Problem: Article: Changing your personality is hard work. But the brain is plastic and it is doable. Start by observing the extroverts around you. Notice how there are different kinds and how they thrive in different settings. Some might be on top of their game in small groups while others are on top of their game in large crowds. Some might even get inhibited in certain situations! Also take the time to note what it is that you think makes them extroverted. Remember this: some extroverts are naturally shy. Just because a person is shy doesn't mean they don't get their energy from others. Are you looking to be more confident? Outgoing? What other traits aside from extroversion are these people showcasing that you'd like to emulate? This is a nice way of saying "fake it." But you're not faking it -- you're just performing. Now that you've spent some time observing other extroverts, mimic them. When you're in a social situation, put on your extroverted hat. Robert de Niro, Barbara Walters, David Letterman -- they're all introverts. They get up there and do it. And then they go home. Start small in both task and time. Take 15 minutes out of your day to be around people. Get out of your comfort zone; do something small that makes you a bit uncomfortable. Knock on your neighbor's door and introduce yourself. After the first one, the second one will seem a lot easier. The third one will be cake. As you get comfortable with being extroverted for that chunk of time, make it bigger. Next week, spend an hour going around to everyone in your building. When you are at the bus stop, ask the person you are standing next to for the time and follow it up with some other comment on the situation. Get the cashier at the grocery store to smile. The tiny things will add up. The fact of the matter is that you cannot be extroverted when you are by yourself. Kinda part of the definition. So get around people. Whether it is joining the circle around the watercooler or accepting the invitation to Julie's baby shower, go. You'll never grow and get better if you do not. Generally people stop asking you to things if you always come up with an excuse not to go. Do yourself a favor and take people up on their invitations. The more you get around these people, the more comfortable you'll be with them and the more comfortable you'll feel being extroverted. Some of us peg ourselves as geeks or dorks. We think of extroverts as socialites who wouldn't have the time of day for lame-os like us. Not true! Not true at all. Just because you're introverted does not mean you lack social skills or value. There's a role to fill in any group. Let's take the most extreme example: you sit at home every day of the week on your computer playing video games and eating Kraft mac n' cheese. Are you still intelligent? Yes. Do you still have skills? Yes. Does a man with a business idea who can talk to people need someone else to format his website? Yes. What can you bring to any table? Extroverts tend to be a bit more impulsive than introverts. To mimic an extrovert's impulses (until they come naturally, that is), think off the cuff. If you're walking by a stream, jump in (if you can swim). Start singing in the middle of the supermarket. Anything that you might've deemed a little crazy before should be given a second thought.
Summary: Observe. Perform. Start small. Get around people. Find your value. Walk on the wild side.

Problem: Article: The target should be willing to hand over audited financial statements for the past five years. If the company is publicly traded, it should file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They file 10-K statements each year and 10-Q statements quarterly, which you can obtain online at the EDGAR website. If the company is private, you still want their audited financial statements. You'll want to use five years' worth of statements to create a trend line comparison. This allows you to see whether the company's finances are improving or deteriorating. The financial statements should also include a cash flow analysis. This report shows the sources of cash and why it is used. Confusing financial statements are a red flag. You should probably avoid buying a target whose statements you can't understand. Instead, look for clean and clear financial statements. You might need help reading the financial statements. If so, you should hire an accountant. You can find an accountant by asking another business or contacting your state's accounting society and asking for a referral. If it has, you'll want to know about these earlier sales efforts. Ask the target why the sale fell through. It's also a good idea to ask why they are selling in the first place. For example, the owners might want to start a new business in a different industry, or they may want to retire. Those are good reasons. However, the business might be losing money. If so, then the owners could be trying to get out before going bankrupt. You'll want to avoid a company that's losing money unless you know how to turn things around. If the company is publicly traded, you can find this information on the stock exchange. This is the amount it costs to buy a share of the company. If you want to buy all of the shares, multiply the total number of shares by the share price. If you want to buy only a majority stake, then multiply a majority of shares by the share price. However, you should assess whether you think the market is over- or under-valuing the company based on your analysis of its financials and other fundamentals. Also check the share price over time and consider whether the share price has been recently inflated. It's not unusual for a target to try and inflate the price when it anticipates being bought. If you are buying a private company, then there is no purchase price on the market. Instead, the purchase price will be whatever the owners want to sell for, so be sure to ask. You'll still need to analyze the price based on the company's assets and liabilities, which is discussed below.
Summary:
Ask for audited financial statements. Check if you can understand the statements. Ask whether the company has been up for sale before. Research a public company's purchase price. Ask a private company for its purchase price.