eBay business

Opening a small business can be as easy as starting an eBay business!

Why eBay is Still a Great Place to Start an Online Business

Having your own small business can be as easy as starting an eBay business, buying and selling at eBay.com, one of the best online marketplaces.


eBay, one of the most popular online marketplaces, was founded in 1995, and is made up of buyers and sellers, regular people like you and me. There is still no place else where starting a small business is made so easy. Whatever means you choose to sell, online, offline at a storefront, or from a home-based small business, the key factor determining your success will be the amount of traffic you are able to attract to your business.


Even having your own website business does not guarantee instant success, because it will take time, know-how, and hard work to build consistent trafficand a profitable business, probably one or more years.


However, because eBay already has the traffic, when you buy into it, you are immediately buying into all that traffic, and terrific selling tools too! If you have a good product that people really want, starting an eBay business can be the quickest way to success.
eBay Selling Advice
after registering on eBay, go to ebay.com and before you began selling, do tons of research; if you have not already done so, get to know the eBay.com website thoroughly, in detail, including their fee schedule.
Know what sells well on eBay. For example, house wares are always selling well (but select any category you want). From any eBay page under the Category pull down menu at top of page (or from menus in left margin), select Home & Garden / Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living / Outdoor Cooking & Eating (use menus in left hand margin to refine search for each selection). Then in left margin of the "Outdoor Cooking & Eating" page, scroll further down and click on "Completed Listings."
Scroll down and find those items sold that had lots of bids or sales. These will be items that are popular and selling the best. This is one direct and easy way to research and find the types of products that might be the most profitable for you to sell on eBay.


Research the sellers of popular items you have found. Study eBay members that are successful (many times these are eBay "Power Sellers") by studying the content and design of their listings.
Look also for sellers that were not successful and try to determine why they were not successful in selling their item by examining such things as the listings content, style, particular item being sold, and its asking price.

What it takes to open & run a successful restaurant

What it takes to open and run a successful restaurant

Have you ever thought about opening your own restaurant and want to know what is involved? Perhaps you are a foodie and are curious to know what goes on behind the scenes. I interviewed Paul Turano, Chef/Owner of Tryst, to learn the real deal!


How did you get Tryst started?
I took a major risk opening Tryst. I had owned a 30-seat restaurant at the time and leveraged the equity from my condo, lines of credit, and personal loans with interest to fund it. I put all the money I had into the restaurant and lived very modestly until I was able to pay off all my debt.

One thing that was in my favor was that I had excellent credit and understood the importance of paying vendors and staff on time.

How did you come up with the name of your restaurant -- Tryst? Your website references the definition as being "1. An agreement to meet at a certain time or place; 2. A meeting or meeting place that has been agreed upon; 3. To us, a love affair with food and wine."


My friend who had worked for me part time at my other restaurant also owned an advertising agency came up with the name. I thought it was a perfect fit for what we were trying to do.

Why did you choose Arlington as a location?
Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington is a great location -- it's easily accessible and surrounded by affluent towns such as Winchester, Lexington, and Belmont, and there is parking on the street and in a nearby lot.


What type of food and drinks do you serve?
Contemporary American cuisine -- I like to keep the menu approachable, and it changes frequently. Offerings range from salads with chicken or salmon to fish tacos, house made pasta, striped bass, and steak tips. Fresh products from local sources are always used to the extent possible, and everything is made from scratch. We also serve wine, cocktails, and dessert and have a kids menu.


How do you know how much food to purchase for a given day or week?
It really is trial and error. You run out of something one week, you order more of it the next. If you go overboard, you have waste. After 2 years, you can start to look at trends in ordering.


What is it like to own a restaurant?
It is very difficult and there are different ways to do it. 1) You can open a restaurant on your own as a sole proprietor; or 2) you can open a restaurant with partners. Both can be rewarding. Option number two is the least risky way to do it, as there is often salary and benefits up front, and you don't have to raise as much capital on your own. I chose to do it on my own, and it was a very stressful option.

What challenges are involved in starting and running a restaurant?


Owning a restaurant is a 24-hour a day job. You have to always be available in case issues arise -- and they do. So many things can go wrong from the dishwasher breaking to food not being cooked properly, and there are so many decisions to make, such as which computer system or dishware you should purchase and hiring the right staff. It is key to find the right people, and there's lots of training involved.

There are also financial challenges -- there are many things in addition to food and staff that you have to pay for such as rent, chemicals, and dumpster fees, which all really add up. Overall, it is very challenging opening a new restaurant, and the first year is a battle. It took me 5 years to get the restaurant running smoothly, get return on investment, and be able to breathe. The debt was huge, and any money that came in went towards paying down the debt.

I have heard that getting a liquor license is challenging, was it for you?
It was a very difficult and expensive process. In Arlington, if you purchase a restaurant from a previous owner, the liquor license is not transferred. Once you get one, you don’t own the liquor license either like in some other locations, so there’s no cash value.


How do you stay current and successful in the restaurant business?
I always look to improve things and put myself in the customers' shoes. The kitchen team at Tryst constantly challenges each other to come up with a better presentation design, improve existing recipes, and develop new dishes. I am always trying to come up with the next cool item. I have also re-designed and renovated the restaurant several times since it first opened. Overall, I have to stay involved and keep a tight, tight eye on everything.

One may think opening and running a restaurant could be a very exciting thing, but there is clearly a huge amount of time, effort, and money involved. Therefore, be realistic and be prepared before engaging in an entrepreneurial venture such as opening a restaurant. Of course, the rewards can be great if you do it right!

By Ellen Keiley

How do I start my own business?

How do I start my own business?

I want to start my own business. Where do I begin?

“Starting a business is more than a catchy name and flashy business cards. They really need to do their homework to educate themselves on all the other spokes involved,” said Renee Hode of Central Piedmont Community College’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Center.

Here are Hode’s tips for getting started:

Begin by interviewing yourself. Ask yourself tough questions: Do you have the traits of an entrepreneur? Do you have the characteristics to help you succeed? And does the business opportunity meet both your personal and professional goals?


That last question is often overlooked, Hode said, but it’s essential to think about what’s important to you in everyday life. “Some individuals will come in and want to start that auto shop, or start that salon, but they might have a different lifestyle in mind,” she said.

For instance: “ ‘I’m a parent, I have three children, I want to be home on the weekends.’… Do those things align well with the business you want to start?”


Do your research. Generally speaking, most businesses will fail within the first three years, Hode said. So research and planning is critical to the viability of your business long term.

Among the areas to study: Is there a need for your service? Will your business provide a solution to a problem? Or what are you doing differently that will give you a competitive advantage over businesses providing a similar service? Make sure your idea is feasible and unique to the marketplace.


Know what you know – and what you don’t. Say you want to start a restaurant. Do you have experience in the industry? If not, your first step is to educate yourself in the trade in order to be successful. And that might mean taking on a job in the industry, Hode said.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to ... be there day-to-day to see what are all the things that occur” – from back-of-the-house duties, to the kitchen, to busing tables, to working the front of the house.


Also, be aware of the financial, accounting and legal matters involved in running a business – from doing payroll to picking the best business structure. Take classes or seminars, or look for people with these skills to include on your team.


Write a business plan: You need to show investors or banks you have a strategy if you want them to help fund your business. A business plan helps with that, by detailing your costs from startup to opening day for your business to daily operations, Hode said. A business plan is also a road map to keep you on course with the mission of your business.


Finally, pay attention to how you feel throughout the process. Some people keep that passion for what they want to do and have the tenacity to go through all the steps, Hode said.

But “if you’re having a hard time dedicating yourself to putting together the plan, you’re probably going to face a lot more challenges along the way in running and operating the business,” she said.


“We have a lot of great ideas. Everyone does,” Hode said. “It’s being able to live up to that charge, to take that idea, to execute it and turn it into your dream, your passion, your profitability.”

Starting Your Own Business - An Alternative To The Job Search

Starting Your Own Business - An Alternative To The Job Search

(NAPSI)—While being laid off or “downsized” can be a traumatic time for anyone, especially in a tight job market, it could also be an opportunity to change your career direction. One popular alternative is to start your own business. After all, how many of us dream of “being our own boss” and controlling our own destiny? But is starting your own business right for you?

There are four key questions you will need to ask yourself before making the transition from worker to entrepreneur:

• What sets you apart? According to CNN, there are nearly 6 million small businesses in the U.S. What skills are you able to perform, or what products are you able to produce that will set you apart and make you better than the rest? It is vital that you do your research to see how saturated this particular segment of the market is.

• What skills are you lacking? When you start your own business, you become responsible for every aspect. Do you know how to write a business plan, analyze profit margins and set prices? Do you know the regulations governing your industry? What tax implications do you need to understand? Does your industry require particular certifications? You may need to consider additional education, whether it be a certificate or a full academic degree. Speak with other small-business owners; ask them if there is education they wish they had pursued before starting out.

• How are you going to pay for this? Consider all your expenses. Will you operate your business out of your home or will you need a physical office space? Will you be a sole proprietor or hiring contractors and employees? What types of insurance and precautionary measures are necessary? It is crucial to keep in mind the amount of time it takes to build a customer base; it is likely that you will be operating at a loss for the first couple years. Do you plan on taking out a loan or seeking investors? Also, consider the amount of risk involved-is there another steady income in your household or is this business the sole income?

• Where can you seek help? Many small businesses thrive by helping each other out. If you are not willing to get out there and talk up your business, entrepreneurship is probably not for you. Work with your local chamber of commerce and small-business administration; they provide resources for promoting your business and networking and serve as excellent resources for the inevitable bevy of questions you will have along the way.

8 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Business From Home

8 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Business From Home

Launching a business from home can provide tremendous flexibility and the kind of work-life balancethat we all crave. But the reality is that home businesses bring their own set of challenges, says Caroline Daniels, lecturer for entrepreneurship and technology at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. For example, "doing your business on your own from home can get stale. It's hard to keep feeding the imagination all on your own."

Here are eight mistakes to avoid when starting a business from home:

1. Spending Too Much Time at Home: Loneliness is the number one complaint from people who work at home, says Anne Alexander, a small-business coach in Brevard, N.C. "Many people are not prepared for the isolated working environment." While it may seem easier to do everything virtually, that isn't the best approach. Instead, take time away from your home office for face-to-face meetings that will help build your business. Plan lunch dates, attend networking groups or work from coffee shops to build a social element into your day, Alexander says
2. Keeping a 24-7 Work Schedule: When Leon Oks co-founded iCanvasART, an online seller of custom canvases, he and several employees spent day and night working from his dining room. It's a recipe for burnout. "You're feeling guilty that you're not working, and there's no disconnect," Oks says. Eventually, he asked employees to leave by 6 p.m. and made sure to schedule free time into his day. But this year, he moved his Niles, Ill.-based company to an office space because the growing business was becoming difficult to manage at home.
3. Allowing Interruptions: Without a boss breathing down your neck, it's easy to take a phone call or two from family and friends. But when you're constantly in "interrupt mode," it hurts your business focus, Daniels says. To combat disruptions, she recommends setting aside blocks of quiet time throughout the day when you don't allow phone calls or email alerts. You also need to be careful about getting pulled too often into distracting chores like laundry or childcare. Remind family members and babysitters of your work hours and explain you'll be answering only urgent requests.
4. Depending Too Much on Loved Ones: Without coworkers around, you can easily fall into a habit of talking out your business problems with your spouse or friends. But loved ones may get weary of talking about your business. What's more, they may not provide the best advice because they don't always understand your business, Alexander says. So, try to connect with others in your field to develop an informal network of advisors. "Build a mastermind group of others with home-based businesses," Alexander suggests.
5. Failing to Create a Separate Work Area: Even if you don't live in a huge home, set aside a space reserved almost entirely for work. Opt for a little-used room or even an empty corner of your living area to create a physical divide between work and home. If you must work in a common area of the house like the dining room or kitchen, put away personal objects to set a professional tone for the day, Daniels says. "Even if you don't have a separate space, you can create it."
6. Letting Employees Abuse Your Home: You risk damage to your home if you don't establish rules for how employees should behave there. For example, Oks got stressed out over how his workers would eat lunch in his living room, walk on his light-colored carpet with their shoes on, and tack notes onto the walls. Instead of scolding employees later, it's better to set expectations from the get go, Oks says. "Set up rules you're comfortable with." Oks began asking employees to take off their shoes and clean off their workspace at the end of the day so he could use his dining room table each evening.
7. Getting too Busy to Stay Organized: As work piles up, it's easy to let organization slide, says Tata Harper, who started an eponymous skincare line at her home in Shoreham, Vt. "It is easy to succumb to disorganization when you are working in the same place that you live since it is a private space that you don't often share with" coworkers or other visitors, she says. Harper files papers away before they pile up and stores only business-related items there. In addition, she finds that decorating and brightly lighting her office motivates her to keep it clean.
8. Starting the Day Without a Plan: "Without conscious decisions about how to spend your time, your day can slip away without much to show for it," says Elaine Quinn, Chicago-based author of There's No Place Like Working From Home (Calloran Publishing, July 2011). Instead, give time to both short-term actions and long-term goals so you run your business in a more balanced manner. Create a schedule and stick to it. "Rather than making to-do lists, enter tasks directly into your [daily] planner," which allows you to set a specific deadline for completing each task, Quinn says. Also, make sure you leave unscheduled time in the day to deal with important but unexpected issues that crop up.

BY ALINA DIZIK 

5 Ways to Cope With Working From Home

5 Ways to Cope With Working From Home

With millions of people still unable to make it to their offices in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many entrepreneurs are likely spending this week working from home. While working from home is a reality for many, it can be a difficult adjustment for those who are used to the collaborative environment of an office. Toronto-based psychologist Amanda Beaman, who specializes in anxiety disorders, says natural disasters and events that are out of our control tend to heighten uncertainty, causing us to feel anxious and can negatively affect our productivity.

Use these tips to ensure your workday at home remains productive:

1. Be conscious of unproductive worry. During times of stress, you may find yourself forecasting into the future and worrying about hypothetical situations. Beaman says focusing on "what if" situations is unproductive worry. "It’s unproductive because there’s no real problem yet that can actually be solved," she says.

Be conscious of your thoughts and focus only on the concerns that are within your control. "When you notice yourself engaging in that pattern of thinking where it’s really unproductive, say to yourself: 'this is not a problem I can solve right now, so I’m going to delay thinking about this for now and return to what I was doing',"says Beaman.

2. Make a plan. "Human beings respond well to structure," says Beaman, who argues most anxiety issues are caused by interruptions in routines. Making a plan for your day can help you to regain structure. "Break up your day into small chunks and set some specific goals for yourself," says Beaman.

Goals not only help to provide structure to your day, they also help assess your accomplishments. Take care when setting your goals that they’re attainable, especially if you’re dealing with technology shortages. "Recognize that you may not be able to accomplish what you normally would when you’re in your office," says Beaman, and set realistic goals accordingly.

3. Reward yourself. "Having things to look forward to at various points of the day can be helpful [in combating feelings of uncertainty]," says Beaman. Schedule rewards into your day. Whether that means enjoying a cup of tea or watching a television program you normally don’t get to watch during the workday, these rewards can help you feel calm about the situation.

4. Communicate with your family. Working from home changes the family dynamic, especially if children are home from school. Create a plan for your family and discuss it together at the beginning of the day. "Be assertive enough to communicate what your needs are," says Beaman. Plan how you can get your quiet work time and offer kids rewards for being good participants.

Offering a pizza night or a family game night if kids play quietly, allowing mom and dad to work, not only gives them something to look forward to but can help calm their own anxiety about the situation.

5. Fight feelings of isolation through relaxation techniques. In addition to the change in your routine, you may also be feeling cooped up and anxious about not being able to leave your home. Make use of relaxation and meditation techniques such as yoga and deep breathing exercises to calm your nerves during times of heightened insecurity.

BY LISA EVANS

Entrepreneurs Need New Growth Models To Scale Up

Entrepreneurs Need New Growth Models To Scale Up

Startups are usually so focused on selling more of their branded product or service to their own customer base (organic growth) that they don’t consider the more indirect methods (non-organic growth) of increasing revenue and market share. Non-organic growth would include OEM relationships, finding strategic partners, “coopetition,” as well as acquisitions.

This initial focus is usually driven by limited financial and people resources, as well as the bandwidth of the executive team. Yet a creative and skilled team will often find that non-organic growth techniques can better leverage these limited resources.

An example of a startup which used non-organic growth early and effectively was Microsoft. Bill Gates started producing software solutions, like his Basic Interpreter and MS DOS, but quickly focused on adding thousands of small partners for applications, and major partners like IBM and other hardware manufacturers. Even mergers and acquisitions (M&A) came early.

Some people feel that organic growth is “better” because it requires real innovation and sustained effort to create long-term competitive advantage through differentiation and efficiency. They might agree that it cannot compensate for the speed and scale of growth of the non-organic approach, but has lower risks of failure.

Despite the risks, there are many advantages of non-organic growth, even in startup environments:

• New product or service lines. Organic growth assumes innovation in the product or service, but non-organic growth through white labeling and strategic partners may add totally new brands and services to your revenue stream.
• Fresh customer base. Teaming with another company, or buying another company, can add new geographical locations and new customer segments to the business. These relationships need not require cash investments; often they are done with exchanges of equity or assets.
• Economies of scale. In many cases business opportunities with competitors (coopetition) will open up a new marketing channel, and definitely give you the cost advantages of scale. Economies of scale also apply to marketing, distribution, and sales.
• New management skills. New business relationships mean new perspectives and new executives working on the opportunity. This can be a significant competitive advantage over major competitors, and overall reduces competition in the market place.

I’m certainly not proposing that one mode should be used to the exclusion of the other. Rather, I recommend that you pursue both concurrently, per the advantages of each. For example, if you are in an industry which is fragmented or has a slowing growth rate, with too many competitors, non-organic growth may be required for survival.

Use organic growth options for things which you do best, where there is plenty of room for growth by selling your products in new geographic areas, or using new sales channels, such as through a wholesaler or website. Organic growth is typically safer because you’re using a tried-and-tested business model, and you can reinvest profits back into the business.

Certainly non-organic growth has its pitfalls. Entrepreneurs, while partnering with or acquiring a new business, must check for compatibility and strategic fit. Yet startups looking for investors need to evaluate all the growth alternatives from the very beginning. “No growth” or even slow-growth companies waiting for an Angel may have a long wait.

Marty Zwilling

Sharing Start-Up Advice

Women’s Entrepreneur Event – Sharing Start-Up Advice

At the Entrepreneur Center’s Women’s Coffee Series, I was interviewed by Beth Chase, CEO of C3 Consulting. Women entrepreneurs and those considering starting a business asked some interesting questions during and after the session. Below are my favorites, along with my answers.

Q. The vast majority of start-ups fail in the first five years. As the founder and president of Lovell Communications, when did you feel like you could relax and know your business was going to make it?

A. This is our 25th anniversary, and sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. But at the end of our fifth year, I was so happy to be “over the hump” that I had stood on my desk and had my photo taken. I knew the odds, and it was time to celebrate.



Q. How would you describe your leadership style?

A. Evolving. It’s important to lead by example, but I think it’s really critical for leaders to constantly learn and evolve, because the nature and the needs of the workforce change. Frankly, in my youth I was probably too impatient and fiery. I think I have finally figured out a way to back off a little without “losing my edge.”

Q. What’s your greatest fear?

A. Losing my edge.

Q. What are you most proud of as it relates to the business you started?

A. Many times people have used one word to describe the talent we have at Lovell Communications, and I am most proud of that word. The word is, “smart.” I love that brand.

We had a good time at the meeting sponsored by the Entrepreneur Center; the meetings are monthly and open to anyone. For a schedule of speakers call the EC or review their website. They have some cool stuff over there.

by Paula Lovell 

Don’t kill your startup. Build your team. Train your team. Then let them go.

Don’t kill your startup. Build your team. Train your team. Then let them go.

Whether you’re a male or female entrepreneur, starting a company feels a lot like giving birth. You went through the planning, the pain, the emotional roller coaster of fear, excitement and anxiety and, months later, you came out of it stronger than ever.

Fast forward a year or two past the launch. Your startup is a teenager, nearly ready to step into adulthood. It has full-time employees, a 1-800 number, maybe even a blog. There’s just one problem: You’re still cutting the crusts off your startup’s sandwiches. That is, you’re still fielding phone calls from clients, working hands-on with the product, probably even writing the blog yourself. You’re babying your startup by working in the business instead of on the business.

More than likely, it’s because you’re too afraid to let go. But if you keep treating your business like a baby, it will keep acting like one — in the form of infantile profits, sophomoric growth rates, underdeveloped vendor relationships, and an overall juvenility that will cripple your ability to accomplish long-term goals.

Fortunately, there’s a solution for this: Cut the cord … as in, the umbilical cord.

But how do you let go of the fear that’s tethering you to your business?
1. Create — and hand off — a systems manual.

The first step is to facilitate the evolution of your company from a clumsy, awkward, pimply-faced teen into a capable, debonnaire young adult. Create systems for each aspect of your business so that new employees can step in and quickly take over those roles. It’s easier than you’d think.

Walk through each process, from start to finish, and write down every step. The number of steps can range from four or five up to 100 or more for each aspect of the business. This should include everything you currently do, from direct client interaction to press releases and everything in between. Just make sure you document every last piece of the puzzle.

Congratulations, you’ve just created a systems manual. Now hand it to someone else and never answer the front office phone again … ever.
2. Hand-pick and personally train your leadership team.

OK, so “handing it to someone else” might be an oversimplification. Once you have your systems documented, the next crucial step is trusting others to undertake those responsibilities. Like a 20-something learns how to do laundry, pay bills, and survive away from mom and dad’s basement, your startup needs to learn how to run itself.

That means you have to let go of the day-to-day operations.

Letting go can cause emotional discomfort and logistical friction, but the end game is well worth it if you have the dedication and focus to continually improve on your systems. To do that, it will help if you train (and possibly hire new) individuals who will be taking over the most key functions of the business, e.g. marketing, client-care, development, etc. This will be your leadership team.
3. Give your leadership team the autonomy to develop their own systems.

Once you have a team in place, they can handle all of the subsequent hiring, training, and creation/implementation of new systems. Over time, they’ll need to bring even more high-quality people into the operation as your systems continue to evolve and expand. These new team members, like the original leadership team, will create and implement systems of their own.

Essentially, it’s an intelligent design/watch-maker scenario. Build a regular wristwatch, and you’ve got a nice timepiece on your wrist. Build a wristwatch that’s smart enough to build more wristwatches, though, and you’ve got a self-sustaining business.

Your leadership team will report directly to you with regular status updates, as well as information regarding important new matters. That should help curb your anxiety over letting go of the day-to-day operations.
4. Test your team by taking a short sabbatical. (Really.)

Once your startup is, to quote the movie Swingers, “all growns up,” you’ll find yourself with a lot more time on your hands. The true test of your systems comes when you can step completely away from the business for a month and come back to a more profitable, more successful company than when you left.

(Note: As a word of hard-earned advice, you might want to start with a week or a single day and then build up to a month-long hiatus.)
5. Congratulations — you can now run your business strategically.

Now you can finally afford to look at the big picture. You can come up with ideas for long-term growth, supplemental revenue streams, new partnerships, and other big-picture ideas that you never would have had time to think through had you still been writing your company’s blog.

You’ll be amazed at what new things you can accomplish when you let go (at least partially) of what you’ve already achieved and focus on what’s next.

by Council, Nick Friedman

The 3 Jobs Your Start up Should Outsource

The 3 Jobs Your Startup Should Outsource

If you’re running an early-stage startup, chances are there are some knowledge gaps in your core team. You may be strong on the technical side or a product whiz, but what about financial strategy, administration, HR? Are you prepared to manage the day-to-day of your startup, from recruiting new talent to bookkeeping to financial planning?

If you have a knowledge gap within the ecosystem of your organization, you need to fill it. But your in-house startup team needs to focus on developing your products and service, creating partnerships, and earning revenue. Your internal resources should be focused on your core competencies, not on these side tasks.

So, what should you do? Outsource — to professional consultants or groups.

The best plan is to outsource whatever services you can so as to save on the highest business costs of all — staffing costs — while getting the support you need and the assurance that these functions are being taken care of by professionals.

Specifically, you can outsource the following 3 functions:

1. CFO: If your company has closed a seed round of funding or is earning more than $250K per year, you need a CFO to handle your financial strategy and run your accounting team. Even if you’re not yet funded or earning significant revenue, you may still be in need of CFO services. For example, if you’re in high-growth mode or have a lot of activity or expenses, you definitely need a financial professional to oversee your financials.

Depending on your needs, a consulting CFO may be able to help with financial projections, cash forecasts, operating budgets, financial plans, pricing, reporting, debt management, M&A, equity and debt negotiations and liquidations. Overall, CFOs help you with business planning, providing your business plan with essential rigor. Your business is creating a product or service; finance is not your business. Look for a professional CFO who has experience working with startups.

2. Accountant: If your financial status doesn’t warrant hiring a CFO, you still need financial support; at the very least, you’ll need help with your day-to-day accounting and regulatory compliance. Outsourcing your bookkeeping to the right firm will give you the support you need for cash management, AP/AR, financial close and taxes.

You can also hire a consulting group to provide accounting support on a project basis. So, whether you need help with audit preparation or generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), your accounting partner can give your accounting issues the attention they need — so you can focus on other things.

3. Human Resources: Any entrepreneur can attest to the fact that HR can be a total time suck. From recruiting to managing personnel issues, from compensation to benefits, from payroll to employee policies and procedures, human resources management can take over your entire schedule. And HR costs include much more than wages — all HR functions, while non-revenue driving, have an associated cost. Outsourcing your HR functions is definitely a cost as well, but when you calculate it out per employee (and figure on the invaluable savings of staying in compliance) it becomes clear that this is a necessary business cost.

While your company is in its early stages, it’s essential to get support, but only as you need it. To outsource doesn’t mean you just hand over a function and forget about it. You’ll still want to be apprised of all aspects of your startup; hiring the right consulting groups will insure that you stay informed.

Remember, you don’t outsource to make a service disappear; you outsource to reduce your cost structure and keep your internal resources focused on your business. When you outsource necessary functions on an as-needed basis, you can concentrate your internal team efforts where they are most needed: growth. And the companies you hire will help you stay on track as your company grows to the next level.

The Story of an Accidental Young Entrepreneur

The Story of an Accidental Young Entrepreneur

An accidental entrepreneur, that's what I call myself when people ask how I started my own art/craft show and event planning business. Never would I have imagined going into business for myself at the age of 25. What started off as a passionate hobby of crafting, accidentally evolved into a full time job. To fully understand where I'm coming from, maybe I should start from the beginning.



Growing up, I attended a variety of art and craft events with my mother on the weekends. It was definitely a bonding activity we did together for "just the girls," as I grew up in a household with two older brothers. As I got older, I should have noticed my entrepreneurial spirit would end up being my life path. At 10-years-old, I would go around the house trying to sell pencils to my family members for 10 cents. Then, in high school, I would go door-to-door offering to paint addresses on the curbs of the neighbor's homes for $10 per house, a business I inherited from my older brother who just left for college at the time. Later, in high school and college, I held various jobs with sales incentives, and won nearly every sales contest. There was just something about the thrill that made me want to succeed and take on a challenge and lead the way. Funny that at the time I didn't see the entrepreneurial signs. But it was only a matter of time before we crossed paths.



After graduating college in 2008 with a degree in Communications and an emphasis on Public Relations, I worked at a couple of ad agencies specializing in event planning, social media and public relations. On the side, I also began taking cake-decorating classes at a local craft store to feed my creative energy. Upon completing the courses, I came up with the idea to sell my items at local arts and craft shows for fun (again that unknown entrepreneurial drive). Not to mention, being 24 at the time, I could use any extra income I could get living on a Ramen Noodle diet fresh out of college.



As I started to attend these shows, I noticed there was a large generation gap with the products being sold, and what appealed to me vs. the veteran craft scene attendees and crafters. It was only a matter of time before the entrepreneurial wheels in my head began to turn. I began to toy with the idea of starting a new generation of art and craft events, focusing on unconventional, funkier and out-of-the box items. Basically, a show that would wipe away the stereotypical stigma of arts and craft shows being focused on potholders, stockings and doilies. Thus, I launched my first show shortly after my 25th birthday in June of 2011, known as the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. The first event featured 45 eclectic vendors I had found through the power of social media, Etsy and recruiting at local handmade events.



The shows were a hit, featuring items such as: vases made out of recycled light bulbs, hand-grown herbal tea, jewelry from upsycled vintage finds, photography that looked like letters of the alphabet, home décor items, including jewelry holders made out of driftwood and wire, and much more. I quickly found as the show gained momentum, the demand and interest in the Avant-Garde show line grew. What started with 45 vendors quickly has grown to more than 135 per show in less than a year. On top of that, we were receiving anywhere from 500-1,200 customers per show, and my vendor lists grew from about 100 vendors to over 2,000 in this same time period. I quickly began to realize there definitely was a market for this, and I was excited. It was also thrilling to be able to combine my love of the arts with my event planning, social media and public relations background. Because of that, I was able to take these shows and begin to transform the local arts scene in my community.



While the process was exciting, moonlighting as an entrepreneur while working a full-time job during the week was definitely trying. My family would actually joke that I worked two full-time jobs, which actually was pretty true. Eventually something had to give, and in April of 2012 it did. After recently landing the cover of a major local magazine for their arts and entertainment issue, I was brought into the office of my-then advertising job and was told by the owners that they needed someone 100 percent committed to the agency. It was their fear that I wasn't, as my side job was taking off and at times, taking time away from my fulltime job. I was fired on April 24, 2012.



At the time, I was devastated, especially never having been fired from a job, and especially because I wasn't planning on losing my job or going solo for at least few years, if at all. It was that night, after having a good ugly cry (as I like to call it), I decided that I was going to pursue this dream and see where it took me. I figured, I'm in my 20s, I'm not married, I don't have kids, I already have a great thing going, if there is anytime to do this, it's now. So I did.



Looking back on it, losing my job was the push I needed to fly from the nest and spread my wings. Without that, I could have missed one of the greatest life adventures and opportunities I've experienced to date. Who is to say I would have never left my day job, and left behind my dream of truly pursuing a career in what I love? To this day, I may never know, but the opportunity that was handed to me that day -- or rather forced upon me -- has been the best I have ever experienced. I can take something I'm passionate about, designate my own hours, work from my home office, and also help others achieve their own goals of selling their items and launching their own businesses.



I'm still definitely a start-up, officially full time since that fateful day in April, and I still have so much to learn. I'm a one-woman show doing everything from logistics, blogging, social media, public relations, managing my books, coordinating with vendors, recruiting vendors and everything in between. I'm fortunate enough to be able to support myself financially with this new career, and have the privilege to be able to work with amazing talent each day.



In addition, I also have the ability to support local charities and give back to the communities surrounding me. From each event that is held, I donate a portion to local non-profits, to help keep money in local businesses and stimulate the economy. A list of supported charities and funds raised can be found at the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show website.



Overall, my goal is to continue to thrive and grow as a young entrepreneur and evolve my brand. The doors of opportunity that have opened since founding the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows occur each day. I've since launched Rebecca Adele Events, a company that specializes in event planning, social media and public relations. I've also learned that asking for help is okay. I've recently brought on an intern, and have a great group of friends and mentors that I turn to for advice when I can't make up my mind on something, or just need someone to listen.



I've never been a numbers person, so hiring a great accountant to triple check my work has also helped tremendously -- something I recommend to anyone who is starting a business. I've also joined Ladies-who-Launch, a networking organization for female entrepreneurs. This has also been a great learning tool and allows me the opportunity to meet like-minded women entrepreneurs. I also make it a point to regularly read books on female businesses, start-ups and the industries in which I work. Each week, I also make it a priority to set aside an hour to read online articles that are relevant to both of my businesses to stay up-to-date and relevant on industry trends.



It really is amazing how far I've come in even just a little over a year. Prior to being a full-fledged entrepreneur, I always thought that I would continue in my career path working at an advertising agency doing event planning, social media and public relations for someone else. I actually used to say I would never want to work for myself because of the stress and responsibility that comes with running your own business. My tune has definitely changed. While it can be stressful, I've actually come to learn that I do my best in leading and making executive decisions, rather than being told how to do something and working under someone else. Paired with the fact that I get bored in doing the same thing every day, working with different vendors at the art shows, and different clients in my event company, allows me the flexibility to be as creative as I want in my day-to-day job. For that reason alone, pursuing my career as a young entrepreneur is something that I would never change, even if it was an accident!

The Future of Jobs

The Future of Jobs

We need jobs in America, which means we need to unleash our entrepreneurs. Companies less than five years old have accounted for all of the net job growth in our country between 1980 and 2005. Our job creators aren't corporations, or government, or even small businesses. They are the founders of high growth startups. Creating millions of jobs means having thousands and thousands of new entrepreneurs taking risks and persevering past obstacles to create many more successful startups.

The formula seems simple. And yet there's a paradox. The jobs these startups are creating aren't like the jobs they're replacing. The single greatest challenge facing startups across America today is that they cannot find enough talent fast enough to grow to their potential. We have tens of millions of Americans unemployed and underemployed and yet the most vibrant businesses in our economy are starving for people to hire. What is going on?

The entrepreneurs building our high growth startups aren't looking to hire workers. Instead, these entrepreneurs want to build their companies with more entrepreneurs. They need team members who are motivated more by upside than salary, who are continuously learning new skills without being sent to training, who have sophisticated knowledge of the latest technologies, and who identify fuzzy, unstructured problems on their own and then solve them without being told what to do. In short, they need people who can get shit done.

The paradox is this. We need entrepreneurs to create the jobs our country needs. And yet the faster this occurs, the faster we shift from industrial economy jobs to these new entrepreneurial jobs, which many American are unprepared to fill. Whether we like it or not, in some elemental way, we're all going to have to become entrepreneurs.

Or perhaps I should say we're all going to have to become entrepreneurs again. Our revolutionary founding fathers built the greatest startup in the world. The pioneers who conquered the land set out, took risks, and wagered their prosperity and lives on their ability to produce. Entrepreneurship is central to the arc of American history.

For the last six or seven decades though, we've lived through this historical anomaly, where we were all told that we could simply be workers. If we developed a specific expertise, followed the rules, and did what we were told, then corporations and government would insulate us from risk and ensure our prosperity.

Being a country of workers isn't working anymore. I don't believe in that compact and I think more and more Americans are becoming disillusioned as well.

Change is scary, but regardless of what any politician or pundit tells you, we can't go back. The industrial economy is gone, we've already blasted through the knowledge economy, and we're building the networked economy as we speak. And yet we have an education system structured around an agrarian calendar that's teaching industrial era skills. Our children are taught to memorize facts and rewarded for their ability to fill in bubbles on a numbing array of multiple choice exams. What do standardized tests have to do with the skills that our startups are desperately looking for?

Startups need people who are constantly figuring things out on their own, learning from their peers, and reaching out to mentors for guidance rather than rote instruction. It's not about whatthey know, it's how they learn, think, and communicate. And despite what many pundits say, it's not simply about STEM skills. Someone who has learned to code but cannot think is less useful to a startup than an English major who can hustle and make things happen.

As I've shared in this blog, I had a unique education, getting expelled from two public schools before high school, graduating from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology with remarkably bad grades, and then passing up college to build two startups before I was 25. The final element of my formal education as an entrepreneur, however, didn't occur in some super cool technology hub. It occurred at an 800-year-old institution.

After leaving my startup in 2001, then watching America go through 9/11, I had something of a quarter life crisis. I had a deep sense that our country was moving in dangerous directions, but I lacked the tools to explain and defend those positions. I began studying the big ideas of prior generations. While I was surfing the web at 3 a.m. one night, I wandered to the Oxford University website. In September 2002, I packed up and headed to England to study philosophy, politics, and economics at St. Catherine's College, Oxford.

Oxford was an intellectual revelation. There were no classes. Lectures were more a suggestion than a requirement. Each week for the next three years, I'd receive a paradoxical question and a list of books longer than I could ever read in a month. I'd absorb as much as I could and sit around in the pub debating the ideas with my friends. Then I'd show up for a one on one meeting with my tutor with a 2,000 word essay in answer to the question. My tutor would beat the snot out of my argument for an hour and send me off with another question and another list of books.

At Oxford, my tutors were upfront about the fact that they considered it irrelevant what facts I knew when I left. Rather, their job was to teach me how to learn rapidly, how to think critically, and how to communicate effectively -- and then leave me to spend the rest of my life filling my mind with knowledge. I had no meaningful exams until the end of my three years. At that point, I sat with a paper and pencil for eight three-hour essay exams that tested my ability to think in the areas I studied. The irony of Oxford is that by spending less time in the classroom with less exams, I rounded out the skills necessary to excel in the emerging economy. Several weeks after I put my pencil down on my last exam I found out that I finished with a First Class degree.

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gave me a tremendous foundation in technology, but delivered through a numbing array of standardized tests that were the antithesis of critical thinking. Rowing taught me discipline, the endurance of discomfort, and how to lead a team, but it was only a sport. Raising $1 million at 19 and building a startup taught me how to hustle and get shit done, but not how to really impact the world.

It was Oxford, though, which brought it all together and taught me to synthesize, analyze, think in a structured manner, and share the results with others in a compelling way. Of course, there's a reason that Oxford produces more academics than startup founders. The fact that exams still occur with paper and pencil is an indication of how much innovation has pervaded the culture.

To really build a strong foundation for America, it's not about jobs per se. As we unleash our entrepreneurs, we can create plenty of awesome jobs. The real challenge is to educate our children for these jobs. A strong America requires teaching children to challenge authority. It requires making technology central to everything they do. It requires emphasizing the ability to learn, to think, and to communicate rather than regurgitating facts and algorithms on standardized exams. It requires STEM and liberal arts and social sciences and fine arts taught holistically rather than forcing our children into industrial era silos. We need to borrow the best ideas from around the world--from ancient universities to modern charter schools to Khan Academy -- mix them together with strong emphasis on letting students learn by doing and then experiment until we find the models that work for our emerging economy.

We have no time to waste reinventing how we educate our children, but we also have to help those already in the workforce, who are struggling to adapt to the rapid changes in our economy.

Luckily you can already see what the future looks like. The really interesting institutions preparing people for the jobs of the networked economy aren't schools or universities or even community colleges. Instead, entrepreneurs themselves are stepping into the void. If you want to see the future of learning, go to 500 Startups, TechStars, Udemy, General Assembly, Code Academy,Hungry Academy, or the Boston Startup School. None of these existed a few years ago. None of them require you to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And all of them teach you not only skills, but more importantly how to get shit done.

5 Steps for Managing Disaster Recovery for Your Business

5 Steps for Managing Disaster Recovery for Your Business

Once the worst of a natural disaster is passed, the struggle for survival may have just begun for your business if your operations have sustained damage. From filing insurance claims to keeping customers informed, here are five steps to take after you count your blessings.

1. Contact your insurer immediately. Inform yourinsurance company before cleaning up any damage so you can get an accurate estimate. After a disaster, many insurers have a quick-response team that will come out to survey the situation. If your business cleanup includes removal of items such as water-damaged merchandise, flooring or insulation, keep it all. The damaged materials are all evidence of the impact of the disaster on your business.

2. Seek assistance. The Small Business Administration may be able to provide some financial help. Through the agency's Office of Disaster Assistance, any business, regardless of size, that is located in a declared disaster area can apply for low-rate, long-term loans to help recover from physical damage. Even if your property was not damaged, you can apply for a working capital loan from the SBA to relieve the economic injury caused by the disaster.

Eligible businesses may borrow up to $2 million for up to 30 years to repair and replace property, machinery and inventory at a 4 percent interest rate. For uninsured or under-insured losses, the loan may be increased by as much as 20 percent of the total amount of disaster damage to protect the property against future disasters of the same type.

The SBA can also help you repair your home – renters and homeowners can borrow up to $40,000, also at 4 percent for up to 30 years to repair or replace personal property damaged or destroyed in a disaster, and up to $200,000 for home repairs.

More information about these loans is available on the SBA website. 

3. Stay on top of communication. Once the worst is over, let your customers and clients know what’s happening. Update the home page of your company’s website to let customers know if your ordering, shipping or inventory is affected, and if or when you expect to be open for business, also consider sending a message of well wishes and concern with a status update on your company’s Facebook or Twitter pages.

Be honest about what is happening, how long you except it to be before you are running at full capacity, and give a detailed as possible operating plan for your recovery period. People will realize that yours is a company that knows how to deal with its problems, and then you will have their trust.

4. Don’t count on FEMA for quick help. If your business is in a federally declared disaster area, federal aid will be available, but it can move slowly, especially when many claims are being filed. It might provide homeowners with temporary shelter and eventual money to rebuild. But for a business owner, your private insurance or an SBA loan will be your best chance at receiving money fast.

5. Create a backup plan. Your company should have a business continuity plan in place already, but if not, now is a good time to get ready for the next time a disaster of any kind affects your business. A business continuity plan outlines how your company will respond to a disaster, including such crucial questions as: How will we keep filling and tracking orders? If vendors aren't operating, do we have a backup? What if employees can't make it to work? To get started, or update your current plan, check out this Business Continuity template.

If you don’t already, also consider putting a data recovery plan in place for your most important files. Research data recovery vendors, and cloud services now, while the topic is fresh in your mind, so you’ll be prepared the next time disaster strikes.

5. Beef up your insurance coverage for the future. Many businesses aren't protected in the event of an earthquakes or flood -- especially if they aren't located near fault lines or floodplains. Businesses should note that many standard policies don't even cover wind damage from a hurricane or utility disruptions from a storm, so review your policy's fine print to understand your coverage.

You may want to consider adding a rider or a separate policy to cover losses from severe weather that aren't included in your existing insurance policy.

BY KATHLEEN DAVIS

Set a New Company Up for Success in 5 Ways

Set a New Company Up for Success in 5 Ways

Starting your own business forces you to face your limitations, test out every idea in the real world and accept that sometimes what looked great on paper can be downright difficult to execute. But if you can, you should try your hardest to land an early success. After all, doing so can help boost your credibility, encourage potential investors and give you some money to build other businesses down the road.

So the question is, what can you do to encourage a more successful outcome? Here are five ways to set up your new venture for success:

1. Set low expectations. You may believe that your new product will change the face of the industry, and it very well might. But if you start talking up those expectations even a moderate success won’t measure up. By starting with a conservative approach, a modest success will be noticed and you will be perceived as even smarter than you are.

2. Start local. By developing and testing your idea or product in a local environment, you have substantial advantages from the start. Marketing and distribution costs will be much lower. Your most powerful network — that is, people you know — will be engaged, and you can do any polishing you need to do before spending big bucks on an untried process in a larger market. It’s also easier to get publicity locally, and, with luck, the buzz will spread as your company expands.

3. Grab low-hanging fruit. Pretty much every product or service has at least one super-strong potential buying group. Focus your efforts on that group with everything you’ve got. Market, distribute and support them, and, chances are, your sales will soar. That win will encourage you to expand to more difficult buyer groups. The other advantage to this approach isn’t particularly fun to acknowledge, however. If the low-hanging fruit doesn’t drop into your hand the way you expected, maybe there are problems with your business that you haven’t foreseen. You can find that out before you do a full market push.

4. Start with a single, likely client. Suppose your product would be a great fit for a variety of retailers such as Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart and Target. It might be tempting to go after all of them at once, hoping that one will pop. This choice scatters your energy, and, if you fail, you have nowhere to go. Instead, choose only one possibility; the one you think is most likely to say yes. Visit the stores, determining where your product would belong and how much shelf space would be needed. Research their customer base and determine which customers would be the most interested and why. Consider options such as Costco’s road shows where you don’t get permanent space but instead have a week to sell what you can — moving from one location to another. Put together a presentation that shows you did your homework. Your chances of a yes are improved by this approach, and, if the answer is no, find out why and use that feedback to hone your presentation to selection No. 2.

5. Partner with another successful firm. Suppose a complementary and not competing company has the visibility and attention you want for your company. See if you can come up with a temporary partnership that will allow you to benefit from their strengths. For example, if your company offers a revolutionary knee brace for runners, talk to a local shop that caters to that group about offering a presentation on your new product. Consider giving the shop owner 50 percent of your sales dollars. It may be a wash for you in terms of revenue, but you’ve gotten your product in front of real customers.

BY ADAM TOREN

Three Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Three Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Sometimes when you're wondering what to do next in life, good advice can come when you least expect it — like when you're getting your hair cut.

Joan*, the hairstylist giving me a trim, mused aloud about what she was planning to do with her career. Cutting hair was just one part of her livelihood; she was also a professional caregiver as well as the owner of a rig that her husband operated. But her husband was about to retire from the road, and now they were wondering, "What next?"

Over the course of our brief conversation, in no more than the time it took Joan to cut my hair, I picked up on three attributes of her success that are helpful for any entrepreneur:

Practical. Listening to her brainstorm reminded me that successful entrepreneurs know how to keep their feet on the ground. First, they get inspired through personal observation, developing ideas from needs they see in the world around them. Second, they develop a concrete plan. They may work the plan, changing it as they go, but always with an eye towards getting a good return.

Purposeful. People with a practical outlook seek opportunities that add value, as opposed to opportunities that just seem "cool." (It's easy to forget this distinction, especially in well-established organizations.) Their focus is offering products and services that customers need and will pay for. For instance, Joan's second job as a caregiver: that's a service for which there is always a need.

Impatient. Sure, patience is a virtue in some cases. But for an entrepreneur, so is impatience. Joan is eager to make things happen so that she can continue to earn a good living. When it comes time for her husband to leave the trucking business, she will be ready with another venture. Her gumption and ambition make her impatient for success, and that drive increases her chances of getting there.

by John Baldoni

Smart move to start business in recession

Smart Move to Start Business in Recession

Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart. For those who possess the entrepreneurial spirit, though, now might be the perfect time to begin a venture.

In the midst of the worst recession in decades, it might seem prudent to postpone a launch. But there are some compelling reasons why now is actually a good time to start a business.

Beginning a venture in lean times will force the entrepreneur to pay close attention to planning, market research, cash flow and other critical issues at the heart of failures in the first five years. Tough times encourage start-ups to protect assets and invest more cautiously to avoid the “irrational exuberance” that Alan Greenspan warned would lead to financial collapse.

In tough economies, you understand from the start that you’ll need to use the first several months to position your company for success. You’ll need adequate funding to sustain a slower growth, and a more targeted approach to marketing. When the economy is booming, it’s easier to realize early success. A company that can grow early successes in a weak economy is poised to surge ahead when the situation improves.

The costs of starting a new business are lower than they have been in recent years. Many of the products and services you’ll need are available at discounted rates: professional services like accounting and legal services, real estate, office furniture, and other goods and services.

During hard times, you as a consumer are in a stronger position to negotiate favorable terms than you would be if you wait for the economic rebound.

With the presidential campaigns bringing new focus to the government’s role in business development, it seems likely that the current uncertainty in the business environment will be replaced with regulatory and tax conditions that will truly promote job growth, along with real opportunities for both new and existing businesses. If you’ve already begun laying the groundwork for a well-planned and marketable business, these policy changes could enhance your efforts with some genuine support from local, state and federal governments.

The impact of regulations on business are likely to be defined so that businesses can plan and make decisions on known conditions. As that takes effect, your business could be in position to benefit from “the rising tide that lifts all ships”.

Naturally, these hard times will require some meticulous attention to detail as you develop the plans for building your dreams and starting your business. You’ll need to be certain you have the operating capital to sustain your business and your family while you develop your customer base. And you’ll need to have a robust and realistic budget for marketing and promotion. Careful planning, adequate funding and attention to detail are cornerstones of any successful venture, regardless of the economic environment in which they are born. If you have what it takes to be successful, starting a business now could position you for greater success when the economic environment improves.
By Marianne Carlson

10 Tips When Making Quick Business Decisions

10 Tips When Making Quick Business Decisions

Making a decision based on gut feel alone is not only lazy but also likely to be a dud. However, recent books like the best seller “Blink” give the impression that you just have to rely on your instincts. For most business decisions, this approach will get you fired or drive your company into bankruptcy.

However, there are many times when you have to make a business decision quickly and when there is no more time to do a thorough study, you must be ready with an abridged but reliable process that you can depend on to come up with a sound decision. I have come up with a short list of steps to improve the chances of getting it right even if there is little time:


1. Think first how you will approach the problem. This involves several things starting with problem definition, the time frame and budget within it must be solved. Consider too what will happen if you take no action. There are some problems that are best left ignored – they may be trivial or resolve themselves in time.


2. Research the problem. Most problems have already been encountered in the past. It would be more economical to first learn what was tried in similar situations. Even if you find out that a particular approach did not work then you have one less alternative to consider.


3. Get the opinion of key people from affected departments. In your haste to make the decision you may forget the consequences on other aspects of your company’s operations. More minds on the matter may bring better alternatives. Another good consequence of getting more opinions is that you will get stronger support. You will also bear less blame if things didnot work out well!


4. Consider out-of-the-box ideas. In a crisis or if we are in a hurry, we usually fall back on just the old solutions. This may be a prudent decision since it is already tried and tested. However, this should not prevent you from exploring unconventional ideas that may be far better. In fact, if it is a crisis situation, it is usually easier to institute radical changes since it will be clear to everyone that there is no other choice to survive.
5. List down the viable options. Some people just go through the motions of listing the alternatives but neglect the effort to provide truly feasible alternatives. Usually there is only one serious option provided. This is a waste of time and will not enhance your efforts to obtain the best solution. Genuine alternatives must be brought to the table.


6. Evaluate both the pros and the cons. Very often we are so excited by an idea that we forget to examine its negative aspects. If all the people around you are “yes men”, this is very dangerous for it blinds you to the potential dangers. If it all seems one-sided, get one capable person to play devil’s advocate to balance the discussion.


7. Counteract the tendency to be loss-averse. Studies have shown that people will strongly prefer the safety and comfort of not losing 1000 pesos rather than gaining 2000 pesos. In actual practice people usually chose not losing rather than gaining double! People prefer avoiding losses than making gains; this puts the timid at a great disadvantage. Be bold enough to be objective in computing the most advantageous option.


8. Do not consider sunk costs. Sunk costs are expenses that have already been incurred and can no longer be recovered. Unfortunately, while most managers know that this is the rational thing to do, there are two major factors that hinder this logical course. The first is the emotional barrier of admitting to oneself that the previous investment which he approved was a blunder and the second, if the decision maker is an employee, is the career damage caused by having wasted company resources. Nevertheless, the best policy is to cut your losses.


9. Quantify the peso value of your alternatives. When there is little time there is a tendency to be swayed more by the number of arguments rather than its peso value. There may be only be one argument in favor and ten arguments against but if the one argument is bigger in value than all the ten combined, then it should prevail.


10. Select a decision that will be good for the long term. There are many decisions that are profitable for now but may bring on irrevocable harm later on. Examples of these are reducing the quality of products to save on costs, cutting the marketing budget, neglecting safety procedures, etc. Such acts risks destroying the company’s brands and reputation.


The steps mentioned above are just a guide to stimulate you to design your own system that is appropriate for your business and position. You should develop your own professional approach. Making a quick business decision must not mean guessing the answer.

7 Keys to Positioning Your Competitors to Investors

7 Keys to Positioning Your Competitors to Investors

Every entrepreneur should spend plenty of time thinking about competitors, and how they relate to your business, but you need to be very careful what you say out loud about them to your team, your investors, and your customers. What you say speaks volumes about how you think about your startup, how smart you are, and your personal integrity.

I’ve spent hours talking to startup founders, and heard a thousand startup pitches, and I always listen carefully to what is said (or not said) about competitors. Everyone has a view on competitors, so you will likely get some off-the-cuff questions on this subject as well. Here are some common pitfalls or traps to avoid:


1. Above all, don’t say you have no competitors. This statement is a huge red flag to investors, who will take it to mean that there is no market for your offering, or you haven’t bothered to look. Both conclusions will kill your credibility, and usually preclude any further funding interest.


2. Avoid degrading or demeaning your competitors. Talking about competitors is your opportunity to make positive statements about the advantages of your own product. For example, “Compared to product x, my solution will get the job done in half the time, and at half the price.” Don’t say “Product x is more expensive and hard to use.”


3. First-mover advantage is a double-edged sword. Being first to offer something is often used to cover the fact that you have no patent or intellectual property. Investors will conclude that you are highly vulnerable to the deep pockets of big players who will wake up and kill you when you show traction. The best defense is a dynamic product line.


4. Don’t be caught not recognizing a potential competitor. Do your homework ahead of time on all potential competitors you can find on the Internet, from industry magazines, advisors, and team members. Great momentum in a meeting can be killed instantly by apparent ignorance or bias against a proposed competitor.


5. Don’t forget to mention alternatives and substitutes. Make it clear that you have considered competition in the broadest sense, including indirect competitors and alternative solutions available. You won’t get any credibility for refusing to admit that airplanes are competition for trains. Always present a balanced and honest picture.


6. Watch the timeframes implied in comparisons. Making a big point that your competitor is missing a big feature today that you will have when you come out next year is not very convincing and doesn’t make you look smart. If it’s important, he’s probably working on it also, and has a big head start on you.


7. Competitors exist now and in the future. You can make real credibility points on this one by suggesting future competitor directions, and what you are doing to head-off these initiatives and advantages. Remember that the world is a small one these days, and international considerations, as well as technologies, are important.

Remember that investors invest in people first. They are looking for you to be smart, but present a balanced, realistic, and honest view of competitors. Trying to finesse investors who have real questions about competitors is not the way to close an investment deal, or even convince a customer to buy from you.

In the real world, you will never have perfect answers to questions about competition, because you can’t know what they might do before or concurrently with your delivery. Your challenge is convincing investors and customers that the risk of following you is less than the risk of relying on competitors. That’s a lot easier if you believe it yourself, and present a balanced view with integrity and conviction.

Marty Zwilling

3 Pieces of Startup Advice

3 Pieces of Startup Advice

I’ll tell you something that no one told me when I started up: somehow, putting up your own shingle also means putting up a sign that you’re open to advice. All sorts of people start offering their words of wisdom — experienced executives, college students, and even people who’ve never actually done anything with that good business idea they won’t tell you about, because you’ll steal it.

While people generally do mean well, their advice often misses the mark. Here are three bits of advice that I’ve received or incorporated that have never led me wrong:

1. Build from your strengths. In today’s fast-paced and crowded market, being good simply isn’t good enough. Rather than building a business that will have you cap out at “good,” take the time to assess your team’s core capabilities and build from what you can be truly great at. It’ll galvanize your team and your market, and give you early momentum so that you won’t get by merely being good. Every business mistake I’ve made can be traced back to not getting our business out of the comfort zone of our strengths.

2. Fanatically focus on your customers. Your business really isn’t about you; it’s about how you provide a solution to your customers that is worth paying for. Growth comes from serving more customers better, and the fastest way to get there is to get to know the conversation going on in your customers’ heads. Note: This doesn’t mean that your customer is always right, but it does let you know what your customer needs and values are so that you can determine how and where you’re going to serve them best.

3. Failure is necessary for learning. As frustrating as it is, we usually don’t learn as much from success as we do from failure. Fortunately for us, success is usually harder to come by, so we therefore have a lot of opportunities to learn. To be an entrepreneur is to chart unfamiliar territory, and to turn opportunities with uncertain outcomes into economic value. To do that well, you’re going to have to try some things that may not work out. But to not try at all because there may be failure is worse than trying and failing, for you learn nothing from what you don’t try. Seth Godin has been saying “fail fast and fail cheap” for a while, and Jim Collins advocates a similar approach in Great by Choice when he show that great businesses “fire bullets, then cannonballs.” Find a growth opportunity in your business and start a small experiment — a big win is absolutely worth a few small failures.

5 Entrepreneur Antidotes to Negativity in a Startup

5 Entrepreneur Antidotes to Negativity in a Startup

Throughout my career in small companies and large, I’ve always been appalled by the number of people who seem to complain all of the time. These people don’t seem to realize that they are hurting themselves, as well as other people’s productivity, and the company they are working for.

I’ve always thought that I might be overly sensitive, until I saw an old survey done by badbossoloy.com, which claims that a majority of employees spend 10 hours or more a month complaining or listening to others complain, and nearly one third spend 20 or more hours. No startup can afford that huge cost in emotional capital, as well as productivity!

In the survey, negativity is seen as an indictment of bad managers, but I believe it is also an indictment of whiners. Ten to twenty hours a month is a lot of time to waste, not to mention the indirect time lost of the listeners, and the morale impact.

What does all this mean, and how do you correct it, or prevent it in your startup? Here are some recommendations from experts for proactive and recovery actions by all parties to minimize the problem in both employee and management ranks:


Executives have to be the role model. If you as the founder, or other members your executive team are chronic complainers, the disease will spread rapidly through the rest of the organization. Don’t play the blame game, give negatively charged emotional speeches, berate employees in public, or wear an angry face at the office.


Use the hiring process effectively. Too many startups give short shrift to the hiring process, because they are too busy, don’t want to pay market prices, or have no experience. It’s actually easy to spot whiners during the interview process, by listening to them run down previous employers and not accepting accountability. Don’t hire them.


Encourage regular self-assessment. Encourage your management team and employees to always check themselves before making unsolicited comments against the following criteria: “Will this comment add value to our company, our customers, the person I am talking to, or the one I am talking about? If not, don’t say it.”


Openly reward positive suggestions. Maybe it’s time to establish or re-activate the old-fashioned “suggestion box.” Make it work by regularly handing out real accolades, as well as real money, to people who add value or reduce costs in your business. A positive can-do attitude should also be recognized in job performance feedback.


Quietly deal with people who won’t change. Some whiners have been that way all their life, and don’t know how to change their stripes. With proper counseling, they need to be moved out of your business before they do more damage. How quickly and quietly you deal with these problems will be the loudest message you can send to others.

Some people will use “honesty” as the excuse for negative and insensitive comments. In fact, the most honest and productive comments are always positive recommendations on how to fix a problem, rather than the complaint that someone or something is a problem. Even if some of your co-workers are jerks, you have no moral, ethical or legal obligation to broadcast this view.

Everyone needs to understand that complaining about salary or pay, criticizing colleagues and bosses, or vendors and customers, will generally just reflect negatively on the whiner, rather than accomplish any positive results.

The truth is that optimists lead better lives, and startups with positive teams are more successful, simply because they believe that what they are doing is going to work. Negativity also is a self-fulfilling prophecy, with an outcome that can be the demise of your startup.

Marty Zwilling

10 Keys to Real Entrepreneur Mentoring Satisfaction

10 Keys to Real Entrepreneur Mentoring Satisfaction

Every entrepreneur can learn from a mentor, no matter how confident or successful they have been to date. Even one of the richest, Bill Gates, still values his friend Warren Buffett as his mentor. Yet these relationships require special efforts on both sides to be productive and satisfying. Mentoring is not as simple as one person giving the other all the right answers.

Some of the best mentoring relationships don’t involve monetary compensation, but none are free. The first cost is networking to find a mentor who is willing and able to give adequate focus to the relationship. In any case, it is good form to offer compensation, such as a small monthly stipend, plus expenses, and perhaps a 1% ownership in your startup, to show your commitment.

From my experience, here are ten basic principles for both the mentor and mentee to remember in getting the most out of any mentoring relationship:


Good mentoring requires building a relationship first. A positive business or personal relationship between two people normally requires a high degree of shared values, common interests, and mutual respect. Remember that good relationships take some time to develop, so don’t assume that your first discussion will seal the deal.


Agree on specific objectives and time frames. Mentoring that consists of random discussions is not very satisfying for either side. I recommend one or more early discussions of mutual objectives, with a written summary of goals and expectations from the mentee to the mentor, with timeframes and milestones.


Make efficient use of time for both parties. This means being respectful and diligent about scheduling and keeping appointments, and returning emails and phone calls. Don’t attempt to multitask, or allow constant interruptions, during meetings. Book follow-up sessions, with an agenda, rather than fill time with random discussions.


Identify strengths and weaknesses early. Both the mentor and mentee should put their cards on the table, to avoid surprises later. Then both should look for opportunities to leverage strengths, and shore up weaknesses. This avoids wasted time and speculation, and provides the motivation to bring in other experts or mentors as required.


Mentor feedback must be thoughtful, specific, timely, and constructive. An important aspect of a mentoring relationship is how the mentor provides feedback to the mentee. Formulate negative feedback in a constructive fashion. Using open-ended questions that start with “how” or “what” help the mentee to arrive at their own solution.


Mentees should avoid any defensive reaction to feedback. The right response to most mentor feedback is a thoughtful question for clarification. Immediately responding with “reasons and rationale” to every feedback will be read as insincerity, and will likely end the mentoring relationship quickly.


Practice two-way communication and candid feedback. Mentoring is not a series of monologues and lectures, from either side. But candid feedback means not pulling punches when they are deserved. Both sides need to practice active listening and thoughtful questions. Constructive conflict is good.


Agree to deal with unforeseen challenges openly. The most common challenges involve time and accessibility demands on either side, or the level of help expected. Both sides need to honor business boundaries, and not stray into personal relationship issues. Agree up front on how to end the relationship if other unforeseen circumstances arise.


Celebrate successes, and deal openly with failures. This will help the learning process and build the mentee’s confidence. With patience and time, the partners should develop a good rapport and become more comfortable with openly and freely conversing with each other.


Evaluate mentoring requirements on a regular basis. The mentee, as primary beneficiary, should be proactive in making sure the review process occurs on a regular basis, perhaps quarterly. This allows for frank discussion of unanticipated changes, and the potential for discontinuing the process and declaring success.

The end of a mentoring relationship should be seen as an opportunity to review what did and didn’t work, and more importantly, to reflect on the results, so that every lesson that can be learned from the relationship is recognized.

Both the mentor and mentee should celebrate the successes, review the learning from failures, and conclude the relationship with positive feelings. To bring it full circle, mentees should now consider passing on their new knowledge and skills by entering a new mentoring relationship – as a mentor. That’s the ultimate satisfaction.

Marty Zwilling

Starting Business In The Philippines

Starting Business In The Philippines

There’s been so much good news coming out of the Philippines in recent months — three upgrades by international ratings agencies; Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima was named 2012 Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney; the economy is forecast to be the sixth fastest-growing in the world between 2010 and 2050; there’s a new, credible peace agreement in the south; IT-BPO looks set to attain its stretch target of $25 billion in revenues in 2016; and, competitiveness is on the rise according to the World Economic Forum — that it was a bit of shock last week when the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and The World Bank announced that it’s still too difficult to set up a business here.

And it got tougher this year, not easier.

According to the IFC report, Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Mid-Size Enterprises, the Philippines fell to 138 of 185 companies in the report, down from 136 of 183 companies in the previous report. Of the 10 categories, the Philippines scored more poorly than last year in seven. Particularly notable was the number of procedures to start a business — 16 — up from 15. In Malaysia, there are just three. In New Zealand, it takes a day to set up a business.

Why, you have to ask, can’t the Philippines do in three procedures what Malaysia does? Not unexpectedly, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) took issue with the IFC report, particularly the days required to perform the 16 procedures, arguing that it takes “just” 27 days to set up a business in the Philippines, not the 36 — up from 35 — claimed in the IFC report. NCC co-chairman Guillermo “Bill” Luz added that, “‘we will continue to make changes in the (number of) days (it takes to start a business) and cut it back,’” according to one report.

“‘We have a fighting target to take that down below 10 days next year and to also drastically reduce the steps from 16 to fewer than 10 also in the coming years,’” he said. The Philippines is competing with Malaysia for jobs and investment — including in the high-stakes IT-BPO industry. Malaysia reported foreign direct investment (FDI) of $4.4 billion in the first six months of the year, compared to less than a billion dollars for the Philippines.

There are many reasons for this contrast in investment receipts, but don’t underestimate the impact of a stubborn, change-resistant bureaucracy that is loath to see any revenue opportunity pass it by — no matter the stakes involved. While Mr. Luz has his work cut out for him battling, cajoling, and pleading with the bureaucracy, the goal should not be 10 days or 10 procedures. It should be one day, and one procedure.

But there are six other urgent ways the Philippines needs to make setting up a business easier. First, the shocker. The Philippines not only has the most expensive electricity cost in Asia, it’s way too difficult to get connected to the grid, and it’s getting worse. The Philippines fell to 57 from 53 in this category. How about registering property? Not easy. The Philippines fell to 122 from 120.

And forget about getting credit. The Philippines is 129, down from 127. So bring your own cash and leverage your international banking network. But oh, that’s kind of hard for local entrepreneurs. For international investors, protecting your investment through good corporate governance is also iffy. The Philippines fell to 128 from 124. Wonder why the Philippines doesn’t have more resources available for infrastructure? The Philippines ranks 143, down from 136 in paying taxes.

Enforcing contracts is another challenge, thanks to a troubled judiciary and a toxic, litigious legal environment in which cases take decades to wind themselves through the courts. While the Philippines has a lot going for it, it’s not hard to understand why investors are shy. Even in categories the Philippines improved, its showing is poor. Resolving insolvency? 165, 5.7 years, and the most costly. Trading across borders, 53. Dealing with construction permits, 100, mostly as a result of a process that involves 29 procedures.

These results show that no matter how swimmingly things are going, there’s always something left to fix. While the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III understandably must prioritize reforms, those impacting investment and job creation should be at the top of the list. To be fair, in many respects they have been. But the Philippines is still not addressing the bureaucracy and the roadblocks it erects to prosperity.

That needs to change.

By MICHAEL ALLAN HAMLIN

Buying a franchise

Buying a franchise

Overview

Taking on a franchise is an option worth considering for anyone who wants to run a business but doesn't have a specific business idea or prefers the security provided by an established concept.

The right franchise can give you a head start. Instead of setting up a business from scratch, you use a proven business idea. Typically, you trade under the brand name of the business offering you the franchise, and they give you help and support.

Successful franchises have a much lower failure rate than completely new businesses. However, you will still need to work hard to make the franchise a success and you may have to sacrifice some of your own business ideas to fit in with the franchisor's terms.

This guide will help you decide whether franchising is for you. It shows how you can find the right franchise, and highlights the key issues you need to consider.


What is franchising?

The term 'franchising' can describe some very different business arrangements. It is important to understand exactly what you're being offered.
Business format franchise

This is the most common form of franchising. A true business format franchise occurs when the owner of a business (the franchisor) grants a licence to another person or business (the franchisee) to use their business idea - often in a specific geographical area.

The franchisee sells the franchisor's product or services, trades under the franchisor's trade mark or trade name, and benefits from the franchisor's help and support.

In return, the franchisee usually pays an initial fee to the franchisor and then a percentage of the sales revenue.

The franchisee owns the outlet they run. But the franchisor keeps control over how products are marketed and sold and how their business idea is used.

Well-known businesses that offer franchises of this kind include Prontaprint, Dyno-Rod and McDonald's.

Other types of arrangement

Different types of sales relationships are also sometimes referred to as franchises. For example:

Distributorship and dealership - you sell the product but don't usually trade under the franchise name. You have more freedom over how you run the business.
Agency - you sell goods or services on behalf of the supplier.
Licensee - you have a licence giving you the right to make and sell the licensor's product. There are usually no extra restrictions on how you run your business.

Multi-level marketing

Some businesses offer franchises that are really multi-level marketing schemes. This is where self-employed distributors sell goods on a manufacturer's behalf. You get commission on any sales you make, and also on sales made by other distributors you recruit.

Be aware that some multi-level marketing schemes may be dishonest or illegal.

Advantages and disadvantages of franchising

Buying a franchise can be a quick way to set up your own business without starting from scratch. But there are also a number of drawbacks.

Advantages

Your business is based on a proven idea. You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself.
You can use a recognised brand name and trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise - the 'franchisor'.
The franchisor gives you support - usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice.
You usually have exclusive rights in your territory. The franchisor won't sell any other franchises in the same territory.
Financing the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation.
You can benefit from communicating and sharing ideas with, and receiving support from, other franchisees in the network.

Relationships with suppliers have already been established.

Disadvantages

Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing management service fees and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor.
The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you can run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market.
The franchisor might go out of business.
Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation, so the recruitment process needs to be thorough
You may find it difficult to sell your franchise - you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor.
All profits (a percentage of sales) are usually shared with the franchisor.

Should I buy a franchise?

As with any new business venture, you need to consider carefully whether you have got the right skills and attitude to run a successful franchise. You need to consider how much you enjoy managing people, selling to the public or working alone - as these are common requirements of different types of franchise. This page will help you decide whether franchising is right for you and which type of franchise plays best to your strengths.

Assess yourself

You must be prepared to sell and you will need entrepreneurial flair. A franchise gives you a business blueprint - but it won't automatically give you customers.
You'll need to work hard, probably for long hours. Do you have the necessary dedication?
Running your own business can be stressful. Think how you react to pressure.
You may be starting up in business because you want to be your own boss. If so, would you be happy with the restrictions imposed by a franchise arrangement?
On the other hand, you may want to limit your risk. You might be more comfortable with a franchise than starting a new business from scratch.

The right franchise for you

Do you like office work? Or would you prefer a business that involves physical labour or using a particular skill?
Are you happy working on your own? Or would you be good at recruiting, training and managing employees?
Do you like dealing with members of the public? Or would you prefer a franchise where you sell to business customers?
Are you weak in particular business skills such as finance? Can you find a franchise that offers the support you need in those areas?

The costs of a franchise

When calculating the likely cost of a franchise, you need to take both initial and ongoing fees into account.
Initial costs

The franchisor - the business that sells you the franchise - usually charges an up-front fee. If the franchisor relies mainly on taking a percentage of your sales revenue, rather than on a high initial fee, it is usually a good indication that they have confidence in the value of their product or service.

Your largest initial costs are usually your investment in:
premises
equipment
initial stock

You will need to establish a business entity. Although a franchisee holds a contractual agreement with the franchisor, each franchisee is an independent business - and it is this business entity that will enter into the franchise agreement. Your chosen business structure could be a limited company, partnership or sole trader - each of which will involve different costs - or your franchisor might have specific requirements. 

You usually pay a percentage of the sales revenue to the franchisor by way of a management service fee. Alternatively, you may pay a fixed management fee of some kind.

Under the terms of the franchise agreement, you may have to buy stock from the franchisor. Check what they charge. They may mark up the prices - or they may be able to offer them to you at a discount because of their buying power.

You also have to pay the usual business costs - for example, rent for premises, utility bills or the costs of any employees you take on. Again, check if the things that you pay for through the franchisor have a realistic cost.

Check too if the agreement includes additional charges. For example, you may be required to pay for training, or to contribute to the cost of national advertising campaigns.

How to purchase a franchise

There are a number of key things you need to consider when planning to buy a franchise. It is worth thinking about the following:
Assess yourself to see what kind of franchise, if any, will suit you.
Find out what franchises are available and draw up a shortlist.
Assess franchise opportunities carefully, ask questions and talk to other franchisees.
When you find a business, investigate its financial prospects. Base this on thorough research of performance figures. Include an analysis of three years' accounts - if they have been trading for that period - and management figures.
If you'll need to raise finance, ask your bank if it will consider a loan for the type of franchise you're considering.
Do your own market research into the business and the competitors in your area.
Draw up a business plan.
Check the franchise agreement and get professional advice.

However, it is advisable to make sure you don't:
take up the first opportunity before investigating alternatives
allow yourself to be hurried into making a decision
pay any non-refundable deposit
commit yourself before you're completely sure
assume a business will work in your area just because it works elsewhere
rely on the forecasts provided by the business selling you the franchise
sign any agreement without legal advice

Tips on franchise agreements

The franchise agreement is crucial. Don't sign any agreement, or pay any fees or deposit, until you have taken legal advice from an experienced franchise solicitor accredited by the British Franchise Association. Get a specimen contract for them to review.
Areas covered by a typical agreement
Term - how long does the franchise last? Will you have the option to renew it, and on what terms?
Territory - what area does your franchise cover? Do you have exclusive rights to sell within it?
Fees - what initial fee will you pay? What percentage of sales revenue will you pay? Will you pay a regular management fee - and if so, what does it cover? Will you have to pay other costs? How are the costs worked out?
Support - how much help will you get starting the business? What continuing support will you get?
Restrictions - what restrictions are there on what you're allowed to do and how you must run the business?
Exit - what happens if you can't continue in the business for some reason - perhaps due to ill health? What happens if you want to sell your franchise?