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August 23, 2010

How To Write A Business Plan

Filed under: Business — Tags: , — tedisobandi @ 5:59 pm

Writing a business plan is a fundamental step to ensuring your business has every chance of succeeding. Common statistics state that 9 out of 10 businesses fail on the first 5 years of operation, and of the remaining 10%, 90% fail in the following 5 years.

Why? There may be a number of reasons – from poor customer service, inadequate product, poor logistics management and cost control. However, the number of businesses that do not define their goals and map out their path to success is phenomenal. Taking the step to define your business goals, plan where you want to go and what you want to achieve will place you in an increased position of future success and realization of your dreams.

Below is a list of the areas you need to consider when writing your business plan. These steps will help define the business goals, the reason for existence (of the business), and define the direction you will take.

Step 1 ? Define your vision

You may know inside your head why you want to start a business, and what business it will be. However, your staff will not know this information, and after a time, you too will also forget some of the details. Write down what your mission is ? your purpose and vision for the company. This sets the tone for all business and actions taken on a daily basis, working toward achieving your mission and purpose.

Step 2 ? Set your goals and objectives for the business

Think big. Do not let your own limitations impact on what you think your business is capable of achieving. Define what you short (less than 12 months), medium (1-3 years time frame) and long term goals (usually 3-5 years timeframe) will be. Think of topics such as how much revenue do you want to generate? How many outlets will you have? How much passive income will it produce for you in the future? How many customers on your database will you have? What will be your geographic area of influence? These goals will be a combination of your personal goals for your own life blended with that of the life of the business.

Step 3 ? Define your USP

In order to stand out form the crowd, it is imperative that you know and define your USP ? Unique Selling Proposition. What it is that you offer and provide that is different to other people in the market? It may be that you offer additional services to your core product; it may be that you have a more personalized customer service approach; it may be your after sales service and warrantee on the product. What is it that your customer will be attracted to above other businesses offering the same service or product? Once you know this, then you can use it as a focus for your customers to recognize you and remember you.

Step 4 ? Know your market

Have you ever thought up a brilliant idea and began to investigate it, only to find out that another business has already started with that exact same idea? This happens daily to many people, but do not be discouraged. The marketplace is huge and can support a number of businesses providing the same service. Look at petrol stations and dry cleaners as an example. So, get to know the market ? your market. How many competitors are there? What do they offer? What have the trends been in the industry? What might be the future trends and predicted growth/decline of the industry? Are there any benchmarks you can base your business performance on, such as profit margins, expected turnover per business size, and so on? Once you have a broader picture of the market you are entering into, you will be better equipped to handle and maximize your potential business growth.

Step 5 ? Know your customer

Without doubt, this is one of the most important aspects of running a business. You must know your customer. For the most part, products or services that are not a necessity, and where there are a number of suppliers for the same item, your customer will buy on emotion. Understanding and defining why they do what they do is the key to success. There may be a number of factors that are common amongst your target audience for your business services. By researching and finding out what these are, you will be able to see what areas you can focus on where there is a need, and what areas will not interest them. Write down what your ideal customer will look like, behave like and want from you. Seeing your business through their eyes will help to highlight your strengths and any weaknesses you might have.

Step 6 ? Research the demand for your business

It is important to know what the demand is for your product, before spending large amounts of capital on your business. Do not go off your ‘gut instinct’ as to whether there are droves of people waiting to buy your product. The simple rule is this ? if the demand exceeds supply, business will be great. If supply exceeds demand, your business will eventually die. A saturated market can only support a few businesses, and often these organizations have a USP clearly defined that helps them stand out from the rest. Secondary research can be conducted from your home (via the Internet), the library and some government offices, that can help you ascertain the levels of demand for your product or service. Primary research ? talking to your target audience and gathering the data yourself ? may be needed. This is by far the better option of finding out the results know, rather than spending your savings and capital on a business that gives a low or negative return in the future.

Step 7 ? Set your marketing goals

Having completed the market research and defined why you want to do business in the first place, you will need to set some marketing goals. These are goals that relate to your product, your price, your distribution or provision of service, and your promotions. So many organizations want to start at this end of the planning process, but they miss the most important areas. Your marketing goals will need to be measurable and help you reach your primary objectives for your business. For example ? how many products will you sell? What product development strategy will you have? What are your price margins? How will you deliver your product or service to your customer? How will your customer know about you, and how will you promote your business? These are all sample questions designed to generate ideas and goals for the marketing of your business.

Step 8 ? Define your marketing strategy

Having defined your marketing goals, you will need to plan in detail how you will achieve these goals. How many items will you produce, and at what price margin (that will give you your desired revenue goal)? What delivery system and what geographical area will you cover? In what areas and how will you promote your business? Will you use TV, radio, or print advertising ? or all three? You can be very specific if you have to, as this is one of the major plans you will be referring to through the course of your business life, so be comfortable with it and know how to use it.

Step 9 ? Take Action!

This is the MOST important step of all. Take action! All of the preparation in the world will never earn you a single dollar if you don’t actually open your doors and make the phone calls that will bring the customer to you. Even if your business planning process has highlighted that maybe this area of business isn’t for you ? don’t let that stop you from finding one that is. If your ultimate dream is to be happy, healthy and wealthy, then there is a business for you. If you are doing something everyday that gets you closer to your ultimate goal, then your business plan will provide the direction and focus for the journey. So, begin taking action today, and reap the rewards that will follow.

Mathew Tibble is the owner of Unlimited Ebusiness Pty Ltd, and operates its main site http://www.BusinessPlanningMadeEasy.com A combination of sales and marketing experience over the past 9 years, and a strong passion to help small businesses and charities improve their success, has led to the development and delivery of business planning and marketing services. For more information visit http://www.businessplanningmadeeasy.com or email info@businessplanningmadeeasy.com

August 17, 2010

How to Make Your Business Image Stand Out Above The Crowd

Filed under: Business — Tags: , — drppanda @ 11:58 pm

Traditional advertising methods are still being used for almost 90% of businesses today. The number one problem with this, is that all everyone else seems to be following the same old methods.

No matter how expensive, does your advertising look and sound like a lot of other advertising? If you take a look at your business card design, flyer design, brochures, letterheads, web page design and any other methods you are doing, you’ll probably find some very familiar pattern to looking like your competition.

Just because “everyone else” believes that the traditional method of image advertising is the way to get business does not mean that it is the only way…or the best way. Thousands of people go out of business, or miss a lot of business, because of “traditional” thinking. Don’t fall into the trap of being an advertising look a like.

If you follow everybody else, you’ll likely end up being like 90% of the people in business on your way out or, at best, making a medium income. There are two things your marketing should do for your business

1) It gets the response that you want – it gets people to respond to you.

2) It lets you provide good products or services to your customers that you do get, so that you are making an above average income and get enjoyment out of your ongoing successful business. A business that started and runs with marketing that appeals to what people really do want, instead of what you think they should want.

In order for you and your business to become a success, being different is something you’re going to have to accept. Sometimes being different means that other business people will not like you, or will think you are not appealing or think other things about you that you don’t want them to think. But again, the reality of this is, who are you trying to impress? Are you trying to impress your peers, or are you trying to get and help customers who need your product or service?

Think about this hard, because if you are really scared about being different, this might not be the system for you. But, then again, being different doesn’t mean being sleazy, obnoxious, unethical or illegal. It just means different.

Sometimes the old tradition, especially in industries that are tired and steeped in tradition, think being different with being unethical or illegal. That’s far from the truth.

We all know that being different simply means different. And hopefully, you’ll see this as a part of becoming a success or more successful as time moves on with your business operations.

The reality is that you have no image, and no one thinks about you until they have a reason to. Being worried about what others think is a waste of energy and time. Spend your time worrying about what your prospects who are interested in what you have to offer think.

They’re the ones who are going to buy from you and they’re the only people you should be concerned with. If your peers or others don’t like what you’re doing, that’s their problem, not yours.

This change of attitude is a challenge, but very necessary especially when focusing on what is important. This type of thinking and rationalizing only matters what your prospects think is important. It doesn’t matter what I think, or what your competition thinks. As long as your prospects and customers are happy, then you should be happy!

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as the byline is included and the article is included in it’s entirety. I also ask that you activate any html links found in the article and in the byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com

Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media, a leading performance-based Internet advertising company dedicated in helping small businesses create online presence, brand recognition and online automation. Main company web site: http://www.multiplestreammktg.com

Small Businesses With Work Trucks; A Warning

Filed under: Business — Tags: , — aishiteri @ 5:55 pm

If you are a non-operator owner of many work trucks, you should keep your business credit card with you not leave it in one of the trucks. You should not issue them to employees without strict guidlines. Employees may tend to abuse credit cards by buying things that are not an emergency such as tires that are over priced instead of simply plugging a hole in a flat or spraying fix-a flat into the valve stem.

Here is a story:

A franchisee’s manager who we’ll call ‘Arnold’ had a blow-out in one of the rear tires on the duallies. It turned out the valve stem ripped out. He drove about two miles to a tire shop and decided to take care of the problem. The tires were one-half worn, good for another 10,000 miles or one-half year. When he got to the tire shop, he could have:

Purchased a valve stem for $2.50

Put a tube in the tire for $10.00-$15.00

Or bought a used tire that was one-half worn to match the other set.

Arnold wasn’t sure if he had destroyed the structural integrity of the tire by driving the two miles to the tire shop. So he decided to replace the tire and not just the valve stem. Since he had a company credit card and it wasn’t his money, he purchased a new tire for $75.00 plus $5.00 mounting and tax plus $2.00 for balancing. About $90.00 in all. Unfortunately, it didn’t match the other three rear wheel tires and the tire man said "Tell you what I’m going to do!" He sold Arnold what he called real truck tires, four (4) of them for $350.00 calling them ‘on sale.’ The four used tires were taken off and thrown into the used pile. Arnold drove off with four new tires.

The next day, Steve, another franchisee noticed his tires needed to be replaced. He owned the franchise that bordered Bill’s franchise. (Bill is Arnold’s boss.) He drove to Herb’s tire shop where Arnold went the day before. Herb’s manager that helped Arnold into a new set of tires figured Steve was an easy kill but this time the $90.00 per tire became $109.00 a tire and a set of four was only $440.00 on ‘super sale’ of course. Steve also had a company credit card, but unlike Arnold, Steve had to pay the bill. Steve asked about used tires. The manager of the tire store tried to persuade Steve for ten minutes with talk on the safety of new tires. Meanwhile, Steve’s helper had already signed up three car washes and had completed one. The manager of the tire shop gave up in frustration on trying to close the big sale and said "I have four used tires the right size but they are in good shape so I need $30.00 each plus $5.00 for mounting and tax and $2.00 for balancing." Steve laughed and said "No tax. I pay cash and it will have to be more like $20.00 per tire including everything. The manager said "I’ll have to ask Herb." Herb said "Cash. Hell yes! Put them in the front of the line."

By this time Steve’s worker was wiping down his third car. $80.00 for four tires is a good deal, right! Right, but Steve asked Herb if he wanted his car washed and waxed. Herb said "How much?" Steve said "How about $50.00 off my used tires?" Herb said "Great." So Steve washed and vacuumed Herb’s car and then brought his truck into the work bay. Steve paid:

$80.00 Cash Price -50.00 Trade = $30.00 Amount To Be Paid – $15.00 Amount Made By His Worker = $15.00 For Four Tires

Hmm. Good Deal? Yes or No? Well guess what. Herb sold Steve Arnold’s old tires that he got for free because Arnold left them there. Herb’s manager charged Arnold a $1.00 disposal fee for the used tires.

Moral of the Story:

Trade whenever possible

Don’t let employees have company credit cards

You can always get a better deal for cash

Company credit cards are good in some ways. For instance, you will get an itemized invoice monthly, which is good for record keeping. They are also good for making purchases over the phone or by mail. Credit cards make things much easier. They are also a necessity for ordering supplies from your online small business vendors. Think about it.

“Lance Winslow” – If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

August 16, 2010

7 Reasons To Take Control Of Your Small Business? Checking Needs

Filed under: Business — Tags: , — regfife @ 5:56 pm

Business checks are available in many styles and varieties. They offer many benefits to your small business, some you may not have thought of.

1. Printing your own checks is easy. With the newest computer software that is available, anybody can figure it out. The programs can work with your other business software, eliminating exhaustive input.

2. You have control. Outsourcing your payroll and other payments to another company will come with unwanted issues. By printing your own checks, you have the control.

3. It’s easy to make changes. Using another company to print your checks creates many lines of necessary communication. All of this communication takes time, which takes time away from your small business.

4. Personalization. There are many options for you to personalize your business checks. Choose many styles or you can create your own. Place your company’s logo or watermark on your checks to create your identity.

5. Options. Whatever type of check is right for your accounting needs, you have plenty of options. There are three-per-page checks or full-page continuous feed computer checks. All styles are designed to work in your printer, laser or ink jet.

6. Versatility. When you lose or gain new employees and need to make changes to your payroll, you can do it yourself. There is no delay in the changes when you have the control.

7. Cost. Taking on responsibility for your books will allow you to save a few bucks. Business checks and software is fairly inexpensive and will reflect a savings on your bottom line.

By rolling up your sleeves and jumping into your books will only take a few minutes a day. Buying your business checks will present an opportunity to save time and money, allowing you to focus on the reasons you went into business to begin with.

Robb Ksiazek is a successful author and publisher for http://www.checks-4u.com. He has researched and written hundreds of articles and can simplify your online search by recommending merchants for the best value and selections in business or personal checks, address labels, rubber stamps and envelopes.

August 15, 2010

Business Debt Collection Letter Writing Secrets

Filed under: Business — Tags: , — wordwelder @ 11:56 pm

Debt collection letters–an overview

"Debt collection letter" in the singular may be an oxymoron, since unfortunately, one is rarely enough. You should have a series of letters to send to deadbeat clients, each one becoming a little more insistent. Here are some ideas for a five-letter series.

Don’t make your first letter look like a collection letter at all. Make it a friendly note. You’re more likely to get money from someone who thinks of you as a partner than a dun.

If that first letter doesn’t get a response–and usually it won’t–send another the next week that’s more urgent and directly asks for the money. Express your concern that you have not been able to contact the client. Ask if he or she is all right, and if he or she is having any trouble paying. The next week, if you still have not gotten a response, send a letter referring to the payment terms in the agreement you and the client originally made (you did have some kind of written agreement, even if it was just on the back of your invoice, right?). Mention the effect this nonpayment is having on your cash flow, and that your business’s cash flow is just as important as theirs.

Still no response by the next week? State plainly that you are asking for the money for the final time before referring it to collections. Include a copy of the entire agreement between you and the client.

If you still have not heard back from the client, and are confident that you do not simply have a problem with their contact information, call a collection agency-in fact, you may have wanted to have gotten a collection agency from step one (more on that below).

More Tips for Successful Debt Collections

Don’t wait to start asking for your money.

If it’s been a week since the payment deadline passed, it’s been a week too long. Send out that first "reminder" letter today. Don’t hesitate to send these letters as little as a week apart from each other. The longer your bill goes unpaid, the less likely it is you will ever see that money again. If you’ve been sending email, try sending paper.

For whatever reason, there are people who take a paper letter more seriously. There’s also the real chance that your emails really are not getting through reliably, or are ending up at the bottom of an overflowing Inbox.

If you do send email, make sure it’s digitally signed. A digital signature proves that you sent the email to the specific recipient. In fact, you might want to make sure all your emails to clients and prospects are digitally signed, to have solid documentation of everything you said, and everything they owe.

Unlike with regular emails, the date, time, "to" and "from" fields can’t be forged, so the email has legal standing, even more than certified mail. While web-based email programs cannot send digitally signed email, there are third-party services that will let you send hundreds of digitally signed emails from a desktop email program for only a few dollars a month.

Follow up your debt collection letter with a telephone call. As any collection agency will tell you, telephone calls are useful if your debtor has ignored the collection letters. But with caller ID, Caller Blocking and voice mail – if people don’t want to take your calls it is hard to reach them. This technique could be especially effective in the case of someone with whom you know will answer their own phone.

Of course, your writing skills won’t go to waste: you need to make sure you have scripted what you want to say. You should take the same attitude and touch on the same points as your letter. Whatever you do, don’t let yourself get sidetracked, and don’t be embarrassed. They’re the ones who are putting you out.

Don’t know your deadbeat’s telephone number? Try looking up the "Whois" record of the business’s website, which usually has the owner’s telephone number.

Does all this sound like too much work? If you’d rather be writing proposals than collection letters, there are small business collection agencies that will take on debts for as little as $20 each. After all, your client had enough sense to go to you rather than doing your specialty themselves. Shouldn’t you have as much sense when it comes to your debt collection letters?

Steve Austin is a regular contributor to Let No Debt Remain Outstanding (http://www.let-no-debt-remain-outstanding.com/), a website with articles on choosing a collection agency, along with recommended the best collection agencies.

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