Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the New Year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don't have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder.
1. Evaluate your virtual team and make changes if necessary.
Are administrative tasks taking up most of your time and keeping you from working ON your business? Then hire a virtual assistant. Are you paying too much in taxes? Meet with your accountant to talk about getting more aggressive with write-offs, or make appointments to interview new accountants. Same goes for your lawyer -- do you love him/her? If not, take this time to ask around for referrals.
2. Clean out that e-mail inbox once and for all!
Unanswered e-mails, people to follow up with, information not recorded or filed in the proper places - -- need I say more? Delete e-mails that are more than a few months old. Set up e-mail folders to help you stay more organized in the future. And if your program allows, set "rules" to automatically sort incoming e-mails into those folders.
3. Clean out your filing cabinet, bookshelf, desk, etc.
Is your office a fire hazard? Do you have to rustle through giant stacks of paper like a large rodent to find anything? Will your spouse not even enter the premises? Put on some good music, start digging, and make piles. Make sure to have plenty of trash bags and cardboard file boxes on hand. (And a good glass of wine always makes it more fun.)
4. Upgrade or clean up your computer.
Your computer probably holds most of the information that's crucial to your business, so take care of it! Now's a great time to do an overhaul. Upgrade your operating system (do you STILL have Windows 95?), get rid of unnecessary files, archive old files to CDs, add more disk space for all those downloads, and do system maintenance. Not sure how to go about this? Find a geek-for-hire to come and help you out.
5. Revamp your ezine or launch an ezine.
Remember that having a ready list of warm prospects is your goldmine, and having an EZINE positions you for more sales on a regular basis and for the LONG- TERM. The beginning of the New Year is the *perfect time* to release your first issue! That means you need to get ready now. If you're not publishing yet, or you want to kick up your current newsletter, you can get step-by-step help here.
6. Have an end-of-year special or sale.
A tried and true way to kick up sales when things are slow is to run a special promotion or sale. Give people a discount if they purchase your products now or hire you before the New Year. Make sure there's a time limit on the offer and you promote it more than once -- folks are so busy during the holidays you need to work to get their attention.
7. Let your clients know how much you are thankful for their business.
Whether it's holiday cards, thank-you notes, or gifts, this is a good practice for both your business and you. Letting the universe know you're grateful for what you have will only bring you better things in the future.
8. Plan an upcoming teleseminar.
For a quick cash-flow boost, plan a paid teleseminar! These phone-based events are easy to do and can be great income generators. Either host it yourself on a topic you're qualified to talk about, or invite a special guest to interview. (If you're just getting started, learn how to host a successful teleseminar here.
9. Write down your 25 best accomplishments for this past year.
This simple exercise is extremely powerful. Time goes by so quickly that we forget to celebrate the good things that happen. First I light a candle and write down my 25 accomplishments. Then, taking each one in, I read them aloud. After the last one, I blow the candle out, and then IMMEDIATELY make a list of 10 goals for the New Year. (After truly acknowledging all the amazing things you did this year, you'll feel incredibly powerful and set even higher goals!)
10. Actually enjoy the holidays!
Yes! I realized that for the past few years I've been running around like a nut every December and suddenly the next year is here. Christmas and New Year's blaze by like a freight train, and I'm back to the grind shortly thereafter. Where's the joy, peace, and love?
Remind yourself what the holidays are for -- to take a step back and appreciate what you have, to enjoy your family and friends, to give to others, and to be good to yourself. So take that walk in the snow, go to that tree lighting with your kids, get that massage, and plan a leisurely shopping day during the week with your honey bunny.
Remember, we only have so many Christmases in a lifetime.
Thank you to www.busylizzie.ie for this article
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Getting Your First Customer
by Tara from Busylizzy.ie
Starting a new business is always tough. You have spent hours and hours putting your Business Plan together, sorting out the financing, arranging your office and buying equipment. And the big day arrives … you have to get out there and secure your first customer. It all looked so easy when you were planning, but now this is real and doesn’t seem as effortless as you thought.
What practical steps can you take to ensure your business gets off to a flying start?
Put a Plan in Place
If you didn’t write a Business Plan (tut tut!) then putting pen to paper is your first step. You have to careful plan what you want to achieve and what you are trying to do. A Plan will help crystalise your thoughts and ideas and act as a spring board for creative thought.
It also will be a useful boost when you come to review your progress against what you set out to achieve – a cause for celebration or a kick up the backside!
The key element in your Plan is to spell out exactly who your typical customer is going to be. Are they young or old? Well off, or on the look out for bargains? Single or married?
Once you have clearly defined who you are after then chasing your first sale becomes easier.
E-Mail All Your Contacts
You may not think that personal friends and family may be interested in your product or service, but don’t forget that they have friends and family as well and so can help spread the word!
E-mail every one in your address book and tell them, if they don’t already know, that you are starting up in business and need their help. In your e-mail describe what you do and the products you offer and request that they forward it to everyone in their address book. A bit ‘spammy’ I know but when such a note comes from someone you know then it doesn’t seem so bad.
For those family and friends who don’t have e-mail, call them, write to them, to officially launch your business. Very quickly word will spread and enquiries and orders will start to flood in.
Ask For a Referral
It’s possible you may have ‘road-tested’ your business before you decided to go full time. In that case you will already have a small database of customers. Ask them if they can provide you with some names of people or businesses whom they think may be interested in what you have on offer.
A referral, or positive recommendation, is a powerful and easy way to give your business a kick start. If you want, why not offer a small gift, or a discount on the next sale, for all customers who refer someone to you? This gesture will further cement your relationship.
Tell Everyone You Meet
Be a walking advertising board for your business! Find any opportunity to tell people, especially strangers, what you do. Be enthusiastic! Have a rehearsed opening which encapsulates everything about the benefits and problems your business offers and solves.
Take your business cards wherever you go and leave them all over the place! Supermarkets, restaurants, shops, anywhere where people will find them.
Be a Media Star
The local newspaper or radio stations are always on the look out for stories which are of interest to the locality. Don’t expect them to run a story along the lines of ‘And today, Joe Bloggs has just started in business doing …’. Your story needs to be interesting and have an unusual slant.
Did you travel the world and come up with your idea whilst riding a train in India? Did you have a flash of inspiration following a shocking experience? Carry out a survey which shows that local people are crying out for a service such as yours. Think of something that will grab the editor’s attention and this will increase your chances of appearing in print.
Build Relationships
Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get a sale on the first approach. Sometimes you have to patient. A way of achieving your batch of first sales is to concentrate on building a relationship with your prospective clients. Keep in touch, remind them you are still around and, assuming you have targeted correctly, they may eventually place that coveted order!
If you are about to start your business get planning right now and start to implement some of these ideas to get your new business off to a flying start.
For more details about Busylizzie click here:
Starting a new business is always tough. You have spent hours and hours putting your Business Plan together, sorting out the financing, arranging your office and buying equipment. And the big day arrives … you have to get out there and secure your first customer. It all looked so easy when you were planning, but now this is real and doesn’t seem as effortless as you thought.
What practical steps can you take to ensure your business gets off to a flying start?
Put a Plan in Place
If you didn’t write a Business Plan (tut tut!) then putting pen to paper is your first step. You have to careful plan what you want to achieve and what you are trying to do. A Plan will help crystalise your thoughts and ideas and act as a spring board for creative thought.
It also will be a useful boost when you come to review your progress against what you set out to achieve – a cause for celebration or a kick up the backside!
The key element in your Plan is to spell out exactly who your typical customer is going to be. Are they young or old? Well off, or on the look out for bargains? Single or married?
Once you have clearly defined who you are after then chasing your first sale becomes easier.
E-Mail All Your Contacts
You may not think that personal friends and family may be interested in your product or service, but don’t forget that they have friends and family as well and so can help spread the word!
E-mail every one in your address book and tell them, if they don’t already know, that you are starting up in business and need their help. In your e-mail describe what you do and the products you offer and request that they forward it to everyone in their address book. A bit ‘spammy’ I know but when such a note comes from someone you know then it doesn’t seem so bad.
For those family and friends who don’t have e-mail, call them, write to them, to officially launch your business. Very quickly word will spread and enquiries and orders will start to flood in.
Ask For a Referral
It’s possible you may have ‘road-tested’ your business before you decided to go full time. In that case you will already have a small database of customers. Ask them if they can provide you with some names of people or businesses whom they think may be interested in what you have on offer.
A referral, or positive recommendation, is a powerful and easy way to give your business a kick start. If you want, why not offer a small gift, or a discount on the next sale, for all customers who refer someone to you? This gesture will further cement your relationship.
Tell Everyone You Meet
Be a walking advertising board for your business! Find any opportunity to tell people, especially strangers, what you do. Be enthusiastic! Have a rehearsed opening which encapsulates everything about the benefits and problems your business offers and solves.
Take your business cards wherever you go and leave them all over the place! Supermarkets, restaurants, shops, anywhere where people will find them.
Be a Media Star
The local newspaper or radio stations are always on the look out for stories which are of interest to the locality. Don’t expect them to run a story along the lines of ‘And today, Joe Bloggs has just started in business doing …’. Your story needs to be interesting and have an unusual slant.
Did you travel the world and come up with your idea whilst riding a train in India? Did you have a flash of inspiration following a shocking experience? Carry out a survey which shows that local people are crying out for a service such as yours. Think of something that will grab the editor’s attention and this will increase your chances of appearing in print.
Build Relationships
Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get a sale on the first approach. Sometimes you have to patient. A way of achieving your batch of first sales is to concentrate on building a relationship with your prospective clients. Keep in touch, remind them you are still around and, assuming you have targeted correctly, they may eventually place that coveted order!
If you are about to start your business get planning right now and start to implement some of these ideas to get your new business off to a flying start.
For more details about Busylizzie click here:
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Are you looking for an Angel Investor?
Take a few small steps:
1. Register on our Invest-Connect website
2. Upload some details about your project or business
3. We will promote your project to find you a suitable investor
This a free service for those who register and list before December 30 2009
1. Register on our Invest-Connect website
2. Upload some details about your project or business
3. We will promote your project to find you a suitable investor
This a free service for those who register and list before December 30 2009
Take it from one who knows
Robert Ward knows a little something about starting, selling and buying businesses having done all three with the same business.
He started the financial services business Robert Ward & Associates in 1984, sold it in 2003 to a sport and media company, and bought it back for a fraction of what he paid three years later when its owner went into liquidation.
Well qualified to speak about the subjects, Robert offers BOB his advice to prospective buyers and sellers, as well as people setting up their own business.
If you are thinking of selling
“Know as much as you can about who you are selling to.
“Can you walk away from the sale with cash? If you can – take it.
“If you can’t and if you have to take paper, make sure you have a short-term exit route.
“It’s more important to know who you are selling to if you are going to take paper.”
If you are thinking of buying
“Question how much you really know about the industry and the business you are potentially buying into. This is fundamental.
“Consider to what extent the business relies upon the person you are buying it from. In many cases when the owner leaves the business halves – and what will you as the buyer be left with?
“If you think this is going to be the case, don’t buy it – unless you are part of the business.”
If you are thinking of starting
“Again, question how much do you know about the industry – do you know enough?
“Make use of the organisations that are out there to help you, eg, Business Link.
“If you have to borrow money, never put your house up as collateral. It doesn’t matter if you extend your mortgage, just don’t give them your house.
“If you are someone who likes the nine-to-five aspect of working – DON’T BRANCH OUT ON YOUR OWN. Be prepared to work 12-hour days.
“Look your partner straight in the eye and make sure they fully support you. You won’t see your partner or your family much when you start or buy a business. It will take a massive toll on your home life.
“No one does anything unless you do. No one else signs the cheques, no one else works as hard as you do – these are the facts of running a small business.
“But it’s a great life and if you can do it, do it. It is the freest, best life you can possibly lead.”
Ubops.com The Business Opportunities Marketplace
He started the financial services business Robert Ward & Associates in 1984, sold it in 2003 to a sport and media company, and bought it back for a fraction of what he paid three years later when its owner went into liquidation.
Well qualified to speak about the subjects, Robert offers BOB his advice to prospective buyers and sellers, as well as people setting up their own business.
If you are thinking of selling
“Know as much as you can about who you are selling to.
“Can you walk away from the sale with cash? If you can – take it.
“If you can’t and if you have to take paper, make sure you have a short-term exit route.
“It’s more important to know who you are selling to if you are going to take paper.”
If you are thinking of buying
“Question how much you really know about the industry and the business you are potentially buying into. This is fundamental.
“Consider to what extent the business relies upon the person you are buying it from. In many cases when the owner leaves the business halves – and what will you as the buyer be left with?
“If you think this is going to be the case, don’t buy it – unless you are part of the business.”
If you are thinking of starting
“Again, question how much do you know about the industry – do you know enough?
“Make use of the organisations that are out there to help you, eg, Business Link.
“If you have to borrow money, never put your house up as collateral. It doesn’t matter if you extend your mortgage, just don’t give them your house.
“If you are someone who likes the nine-to-five aspect of working – DON’T BRANCH OUT ON YOUR OWN. Be prepared to work 12-hour days.
“Look your partner straight in the eye and make sure they fully support you. You won’t see your partner or your family much when you start or buy a business. It will take a massive toll on your home life.
“No one does anything unless you do. No one else signs the cheques, no one else works as hard as you do – these are the facts of running a small business.
“But it’s a great life and if you can do it, do it. It is the freest, best life you can possibly lead.”
Ubops.com The Business Opportunities Marketplace
Some tips on how to sell your small business? Nail down the details
By MATT KEMPNER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This might seem like a bad time for the owner of a small or midsize business to try to get top dollar selling their company.
With the national economy faltering, plenty of potential buyers are uncertain of what's ahead, and that's likely to factor into their offering prices. Meanwhile, credit markets have tightened up over the last year, increasing the costs to finance a purchase.
But three local investment bankers — whose companies make money helping owners sell businesses — see reasons why deals still might go through. And they have advice for business owners thinking about how to do it.
MARK LOEFFLER / Managing director, VRA Partners, Atlanta
• If you want the business to attract private equity buyers, "make sure there are no holes in your management team." Private equity buyers often want managers to stay.
• Get shareholder agreements, customer contracts and other paperwork ready for close inspection.
• Have a trusts-and-estates lawyer advise you on wealth-transfer issues.
• "Be emotionally ready for and understand what bringing in a buyer means: You are going to give up control."
DOM MAZZONE / Managing director, Mazzone & Associates
• Don't miss sales projections while the months-long sale process is under way.
• Strategic acquirers — purchasers who already operate businesses in the same or similar industries — are the most likely buyers for some companies in the current market.
• While some companies may have trouble getting the high sales prices previously hoped for, there are risks of not selling and "assuming you can excel in this market."
MICHAEL SIEGEL / A local director, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin
• Prepare your business well in advance. "If you are considering selling your business in 12 months, you're 24 months too late."
• Collect or write off overdue receivables, dump obsolete inventory, reduce the time it takes customers to pay.
• Look beyond national economic cycles. Considerations: advancing age, anticipating an increase in capital gains tax rates, being ready for a change. "Some people are just tired of running their business and may want to exit before ... a down cycle."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This might seem like a bad time for the owner of a small or midsize business to try to get top dollar selling their company.
With the national economy faltering, plenty of potential buyers are uncertain of what's ahead, and that's likely to factor into their offering prices. Meanwhile, credit markets have tightened up over the last year, increasing the costs to finance a purchase.
But three local investment bankers — whose companies make money helping owners sell businesses — see reasons why deals still might go through. And they have advice for business owners thinking about how to do it.
MARK LOEFFLER / Managing director, VRA Partners, Atlanta
• If you want the business to attract private equity buyers, "make sure there are no holes in your management team." Private equity buyers often want managers to stay.
• Get shareholder agreements, customer contracts and other paperwork ready for close inspection.
• Have a trusts-and-estates lawyer advise you on wealth-transfer issues.
• "Be emotionally ready for and understand what bringing in a buyer means: You are going to give up control."
DOM MAZZONE / Managing director, Mazzone & Associates
• Don't miss sales projections while the months-long sale process is under way.
• Strategic acquirers — purchasers who already operate businesses in the same or similar industries — are the most likely buyers for some companies in the current market.
• While some companies may have trouble getting the high sales prices previously hoped for, there are risks of not selling and "assuming you can excel in this market."
MICHAEL SIEGEL / A local director, Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin
• Prepare your business well in advance. "If you are considering selling your business in 12 months, you're 24 months too late."
• Collect or write off overdue receivables, dump obsolete inventory, reduce the time it takes customers to pay.
• Look beyond national economic cycles. Considerations: advancing age, anticipating an increase in capital gains tax rates, being ready for a change. "Some people are just tired of running their business and may want to exit before ... a down cycle."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
We are excited to announce the Buy My Business Blog
We are excited to announce the Buy My Business Blog.
Here you can expect to see company announcements, new updates, exciting news, industry happenings, and tips for both buying and selling a business.
We will in time make available many helpful tools to aid you in preparing professional business plans. We will be inviting experts to write blog articles to give you the edge you need to help make a success of your venture.
In addition, we will in time be establishing a private forum, not open to the general public. If you ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to respond to our blog, or email.
Here you can expect to see company announcements, new updates, exciting news, industry happenings, and tips for both buying and selling a business.
We will in time make available many helpful tools to aid you in preparing professional business plans. We will be inviting experts to write blog articles to give you the edge you need to help make a success of your venture.
In addition, we will in time be establishing a private forum, not open to the general public. If you ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to respond to our blog, or email.
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