The latest trend in team building programmes and corporate events near London is indoor skiing and snowboarding on real snow.

A unique team building experience at The Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead, only 20 minutes outside London, is The Mountain Challenge. Visitors are split into teams and, with help from their local mountain guide, they have to devise the quickest route to reach the summit of The Snow Centre’s slopes and raise a flag. Before they can start the climb, the teams have to undertake a series of challenges to raise the necessary funds to compete in the expedition.

Instructors Steve Cross and Greg Price developed The Mountain Challenge to help teams improve their team working skills, negotiation, budgeting, project management, creativity and lateral thinking.

The Snow Centre also is a popular off site local destination for breakfast and lunch meetings, offering a unique view, wireless Internet and Costa Coffee. There are two fully serviced conference rooms for 45 or 55 people available.

The site offers free car parking and full disabled access. Both conference rooms have air conditioning, wireless Internet access, overhead projectors and a TV and DVD player with all the necessary computer leads. The delegate rates include room hire and a hot or old buffet lunch. Refreshments such as tea and coffee will be brought to your room.

Businesses can also take out a range of snow side activities such as Ski and Snowboard Lessons, Recreational Lift Passes for all abilities or the World Cup Slalom. This last activity is an excellent method of promoting a competitive atmosphere as well as stimulating the team spirit. The World Cup Slalom includes race training from a highly qualified instructor.

The group will be split in two teams after the training, and these teams will be pitted against each other to race through the gates and see who wins. After the entertainment on the snow, visitors can head back to their conference room or to The EDGE for food and drinks.

The Snow Centre offers corporate memberships. The discount depends on how many people sign up at the time of purchase.

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By Bobieh Ansah

“A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger”(thefreedictionary.com)

Fear is one of the most distructive and negative emotions we as humans have. Combined with imagination fear holds us back and make us do horrible things.

The other day I went a launch party for a new brand called VA-G. There was some beautiful girls hanging out in the middle of the dance floor and i wanted to approach them but i couldn’t, I froze,I eventually got the courage and started walking up to them and then at the very last moment i diverted like a bus in construction.

Why did i stop? FEAR! The fear of rejection , the fear of failure, the fear of embarassisment (as my friends where watching what i would do keenly). This emotion is what stops us from achieving our dreams executing ideas and trying new things.

Blair singer refers to this as our “little voice”. The little voice in our head tells us not to talk to that girl or to that guy, not to ask that person for advice/help. NOT TO DO WHAT WE WANT TO DO!

So how do you combat this fear. The bad news is that you can never stop felling fear(trust me I know) but, you can stop it from controlling you.

Mystery(pick up artist) states that fear is like a cold swimming pool, you know the water is going to be freezing so you fear jumping in however, the first time you jump in you feel uncomfortable but, the more you keep getting out and jumping back in the more your fear disappears.

In business you must network to succeed, you must approach new people,create good impressions , convince people and make presentations.

Therefore, the mastery of our fear is one of the most fundamental things we need to do in order to improve our odds of survival . ( Why didn’t they teach me this at school).

I guess it’s the fear of rejection, the fear of ridicule and the fear of humiliation is what really holds us back (we care to much about what people think about us). Blair singer stated that the traumatic events in our past hold us back today. Like when you put your hand up in class and you got a question wrong people around you would make you feel bad for standing out.

So how do you control fear. I’m not an expert but these are some things I do to help me :
1. Feel the fear and do it any way- this point is pretty self explanatory but it’s very valid.

Sourced from Susan Jeffers, she makes a good point about embracing your fears and doing it any way. Read the book it’s good.

2.Prepare- fail to prepare, prepare to fail(says mum). Have you noticed that when ever you prepare for something you feel more confident. So, whenever your going to meet new people ( I know this sounds a bit creepy) do research on the person your going to meet and openly admit that you looked them up. It will give you something to talk about and most people will be flattered that you took the time to look them up.

3.Set a goal to talk to one new person each day- This not only enhances your network but improve you public speaking skills.

4.Practice public speaking. i.e at open mic nights and karaoke

5.Seek professional help-speaking to someone about the traumatic events in your past can really help.

To conclude there is no way to eliminate fear for good but, why woud you want to. Fear can be a good thing at times. It stops us from jumping onto train tracks or putting our arm in to a lion cage at the zoo.

At best all we can do is master our fears.Putting ourselves outside our comfort zones is the only way we learn.So I put it to you.

1.When was the last time you let fear control you? (let us know we wanna hear funny stories.)

2.How do you deal with fear?

I and a friend were talking about the best entrepreneurship schools to go in the uk, especially those that have good programs an opportunities for entrepreneurs, so we ended up rounding it up to the top 10.

They are in no particular order, as i couldn’t be sure of what school to come first, but after some research and contacting people for some help, these are the 10 i came up with, let me know if i missed anyone one out.

Imperial College Business School

London Business School

London School of Economics

Cambridge Judge Institute

Oxford Said School

Edinburgh University

Manchester Business School

University of Bristol

CASS Business School

Warwick Business School

I decided to put up a list of entrepreneurs who dropped out of high school/college/university, I guess just a way to let you guys know that university doesn’t really determine your chances of being successful, at the same time, a lot of graduates also have become very successful, i will producing a list of top graduates that have money.

Mark Zuckerberg

Dropped out of Harvard University to Pursue Facebook, Now a Billionaire..Good choice or not?

Ashley Qualls

17 years old high school dropout. Made more than $1 million. Earns as much as $70K a month Starting whateverlife.com

Ben Kaufman

The 23 years old entrepreneur missed much of his senior year in high school while getting his first manufacturing line running in China, has a startup called Kluster, dropped out of college to pursue a career in world domination, a process he began by creating funky iPod cases?
Currently Running Quirky www.quirky.com

David Karp

David Karp is a high school dropout who founded Tumblr.

Dustin Moskovitz

One of facebook’s co-founder, Dustin attended Harvard University as an Economics major for two years before moving to Palo Alto, California to work fulltime at Facebook.

Pete Cashmore

Pete is the CEO and founder of Mashable.com. He founded Mashable in a small Scottish town in 2005 at age 19.

Matt Mullenweg

He dropped out of college and moved to San Francisco from Houston, TX

Kristopher Tate

At age 16, Kristopher launched a photo sharing page, Zooomr. He finished high school five years early, notoriously known for driving his parents’ car from San Diego to Cupertino at the age of 16 to launch photo-sharing site Zooomr.

Aaron Levie

He dropped out of college and moved to Palo Alto, Calif., to run Box.net, his online file sharing start-up with his friend and co-founder.

Blake Ross

Co-creator of Mozilla Firefox browser, A Stanford dropout

Adam Hildreth

He left school at age of 16 to face Dubit limited full time.

Derek Johnson

Derek dropped of the University of Houston Entrepreneurial program, Derek has raised half a million dollars in investments for the company from private investors and the Bellingham Angel Group.

Fraser Doherty

Doherty left school at the age of 16 to work on his jams full time.

Mr. Doherty borrowed $10,000 from a bank to cover general expenses and more factory time to produce three flavors: Blueberry & Black Currant, Rhubarb & Ginger and Cranberry & Raspberry.

Patrick Collison

Software wizard. Dropped out of MIT during his freshman year to help two friends develop and eventually sell Auctomatic for millions of dollars.

Kieran O’neill

After running HolyLemon and PSU while at school, He decided to leave the university to work full-time on Playfire full-time

The pro’s and con’s of working part time whilst starting your business

Article by: Bobieh Ansah of Flyprints

All entrepreneurs including I have the dream being free.  We’re all free thinkers who have the desire to step out of mediocrity and claim our rightful spots as masters of our universes. (Wow I need 2 stop watching Conan) doing what we want, when we want how we want to do it. FREEDOM (Brave heart accent)

However, it’s not easy especially if we don’t have parents throwing cash at us. The risks are high , you have close people undermining your confidence and you have other responsibilities. Funding is out there but it’s difficult to attain if there aren’t any social aspects to your business. So, most of us will  have to work a part time job whilst launching our businesses. I currently work part time at a supermarket and at times I have seriously considered quitting my job because the I’ve hated it.

The pros

One of the benefits of working part time whilst starting you business is that you can learn things from your job. Waitrose (supermarket) has excellent customer service and whenever a customer has a issues with a product or service Waitrose (supermarket) compensates the customer 9 time out of 10. I unknowingly adopted this trait. I had an issue with a previous customer of mine and responded in a Waitrose fashion.

What happened was I had printed some tops a day before a concert and needless to say I had spelt one of the names wrong.  I found this out at 12pm in the evening so, i had until 4pm the next day to replace the top. (i would also lose my profits and incur a cost). In the end i managed to replace the top (free of charge) and I said i would give her a free top if ever she needed it. This allowed me to protect my company’s (FLYPRINTS) reputation and also generate positive word of mouth.

(Click link to read the article about this particular example http://flyprints.co.uk/blog/flyprints-dances-to-diversitys-beat/)

One of the most obvious Pro’s is receiving financial stability. When you start a business it may not bring you financial returns instantly and you still need an income to live as a result, a part time job allows you survive whilst launching your company in the difficult stages.

You meet people. At my work place almost everybody has a degree or skill so I have access to an a huge pool of resources for example Legal advice, Connections to india, Graphic designers, Film producers and dancers etc. Consequently because I know these people I can get information or services for free or at at a discount.

The cons

One of the major cons of working part time is that it can interfere with your business. Whilst in the process of doing an important job I have had to stop and go to work. This always seems to happen when I have little time to complete the job. Consequently, in these situations I’ve had to rush the job, loose clients and in general miss opportunities.

Because the part time job isn’t my passion it can be so boring. I sometimes feel as though I’m losing my intelligence because I’m not learning anything new. One of the principals I live by it to work to learn not to earn and at my part time job I’m not learning anything new, I’m only in it because it pays the bills.

Tips to help you cope though this difficult stage:

Save your holidays and sick days- At my part time job there are a specific number of times you can call into sick work without getting into trouble. So therefore if I really need to be away from work at a short notice I can call up sick. I know it’s unethical but at desperate times it can be a life line.

Build strong relationships with your managers- A while back I needed time of work and I had used up all my sick days. Because I had a good relationship with my manager I was able to leave early on the condition i would work of the hours another day.

Be friendly with your fellow employees- This should be done naturally and sincerely, when you have a friend at work you have someone who can cover for you.

Do you research- Whilst at my part time job I found out that they subsidies small courses. This meant I was able to take a course related to my business at a fraction of the price.

Complimentary job- Find a part time job that compliments your current business, so you can learn skills that directly apply to your business.

To conclude, at times I hate my part time job and in a perfect world you would spend 100% of my time working on my business however, life is unpredictable and  you need to find happiness in the here and now. I’ve realized that I have made some good friends and had some good times.

HOW DO/DID YOU MANAGE  THIS DIFFICULT STAGE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

I decided to share those who have gone from YouTube to become stars and have gotten themselves deals with records labels.

Enjoy it and let me know if i missed anyone; remember this is just a list of music artists.
This is in no particular order.

Justin Bieber

Now: Signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher with a recording contract with Island Records

Charice Pempengco

Now: Signed to 143/Reprise

Greyson Michael Chance

Now: Signed to Ellen Degenres’s new record label Eleveneleven and Interscope

Boyce Avenue

Now: Signed to 3 Peace Records and to Universal Republic on November of 2009

Esmee Denters

Now: Signed to Justin Timberlake’s record company Tennman/Interscope

Dondria Nicole

Now: Signed by Jermaine dupri to So So Def Recordings.

Soulja Boy

Now: Signed to Interscope and Collipark Music

Mia Rose

Before: Formerly signed to Ryan Leslie’s NextSelection/Universal in January 2007, she is currently with
Cherry Entertainment

Brandon Hines

Now: Signed to Revel/ SO SO DEF Recordings

Hey Guys, This is a Guest post written by Colin Wright, He is founder and CEO of Colin Is My Name and Exile Lifestyle, where He runs a sustainable design and development studio while traveling around the world, a new country every 4 months.

There are all kinds of TV shows (reality and otherwise), blogs, books and speakers all furiously spouting words about this topic, and I’d like to think it’s a positive sign for the future that it is once again cool to be a business person.

That being said, there are downsides to this trend, and it is becoming clearer and clearer that many of the people who are hopping on this bandwagon are looking for the title and glory without investing any time in getting things going.

It’s easy to think you are an entrepreneur just because your have an idea and talk about lifestyle design and location independence and Getting Things Done and blah blah blah with other people with their own ideas.

I’m going to lay some reality on you, buckaroo: that doesn’t make you an entrepreneur. That makes you a human being.

Human beings have ideas. It’s part of what makes us, us. We’re sentient and self-aware. We adapt our environment to suit our needs. Our minds are constantly working to figure out ways to improve our stake in the world, so that we can pass on our DNA to the next generation. Yawn.

What sets REAL entrepreneurs apart is their willingness and ability to DO SOMETHING.

Thoughts are great, and talking about them is fine and dandy, but unless you act on your ideas, you’re just like any other schmuck, except that you think you’re something you’re not.

Thankfully, it’s really easy to move forward with an idea. Crazy-easy, actually.

Write down your goal at the bottom of a piece of paper. Done? Okay, now think of the VERY first step you’ll need to take to achieve that goal.

For example, if you want to own a boutique vintage clothing store, but currently you know nothing about fashion or how to run a store, the very first thing you’ll want to do is learn something about fashion, merchandising and the boutique market (to make sure you REALLY want to go in that direction). Sign up for a fashion class at a local college and snag a book at the library about running your own store.

If you don’t have a library card, make that the first item on your list. If you don’t have the money to take a class, find online resources to get you started. Once you’ve achieved this first goal, write down the very next goal on that sheet of paper.

Continue until you’ve reached that goal at the bottom of the sheet, or figured out a new goal you want to achieve instead.

The idea is to break up your long-term goal into digestible pieces. The largest hurdle that keeps people from moving forward is that their ideas just seem so big…it’s much easier to keep thinking and hoping some huge opportunity will come along (winning the lottery, for example), but that’s not very likely to happen.

Moving toward your goal, slowly but persistently, will allow you to keep heading in the right direction while at the same time allowing you to keep living your life (until you actually REACH that goal, at which point, I can assure you, it WILL take over your life!).

So start now. Right at this very second. Stop thinking about what you want to do and start doing.

Otherwise you’re just another human, and although there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s SOOOO not in right now.

A lot of people are looking to start their own home office; perhaps you can say It’s cost effective and more convenient to work from home as it gives employees more flexibility and balance between their work and home life. The internet has helped transform the way people work.

The fundamentals of setting up a home office would be to have a comfortable workstation, broadband, printer, phone, computer and stationery.

I have recently been trying to set up a home office where I can work properly, more efficient should I say, Euroffice can help you start up your home office for under £150 with the wide range of 35,000 office supplies products to suit every individuals need. They have everything you could want for a home office from paper, pens, printers even office furniture to make the home office look and feel good.

From Euroffice you can get an all-in-one HP Deskjet printer which will print, scan and copy for just £43.00. This will be less expensive as it will save you buying a separate printer, fax and copier. Other ways to keep costs low is to print double sided-which is a good feature to look out for when you are buying your printer.

Having a comfortable workstation is important if you are working long hours from home so take a look at Euroffice’s variety of office furniture. You can choose from leather chairs from £35, workstations from £46 which you can accompany with a filing cabinet fro just £50.

Phones with answering machine start from just £31 which would be ideal as customers and clients can leave messages.

This is a Guest Post

“Hold on just a second! Goal setting and making plans is so important! Everybody knows that!”

You’re right, it is. It is absolutely essential to know where you’re going so that your daily efforts aren’t wasted on inconsequential activities.

But, plans and goals will get you absolutely nowhere by themselves. Nowhere.

Og Mandino said it best,

“Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground. Never has there been a parchment of law, however fair, which prevented one crime… Action, alone, is the tinder which ignites the map, the parchment, this scroll, my dreams, my plans, my goals, into a living force. Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.”

Action is the food and drink which will nourish your success.

Say that out loud.

I get chills every time I read those words.

Powerful right? But, unfortunately, there’s always that voice of doubt that says. . .

“But I have to know what action to take before I take it. So, let me study, dust my desk, and organize my pens for the next year, while I learn what do to. Then I’ll act.”

This is a common excuse that comes from fear and it must be overcome before success even looks in your direction.

So, let’s destroy it, shall we?

First of all, the idea that you have to learn the entire picture of a particular subject before taking action is completely absurd because…

1. You won’t retain any of the information that you tried to learn in the process because your brain assimilates knowledge through its application, not just hearing or reading.

2. All knowledge is progressive, meaning that one principle builds on top of another. Therefore, one action builds on another and without carrying out the primary activities, understanding what to do at the end of the road is close to useless.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a test.

Do you remember what you learned in English class during your senior year of high school? Didn’t think so. That’s because you never had the chance or the structure to apply those concepts.

But, how easy is it for you to cook your favorite meal? How easy is it for you to tie your shoes? You can do it like clockwork.

That’s because you have applied that recipe or process repeatedly until it has been committed to your mental and physical memory.

So, in the process of learning, apply each chunk of knowledge that you learn as you learn it. This will not only help you retain that knowledge, but you will actually begin to make progress and build on the results of your actions almost immediately.

“But what if I make mistakes?”

If you’re asking yourself that question, here’s an encouraging fact.

Experience is the most valuable asset to the success of anybody in any field and the amount of experience a person has directly correlates to their success.

And experience is the direct result of action.

Not necessarily the “right” action, but action.

You see, if you take a wrong action action that doesn’t lead you closer to your goal, you’ll learn from the results (or lack thereof), and then adjust accordingly.

There is not one example in the history of mankind of somebody who was perfectly successful in his or her chosen endeavor right off the bat.

Making mistakes and adjustments is an essential part of progress in life and it precedes success. Not only that, you will continue to make mistakes and adjustments even when you’re at a place that you consider successful.

But, what happens when you take no action? You get no experience, no results, and no success.

Action is liberating

Have you ever had a project on your to-do-list that stayed there for months, even years? Then, one day, you just got it together and finished it. How did that feel?

I know that those instances of decisive action are some of the most freeing experiences I have ever had, even if the project itself was insignificant.

Imagine having those experiences on a daily basis!

There is a magic that comes from committing to action and carrying through.

Meet the parents of success

Didn’t know that success has parents? Well she does and you’re going to have to meet them before you’re introduced to her. No exceptions.

Think of it this way.

The father gives the seed of life that is then nourished and developed by the mother.

In the same way, a clear goal is the seed-giving father of your success, but it will never come to life without the nourishment and cultivation of the mother, action.

Please, don’t make success harder than it has to be.

Stop playing your mental fear games and take action today! Commit to one specific thing that you will move a certain area of your life forward!

Sound off!

What do you think? Share your valuable thoughts with us in the comments.

Best of life,

Abhay Khurana

This is supposed to be the place where I plug myself and my website. But, honestly, I just hope that you’ve gotten some value out of what I’ve written for you. If you have and want to connect with me and read more like this, head over to my blog at www.betteryoungentrepreneur.com