with integrity.
• Decision maker – A manager’s task involves creating strategies, assigning tasks, supervising the execution and provide feedback. In all these activities, good decision-making skill is a crucial element and a good manager must have this most important skill when needed.

What economists like Steven Boccone do

     Unlike other professionals such as doctors, engineers, teachers and politicians, little do people know what an economist, like Steven Boccone, really does.  Although we know something of what economics is, there is very scant knowledge of how an economist works and what he is paid for.

To put it simply, economists typically study the ways how society uses resources such as land, labor, machinery, and raw materials to produce goods and services. Their tasks often include analyzing the cost and benefits of distributing and consuming products and services. To do this they collect data, conduct research, monitor trends and formulate or develop forecasts. 

As a professional economist, Steven Boccone also known to friends as Steve, provides timely and incisive analysis of economic trends in the US and other economies, which he posts in his blog. He also worked as financial consultant for various firms worldwide.

Aside from this, economists also predict, analyze and interpret trends in the economy. They help various agencies, including the government, to use money and resources efficiently. But they only specialize in certain areas they are interested in. To do this, they conduct surveys and interpret data that determines the rise and fall in the economy. 

Economics is a broad field and an economist often has to choose a specific area to indulge in. Microeconomists are often concerned with small and individual businesses while macroeconomists  predict economic developments on a large scale which include job loss, inflation and growth in the economy. World economists, on the other hand, study markets overseas and the exchange rates.

The data that economists collect from surveys are used to create mathematical equations that help them predict trends. These figures are also used to study business cycles and to chart patterns in the changes. This information is important in warning businesses of decline in the economy. 

The knowledge and information that economists derive from their studies are applied in various areas, not only in money and finances. This is widely applied in health, education, and agriculture, to name a few. It is also seen as a factor in law-making and in the formulation of critical government policies.  

An economist’s work is best applied in taxes which have great impact on people and industries, including social security adjustments that could affect the economy of a country. 

Economists like Steve Boccone provide not only essential information on how labor and resources are spent but also show its application on society that are critical to human existence.