Small Business Startup

Starting and managing a small business is difficult. Do you have all that it takes to be successful in both the startup stage and the longer term?

In small business you are constantly subjected to mental strain.

You need to have a solid physical constitution because you may find yourself working greater hours than you ever did as an employee.

You need to handle uncertainty and anxiety and, if you make mistakes, you will need to accept the repercussions.

All that and no absolute guarantee you will even be successful!

The honest truth of the matter is that there are definitely many risks and rewards in regard to operating your own business.

You could start a small business and find two or three years down the track that your investment has gone up in smoke.

However, if you are actually suited to operating a business, you may find that it is one of the most amazing and fulfilling things you do in your life.

You can control your own destiny in a way that you never would as an employee.

If you succeed, you will have the satisfaction of carving out a place of your own in the business world.

And you may well find yourself wealthier than you otherwise would have been.

So, do you have what it takes to launch a small business?

Your initial step in becoming an entrepreneur really should be to evaluate yourself.

Can you accept the risks and the hard work? Are you the kind of individual who will be satisfied by the rewards offered as a result of running a business?

There have been a lot of studies of small business people that come up with different suggestions about just what makes them tick and what features they have in common that makes them successful in business.

They identify a number of very obvious things like; entrepreneurs as individuals commonly tend not to like taking orders-- they definitely prefer being their own boss; that they are high-energy people; that they are enthusiastic about their enterprise; that they have the tendency to be sociable-- which helps when it comes to marketing and selling of course; and they are self-contained and can work long periods in solitude and with no back up.

More than that, these people are resilient, can cope with rejection and failure and still come back for another shot.

They possess mental endurance and can exercise good judgment under stress.

They are firm decision-makers, but tend to act only after exhaustively examining all their options.

They are not gamblers - they will take risks, yet only after doing everything possible to maximize the odds in their own favor.

Now, that is quite a list of traits, but it's still only half the story.

The other half is motivation - is it so strong that it will keep you going through the most difficult times?

You might be driven by your own character to want to start your own business but other people are driven to start up their own business as a result of external pressures.

They may be discouraged by their employer's promotion policy, as an example.

They might feel that they are not really being paid according to their performance or perhaps their job may place excessive time constraints on them.

They may like to be in a position to determine when and where they work.

The main point to bear in mind is that not all motivations showcase the kind of active drive that compels successful business people - it's not as simple as just 'feeling' that it's right for you or even that it would be preferable to what you are doing currently.

Being half-hearted is no way to go into business - you have to be very driven to be able to put in the effort that will be demanded.

Once you decide that you do have what it takes to go into business, there are 5 things you will want to do to ensure you have the greatest chance of success.

1. Make sure there is a market for your product/service and develop your unique business idea. You should understand what you are going to sell, who you are going to sell it to and why they would want to buy it from you. To do that you will need to understand your market place, your customers and your competitors.

2. Assess the financial feasibility of your start-up by looking at your launch costs, your sales estimates, your fixed and variable costs and most importantly, how these numbers come together to identify your break even point.

3. Create a business plan that records everything you have discovered in the first two steps and sets out your business strategy for success.

4. Make up your mind how to you are going to finance your start up company and use the business plan to approach your selected financier.

5. Be aware of the legal prerequisites for starting a business and make a decision on what structures you will use to run the business venture.

All you need to do now is add the final ingredient of success-- the guts to make a start and implement your plan.

The entrepreneurial spirit is what makes our world a fantastic place to live, and I encourage you to follow your dreams for small business success, from startup to highly profitable business sale.

Craig Ridley is the Head Coach at YourBusinessCoachingClub.com - a web site targeted to business owners who are interested in increasing sales, improving profit, growing their business, taking their business online and creating personal wealth.

Membership of our free Online Business Coaching Club provides access to more than 5 years of business improvement ideas, business coaching modules, videos and workshops. Our coaching program is delivered online and designed to give you time to properly learn, plan and implement the business improvement strategies which will allow you to build a High Performance Business that delivers increasing profits, consistent growth and a better personal lifestyle.

Purchasing Business Insurance for the First Time? Things You Need to Know

Having adequate business insurance is primary to every business, regardless of its size, geographic location or product it offers. While running a business you need to deal with complex issues that may rise when your business is in operation. The most important ones are the risks associated with your business. You can reduce risks by purchasing a comprehensive insurance coverage.

If you are purchasing insurance for the first time, you need to be very careful as it can make or break your business. This article discusses things you need to know when purchasing business insurance for the first time.

Know how much coverage your business requires:

Before purchasing insurance for your business, you need to know how much coverage your business requires and for that you need to understand the severity of risks that your business may face. There are several factors that you need to identify and evaluate before purchasing insurance for your business. Assess the risks to your business to protect it from them.

Do thorough research:

Different businesses have different insurance needs. Therefore, before purchasing an insurance policy, you need to list the needs of your business and research thoroughly the type of insurance cover for your business. It depends on the size and nature of your business.

You need to check certain things before purchasing business insurance like the type of coverage that is ideal for your business, where to purchase insurance policy, etc.

Take the help of experienced people:

Insurance coverage required by your business is unique, so it should be tailor-made according to the specifications of your business. For that, you need to talk to experienced and knowledgeable people in the industry. Get their advice to get an idea on the several risks that may affect your business operations, so that you will have a clear picture in your mind on which policy to purchase for your business.

Basic things to look for in a business insurance policy:

As you are planning to purchase business insurance for the first time, you need to consider the basic things while purchasing business insurance policy. Make sure you look for options such as minimum liability, property coverage, stock and equipment coverage, auto coverage, business interruption, etc. You need to opt for primary coverage and create a check-list, so that you are sure you have enough coverage that suits your business needs.

Understand what you are buying:

Firstly, you need to understand what type of policy to buy and how it will help your business. There are several factors associated, including the risks of losses and liabilities while buying business insurance. You need to make sure that you are getting enough coverage for your business - all the risks and events are covered under the policy. Also avoid buying unnecessary coverage, as you may have to pay an extra on the premiums.

Shop around:

If you are looking for the best price when purchasing business insurance, you need to shop around and check out with several insurers, as the cost of the coverage differs across insurers. To get the best quotes at a reasonable price, take help of brokerage firms, as they are experienced and knowledgeable, and they will help you out in purchasing the best coverage that suits your business.

The Art of the Business Web Marketing Email List

As a business owner marketing your business, brand, product and/or service, you know that you need to reach out to targeted individuals on the web. This means that you must seek out and target your business web marketing materials towards those people who might find an interest in what you do. If yours is a company that manufactures wheelchairs, you will obviously want to market your materials to people who require the use of such equipment, or the families of people who do. What if you could gather an entire group of targeted individuals into one area so that you could market to them over and over? That is exactly that business web marketing list building is all about. If you can gather your own list of highly-targeted prospects and customers, your job becomes ten times easier. You no longer have to seek out like-minded individuals, you'll have them right where you want them: on your subscriber list. Let's take a look at the art of building a business web marketing email list and how to leverage that list for maximum return.

Email Platforms

You could manage a business web marketing list all on your own, but why when there are many platforms available to you that make the task easy? A few examples of email marketing platforms that are popular with the business to consumer and business to business Internet marketing crowd like include:

AWeber

GetResponse

Constant Contact

Mail Chimp

Each platform comes with its own features, price points and extras, but it really doesn't matter which platform you choose. Each one, regardless if it's paid or free, will allow you to:

Create an opt-in form that you can place on your website or blog

Import email addresses that you gather from other means

Pre-program email messages (autoresponders) to go out at specific times, such as a Thank You autoresponder that goes out the moment someone opts into your list

Test emails that will give you the data you need to improve your campaigns and conversions

These are just some of the features you will receive with most business web marketing email platforms. The more advanced the platform and the higher the cost of packages, the more features you'll earn.

Email Marketing on the Web for Any Small Business

Once you have selected the ideal business web marketing email platform, you next need to set it up. Most platforms will allow you to tailor your emails so that they can look and feel anyway you wish. For right now, we will focus on plain text emails.

Opting-In

Find the area on the platform you chose that dedicated to form creation. Your opt-in form will go on your website or blog and will allow your subscribers to enter their personal information, usually a name and email address. Some marketers also like to gather phone numbers, especially if they are simultaneously running a mobile or SMS business web marketing campaign.

At any rate, you will want to create your opt-in form so that it matches your website exactly. The closer you get the colors and design of your site to match your opt-in form, the higher your conversions will be.

Free Offer

Most people hate to receive tons of emails. For that reason, most people are very apprehensive to give out their personal information, including their email address. Your job as a business web marketing expert is to entice the click.

Write a short report or get someone to write it for you explaining to your audience how to complete a task, solve one of their goals or anything else they might find useful. If your site provides tips for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners, for instance, you might write a report titled, "Ten Ways to Avoid Submission that All BJJ Practitioners Should Know," or something to that effect. Make sure your audience will be interested in the information and make sure the information found inside can't be found elsewhere online.

If you do have to rehash information found online, put your own spin on it and make it as unique and as valuable as possible for your audience.

Get Creative with Your Business Web Marketing

Once your opt-in form is completed, start sending targeted traffic to the page that is hosting the form, or to multiple pages if you happen to be testing your form. Write articles, spread the news on social networks, blog about your subject and toss in a call-to-action mentioning your free offer, and engage in any traffic-building that will help you build your list with targeted prospects.

Don't just gather email addresses and contact information from your opt-in list, however. The business of marketing requires you to think outside of the box. Every time you do business with a customer, ask for an email address. Host a local event and place a fish bowl near the entrance where participants can drop in their business cards or come up with your own ideas.

You Have a Business Web Marketing List: Now What?

Once you start building a list, you will want to populate your business web marketing email platform with autoresponders to go out at specific times.

The Business of Marketing With Email: Crafting the Autoresponder

Your first autoresponder should go out when your subscribers opt-in. Most platforms have pre-programmed messages that go out when the subscriber first hits submit after entering their info and then again when they finally confirm their email thanking them for subscribing. You can customize these if you want to and it is recommended that you do.

When crafting business web marketing autoresponders, try to be conversational, edgy, catchy and informative. The rule of autoresponders is no fluff or boring material. People are too busy and their attention spans far too short to put up with lengthy autoresponders that don't say anything.

The following autoresponder schedule should work for any business to customer or business to business Internet marketing campaign.

Autoresponder 1: Please confirm your email address.

Autoresponder 2: Thank you for subscribing. You will also want to explain to your subscribers that you will never spam them, trade or sell their personal information or abuse their info in any way. You will also want to explain to your subscribers that you will be sending emails daily, weekly, monthly or whatever schedule you plan to keep. Let your subscribers know what to expect and they'll remain your subscribers for far longer.

Autoresponder 3-8: Take your subscribers through a five-part e-course. Really, you're just pre-programming five tips, one in each email. Let your subscribers know that they are getting something special and that your tips cannot be found anywhere else. Do not sell during the five part e-course. This is merely for information, to help your subscribers reach their goals and it also positions you as the expert in your field.

Autoresponder 9-10: This is when you will want to recommend that product you've been dying to sell. It could be your own or an affiliate product. Now that you've positioned yourself as the go-to person in your field, let them know that the product or service is one-of-a-kind and it will help them reach their goals. Obviously the product or service had better be good and worth the money if you hope to retain your business web marketing list subscribers.

From then on, you should alternate between selling and tip-giving. Always give more advice, help, tips, updates, news and other relevant information more than you sell. Do not annoy your list subscribers or they will unsubscribe and bail on you.

Business Opportunity It Takes More Than Greed

If you're like millions of other people, you hate going to your day job. You hate having to get up early in the morning only to sit in traffic so you can get to a job that doesn't pay you what you deserve. Am I right? Like I said, there are many like you out there, and the one thing they all have in common is they want to be financially independent. They want to be free of their debt prison.

The great thing is that you can get out of your financial drudgery, you only need to find the right lucrative business opportunity. However, you need to be careful. That's because while there are many businesses out there that are legitimate and can make you a lot of money, there are also a lot of scams. So be smart and be skeptical as you journey into the world of grand promises.

Everywhere you turn, people are telling you that you can get rich quick. They promise to have the answers of making lots of money doing hardly anything at all. It's seen all over the Internet, and many people fall for these empty promises hook, line and sinker.

Get Rich Quick is a Lie!

Fact is, you can't get rich quick. Unless you win the lottery or you are exceptionally lucky, it's going to take weeks, months and sometimes years before you make it with a lucrative business opportunity. That's because it requires learning the ropes, getting that knowledge down so you know it like the back of your hand, it takes applying those techniques and principles, and it requires patience until it all comes together and begins to produce for you.

The problem is, nobody wants to wait for success. They either want it now or they don't want it at all. That may as well be their attitude, because they'll try something and then quit a couple weeks in just because they're not raking in millions of dollars.

Good Opportunities

Knowing all that, a good lucrative business opportunity will require education, experience and extreme drive in order to get to the top, and anyone telling about this opportunity should make that clear. An opportunity, when presented like that, isn't going to have many takers. After all, a program that requires work and patience? No way, most people would say. However, those are exactly the types of lucrative business opportunities you want to go after, the ones that everyone else is rejecting. First of all, there won't be as much competition, and second because you know that you have what it takes to see your efforts through to the end. That's how you'll reach your goals and that's how you'll make lots of money at any business opportunity you try your hands at.

How To Build Trust In Your Online Business

When somebody goes online to search for products or services, they are instinctively suspicious. This is even the case with big, multinational brands. Most people are fairly educated about the way in which the web works, and they understand that just about anybody can set up a website. Even if your business is Nike, the people that visit your website will always be on the lookout for signs that you may be an imposter.

Of course, suspicion is never helpful when you are trying to secure a sale. It is your task to convince potential customers that you can be trusted. Unfortunately, they rarely give you more than a few minutes to convince them that you are a legitimate, responsible business that can deliver on all of its promises.

If you sell products, customers want to be absolutely sure that you will dispatch items quickly and they will be received as described. If you sell services, your potential clients need to believe that you can do the things that you claim.

In both cases, customers often need to be persuaded that they can trust you with their confidential payment details.

In this article, you will discover just how crucial it is for you to be build trust on the Internet if you hope to turn your business into a success. Read on to learn why trust is so important, the disastrous consequences of getting it wrong, and some practical ways to get it right.

Customers See Your Online Business As Smoke and Mirrors

Imagine that you are walking the high street searching for books when you see a sign stuck to a door. It says 'Cheap Books Here!' and so you go inside, briefly noticing the name of the shop at the top of the window.

Once inside, you realise that the shop is empty. There is nothing more than a curtain in the corner of the room. A voice echoes from behind it.

"What book are you looking for?" it booms.

You respond into the air.

"Yes, we've got that one. £10 please." A hand creeps around the curtain, waiting to take your money.

If you're anything like me, you wouldn't give your money away that easily! You haven't seen the item, the person who is selling it to you, or any proof that this is the kind of business you can trust.

But this is the same experience that customers get when they decide to shop online for products or services. They are expected to pay for something that they haven't physically seen, to somebody that they don't know anything about.

Your business may be honest and upfront. You may have the best products in the world and the best service to back them up. But everyone says that.

Why should your visitors believe you?

Three Trust Building Features Of The Best Online Businesses

If there is a simple answer to the complex question of building trust as a business, it is reputation. If the potential customers that visit your website can read feedback and comments from satisfied customers, they will be more confident in your abilities to do what you claim and deliver quality products and services.

There are many ways that you can leverage the power of customer feedback. Here are just three to get you started:

1. Use Customer Testimonials On Your Website

The easiest thing to do is just publish a long list of testimonials on your website from existing customers. If you are doing good business you will receive a lot of positive feedback naturally, but always ask for permission to publish the review along with some customer information.

Many online businesses publish testimonials without saying where they came from. This is a particularly spurious way of doing business, and will probably raise more concerns than having none at all.

So what do you do if you have no existing customers to quote and are just getting started with your business? A great technique is to ask reputable online organisations and individuals to help you out. Perhaps you could send a free sample of your product to niche bloggers, and ask them to provide testimonials in return?

2. Sign Up To An Independent Reviews Website

Once you are more established, do not assume that the need to build trust disappears. In fact, as your customer base grows and you have less time to concentrate on each individual visitor, it can become even more difficult to spend time on bolstering customer confidence.

There are many external websites and business directories that include business reviews, and these are great tools for building trust and also winning new customers.

At FreeIndex, the leading UK business directory, you can create a listing for your business free of charge. This public profile will contain information on what you do and how people can get in touch.

But FreeIndex also offers the capability for customers to post reviews and increase your overall rating. As your number of reviews increases, you can add a badge to your website. This has two significant effects - you can show potential customers that you have received lots of positive feedback, with the added authority of an independent website.

Some other great places to get your business reviewed are Yelp and Google Places.

3. Give Your Customers A Voice That Can Be Heard

Finally, if you have enough customers to support it, integrating discussion with your website is a highly effective way to build trust.

A message board, or forum, gives visitors the chance to start their own conversations about your business, your products, and the wider industry. As these individuals discuss your services, potential customers can quickly see that you have lots of happy customers.

Of course, starting a message board opens the door to negative comments. Hopefully, you will not receive any of these! If you do, though, turn them into positive opportunities by being professional and supportive. After all, this is your chance to show potential customers just how brilliant your customer service is!

Your web hosting provider will usually be happy to tell you which options are open to you when it comes to launching a forum on your website. Usually, you can install a message board like phpBB - which is free - automatically with a script installer that is included with your plan.

Several plugins are also available for Wordpress that offer message board functionality. You can explore them at wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tags/forum.

Security For Your Online Business

Of course, reputation is only one side of what makes a trustworthy business online. People don't just need to trust that you can provide great products and services - they also need to trust you with their confidential information including:

Credit Card Data

Address Details

Passwords and Logins

The first thing that people check when parting with this kind of sensitive data is to look at the security features of your website. All confidential data should be sent through Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL. The way that you prove your trustworthy nature when it comes to this information is with an SSL Certificate.

SSL Certificates are issued by companies that vouch for the security processes that you have in place. Your web hosting provider should support SSL, and can help you to get an SSL Certificate for a small fee.

Although there are alternative ways to take payments online including Paypal, an SSL Certificate does more than tell customers that data is being transferred securely. It tells them that you are a trustworthy company overall, responsible in the way that you conduct business online.

Be A Real, Accountable and Reachable Business

Finally, perhaps the most important thing of all when it comes to building customer trust is just being a real person, not a faceless business name without connections to the real world.

It almost goes without saying that your website should tell visitors everything that they need to know about who you are and how you can be reached. By publishing your phone number, a mailing address, and a company registration number if applicable, your visitors can get in touch to check you out before they make their purchase, and be confident that they could reach you if something went wrong.

There are many reasons that people shy away from giving out this kind of information their websites. Some people expect to receive nuisance calls the moment they put their phone number online. Others don't like the idea of publishing their home address, but do not have a business address to use.

These are understandable reasons, but let them go. If you want customers to give you their trust, you'll need to give them something in return.

Be an open, honest person and visitors will see your business as open and honest too. Show them that you are a real human being that they can trust and they will always put their trust in your online business.

Steps to Sell Your Business Fast

Selling your business fast and at a fair market price is the goal of many small business owners. After making the decision, "I want to sell my business," there is nothing more frustrating than having the market respond or getting very low offers. Understanding the selling process will greatly help you to sell your business faster.

To sell your business fast, follow these 9 steps.

Step 1. Establish Fair Market Price

This is the most important part of selling your business. Because the value of the business is more than just the equipment and furniture and fixtures, determining the fair market price requires detailed knowledge of the market place and what buyers are paying as well as an in depth understanding of your business.

To obtain the fair market price, you will need to contact a business broker or business valuation specialist who values businesses on a regular bases.

To estimate the fair market value, minimally your valuation professional will want the following documents:

Last 3 years of tax returns

Current Profit and Loss Statement

Current Balance sheet

Copy of Lease

Because small things, like outstanding Daily Deal coupons, can make a buyer walk away, so it is important to be open and honest about your business in order to establish the Fair Market Value.

Step 2. Prepare a Confidential Memorandum

The Confidential Memorandum is a brief summary of your business that answers the key questions that buyers ask. This is only shared with a buyer after they been pre-qualified and have signed a confidentiality agreement. This document drastically reduces the time wasted with unqualified and not serious buyers. Many business brokers will only prepare this document for larger businesses because it is very time consuming and detailed. As the owner of smaller business, your business will sell faster with this document. This is the foundation of your marketing program and basis by which the buyer will evaluate your business. It really is a must to sell fast.

Step 3. Market your business - confidentially

Once the profile of the ideal buyer is determined, it's time to create a strategic marketing plan to attract that buyer. That could through the internet, paper advertising or direct marketing. With over 90% of the buyers coming from the internet, It is important to leverage the internet as a tool to sell your business fast.

Some brokers will market to 30 sites while others market on over 300 sites. When choosing a business broker, consider their familiarity with online marketing techniques to help you sell fast. If you had to advertise yourself on these sites, without using a broker, you might pay up wards of over $1000 per month and no guarantee your business would sell. This is one area where using a business broker that understands marketing can help you find the ideal buyer faster and cheaper.

Step 4. Screen and meet with qualified buyers

This can be the longest and most intensive part of selling a business. One business can get 20-30-50 calls and each buyer must be taken through a detailed screening process to determine if they meet the criteria of the ideal buyer. This includes a phone interview, financial background check, often a criminal record check, as well as a confidentially agreement. Finding buyers is easy, finding the perfect buyer takes times and profiling skills.

Sadly, when a business owner tries to sell their business them self they fail to properly screen prospective buyers and this can lead to devastating results, both financially and legally.

Step 5. Presenting the business

Once a prospective buyer has been qualified and if required, the seller has approved the person to see the confidential memorandum, then it is time to present the information about the business.

After the presentation, the next step is to qualify the buyer to see if they are serious about buying the business before they ever see or meet you, the seller. This saves you time by only meeting with pre-approved, pre-qualified buyers that know about the business details.

Step 6. Conduct a buyer seller meeting

Once a prospective buyer has been found that meets the criteria, can be financed, has sufficient down payment, and is serious about pursuing your business, it is time for you to meet them.

This gives the you, the seller a chance to meet the buyer and discover their style, attitude, and personality. This gives the buyer a chance to ask more questions. After this meeting, if the buyer is serious either a letter of intent (LOI) or purchase agreement is completed.

Step 7. Negotiations

When selling a business, everything can be negotiated. Deals can be as creative as they need to be in order to meet the needs of both the buyer and the seller. Here are few of the terms that can be negotiated: price, seller financing (down payment and interest), time the seller stays with the business. Who pays commission, and much more. A well trained business broker can assist in structuring the deal so that everyone wins and this is one of the greatest advantages of using a business broker.

Step 8. Due Diligence

After the offer has been accepted, the due diligence period begins. Due diligence is the process of verifying all the important information in the business as pertains to the sale.

The due diligence process should answer the questions:

Should I buy it?

How much should I pay for it?

How am I going to pay for it?

The buyer is responsible for the due diligence process and can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months or more. If you are offering seller financing this is also the time that the seller is able to perform their due diligence on the buyer. This often includes: inspecting their background, financial position, credit history and more with proper authorization.

Step 9. Getting the deal closed

For professionals that exclusively sell businesses, closing deals is routine. Your business broker should attend the closing with you to assure all the paperwork is correct, all the documents are in place and to answer any last minute questions or concerns. This is not a time to short cut the process. Many deals have fallen apart at the closing table and without a representative to bring it back together, your business might be left unsold.

Selling a business fast and at a fair market price is not easy and there are many pitfalls along the way. Because this just might the majority of your retirement, the most expensive thing you can do it try to do it yourself. Using a professional to guide you will not only help you to sell your business fast, but to ensure you get the best deal you can.