Posts Tagged ‘Business Owners’

Are you worried about your documents once all are being corrupted? Before storing all your files or documents on your computer even using a program or document management software, it is important that you know how to deal with backup and recovery of files. Today, many companies are taking this advantage to work with Iron Mountain when they are looking for effective way in handling disaster recovery. The Iron Mountain disaster recovery is really helpful in making your business stable despite of the trials which are around.

If you are not yet familiar with disaster recovery, it is the process, policies and procedures related to preparing for recovery or continuation of technology infrastructure critical to an organization after a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity.

There are lots of companies that are able to work with when it comes to disaster recovery services and you will find it effective to be with Iron Mountain. The company is helping you all the way from the process up to information that you need regarding the service. You can see that lots of business owners are working on Iron Mountain for partnership because they find it trusted. Many are searching for more services and you can now check their website more details about it.

An easy to understand, helpful and very effective Twitter Marketing System aimed at Internet Marketers / Online Business Owners. Updated with magnetic new sales page, killer videos and amazing bonuses.
Twitter Treasure Chest

The Holistic Internet Marketing Manual was written to help holistic & conscious business owners easily understand how to get top Google rankings so that you can get more customers & clients through the internet.
Holistic Internet Marketing Manual

Earn A Massive 50%! Every business Must have a Procedure Manual. How can it possibly run without one? There are millions of business owners out there needing a quick way to generate a Procedure Manual . This template makes it easy for them.
Procedure Manual Template

Kate Osborne presents 12 week video program to help business owners & individuals overcome challenges & irritations. With 50 Business owners, Kate came up with the 12 main areas of irritation and covers each. Ongoing access for return viewing in future.
Removing Irritations

BARRINGTON, IL (Dec 13, 2007) – Allbase, Inc., a leading innovator in online business solutions, is proud to announce a web-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system designed for small and medium businesses.

The Allbase Suite allows business owners to manage all aspects of their operations in one system: accounting, CRM, inventory, marketing, scheduling, and more.

“Powerful business management solutions are no longer exclusive to large corporations”, says Bert Johnson, president. “The Allbase Suite combines the features of traditional ERP with the affordability and ease-of-use of online software. Now even the smallest business can compete using the same tools as industry giants.”

The Allbase Suite runs securely over any Internet connection and is available 24 hours a day. The software is upgraded on a regular basis, providing new features and improvements at no additional cost.

In addition to employee access, the Allbase Suite can enable clients to place orders, view appointments, and make service requests. The system further integrates with vendor databases, allowing employees to view real-time product pricing and availability information.

While competing packages often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, the Allbase Suite is available starting at $3000. The “Software-as-a-Service” (SaaS) model means that there is no hardware to buy, no software to maintain, and backups are handled automatically.

Hands-on training and full support are available by phone, email, and appointment. A free 30-day evaluation of the Allbase Suite is available through the www.allbase.com website.

For more information, call (224) 848-6144 or (866) 77-ALLBASE toll-free in the US, email press@allbase.com, or visit http://www.allbase.com.

The ultimate secret weapon for local businesses to climb to the top of Google Places and enhance local search results. Perfect for business owners and offline consultants.
The Local Marketing Secret

A business plan is a summary and appraisal of your business concept. It is the written result of the planning process.

A business plan shows the likelihood of success of the business and your ability to make it work. It affords the means to work through all aspects of a business and to scrutinise the consequences of a variety of strategies relative to marketing, management, finance and human resources.

It is a management instrument to provide direction to you as the business owner. If you are starting a business, the process of preparing and writing a business plan provides a great opportunity to test your motivation and commitment.

Why complete a business plan?

A business plan enables you to take an objective look at your business, identifying areas of strength and weakness and indicates requirements and problems that might otherwise be unnoticed. If your business enterprise is at best, marginal, the business plan will demonstrate to you why.

Having a business plan that is well prepared also provides a foundation for monitoring the progress of the business.

Lastly, if you require external financing, your business plan will provide the information needed to evaluate your business enterprise. A carefully prepared business plan routinely becomes a complete financial proposal that will in most cases meet the requirements of most investors and lenders.

Understand the business you are in.

Most business owners spend a considerable amount of time pondering the future of their business, but not all actually complete any formal business planning. What the planning provides is a measure of structure and a focal point, allows one to analyse alternative strategies that may have been missing on first thought.

There are a number of ways and formats including software packages that assist in preparation of a business plan. The following list is just a guide to a standard business plan layout; we hope it is useful to you.

1. Front cover

5. The business

* Business objectives

* Name, address, contact details and ABN

* Business activity, commencement date, commencement capital and business structure

* Competitive advantage

* Owners’ profiles

* Major clients

* Licences and registrations

* Business advisors

* Current performance

6. Industry analysis

* ANZSIC category, political/economic, social, technological, industry and competition

* Key success factors

7. Product and services

* Product range analysis

* Competitor analysis

* SWOT analysis

8. Marketing plan

* Target market

* Marketing objectives

* Marketing strategy – product, price, promotion and place

9. Operational strategy

* Location and premises

* Plant and equipment

* Inventory

* Human resources

* Environmental strategy

10. Financial strategy

* Financial objectives

* Capital structure

* Statements of financial performance and financial position (Income statement and balance sheet)

* Cashflow forecasts

* Sales and collections from debtors forecasts

* Purchases and payments to creditors forecasts

* Breakeven analysis

11. Appendices

* Financial statements

* Legal documents, leases, contacts, letters of intent

* Research documents, patents, trademarks

For further information on Business Planning, please visit the Business section of Income Resource Club.

Due to globalization internet business is becoming more competitive than ever before. Online business owners are finding it hard to survive in the current situation. It has further been compounded by the economic slowdown. In times of crisis, people are usually worried about tomorrow; some are angry and want problems to be fixed fast. In their emotional status, they end up investing in projects that don’t bear fruit.

It then becomes imperative for online business owners to adapt and change their approach to business in order to survive. Apart from just getting things done, it would be important to do things right and not rush. By rushing we may fail not because our business idea is bad but because we do not observe sound business principles carefully. Making money online is no child’s play hence online business needs to be approached tactfully.

This is the time to adjust to new business management systems that suit the current economic times. Since money is scarce it would be advisable at this time to cut down on the cost of advertising. The internet has various free advertising programs. Submit your website to classified advertising sites like usfreead.com and craiglist.com among others. Viral marketing is also another method of free advertising that one can try and save on adverting cost.

Also enroll for free affiliate programs where you don’t have to worry about stocking or offering customer service. The tasks will be carried out by the affiliate manager, in the process you’ll save money and have time to attend to other businesses.

There is no shortage of hype on the Internet. A start up business does not have to look far to find a “Guru” who will offer a miracle solution for the “getting found” dilemma that faces every on line business. Typically, this product or weekend seminar (where many more products can be expected to be pitched) virtually guarantees overnight success. This information is usually at a significant price premium over the same information found in an existing book.

Okay, let’s get a reality check here. Let’s remove the on line component of this scenario and see how this advice applies in the offline world.

Let’s say you are looking to start a business and you hear that you can accomplish all your goals and be an overnight success by attending a pricey weekend seminar (or if your budget is small, you can still learn it all and succeed with the few hundred dollar CD version instead). Does this make any sense? While continuous learning is vital to growing your business, most off line business owners recognize that actions rather than miracle seminars will lead to success. They surely aren’t apt to spend over and over again every time a new variation of this sure fire technique is launched. Offline businesses owners know that there are better ways to spend money to develop their businesses. They realize that a business is built in stages and while they most likely are dreaming about the success that they will someday achieve, they certainly do not believe it will happen as soon as they hang up a shingle. They wisely do not believe success happens by following a magic formula.

Why then do so many individuals, wanting to start an online business, attend seminar after seminar and shell out thousands and thousands of dollars on silver bullets that lose their shine right after the conference is over? The logic of the offline business owner would dictate that there are better ways to spend in order to build a business. It seems that the illogical behaviors of these online wannabies are just fueling the internet marketing guru industry and leaving many would be entrepreneurs disillusioned and broke.

What is going on here? If you attend any of these conferences, you know it is quite common for the guru to be quite transparent. Small business entrepreneurs, eager for success, are taught that it is important to create a sense of urgency when pitching to their target markets. The guru then proceeds (in almost the next breath) to tell the conference attendees that if they act now (strangely only 17 available!) they will get special conference pricing on the guru’s product. It is amazing to see how many people jump up and run to make a purchase in the back of the room (right after the lesson about creating urgency).

Now, this is not to say that there are no valuable marketing lessons to be learned at these events. On the contrary, the very words the gurus use to stir up the crowds are extraordinary lessons in themselves. Additionally, most all of the gurus actually teach interesting ideas and provide useful information (one of the principles the gurus always teach is this: Your target market will love you if you give lots of great content away for free – which the gurus are actually demonstrating). The gurus usually laugh and joke with their audiences about how shamelessly obvious they are in promoting their products; but it does not stop the jumping up and running to the back of the room (to buy before the supply runs out).

Hype that is seamlessly woven in with the truth becomes irresistible to these crowds. No doubt about it. The very marketing techniques that are being taught are being used masterfully to get the audience to act. A huge carrot of success is being dangled in front of these spectators (extraordinary wealth is one of the common traits of the gurus) who want to be just like their mentors. I know how powerful and magnetic these events can be. Even when I finally decided to be an objective observer, the hype was hard to resist. I kid you not.

Is that it then? The secret to wealth is the masterful delivery of hype?

Hold on. There is another lesson the gurus teach. It too is true. They state that you must know your target audience. You must give them what they want …when they want it. Sales are rarely made to someone who is not at the right point in the selling cycle.

So what does this mean? Are conference attendees guru wannabies instead of real business start up people? Out of touch dreamers who are more interested in keeping the dream alive instead of taking actions that may risk failure? Ouch, that seems a bit harsh. How else do you explain thousands of dollars spent that most often never develop into anything further?

There is another explanation. The world of internet marketing is so new. The Internet has only been around for 10 years and is growing at an incredible rate. The offline rules do not seem to apply to the online world. The techniques needed to operate online as a business (rather than as a user) are quite foreign to most people. From this point of view it is quite easy to see why people look for guidance from those who have had success online.

Yes, the Internet is constantly changing and so are the things that businesses will need to do to succeed on line. A lot of that has to do with Google’s major mission in life; to provide user experiences that have quality and relevance. There is always something new on the Internet and small businesses will need to pay attention to the sound business practices of their successful off line business cousins. They can start by eliminating hype and then by treating their on line endeavors as serious businesses which requires long term strategies in addition to short term ones. On line business owners will need to take action instead of looking to some miracle out of the box solution to get a competitive advantage. Those who are still interested in the shortest path should consider spending their guru product dollars on the services of experts who can get it done for them. Not only is this the shortest path, it sounds like the most cost effective small business start up advice for success as well.

Network marketing is continuing to thrive as a business model thanks to the Internet today. As a matter of fact many business owners are forsaking the traditional business model to build large network marketing businesses. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why a network marketing business is better then the traditional brick and mortar business.

1. You can run your network marketing business from home. Operating a home business saves you money because you do not need to rent office or warehouse space.

This allows you to keep your overhead low while investing more of your profits back into the growth of your business. This is difficult to do with a traditional business.

2. With a network marketing business you do not need any employees. Every person involved in your business is their own individual business owner. Yet through the power of duplication you are able to build a mutually beneficial business without hiring them as employees.

Employees can present problems such as not showing up for work, not being productive when they do work, calling in sick, and so on. You never have these problems with a network marketing business of your own.

3. Thanks to the Internet your business is open 24 hours a day. With a traditional business you are closed at night and on the weekends. You are also closed on holidays! An Internet network marketing business can continue to thrive 365 days a year.

4. To a certain extent your income is capped with a traditional business. You certainly can build your business up by hiring more employees and taking on more contracts or customers. With a network marketing business it can continue to grow as your downline fields in numbers.

5. A network marketing business allows you to be mobile. Today the Internet makes it possible to communicate with people wherever you have Internet connection.

It also makes it possible for your business to continue to grow whether you are at home or traveling around the world. You could never do this with a traditional business unless your employees are running the business for you while you are gone.

6. Expansion is easier thanks to the internet. It is now possible to be involved in multiple network marketing businesses which can increase your income and allow you to branch out. Most traditional business owners are never able to do this because of lack of money and lack of time.

In summary this is six reasons why a network marketing business is better than a traditional business.

Hemp farmers, business owners and Vote Hemp representatives plant industrial hemp seeds on the DEA headquarters lawn and are arrested.

Starting your own internet home based business is a challenging endeavor, however, many business owners overlook a vital aspect to their business success and that is the availability of business training. It is very important to have a thorough understanding about the business itself, the industry, your competitors and what works best with internet marketing. Just because you are knowledgeable of general business practices will not ensure success but it will certainly be helpful. Although operating an online business is not a new concept it is advisable to seek the knowledge and resources from someone who is established and successful in your industry.

Most home based businesses provide training to their affiliates. It might seem overwhelming to the newcomer, who wants to simply put up a website and hope for the best. But with any new venture, you must put the time and effort in to make it successful. And a big part of that time, especially in the beginning, is to learn as much as possible about your particular business.

Sure, there are some businesses out there that claim you can make money with almost little effort. It is a fact that “little effort” from you will yield little cash in your pocket. Businesses offer educational resources for a reason, not just to puff up their egos. It is important to understand that business courses, videos, e-books and seminars are not being offered for fun. They have specific benefits that the newcomer should take advantage of.

You should decide if you are going to take advantage of free business courses or pay for other educational resources. Read reviews-that other website owners place on their sites to find educational value that may fit your business needs.

Business courses and e-books are often expensive and they may not contain the information you need to be successful in your online business. Investigate educational resources provided by your business opportunity before purchasing training materials from outside sources.

And here’s a tip. Watch them and read them, don’t just order them. Become a student of business because that is what you are and always write down important information. When you feel you are up to speed with your particular business, it doesn’t hurt to attend some online conferences or local home business seminars. Some business owners meet individuals who help them grow their businesses while others rely upon learning and applying useful tips found in books. One way to decide which training materials will be beneficial is to look at the source. Is it written by someone you know and trust? Someone who is successful with their own business? Or is it by someone you’ve never heard or just trying to get you involved in another business?

The Small Business Administration provides online business courses free of charge with no strings attached. The Small Business Administration offer courses on building websites and managing your digital enterprise.

Universities are also recognizing the need for e-commerce education. For example, the University of San Francisco is offering several online courses geared specifically to the internet entrepreneur, including courses on search engine marketing and integrated online strategies. Knowing what you are doing is the key to your success…and be eager to learn

In order for your business to succeed there is need to come up with sound business management practices especially when it comes to implementing new business ideas. Many business owners have been known to squash on new business ideas even before they have been assessed. They claim their argument on the fact that the ideas have been tried elsewhere and failed.

Since the company may be having other priories, managers take this as an excuse to ignore or put on hold very sound business ideas just because they do not embrace them. Good business management calls for putting in place effective and proper evaluation of new ideas.

For there to be business growth, managers need to have structures that best help in evaluating and trying new ideas with minimum expense. These ideas have to be examined swiftly to find out if they are worth the try. As a business manager you need to know the importance of logic management so that no good idea goes to waste and decisive action is taken when necessary.

Creative business management takes into account the risks involved in implementing new ideas and that with proper techniques these ideas can produce positive results. As much as new business ideas are not welcomed or encouraged, as a business owner should learn how to appreciate them.

It may sound like you are playing it safe when you do not leap into a new business idea, but the drawback is seeing the same idea you ignored working out when implemented by your competitor. Rather than stamping on new ideas, put in place systems that would test, implement and even reward individuals that come up with these ideas.

Running a small business is not all highs. When a business manager learns this they have overcome one of the hardest obstacles they ever will face.

Just today I talked to a Community manager. His webhost went down under the burden of his system. Yesterday he was in business, today he was completely out of business. It was as sudden as a restaurant having a fire in the kitchen. He contacted a problem solver/systems analyst in his network instantly.

They started the process of bringing the site online, but this man fumed and panicked the entire afternoon. He didn’t learn the truth behind the statement ‘if it was easy then everyone would do it.’

It is not easy to run a business. There are highs and there are lows. Every day can throw twists that need to be overcome. An advertising campaign may not produce the revenues needed. A new website may not be receiving the levels of targeted hits needed to produce the expected income. The shopping cart may be so difficult to use that consumers abandon the site.

The first response most business owners make is panicking and then reacting in fear. When people are afraid they do one thing – nothing. This is common in the business world. When a business starts to go under, the average business owner will adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude.

By the time the business owner does take action it will be too late. They will either be out of time or out of money. The business owner in the above example did the right thing. He reacted in fear, but instead of sitting back and waiting, or wasting time trying to solve the problem, he found someone with a level head to coach him through the problem.

Emergencies will always happen. The first step to problem solving is to create a plan of attack before something goes wrong. Never wait until a problem hits before creating an emergency plan. This plan should include an emergency fund incase the only way out of the problem is spending cash.

In the same way a family saves three months bill payments to carry them through a hard time, a business should hold money in reserve to carry them through hard times.

A word of warning – never borrow money to handle an emergency. Of course, it is unrealistic to believe that you will be able to avoid this problem. However, the warning should not be ignored. Almost 100% of all emergencies are caused by problems that do not generate income. Borrowing money for situations and items that do not generate income is one of the biggest small-business blunders.

The best way to keep a business on track is to avoid problems. There are millions of blog and forum comments and replies that discuss how they lost everything because of one minor problem. I personally know two ecommerce businesses that went under because the business owners did not back up both their server and their PC.

There is no reason to lose the data on a PC with services like Mozy.com that costs $4.50 a month. However, I know three freelancers who lost up to one month’s work because they never backed up their computer ‘off site’ daily. One had to pay a data forensic technician $1200 to save on month’s work from a corrupted hard drive.

Another had a top ranked website. This ecommerce business trusted the web host’s back up service. However, when the web host closed business, over night, without warning, then the business owner lost everything. This was not necessary. Anyone can learn how to put a back up copy of their website onto their computer. It is as easy as writing an email.

Both of these businesses went under because the business owner didn’t employ a strategy to avoid all possible emergencies.

There are some problems that are beyond the business owner’s capacity to control. In late 2007 YouTube.com went down for a few days. A training company with their ‘lectures’ on Youtube was stalled for the duration. They did have a back up plan. When the lectures went down, the ‘alt’ tags revealed where users could find PDF transcripts of the lectures.

What can I expect when dealing with them?

Many people don’t have a clear idea of what business brokerages can do for them, yet they play a crucial role for many business owners and prospective buyers looking to sell or buy.  Buying or selling a business takes a very unique, specialized skill-set that does require a professional that focuses on business sales transaction.  All too often, people make the mistake of confusing the role of a real estate agent to that of a professional business intermediary.  This article will quickly examine the role of business brokerages and how the service of a business sales specialist differs from that of a real estate agent.

The role of Business Brokerages
For a business seller, the expectations for a professional business intermediary (a business broker) are many.  They are required to assist the seller prepare their business for sale, help determine a selling price, prepare an information package on the business, advertise the business (while maintaining confidentiality of the sale), find potential buyers – and screen & qualify them.  They must show the business to buyers.  Facilitate communication between the buyer and seller and ensure that there are no missteps on this front, which often happen.    They must go over conditional offers with a seller and facilitate the negotiation process.  Next comes due diligence, which for a business can be lengthy and complicated if not facilitated smoothly.  Finally, the closing of the business is carefully monitored by business brokerages to ensure a smooth transition of ownership.  Bear in mind that this is merely a (very) high level overview of what is done for the business seller.  Remember that this process can be repeated several times until a buyer is found that actually goes all the way to the end of the purchase (i.e. does not back away).  Selling a business is usually a longer process than selling a piece of real estate as well.

For the business buyer, business brokerages offer many benefits.  They assist with sourcing good businesses for sale, present different options, show different opportunities and help buyers with a purchase offer.  A professional business broker will remain engaged in the process through the conditional offer period, due diligence, waiving of conditions right through to the closing.  Commissions are paid by the seller – there is no direct out of pocket cost to the business buyer when dealing with business brokerages to buy a small business.

Work with a specialist
Business brokerages specialize in the buying and selling of businesses.  Real estate agents focus on the buying and selling of real estate.  There is a major difference and a completely different skill-set involved.  A professional business intermediary must have the expertise in business valuation, financial statement analysis, valuing intangible assets, how to buy and sell business, deeper exposure to laws governing business sales, equipment & premises lease issues, franchise agreements, employee issues pertaining to a business sale, and so on.  Selling real estate is different on a fundamental level.  Business brokerages have professionals with the experience to sell your business properly.  A business is a major investment – dealing with an expert is a wise decision.  There are good business brokers in Canada and Ontario specifically – give us a call to see what we can do for you.

Did you ever want to hire a business coach but weren’t sure as to what kind of results business coaching provides? To help you learn about some of the benefits involved in hiring a business coach, take a look at the 5 following results some people have experienced due to business coaching.

You may need a quick understanding of what business coaching is before we jump into the results and benefits.

What is business coaching?

Simply put, a business coach is someone who is dedicated to helping you increase productivity and profits for your organization and business operation. How this is done and the results business coaching provides vary but here are a few.

1. Start up confidence. Beginning a new operation or taking over one can be risky and often scary business. Business coaching has helped individuals understand how their individual strengths can be used to achieve success as well as about business in general. A business coach can help simplify things by helping you create an easy to follow plan and keeping you encouraged if you feel overwhelmed by the startup process.

2. Inspiring new ideas. Business owners can often get stuck. they may feel uninspired or they may not make use of the available resources. Being newly inspired and motivated is one of the main results business coaching clients see. Because a business coach is essentially giving you an outsider’s perspective of how your business is running, they are able to offer new ideas and ways of doing things. Clients see their business from a new perspective and this often helps them to see where they can improve and increase their efforts.

3. Recharged passion. The day to day grind can make motivation and passion fade. Some business owners feel enslaved by their business and may even dread going to work. Others are bored and feel stuck. Business coaches can help people become unstuck and regain passion and enthusiasm about their business. They work with you to see why you started the business in the first pace, how to relieve some of the pressures you may feel to succeed, and in some cases, whether or not personal conflicts are affecting your business.

4. Better solutions. It’s easy to settle into a routine and do the same thing we’ve been doing for years without looking for alternatives. Business owners do this all the time. They may do things that, while they work, are outdated, costly, or decrease productivity.

When surveyed many clients stated that finding better solutions was a major benefit from business coaching. Having the outside perspective of someone who is a font of business knowledge means your business can be greatly improved. You may learn where you can cut spending, how to better allocate your employee’s skills, how to better attract your target market or even where to find them in the first place.

5. Strong relationships. Sometimes we just need someone to listen. A business owner may have an idea but is unsure if it’s the right time. They could be feeling stressed and need someone to simply listen. Business coaches aren’t just there for advice they are also there to listen to your business goals and concerns. Just having someone listen and to be able to bounce ideas off can make a lot of difference. Thus, one of my favorite results is the relationship that can be formed with your coach. In essence what you find is a friend whose business it is to help you succeed.

The results found with business coaching is ample, your self confidence grows, your communication skills, your business awareness and so much more. If you were hesitant to use this type of service rest assure that thousands of people have received great benefits and you will too.

I always ask my clients and people I come across in life that are in business, why? What motivates you to want to be under all that stress of running a business? What’s your motivation for you entering into this world of business? I find all kinds of answers both great and puzzling. I get the opportunity to understand people better and how and what motivates them, could it be for some financial freedom, or for some the opportunity to be part of something and the most common answer I hear is I don’t want to work for someone else. What a great answer for all of them as I look back and engage in conversation with them. I get the opportunity to travel a lot and speak at seminars across the country and meet all different walks of life. What a true blessing. There are so many people and business owners out there we will never have the chance to meet and I feel honored every time I get that chance to talk it up with someone I have never meet.

I want to talk in this article about what it means for us to be in business, what’ in it for you. You need to ask yourself some of these key questions before entering business, why are you doing this? What is the driving motivation for you to start a business, how you have some sort of tragic episode in your life that you just decided to throw in the towel on your 9-5 and become part this movement in our country that seems to be sweeping the nation. You know there were more millionaires made during the great depression than an other time in history, unbelievable, not quite, people were able to have the Forsyth to see the opportunity and seize the moment. Become one of those individuals and business owners. Take advantage of the movement that is out there now. Now I’m not saying take advantage of people but in every down time there is a great chance for us business owners to see and identify the need for people to try something new. In every time in history when things were bad people saw that as an opportunity to change things around. We need to understand what’s in it for us, what it that drives you is, that opens your mind to be able to see the chance to use the resources we have around us.

I notice talking to business owners when things are down and out, and believe me as we all know the economy is bad for some and people are losing their jobs they have had for 20+ years and losing their stocks, leveraging everything they have and just getting stuck in that downward spiral that the world wants us to believe exists. Why not turn it around, look at the opportunities that are now even more available more than ever! They are out there. Go green, do something, use your God giving talents and brains that you have been giving and use them to your advantage to turn things around, again what’s really in it for you as a business owner. Are you in it to change people’s lives or just genuinely love to help people or most importantly are you the owner looking for that next chance to take the risk it takes to become great and become successful? Ask yourself why?

I know I got into business because I saw the chance to seize the opportunity to take something bad (economy) and use it to my advantage to help people understand that there is a chance, its not as bad as people or the news make it out to believe. Did you know that 80% of the American population actually pay their bills on time, but we see on the news that they make it sound like it’s the majority that don’t. Let me give you one example of the housing market crisis, most of your banks wont even talk to you as a home owner until you have defaulted on your home or paid you bills late and then all of a sudden they want to help, but by then its too late! How many of us fall into that category? How many of us truly just want to succeed and be safe for our families and our own stability in life. Business and life sure is unique and as we all know if it was as easy as we would like it to be everyone would be doing business right, so remember be unique find out your true why and maximize your ability to separate yourself from the “herd” of people that think they can and the business owners that know they can. I will leave you with this thought: I had a dream one night of opening a business and for years I had the same dream as if it were real. One night while dreaming I actually saw the business going forward and then saw the end result of it making it and succeeding. The point being, dream it, live it and do it! Thanks for all your reads and remember as they change we change! Take care hope to see you in the winners circle!

Hazen Martin www.entreprenuerhub.com hazenmartin2003@yahoo.com

Introduction
Thousands and thousands of people a day are starting up businesses. Sorry to say, most don’t know exactly how to do it. They may be experts on the specific products or services that they can perform, but may lack marketing experience. They find out quickly that by simply hanging up a sign, the customers will come. This is where you come in. You can teach them how. Running a business coaching service is not only an exciting opportunity, but it has the potential to bring in large profits.

Who wants your services?
If you’re interested in starting a business coaching service, you will wonder about how you’ll make a profit and where will your clients come. How you will get them? By marketing and targeting the individuals who can benefit from your services. So who are they?

New business owners
Most new business owners take time to create their empire. They brainstorm and develop a plan, secure financing, and get to work. This is how small businesses should get started, but many do not take this route. Some individuals get an idea in their head to start a business and make money; they run with it. Action is key, but so is careful planning. Acting without first thinking of a solid plan is one of the reasons why many new small to medium sized businesses fail. You, as a business coach, can stop that from happening.

Not all new business owners realize the importance of proper training and education. Some mistakenly believe they can do anything themselves. These individuals may need a little push. Lead them to your website or deliver free promotional material highlighting your services. Also, show how they can translate into profits. For example, stress the importance of marketing. Both online and storefront businesses need a solid marketing plan. No one will buy products or pay for services if they don’t know they exist. If speaking directly with a new business owner, ask about their marketing plan. If they do not have one or have a poor thought out plan, stress the dangers and risks of heading down the wrong path.

Business owners not seeing profits
As previously stated, some new small to medium sized business owners do not understand the importance of seeking help. Most believe they can handle all responsibilities on their own. You can use persuasion and proof to change their minds, but still some will not budge. That is why you should not only target new business owners, but businesses in distress. Start with your local community. Have you heard ramblings that a small mom and pop store is about to go under due to increased competition and poor sales? Make your move!

Business owners who aren’t seeing profits, already have a business plan in place. That may be a good plan that just needs a little bit of tweaking. Since the business is already established, you should focus on sales, marketing, and lowering operating costs. When soliciting business from struggling companies, have a set plan in place. Have a step-by-step guide available to show potential clients why you can help and how you will.

Stay-at-home parents looking for a way to increase income
Perform a standard internet search with the phrases “working from home,” “work-at-home moms,” or “work-at-home parents.” You will find online message boards where parents are looking for information on how to make money from home. Some of these individuals just want a job that allows them to work from home, but others are interested in starting their own business. This is another group that is considered your targeted market.

When working with stay-at-home parents, it is important to focus on the business aspect. The internet is filled with online job scams. Most parents can benefit from starting their own business, as opposed to working for someone else. It also provides parents with more freedom and flexibility. Not only can you provide setup, marketing, and sales help to these individuals, but you can feed them ideas. Essentially, you aren’t just a business coach, but a moneymaking coach. Does a stay-at-home dad express his interest in woodworking? Suggest profiting from that passion by creating natural wood decor or toys to sell. If they like the idea, help them turn it into a reality.

Anyone with the dream of starting their own business
As previously stated, you can do more than just help small to medium sized business owners increase their profits. You can also encourage people to follow their passion and profit from it. This does involve more work, as you help someone get their small business off the ground, but it expands your reach. Not only do you have experience coaching small to medium sized business owners, but you now have experience with business setup.

People suffering economic conditions
Real estate during the last 18 months has taken a bath. Homes have dropped in value between 25%-40%. The days of relying on your home equity are over. Your 401k has now become your 201k! Most have fallen upwards of 50%. There are many who were eying retirement in less than 6-10 years and now figure having to work an additional 6-10 just to get to the point they were planning on. Starting a business of their own can help fill the gap left by the economy’s downturn. There are those who would jump at the chance to go into business themselves if they only knew how. That’s where you could come in.

Summary
Your experience and overall business knowledge is the answer to many new and existing businesses. You need to be able to translate the services you provide into advantages a business can tangibly see. By following your business plan this should be easily done and you will have a world of businesses who need your services.

Most business owners believe that an ‘external’ sale of their business is their only (or at least best) Exit Alternative. Typically this is because business owners know that their employees and/or fellow family members don’t have the type of money required to secure a successful exit plan for them. So often times, business owners approach (view or see) the topic of Exiting a business as meaning that they need to sell their business to an outside buyer with enough money to pay them what they want.

So while an ‘external’ sale is intuitively appealing, it’s my experience that an understanding of ‘internal’ transfers will help open up a very good dialogue with a business owner so that they can understand all their options and make a well informed decision. In fact, analysis of an ‘internal’ transfer of the business can be a powerful alternative to a business owner looking for an Exit Strategy. And, depending upon the business owner’s motives, it may be the best alternative available.

‘Internal’ transfers of ownership in a business are often times overlooked because they are not intuitively understood by the business owner and/or the business owner’s advisors. So let’s examine some of the ‘internal’ transfer methods that are available to a business owner to illustrate the benefit of a well-conceived Exit Strategy.

‘Internal’ transfer methods include Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) Transfers, Management Buyouts (Sales to Family and Management), Gifting Strategies, Private Annuities, Family Limited Partnerships, and Charitable Transfer Strategies. The three (3) primary differences between these ‘internal’ transfer alternatives versus (and the) ‘external’ transfer alternatives are:

(i) the corporate assets, including future cash flows, are leveraged to achieve these strategies;

(ii) the driving force behind these ‘engineered’ strategies is a business owner’s motive of passing the business to someone other than an outside buyer, and;

(iii) the business owners will frequently be considering tax planning and estate planning along with their Exit Strategies. ‘Internal’ transfers, as a general rule, allow for more flexibility in these areas than ‘external’ transfers.

A business owner considering an ‘internal’ transfer can set the price and terms for the transfer and say to their family and/or management team, “Here is what I want/need for my business”. For this reason, ‘internal’ transfers are often referred to as ‘controlled’ transactions because the business owner is working with ‘assets’ that they already possess in structuring their Exit from the business. So if those ‘assets’ are sufficient to achieve that business owners’ goals (based on their motives), then it is worthwhile to examine an ‘internal’ transfer.

This is in sharp contrast to a business owner attempting an ‘external’ transfer because they are often subject to a process that includes outsiders investigating their potential investment in the ‘Target Company’ and then telling the business owners, “Here is what we are willing to give you for your business”. So, the Exiting business owner can expect to lose quite a bit of control over the process. And, because many business owners possess a unique psychological mix of independence, intelligence and control orientation, losing control to an outside buyer often leads to ‘choppiness’ in a deal.

Mergers and Acquisitions professionals will often advise business owners that if the business owner wants to set the price for the deal, then the outside buyer will be setting the terms for the deal. A deal is struck when each party is ‘equally happy’. Or, as one dealmaker said, every successful ‘external’ deal is a “little miracle”.

So, one will naturally ask, “What’s the downside of an ‘internal’ transfer versus an ‘external’ transfer”? Quite simply, negotiating with family members and key employees can be inherently dangerous. These individuals (and their advisors) will require detailed and confidential information from the business owner in order to fully understand all the risks inherent in owning the business – really no different than the ‘external’ buyer. And of course, most business owners are not anxious to share all their information with their employees; it goes against the nature of the relationship amongst workers and owners.

So then, how does one go about negotiating an ‘internal’ transfer? The answer is “very carefully”. And, the most cautious first step that a business owner can take is to engage an intermediary – which can be any one of the existing advisors to that business – to assist with the transaction. Having trusted advisors involved in the process raises the level of objectivity and lowers the level of emotions when negotiating the transfer.

Because, after all, if the ‘internal’ transfer does not work out, it will not add a lot of Value to the business to have [further] frustrated employees due to that business owner’s own doing. It’s easier to place blame for a failed transaction with a third party advisor so that all parties involved can amicably return to the business of running [and not transferring] the business.

Yet another downside to an ‘internal’ transfer is the loss of potential for extraordinary gain on the transfer. As a general rule, ‘external’ buyers for businesses include ‘Strategic’ (or industry) buyers and ‘Financial’ (such as Private Equity Groups) buyers.

A Strategic Buyer of a business stands to offer the selling business owner the highest total Value in buying the business because that buyer can apply ‘synergies’ to the valuation of the deal. In other words, a buyer who is already in the same business as the seller, can eliminate duplicate expenses and acquire new customers for their existing products. These ‘synergies’ help raise the Value of the transaction to the Industry buyer, and a good M&A intermediary will argue for the sharing of those synergies with the selling business owner. This synergistic value is likely not available with an ‘internal’ transfer.

So to summarize my original point, a business owner who wants to Exit their business should be aware of the various methods by which an Exit can be directed. Thereafter, consideration should be given to that business owner’s motives. In other words, what is most important to that Exiting business owner and how can it best be accomplished?

An Exit Strategy is defined as ‘The written goals for the succession of a businesses’ ownership and control, derived from a well thought out and properly timed plan that considers all factors, all interested parties, and the personal goals of the owners in a manner and time period that is accommodative to the business, its shareholders, and potential buyers.’ Accordingly, knowing the pros and cons of ‘internal’ and ‘external’ transfers is a critical step in establishing an Exit Strategy.

Exit Strategies are hard to design and even harder to properly execute. I am pleased that you are pursuing a pro-active interest in Exit Strategies because a pro-active approach to an Exit Strategy is the only approach to a successful Exit Strategy.

© 2007 John M. Leonetti