Category: Business News

Uber has transformed local transportation in American cities and SpaceX aims to enable Americans to travel to Mars. Chobani is America’s favorite yogurt, while the latest fashion trends from Forever 21 shape the way we dress today. What do these innovative companies share in common? They were all founded by immigrant entrepreneurs.

In the Internet Trends 2017 report prepared by Mary Meeker of KPCB, she shared that 50 percent of the most highly valued technology companies were founded by first-generation immigrants, creating a total of over 48,000 jobs. Also, 60 percent of the most highly valued companies, including Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook were founded by first- or second-generation Americans, creating a total of over 1.5 million jobs.

Related: True Grit: How Immigrants and Entrepreneurs Are Reshaping American Entrepreneurship

There is a popular belief that it is difficult to start a company in America as an immigrant. Beyond the challenge of getting a work visa, many aspiring entrepreneurs cite lack of network, language barriers and cultural differences as barriers to starting a company. However, in my conversations with many successful immigrant entrepreneurs, there are several key advantages to being a foreign-born entrepreneur. Here are some advantages I would like to urge aspiring entrepreneurs to consider.

1. You have cross-cultural experience you can leverage upon.

In an interview with Peter Arvai of Prezi, he cited his cross-cultural experiences of living in Sweden, Singapore, Japan, Hungary and America as a huge reason he was able to start Prezi, one of the most popular cloud-based presentation tool today used by over 75 million users globally. Experiencing different cultures allows foreign-born entrepreneurs to synthesize the uniqueness of different cultures and use them to their advantage, and in Arvai’s case, he was able to create a hugely successful global business.

Related: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Flock to Franchising Opportunities

2. Your hunger for success is your biggest advantage.

Immigrant entrepreneurs are used to working longer hours, pushing harder and reaching for the extra milestone. As a foreign-born entrepreneur, you have had to overcome various challenges and barriers to stay on in America, to assimilate locally, and to give up what you have already achieved in your home country. As a result, you have became stronger and more used to the ups and downs of entrepreneurs. Therefore, you will be more resilient and hungry to achieve success, and to complete what you have set out to do.

3. There are increasingly more funding resources available to immigrant entrepreneurs.

There are increasingly more resources available to immigrant entrepreneurs. Y Combinator, the widely successful incubator that has produced companies including Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox and Reddit, has shared that it has funded startups from over 60 countries to date and always encourages them to move to Mountain View in California. Immigrant-focused venture capital funds such as Unshackled have also been emerging to focus on helping immigrant entrepreneurs overcome challenges that they face including visa issues, or hiring local employees. There are also increasingly more startup incubators focused on immigrant entrepreneurs including Blk 71 SF and Nordic Innovation House which are in support of Singaporean and Nordic entrepreneurs, respectively.

Related: Immigrant-entrepreneurs: America’s Greatest Asset

4. You can use your roots as a leverage for your business.

America is a melting pot of different culture that is open to diverse cultures. Therefore, many foreign-born entrepreneurs have been able to leverage their cultures, food and diverse background to start a successful business. Growing up with the thicker, strained yogurt in Turkey, Hamdi Ulukaya founded Chobani, as he believed that Americans would prefer the flavor of this yogurt to the more watery and sugary flavors available back in 2002. Phil Jaber credited his founding of Philz Coffee to growing up in Palestine where he became an entrepreneur at 8 years old, selling homemade Palestinian coffee to passersby from his family front yard.

Related: We Should Welcome Refugees. They Are Often Great Entrepreneurs.

5. There are increasing more opportunities for entrepreneurs to obtain a visa.

Other than the commonly known H-1B visas, there are an array of other visas suitable for entrepreneurs. Before President Barack Obama left office, he initiated the “startup visa” to allow foreign-born entrepreneurs to stay in America. Called the International Entrepreneurs Rule, the visa allows foreigners to apply for “parole status” to stay and build fast-growing startups in the U.S, and it will go into effect March 14, 2018 (It was initially supposed to launch on July 17, 2017, but it got pushed back by the Trump Administration). In addition, there is the O-1 visa, which is granted to individuals of extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education, business or athletics, and the L-1 visa, which is granted to intra-company transfers from a foreign country into the United States. Also, an innovative nonprofit called Global EIR has pushed for a new program to allow immigrant entrepreneurs to partner with local universities and have these institutions sponsor their visas.

Therefore, as you consider your next step to either start a business or to work for someone, please re-think the various advantages you can leverage. Conventional wisdom may suggest that it is better to take the safe route or even return to your home country to pursue your entrepreneurial dream, but before you choose that route, remember that you can readily tap upon the unique strengths that you possess.

Leadership? Basically, it’s the ability to get across an idea to a group of people. Over the years, I have studied the lives of a number of individuals I consider to be outstanding business leaders, and it is clear to me how certain qualities always stand out. These people seem to have several characteristics in common which distinguish them, irrespective of the field they are in.

Related: 22 Qualities That Make a Great Leader

These traits can be complex, so it is little wonder that they are not easily understood or applied.

Following is a breakdown of these traits and how they can serve your company.

1. Visionary

To be a visionary business leader means that you’ve created your business out of a vision (or at least adopted one) and have devoted your every effort to its achievement. Business leaders should find a way to figure out how to make a profit from the fulfillment of a clear vision, and not the other way round.

The power of a clear and concise vision is exemplified in Bill Gates’s powerful visionary statement in 1980, “A computer on every desk and in every home.” Fast-forward 37 years: Gates is one of the richest business leaders in the world, having done exactly what he said he would.

2. Articulate

To be articulate means to be clear about objectives. Business leaders must try their best to be clear about their business vision, objectives and daily directives. While acticulateness alone will prompt adherence from partners and employees, the results will rarely be exceptional unless the leader is also clear about the “why” behind those instructions, decisions and directives.

To be this kind of leader, learn to give instructions your employees will actually follow. If they can see exactly what you see, chances are they will go over and above what you say.

3. Resilient

Resilience means the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change and keep going in the face of adversity. It’s the ability of a business leader to maintain an optimistic and positive mindset despite whatever might go wrong.

Related: 3 Leadership Qualities You Need When Facing a Big Challenge

It also means consistency in pattern and behavior, or what might be called integral daily practices (IDP). The key to resilience in this form is to study your style of leadership and build a routine that works best for you. Speaking of IDF, Sven Hansen of the Resilience Institute has said, “If one thing protects and builds resilience, it is integral daily practice. Here, we transform ideas into actions that create the freedom of resilience. IDP is the fuel of growth. Discovering the right IDP and shaping it into one’s life is the making of resilience.”

As leader, you can run a disciplined team that doesn’t give excuses only if you are resilient and in some form predictable. This kind of resilience involves flexibility as the business goes.

4. Reachable

To be reachable demands that you be raccessible to your team, both mentally and emotionally. It requires that you listen and make sure you hear; and sometimes this may involve repeating what you understand, for confirmation, and setting aside your pre-conceptions and ideas.

Christine Riordan, a leadership coach and former president of Adelphi University, has explained how to listen to employees, saying, “Leaders… don’t make assumptions. They drill down into the content of the conversation and verify what they’ve heard. They typically ask questions like, ‘Here’s what I thought you said; is that correct?’”

As leader, you may think that there is no room for emotions in the workplace, but the truth is that there is emotion; it’s just mostly likely negative.

5. Empathetic

To be empathetic simply means to make tangible efforts to understand the problem and articulate the reason for your response as properly as possible, whether it is the response the parties to that problem were hoping for or not.

In a popular Harvard Business Review article titled “What Makes a Leader?” Daniel Goleman isolated three reasons why empathy is so important: the increasing use of teams, the rapid pace of globalization and the growing need to retain talent. “Leaders with empathy,” Goleman wrote, “do more than sympathize with people around them: they use their knowledge to improve their companies in subtle, but important ways.”

6. Flexible

Every business leader must be flexible enough to know when to modify a plan or a system and when to totally overhaul it. Leaders must know when their leadership methods need to be tweaked or totally changed.

Books have been written on business success and have helped many businesses, but the books written 20 years ago are hardly still relevant today. So, keep your vision before you, but feel free to change your methods once that’s required.

Related: 5 Unforgettable Leadership Qualities for Successful Entrepreneurs

Summing all this up is a quote from Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, who said: “When you were made a leader, you weren’t given a crown; you were given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.” That is what matters most in the end.

Ubrique in southern Spain is beautiful yet remote.

Despite the difficulty in reaching the town, some of the world’s best-known designers come here to get their leather products made.

Why are brands so keen to have items made here? And how can Ubrique ensure its artisans remain ahead of the game?

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The town of Ubrique in southern Spain is beautiful but remote. It doesn’t have an airport or a train station and even buses are irregular.

Its position, nestled at the bottom of a valley surrounded by big hills, means the easiest way to get there is by car. But even then drivers have to navigate winding and often steep roads.

The town is around 75 miles south of Seville, nowhere near the world’s fashion capitals of Milan, Paris, New York or London.

Yet this collection of white washed houses, known as a pueblo blanco (white town) in Spanish, is where many of the top fashion brands source their leather goods.

Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes, Chanel, Chloe, Loewe and Carolina Herrera are all reported to use the artisans here to make things such as handbags, wallets and belts.

Yet almost none of these designers are willing to talk about it.

Most of the secrecy comes from the fear of someone using the high end designs to produce cheap copycat products, a costly problem for luxury retailers.

Juan Antonio Sanchez, manager at leather goods manufacturer Ranchel, says the big brands often have strict demands.

“We have to sign a contract of confidentiality, then the factory, the manager and every worker have to sign it.

“They have an individual contact and they cannot take pictures, they cannot take the designs or anything to do with the products,” he explains.

Mr Sanchez’s firm, which was started by his father, has now been making leather items for over forty years.

But the town’s specialism in leather goes back much further than this.

It started more than 200 years ago, initially with tanning leather. Eventually this evolved into the precise leatherwork which the town has become so well known for.

Now the leather is bought in from elsewhere, already tanned and those in Ubrique focus on the more skilled manufacturing work.

Today more than half the town’s residents work in the leather trade, producing the majority of leather goods sold in the country as well as supplying many big overseas fashion houses.

The techniques needed to produce such goods at the top end of the quality scale has been passed down from generation to generation.

Mr Sanchez says most in the town learn these skills when they’re young by watching their parents as they work.

“That technique it can only go from father to son, because it’s very specialised. Kind of they have it in their blood,” says Mr Sanchez.

It’s these kind of skills, honed over generations, which have drawn in the big brand names.

Word of mouth is often how designers have found out about Ubrique.

Jose Urrutia, founder of high end shoe and accessories firm La Portegna, says an acquaintance told him about the town.

“I asked them for some samples and I was blown away by the quality of the stuff they made,” he says.

For Mr Urrutia the town’s history and the way the trade has been passed on through generations is also part of the attraction, because it helps him create a story around his brand.

He says the idea for the firm came from his grandmother – a keen traveller who’d befriended the writer Ernest Hemingway on her exotic round-the-world trips.

Browsing her photos made Mr Urrutia nostalgic for a bygone era when items were special and treasured.

He wanted to try and create the same feeling with his company’s products.

“In Ubrique what they’re very good at is helping you because they have tons of experience. They’ve been doing this for centuries.”

He says this kind of slow but precise artisanship is dying out and increasingly hard to find elsewhere.

‘Dying’

“The whole concept of craftmanship is dying. The beautiful thing about this place is that it’s not just one street or a couple of houses. It’s an entire village.”

He acknowledges that he could find cheaper, larger manufacturers elsewhere, but says that’s not the point.

“There’s always been a notion of the economies of scale but that doesn’t work that well here. A good bag needs x amount of hours. You can’t cheat your way into it.”

While some of the factories here have started to use an assembly line to speed up the manufacturing process, many have refused to compromise.

Jorge Oliva Perez, general manager at local leather brand El Potro says a single worker still makes the entire bag, bar the cutting and the design.

“It’s very important to hold onto these skills,” says Jorge.

Like many of those working here, Jorge would like this expertise officially recognised with – a “Made in Ubrique” label.

“I think it’s very important for our future,” he says.

It could also help the town with the ever present threat of cheaper rivals moving into their territory.

It’s already happened once. Around a decade ago – at about the time of the financial crisis – the manufacturers here suffered a dramatic drop in orders.

Many of the big brands had decided to cut costs by switching supplier – in most cases shifting orders to China or elsewhere in Asia.

While orders from cheaper brands continued, there was less work overall which meant some people lost their jobs and went into other industries.

Nonetheless, Ubrique’s councillor for culture Jose Manuel Fernadez Rivera says most workers “kept working because they knew that their quality was better and they were going to come back”.

It turned out to be true. A year later, most of the big brands had returned.

“The Chinese learn very fast but we know that the quality, the detail that we give in every piece, which is what the brands ask for, they’re not going to get that,” he says.

The other issue that drove the brands to return to a European manufacturer, was that a bag made in Asia was a tough sell to some of their biggest customers – those living in Hong Kong, China and Singapore.

When they’re paying hundreds, or in some cases thousands of euros, to buy a bag from a top Italian and French designer then they expect it to be made there not in their home country.

And of course they also expect that artisan touch.

“In this business you have to work with your hands. Every product is different because you do it one by one,” says Mr Sanchez.

This feature is based on interviews by series producer Neil Koenig, for the BBC’s Life of Luxury series.

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The UK labour market is tightening, with employers finding it harder to recruit staff, according to a survey of employment agencies.

The survey says that pay rates for both permanent and temporary staff are rising quickly due to a continuing fall in the number of job applicants.

Last year’s Brexit vote is also driving some EU nationals home, making it harder to fill a wide variety of jobs.

Official figures have shown employment levels in the UK at record high levels.

The monthly survey of employment agencies was carried out by the market research firm Markit for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).

REC chief executive Kevin Green, said: “It’s clear that employers are having to work even harder to fill jobs as vacancies rise and candidate availability shrinks.”

“The parts of the economy most reliant on European workers are under even more pressure as many EU workers return home.

“Employers are not just struggling to hire the brightest and the best but also people to fill roles such as chefs, drivers and warehouse workers,” he added.

‘Robust demand’

The survey, which has been going since 1997, looked at the experience in July of 400 UK recruitment and employment agencies.

It found that there was a “robust demand” for staff with the number of applicants placed in permanent jobs, and also in temporary or contract jobs, growing at their fastest rates for more than two years.

Meanwhile, it said, the number of available candidates for both types of work fell markedly during the month.

The report’s suggestion that pay rates for permanent jobs are now rising as a result, and are at a 20-month high, will raise some eyebrows.

Official data from the Office for National Statistics has shown that the growth of average weekly earnings across the UK has in fact been slowing down.

They are now only 1.8% higher than a year ago – the slowest rate of increase since late 2014 – which has contributed to a cut in real incomes because inflation has been rising faster.

Looking at its own survey results, the REC said some of its members had noted that employers were indeed offering higher pay rates to lure the right recruits.

“Permanent starting salaries rose across all monitored UK regions, with the steepest rate of inflation seen in the South of England,” the REC said.

“Temporary and contract staff hourly pay rates increased again in July.

“The rate of inflation softened slightly since June, but was still one of the strongest recorded for the past two years,” it added.

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Firms could face fines of up to £17m or 4% of global turnover if they fail to protect themselves from cyber-attacks, the government has warned.

The crackdown is aimed at making sure essential services such as water, energy, transport and health firms are safeguarded against hacking attempts.

Firms will also be required to show they have a strategy to cover power failures and environmental disasters.

Digital Minister Matt Hancock says any fines would be a last resort.

They would not apply to firms which had put safeguards in place but still suffered an attack, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said.

‘Safest place in the world’

Mr Hancock, who is launching a consultation on the plans, said: “We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to live and be online, with our essential services and infrastructure prepared for the increasing risk of cyber-attack,” he added.

The DCMS said firms which take cyber-security seriously should already have measures in place to prevent attacks or systems failures.

It said the consultation was aimed at determining how to implement the Network and Information Systems (NIS) directive which becomes law across the EU next May.

It is separate from the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which are aimed at protecting data, rather than services.

The GDPR will replace the UK’s Data Protection Act 1998 from 25 May next year and the government has confirmed that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will not change this.

Earlier this year, NHS services across England and Scotland were hit by a large-scale cyber-attack that disrupted hospital and GP appointments.

And the threat to firms from cyber-attacks appears to have grown.

Nearly half (46%) of British businesses discovered at least one cyber-security breach or attack in the past year, a government survey earlier this year found.

That proportion rose to two-thirds among medium and large companies.

Most often, these breaches involved fraudulent emails being sent to staff or security issues relating to viruses, spyware or malware.

As an entrepreneur, you probably have a gift for big-picture thinking. You can set goals and plot a general path to achieving them; and you know how to shift course when challenges and obstacles inevitably pop up along the way. But, to be successful, you have to take a step back from big-picture thinking and cultivate the ability to think small.

Being able to make small improvements to the way you approach problems or tasks could very well make the difference between starting a successful business or, joining the 80 percent of new businesses which, as has often been reported, don’t survive past their first year of operation.

In business as in life, the devil is in the details.

Related: Why Billionaires Focus on the Smallest Details

I started my company using the same formula that most entrepreneurs use: In short, we identified a major pain point that wasn’t being addressed by current technology or resources. In our case, that meant the pain of modern renters, who make up much of the American population. We thought we had some smart solutions, but we also knew it would take more to create a movement. It’s taken serious hard work and daily positive microshifts to make our idea real and profitable.

You’ll need to put in the same effort and focus on incremental improvement to make your own business successful, regardless of the industry.

Put some power in the process.

Long ago, Nike gave us a tagline that might as well have become the tagline for all entrepreneurs: “Just do it.”

Since then, motivational speakers such as Tony Robbins, Gary Vaynerchuk and countless others have reminded us to focus on our goals and work hard to make them real.

The problem is that these motivational speakers are often just pitching the end result. They get us amped up and inspired to go out and “just do it,” but very quickly, we run into a huge question: How?

The answer is pretty straightforward. Each day, we make a series of decisions, some of them quite small, that will affect our future. In fact, the decisions any of us made last year, last week and last night have all determined who we are today. Rather than focus on the end goal, we need to place a heightened focus on those smaller daily decisions — whether to make a phone call, take a meeting, tell someone no, eat right, get more sleep, read more or separate ourselves from a toxic person.

Related: These Mindset Shifts Will Transform Your Life Forever

In other words, we need to focus on the microshifts that must take place for us to get closer to reaching our end goals, whatever those may be.

Just microshift it.

As entrepreneurs, we all face many of the same daily choices, even if we work in wildly divergent industries. Here are five microshifts all entrepreneurs must make — consistently — to be successful:

1. Stop trying to convince others of your worth. You are looking for believers. They’re out there, and the sooner you stop wasting your precious time trying to convince others of your ability to create change, the sooner you’ll start attracting the people who already share your beliefs and want to help you win.

In your business and your life, the people you surround yourself with matter. If you’re surrounded by negative, cynical people, you’ll find it harder to believe in yourself and your ideas when you need to the most. In contrast, by hanging out with people who are positive and supportive, you’ll be able to achieve greater self-confidence and higher levels of creativity. Plus, you’ll be happier. And, according to a Harvard study, happiness is contagious, so you’ll attract more of these types of people into your life and business.

2. Stop making excuses. Excuses are lies we tell ourselves to avoid action. If you’re spending lots of time telling stories about why something isn’t working, you’re avoiding the truth. Netflix did this in 2015 when it blamed the introduction of the chip card versus the swipe card for its low U.S. subscriber growth.

Other companies, like Macy’s and J. Crew, have made similar excuses for their poor sales; such execuses are a well-established habit. But instead of coming up with stories to explain your failure, work on being “present.” Fully dive into the experience you’re having right now, no matter how boring or mundane. That’s all that really matters.

3. Refocus negative energy immediately and often. A 2016 study by Georgetown University found that a consistently negative co-worker affects co-workers up to seven times more than a positive one. You don’t want to be that negative co-worker — but you also don’t want to be the miserable person stuck with a negative coworker.

Remember: What you choose to focus on will ultimately consume you. Rather than focusing your energy on pity, retaliation or procrastination, focus on making small changes that can move you in a positive direction. Focusing on the positive often means cutting out the negative, such as toxic relationships, clients or habits. This can be hard, but it’s absolutely critical.

4. Be a relentless self-promoter. You should always be your best friend and biggest cheerleader. No one will ever promote you as well as you can promote yourself. Why? Because no one cares about what you’re doing and who you’re becoming as much as you do. So stand on a rooftop and yell, write a blog post or publish a press release. Of course, do it tastefully. Be like all those YouTube influencers: The way they make it to the top is through self-promotion, but promotion that’s authentic and relatable.

5. Celebrate your tiny wins. Take time to acknowledge even the smallest wins. You cleaned out your inbox today — win. You made an appointment 10 minutes early — win. You went to the gym or a yoga class for the first time in months — win. Teresa Amabile, a Harvard Business School professor, analyzed thousands of diary entries by working professionals; she was searching for a common thread that made some more likely to succeed than others.

She found it and later reported that experiencing a sense of progress is essential to cultivating long-term creativity and productivity. Small wins can lead to a huge difference in performance over time.

Related: 7 Mental Shifts That Allowed Me to Become a Millionaire at 22

Microshifts work only when you’re fully aware of their power. You can work tirelessly day in, day out, plugging away at your business and never really feel successful. This perceived lack of success happens because we tend to dwell on the negative — an angry client email or rejection from an investor — when the reality is, we’re moving forward all the time.

By taking small steps every day to acknowledge the positive elements of our lives, we can microshift our way toward realizing this reality. It took me 20 years to become an “overnight success.” Each day of those two decades was filled with challenges and failures, but through them all, I remained focused on the small steps forward. You should do the same.

For some of us, meeting new people is a scary, intimidating necessity. For others, it’s an exciting and enlightening adventure. Either way, you’re going to meet new people in your life, and when you do, it’s in your best interest to make a great first impression.

Related: 13 Body Language Blunders That Can Make You Look Bad

Achieving that positive first impression isn’t always easy, especially if you’re in a new location or aren’t sure what to say. However, there are a handful of body language “hacks” you can use to assure yourself of a good reception, help you engage in a good conversation and eventually walk away with a warm, new acquaintance.

Try some of these moves the next time you attend a networking event (or any time you meet new people):

1. Assume a power pose.

This hack happens before you ever set foot in the room. Research shows that “power poses” can actually trick your brain into feeling more confident, resulting in easier conversation and a more poised demeanor. What this entails is standing up tall and raising your fists in the air, or taking up space by putting your hands on your hips. Do this for 30 seconds to a minute, and you’ll walk into that room feeling naturally more confident.

2. Maintain an “open” posture.

The position of your body can communicate a lot about what you’re thinking or feeling. If your body posture is “closed,” such as when your arms are folded or your head is down, people will think you’re not interested in having a conversation. If your posture is “open,” however, with your shoulders back and your head up, you’ll be seen as welcoming and friendly.

Related: 7 Ways Body Language Speaks Louder Than Words

3. Touch (when appropriate).

Touching someone gives him or her an instant connection to you — that’s why handshaking leaves a lasting impression when you first meet someone. Give a handshake, and when appropriate, venture into other forms of physical contact, such as a pat on your new acqaintance’s shoulder. Just be sure to keep things appropriate: An unwelcome touch — especially in male-female interactions — can have more negative than positive power.

4. Stand up straight.

There are a few reasons why standing up straight can help you when meeting new people: First, you’ll feel and appear more confident, giving you an edge in an entry conversation. Second, you’ll naturally have a more “open” and welcoming posture. Finally, it will allow you to breathe in a fuller, healthier way, giving more power to your words and more oxygen to your lungs throughout the conversation.

5. Make eye contact.

This isn’t just an old wives’ tale or an obsolete tradition. There are many psychological factors at play that make eye contact between two people powerful. The eyes communicate many nonverbal cues — some of which you probably aren’t even aware of. This is part of the reason why making eye contact with someone instantly makes you trust that person — even if that’s only slightly more trust.

It also shows you’re paying attention, and that you’re invested in the conversation. Make eye contact early, and maintain it whenever appropriate.

6. Gesticulate.

Occasionally gesturing with your arms and hands can make your words more compelling to other people. If you want to emphasize a certain point, punching the air can hammer it home. If you want to ask someone else’s opinion, an upward-turned hand can make the request more inviting.

The only danger here isn’t the type of gestures you can make, but the frequency of gestures you use. Too much gesturing will make you seem a little off your rocker. So, be reserved with your gestures.

7. Remain still.

There’s no need to remain perfectly still during the encounter; doing that can make you seem robotic. But, you’ll want to avoid needless fidgeting or motions that interfere with the conversation. For example, pacing around, tapping your foot or wringing your hands can make you seem nervous and unconfident. Instead, try to keep yourself (and your appendages) as in control and in check as possible. Doing so will make you seem more confident.

These body-language hacks can’t make up for a dull conversation or a rude demeanor, but they can start you off on the right foot with just about anyone. If you’re still feeling uncomfortable with these hacks, practice them with friends or family members, or even in front of the mirror until you get the hang of them.

Related: Make Them Trust You With These 5 Body Language Secrets

These hacks may feel forced at first, but with more practice, eventually they’ll feel natural to you. At that point, you can meet anyone, anywhere, and your body language will respond on autopilot.

Defining what makes a good leader is hard. Great leaders have certain qualities that are difficult to identify and pin down, begging the question: Why do people follow them? Often, the answer has to do with an indescribable “it” factor — a charisma that attracts others to them.

Related: 7 Ways to Increase Your Charisma

While charisma is something that seems innate to leaders like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and former president Barack Obama, Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertfordshire told Forbes that charisma is 50 percent innate and 50 percent trained.

Similarly, blogger Seth Godin told NPR that, “Charisma doesn’t cause you to become a leader. Being a leader makes you charismatic.” 

By understanding the characteristics that successful leaders have in common, you can work to develop your own charisma and become a better leader in your organization. Here are the five qualities that all great leaders possess:

 1.Confidence

Leaders have powerful personalities that people are drawn to. Much of that attraction stems from the fact that they exude confidence. Confident leaders have a strong sense of self and rarely express self-doubt. They understand who they are and are comfortable in their own skin.

Charismatic leaders are also optimists. They see the glass as half full instead of half empty and are always looking on the bright side. As Ralph Marston, owner of the website The Daily Motivator,  wrrote on Twitter, “Being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It’s leadership.”

To be a stronger leader, you need to practice self-confidence. If you’re always second-guessing yourself and feeling shy around your coworkers, they won’t follow you. If you aren’t confident about your own actions, who will be?

Related: Introverts: 4 Ways to Be Yourself and Be a Charismatic Leader

 2. Creativity

Charismatic leaders think outside the box and aren’t afraid to push the limits. While others may see this kind of push as risky, these leaders are the ones leading the way and driving innovation.

When a problem arises, leaders don’t see only the difficulties. Instead, they rise to the challenge and see it as an opportunity. In business, this creativity can lead to powerful change and transformation, which can inspire and motivate others.

In his book, Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, Simon Sinek wrote: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

 3. Vision

Because leaders value innovation, they are focused on the future and how they can improve it. They have a dream and direction that motivates and inspires others. A report from Universum revealed that 41 percent of executives polled said the top quality they looked for in future leaders is the ability to empower employees.

In his book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Sinek wrote “Leadership requires two things: a vision of the world that does not yet exist and the ability to communicate it.” 

How can you improve things at your organization? Share your ideas with others. When you have vision, others will take note.

 4. Determination

Vision, in fact, becomes the drive and main purpose for many leaders. Everything they do revolves around making their vision a reality. To achieve their dream, leaders set specific goals and work to achieve them by bringing their teams together, developing an organized strategy and working hard.

Leaders are focused on getting results and accomplishing what they set out to do. They don’t give up when things get tough. Instead, they push through and continue even when they encounter challenges.

Are you committed to your goals? Your hard work and determination can inspire others if you follow through on your goals.

 5. Communication

When leaders speak, they communicate with confidence and charisma, which makes people sit up and pay attention. They are clear and articulate with their words and ensure that each statement has a purpose. 

Leaders are also aware of their body language. They have good posture and maintain eye contact with the people they are talking to. They are comfortable speaking in front of large groups as well as one on one. No matter what the situation, they articulate their goals and vision.

Related: Leaders: There Is Such a Thing as Too Much Charisma

In his book, Managing People Is Like Herding Cats, leadership scholar Walter Bennis wrote, “Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens, people feel centered, and that gives their work meaning.”