When to Shutdown Your Business

February 19, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Mark Rodgers. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

The reasons behind the departure are not as important as the timing of that departure. It is important to recognize the symptoms of a business ready to close before the company falls under the financial troubles that come with a slowing system.

Tips for Recognizing the Time to Let the Business Go

1. Technology has made the need obsolete. There was a day when a phone could be found on every corner. The introduction of cell phones, and then the proliferation of that technology, made pay phones unnecessary. The prices went up and then the phones began to fade into the history books, leaving Superman with no place to change.

2. The family had no interest in the business. Some people grow a company to provide something stable for the next generation. The problems start when the next generation has no interest in the path that was pre-determined. A girl that wants to dance may not be willing to give up that dream to run a fast food restaurant. A boy that wants to join the military as a career may have little interest in returning to the home town to run an auto shop. Parents may need to re-evaluate the business plan when then next generation decides to pass.

3. Interests have faded. An entrepreneur tends to leap into industries that strike at the heart of a passion. If that passion begins to dry up, it may be time to pack up. A business that runs without a passion or joy can soon find itself in trouble. When the interest of the owner – or even the interests of the customers – begins to shift into a new direction then the business needs to shift or shut down.

4. The business plan is not panning out. Great plans to not always mean perfect results. When the reality does not match up with the creation on paper, it can be safer to walk away than to continue to push something that seems determined not to work.

5. Profits continue to get eaten by expenses. The cost of everything has gone up, but people have less to spend. That means many business are seeing more and more of the profits disappear. A business that continues on the downhill track will end up in a financial hole.

6. The rules have changed. New regulations and laws can change the direction of some businesses. It may simply be that insurance rates or other required licenses have become more expensive. As things change, the business may have to adapt. When adapting cannot be managed, then walking away may be the only option.

Businesses do not have to stay around forever to be a success. Some industries may see a business in for a few months or years before vanishing into the history books. It is important to understand the symptoms of a business that may be in trouble and then having the plan that will allow you to get out before that potential trouble becomes a reality.

A sound business plan will have an exit strategy. Recognizing the need to implement that strategy can be the one thing that keeps a business from collapsing instead of going out on solid ground. Knowing the trends, keeping an eye on expenses, and following the plan will all help in the process of seeing when may be the best time to close the doors.

Mark Rodgers has been blogging about finance for 3 years. He currently blogs on sites that deal with how to utilize your savings and when is the best time to start a brokerage account.

Running a Successful Business Meeting

January 25, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Claire Jarrett. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Many employees look at business meetings as a pure waste of time. There is an element of truth behind this perception. They are not very interesting by their inherent nature. A majority of the business meetings we attend tend to be ineffective in achieving the aims of the meeting. On many occasions, even the terms agreed upon during the meetings are overturned later. The real decisions in business usually happen in corridors or hallways, between casual conversation among the movers and shakers of the firm.

Ironically, the people who hated participating in these boring affairs through their careers get to be at the helm of these meetings one day and oversee the meetings that they so hated in their junior years. If you are the manager responsible for organizing and achieving the desired goals of a business meeting, how can you avoid it from becoming just another one of those dragging and pointless affairs?

You must have a proper plan in place. First, the real purpose of the meeting has to be understood. If the objectives of the meeting can be achieved in another manner, avoid the meeting itself. Look at the alternative avenues for gaining results and move in that route. The objectives of the meeting have to be clearly predefined. Also, ascertain if these objectives are realistically achievable or not.

A decision on the participants of the business meeting has to be made well in advance and a list created. Send out invitations to these people with information regarding the venue, date, timing etc., without any delay. Let the participants know about the agenda of the meeting also in advance. Ask them to provide suggestions on topics of interest to be discussed before-hand. This will help them to prepare well and contribute better to the meeting’s objective. This will in turn help you to control the conversation to move in the right direction, so as to achieve the desired results for the business.

The agenda of the meeting need to be organized in a logical manner. The most important aspects as well as the less important aspects of the meeting need to be spelled out clearly. Appropriate time slots can be assigned for discussion on each of these topics. Make sure the participants of the business meeting stay within the limits and do not stray too far away from it. Allocate the most time for the most important topics of the meeting and make sure that everyone sticks to the plan you have set out.

About the author:

Claire Jarrett works for Marketing By Web and recommends Hubworking, who offer meeting rooms

Find Funding For Your Business

January 17, 2011 0 Comments

This is a guest post by Mark. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

It takes money to make money, and finding the funding for your business can be a challenge. The economy may be tight at this moment, but there are still plenty of avenues for unlocking the money you need to build or grow your business dream. Dedication and persistence will move the process along. Having a solid business plan will make it even easier. But knowing where to look for funding is the key to getting all the financing that you need.

Places to Find Funding for a Business

Grants – most people think only of the government when it comes to grants. There are also private institutions around the globe that provide funds to non-profit and even for-profit organizations. Getting one grant will not always limit the ability to get additional grants. Dig into the different grant data bases to see what type of funding may be available.

Community grants – monies that have been targeted for a certain region for a wide range of reasons. Individuals or trusts often provide funding to areas where they are connected. The government offers monies to regions that are facing tough economic times.

Impact grants – monies that are designated for a goal or actions. Organizations will provide funding that meets certain criteria that that accomplishes specific tasks.

Purpose focused grants – some organizations set up trust funds to provide grants to companies or individuals that are trying to meet particular goals (like green business or environmental impact activities).

Investors – there are always people looking for places to get a return on their money. The interest rates offered by the banks have fallen to all-time lows, so more people are looking to increase their potential returns.

Create a plan – having a tangible outline of how the business will be running (and how it worked in the past).

Show risk verses reward – develop a table that will provide investors with a step by step plan on how they will receive income from their investment. It may be a straight repayment plan or it may be a partnership that results in a percentage of profits.

Get it in writing – be sure that all agreements are secured in writing for the financial security of all parties involved.

Loans – there are a number of different programs that business can utilize to get the funding needed. The government offers small business loans for smaller amounts that do not require any collateral. Other small business loans can be secured with property or other items to get even more funding. Small business loans are usually available for a higher interest rate and only to business with three or more years of proven profitability.

Tax Credits – deductibles reduce the amount of taxes that you pay to the government. Tax credits are money that the government pays to you or to your business. They do the most for your business when they involve things you would do even without the incentive of a credit (like adding an employee, investing in new equipment or even going green). A consultation with an experienced tax professional can help you discover all of the potential tax credits.

Getting all of the finances to run a successful business can be a challenge. The more layers to the monetary options the easier the process will become. Most business owners would be surprised that there are so many areas where finances can be found.

Combining different layers of financing can help grow or even provide the path for starting the business of your dreams. Taking some time to think outside the normal budgeting box could help you find the funding for your business.

Mark has been helping companies raise money for 3 years; he helps companies set up a brokerage account and how to increase savings within companies.

Small Business Checklist Summary

December 28, 2009 2 Comments

We have a list of 10 checklist items that every Small Business needs to think about. While we did create a more detailed version of each, we are going to put them all in this post for easy access and readability. This is for anyone looking to start a business in the new year or for anyone that has just started a business and wants more information on how to keep it going. Below is our Small Business Checklist. Click each item for the full article.

Small Business Checklist Item #1 – Business Name

Choose a business name that suits what you want to do and plan to do in the future. Many entrepreneurs try to pick a name that they like, but sometimes it does not encompass what your company is going to do. A word of advice that many people do not think about is that you should not have a company name that has your name in it. The main reason for this is because if you ever have a chance to sell the business, there is less likelyhood that someone will purchase your business because of the name. Business Investors and purchasers want a name that can keep people interested and is memorable. Using your name is an easy way to create a company name, but not the most effective in the long run.

Small Business Checklist Item #2 – Research

We need to expand a little further on the Business name from yesterday. Please make sure that after you pick a business name, make sure you have the right to use it in your state. You can usually check this out with your Secretary of State website. Once you verify that you can get it, go to the register of deeds and fill out a DBA form to secure the name and then do it with the Secretary of State (depending on your business form, which we will discuss a little later)

Small Business Checklist Item #3 – Business Structure

Ok, so you have done your research and realize that your business idea is a viable one. Now you need to look into how you want to structure your business. There are 4 basic structures to choose from with variations within each structure. The main thing that you need to think about are covered with the following points.

Small Business Checklist Item #4 – Business Plan

This is a step that many small businesses forget to do. While a business plan is not really required to run your business, it is a very helpful tool. If you do not know what a business plan is, it is simply a written format of how you want to run the business and what the business stands for, as well as the mission of the company. These can take time to create, but they will help you in the future to keep your company on track with your original goals.

Small Business Checklist Item #5 – Proper Forms and IDs

We know that it can be exciting to start up a new company and get selling or have your ideas become reality. The one thing that we ask is that you make sure that you have all the proper forms and certificates in order to sell properly. Each state require a certain set of forms in order to be a legal business, most require business license and sales tax ID’s.

Small Business Checklist Item #6 – Take Inventory or Dropship

We are asked about this more times than we can count. Please note that this tip is really only dealing with companies that sell online, not really traditional retailers with brick and mortar stores. This is an important discussion because it lays the foundation to how success you can be either online. We will go through some quick pros and cons of each, so you can make a little more informed decision.

Small Business Checklist Item #7 – Insurance

To insure or Not to Insure? This is a good question, but the answer is simple……Get insurance! There are many of you out there that have not taken the time to look into good business insurance for whatever company you run. This is a very important part of business to protect your investment. We will not go into detail about all the insurance types out there for businesses, but we will show you some points to think about.

Small Business Checklist Item #8 – Calculate Profit Margins

This is a simple task to accomplish, but we have spoken to many people that have started a business that never really looked into creating prices for their products or services that gave them a positive net margin. We are sure that many of you have probably done this as your started your business, so this tip is really for those thinking about starting one or just starting one. Please take the time to properly calculate your profit margins on your products or services.

Small Business Checklist Item #9 – Employees

If your company is at the stage where it needs to hire employees, you better take this stage very seriously. You are going to be trusting people with the company that you build from the ground up, so you need to make sure that you take the proper steps in hiring the right individuals.

Small Business Checklist Item #10 – Social Media

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium. If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting. Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more. These are great venues to build your brand online.

Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media

December 2, 2009 0 Comments

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium. If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting. Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more. These are great venues to build your brand online.

One of the most important things about online marketing is building your brand and keeping your brand awareness with your customers. The easiest way to do so is with social media. Not only good to build brand awareness, but you can also use it to solve any customer service issues or any negative feedback that you might find online. It makes it easy to stop negative feedback when it starts, so it gives you a better reason to fight negative comments.

Twitter is an easy way to tell your customers what you are doing right when you are doing it along with giving your followers deals that no one else can get. You can also use twitter to answer customer questions and provide information about your business and products.

Facebook is also a good way to build your brand and keep your customers up to date with what you are doing and what products/services you are now carrying. It is easy to setup an account and build your own company page.

Not every business can use You Tube, but if you sell products and you can provide video reviews of these products, then youtube is a great venue to be at. Anyone can sign up and post videos, so provide your customers a great way to see who you are and what information you can give them.

Creating your own company blog is a great way to voice your opinion about your industry and to let customers know what you are doing in your company. They are easy to setup and can be a very good asset when trying to convince customers to do business with you. Most hosting platforms include wordpress, which is one or the most popular blogging platforms.

No matter which social media outlet you choose, or all of them (this is preferred), you can keep your brand well protected and keep your customers happy as well. Many companies are creating positions in their marketing teams that is for people to runt their twitter, youtube, facebook, etc accounts to make sure that they are looking good in the eyes of their customers. Social media is not going away anytime soon, so make sure your company is utilizing it.

iMark Interactive