Why not considering the promotion of your business overseas? You do not need to challenge the usual frustration related to international business such as:
- Communication barrier especially if you’ve already tried to speak on the telephone to Foreign people for instance.
- It’s time to implement the euro currency in your enterprise deals though you might not feel comfortable with ecommerce payment
- Are shipping costs a issue for you?
- We can understand your concerns about ensuring and delivering goods abroad?
Catalyst Entrepreneur UK virtual assistant provides Italian translation and complete internet solution for you to break into your equivalentItalian niche market . You will effortlessly develop your sales if you already operate in European union.
Why should you include Germany into your marketing plan.
- If you have previously carry out business in the old continent and want to improve your income, Catalyst Entrepreneur Virtual language assistant can assist you with marketing and language services to develop more opportunities.
Some of you may have already tried and were frustrated as you did not get the expected result. With our Language assistant services, we support you in order to reach keyl strategic objectives.
What about your company breaking into the biggest online market: Europe. Our Virtual virtual assistant become handyespecially if you do not handle language and international marketing tools.
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Do you know that italian translation is certainly not the only solution for your enterprise intercontinental development? Instead use a virtual assistant to help you develop a a viable company solution that will help you to break into international markets.
Don’t be seduced with Spanish website translation free or cheap offers.
If you think free German translation software simply translates your text and that’s it, well you should be extremely prudent as some of your words may be exactly translated but the essence of your idea definitely won’t.
When using English to German translation, always check if your translator is experienced, reliable and know what your enterprise is about. And you should be demanding if you want to get good translation for your enterprise.
Should you decide to use online enterprise solution, sales copy or any other commercial materials, make sure your translation is professionally handled with care as you have to avoid the following pitfalls:
1st point – Your actual English documents do not have to be translated as such because the translator has to ponder your idea from a French customer viewpoint. So be very careful before translating your existing website or any other commercial text.
Point 2 – Make sure you work with a trained translator to get your job done properly. Although the qualified translator could be competent and unswerving, he/she is not a website copywriter!
3- Some German words could damage your website copy.
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Develop your sales with 2 or more various professional e-commerce websites for your business.
Anybody can read a credit card. so, whether your client’s name is Alain Dupont, Gunther Muller, or John Smith what difference does it make as long as they buy internet from your website.
I hear you asking : How can I boost my business leads overseas when I do not speak any italian?
Before answering directly this vital question Catalyst Entrepreneur recommend you understand the situation from another angle to maximize the use of the World Wide Web.
So far when you log into your Google web page you often see a page related to your location: UK, Australia, New- Zealand,…
So you tend to narrow your search field to what you can notice. Depending on your mother tongue, you could find various or few information about your searched topic.
That is exactly what Spanish, German, Foreign and Italian people do as well. Also 90% ue Google as their main search Engines. So they land on Google FR for Europe, Google.DE for Germany, Google.ES for Spain, Google.IT for Italy.
Ask your virtual assistant to create one new European website.
Are you thinking about approaching a Bank for finance to support your business? If you haven’t already gone to see the Manager then you may not know that the first thing he will want to see is your Business Plan.
Perhaps you are not convinced that all the time and effort needed in preparing a plan is essential; if so then here are the main benefits for both you and your business.
1. No matter how good a communicator you are, you will never be able to convey your vision for the business as successfully as a perfectly put together Business Plan. It provides a clear understanding as to what you want to achieve. It allows you to express your ideas in a clearer manner.
2. Too many times business owners try to sell their idea verbally and at the end of the interview with the Bank the Manager is none the wiser than he was at the start. I think you can guess the outcome of many of those requests!
3. A Business Plan will help convince both you and the Bank of the project’s feasibility and viability. There’s nothing like having all the facts in front of you to clarify the key issues
4. There’s no getting away from the fact that a business owner who plans ahead comes across as being more ambitious and more focused. A well prepared Business Plan demonstrates you have vision and that you know what you want
5. With numerous ideas floating around in your mind, the pitfalls or stumbling blocks to success are never that visible. A mind buzzing and full of ideas will rarely achieve clarity. A Business Plan forces you to put your ideas down in writing and in an orderly manner. The result of this could be you going in a completely different direction than you initially thought of, or even abandoning your idea altogether. Not a pleasant thought, but which would you prefer? The loss of your hard capital or the opportunity to re-think your idea?
6. It is an ideal tool to monitor progress against the objectives you have set yourself (we will cover objective setting later). By checking progress against your Plan, you will be able to spot if you are moving away from your original vision and so you will know what has to be put right
7. Imagine if you didn’t have this check in place; an unnoticed change in direction or a slippage in achieving your objectives, if left uncorrected for too long, could be fatal to your business. On the other hand, it may transpire that a shift from your original vision could be a better alternative, but at least recognising this change allows you to adjust your course in a planned, structured and controlled manner
8. Every action you take has a consequence, and a Plan helps make these consequences much clearer. Being aware of the possible effect of your chosen direction allows you to plan ahead, leaving you better able to cope with whatever the world of self employment can throw at you. This is one thing that “mental planning” would not achieve
9. Putting your thoughts on paper may make you realise that you need to do more research on the demand for your product or service. It could also highlight that more investigation on your competitor’s products or services is needed. Additional research could help avoid a potentially costly mistake or even uncover a hidden advantage, which you had not seen before!
10. A Plan will guide you as to how much money is needed to make an idea work. In your mind you may have a rough figure of what you’ll have to commit, but until you do a Cash Flow Forecast you may not realise that an overdraft limit will be required, in addition to a loan for your equipment. If the mention of preparing a Cash Flow Forecast brings you out in a sweat, don’t worry as later in the book I’ll be showing you exactly how to do one
11. A Business Plan will help you get funding. One of the main reasons Banks turn down requests for loans is a lack of information to assist in making an informed decision. If the Manager doesn’t have enough knowledge about your idea or business then he won’t feel comfortable enough to support you. He has to understand your business before he can say yes. Some time in the future he may have to justify to his superiors why he lent you the money, so he needs as much information as possible to back up his decision. A Business Plan will make him feel much more at ease and so more able to say yes
12. By the time you have finished writing your Business Plan you will have a total understanding of your business; its strengths and weaknesses, the environment it operates in, what could potentially go wrong, and what you can do to ensure your success. Doing your planning on the back of an envelope is not going to achieve this
You should realise by now that it’s essential to have a Business Plan; it could be the difference between success and that dreaded “f” word – failure! It’s all about understanding the importance of planning ahead.
Spend time putting your thoughts on paper in a structured and logical manner. It will pay you dividends, both in getting the Bank to take you seriously and securing the future of your business.
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There were about 146,000 business startups a year, and an average of 12,000 business bankruptcies per year from 1994 to 2004 in Canada. A 2004 Statistics Canada study on small business failure rates “Key Small Business Statistics – January 2005: How Long Do Small Businesses Survive?” found that the first few years were critical. While almost three quarters of small business startups survive the first year, less than one third of micro companies (less than five employees) were in business after five years.
These statistics by themselves may be of little value to you directly. We know how many small businesses survive and for how long, but it’s far more important to know why some survive and others do not. There are a lot of studies on small business failure. Searching “reasons for small business failure” with quotations on Google will give you almost 700 results (about 38 million without!). “Why small businesses fail” will give you almost a thousand.
The 1997 study by Statistics Canada “Failing Concerns: Business Bankruptcies in Canada found major internal factors of small business failure was management deficiency, financial management problems and poor marketing.
The Small Business Administration study “Financial Difficulties of Small Businesses and Reasons for Their Failure” in 1998 found several causes of small business bankruptcy: outside business conditions (38.5%), financing (28%), inside business conditions (27.1%), taxes (20%), disputes (18.8%), personal calamities and other (32.9%).
There is a wealth of information on this subject, but what are the common factors? There are four basic areas:
External factors
External factors include new competition, your major client moving out of town, poor weather if you’re a seasonal business, or economic downturns. They’re often largely out of our control, and may be unique to your particular company, but there are often ways to mitigate them. For example, if you have a seasonal business, such as a landscaping company (at least up here in the cold north it’s seasonal) you could buy a bobcat to provide income during your off-season with snow removal. The bottom line is, have a contingency plan for external factors that could have a negative impact on your small business success.
Lack of management
Big companies have the luxury of being able to hire several people to get all the jobs done that need to be done, but chances are you’re going to have to do it all yourself, at least for awhile. That means you’re not only going to have to develop your product or service, you’re also going to have to make financial, accounting, legal, marketing, human resources, and purchasing decisions.
You may do some of these tasks very well, but it’s unlikely that you do all these tasks well, and even if you do, you might want to contact a lawyer and an accountant at the very least. And, research, research, and research some more, and when you’re done researching, find an expert or two bounce ideas off and give you solid advice.
Lack of planning
Small businesses often fail because of lack of planning. Let me make a bold statement: the single-most vital part of your business success is your business plan. Why? Simply put, your business plan specifically and concretely lists your goals for the next few years. It spells out, step by step, how you’re going to meet those goals, and gives you something to measure your performance against at the end of your business year. Finally, a complete business plan helps you get financing and includes a marketing plan.
I have one more thing to say about business plans. It does very little good to write a business plan, put it in a drawer and never look at it again. That same 1997 Statistics Canada study we talked about earlier found that successful small business owners refer to and revise their business plans often.
Lack of marketing
Most small businesses seem to think it takes a lot of money to market their product or service effectively. That’s simply not true. There are many ways to market inexpensively. You could use direct mail marketing which is as cheap as a stamp, or email marketing, which costs nothing. The point is, you need to get your product or service “out there” somehow. You may have the best product or service out there, something completely unique from anything else, but what good does that do if nobody knows about it?
So there you have it—my thoughts on the main reasons why small businesses fail, and how you can avoid becoming a small business failure statistic by developing a contingency plan, consulting with experts, and developing and using a business and marketing plan.
If you are thinking of starting a small business, trust me, I’m not trying to discourage you. I sincerely believe being in business for yourself may possibly be the most rewarding career there is, but a little knowledge can go a long way towards arming you against small business failure.
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If you’re like many small business owners, you might be wondering just what a corporate identity package is. And if you already know what it is, you might be wondering why your small business would need one. After all, you’re just a small business, not one of those big corporations. What’s in it for you?
Just as the name implies, a corporate identity package identifies your company to potential clients, suppliers and the general public. It includes your business name, small business logo, your logotype (just a fancy way of saying how things are placed, which font you use, spacing, and other things like that) your motto or company slogan, and associated printed material– your business card, and letterhead, envelope and forms.
When you started your small business, you might have dreamed of becoming more than just another small business. Maybe you even dreamed about becoming a big business some time in the future. And even if you’re a completely practical entrepreneur and didn’t have those dreams, you need to attract customers in order to keep your small business open. A corporate identity package can help you do that.
Write a couple of big corporations, ask a question and request a business card. They’ll send your answer on their letterhead, in their company envelopes, and include a company business card. If you take a moment or two to look at big corporations’ identity packages, you’ll soon notice a few important things in common.
Their corporate identity package looks professional. What makes a big corporation look professional? I think one key is simplicity. Generally, a large corporation has a simple symbol or even just graphically represents their name as their logo. Take the Coca-cola logo for example. Or Toyota. Or Cameco Corporation. They’re all very simple.
When you look at their corporate identity package, you see quality. They use only high quality printing services and paper. Sure, that’s going to cost a little more, but it’ll be worth it in the end because its an integral representation of your small business’ image. You could print your corporate identity package yourself using your home printer, lightweight paper and business card templates, but how is that going to look? Will that produce the professional image you’re after?
Their logotype is consistent. Big businesses use exactly the same color for their logo and their background every time. They use consistent fonts. Their slogan for example, would consistently be in Times New Roman, never a different font or even a similar font, but exactly the same font, and always in the same proportion to the logo. Spacing is consistent. Spacing between letters and between lines is also always exactly the same proportion. Their secret is designing in vector form so their logo can be enlarged or reduced without changing proportion.
Their corporate identity package matches exactly. Their letterhead, envelopes, business cards all match. And if you ordered something from them, the invoice and the statement you’d get at the end of the month would match too. Perfectly.
Here’s another reason to take a little time to look at big corporations’ identity packages: you can use what they do to create an identity for your own small business. What they do works, and they do big business, so if you want to do big business too, why reinvent the wheel? Copy what they’ve done. No, I don’t mean you should copy another company’s logo. Just copy the way they’ve done things. Take their ideas and use them.
You probably don’t have the luxury of spending the amount of dollars a big corporation does on their identity. In fact, they sometimes spend millions on their corporate identity. So how do you get a professional look at a small business price?
You can do it yourself or you can hire a design professional to do it for you, sometimes at minimal cost, or even free. Here’s one idea. You can sometimes find good student graphic designers who’ll design your logo for you in exchange for allowing them to put it in their portfolio. In any case, if they do charge you a fee, it will be a whole lot less than what a professional graphic designer would charge. Besides it’ll feel good to be helping a “poor student”.
So, why should you have a small business identity package? What’s in it for you? If you do it right; if you have a corporate identity package that looks professional, is of high quality, has a consistent logotype, and matches perfectly, you’re going to look just like the big guys even if you’re the smallest business in town.
And if you look like the big guys, you just might have a chance to play with the big guys. And what if, just what if, your corporate identity package helped you, even just a little, to realize the dream you had of someday owning a big business when you started your small business?
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As an accounting manager struggling to build my coaching business online and after many years of struggle, I now focus on 9 FABULOUS concepts that have multiplied my business exponentially.
1. Figure out where you want to be in 3 years.
Having a vision for your business is so important that it could make our break you. Not knowing where you want to be spells disaster with a capital “D”!
Creating a powerful vision for where you want to be in 3 years, 1 year and in 30 days in your business helps you to remain focused on what is important.
2. Activate your creative juices and tell your story
Prospects have to trust you-plain and simple-before they will do business with you and purchase your services and your products. The quickest and easiest way to do this is to tell your story.
Tell us if you understand our problems and how you can help us. Let us know if you’ve been in our situation before and how you dealt with it. Share with us your problems and how you overcame them.
3. Brand yourself-Determine what differentiates you.
There are thousands and thousands of solo-professionals around the world each possibly giving the same information. Why should someone give you their business? What is different about your business?
A significant factor to attracting your ideal clients is telling them why you are dissimilar from the others and unique in what you teach. As a solo-professional, you are your brand. What can you offer your clients that makes you different, diverse and special?
4. Understand basic net and web strategies
As an aspiring solo-professional I believe it is imperative that you know basic web language and strategies. Who wants to call up your web designer every time you want to make a slight page to a web page?
For those just starting out in their businesses, you’ve got to know how to reach your prospects through email newsletters and you’ve got to know how to record a tele-seminar. These could be doubly vital if you’re on a budget.
5. Lead a Championship Support Team
Whether you’re a solo-professional like a coach, consultant or otherwise, you need to recognize the importance of having team beside you. A team could propel your business to profitability faster than anything I know. Adding even a part-time virtual assistant (VA) to your team can do wonders.
I can hear you saying now “I can’t afford it!” Well you think you can’t, but how about bartering with a VA. You offer your services to her and vice versa. Easy, huh?
6. Over deliver, over respond, WOW your clients
I’m passionate about this concept. Once you’ve gotten a client, keep ‘em! Seduce them over and over to become a walking referral for you.
Offering your clients fabulous service and unexpected add-ons, gifts and responses will leave them saying only one thing about your and your business – “Wow!”
7. Use the Universal Laws to effortlessly attract your ideal clients
What are you focusing on each day in your business? No clients? Too much to do? Not enough time? Well, believe it or not, you create your reality!
You are where you are in your business by what you have been thinking and focusing on yesterday, last week and last year.
I use the Law of Attraction in my life coaching business and it’s a powerful ‘tool’ for solo-professionals to use in their businesses as well. By setting your intention at each step of the way, building your business becomes as easy and effortless as you can ever imagine.
8. Spring into action-create S.M.A.R.T goals
Do you have a plan for your business? Have you decided what you will be doing this month, this quarter or this year to grow your business?
Having a calendar for marketing and growing your business is vital to achieving your goals. We all know that our goals should be specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and timely, don’t we?
9. Spend wisely: invest in your business and yourself
When I first started in my business, I spent wildly and uncontrollably to get my business up and running fast. This was the biggest mistake of my life! I had to turn that mindset around and quit cold-turkey.
Concentrating on forecasting and reinvesting a percentage of your profits into your business is critical to making it. It’s also important to invest in yourself as you grow personally and professional. You’re bank account will only grow as fast as You grow.
These 9 concepts are the building blocks of attracting clients from the ‘net for solo-professionals and will make you more money in less time. Try them for a month and you’ll be amazed.
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The Worst Small Business Financing Strategy Ever?
Depending on whose stats you pay attention to, approximately 80% of small businesses fail within their first 5 years of operation.
In many cases, its not that a particular business could not succeed; there just wasn’t sufficient time to figure out how to succeed.
Which brings us to the worst small business financing strategy ever.
Here’s how it work.
The would be entrepreneur develops what they believe to be a sure fire business plan that can’t fail.
Unable to locate any form of start up capital, they start their business with credit cards as the only source of financing, and an expectation of sustainable business results within 3 to 6 months.
If everything goes well, the debt will be retired within a year and funds will start building in the bank account.
Sounds Good, right?
I mean the thinking lines up perfectly with all the get rich quick business opportunities that exist on and off the internet today where some of them even try to convince you to use your credit cards because the opportunity is soooooooo good and can’t miss.
The problem is that every business can miss.
Every single one.
And the vast majority do fail.
Have you ever spoken to someone who runs a successful small business; perhaps one that’s been around for 10 to 20 years?
If you take the time to ask one of these entrepreneurs about their start up period, what you learn may shock you.
Even some of the most successful small and medium sized businesses out there today had some hairy moments making a go of it in the early years.
And some times the difficult early years lasted for several years.
The point here is simply this.
The process of getting a business operating and successful can take many unexpected twists and turns, no matter how diligent you are in creating a thorough business plan and business financing strategy.
Therefore, to increase your probability for success you need to allow for the unknown, the unplanned, and the unfair.
A business financing strategy that cannot accommodate unforeseen events is not much of a strategy.
A business financing strategy that is based on high interest credit cards that can destroy both your cash flow and your personal credit is also not much of a strategy.
To improve your odds of small business success, here are some tips for developing a solid business financing strategy.
>>> Invest Your Own Cash
If you have some of your own cash penciled into your business financing strategy, it will immediately increase your likelihood of getting some sort of start up loan.
The more “skin” you have in the game, the more interested a lender will be in approving your loan request.
There is also something to be said about the psychological incentive of losing your own money and the motivation it creates for you to work harder to keep it.
>>> Create Contingencies in Your Cash Flow
Whatever you estimate your working capital requirement to be, double it. At least increase it by a factor larger than 1.
Things can and will go wrong, so give yourself a fighting chance and develop a business financing strategy that allows for less than perfect results.
>>> Use Credit Cards Wisely
Used properly, credit cards can be the cheapest form of working capital that you have at your disposal.
Some business credit cards provide 40 days of interest free financing. If you pay off the entire balance every month, you have an extremely low cost of working capital financing.
But if you start carrying large balances without paying them down monthly, you will go from the cheapest source of working capital to one of the most expensive, and you will likely also destroy your credit rating in the process.
>>> Make Timely Government Remittances
Small businesses are by default tax collectors. And the taxes collected can sometimes wind up funding the business for longer periods of time than they were ever intended.
Using government remittances as a business financing strategy is basically a bad idea.
Government agencies that are assigned to collect from you have large budgets and enough broad sweeping authority to create plenty of grief for you if you are too slow in paying.
If you apply for a business loan while you have an overdue balance with a government tax agency, your loan request will likely be declined.
Even after the balance is paid up, you may have burned your bridge with the lender as a history of overdue government remittances can brand you as a bad credit risk.
>>> Watch Spending Closely At Startup
One of the things you can control early on is how much you spend and what you spend it on.
This is going to change in time, but if you can spend wisely in the beginning you may be able to avoid a cost cutting exercise further down the line.
While its normally true that you have to spend money to make money, you can still be smart about the spending process.
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Nowadays ,outsourcing has become one of the most reliable alternatives for foreign firms to delegate their tasks to other nations in order to meet their goals of fulfilling their tasks in the field of either IT, generating software’s, or passing their companies information to customers. It is an act of providing the services in the cheapest way by means of assigning their work to countries which are economically low and hence have lower costs. But as for outsourcing, it also generates some pros and cons, specifically, outsourcing to India.
The very first benefit as they see is how much money they can save by outsourcing. India tends to provide its services in possibly one of the cheapest costs in the world. They are more knowledgeable in the fields of networking, IT and overall in the field of computers as compared to other counties. However, they are paid much less than the employees in Western countries which can make their work done in much discount whereas India can make its mark globally and economically around the world. Many workers are much more knowledgeable that their western counter-parts in mathematics, science and technology, as it helps in doing the work much effectively. Also, this helps in building the bridge in communication between the two countries in order to achieve the same purpose.. Also, foreign countries can get much more opinions and suggestions from their outsourcing team. Getting access to better technologies at the cheaper cost means that productivity increases.
However, the disadvantages of outsourcing to nations like India also should be put into consideration where the risk involves getting proof whether the company will stick with the work outsourced to them, and whether they perform their task effectively till the end of the project.
Communication barriers can also play their part in creating misunderstandings of the task. Also, cultural barriers need to be put into consideration before outsourcing work to countries with different cultures. Although, outsourcing to the country like India can be seen as a win/win situation but these misunderstanding can rift in the working relation .also, time difference plays a vital role in the miscommunication and this can lead to the work to be perform in an ineffective way. It is also much more necessary to check out the company to whom you’re outsourcing data and to see whether the company is motivated and capable in performing the task.
Usually, the business is spread in an international basis and a large number of information is communicated between the two companies situated far away though networking, so the possibility occurs where an unauthorized person can gain access to the computer and the basic information can be stolen and also chances of the data to be copied and can be sale out to your competitors.
Hackers who are much more knowledgeable in getting and knowing how to enter the basic data and gaining the companies information, can possibly make your company a victim and your information through networking can possibly be mishandled and can be hacked , These basics disadvantages can put you down from outsourcing to India ,where they can also seen as a barriers in achieving the tasks , and company have to think twice before outsourcing to India.
However ,outsourcing to the nation like India have their pros and cons and usually can be seen as a positive step , but some Basics tips should also be considered for a safety measures . Before the work to be outsource, your company should have a vast research for the appropriate company which can perform the task in the appropriate way and to see whether the company is reliable in performing their task.. India is a great place to find incredibly reasonable programmers and web services provider. Where as, dealing people in India, you have to be polite and just not avoid small talks to find whether they are up to their mark. You have to be firm without being rude until u get your entire question to be answered. Be clear about your project and explain what you need from them.
Usually most of the companies wants the foreign firms to do everything with them, so to be on the save side don’t do everything with one company and should have a necessary backup plans , don’t put all your eggs in the same basket. People in India are far more eager to work in many cases who go through many of the struggles and triumphs that’s why foreign countries find India as a better option to outsource the work.
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There are over 2,500 different franchises for sale right now. Trying to choose the right one might seem like an impossible task. If you are a first time franchise purchaser, where should you begin? The answer is not easy; every franchise is unique and there are hundreds of characteristics to review. That said, certain characteristics keep popping up when we examine the best franchises.
Here are SmarterFranchises three keys to a great franchise:
1. Multi-unit Ownership
The proof is in the pudding. The best indication that a franchisee is happy with his business is if he spends more money to purchase another unit or an additional territory. The logic is the same as why Honda has such a strong reputation in the car market. If your uncle Jeff has bought three Accords in a row, Honda must be doing something right.
For the most part, multi-unit owners start with one store which becomes so successful that the want a second and so on. In order to finance a second store, a lender will examine the first store’s cash flow. If a franchise wasn’t financially viable, it would be nearly impossible to open additional units.
Multi-unit ownership is also an indication of operational efficiency in a concept. With some franchises, there is so much work that is impossible for the franchise owner to focus on anything but day to day operations. The book, “The E Myth” talks extensively about this trap of getting stuck “working in your business” vs. “working on your business.” Even if you never plan to open multiple units, this is an important characteristic, because more likely than not, you would eventually like to retire or at least take a vacation one day.
Be wary of franchise owners who explain low multi-unit ownership by suggesting franchisees make enough money with just one unit. If there is one thing history has shown, people rarely decide they have “enough” money.
2. Proven Franchisor Track Record
There are three items to think about when examining the franchisor’s track record. The first is an understanding of how much risk there is that the franchisor might go out of business. Unfortunately, many of the 2,500 franchise concepts available just won’t make it as sustainable businesses. If you purchase one of these concepts, you may lose much of your investment.
Second, the franchisor’s track record should give you an indication about the quality of the concept. Did the franchisor own several successful stores for many years before deciding to franchise his concept or did he just decide one day that there was good money in franchising so he better come up with a concept.
Third, franchisors with longer track records have more established training and support programs. While you might save a few thousand dollars buy getting into a franchise early, chances are you won’t get much for your investment. New franchisees haven’t had the time to put together development support or training programs or marketing campaigns. Also, if you are one of the first buyers, you are the guinea pig which often means more risk. Maybe a new food concept works great in a mall food court or maybe it doesn’t? Wouldn’t be nice if you weren’t the one who had to run the experiment?
3. Strong, independent franchisee association
Unfortunately, the unspoken reality is that the franchisor’s and franchisee’s interests aren’t always aligned. Eventually, there will be disagreements over finances, marketing programs or development issues. Knowing that issues are sure to arise, it is helpful to know that you will have an organized group of franchisees who can relate to your situation. Independent associations have many benefits. In addition to creating leverage for the purpose of negotiating with the franchisor, an association also can improve communication among franchisees. Independent associations also allow members to pool resources to hire competent professionals such as lawyers or financial advisors or marketing consultants. Finally, like with any organization, a collective, institutional memory is created. The AFA has an excellent article on associations on its site
It is also a negative sign if the franchisor goes out of its way to discourage an association. It usually means that the franchisor does not have the franchisees best interests in mind and is afraid of having to deal fairly with franchisees.
In addition to independent associations, franchisees may also develop a co-op to purchase goods at a discount or control a portion of the system’s advertising budget or develop a lobby group for a specific issue. All of these our good signs.
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Knowing the ins and outs of purchase order financing is an asset to almost any small or medium sized business owner. In the sections below you will learn just exactly what purchase order financing is, the benefits, drawbacks, who can benefit the most from it, and would be likely to qualify for it.
What is purchase order financing?
purchase order financing is another way to get a loan for the capital you need to finance the supplies, production, and shipping of a product after you have received a purchase order from a buyer. Once you produce the finished goods and are paid, you can then pay off your invoice to the company who provided you with funding.
This is a perfect solution for small start-up businesses who have orders coming in but don’t have the finances required to order supplies, pay their workers, and ship the finished goods. This would also be a great opportunity for a small to medium sized businesses who have found themselves with a sudden large customer jump or are graced with a very large order.
Who can benefit from purchase order financing?
- Purchase order financing is great for small to medium sized businesses who usually do not have the funds for large orders that could sky rocket their sales and turn their product into a household name. Image pitching your product to a major retailer, receiving an order from them, and then not being able to produce the goods needed because you are short on funds. purchase order financing could save you from this heart-breaking, and business-breaking, blow.
- A company who has received an order so large that they would need a six-digit loan. A purchase order financing company is not there to finance every single order so that a business does not have to spend any money up-front, it is merely a means for businesses to get the funds they need for an order that would otherwise be out of their reach financially.
- Only those who are reselling an already made product that they have to purchase in order to send to the buyer, such as drop shippers, or are producing a product to sell may be eligible to receive purchase order financing. For example, if you are selling a service, you would not qualify to receive purchase order financing. Although it may take capital you do not have to hire employees to perform the service, it would still not qualify under most company guidelines.
What are the drawbacks of purchase order financing?
There are few drawbacks to receiving purchase order financing, however, there is one major qualification that could potentially stand in your way. When a company grants you funding, they assume they will be paid after your customer receives the finished product and pays you. Because of this, many funding companies will check the credit of your buyer(s) to be sure that you will not get ripped off and be left without the money to pay your invoice. Purchase order financing companies are not only taking a chance on you, they are taking a chance on your customers as well. They are the ones with the real risk if the deal goes sour. Knowing that your customer is credit worthy gives the company the peace of mind to lend to you.
What to look for in a purchase order financing company
You should find a company that is right for you. These guidelines may help you better understand what type of company you should apply with:
- Find out what their minimum and maximum funding guidelines are to ensure that they meet your financial need. If a company only funds loans that are in excess of what you are looking for or has restrictions that are less than what you need then you are best moving on to another company.
- Find out what other eligibility requirements they have to ensure that you do qualify under their guidelines before you waste any time applying for their loan.
- Find out what length of time you have to repay the loan and check to see if it meets with you production and billing schedules to ensure that you will have the funds in time.
- Once you have found a company that works for you, make sure that they have a fee or interest rate that your company can both afford and be comfortable with.
In the world of loans and financing, purchase order financing may be a small business’s best ally. They will usually have repayment terms that allow time for production of a product and it is the fastest way to receive financing without losing any investment in your business. Also, since they will check into the credit worthiness of your buyers, they may save you from producing a product for a deadbeat buyer. All in all, purchase order financing is a way to finance a large order that may get your product into the hands of a top notch retailer.
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So you’re starting a small business. You figured out what you wanted to sell or do and went out and got it all set up, had your DBA framed and on the wall and now all you need is for someone to buy your product or use your service. Right?
How are you going to go about getting your public to know you even exist?
Promote! Promote! Promote!
Well that all sounds simple, but say you’re a financial specialist, a boat builder or llama farmer. They probably didn’t teach the basic principles of starting small business promotional campaigns in boat-builders’ school. So what do you need to know, and how do you go about it?
Let’s start with the “Basic Principles” of promotion:
What is Promotion?
Promotion (pro•m??•shun) n. Anything, as advertising, public appearances, etc., done to publicize (get the attention or interest of the public) a person, product, event, etc. The New Webster’s Concise Dictionary2003 Encyclopedic Edition
Why do you promote?
The purpose of promotion is to make sure people know you are in business. You promote because if you don’t, you won’t make it in business. You promote because it is communication that you need to engage in in order to survive. You promote in order to expand and get the attention or interest of the public for your products or services. You promote because if you don’t, no one will know you exist and no one will buy from you and…well, you get the point.
How do you promote?
There are more ways than you would ever think. Have you ever heard someone say, “I never promote and I am always busy” OR “I don’t have to promote, all my business comes from word-of-mouth”? They may not be aware of how they’re doing it, but I promise you they are promoting somewhere. Maybe they just go around telling everyone they talk to, that they don’t promote. (Sound funny? It’s still promoting.) Maybe their larger-than-life running water faucet in front of their store attracts so much attention that they don’t need to do anything else. Well here are some ideas you can do “knowingly” to drive in the business.
• Greeting your customers with a smile is a great place to start.
• Calling your customers after they have had a chance to use your product is a good way to promote that you care about their experience with your organization. It can also create an opportunity to make more sales.
• A neatly packaged product, the shipping label on straight, promotes that you take pride in what you do.
• Always keep up-to-date brochures or catalogs about your business in your reception area for people to see and take with them.
• If you have customers coming into your business, make sure they are greeted pleasantly, professionally, and immediately.
Anything that gets the attention or interest of the public for the company, its employees, its products or services (in a positive way) is promotion.
But how do you go about promoting to the masses?
Here is a story that could save you thousands of marketing and promotional dollars, as well as months or years of experience.
“I was working as the Communications & Promotional Director in a medium size business. We were fortunate enough to have our own commercial printing press, that put out lots of very fancy letters, catalogs, brochures and other promotional items, and oh yes, envelopes to put them in. My full time pressman and his helpers, spent several days each week getting everything printed, cut, folded and sent over to the mailing house.”
“There, they had machines that automated all the stuffing, sorting, addressing and stamping. All in all everything was going very well. We were sending out about 40,000 pieces per week at a cost of about $10,800.00, and getting around 120 to 140 good leads per week. This generated an average of 2 new sales per week for a product that cost around $12,000, and re-sign income of around $45,000 more. We weren’t growing very fast, but we were making money.”
“THEN…911 hit. “
“Suddenly, nobody wanted to open envelopes. Our leads were dropping to nothing. We were heading toward our own disaster like so many other companies did. I knew I needed to promote, but what good did it do if nobody read it!”
“I was talking to the owner of the mailing house and he suggested the use of POSTCARDS instead of letters. So we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I had much less money to allocate towards promotion, so I started by sending about 20,000 postcards weekly. The total cost-per-piece, needing only one day on the presses, half the labor at the mail house and a substantial decrease in postage, was reduced by about 60%.”
What was the result? Try 120 to 140 leads per week!
Why?
• You don’t have to open a post card!
• You see it right away, the bright picture is not hidden from view by an envelope.
• The message leaps right out and you can’t ignore it or throw it in the trash unopened (the fate of many bulk mail pieces).
Postcards are the best medium to reach new customers when starting a small business promotional campaign.
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