Starting Business Tips - Strategic Planning for your business

Music Business - Made Possible in Music Business

2010-02-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

Music lovers, music enthusiasts and music players have one common thing that makes them different from other artists—their interest in music. Any form or type of music can be categorized as a hobby, entertainment, job, interest, lifestyle and many more. It influences people in a way that it becomes part of ones life. Music is everywhere. Thanks to those music insiders who make it possible to reach and influence people in the way how music should. To learn more about what's up in the music industry, there is a community site that speaks about any subjects related to the music—the Music Biz.

Music Business is a site that is full of interesting articles and interaction that promotes interests to independent artists and other people who are into the music business. It is composed mainly of editorials which show articles that are based on opinions, point of views, analysis and comments of people who do the inside job in the music industry. Independent artists can learn from these articles since they are intended to inform at the same time relate to the significant events and issues in the music world. The editorial comes from different contributors that are well versed about how the situation in music industry. Aside from editorials, Music Business also provides news on current events in the music industry. These are news articles that are up to date from which independent artists can rely and get updates on what is going on with the producers, market, singers, bands, activities, events and other subject in music business. Feature articles are also the main components of Music Biz from which independent artists can also get informed and updated.

Although Music Business is generally a place where independent artists can be informed and be related, it is actually a community site by category. It interacts with other artists by providing avenues of exchange in insight and personal opinions. Aside form expressing these insights through articles written in editorials, it also has a forum and a review section from which independent artists can air out whatever is in their mind in a way that does not form an article. By forum, independent artists can exchange ideas relevant to music concerns. All they have to do is log in or join the group from which music is the common interest and discuss whatever subject is at hand. The forum has categories so that independent artists or members of Music Biz can choose which among the categories do the independent artist or their subjects belong. It will also provide visitors easy access to the forum based on the subjects that are categorized. In this way, the interaction is friendly to the visitor wants to view the forum. Interacting with people who have the same interest about a certain subject can widen ones perspective.

The reviews relates to particular subject such as mp3, albums, artists, events, and even movies. This will also provide insight on what a particular subject or object is all about without necessarily building an article.

Written by Greg Joes

Music Marketing Ideas on the Cutting Edge

2010-02-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

1) Give your music away, hell...if you are a new act, you are unknown anyway, so by giving your music away in either analog or digital ways you can help create a ‘Buzz’ and stand out from the other 75,000 other releases that came out last year. (That is a FACT, by the way). Then, pay attention to how your popularity grows, and as it does, give-a-way less and begin to sell your music at affordable prices for your fanbase.

2) Every record is a new release...if people haven’t heard it. Remember to put ANY and ALL past recordings up at your website as mp3 downloads, and on sale at all your live shows....remember the Long Tail Theory,

and LIVE IT!! As your fanbase grows your fans will want anything you ever did, and this will expand as you attract more fans over the months and years ahead.

3) If you lent out ‘promo’ copies to various gatekeepers in retail, radio, the print media, and at live venues, and one day you see them for sale in used record stores, don’t get angry about it...BUY THEM back, no matter if you initially gave them away for free....then on your website have a special USED CD sale.

4) Another tip from Chris Anderson’s book ‘The Long Tail’... reduce the price of your music, and then cut 50 percent off all your recordings. (Do this for analog AND digital product)

5) Don’t laugh!...come up with some kind of coupon sale. Think up a marketing idea where your fans have to enter a coupon or promotional code at your website to get a discount on one or more of your recordings.(You can do this for digital downloads or for CDs.) and/or for ticket discounts for upcoming shows.

6) Offer to “include” the sales tax in your CDs sales, maybe even "for a limited time only” or for loyal repeat customers...or offer free shipping and handling.

7) Remember this golden thought. “If you are not out there promoting your music, someone else is out there promoting their music”. There is a tremendous amount of competition out there. THINK....what can you do that no one else has done, or better yet...steal a creative idea from someone else...hell, every advertiser in the world does this, why not you?!

8) Offer a free CD for every 3 CDs bought. You can do this at your live sales booth when you do concerts, or on your website...or BOTH! This way your fans can help you get the word out in an inexpensive way, and all fans LOVE to help their favorite band or artist.

9) Arrange to record a special ‘LIVE’ CD and invite only the fans who signed your email list to attend. You could do this in multiple markets, close to your home base. Charge them $25 for the live recording experience, (feed them spaghetti and salad as part of the deal), THEN tell them if they buy a copy of the LIVE CD that night, in advance, you will autograph the CD and remind them that they can hear themselves applaud and whistle on the recording....everybody wants to FEEL SPECIAL.

10) Never forget WHO your fan is. Study your fans at live shows...what kind of clothing do they wear? where did they buy it? where do eat before or after your gig?

Learn their lifestyle habits...and then use YOUR IMAGINATION to think up a clever co-promotion with an appropriate local merchant, restaurant, or coffee shop.

11) Get a local record store to help you with a sale promotion...If a customer buys one, they get another one free. (This is different than the buy one-get 2 free idea listed earlier. You have to be understanding of the records store’s needs...they don’t want to be giving a lot of your product away, in fact they would only do this if they felt that your promotion idea would help THEM sell more of the other CDs they carrry.)

12) When your catalog of recordings grow to multiple CDs etc. offer your fans price/packages, i.e. 1 CD at a given price, 2 for a slightly discounted price, and 3 for a more generous discount price, and ALL your back catalog for a super discounted price. You can do this for live concert sales, as well as offering the deal online at your website.

13) Invest in a CD duplicator, and at your gigs, offer fans a CD of ‘tonight’s concert’ for $15, and tell them it will be ready for them either within a few days of the concert by mail, or if you can afford a more elaborate duplicator, make it available to them RIGHT AWAY after the show. (And of course, YOU will be there to autograph that recording of the show you just performed.)

14) NEVER forget to have your email sign up list handy wherever you perform. AND have a place for them to write down not just their email address, but their birthday as well. The point is .... never forget that your fans appreciate being remembered, anyone does who has been a loyal customer, so email them a special song you wrote where you can drop in their name somewhere in the lyric, and send them a link to the song on their birthday....they will remember your kind gesture forever!

15) THIS IS AN EXERCISE! DO IT! Go back over this list and wherever you see the word ‘fan’ or ‘customer’ substitute the phrase “tribal member”....that’s right...I have been using traditional words used in traditional marketing, but really...in the music world today, the niche, or part of the greater music community you have as your fans....they are really like tribal members. In fact think of it this way. Your fanbase belongs to a unique group of individuals who not only like YOUR MUSIC, but music similar to your music. And if you DO STUDY your fans you will see they truly act like TRIBES, where the clothes they wear, the haircuts and body-wear they choose reflect a way of living....So, tap into that phrase “tribal member’. It is much more intimate, and will reveal many secrets to making your fans, LOYAL fans. DO IT!!

by Christopher Knab (Christopher Knab is an independent music business consultant based in Seattle, Washington. He is available for private consultations on promoting and marketing independent music, and can be reached at 206-282-6116 or by email at: Chris@Knab.com)

5 Remarkable Benefits To Having A Business Plan

2008-04-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever started out on a road trip across town to suddenly realize that you have no idea where you're going? It happened to me the other day. I was all set to go to a networking luncheon when halfway there I realized I couldn't remember the cross streets. So I spent a good half hour meandering through the city before I found my destination. I could have avoided all this turmoil if I had mapped out my destination ahead of time.

Running your business without a Business Plan is much like the above example. I often see entrepreneurs working day to day doing the "busy work" of the business without working on the bigger picture and actions that will grow their business. This lack of focus on the future can be one of the biggest mistakes business owners make.

In this article we will look at 5 remarkable benefits to having a Business Plan. How having Direction, Motivation, Creativity, a Cohesive Strategy, and getting Results can help you can create amazing success in your business.

Benefit #1 - Direction - Business Plans provide a roadmap to success. A map shows you where to go and which street to take to get there. The research and brainstorming you will do when writing your Business Plan will help you figure out where to go and will give you a direction to take your business. For example, many businesses operate without goals. Imagine what it would be like to know what your goals are very day? How many new clients do you need? What products or services do you need to create? What sales level do you need to achieve to have a good quality of life? Knowing goals will give you the direction you currently lack.

Benefit #2 - Motivation - Business Plans create motivation. One of the first steps you should take when writing your Business Plan is to create a Vision of where you would like to be five to ten years in the future. Creating this Vision becomes motivational because it allows you to see the possibilities you can create for your business. For example, if you know that the grand scheme is to take your business international, you will be cognizant of the steps necessary to get there. You will focus on developing international relationships, learning the customs of other countries, and brushing up on the language.

Benefit #3 - Creativity - Business Plans written with a strong branding and marketing component help the entrepreneur think creatively. Without creativity, your company is just one of the many in your field. By using a creative approach you can design a business that sets itself apart in the marketplace with a distinctive look. All too often, I see bland, boring marketing messages presented in tacky ways. It's time to stand out in the crowd by getting creative and a well-crafted Business Plan can help you do that.

Benefit #4 - Cohesive Strategy - Business Plans help the entrepreneur create a cohesive strategy that takes into account all the parts of the business and how they relate to each other. Looking at the business in this manner encourages elimination of parts of the business that don't relate to the greater vision. Strategies are all about building a company over time. If you plan to build your business through your existing clients, then strategies around deepening those relationships through various channels will be a cohesive strategy. A system for touching clients via phone calls, birthday cards, in person meetings, and asking for referrals, will move the company forward.

Benefit #5 - Results - Business Plans help the entrepreneur get the job done! By performing the necessary success actions delineated in the business plan, the entrepreneur stays on track. It's easy to get lost in the day to day details. By reviewing the plan weekly, the business owner is reminded to schedule time to work on the newsletter, to continue with the blog posting, to seek out public speaking engagements, to work on passive revenue products. In short, focused action leads the entrepreneur to success.

Traditional business plans are not always useful for entrepreneurs. They can be long and cumbersome and may not provide the motivation needed. I have created a business plan system for entrepreneurs and independent professionals that may fit the bill: Two Page Mini Business Plan. This system incorporates My Success Book - a built-in Daily Action Planner to encourage review of the plan and help map activities to move forward.

Affiliate Guide To Successful Affiliate Marketing

2008-03-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

By: Martin Richfield

Your affiliate guide to successful affiliate marketing lies in your willingness to experiment. Creative thinking and comprehensive understanding of the affiliate marketing strategies are the twin pillars of support in this regard. This process is not very difficult. You need to sell products or programs for your website or for other people. You are required to sign up for some advertising programs or tie up with other relevant affiliate schemes.

The requirement of good keyword rich content and SEO articles is necessary. Follow your affiliate guide to successful marketing skills, and you can make your presence felt powerfully in the area of affiliate marketing. Try to keep good contacts with other online affiliate marketers and exchange your ideas.

You can put your own creativity into the betterment of your website. Take a serious account of your creative mind while designing the website. You can plan a promotional campaign for your site using different options. Keep your site updated with new topics and services. Start discussion forums and mailing groups through which you can build a good reputation among your potential customers.

Browse through the affiliate guide and try to utilize all the clauses related to your website. You can join other affiliate schemes and promote your site. Articles and press releases are very useful for promoting the website. Maintain a balance between your merchants, other affiliates, customers, and above all, the content and information details of your website.

Set targets with a specific deadline reaching strategy. Try to meet your goals by implementing the plans properly and fastidiously. You also need to set a list of priorities. Try to meet the ones that are more significant first. Dividing tasks with regard to their importance makes a lot of sense. It helps you in cutting down the unnecessary or less important tasks.

This eventually allows you to concentrate on the top most priorities. Follow the affiliate guide for thriving marketing by learning strategies and various marketing skills in order to maximize the use of your product. Try to get along well with your fellow affiliate marketers in order to learn useful tips and improve your marketing strategies.

Don't confine yourself to a small area. The online market is big and wide enough to explore new horizons. Join discussion forums in order to share ideas. Add affiliate programs to your site according to the usability of your products. You can be a part of combined affiliate schemes that consequently helps you get increased traffic and more revenues as well.

Get yourself involved in strategies leading to search engine optimization and rank building. Try out every possible way to promote your website as well as the sale of the products. Remember that the affiliate guide for successful affiliate marketing always depends on sincere hard work, extensive market research, strategic plan, good networking and well-organized promotion through different sources.

Article Source: http://www.article.e-booksdownload.com

How To Make Money Online

2008-03-18T03:29:00.000-07:00

By: Carael Knight

The internet is such a huge place that there is room for anything that one can imagine. The internet is much like a large city in many ways. No one lives there, obviously, but there are millions of people who work and play on the internet each day. There are so many opportunities for those who choose to take the time and make the effort to search for ways in which they can make money online. Whether they need to find a way to support their family while still being there for them or they just want to supplement their income for a little more spending cash, working on the internet can be beneficial.

Make Money Online with Sales

One of the ways that people make money online is through sales. You do not have to own and operate your own store to be able to use the internet for sales. There are many auction sites and other types of sites where a person can advertise for sale anything in their household that they no longer want or need. Then other internet users who may be looking to purchase these things can find them and purchase them. This can be a great way to make some money without really spending money since you will already own the items.

Make Money Online by Offering Services

Another way in which people are able to make money online is by offering their services to others. You may be a computer guru who is able to easily diagnose computer problems maybe even without looking at the computer. You could then create a website where you are able to sell your services and help others to fix their computers. Or maybe you have extensive experience with cars. People are constantly having with their cars and many are willing to pay to determine what is wrong before they spend big bucks taking it to the dealer.

Still others develop an idea that may be able to help people in certain situations. You may have found yourself in a situation where you developed a large amount of debt. Yet you were able to completely pay off that debt quickly with a good budget plan. You may feel that others would be able to also benefit from this plan and better yet, they may be willing to pay for it. An idea such as this could potentially make you a lot of money if marketed properly.

Online Advertising Makes Money

Another way in which one can "make money online" is through advertising. There are programs that are available to internet users that will allow a user to simply write about their life or whatever they feel like writing about and earn money. These programs will place ads on your site that are relevant to what you have written about. Each time a visitor clicks on one of these links, you will receive a small compensation. These small compensations add up over time.

Smart Advertising: Classified Advertising Makes Money Online

From small businesses to international corporations, all companies share a common need. They need to advertise. The value of a service or product, the quality of a service or product and the availability of a service or product will not matter if no one knows about the service or product. If they do not know about your service or product, you will not make money online.

With the advent of the internet, one classified ad has the potential of reaching the world. Every country has internet access. In industrial and post-industrial countries, the internet is in practically every home. All you have to do is learn how to get your ad noticed. You have to drive traffic to your website and not get lost in the jungle of the web.

The internet, in the eyes of some, seems like a wild place without order or organization. It may seem like that but there is an order working behind the scenes. Search engines use very specific protocols when they rank pages in search results. Once you understand those protocols, you can work with them and make money online.

Article Source: http://www.article.e-booksdownload.com

How To Turn Your Hobby Into A Business

2008-03-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

By: Adrian Adams

What could be better than making money doing something you love? With the whole world at your fingertips because of the internet, more people are realizing their dream of making their hobby into a viable career. Whether you use your computer as your online store or if you use it for research to getting started, you have everything you need to get started making money for something you are doing already for free.

Be Realistic

Just because you and a handful of hobbyists are passionate about what you do, it doesn't mean the buying public will feel the same. For those who have hobbies such as crafting or cooking, it will be easy to find your niche. Crafters can find a wealth of opportunities on the web to make money. If your passion is candle making, you can find plenty of information regarding supplies, craft fairs and marketing strategies to make your business successful.

Writers

Some people just seem to have a gift for putting down words on paper and those people can find a wealth of opportunities to sell their writing. Many people are setting up blogs where they can spread their knowledge about things they are passionate about and making money at the same time. There are a variety of ways that bloggers can make money on the web and writing is just one of them.

Do You Have What it Takes?

Not only do you need to have a hobby that is marketable, you will also need a few other qualifications if you are to make a success of your venture. The most important quality you will need to possess is the ability to work on your own. When you work for yourself you need to follow the same principles you would apply as if you worked for someone else. If you set a deadline, it is important that you keep it so that your good reputation and emphasis on quality is noted. It is in this way that your business will grow.

You will have to be determined as well as have patience. Rome was not built in a day and your business will not take off immediately either. Being patient and determined are qualities that most entrepreneurs possess and if you are going to compete in the long run, you will need those qualities too.

Starting your own business from a hobby can be a rich and rewarding experience. You will be able to make your own hours, do something you love and make a good living doing it. Not many people are fortunate enough to say that.

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Just Get Started on Your Online Career

2008-03-09T00:07:00.000-08:00

By: Ron Richardson

No matter what it is, just get started. Every successful person in history has one thing in common, they 'just got started'

It doesn't matter what you want to do, you will not get anywhere unless you 'just get started' You may get sick of hearing this phrase, but they always say 'the truth hurts'

Most people don't want to hear the truth, they want to be babied, someone to hold their hand and do it all for them. I was what I just described, until I talked to some friends, they just happened to be multi-millionaires, and the first thing they told me
was 'just get started' are you sick of that phrase yet??

So here's what I did...I 'just got started' I decided I wanted to renovate a house and sell it for a profit, well I didn't have the money to buy a property...although you hear about buying property for no money down, it happens, but it's RARE!! ...so I placed an ad on a real estate investors network, and what do you know, the next day I got a phone call and within an hour I had an investor that was willing to put up the entire purchase price of the property, when you 'just get started' things seem to magically happen that lead to your ultimate goal. Well to make a long story short, I found a property, renovated it and sold it for a nice profit(split with my investor), not bad for someone who started with a desire and it all some how worked out.

Now you don't have to believe in anything I say, and here's why, everything I say is not true, it's not false, it's not right, and it's not wrong, it's just my experience, and In my experience when you decide to 'just get started, thing's seem to magically happen for you, what ever it may be.

You want to leave your present JOB, don't think you can because you have expenses, monies that must be paid out every month, well let me fill you in on something, everyone has those worries, but when you just get started something will, almost magically, lead you to yourend goal. Not sure why, but it does really happen time and time again.

Things start to happen when you just get started, and put in the daily activities you need to reach your end goal.

There comes a time in all our lives when you hit a point, and that's it, You must get out of the rat race and live for yourself for once! Well you ready, just get started period!

You don't have to do it all at once, start small, work within your time available. Once you do that and start to see some results, it won't take long, you will be on your way to the life you dream about.

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Build A Stronger Business By Building On Your Strengths

2008-02-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

In our last year-end review session, we plotted your past client projects on a revenue vs. fun matrix. I hope you enjoyed that exercise!

Periodically, it's important to take stock of the ways in which your company has grown and developed in terms of its capabilities. It's not just about the eggs the goose has produced; it's also looking at the larger environment or the whole farm. Though there are dozens of factors to consider in each business, here are seven key areas to consider in this session:

Core competency skills; How have you developed in your career field?
Business development; What techniques and systems have you found to work well?
New offerings; What products and services are you offering now that weren't available a year ago?
New internal capacities; In what ways has your team grown? What new systems are in place to make operations flow smoother on a consistent basis?
New technology; Have you upgraded systems, software, servers, or networks? Have you started using new tools or accessing information in new ways?
Community enhancements; How have you contributed to your community through sponsorship or volunteer work?
Body of work; What articles, booklets, books, websites, audio programs, learning systems, etc have you created to educate your prospects and clients? Continue adding to the list ways that your company has grown as a result of your decisions and actions.

Not every entrepreneur consciously puts energy into each of these areas each year. And unfortunately, that's one of the reasons that so many start-up businesses fail to grow and prosper.

Certainly, having accomplishments in each of these areas each year isn't mandatory to grow. With your business coach or other trusted advisor, determine which ones make the most sense for the current stage of your business and where you want to grow in the coming year. Those are decisions you make.

Because you're serious about building a stronger business, you can look back on your efforts in these areas and feel a sense of satisfaction and pride over what you've accomplished and how you've grown.

Next week I'll share one of my favorite business goal setting exercises with you.

Entrepreneurs can find more resources to build their business at: www.mybusinessgym.com

About the author: Bill Ringle works with business leaders from high tech and professional service entrepreneurs in the Greater Philadelphia region and shares the strategies and tools for accelerating growth through my Business Gym with business leaders from across the United States and in 15 different countries.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Ringle

Strategic Planning - Strategic and Tactical Planning

2008-02-13T05:28:00.000-08:00

Strategic planning is a business process that many companies employ to identify their critical success factors that set the course for future growth and profits. Lewis Carroll in "Alice in Wonderland" makes a good case for it: "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" said Alice. "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where...," said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

Like most business processes, the key to success is in the effective implementation of the plan. Companies that do a good job of developing and executing their strategies can create a competitive edge that provides increased market share and higher gross profit margins. Organizations that turn their plan into a "dust collector" upon an executive bookshelf will never achieve their full growth and profit potential.

Most criticism of strategic planning is aimed at the planning process. They question the validity of a plan that has been based on market "guestimates", the questionable valuation of the depth and breadth of competitors and an optimistic assessment of the company's internal strength and weakness. The fact that strategic plans can be overly optimistic is not the core problem. Although the criticism may be appropriate, it puts the focus for improvement on the wrong end of the process - it's the implementation task that is critical to producing positive results and it's here where most companies fail at strategic planning.

Rational strategic plans poorly implemented will produce limited positive results. On the other hand, overly optimistic strategic plans, effectively implemented can produce results beyond everyone's expectations. This being the case, what is the key to effective implementation? In one word - commitment!

Companies that are good at strategic planning build commitment to the planning process and to each of the strategies within the plan. They build commitment throughout the organization, working with people from all business functions to build commitment before, during, and after development of their strategic plan.

Winners begin early in building commitment to the strategic plan. Suggestions are encouraged from managers at all levels, from key executives who will participate in the planning sessions, and others who will share responsibility for implementing the resultant strategies. Together, they surface issues that will require changes in business process and/or culture and identify those constraints that will need to be overcome if implementation is to be successful..

During planning sessions, key executives from each functional area are all encouraged to participate and contribute to the plan. These executives develop strategies that build on organizational strengths and consider resources required to accomplish those strategies. They assure that a key executive "owns" each strategy and commits to a time schedule for its accomplishment. The key executives give thought to resource planning - realizing that human resources are the key to making positive things happen in difficult, complex business environments - and they commit accordingly.

Following the development of their plan, those responsible for implementations develop their own "tactical plans." These action plans, when coupled with self-directed work teams, are major contributors to a successful Strategic Planning implementation. Teams use their plan to manage, to make decisions and to grow their business. Periodically, they review their "tactical plans" to monitor and report on the progress of implementation - keeping the plan "alive" by revising strategies and tactics when necessary.

Finally, to assure successful implementation of their strategic plan, they work on the planning process itself. The planning group continuously "fine tunes" the planning process to assure that inputs from all business functions are given their due consideration and to assure that buy-in and commitment to the final plan is at all levels of the organization.

So, why are most operations management teams outside of the strategic planning process? Why do many line managers view strategic planning as a make work project that produces little or zero value to customers? Maybe, it's because they did not participate in its development nor did they buy-into its validity - let alone commit to the execution of its strategic objectives. In short, they're not connected to the process! To achieve a company's full growth and profit potential, CEOs and business owners need to assure the active participation of operation management in their strategic planning process. Professional assistance is available from Business Basics, LLC, why not give us a call.

About the Author: Bill Gaw (http://bbasicsllc.com/BillGaw.htm) is the founder of Business Basics, LLC and a "been there, done that" lean enterprise advocate. He is the developer of six e-training packages and seven e-training modules published to help individuals and companies reach their full growth and earning potentials. Bill's "Back-to-Basics" e-training materials won't be found in the books at Amazon.com. Neither in the library of APICS nor in the Harvard Business School Press. You can, however, review them all at http://bbasicsllc.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Gaw

Some Free Ways To Make Money Online

2008-02-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

By: Saleem Rana

When it comes to free ways to make money online there is no shortage of ways to do it. Of course if you have a product of your own that is the best place to start. What if you do not have a product of your own?

Here are a few ways you can sell stuff online with affiliate marketing to make money for yourself.

Affiliate Programs. Getting paid to sell other people's products is the quickest way to get going that I have found. Affiliate marketing has been around for over 10 years now and many people look at Amazon.com as one of the first companies to sell products this way.

You can make money selling clicks such as with Google Adsense. You can make money selling leads with affiliate programs like Max Bounty. You can make money selling products. One such way is to sell information products like you would find at ClickBank.

Another thing you can do is affiliate program directories like AssociatePrograms.com or Commissions Junction where they have compiled some of the best products to sell in one place.

Certainly network marketing also offers some great residual income for repeat business on a monthly basis. Many MLM companies will set up your customers and distributors on auto-ship and the products they order go out like clock work every month. When they do you make a commission every month just like clockwork as well.

Selling memberships is also profitable. This can be done through both affiliate marketing as well as network marketing. Getting paid over and over for making one sale is called residual income. Products that can be accessed online and offer value to your customer are great to sell. Paid memberships fit this description. Subscriptions on how to run a home business, personal development, paid newsletters on every subject imaginable, website hosting, autoresponders, and just about anything you can think of, offer you a chance to create residual income.

Two tier programs where you get paid on the sales of people you recruit work great for paid membership programs as well. Of course network marketing falls into this category and can even be better because you can make money every month on the sales of a large group of people.

The key with most paid subscription programs is you make a little bit of money on every sale. The first month this may not amount to much. The second month it can be more. In a year it can be quite a lot. Kind of like compound interest if you know how that works.

Free ways to make money online abound and it is really a question of deciding what interests you and what income model you want to use.

Article Source: http://www.article.e-booksdownload.com

Saleem Rana has a turnkey money machine that prints 24/7 profits! And he's giving YOU the exact system to do it too! Autopilot Profits

How to Find the Best Employee for the Job

2008-02-11T09:37:00.000-08:00

By: Paul Sutherland

Frankly, a lot of businesses are only as good as the workers who handle the day to day activities and actually come in contact with the customer or client. However, finding the right person, to fill a position, can be a guessing game, unless you know the right questions to ask, in order to make an informed decision.

For example, many potential employers make the common mistake of asking hypothetical questions, to determine whether the employee can handle customers, and related duties properly. Instead of receiving an informed answer, based upon past experiences, many applicants will simply be guessing at the response that will garner them the position.

Instead, ask the individual about a time when he/she was able to resolve customer conflict. Find out the circumstances surrounding the issue, how the worker dealt with the problem, and if he/she would do anything different, if a similar situation were to occur in the future. Now, instead of receiving a hypothetical answer to a fictitious question, you are learning how your candidate handled a real life situation with a customer. Then, you will be able to better determine whether this person can handle any potential problems that may arise in the workplace.

Once you have visited with the potential hire, get the proper release to contact references. Many employers ask for references, yet never bother to follow up on the information. Some interviewees are counting on this lapse in judgment. After all, after the 100th interview, some people have many answers prepared for the questioner. In other words, they are prepared to give you the answers you want to hear.

Although some previous employers will give a good report, even if the applicant was a lousy employee, others will give an honest evaluation of how the individual worked with others and handled the customers. So, do not ask for references if you do not intend to follow through and make a few phone calls.

As an employer, your business will be only as good as the workers you hire. So, it is in your best interests to make every effort to get it right the first time. Hiring the wrong person can cost you valued customers and ultimately cause you unnecessary time and expense searching for a replacement. So, ask the right questions, know the acceptable answers, and be willing to extend your search for the best employee for the job.

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Paul Sutherland is an Accelerated Business Growth Coach. His company - Daniel Thomas International - www.dti.eu.com helps corporate and SMEs to grow their businesses with tried tested and proven techniques and strategies, increasing their bottom line profits in 90 days or less? FREE report "7 Big Mistakes" also available from the site.

Ideas For Generating A Successful Home Based Business

2008-01-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

By: Brian Armstrong

There are thousands of websites online that promise to deliver the perfect home based business right into your lap. However when you visit these sites all that you find are schemes which say how you should buy some software in order to start your own successful business.

Another fact is that most people find plenty of information available online on starting a business, however very little of the advice makes sense or is of actual value. Most of these turn out to be scams.

Hence, though there might be plentiful ideas online on how to start your home based business, what is missing are guidance tutorials once you start with your venture.

So it is important to keep in mind that you need to do a bit of research by talking to the people who have more experience on the business you are trying to set up. One effective way to do this would be to search out people from related fields through online discussion forums.

You can do this by searching out the name of a company or person you are trying to find about. You can then get in touch with them, through email or forums (in case they have a blog or a forum).

In most cases, they do reply with useful pointers. So you could take some tips from them in order to think of good ideas for your home based business. If you are going to set up a business then you should make full use of the advice of those who have ventured on this path before you.

If they have a certain business plan or system in place then you can stick to these tested and tried methods. This will definitely make things much easier. This procedure will also help you save time and money that you would have spent on useless information products.

The key to the success of any startup company lies in recognizing and choosing the right line for business. Some other facts that you must keep in mind is that your movements will be confined to the house for the whole day, so you should get used to this. If you are a person with high levels of energy who needs constant interaction with people, a home based business might not be the best idea for you.

Other than online prospects that make for good home based business, you should research other business avenues. Personal training is a good home based business. If you are fitness minded or athletic in nature then this is indeed a good option.

Tutoring students is another interesting concept that you can turn into a full scale home business. You could advertise your tutorial at the local supermarket or community centers. However, before you start coaching students you need to familiarize yourself with the curriculum and current methods of teaching.

Game coaching, skill coaching, hobby classes, art and craft, public speaking and dramatics coaching are other lucrative home based business ideas.

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Home Business Operating Costs

2008-01-27T23:33:00.000-08:00

By: Obinna Heche

One of the things that is of major concern when operating a home business is the amount of cash that you will need to extend in order to operate the business. This is of greatest concern during the start up phase when you do not have income to offset with expenses. As your business grows, this becomes of less importance, though operating expense will never be lacking in importance. The operating costs you extend during the early days of your business will depend upon the type of business that you have.

However, for any type of home business, the single most important and possibly expensive will be the price of advertising. Unless you are involved in a service directed business, the advertising should start before you even begin taking orders. By the time you officially open your business, no matter what kind of business it is, you will have enough potential income to offset the initial set up costs.

In some businesses, such as freelance writing, editing, copywriting and similar types of service oriented businesses, the initial set up costs may be minimal, especially if you have the equipment that you need already in place before you begin your business. Other types of business may have expenses such as operating licenses, certification tests, equipment, including special software, telephone, fax, inventory, advertising, packaging for mailing and much more.

If the type of business you are entering includes equipment that you already have in place, this will greatly reduce your initial operating expenses. This should not be a sign to invest in updated equipment that you really do not need at this point but invest the savings into promotional and advertising tools. In fact, in the early days of your business, you will want to reinvest as much as possible back into your business until you have all of the equipment that you need to operate efficiently.

Even a freelance business in the creative arts requires updated computer equipment, so unless you have installed a new system within the past year or two, take the early profits to upgrade your system so that you can work faster rather than longer to reach the same goals. If your business requires the use of the Internet and you do not already have a high speed connection, you should get that into place before you start your business.

In some service oriented business, especially those that require working at someones home, like repair, remodeling, new home construction, you may want to consider insurance to cover any accidental damage as well as insurance for yourself in the event of an on the job injury. This is especially important since you are working your own business with no one to pay you if you can not work. All of these figure into the operating costs of your business, but will vary based on the type of business you operate.

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Startup Secret - Ready, Fire, Aim

2008-01-23T22:47:00.000-08:00

By: Brian Armstrong

Many successful entrepreneurs have been known to act even though they didn't feel 100% prepared. I believe this is one of the most important skills to launching a successful startup. Once you have an idea, take the first step toward completing it now, and figure out the details later. Those who have to wait until all their ducks are in a row will be stuck waiting forever.

I will tell you a secret: the ducks will never all be in a row!

The minute you get that last duck in line, another one will pop out. It's called a startup company, because you have to do just that: startup. Even if you aren't quite ready.

It's imperative you go ahead and do your best with what you have now. At some point you will have to exit the learning stage and enter the doing stage. Don't get caught in the "analysis paralysis" of continuing to learn more and more. At some point you'll have to just pull the trigger, whether you have every possible contingency covered or not.

After pulling the trigger is when the real learning will start, because then you can see where your shot actually went. It is no longer theory or discussion, it is actually happening. Only then, after actually taking the first shot, can you begin to correct your aim.

When doing my first startup, I was full of uncertainty and doubt. What did I know? I had read a little bit about incorporating, but I couldn't afford any actual legal advice. I didn't know how to pay business taxes. I didn't know if anyone would buy my product. I didn't know how to find customers. But after reading a little bit, I just decided to go for it, ready or not. The effect was dramatic because experience was the best teacher I could have had.

Sure, I made a few mistakes (and I still do when launching a startup today), but it wasn't anything I couldn't recover from. One of the best benefits of using "ready, fire, aim" is that you find out quickly whether your plan will work!

It's time to realize and accept the fact that you will not be entirely prepared when you startup your first business. So what? Do it anyway. No one is entirely prepared the first time. But they have the courage to act in spite of their fear. That is what makes them a success today.

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Save Money With Small Business Accounting

2008-01-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

Author: Terry Cartwright

Financial records to enable accounts to be submitted and the tax payable calculated are unavoidable responsibilities of being in business. Bookkeeping at its most basic level does not require high levels of accounting knowledge and experience and accountant fees can be saved.

Sales Invoices

A sales invoice is a prime document. In more advanced accounting systems technical terms such as sales day books, sales ledgers, debtors and credit control are important but at the basic level bookkeeping of sales is the act of recording those sales in the business books.

A sales day book is basically a log of sales invoices issued by the business and this level of recording financial transactions is all that may be required for a small business. A simple bookkeeping method is a list of invoices that only require entering into the business books once.

Simple bookkeeping for sales invoices is single entry bookkeeping with manual analysis. While the accounting staff may make these entries in the small business environment the business owner usually keeps the books.

Larger companies use accounting software to produce the accounting information in a variety of formats for different financial control and reporting purposes. Within the financial accounting package the sales would not only appear as a list making up the total sales turnover but would also be entered in a sales ledger.

Each sales invoice being allocated to the various clients to whom the sales had been made. The sales ledger at this stage of the bookkeeping represents the value of goods or services sold to each customer.

Purchase Invoices

A purchase invoice is a prime document and a purchase day book is a list of purchase invoices received from suppliers. The purchase invoice day book would not normally require further financial analysis of the type of expenditure. To that extent a simple purchase day book would be a good starting point for a simple set of accounts but require a little more sophistication requiring analysis by expense type for both financial control and taxation purposes.

Single entry bookkeeping is sufficent for most small business with the addition of analysis columns.

Medium and larger organisations require to track and control purchase invoices to control costs and payments. In a mirror of the sales ledger system purchase invoices would also be entered by supplier into a purchase ledger. The easy way is to allocate each supplier a code number so that the accounting software can collect the amounts owed to each supplier the individual supplier accounts being the purchase ledger.

Cash and Bank Transactions

Quite apart from the single entry of sales and purchases is the recording by a business in its books of cash and bank receipts and payments. The third area of prime documents is the cash receipt or bank slip, given or received. Such documents may take many forms from the till roll of a retail business to the deposit slip at a bank but all are evidence of money changing hands.

In a small business cash and bank records may be maintained separately to the records of other prime accounting records. Cash or bank records would replicate the bank account statement with the addition of customer and supplier names or if multiple customers for example then the source of the money being received or paid.

Larger organisations and particularly using accounting software also code each receipt and payment to the same customer and supplier codes used to produce the sales ledger and the purchase ledger. Sales ledgers and purchase ledgers are updated from the cash and bank accounts to produce the accounts balances outstanding.

By recording the cash and bank transactions in the ledgers the customer and supplier records making up the accounting ledgers then show the balances on each account and the recording of the financial transactions in this way is effectively the other side of the double entry bookkeeping system.

Small business not requiring sophisticated accounting softwared for financial control purposes and using a simple bookkeeping system would record receipts against the list of sales invoices and payments against the list of purchase invoices.

Basic bookkeeping using single entry of prime accounting documents would be suitable for small business, requires very little accounting knowledge and when carried out by the business owner rather than a bookkeeper or accountant can save money..

Your First Residual Income Business Opportunity

2008-01-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

By: james lowe

The ideal online, inter net home based business for yourself is truly hard to find. This is because high costs, high fraud, poor set up and maintenance assistance when you are starting and progressing is hard to get.

The sales page and emails from the sales people are all peaches, cream and hype when you are thinking of buying into a new program or system. But, like a man or woman who picks a bad marital partner, guess what happens after you start with them?

Correct! The evil light switch comes on. They say that you should be able to figure all this out yourself.

They are mean, rude, suddenly inaccessible and even curse you for asking for help. Your refund time expires and you are out of your original investment.

A very high percentage of successful inter net marketers started out this way. They failed many times, losing lots of money, before they made their first penny from a residual income business opportunity. The honest ones will tell you this truth. Some do.

I do not say this to be negative but to give you the right options to look for to help you increase your odds, dramatically, to make a profit in your first cash flow venture. Less than one out of ten of us succeed at our first online entrepreneur venture.

Is there any way to protect yourself, at least partially, then? Yes. Pick a low priced work at home program, to limit your losses, at first.

Many of the good home business programs require you to know a bunch of basics already and you will lose in spite of them being genuine quality opportunities.

Make your mistakes with a cheap opportunity to limit your losses. Check out different ventures for a full year before you put a penny into the first one. You will have far more insight and knowledge this way and will make less mistakes.

Whenever you click on the inter net or turn on the Saturday or Sunday morning or late night infomercials, on television, you will be bombarded with offers. Choosing a business to start is easy. Choosing a good one is difficult without knowing the good points to look for.

Picking a good one to start is an important part of getting started. You need to pick one that, at least partially, interests you.

One to give you the persistence and drive to see and work it through to a profitable success. It must be well organized and set up so you can learn and teach it to duplicate yourself.

Next, you want to establish a good mentor who complements your talents. Building a team, even if you just work with one other person, is essential to building your residual income from home.

Your team must work hard, smart and earn a profit. Team choices are critical to your success. Friends and relatives you like, without talent, are wasting your money and time.

Unless you know your team member, interview as many possible candidates as you can and let them know you are serious in your business. Explain the idea you have of your income desired business, on a residual basis.

Be sure they are serious and carefully pick the best candidate. Be sure they are going to make a good effort and this will improve your odds of personal success.

Finally, to be sure your first residual income business opportunity is on the right track, think about the whole business plan. Sometimes you will get discouraged because it takes twelve to eighteen months to really get going and earning a profit.

Keep your goals and whole business plan before you and the little things, that are trips along the way, will not bog you down because your eyes and heart are on the long term. Starting is slow.

Knowing this point, will have you prepared to face the daily onslaught of screwy problems that will pop up and keep you from quitting. So you, daily, want to focus on your goals and keep them in mind.

Your first residual income program will be more likely to succeed if you take it seriously, stay calm, and stay focused on your main goal. A conscientious start will help you to avoid many pitfalls and make your beginning enterprise successful.

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Business Start Up: The Keys To A Successful Business Start Up

2008-01-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

By: Brian Armstrong

A business start up can be an extremely exciting venture. However a lot of planning and research goes into it to make it a success.

However, a question arises here - how can a person start up a business without any prior experience? Well in this case you will have to take advice from people who are already experienced in the field that related to your business. In fact you can get tailor made advice from a number of resources that specialize in providing services and advice to those who are new to it all. Many a times an amateur can go ahead with a business start up without consulting anyone. However this might backfire in the long run. This is because certain amount of expertise and experience goes into starting a business.

These specialized business support companies or agencies can help you to understand not only the unseen aspects of the business but also help you in getting familiar with your own managerial skills.

Investing in tailored start up packages is a good way to start up your business. These packages include all kinds of information that you might need for a successful venture. These also include expert advices on accountancy, law, marketing, strategies and even essential business software. In fact in certain cases a business manager might be assigned to you, who is experienced and familiar with the facets of your business. This will help you to face challenges. In fact most business start up packages can help you in getting the most benefit from your idea.

In fact with this comprehensive support system you can have a successful business venture.

So if you are thinking on the lines of starting your own business you should look for a financial institution that can cater to your business needs that are specific. Once you are already on the road to success, these resources can help further in making more gains and at the same time offer advice on how to proceed to the next stage of your business.

One of the most important things that you must remember while starting a business is that nothing can be achieved overnight. You have to put in a lot of effort and research the market in order to know what is going to work. Though this is not a sure shot method that will ensure success but it is better than entering a venture without any concrete plans or strategies.

Another important aspect that people ignore once they have already set up a business is the policy to reinvent and reinvest. A business process can stagnate if you do not keep on reinventing it. Reinvention also means staying ahead of competition. Any profits that you make in the first year of your business start up should be reinvested in the business itself. Do not think of using this capital elsewhere. The idea is basically to consolidate one basic tenet of a business before moving to other sectors.

Starting a business is not an easy feat and you have to be prepared for failures and only then will you appreciate the success of your business start up.

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Managing Your Small Business Without Credit

2008-01-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

With today's credit crunch and the housing market continuing to implode, most entrepreneurs and small business owners are finding it difficult to operate their business due to a lack of working capital. The quick solution is to run to the bank for a loan or source relatives to help manage these difficult times in our small business.

Bank loans or any kind of loan for that matter is not the correct solution. Believe it or not, most small businesses have working capital imbedded into their operations where it takes a trained eye to find it.

Most small business owners don't realize that simple management of cash flow and a little due diligence relative to managing the sources and uses of cash flow can actually create most of the working capital we all look for. Sure we're going to have to tighten our belts these days to ride out the housing crisis, which by the way will eventually spill over into our businesses regardless of what we service or sell.

It's osmosis. We need to understand that most small business is built via consumer's disposable income where a lack of cash or a decrease in consumers' disposable income, will eventually affect our business as well. Oddly enough, most economist predict a recession where last month's consumer disposable income rose to over 9%, it is getting harder to predict which way the next 15 months might take us.

For those of us that are relatively knowledgeable about Microsoft Excel and have a working understanding of macros and or formulas, you can create a simple spreadsheet that allows you the ability to project and manage the sources and uses of cash as it relates to your particular business.

It's really rather simple where all you have to do is create two columns in a new spreadsheet document where one column should be titled "estimated" and the column right next to that should be titled "actual". To the left you want to incorporate the four parts of your income statement, such as sales, COGS, expense and finally total income.

Once you have this basic template set up in a new Excel spreadsheet you will begin to see how it should calculate via a couple of formulas. The cash flow tool is easy to make and easy to manage with your dedicated input on a daily or weekly basis. I give all my small business clients an Excel template like this so they can use it to manage the ebbs and flows of their business.

There are many ways to manage cash flow in our small business where taking on a loan is not the best solution. There are many templates of cash management tools on the Internet and there are many reporting tools inside the typical accounting software package suck as QuickBooks and SBT/ACCPAC where we may not need to source a bank loan.

But, if you do need to source loans to generate working capital, make sure you are diligent enough to manage the expense you will incur via the loan payment. Oh yes, and make sure you are able to incorporate the interest expense your business will incur via that same loan. So, what's more cost effective, due diligence in a cash management process or a bank loan?

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Tips For Promoting Your Small Business

2008-01-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

By: Adrian Adams

If you have started a small business, then one of your main focuses will be getting customers in who will buy whatever you are offering. That is why, in the early stages of development of a business, it is vital to do proper advertising. This is what will make or break your business. But, you may not have the budget to run TV ads. So, here are some ideas that a small business can use to start drawing in customers.

Business cards are fairly cheap to produce en masse, and you can turn them into an effective marketing tool. You can add a coupon on the back, so that if they bring in the card they will get a discount. You can also advertise an opening party or any other event to draw people in. Just make sure your cards are professional-looking and well designed, with text that will encourage people to visit your business. Then, hand them out as much as possible. Place stacks in strategic locations, and give them to anyone who you think could use your business's product or service.

Next, you want to make sure you are listed in all of the local business directories. This includes the yellow pages. Make it your top priority to get into the yellow pages - preferably with a large ad. If you aren't sure how to do that, look in the current edition for a number for the office that you can call to find out information about how to list your business.

Lots of business owners advertise their business on their vehicle. With a proper artist, you can get a fairly nice-looking logo on your car. It may seem far-fetched, but this sort of advertising actually works, and with the right eye-catching logo you will begin to see an increase in the number of visitors to your business.

Public transportation systems offer many chances to advertise in a way that will not be too expensive, but will reach a huge audience. You can advertise your business on benches, bus stop walls, or on buses themselves. It depends on your city specifically, but it is worth checking out the possibilities.

Finally, you can cross-promote with other businesses. This is one of the most powerful methods of advertising, and it is free if you can work out a deal. If you can find another local business that compliments your own, you can offer to promote them if they will promote you. There are many ways that this can work out, and may lead to the ultimate success of your business.

These are just a few ways to consider advertising for your business. However, you should be creative. The most successful businesses are the ones that figure out how to fill markets in new and creative ways.

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Small Business Marketing - Are You Playing Small With Your Marketing Strategy?

2008-01-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

By: Kendall SummerHawk

One of the areas in which many service professionals (that includes success coaches, organizers, designers, writers, speakers, counselors, consultants and trainers) play small is in how they acquire new clients.

Maybe this sounds familiar: you go to a network marketing meeting, talk with one new person, exchange cards and agree to "do lunch." Two weeks go by and after you finally get a lunch date on their calendar, they cancel at the last minute. The end result? A lot of time spent for nothing gained.

So the erstwhile business owner works even harder on their "elevator speech," hoping that will make the difference. It doesn't. The elevator speech isn't the problem; playing small is.

The thing with playing small is that it keeps us feeling small as well. The antidote is to set the marketing strategy bar high, aiming to impact and attract dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people, not just one or two. When we stretch ourselves with this type of vision we leapfrog our thinking past its comfort zone, right into the "gulp" zone. But it's in the "gulp" zone that we'll find the financial and soul-fulfilling success that we're craving.

You'll discover that implementing marketing plans in the "gulp" zone doesn't mean doing different activities than you're used to, but it does mean doing the activities you're used to...differently.

For example, the "playing small" version of speaking is to speak to network marketing groups here and there, hoping someone calls you. Setting the bar higher means having a specific marketing strategy for getting 70% or more of your speaking audience to sign up for your newsletter (adding their names and contact information to your database) and then following up with a specific offer.

See how the activity is essentially the same but the anticipated outcome - and the actions taken to achieve it - are markedly different?

Let's look at another example, say, article marketing. The playing small version is to send a few articles out to several article databases. Setting the marketing strategy bar higher means that in addition, you contact an association journal that reaches hundreds or thousands of your ideal clients and pitch two or three article ideas to them. (I have repeatedly done this with remarkable success).

Whenever I, as a success coach, speak on the topic of playing small in marketing, a woman small business owner usually asks me, "But Kendall, don't you have to start somewhere?!"

Yes, you do. And the beginning steps to all marketing plans are likely to be small steps. The difference is playing small is what happens when you stay at the first step, never moving beyond it. I prefer to (and challenge you to) take that first small step with your eye on quickly leapfrogging into the "gulp" marketing strategy zone we talked about a minute ago.

Marketing strategy in the "gulp" zone is easier than you think and the personal and financial rewards are sweet!

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12 Key Factors To Succeeding In Business

2008-01-18T01:14:00.001-08:00

By: Jeffrey Benson

Over one half of all new businesses fail within the first 3 years of trading. But with sound planning, some business knowledge and most important of all a great dream you can dramatically improve your chances of surviving, growing and succeeding.

Have Long Term Goals

The primary task in managing a business is deciding its long-term objectives. If you can imagine what you want your business to look like in five years time you have more chance of achieving your dreams.

Create your Vision

You need to seriously think about what products and services you will be offering and to what type of customer. Consider your future market position and competitive advantage. Do you envisage expanding and if so what turnover, outlets, staff and annual growth rate to you anticipate? Think big and dare your dreams to come true.

Plan your Success

You wouldn't start on a long journey without a map, so don't do it with your business. Take your dream and plan the main steps you will need to take to get from where you are now to where you want to be in 5 years. Then plan this in detail for the next 12 months. Include a cash flow projection, so you can be sure you don't run out of cash along the way. Review what you have achieved every 6 months and plan the next stage of development.

Review your customer profile on a Continual Basis

Most businesses can identify future outgoings. Sales projections are more difficult. Market research helps here. Review the profile of typical customers and note any changes.

Look at your sales pattern. Has it changed dramatically? If so, how will you redress the balance? Are you overly dependent on any specific products or customers? Who are your most profitable customers? Do you look after them to ensure repeat business?

Identify your Most Profitable Products

Do you concentrate enough on these to maximise profits? Exactly how many enquiries do you get anyway? How many of these ask for quotations? How many go on to buy? What is stopping the others from going from one stage to the next? Keeping on top of your product sales will allow you to recognise sales trends which will in turn increase your sales.

Improve your Image

How can you improve the image people have of your business? Why do clients buy? Why don't they? How important is price or quality when closing a sale? Creating a strong image will help increase the success of your business.

Consider the Competition

How do you compare with your competitors? Can you learn from them? Why do people buy from them, not you?

Setting your Prices

Pricing is a compromise between cost, quality, demand and competition. But when setting a price, remember to cover everything. Using a free delivery service as a sales initiative still costs you money. Margins are very important. It is often better to sell less at a higher margin than to sell more and make less money.

Discounts

Giving discounts is a great sales tool but you must remember to consider their real impact on profits. If you buy something for �70 and sell it for �100, you make �30. If you offer a 10% discount, you give away one-third of your profit. So you have to sell 50% more to finish where you started.

Special Promotional Discounts

Continuous discounts soon become part of your customer's perception of your price structure, introducing Special promotional discounts are better. Ideally set a time limit on them. This allows you to measure their real impact.

Managing your Cash Flow

Your precious working capital should be funding your growth, not your customers! Remember that customers cost you money until they pay their invoices. It is considered professional, not pushy, to ask customers to agree to your payment terms when taking an order. Get the invoice out the same day as delivery, clearly marking when payment is due. Give customers a credit limit, both in time and money. If they reach it, don't take new orders until the invoices are settled. Consider factoring your invoices to generate extra working capital, it's important to remember though that your will be charged a percentage on everything you factor, which will reduce your profits.

Give your Bank Confidence

Your bank manager is there to help. To do this, they must have confidence in you. So even if you are not borrowing money, keep them informed. This is where your business plan comes into its own. It shows them the route map to your goal and they can use it to benchmark the various stages. If you consistently reach the targets you set yourself, you will find it that much easier to raise finance when you need to fund growth in the future. Give your bank manager regular and clear updates and provide accounts, don't leave it to them to have to chase you on a continual basis. Annual accounts show how you have managed the business historically. Regular management accounts will show where your business is today. Keeping your bank manager well informed and happy will help you to raise additional finance in the future.

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What Type Of Company Should I Set Up?

2008-01-18T01:13:00.001-08:00

By: Jeffrey Benson

When setting up your company you need to decide at an early stage how you intend to structure it. What type of company legally beneficial - a Limited Company, a Partnership, Limited Liability Partnership or Sole Trader?

This decision can have both legal and practical implications, so it's an important decision to make. It's advisable to seek individual advice before you commit yourself to any of the four basic options:

Limited Company

A limited company is where shareholders (members or owners) have limited liability to the company's debts. Their liability is restricted to the value of the shares that they own or the guarantees that they signed up to. This could be as little as �1.

A limited company is a separate legal entity. It can sue and be sued and will continue to exist even if the members or owners die or resign. It can only be folded if it is wound up or struck off the register by Companies House.

In return for these benefits, limited companies are governed tighter rules and regulations than partnerships or sole traders. Among other things they are obliged to:

� File annual accounts and returns at Companies House, facing penalties if they are late.
� Appoint at least one company director and a company secretary - and face criminal prosecution if they fail to.
� They have to use the word limited in their company name
� Notify any changes to members, officers or registered office address.

Partnership

A partnership is a business arrangement where 2 or more people (usually up to a maximum of 20) are in business together to make a profit. A partnership agreement has no limited liability of debts as partners share the business costs, profits and debts

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

The Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) came into operation on 6 April 2001. It is a new legal business structure that aims to combine the flexibility of a partnership arrangement with the benefits of limited liability. The main differences between a limited company and an LLP are that that the latter is taxed as a partnership rather as a corporation and that it has more organisational freedom. An LLP's duties in return for the limited liability status are similar to those applying to limited companies.

Sole Trader

A sole trader is someone who is in business on his or her own account. They are self employed and personally liable for any debts the business incurs.

It is imperative that you work out which of these four options is right for you as it has wide-ranging implications. Often the decision will be forced on you by the rules of the business you work in or your personal circumstances. For example a solicitor or accountant planning to set up his or her own law or accountancy firm is in effect forced to be either a sole trader or in a partnership. This is because the law currently does not allow solicitors or accountants to limit their liability and therefore, will not allow them to form limited companies.

You may like the independence that a sole trader has to offer or you may wish to limit the risk you are taking by opting for a Limited Company or LLP. Either way, you need to consider the decision carefully and should seek specialist advice from your solicitor or accountant.

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How To Avoid The Legal Pitfalls

2008-01-18T01:11:00.001-08:00

By: Jeffrey Benson

No matter who you are you will make mistakes at some point in your business life and unfortunately the law is not very forgiving - ignorance is not a defence. Here are some of the common pitfalls to watch out for when setting up your own business.

Partnerships

A partnership is formed when two or more parties form to start a business, sharing the workload and investing capital to get things going. It is always wise to have a written partnership agreement and get it checked by a solicitor. If you do not have a proper agreement and it all goes wrong, the partnership will be covered by the Partnership Act 1890, whose provisions may not always seem fair.

For example, under it partners can withdraw without giving notice. This could mean they insist on the immediate return of their capital and the business may be forced to close down as a result. If you do not however, have an agreement you may be liable for all sorts of costs and you have no legal standing. It is very important to make sure all of your agreements are legal and will withstand in a court of law.

Clarify Relationships

You can find yourself in a partnership without realising it, for example, if you run a business with somebody but don't employ them, this often happens with husbands and wives or other family members. In a partnership, each partner is responsible for business debts incurred by other partners and there is no limit to their liability.

Put Everything in Writing

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have everything in writing. If things go wrong you have no legal standing without some form of documentation (which includes all correspondence), contracts are the basis of all business relationships. A contract will include four key components: Consideration, an obligation to pay or a promise to provide something in return for something of value. Certainty, the contract must clearly state what is expected of all parties. The intention to be legally bound and an offer and an acceptance. However, contracts can be oral and it isn't always clear when one has been made.

Confirm every agreement in writing so everyone knows where they stand. What is the brief? Who will pay? When? How much? Are expenses included? What are the acceptance criteria? Who will own copyright? It is important that all aspects are covered and that there are no grey areas.

Make Sure all Employees Have a Contract

It is very important to have a contract of employment in place from day one for all employees. Make sure that all new employees are entitled to work in this country, or you could face heavy penalties. The contracts act to protect both parties.

Know your Employment Laws

Employment laws in this country are very precise on what you can and cannot do. Before you fire someone, make them redundant or change their terms and conditions of employment, take legal advice. If you don't, you could find yourself open to claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination or breach of contract. Also warn employees that discrimination, sexual harassment and other illegal acts will not be tolerated.

The Importance of Health & Safety

If you fail to carry out your health and safety obligations you may face prosecution, your insurance premiums may rise and you may find difficulty in obtaining insurance altogether. In the worst cases your business may be closed until you adhere to the Health & Safety laws. Information packs are available from the Health & Safety Executive which will outline your legal requirements. The Government are legally entitled to carry out spot checks on your premises at any time.

Make Sure you are Insured

Insurance is vital from a financial viewpoint. There are also legal requirements for employer's and public liability insurance. If you sell products, product liability insurance will protect you if someone injured by a defect in your product successfully sues you.

Are you Covered?

Many people find it hard to imagine that work they have done will result in a claim for hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, most people only contribute a link in a chain, so the effects of a mistake can be out of all proportion to their individual contribution. If you offer services or advice you must get adequate professional indemnity insurance. Indemnity cover is needed for years after the work has been done, because it has to cover when the claim is made. Failure to do this will leave you open to claims that may make you bankrupt!

Terms and Conditions

If you don't spell out in black and white your terms and conditions of trade (T&Cs) you are giving you customers the licence to pay you when they feel like it. And if they go into liquidation before paying you, you may not be able to reclaim your goods if you do not have a Retention of Title clause in your Terms & Condition's. Draft some suitable Terms & Condition's for your business and ask a solicitor to check them. You must ensure your customer agrees to them, and ideally, signs them when placing an order.

Data Protection

If you keep any information about individuals you may need to notify the Data Protection Commissioner. It is not expensive (approximately �35 per year) and very simple to do. However, it is a criminal offence to break the law on data protection. If you are caught, you face a fine of �5,000 plus costs in a Magistrate's Court, or an unlimited fine in the High Court. Contact your local government who will be able to guide you in the right direction to obtaining the relevant information.

Read the Small Print

Read all loan and overdraft agreements carefully to ensure you understand what you are letting yourself in for. Be very wary of signing personal guarantees. Banks often seek to over secure' their lending. Once you have signed any paperwork you will be legally bound to any terms and conditions that are set out in the small print, no matter how unreasonable they may be. It is imperative that you read all small print before signing anything.

Property Pitfalls

Be careful when signing lease agreements, especially for property. Even if you move and sell the lease on, you could find yourself liable if the next person defaults. Check whether you will be liable to repair and improve the property under the terms of your lease.

Avoiding the legal pitfalls will help ensure that smooth running of your business and will also prevent you from receiving any unwelcome fines.

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Writing an Excellent Business Plan

2008-01-17T21:21:00.003-08:00

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to start a new company, and several other factors that require quite a bit of effort and hard work. Before a potential business owner actually starts the company, he or she must carefully plan out the basics and specifics of what the company is going to do and how it will do those things. Preparation is the key to starting and maintaining a successful business.

Entrepreneurs who have high ambitions of creating and owning a new company must begin the process by creating a rough business plan. A business plan helps the new owner to sort out all of the details and necessary arrangements of the company. The plan itself covers many different principles of the company's regulations and inner workings.

The first creation of the plan will not be perfect, but it should include a general outline of what the business is going to accomplish. After some time, however, it should be trimmed, edited, and solidified until it eventually becomes an official business document. With a professionally created business plan, the implementation and creation of the actual company can more effectively take place.

Once they have realized the true importance of having a business plan, new business owners must also learn how to write a business plan and exactly what kind of information to put into it. There are many different things that can be included in the business plan that establish the foundation of success and growth for the company. It must be organized extremely well and should be designed so that anyone can read and understand the specifics of the business.

A plan's introduction is exactly what it says it is: an introduction to the company. The introduction should carefully outline the goals and objectives of the company and put them into phrases known as mission statements or company slogans. If a business theme or motto can be created and put into the business plan, this will greatly enhance the productivity of the business in the future. Every owner and employee of the company will know, from the very beginning, where the company is headed and what direction that it should go.

The most important part of the company's business model must also include specific directions on how the company will achieve its goals and objectives. It describes absolutely everything that the company will do, obtain, purchase, and sell in order to grow and be successful. Once again, these specific procedures and information should mainly revolve around the principle idea of the company's theme that was created and implemented at the beginning of the business plan.

At the very end of a company's business model it generally describes to people where the company will hopefully be in the next ten to fifteen years. This part of the business plan allows potential owners to express their future dreams and allows others to see what the future potentially holds for this specific business.

When properly written and implemented, the company's business model will ultimately impact the success of the company and will help sustain it in the future. Organization and compulsiveness are the keys to an effective business plan.

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Small Business Start Up Costs

2008-01-17T21:21:00.001-08:00

By: Stephen Campbell

Small business start up costs can prove to be frustrating and stressful for a beginner business owner. Several entrepreneurs are intimidated by small business start up costs and choose to avoid even trying their knowledge in a small business for fear of not achieving success. Because starting a small business involves many expenses, they often think that having such a business will just lead them to failure. Fortunately, there are various ways to finance start up cost for a business; the ones that can help you some of the mounting business costs.

A business plan is an important catalyst of any successful business. In the absence of business plan, you can not easily get an access to business startup loans offered by banks and investors. Letting them know about your business plan can give them confidence. If you have professional business plan, you are providing a blueprint for successful business because you are making a change for your own business to be showcased to potential business startup funding providers. However, in doing this, you must strive to design a business plan that is really convincing and that pictures your abilities to manage such business reflected in your plan.

A business plan, for the purpose of acquiring a loan for business start up costs, has numbers of components. The first few pages showcases the Executive Summary and the Table of Contents. This is followed by the company descriptions- one of the most essential portion of business plans because this explains the short history, the company backbone, as well as the future plans, to the potential investors. The company description sections also mirrors the plan for business possible expansion. In other words, in this section is where the loan providers are most interested to know.

In the company description, you will need to steer clear of discussing that your business is a startup business. Startup businesses are categorized risky investments by most investors. Instead, convey what you have poured to the industry that you are presently in or plan on entering. You can also discuss the things you did that made others become successful. Another is, you shall discuss the growth of your business in the recent months or years and your forecast growth. You have to be sure that during your business plan presentation, you must be in full enthusiasm and passion for your new business venture and so you will be able to acquire a loan for your business start up costs.

Marketing analysis, in a well-written business plan, must be included. This explains your feasibility/ demographic study regarding your potential clients- this can help to convince your potential investors for your start up costs for a business . This portion of your business plan also tells your potential investors on how you are going to promote your business to clients in your target market. This also must show how intense your marketing research to ensure that your product would hit a great demand.
In order to acquire a loan for your small business start up costs , comprehensive financial plan must also be included in your business plan.

Numbers of new and small businesses struggle with the enormous quantity of small business start up costs incurred in order to materialize their business plan. Many entrepreneurs design a professional business plan to help them offer potential investors with their roadmap that shall poise them for success in their new venture.

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How To Start A Business On A Tight Budget

2008-01-17T21:20:00.002-08:00

By: Obinna Heche

First of all, with any new or expanding business, money can often mean the difference between success and failure. Those who have a full time job may one day decide to quit and start their own business with little capital and may find themselves in financial hot water before the business actually gets off the ground. Even if the business requires little or no capital up front, personal daily living expenses must still be paid and your personally finances will suffer without a steady income.

Obviously, with little money you will not be able to start a franchise business for a major corporation that often requires an investment of several thousand or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the beginning you can keep your sights set high but in the short term starting small and building gives you best opportunity to start your own business with little cash.

It may be best to begin your own business while hanging on to your day job until the business income will sustain your living expenses. This can be tough to accomplish at times, especially if you are used to getting home exceptionally tired from a hard day at work. If you decide to begin a business part time while continuing your regular job, be prepared to lose your free time and time spent with family and friends. There will be no extra time while you are essentially working two jobs.

If you work in an industry with which you are familiar and already have all the tools of the trade, starting a business with little cash can be easier. If you already have everything you need to perform the functions of the business as well as the experience, the only thing missing will be customers who take advantage of your business. Even with nothing left to buy to get your business growing, there will still be expenses involved.

While stationary and envelopes and other office supplies may not be important to get you up and running, your time and work is going to be a major expense that will need to be covered from the beginning. Many contend that running their own business is payment enough for their time and labor, yet the grocery store and utility companies may not see it that way. If you have a family, starting your own business will also affect their quality of life and should be taken into consideration when making the decision.

Many online companies have affiliate programs that you can run on a part time basis while still working your regular job. This gives you the opportunity to start to earn extra money while building your plan to operate your own business. There are also numerous online franchise businesses that you can buy into with little cash, enabling you to start your own business. The type of online business should be determined by your interest and willingness to spend the time necessary to make it successful.

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Do I Have The Right Skills To Succeed?

2008-01-17T21:20:00.001-08:00

By: Jeffrey Benson

Making a success of your own business doesn't just require you to have the right personality, attitude and business idea you also need the skills or the ability to pick new ones up quickly. You also need to be able to distinguish what you can do for yourself and what you are better leaving to the professionals.

Assuming you don't have an endless supply of money, when you start your own business you are suddenly responsible for a lot more than just doing your job. If you've always relied on other departments or people to take care of your marketing, IT, legal, finance or admin needs, it can come as quite a shock to realise it's now all down to you. You don't even have a post room to sort out your post.

So carrying out a skills audit is a key part of planning the launch of your own business. There are several important questions that you should be asking yourself:

� Which essential tasks do I feel able to fulfil now?
� Which tasks will I be able to learn how to do through online learning, by talking to friends, colleagues and business support organisations or by going on a course? and
� Which tasks will you always need paid professionals to help with?

Once you have established the above it's a simple question of allocating the appropriate resources and money for the professionals and the time you will need for the task you are confident you can do.

SALES AND MARKETING.

Companies who do not fully understand the importance of Marketing will never be fully successful as the success of your enterprise hinges on whether your customers actually buy into your product, service or brand.

Marketers and sales people have a variety of tools and techniques at their disposal and are constantly seeking new and inventive ways of selling.

You should satisfy yourself that you have the skills and experience to:

� Identify your target market and judge how receptive your customers will be to your offering
� Listen to and understand your customers and be aware of what makes them tick and, in particular, what factors influence their purchasing decisions
� Acquire, handle the relationship with customers and engender and build loyalty
� Be an effective and persuasive salesperson
� Keep the exposure and recognition of your brand high
� Be able to negotiate and know how to close a deal

FINANCE.

Managing the financial side of your business can often prove to be a real challenge. There is little doubt that at some point you will need to use the services of a professional although doing some of the ground work yourself can greatly reduce your accountancy bills. Below are some of the tasks you may be able to carry out yourself.

� Secure start-up capital. You may have to put together a complex business plan and then negotiate with finance houses or venture capitalists to get a loan or an investment. To do this effectively and convincingly, you will need to have a proper grasp of finance issues.

� Budget and forecast. Planning ahead is a vital element in finance management and you must have the discipline to operate within a fixed and often limited budget and the sound judgement to correctly assess how the business and the market as a whole is moving.

� Maintain accounts, petty cash records, profit and loss figures, wages, VAT payments and receipts, tax returns and so on. Many firms do this themselves with easy to use computer-based bookkeeping packages such as clearlybookkeeping and Sage.

� Control credit and manage debt. You must consider how to control which customers you're prepared to offer credit to and your credit terms to ensure that you don't end up facing insurmountable cash flow problems. You also need to put in place and enforce a process for dealing with bad debtors and establish whether contracting out debt collection might be the best way forward.

� Control stock. You must be aware of fluctuations in the value of your stock, especially where depreciation/appreciation of value is likely over a period of time. This movement will impact on your annual profit and loss figures.

� Recruit and manage staff. The dedication and dynamism of your workforce will be important to the ultimate success of your enterprise and you will need to ask yourself whether you have the necessary skills at your disposal to:

� Recruit, retain and motivate staff. Do you know how to recruit the best staff and from where? Are you confident that you are aware of current market salaries and conditions of employment? Are you going to offer bonuses or other benefits?

� Oversee payroll
Will you be managing this in-house or do you plan to contract this out to a third party?

LEGAL.

Like finance, legal is an area that is likely to require professional advice at some point. Again, however, the more you can do for yourself, the less you'll have to pay in the long run. Below are some of the tasks you may be able to carry out yourself.

� Contracts. When setting up any commercial relationship - whether it's between partners, suppliers or customers - a legally binding and professionally drawn up agreement is advisable.

� Copyrights and patents. You may wish to protect your property, brands or ideas by taking out professional copyright.

� Protection against litigation. No matter what type of business you are in, you will need to protect yourself against the risk of legal action, such as litigation.

MISCELLANEOUS

Specific requirements will vary from business to business, but other areas you may wish to consider brushing up on your skills or contracting out to a third party are:

� IT - computers and accessories. Is your knowledge sufficient enough to know what computer systems to use and what equipment you need to run your business? Do you know which suppliers offer the most suitable deals and do you know what packages you will need in the beginning?

� Ecommerce. Do you intent to have a presence on the internet? Have you got the most suitable access package for your needs? Are you considering setting up a website and what will you offer on it? Who will design and maintain your site and how much will it cost?

� Business development. Have you got a coherent business strategy in place and are you imaginative and versatile enough to shift the focus of your business in line with movements in the market?

� Administration. In many businesses, keeping on top of the paperwork is a task that is overlooked, you must however, bear in mind that it is an essential part of the business and requires patience and tenacity more than anything. Bad housekeeping will hinder the smooth running of your business.

You are likely to have at least some but not all of the skills mentioned above. However, there is one vital skill you possess which will allow you to become proficient in all the necessaries, even if you have no prior knowledge in that area. That one skill is organisation.

Knowledge is the most powerful tool you can ever have. Take time to look into all of the regulations, laws and requirements that may affect your business - the more you know the stronger position you will be in. Make sure you make a note of where you found any useful information so you can easily find it again. It is a good idea to find documents or printouts detailing the relevant information and file it away somewhere you can easily access it again when necessary.

Preparing for the unexpected will minimise the element of panic and having access to at least the basic information will help you to prevent paying too much for equipment or services you don't need.

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Which is Better, Investing or Owning a Business?

2008-01-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

By: Scott Johns

There are many benefits to owning your own business. I would like to compare this to investing to help you decide which is better, investing or business ownership. While each has its benefits, both are certainly not for everyone. They have there difference and definitely have their similarities. Both represent a form a gaining financial independence. So which one is better?

Owning your own business means you have no boss and more tax benefits. It also means how much money you make is up to you. If you work hard enough at anything then it will eventually be profitable. The big benefits include doing whatever your passion is and getting paid for it, deciding when and where you want to work, and being your own boss. This truly represents a freedom that almost everyone desires.

The cons of owning your own business could be huge start up costs, working long hours to get the business on its feet, and dealing with big company competition. These are certainly not insurmountable obstacles but they must be considered. The other thing to consider is that many businesses are not even profitable for the first year or so. This is not to say that yours would not be and you hard work would not pay off eventually.

Investing in a business is much like investing in the stock market. You are spending money on something right now that you hope will produce more money in the future. However, depending on the types of stocks you are investing in, you can avoid a lot of the cons that come with starting a business. For example, you can actually be very profitable in a short time with the right stocks, such as penny stocks. You can also start with a relatively small amount of money as you learn how to invest.

You can keep you day job and use a portion of you income every month to invest in the stock market either through a traditional broker or online trading account. This is not to say that you cant start your own business and put money into investing. Its just that for many it would be too financially difficult to do both. Many businesses are definitely good investments but if that seems beyond your risk tolerance then give stock market investing a try. If you learn the ropes you can earn just as much if not more than if you would have started a business, except you wont have any business expenses except for the small trading fees.

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Starting a New Business - Is There a Big Enough Demand?

2008-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

By: Dave Kauppi

In our investment banking business we are often contacted by business start-ups asking for our help in raising money. I am sure that we were not the first organization that was contacted and that these hopeful entrepreneurs had been searching for months for funding. I try to be helpful and spend time on the phone with these people asking what I consider to be basic Business 101 questions. What is your product or service? What unmet need is it designed to fill? Who else is in your space? How does their product or service compare to your product or service? What is the size of the potential market? Why would a customer switch to your company? How do you plan on selling your product?

Often I am amazed that the entrepreneur has focused inwardly on his hobby or invention or software and has given very little thought to the potential market. Why build a business to sell to a small market segment? Every once in a while, an entrepreneur contacts me and the product or service really hits me as a winner. That is what happened when I was contacted by Russ Notestine, an inventor with a unique product. He had many of the elements mentioned above going in his favor but was still struggling because he had little experience in actually marketing a product. One of the reasons I got interested was that Russ had created a product designed to help back pain sufferers.

Well, that was me, so I was all ears. I had tweaked my back in an athletic event, still approaching the competition with the zeal of a college athlete but trapped in a 50 year old's body. I was in significant pain and took the usual over the counter pain killers that only reduced the pain by 10%. The next day I could hardly get out of bed my lower back pain was so intense. I called the local chiropractor and began a treatment routine that involved 3 visits per week, heat, electric stimulation and adjustments. I bought my kneeling chair so I could actually work. I even bought the inversion boots so I could hang upside down in an attempt to provide some kind of relief.

My chiropractor got me to the point where I was at least able to be productive at work, but I continued treatments for almost a year. The medical bills were expensive, totaling about $6,000. The really expensive part was the one and one half hours I took out of my work day 2 and 3 days a week. If any of you run your own company, that expense dwarfed my medical expense. Nothing was working for me and I was ready to eat spiders if I thought it could make this problem go away.

Well, Russ tells me that I am not unusual and that 50 million Americans will suffer from at least one bout of serious back pain in their lives. He had passed test number one. There is a huge market for this product. He is explaining how his Vacupractor works and I am thinking (having seen or heard it all from start up companies), oh come on. He says he has this molded plastic shell that is about the size of your back. He tells me that you spray the device with water and then lay down on it. You then pick up your legs and slowly lower them and this creates a vacuum suction as the air is expelled. The device sticks to your back almost like a hard contact lens sticks to your eye. He explained that the suction stretches your back muscles and gently aligns your spine. Given that I was ready to eat spiders, I asked him to send me the Vacupractor.

My back had been OK for a few months so the thing sat in the box for a couple of weeks with little attention from me. I then strained my back again in my next event and I was feeling the beginning of another bout of back pain. I got home and got out the device and sprayed it with water and followed the instructions to expel the air and create the vacuum. I laid on it for about 15 minutes and could feel my back muscles relax. When I got off it, the pain was not completely gone but was considerably reduced. The next morning I got on it again and as I worked that afternoon I suddenly realized that I was not thinking about my back because the pain was totally gone and the start of a potentially long and painful lower back pain bout had been avoided. I couldn't believe it. I called Russ to tell him about my experience and he said that is pretty much what he hears from other users.

I was so grateful that I told Russ that I would try to help him with his marketing and sales. We still do not have that solved, but in terms of the other elements for a start up succeeding our entrepreneur has several things going for him:

Huge potential market
Totally unique solution to a painful problem
Cost competitive - the device costs less than 1 chiropractor visit
The potential for a big word of mouth viral marketing boost
Good product gross margins

I don't think Russ consciously thought about the Business 101 issues when he started. He was a back pain sufferer and an inventor and he had an unmet need because none of the existing products solved his problem. He set out to create a lower back pain remedy for himself and when he got the solution, he thought, wow, I really have something here and there must be a huge market for it. I think he is right. Now if he can figure out how to generate meaningful sales with a limited marketing budget, he has a chance to turn a great product into a great business.

Here is an examples of a business idea that did not pass the Business 101 start up test. I was contacted by a software company that had built the best system for managing the sourcing of clothing to overseas contract manufacturers. They spent $1.5 million in development before doing any research on the competitive landscape. It turns out that for them to be reasonably profitable, they would have to sell the software license for a minimum of $50,000 per company license. The competitive systems in the industry, although not as robust as this one, had 85% of the functionality. They charged a monthly license fee of $300 per month. Our guys were priced way out of the market and literally shut this division down.

What an expensive lesson that should have been avoided before the start. If you are thinking of creating a company, make sure the economics are in your favor before you start. Are your margins going to be high enough to make the company viable? Another huge oversight by these very optimistic entrepreneurs is they figure like in Field of Dreams, if you build it they will come. Save that one for the field of fiction. In business, if you sell it they will come. Even the best ideas and the best products will die if you are not able to achieve meaningful distribution in a cost effective fashion. Go through this little exercise before you start. Who is in my space? How do they sell their product? Is it through a direct sales channel? What does it cost for a salesman to sell the product? What volume can a salesman reasonably expect to sell in a year? What revenues and profits are generated by a salesman at 100% of quota? What is the company's cost for a salesman at 100% of quota? Does it make economic sense?

The Internet has been a game changer for start-ups with very few barriers to entry. These companies are very easy to start, but almost impossible to scale without some big funding. The sad truth is that the guys that are starting these businesses and getting the funding are guys that have done it before. A great article was recently published in Fortune Magazine about the original founders of Pay-Pal. Well these folks have made investors a lot of money before and the odds are very good that if they did it once, then they can do it again. That theory has been validated with these wizards founding Digg, LinkedIn, Slide, Mozilla, Technorati, and having a significant investment in Facebook.

The VC's line up to give these guys money. For others it is a painful process of endless meetings and presentations and no money. As a start up company, you have many things going against you. Make sure you are not blinded by your great idea. Think about the market demand, your competition, your margins, your sales and marketing, and getting your company to break even. Do not get distracted trying to attract VC financing at this point. If you can generate enough sales to fund your operations through bootstrapping, you have passed a big test of market validation. If you now need financing to take the company to the next level, then the professional investors will start to listen.

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How to Find Your Passion Before You Start Your Business

2008-01-17T21:17:00.001-08:00

By: Reese Leyva

If you're like me, you have a lot of different interests and you're probably very good at a lot of different things, which means you could make money doing just about anything. You could probably even make money doing nothing much at all. The question is:

What do you ENJOY doing? What do you enjoy so much that you could turn it into a business?

Those are the most important questions for any aspiring new business owner when trying to decide what business to start. When confronting these questions I've found, in my experience, there's a few other things to consider before trying to answer them:

a)When you start a business, you suddenly become an "expert" of sorts. People will look to you for advice and information about your field of expertise. The questions now become:

What would you be proud to be an expert about? What are you willing to continue learning about for as long as you're in business? What questions are you happy to answer over and over again?

I knew a man who opened a postal mailbox store and began offering office supplies and services to make more money. However, he was completely disinterested in learning about copy machines, different ways to bind reports or the various bulk-mailing options for marketing mailings. When I met him, this new part of his business was failing and he couldn't understand why. It was my job to tell him it was because HE didn't want that part of his business to succeed!

b)No matter what business you start, you put yourself in the role of Customer Service and Support. The questions now become:

What type of customers, if any, do you enjoy working with? To what degree to you want to work with them? What kind of people would you love to help over and over again?

I was once asked by a financial consultant to help him work on launching a public speaking career. I suggested he conduct a mock presentation in which I, and others, would sit and be his mock audience. At the end of the night, after being bombarded with questions about his slides, he realized that the presentation was targeted to the wrong group of people. His presentation was a "beginner's guide" for those new to personal finance. His true passion was advanced financial planning. He realized that he wanted to work with people who had a highly developed, working knowledge of personal finance as he had found all of our questions boring, mundane and, ultimately, frustrating!

c)Quite often, the work will become so hard and so draining that you'll have to find within yourself a reason to do it even when you don't want to. The questions then become:

What means so much to you that you have to share it with others? What do you believe in enough to want it for others more than for yourself?

When I started my own dance troupe in early 2007, the start-up work was unimaginably grueling, both physically and psychologically. My partner was helping me choose songs for the show while I was choreographing. I was designing costumes while he was making them. Add to that web design, business card design, advertising, writing marketing copy, fielding sales calls and teaching a class twice a week while remaining a dancer myself!

Even though I would have a miniature nervous breakdown every Sunday, the one thing that kept me going was the employment of my dancers. The one thing I was most proud of, that I believed in the most, was their ability to make a living doing what they loved. I was giving that opportunity to my dancers, showing them it was possible. It didn't matter too much to me if I failed or the business failed. What mattered was they needed to know they COULD make money as dancers, that they COULD combine work and passion. They depended on me for that opportunity, and I believed in it so much I just couldn't give up. It's that drive that got me through the first few months of the season, and what kept my dancers loyal and hardworking through all the early kinks.

If you're having trouble, like I have in the past, deciding what your passion is, what business you're truly interested in, ask yourself these questions over and over again. When you can answer all of them clearly, simply and quickly, you'll have your answer to:

What type business do I really want to start?

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Smart Strategies for Successful Offshore Outsourcing

2008-01-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

By: Ray La Foy

First of all, you have to understand what offshore outsourcing services really imply. Offshore outsourcing means that a company will be hiring another company to work on their business processes. The company that offers offshore outsourcing services will be doing the business process or part of the business process.

Companies in developed countries, such as the United States, Canada, and European nations are now outsourcing their business process or part of their business process in order to save money. This is the primary reason why companies today are now outsourcing their business processes.

Companies that offer outsourcing services are usually offshore or are located in other countries. Usually, countries from developing nations do this because of the high demand for outsourcing services from western countries.

If you have a company, then outsourcing can be one of the best things that can happen to your business, in case you choose to outsource your business process in offshore companies. Besides, because you can save your company from spending a lot of money and at the same time fully function as a whole company, who wouldn't want to get outsourcing services from offshore companies?

By outsourcing, your company will be able to save significant amounts of money. This is because offshore companies, particularly in developing nations, charges only a fraction of the amount to get the job done compared to your own country.

Developing nations that usually offers outsourcing services are China, the Philippines, Mexico, and India. These countries are considered to have such a low labor cost that companies from developed countries are considering hiring their services to get their business process work done.

Another benefit of outsourcing for your company is that it can take heavy workloads off and divide it to offshore companies to do part of your company's workload. Because of this, your company will be able to focus on more important matters to make your company more competitive in the world of business.

If you are in the software developing business, it is better that you should outsource part of your software development department in order to cut operational costs and at the same time, let your in-house software development department breathe.

This is because IT professionals in developed countries, such as in the United States charge a high amount of fee for every software developed. If you outsource it to offshore companies, particularly in developing countries, such as India, and the Philippines, that has a large pool of qualified and equally talented IT professionals, they will charge you for only a fraction of the amount that IT professionals will charge you in your own country.

For example, if a programming job costs about 100 dollars in your country and the same programming job in offshore countries cost only 20 dollars to develop, you would want to hire the cheaper alternative. Obviously, if you need 100 or 200 of these programming jobs, you can see the difference in cost. Your company will be able to save thousands of dollars if you offshore your business process or part of your business process.

Always remember that you only have to offshore certain jobs. You should never offshore any projects regarding strategies of your business. You should also consider the quality of the product the offshore company can provide. If the offshore company's product is not at par with your company's standards, you should not hire the company at all. You better look for an offshore company that provides better quality.

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Using Classifieds to Advertise your Promotions

2008-01-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

By: James Reilly

The Benefits of Advertising on IOW Freeads Savvy businesspeople and Online marketers who market on IOWFreeads are able to gain a great deal of benefits from this advertising option. IOWFreeads is an online community where members can exchange information, buy or sell items, seek jobs or even find friends or romantic partners. There are a number of benefits to advertising on IOWFreeads. Two of the most important benefits are the affordability and the ability to reach a large audience. This article will focus on these two benefits and will also offer advice on ensuring your advertising is not just reaching a large audience but is reaching your target audience.

The Price is Right

Consider the cost of advertising on IOWFreeads versus advertising on other websites and there is simply no comparison. The vast majority of IOWFreeads postings are available free of charge to those who use the website.

This means all commercial advertisements for products and services are listed free of charge. Affiliate marketing, which offers business owners the ability to only pay the affiliate when the advertisement generates web traffic, a sale or a lead is an excellent bargain but even that is no match for the free advertising offered on IOWFreeads. Promoting on IOWFreeads becomes even more financially appealing in comparison to other promoting options where the business owner is charged for each time the advertisement appears whether or not it results in a sale being made or even a lead generated.

Reaching a Large Audience with IOWFreeads

In addition to affordability another benefit to advertising on IOWFreeads is the potential to reach a large audience. IOWFreeads receives more traffic every single day due to the advertising created by the webmaster. This is appealing because it allows users to reach a large audience with only minimal effort.

IOWFreeads already has a large following and many Online users already turn to IOWFreeads for whatever they are looking for before searching other resources. Having such a large audience means half of the work is already done for advertisers. They already have high traffic to the website, now they just need to write an eye catching and engaging advertisement that will attract customers.

A Large Audience is Not Necessarily a Target Audience

IOWFreeads certainly has a large pre-existing fan base of regular users but this large audience does not necessarily ensure advertisers will have a target audience just waiting for them to post their advertisement. IOWFreeads is an extensive online community and finding members of the target audience is more important than reaching the entire community.

Business owners can certainly invest a great deal of time and effort placing their advertisement throughout the different sections of the website but this is not likely to be effective. IOWFreeads is divided into a number of different sections and categories for a specific reason. This is to make it easier for users to find the information they are seeking. For this reason business owners should focus on placing their advertisement in sections which are likely to be visited by members of the target audience. Additionally, placing advertisements in multiple sections may result in the moderators of IOWFreeads interpreting the advertisements as spam and deleting them. Whether the advertisements are deleted as spam or rendered ineffective they are not likely to convince members of the target audience to purchase products or services.

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How Do I Improve My Chances Of Getting A Business Loan

2008-01-17T02:35:00.000-08:00

A lender may often give a borrower his complete attention their first meeting when the loan proposal is submitted. And what you must do is to provide the lender with all of the necessary information in an organized manner.

The lender must completely understand your business operation and your loan request. All of this information should be neatly documented in order to provide a complete picture of the business.

Without sufficient data to answer all questions that may arise, he may lose the momentum that had been created for the deal by your first brilliant presentation. Don't trip yourself up in this manner.

Convincing the lender to provide financing is much like selling your products or services. You have to identify your prospects, qualify them, make the sales pitch, and close the deal.

Be ready to answer and back-up the following questions: How much money do you want? Are you profitable? How long have you been in business? Do you have good credit? Are you willing to personally guarantee the loan? And what kind of loan are you looking for?

Now it is on your shoulders to carry off the rest of the deal. Your positive demeanor can be quite effective in winning a favorable impression from the lender about the proposal. Enthusiasm is important to demonstrate that you yourself are confident toward the goals of your business.

Confidence always carries over to the person who views it, and your lender is not an exception. It can win or lose a deal if it's presented in a confident, enthusiastic tone.

By accentuating the positives, you force the lender to focus on the successes instead of the failures. This will reinforce the reasons why the lender should say "yes" to you and your company.

Entrepreneurs are usually creative and persevering and will try whatever it takes to get the package they need. One of the easiest strategies is to provide the lender with ALL of the necessary information they need.

Answer all questions directly, with eye contact, using documented information that will satisfy their concerns. If you are not sure how to answer a specific question, it's best to call the lender back as soon as it is practical to provide the requested information.

And last, research the lending market and find out which lenders are best suited to make the type of loan that you need. Determine which of them has the most interest in the market that you operate in.

See who wants your business and is willing to invest the time and energy to help you succeed. Then present your proposal confidently, in an organized and complete package, clearly and concisely stated.

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Advice For Business Banking

2008-01-17T02:34:00.000-08:00

By: Shaun Parker

When you are applying for a business bank account there is certain information that you must have with you when you first meet your account manager. You must give a representation of the type of business you are running and the business activities you will be undertaking.

Also it is required to give information on where the funds came from to start your business, whether it be from yourself or a group of investors. This allows the bank to assess where your business is in terms of development and define the stability of your finances.

Most bank account managers will also ask to see a business plan; this should contain an overview of what your business does, what it's immediate and long term objectives are and the strategies it will use to pursue these goals. A business plan must also contain accurate financial forecasts and a clear indication of what market the business will be in.

Bank managers do this to get a good idea of the direction of your company but also use it at a later date to measure the level of success your company has experienced.

When you meet the bank account manager you must also have with you a few mandatory documents. Firstly passports and driving licences of yourself and any other partners, these are required by law to prevent illegal money laundering activities.

A certificate of incorporation that all limited companies must possess as well as credit history and previous bank account details are also required. Finally a list of signatories (the persons who use the business account) and examples of each of their signatures must be supplied.

Once all this information is collated by the bank they can open the account, to keep them on side you should remember a few fundamental rules of commerce. Make sure the account is not allowed to go overdrawn without prior arrangement, never exceed an overdraft limit and stick to the account's terms and conditions.

Managing your business account involves keeping a written record of all transactions made whilst retaining and studying all statements received. A great way to keep track of your finances is to compare in detail the transactions in both your business records and your statements. Making sure that those with access to the finances are accountable to the company will also help to keep the bank account in check.

Something worth remembering is bank charges, information will be provided by the bank on all charging policy but it is advisable to fully understand the details. Charges are usually taken monthly or quarterly with advance written warning from the bank, ensure that you check all charges and bring up any disputes you may have in good time.

If you feel large amounts of written correspondence will not inspire you to stay on top of your account situation, online banking is a worthy alternative. Being far more efficient it allows you to check balances instantaneously and move payments between accounts at the touch of a button.

It also makes it easier to set up direct debit payments, order such things as cheque books and statements and download account details for your own records. Online banking offers a cost effective approach to account keeping, often with lower charges and higher interest rates at no extra cost to your business.

Opening a business account may seem a daunting task but as long you can put together an accurate business plan and collate the information you need it can be simple. Banks are there to help and are often supportive to your business needs; just remember to keep them on side by informing them of changes regularly and staying in credit. You will find if you treat the bank with respect your business will have the financial support it needs to succeed.

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Creating A Strategic Business Plan

2008-01-17T02:33:00.001-08:00

By: Obinna Heche

A strategic business plan is a document that all businesses should have before or after they begin operating. Business plans outline all expenses, marketing campaigns, customer service provisions, expected income, emergency funds and any other items that are crucial for the success of the business. Since these goals can change from year to year, it is important to update your business plan to reflect these changes.

When writing a business plan, it is important to understand what you are trying to accomplish. This may seem easy but when you sit down to write the business plan, you will find that you may have numerous accomplishments in your first year. These can include turning a profit, building a brand, renting retail space and hiring employees. While these figures may change once you start your business, coming as close as possible to your goals will help you succeed. By writing down these goals, you will be able to prioritize and decide which goals are the most important.

Day to day operations when running a business can be many, so having a business plan in place before you open is a good idea. Because you can never anticipate everything that happens in your business, being as prepared as possible is also a good idea. In your plan, include an emergency fund buy enough business insurance to cover equipment, employees and other expenses and have enough money to pay for all equipment and supplies without having to borrow too much on credit.

For many people, the dream of business ownership is only possible with the help from a bank. But before a lender will agree to give you a loan, they need to see a solid business plan that outlines all costs and estimates. If you do not have a business plan, chances are you will not receive a loan. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions concerning your new business and why you need a loan. Traditionally, banks do not favor giving business loans to those who are high risk.

If you cannot write a business plan, you can hire a professional writing service that can do it for you. They will take all the information you have available and create a plan that is clear and easy to follow. Once you have a solid business plan, updating it each year is easy. All you need to do is define new goals, add any additional costs including rent increases and equipment costs, the amount of profit you would like to earn and any other information you may want to include.

You can refer to this plan whenever you want to see if your goals are being met and to see if changes need to be made. A business plan is a guide you should follow in order to become successful.

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How To Reach Out To Your Customer

2008-01-17T02:23:00.001-08:00

By: Adam Khoo

Reaching out to your customer boils down to marketing and there are so many aspects of marketing.

There's direct marketing, there's network marketing, there's the regular and traditional bread and butter type of marketing activities, focusing on your location, the way you do marketing, the way you do advertising and promotions.

Think about the avenues and the channels to reach out to your customers. Where is your customer, who is your customer, what would your most likely customer be doing.

Find out what are those areas. You don't just go in and say, ok, I want my customer and make an announcement. You go to the places where these people are hanging out, find out what will they be doing, what kind of magazines they are reading, what kind of hobbies do they have.

Nowadays, using the Internet and additional technologies, it's very, very easy to be able to track with surgical precision to a point where you know exactly where a call or an enquiry came from, and one can know exactly how many numbers are being generated.

For those of you who are having businesses which have got high and large volume, you can literally watch the numbers click through in front of your eyes and it's amazing that technology is now readily available.

To be able to track conversions, there are skills and strategies to do that in order for you to massively generate traffic or to generate leads towards your
business or website.

One of these strategies is to form a community. Some people, they form up a community and they only communicate to the community when they want to sell things to them.

That's a wrong way of applying this strategy. I believe the correct way of application is to give the community high value items for free literally.

Think about what they need, give them what they want, ask them questions within that dialogue. So that they are literally like friends and when you communicate with them, there is not much of selling to do reason being that they have already decided to buy the product or service you are marketing.

So that community has got to be a community that's set up so that it's ready to buy, rather than set up a community that you have to do selling to.

Your customers are the lifeblood of your business, thus it is ever so important to reach out to them in a right way.

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How to Start a Business

2008-01-17T02:22:00.001-08:00

By: Josh Stone

Everyone gets a great idea from time to time. Sometimes it comes at the most unexpected time. These ideas may not seem like much, especially if nothing is done with them. Chances are, you've probably had an idea to start your own business. But for whatever reason, you've chosen not to follow through on the idea. Maybe it's a fear of the unknown or perhaps you simply do not know how to get started. Well, we can't help you overcome that fear, but we can show you how to start a business.

So How Do I Start, Anyway?

It's probably obvious to you that anything you start requires a plan and some focus. A business is no different. In order to start a business, you need to think things through and stay focused. That's one the 5 steps below help you to do.

1. Write That Idea Down

What kind of business do you envision starting? What is the focus of the business? What service/product do you want to offer? These are all questions to think about and answer before beginning the more formal process of starting a business. You need to determine what it is you intend for your business so that you are able to build a plan that actually works.

2. Develop a Business Plan

Now that you have a rough idea of what it is you want your business to do, you must now develop a business plan. Developing a business plan probably doesn't sound like fun, and it really isn't, but it is absolutely essential. This is because the business plan is a representation of who and what your business is. Without it, your business really isn't a business. It's simply a collection of people who do something. Also, your business plan can make or break what government aid you may get.

So how do you develop a business plan? Well, what you need to do is simply put everything about your business into the plan. State what it is your business does, what your business' goal is etc. For this part of starting the business, you might want to hire a business analyst to help you with developing your plan.

3. Look Into Government Grants

The U.S. Government actually wants you to start a business. As such, they are very generous when it comes to government grants for businesses. There is a high probability that you can get such a grant for your business. Check out SBA for more information on potential grants and loans you can get to aid you in starting your business.

4. Find a Building to Lease

What size building you may need to lease will depend on the size your business (how many employees you anticipate having) and the scope of your business' work. In previous years, leasing a building might have been extremely expensive, but nowadays, it is much cheaper. You should be able to find a suitable building to lease at a good price. It is important to remember, though, to take a building inspector with you when checking out potential buildings, just to make sure you are getting the building you think you are paying for.

5. Interview/Hire Employees

Next, you need to hire employees for your business. To this end, you will probably want to place classified ads in your local newspaper to let people know you are looking to hire. You may also want to list on Monster and HotJobs so that your business gets maximum exposure. Then you will want to interview perspective employees. If this is overwhelming to you, you may consider hiring someone that is experienced to help you with the hiring process. Make sure when you are considering hiring anyone that they pass a criminal background check. This saves you a lot of headache down the road.

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A Great Tool for Increasing Your Personal Productivity

2008-01-17T02:20:00.000-08:00

By: Jeremy Johnson

As people start a new year with new goals and resolutions, they'll inevitably look at the previous with one big question on their mind: What happened?

Chances are, they'll feel frustrated. They'll start to look at how they spent their time and money, and almost inevitably, discouragement will start to set in.

The real tragedy is that discouragement from the shortcomings of the previous year are one of the main factors in how quickly people give up on their goals for the new year. It doesn't take long for a cycle of mediocrity and frustration to develop. Next thing you know, people stay as chubby and poor as they always were.

It doesn't have to be this way. One of the best sales trainers I've ever heard says that failure is almost never due to lack of desire and almost always due to lack of training. A person who doesn't know how to succeed will almost inevitably fail, regardless of their desire for success.

Here is the best tool I've ever found for increasing personal productivity and actually helping you achieve your goals. It's this simple. Make a list.

Many of you will say there's no way a simple to do list can solve your productivity problems and help you get where you want to go. Normally I'd agree with you. But this is a different kind of list.

This is what you need to do: Think about one of your goals. Think of the final result you want to enjoy, whether it's losing twenty pounds, paying off your credit cards, or getting an extra $2,000 in the bank.

Break up your big goal into smaller goals and tasks that will help you achieve your goal result. You can make this list as long or as short as you want, as long as each step you create will actually carry you purposefully toward your goal.

Sort the list of tasks according to which are most important and which have to be done before others. Let's say you end up with a list of twenty-five items. You're going to start with the first five and work your way down from there.

On day one of your plan to achieve the end result, you will do everything in your power to get the first five items on your list done. One crucial point: you will never skip ahead. You must not start on task 2 before task 1 is complete, and so on.

Even if you don't complete the first five items on the first day, the day will not have been a failure. All that matters is that you got some of the items done.

If you completed items one through three, but weren't able to tackle four or five, then those are the two that will become one and two on tomorrow's list. By approaching it this way, you guarantee that you'll always do the most important things first, and you will make progress.

Won't that feel great? You'll finally get a little momentum and traction toward the things that have always frustrated you. If you consistently apply this method, you'll become a disciplined and successful person, guaranteed.

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The 5 Step Plan for Creating a Successful Business Plan

2008-01-17T02:19:00.000-08:00

By: Josh Stone

While there are some who are easily able to do this, many business owners find themselves scratching their heads when it comes time to develop a plan. It can be confusing when it comes to deciding what is important, what is not and how to formulate this into something that is useful. The best method for developing a great business plan is to simply take 5 steps and walk through them. If you do this, you will create a successful business plan. The 5 steps of creating a successful business plan are listed below.

Step 1: Evaluation

You've got to start somewhere, and the best place to start is to simply look at your business from the inside out. Closely examine your business, as this will help you to see what kind of things to tackle with your business plan. You should look very closely at the fiscal statements for your business, as these, obviously, determine the success of a business. You should also observe the overall attitude of your business and its employees. For instance, notice if your employees are enthusiastic, bored, angry etc. Their feelings will need to be taken into consideration when creating the plan.

Step 2: Get Help

Creating a whole business plan all on your own probably wouldn't be the wisest decision, as you may completely miss out on some very important areas. Thus, it is advisable to get help when creating your business plan. You may consider hiring an outside consultant to observe things much like you did in step 1. After they've done this, the two of you can go over what you've found and start developing solutions to any problems that exist.

Step 3: Solutions

Next, you need to look at the problems you have found with your current business strategy and think of ways to solve them. Again, you may want to consult with an outside consultant in order to see the most efficient solutions for your problems. This step is probably the most crucial of all the steps in developing a business plan, as a good business plan solves existing problems. Make sure you take your time and really see what to do to fix any problems your business may have.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

You know the problems and have the solutions. Now what? Well, it's time to begin actually writing your plan. You're going to want to start by spelling out the problems faced by your business and then writing the solution to each. Then you may want to delve further into your business by sharing the goals you have for the business over the next year (*hint* Yearly business plans are essential. Don't just write a new business plan every few years, do it every year!). If you haven't already, create this list of goals and incorporate it into the plan.

Step 5: Finalizing It

After you've written your "rough draft" of the business plan, it's time to take it to those in your business. For this, you may want to set up a meeting with all your employees or as many of them as you can include where you go over the plan and ask for suggestions. You can think of this as a "peer review" session, much like you might have in a college English class. Having this meeting allows you to gage the compatibility of your plan with your employees. If there are no major differences between your employees and the plan, you can finalize it now and put it into action. If there are major differences, you simply need to do some revision. Then hold another meeting and hopefully finalize it then.

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