Six Steps to Guarantee Your Business Success

Many of us slave away for years for one uninspiring company after another and dream of the day when we can sack the boss and go it alone.

If you’re contemplating starting your own business then I’m here cheering you on from the sidelines because the best decision I ever made was to walk away from my well paid but oh so frustratingly boring job and start my own business from scratch.

I’d always believed in Bob Dylan’s definition of success - “a man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” And it was these words and this sentiment that drove me to seek out business success on my own.

While I was in the planning stages of things I read around a lot and discovered that there are six main steps that you can follow to give your business the best chance of survival and success. With hindsight I can confirm that these six steps do guarantee your business success, so here they are for you, use them as your guide: -

1) Plan to Succeed

“Action without planning is the cause of all failure. Action with planning is the cause of all success.” - Brian Tracy.

You need to establish an intricate business plan that will guide you through the start-up hurdles and ongoing development of your business. Whether you’re planning on establishing a global company that will eventually employ many individuals or you’re intending to establish an on-line business from your bedroom that will employ only you, you must spend the necessary time and effort plotting out how exactly your company will be established, who your customers are, how you will reach them, how you will finance your ongoing operations and where exactly you’re headed with your business.

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework.” - Thomas Edison

Be a business genius, remember the planning stages are critical to the future success of your business - don’t rush them.

2) Money Matters

“Before you can really start setting financial goals, you need to determine where you stand financially.” - David Bach

You need to look at your own personal financial situation and determine exactly how much money you will need to live on, how much money you have to invest in your business, how much money is required to start up and run your company and how exactly you’re going to fund the future of your business. Get down to the financial nitty gritty before you get down to business and you will avoid the number one reason why businesses fail - namely, lack of capital.

Crunch those numbers and be realistic rather than fatalistic or optimistic! You can and will succeed, but first you must arm yourself with the boring facts and figures and then you can put in place the financing you need.

3) To Score Goals You Have To Set Goals

“Most people struggle with life balance simply because they haven’t paid the price to decide what is really important to them.” - Stephen Covey

Having mapped out your business journey intricately, having put in place the financing you will need to travel the path towards success you have to begin setting yourself business and personal goals. If you have nothing to aim for you will never achieve your target! Where do you want to be in one month’s time, where do you want your company to be in one year’s time?

Set stage goals for you, your company, your employees, your finances and your success. Follow your progress closely, keep one eye on your goals and you will never fail to succeed.

4) Sure Up Support and Understanding

“Getting things accomplished isn’t nearly as important as taking time for love.” - Janette Oke

No man is an island therefore your hopes, dreams, ambitions and goals should be shared with your loved ones and they need to give you the support and understanding required for success.

Starting a business is always challenging, it is at times stressful and it can take up a very large part of your life. If you explain what you’re doing and why you’re doing it to your loved ones they will give you the time, love and support you need to succeed.

At the same time it is critical that you do not lose your perspective and fail to take the time necessary to love and care for your family. All too often you hear tired and stressed out businessmen and women complaining of a lack of spousal understanding, whining that they are working so hard directly for the benefit of said spouse - this creates disharmony and acrimony on both sides - what a waste of a great life!

Get everything in perspective and keep everything in perspective at all times, and bring your family and friends on board for guaranteed success.

5) Protect What’s Important

“Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power.” - Seneca

To further deprive misfortune of its power you can put in place various insurance policies to protect yourself, your family, your current situation and your business from undue risk. Because there are no two ways about it, starting out on your own is a risky business - focus on the success of your business and follow these six steps and you will achieve all you want to. And in the interim protect what’s important to you - for example, think long and hard before mortgaging your family home to fund your company! Get business and personal indemnity insurance in place, make sure health and life insurance policies are in place protecting you, your family and any key employees.

But - don’t get hung up on this point because worrying unduly about risk will blinker your vision. Deal with this point and move on!

6) Face The Enemy - Deal Directly With Accountants & Lawyers

“Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern its acquisition.” - George Clason

Every single business has to act within the laws of the countries it operates in and deals with and every single business has certain reporting and taxation requirements. These are definite hurdles designed to restrict the visionary, but they are necessary hurdles to protect a company’s consumers, a business’ partners and a country’s economy.

Take the time to establish a good working relationship with your company’s accountant and lawyer. Make sure your company is properly structured from the start and that you fully understand and adhere to taxation and reporting deadlines and rules.

Know what is expected of you, understand why it’s important to follow the rules and structures that have been put in place and have a system to deal with tax returns, pay runs, company disclosure and contract negotiations and remember: -

“Taxes are not good things, but if you want services, somebody’s got to pay for them so they’re a necessary evil.” - Michael Bloomberg

Use these six steps as the guide towards your business success and always strive to keep your vision alive because “vision is perhaps our greatest strength?it has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries, it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown.” - Li Ka Shing

Rhiannon Williamson is the co-creator of Shelter Offshore - an innovative and exciting company which is specialist in international real estate, the offshore financial world and starting a brand new life or business overseas for expatriates, international investors and anyone dreaming of escaping the rat race and living an unrestricted life to the full.

Small Business CRM Is Here To Stay

If you ask most small business owners what priority CRM has in their short-term business plans, chances are you’ll get more than one blank stare. The fact is that most small business owners don’t even know what CRM is not to mention how significantly it can benefit their growing company. This prevailing ignorance of small business CRM (customer relationship management) usually stems from just a few basic causes.

Excuses not to invest in small business CRM
The first and most common reason for disinterest in small business CRM is the very nature of small business. With limited financial and personnel resources at their disposal, business owners believe they can’t afford the money or time that a small business CRM system would require to show a significant ROI. Often times the chief concern is just staying afloat long enough to sign that big contract or receive a large product order.

Still other owners of new businesses believe that they can build and maintain quality customer relations simply by the virtue of the their cordial personality or particular market niche. They see small business CRM as an unessential luxury to be enjoyed exclusively by their larger competitors. What these owners often find is that without sufficient small business CRM support their business will never expand beyond the number of customer names they can remember. The problem is compounded when the company expands into internet sales (an essential move by any growing company) and suddenly finds its present customer tracking system overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming customer information.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line, as all successful small business owners have learned, is that it takes more than one good idea to build long-term business growth and stability. You may be great at attracting new customers to your business, but if you fail to care for, track, and understand your customer base, not only will you hemorrhage your hard-won clientele, you will also fail to capitalize on future opportunities by not anticipating future market trends.

The Solution
The good news about small business CRM is that there is an increasing number of automated systems available at prices that most smaller companies can afford without too much difficulty, usually around $2000 a year. Some CRM companies, effectively eliminating the need for small business owners to micromanage their CRM system, largely manage newer small business CRM systems. Now small business owners can reap the benefits of a smooth running CRM system with a minimal time/financial investment.

Features to look for in a small business CRM system
There are many features available to small business CRM users designed to not only track sales, but also cause sales. Here are some features to look for.
- Power Dialing-This feature allows your outbound sales agents to place 300%-400% as many sales calls, effectively quadrupling your workforce.
- Voice Messaging System-Allows you to automatically record and send sales calls designed to elicit a customer call back.
- Custom Fax and Email-Following up on leads with timely fax and email can mean the difference between closing sales and missing out on potential revenue.

Other ‘must-have’ features include:

- Calendaring
- Marketing management
- Sales management
- Order and quote management
- Service management

With the ability to outsource these business functions, small business owners can concentrate on implementing strategies that they’ve had to hold off on due to lack of customer information and/or time.

About the author:

Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in phone sales. For more information on small business CRM, please visit Inside Sales.

Small business investments

State laws have been relaxed to make it easier for small business to raise start-up and growth financing from the public. Many investors view this as an opportunity to ‘get in on the ground floor’ of an emerging business and to ‘hit it big’ as the small businesses grow into large ones.

Statistically, most small businesses fail within the first few years. Small business investments are among the most risky that investors can make. This guide suggests factors to consider for determining whether you should make a small business investment.

Risks and investment strategy
A basic principle of investing in a small business is: Never make small business investments that you cannot afford to lose! Never use funds that may be needed for other purposes, such as college education, retirement, loan repayment, or medical expenses.
Instead, use funds that would otherwise be used for a consumer purchase, such as a vacation or a down payment on a boat or a new car.

Above all, never let a commissioned securities salesperson or office or directors of a company convince you that the investment is not risky. Small business investments are generally hard to convert to cash (illiquid), even though the securities may technically be freely transferable. Thus, you will usually be unable to sell your securities if the company takes a turn for the worse.

In addition, just because the state has registered the offering does not mean that the particular investment will be successful. The state does not evaluate or endorse any investments. If anyone suggests otherwise, they are breaking the law.

If you plan to invest a large amount of money in a small business, you should consider investing smaller amounts in several small businesses. A few highly successful investments can offset the unsuccessful ones. However, even when using this strategy, only invest money you can afford to lose.

Analyzing the investment
Although there is no magic formula for making successful investment decisions, certain factors are considered important by professional venture investors. Some questions to consider are:

- How long has the company been in business? If it is a start-up or has only a brief operating history, are you being asked to pay more than the shares are worth?
- Consider whether management is dealing unfairly with investors by taking salaries or other benefits that are too large in view of the company’s stage of development, or by retaining an inordinate amount of equity stock of the company compared with the amount investors will receive. For example, is the public putting up 80 percent of the money but only receiving 10 percent of the company shares?
- How much experience does management have in the industry and in a small business? How successful were the managers in previous businesses?
- Do you know enough about the industry to be able to evaluate the company and to make a wise investment?
- Does the company have a realistic marketing plan and do they have the resources to market the product or service successfully?
- How or when will you get a return on your investment?

Making money on your investment
The two classic methods of making money on an investment in a small business are resale of stock in the public securities markets following a public offering, and receiving cash or marketable securities in a merger or other acquisition of the company.

If the company is not likely to go public or be sold out within a reasonable time (i.e., a family-owned or closely held corporation), it may not be a good investment for you - despite its prospects for success - because of the lack of opportunity to cash in on the investment. Management of a successful private company may receive a good return indefinitely through salaries and bonuses, but it is unlikely that there will be profits sufficient to pay dividends in proportion with the risk of the investment.

Other suggestions
Investors must be provided with a disclosure document - a prospectus - before making a final decision to invest. You need to read this material before investing.
Even the best small business venture offerings are highly risky. If you have a nagging sense of doubt, there is probably a good reason for it. Good investments are based on sound business criteria and not emotions. If you are not entirely comfortable, the best approach is usually not to invest. There will be many other opportunities. Do not let a securities salesperson pressure you into making a decision.

It is generally a good idea to see management of the company face-to-face to size them up. Focus on experience and record of accomplishment rather than a smooth sales presentation. If possible, take a sophisticated businessperson with you to help in your analysis. Beware of any information that differs from, or is not included in the disclosure document. All significant information is required by law to be in the disclosure document. Immediately report any problems to your state Office of the Commissioner of Securities.

Conclusion
Greater numbers of public investors are ‘getting on the ground floor’ by investing in small businesses. When successful, these enterprises enhance the economy and provide jobs. They can also provide new investment opportunities, but the advantages must be balanced against the risky nature of small business investments.

There Are Tons Of Small Business Grants For Womwn…But Where?

When starting a small business it can be costly, and finding a
grant if you’re a women isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
Little do most people know, there are millions of dollars just
waiting to be claimed for grants from the government and other
little-known organizations. It can be very difficult to find
the right grant for you, and the place of where to get it, but
with a few clicks you too can easily get access to small
business grants for women.

It is not a secret that women are beginning to own more and more
businesses everyday. Not only this, but these businesses are
becoming just as successful if not more then men’s businesses
are. If you are looking for a grant, don’t be hesitant to look
because of what the business is going to be. There are
literally hundreds to thousands of grants out there for women
wanting to start craft businesses, consulting, brokerage, record
labels and more.

When looking for a grant, there is the option of spending
hundreds of dollars to pay somebody to get you a grant.
However, there are other ways that are completely free, but may
be more time consuming then you would hope. One site that is
worth checking out is The Ladies Club 2000.com. It is required
that you sign up and become a member, free of charge, but then
you will have access to grant information on how you can become
qualified for a grant and where you can find grants to begin
your business or increase your business.

http://www.theladiesclub2000.com/grantsforwomen.htm

There are all kinds of companies out there, and the type of
grant that you will receive varies for place to place. On
womens-finance.com, there are two different kinds of grants
offered. There is the New Business grant that is between $100
and $5,000, and there is the existing business grand that ranges
from $1,000-$5,000. You do have to apply at this site and be
accepted, but it is worth checking this site out below:

http://www.womensbusinessgrants.com/

It may not seem like it, but our government does want you to
succeed, and that is why there is millions of dollars out there
for you. Most places have ridiculous requirements in order to
get a grant such as being over 65, being a minority, or even
having bad credit sometimes help the process.

There are sites out there that are specifically looking for
women only to give grants to. These sites are attempting to
help the women population succeed in entrepreneurialism and
begin the road to succession. The site listed just below here
has a list of about ten different sites that are specifically
looking for women to give grants to.

http://www.womanowned.com/Growing/Funding/Opportunities.aspx

There is no reason to get frustrated after not having any luck
finding loans. The government wants you to succeed in opening
your small business, or help develop it that much more. There
are a few sites listed above that are very much worth checking
out to help you find small business grants for women. Don’t get
discouraged as this can be time consuming, but once you find the
financial help needed, you will be on your way to developing
your business.

About the author:
Small business grants and small business resources to help you start and run your own business. Small business training, information, articles, loans, and more.
http://www.sites-plus.com

It’s Time To Get All Strategic - Small Business Marketing Stategy

So what’s your small business marketing strategy? I’m willing to bet that close to 85% of the people reading this are scratching their heads now. Many small business owners fail to create a marketing strategy at all, instead focusing on tactics.

Let me give you one of the definitions of strategy from the fine folks at Merriam Webster: a : a careful plan or method : a clever strategem b : the art of devising or employing plans or strategems toward a goal

So a strategy is a plan and the implementation of that plan. Tactics are merely the methods with which which you carry out that plan.

Planning is important in small business marketing for a few reasons:

-Planning helps insure you keep a consistent marketing effort.
-Planning helps you set goals and move towards reaching them.
-Planning helps you set and stick to a budget.

Many small business owners are intimidated by the idea of a marketing plan. They think it needs to be a huge formal document with financials and charts. It can be that, particularly if you are going for funding. However, if you are just in business for yourself, your marketing plan can be very simple.

Here are some items I think it should include:

-Your overall vision, value proposition, and unique selling position
-A list of your target markets, and what you know about them
-Your budget for marketing
-A list of strengths and weaknesses with the customer facing side of your business.
-A list of steps you are going to take (I recommend a marketing calendar)
-There are three ways to increase your revenue, and your plan should take each into account:

1. Increase your number of customers
2. Increase the amount of your average transaction
3. Increase the frequency at which your customers buy from you

Most marketing efforts I encounter focus only on #1. However #1 represents the most expensive, difficult, and slow method for increasing revenues.

Remember that marketing is not just advertising and PR. Your plan should encompass your customers’ entire experience with you. It might include changing the way you answer the phone, more frequent followup calls, cleaning the bathrooms at your store more often, adding plants to your reception area. your plan also might include some kind of customer satisfaction survey, maybe during followup calls or during a visit to your business.

Your plan might also include presenting your products or services better, or repackaging them in different ways. It might have you creating a new brochure, or giving sales training to your staff.

Your plan should include the tactics you want to use, and a budget for each tactic.

There’s an old military aphorism that goes: Even the best possible battle plan has not survived first contact with the enemy. This basically means that the unpredictable always happens - it’s what makes life interesting. Do not be afraid to revise your marketing plan to respond to changing conditions. However, you still need a consistent and intelligent marketing effort.

You should be able to capitalize on new opportunities and respond to new challenges.

Plan and stay consistent - you will outpace most of your competition.

About the author:
J D Moore Small Business Marketing Coach “helping small business owners inprove marketing results” http://marketingcomet.typepad.com

Are You Using the Right Form of Energy?

As we near the end of summer, here is a question I have for you, ‘Are you using the right form of energy to grow your business?’ Are you having trouble growing your small business as fast as you want? Are you making all the right moves and still the business just inches forward? Read this article and see if you are using the right form of energy to grow your small business?

Head Energy
My consulting experiences have taught me there are two types of business energy. I call the first type ‘head energy’. This is the energy that comes from wanting to do better or more with your small business.

- You want more profits.
- You want more customers.
- You want better marketing.

Head energy is very powerful. It can inspire. It can achieve dreams. It can drive you forward.
Head energy also has limitations. Head energy promises fulfillment in the future. Before the future arrives you must sustain yourself along the way. If you fail to sustain the head energy, your hopes and aspirations tumble down. They become ‘the good idea that was never achieved!’

Gut Energy
I call the second type of small business energy ‘gut energy’. This energy involves your current business worries; your current business mistakes; the business issues that need fixing right now.

- What is decreasing your profits now?
- What is preventing you from having more customers now?
- What are your current marketing mistakes?

I call this gut energy because it sits right in your gut, churning away. This is extremely powerful energy because it is so immediate. It is right now! It calls for immediate attention. Fix the situation now!
Gut energy is not as glamorous as head energy. It is always more fun to dream about your future than to do the hard work of fixing your current mistakes. But when you want to see immediate improvements in your business, turn to your gut energy.

9 Common Small Business Mistakes

Here I list the 9 most common small business mistakes. Ask yourself if you are making mistakes in any of these areas. If so, you have the opportunity to find powerful energy to move your business forward.

1. Lack of cash flow
2. Poor planning
3. Forgetting your customer
4. Selling versus marketing
5. Lacking needed expertise
6. Misunderstanding credit
7. Becoming an advertising victim
8. Poor customer shopping experiences
9. Making yourself the center of your business

If you find yourself wondering how you can use your mistakes to grow your business, you may want to request my free report, 9 Mistakes That Can Kill Your Small Business. In the report, I provide more details about each of these business mistakes and ways to fix them. You can achieve powerful results in fixing your business mistakes. The report will help you find ways to use this energy to grow your business faster.
To obtain this free report, 9 Mistakes That Can Kill Your Small Business, click here, Free Report, a preaddressed email will be pop up, press the send button. The report will be sent to you via email with the report attached.

Conclusion

Head energy is a necessary part of every small business operation. It provides the vision you need for the future. For quick and immediate improvements, do not over look the gut energy you will find in fixing your current business mistakes. Your gut energy will offer a wonderful opportunity for growing your business in a fast and easy way.

© Al Hanzal August 2004

About the author:
Using simple, low costs strategies, Al Hanzal has helped small business owners improve their profits.

What Factors Determine Term Life Insurance Rates

Term life insurance policies provide a limited coverage period, which is determined by the policy owner. Term life insurance rates are actually the cheapest form of life insurance, but there are different rates for different people. This is because once the term of the policy is up you don’t receive any payout from the policy. If you take out life insurance at a young age, you will get much better term life insurance rates than if you wait until you are older.

The total cost of your term life insurance rates can be tricky. Some term life insurance policies appear to cost more, but may, in fact, be cheaper when you look at the total cost of the term life insurance policy. For example, annual renewable policies increase your premiums every year and thus may appear to be more expensive than level term policies where the premiums never increase (although the initial premiums for a level term policy will be higher). But, in fact, level premium policies may involve higher costs over the policy’s full term, and become particularly expensive when you try to renew your policy at the end of the term. This is why you do have to compare term life insurance quotes.

Some of the factors that influence your term life insurance rates are:
- Whether or not you smoke. Tobacco users are twice as likely to die as non tobacco users while they are insured. Life insurance companies take this into account when they set their premium and cash benefits levels. You can save from 20% to 30% on premiums by quitting smoking.

- Medical Record. If you have a terminal illness, it is unlikely that any life insurance company will issue a policy. In the case of heart disease, you will get a policy but your rates will be high

- Occupation. if you work in a dangerous occupation, such as working on a ship that carries gas, this will put you into a higher bracket when it comes to getting rates for term insurance. You will have to shop around to compare term life insurance quotes if you are in this category.

Term life insurance rates vary a lot, and you can do something about your premiums by taking some decisions to become more healthy, like giving up smoking.

About the author:
For a website totally devoted to Life Insurance visit Peter’s Website Life Insurance Answers at http://www.life-insurance-answers.com/and find out about Life Insurance as well as Cheap Life Insurance at http://www.life-insurance-answers.com/cheap-life-insurance.htmland more, including Online Life Insurance, Term Life Insurance and Life Insurance Agents.