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This is a very small post, just to wish all my readers the best holidays. Whatever you celebrate, Christmas, Hanukkah or New Years, I hope this festivities are excellent, bring you love with your family, friends and more. Also take this time to reflect on what you did this year and what you hope to improve for next year.

I like to take this time to plan ahead for next year on all my business related areas. The last couple of years have been quite prophetic, in the sense that what I’ve plan for the next year has become to some extent a reality. I invite you to practice this, have faith and wonderful things will surely happen next year.

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This 2011 has been a great year for me. Before I give the details, let me start by saying that as always, there are some situations that are not great all over the world. Yes I know, the Euro is about to crash, there are wars in different parts of the world, poverty, diseases and more. However I try to look at the big picture with the glass half full, not half empty. Many of these problems are out of my reach, so instead of being depressed about them I try to be as positive as I can be.

Now, let me tell you why this 2011 has been a great year. For once, I launched the English version of this Blog, something that I wanted to do for quite some time. Besides this, my day job as a Consultant has been very successful. I launched this entrepreneurship in 2010 and although it took some time to become successful, I can proudly say that I did it.

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Every entrepreneur will eventually need to design and print his or her business cards. That is if you are serious about creating a business and being successful at it. Business cards are one of the best ways to present yourself and your business to others, including clients, potential investors and much more. Also, a good (or even excellent) business card will open doors, while a poorly printed and designed card will do just the opposite.

There are two aspects you have to take into account when creating your business cards. First, you have to choose a design that reflects your identity. For instance, if your company is elegant, playful, serious or whatever defines it, the graphic design has to reflect these attributes. Second, you have to choose a serious printer that will help you choose the right paper and have a superb printing service. This is key, as having the best design for your cards but with a poor printing job is not what you’re looking for.

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I recently saw the phrase I use as tittle for this article (actually it was in Spanish, but you get the idea) and it caught my attention. Life has taught me that the attitude you project is a key factor in your success or failure and this is why I thought this is a great phrase. As author Jeff Keller says, Attitude is Everything (by the way, I highly recommend this book). To accomplish any goal, you will require knowledge, work, a bit of luck and why not, a great deal of positive attitude.

University (College), most books and life experiences will lead the way to success, including being a successful entrepreneur. However there’s a missing ingredient we many times forget and is transmitting to everyone this success as if it was already there. This is a mental exercise we need to practice constantly and it starts by having the right attitude.

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Last week I went to the concert Aerosmith offered in Bogotá, Colombia (for those new readers, I'm from this city). This concert has a story behind that's quite interesting. Aerosmith gave their first concert ever in Bogotá a year and a half ago and tickets sold out in about 3 hours. With this huge success, the organizers decided to book a second concert. However this time the success was not the same (it didn't sold out), something good for those who attended the concert.

A year and a half ago when this first concert was announced I wanted to go. I've been a fan for a long time and I definitely wanted to go. However at the time, I had just started my journey as an independent consultant, had no income, no clients and a bunch of debts. When I began my entrepreneur journey I knew I had to make sacrifices and not going to this concert was one of them. However, sometimes life (or God, or destiny or however you want to see it) gives you second chances. This time around my economic and professional situation is very different and although I'm just starting my journey, I could afford going to this concert.

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I've been an Entrepreneur to some extent for almost 15 years. During this time, I've asked this question many times and I've also been approached by others who have the same question. The fact is that this isn't an easy question to respond and I believe there is no straight answer. In this article I'll try to respond partially this question and I hope you (my readers) help me with your valuable input at the end of this page.

To start, there is a kind of philosophical point that entrepreneurs address. On one hand you will find those that believe that entrepreneurs are basically defined at birth and that there is something especial on their DNA. Others, like me, believe entrepreneurs are developed throughout life. If you ask me, I believe I wasn't born to be an entrepreneur at all. My father is a doctor (MD) and my mom a Speech Therapist and for many years, they worked for someone else and had a steady paycheck. In the latter years my dad open an independent practice, which can be seen as an entrepreneur achievement, but I also believe this to be more of an accident than something he planned. There are many entrepreneurs in my family as a whole, some quite successful, however I was not raised up to be an entrepreneur, at least on my first 10 years or so.

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First of all, let me start by apologizing to my readers. The last couple of weeks I've been unable to update this Blog with the frequency I like (2-3 times a week). The fact is that my entrepreneur work as a consultant In Technology, Internet and Innovation Strategy has taken up a lot of my time. For me this is excellent news, because my skills are been asked for and all my hard work is paying off. The bad news is that this situation has made me reduce the time I can spend writing for this Blog.

Tomorrow I'll be taking a short one week vacation, time take I have to manage to rest and come back with a new spirit. When I come back I have a lot of work, but somehow I'll make it so I have time to keep on writing this Blog. I appreciate your time and understanding and I promise I'll come back with new and exciting articles.

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Internet Social Networks have changed the way organizations work. Some new aspects have to be taken into account thanks to these networks, for instance, the way companies relate with clients. Not every company is required to have a Social Network presence, but even if they don't, some new concepts have to be acknowledged.  One of the new concepts is that now clients have a greater level of control and power.

When an organization decides to have a presence in Social Networks, they have to understand this as a strategic decision. Being part of Social Networks can bring great exposure to any company or brand, but it also brings problems. For instance, your social networks can be used to make user complains public, something that if handled improperly can be quite negative. So before you jump into Social Networks, analyze what this means and what it requires.

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Every couple of weeks, I like to take a small break from my work and daily shores, and just think on my objectives, my life and what I'm hoping to achieve. I find this exercise quite fulfilling and something that should be done by everyone. Our chaotic and complicated life many times is an obstacle for this exercise, but it's important to do it. It can be as simple as closing your eyes and having your mind "go blank" for a couple of minutes, or a little more complex, for instance, doing a formal meditation with some Yoga.

As soon as I post this Friday article, I'm going to do this exercise. This is the reason why today's article is shorter than usual. I just wanted to share with my readers the importance of this exercise. I've found that not only does it keep me focus on what I want to do with my life, but it also relaxes me and you could say it "recharges my batteries".

Here are other articles that have been published recently:

• Key Aspects for Selling an Entrepreneurship Idea
• Business Strategies for Social Networking
• Defining Innovation in the Information Age
• Always Plan to Succeed
• Entrepreneurs: Learn to Turn the Wheel in the Same Direction
• When Things Go Your Way (and you Start to See Results!)
• Your Actions Should be Big, Your Dreams Even Bigger
• Defining your Business Partners
  
• What is Green Entrepreneurship?
• Why Become an Entrepreneur?
• Strategy, the Key Component to a Successful Internet Presence
• An Entrepreneur Blog Officially Launched
• The First Step: Define Your Ideas
• Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship
• Acquiring Capital for your Business Project

To find other articles, please use the search option at the top of this page or browse the Site Map.