Month: December 2018

Posted on

CDBG for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages

The Community Development Block Grant for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages is a program of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),

HUD is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the US federal government, which work is focused in the development of strong, sustainable, inclusive communities, as well as quality affordable homes for the all the citizens of America.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and impact investment programs from around the world.

Posted on

Expert Advice On Improving Your Leadership Qualities

Figuring out what goes into being a great leader is something you must do to live a fulfilling life. Everyone has different reasons for wanting to be a leader; you need to figure out what yours are. The following article will offer suggestions on how this can be done.

Keep it simple, leader! Focus on the things that are important. Once this has been accomplished, priorities can be set. Simplify whatever you can. Set aside time for meditating and planning.

Don’t lose your moral compass. Any decision that you make must be something that you feel good about. If you have an inkling that you will not be happy with the decision you are about to make, stop there. While others may lack such strong morals, you must do what is right.

Communicate your team’s vision. Think of your mission the way you might think of a compass, and integrate company values into the daily workings of the company. You need to articulate the broad vision while also demonstrating the key roles each member can play. This helps build rapport with your team and gives them a solid direction.

Be as approachable as you can. A lot of people think that trying to intimidate others is what you can do to help them realize that you’re the one who is the boss. This is not good at all, and you will have a hard time earning the respect you deserve. While you don’t want to make the mistake of letting others walk on you, show others you’re there for them and care about their job, too.

Setting the bar high is important in business, but don’t expect the impossible. Setting impossible goals just frustrates your team. That will in fact prove you aren’t a good leader.

Synergy is important in leadership. Understand what your goals are. Also, be clear about your business goals. You should be sure that these things are aligned well and perhaps even overlap. You should be able to simultaneously work on both. If you are not working towards your goals, you will lack enthusiasm.

Your employees are not mind readers. Make sure they understand exactly what’s expected of them. If the instructions are not clear, make it clear that anyone can come talk to you about it.

Effective communication with the team is key in order to be a great leader. Make sure your expectations are clearly understood by your employees when you delegate responsibilities. Check the work periodically to verify that the task is being completed on time.

Leadership Skills

Always be on the lookout for new ways to improve your leadership skills. Enroll in courses and workshops that are designed to teach leadership skills. Because of today’s business market new technique are being developed; therefore, there’s always new things to learn. Stay updated and on top of current news.

Honesty is a critical leadership quality. If your team doesn’t trust you, they won’t work well for you either. Set an example of a trustworthy and honest operation. When people know they can trust and rely on you, they will grow to respect you as a leader.

Good leaders are always working to the best of their ability. You should understand just how to lead people. There has been a lot of useful information in this article. Now you’re prepared to lead.

Posted on

Getting Money to Start a New Business

Starting a new business can be an exciting venture – unfortunately, it can also be quite expensive as well. In order to get the money that you need to get your business off of the ground, you might be considering a loan from a bank or other lender; you should keep in mind that there are some other alternatives for funding that might serve you well in addition to traditional loans.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and Community Foundation programs from around the world.

Posted on

Pointers To Help You Become A Better Business Leader

Many people want to be good leaders. Some people are born natural leaders, while others must work at it. Leadership can be shown in different styles and using different skills. To become the best leader you can be, keep reading these tips that’ll help you get on the right path.

If you want to be a better leader, improving your honesty is a great starting point. Your people will follow you as the leader. Always lead them into the right direction. Honesty is easy for the people you lead to see. You being honest also encourages others to be honest, too.

Most importantly, a good leader encourages simplicity. Concentrate on the truly important things first. When you do this, set priorities for the other things on your list. You have to make the work as simple as possible. Allow time just to brainstorm, for yourself and for your team.

If you wish to be a great leader, you shouldn’t act like someone who knows everything in the world. You might have good ideas, but you must also consider those around you. Others are able to contribute ideas to improving your own, ways to implement your ideas or even offer constructive criticism on the weaknesses.

When you want to lead, keep your morals in mind. Ensure your decisions coincide with your convictions. If a decision is going to make you feel badly, don’t do it. Some people might have different morals from yours, but you must follow your own conscience.

Making Decisions

A great way to increase your leadership skill is by being decisive. Because you the one leading, you have to make a lot of decisions. Showing you’re a good leader means making decisions that will benefit a group as a whole. Making decisions that bring advantages to only a few will be noticed quickly and even resented.

To be a good business leader, you should never lower your morals just to compete. If the competing business is not living up to the standards that you’ve set for your own business, seek out other methods to be able to compete with them. Remain competitive and use alternative methods for competing. When you choose the way you compete, you will feel better about it.

Don’t act like you know it all when you want to improve your skills. You may think your ideas are the best, but it is important to listen to what others have to say. They will be able to give you pointers with your plans and ideas.

Give rewards when work is well done. Salary is not enough incentive to keep people motivated. If you have an employee that continues to go above and beyond, recognize them. Leaders that do well don’t pinch their pennies when good things happen.

As you previously read, there are many skills that are required to become a great leader. Variances in personality mean there are many different ways to lead a group. By keeping the above information close at hand, you are sure to see how easily leadership skills can develop.

Prepare yourself before addressing your team. Brainstorm potential questions they could ask. Spend time developing strong answers for them. By always having the answers to their questions, you will build confidence among your team. It will also save a lot of valuable time.

Posted on

Business Startup Toolkit

A toolkit developed for the Small Business Administration that let’s community-based organizations set up workshops for aspiring business owners.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on nonprofit information, educational grants and Civic Engagement programs from around the world.

Posted on

The Creative Role That One CDFI Plays in Impact Investing

Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO of the Community Development Financial Institution Nonprofit Finance Fund, manages $80 million of impact investments. He is also the author of Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and Community Foundation programs from around the world.

Posted on

Helpful Information About Becoming A Better Business Leader

So, what do you need to know to be a great leader? Are you blind to these things, or are you aware of what it takes? Leaders need to be open, humble and honest. This article will show you some things that you may not have yet started to do.

Make things easy to understand for everyone. Keep your eye on the things that are most important. Then you can set more priorities after that. The work needs to be as simplified as possible. Allow you and your team positive thinking time.

Door Policy

Communicate the vision of the team. Let your company’s mission statement guide you by incorporating it into your routine. You need to articulate the broad vision while also demonstrating the key roles each member can play. This helps provide direction and also helps you build relationships.

Do not assume that workers are able to read your mind. Clearly communicate expectations if you want tasks to be carried out correctly. Maintain and open-door policy. Also, an open door policy ensures staff members can also voice their concerns and also ask for advice.

You must inspire creativity in your team. When you take risks and use creative thinking, you are more likely to succeed. Explore different possibilities and be constantly curious. You should believe in new ideas, even if they don’t appear to fit right now. Help your team use their ideas to complete the project.

Honesty is important for a leader. Effective leaders are trustworthy. As you are proving and developing yourself as a bright leader, remain honest and transparent with those around you. When people know that they can trust you, you will gain respect.

A good leader is someone who thinks about the future. You should be able to anticipate what will happen next and be ready for it. Of course, you cannot always know what will happen, but it is important to hone this skill over time. Keep asking yourself where you’d like to be in a year or so, and make plans for that.

Any good leader has to focus on times to come. Discerning what lies ahead and planning appropriately is always key. While you can’t make predictions, you can build up the skills for it. Constantly reevaluate your goals and know where you are headed next.

You must act ethically when dealing with customers and employees. Good ethics will help you in any area. When people know that you always act in their best interests, they remain loyal to you. Discipline employees who fail to follow the principles you have set up because one bad employee can ruin an entire company.

Set team goals high but make sure they are not impossible to reach. Don’t set the team up to fail. That will just make you a terrible leader.

Let others know about possible problems. While covering up problems in business used to be typical, nowadays a leader will be open about them. Why is that? Today, it’s all about communication. There will be someone talking about the problem whether you wish for them to or not. A good leader is in control at all times. This is the path great leaders take.

Use these tips in order to strengthen your leadership skills. When you choose to become a leader, you open up a new world of possibilities. Realize these things and keep pushing while having the confidence you need to have success at leading.

Posted on

Local Assistance from the Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration has many local offices and resource partners that counsel, mentor and train small business owners and entrepreneurs.

These nearby offices and online assistance can help your business start up, succeed and grow. This short video provides a good introduction to services near you.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and impact investment programs from around the world.

Posted on

SBA – Small Business Investment Companies

The Small Business Administration has inititiated the Small Business Investment Companies program to help in developing privately owned and managed investment companies which will be licensed and regulated by the Small Business Administration to provide equity capital, long term loans, and advisory services to small business requiring such services.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and impact investment programs from around the world.

Posted on

What You Need To Know About Benefits.Gov

The United States Federal Government launched the Benefits.gov Website in 2002 in the hopes of providing every American with easy and convenient online access to government benefits and programs.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on nonprofit information, educational grants and Civic Engagement programs from around the world.