Successful Blog

Is Your Small Business Firing on All Cylinders?

by Leave a Comment

In running a small business, is it firing on all cylinders?

For some small business owners, they are missing out on one or more key facets of success. As such, it can leave their companies in peril if they do not tend to the matter sooner than later.

With that in mind, are you taking the steps to make sure your business operates at its greatest potential?

How Are Your Finances Going?

One key to piecing together a successful brand is making sure your money situation is good.

That said you want to do all you can to be sure you have the funds to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

So, when was the last time you sat down to look at your financial books?

In the event you are having trouble making ends meet, it may be time to consider small business loans.

Should you decide to consider a small business loan, where best to start?

For starters, know which loan providers are most worth your time.

One of the ways to go about doing this is by going online. Once on the Internet, you can research to see which loan providers would have your best interests in mind.

If you’re friends with some other business owners, ask them who they went to when they were considering a loan. The feedback you get from your friends in the small business world can prove quite fruitful.

Once you have a small loan provider you think you can work with, determine how much of a loan you in fact will be seeking.

Also take into account what the loan will be geared towards.

Among some of the reasons you would be seeking a small business loan:

  • Financial capital to grow your business
  • Money to pay down debts
  • Added funds to buy office equipment
  • Taking on more inventory

No matter the reason you could be seeking to take out a loan, be sure to do your homework. When you research different loan providers and why you need a loan, there’s less chance of making a bad decision.

Staying Up to Date on Employees and Technology

As important as a loan can be for you make it a point to not overlook the importance of employees and technology.

When it comes to your employees, do you do all you can to go about hiring the best out there?

Although you may make a mistake or two in hiring at times, you do not want to make it the norm. Too many bad hires can lead to a revolving door at your company. In the event you have investors, they do not want to see too much turnover. The wrong hires can also lead to issues as far as employee morale.

As it relates to technology, do your best to have the latest tech available to you and your employees.

Keep in mind that there are many savvy consumers out there. As such, they expect you to be a leader and not a follower in technology and the customer experience.

In doing all you can to make your business fire on all cylinders, are you coming out ahead?

Photo credit: Pixibay

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

Is Your Organization Financially Sound?

by Leave a Comment

ID-100262910If you are planning to start a business or nonprofit organization, one of the biggest challenges that you will face is securing funding.

There are many ways to get funding for your venture, and you can determine which funding option best meets your needs by doing some research.

Here is a look at some of the funding options that are available….

Loans

Getting a loan is the most common way of raising money for a new business.

One thing you can do to find a suitable loan opportunity is to contact the Small Business Administration (SBA).

There are a number of specialized loan options for you to choose from, ranging from startup loans to microloans. SBA loans are usually easier to secure than bank loans because they have less stringent requirements.

If you decide to get a loan from a bank, it is advisable that you start with smaller banks in your locality. These banks will have a better understanding of how your business will fit into the local landscape.

If you are starting a non-profit organization, you can try to get a loan from funding sources such as the Nonprofit Finance Fund, as well as banks and other financial institutions.

Grants

Grants are usually offered by the public sector or charitable organizations, and they do not have to be repaid. Since they are pursued by many organizations, they are extremely difficult to secure.

Grants can come in many forms, including business startup grants, business expansion grants, research grants, financial education grants and others. There are grants that are specifically offered to aspiring owners or owners of certain types of organizations, as well as demographic groups such as women, minorities, single parents and others.

As such, it is a good idea to define your niche before you apply for a grant.

You can increase your chances of getting a grant by creating a detailed business plan that shows how your organization will stand out from others.

Federal, state and local governments offer a wide range of grant programs for businesses and nonprofit organizations, and you can find out about these grants by doing research on the Internet or contacting your state or local government offices. Grants can also be obtained from organizations such as the National Financial Educators Council.

As the following article shows, this organization offers financial literacy grants and funding to help organizations further their financial education initiatives.

Crowd-funding

Crowd-funding is becoming an increasingly popular method of obtaining funding for starting businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Presently, there are many crowd-funding websites that provide excellent platforms for organizations to locate startup funds. However, the increased popularity of crowd-funding also means greater competition.

In order to raise enough money for your start-up, you need to devise effective strategies to attract the attention of investors.

Securing funding for your new business or nonprofit organization does not have to be a complicated task.

If you can create a good business plan and make a great pitch, you will significantly improve your odds of getting the funding you need.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from social media marketing to Cloud computing.

How to Avoid Taking Out Large Loans to Fund Your Business

by Leave a Comment

By Bill Fay

Family, friends and even his college professors told Aidan Augustin he had a business idea worth pursuing, even if meant dropping out of college.

Augustin and his roommate, Neal Ormsbe, designed a smartphone application that would allow anyone attending a business conference to get connected to and stay connected with the speakers and other attendees at the conference.

The two were juniors majoring in engineering at the University of Florida, but everyone said the idea couldn’t wait, so they dropped out of school, gave the business a name, Feathr, and opened shop.

There was just one little obstacle left to overcome.

“Money,” Augustin said, citing the one little obstacle nearly every small business owner must overcome.

Augustin and Ormsbe figured they needed $50,000 to get started. That’s not big money, unless you happen to be 20-year-old college dropouts with meager savings and no assets.

“We knew banks wouldn’t want anything to do with us,” Augustin said.

Getting Started

Fortunately, family, friends and their college professors got them started. Their parents agreed to send the same money they would have sent if the two had stayed in school. Friends agreed to work for what amounted to minimum-wage salaries. Professors put some of their own money in the pot, and a small business was born.

It didn’t take Augustin long to learn why more than half of start-up businesses fail the first year.

“We needed a lot more money than we thought we would,” Augustin said. “We didn’t understand the realities of what it takes to run a business. We underestimated costs on everything.”

That includes the relationship costs when you take loans from people you know, with no guarantee you can pay them back.

“The conversations with our parents and friends got a little awkward because we couldn’t really show clear signs of progress,” Augustin said. “Professional investors know the risks involved so it’s a little easier to deal with them when you’re starting out.”

Making Gains

Augustin let Ormsbe and a couple of part-time employees do the development work the next year and devoted more of his time to fundraising. He started with the crowdfunding site Indiegogo, where he found $21,000 worth of backing.

Then he won a lottery that provided free tickets to a conference in Silicon Valley for software startups called the “Largest Hack-A-Thon In History.” It was sponsored by Barracuda Networks, which offered winners $25,000 and a seemingly endless supply of business contacts.

Augustin’s group beat 130 teams from all over the country and claimed the top prize. That led to a front-page article in his hometown paper, the Orlando Sentinel, and suddenly Feathr had some status.

“That article created a buzz about our company,” Augustin said.

Feathr picked up a $150,000 award from TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and contacts from the Barracuda Networks conference resulted in the first product sales. The 2014 budget is up to $450,000, most of which will go to pay salaries for the 12 full-time employees now working at Feathr’s offices in Gainesville, Fla.

“We don’t having the living expenses they have in Silicon Valley or New York City or places like that, which is a huge advantage for us,” Augustin said. “We can use our money more efficiently to hire more people and pay them actual salaries they can live on.”

The best news is that Feathr, now in its third year of operation, still hasn’t needed a bank loan to stay in business.

“We sort of hopped and skipped from one funding source to another, but we’ve made it so far,” Augustin said. “We’re working to keep it going that way.”

In addition to the crowdfunding, and loans from friends and families that helped jumpstart Augustin’s small business, another option to consider is tapping an annuity. Entrepreneurs who have annuities could use those investments to finance their budding enterprises instead of taking out loans.

The great thing about an annuity is that it’s your money. It’s already there, and you are not borrowing from a lender; however, since the annuity operates as retirement income, there are penalties to taking cash out before retirement.

When you take funds out of your annuity early you can expect the following:

  • A 10 percent penalty on the taxable portion of the annuity is forfeited if you are under the age of 59 ½.
  • The tax deferral benefits are in place to encourage long-term retirement savings, so the fee is similar to what you would pay on an early withdrawal from an IRA.
  • In most cases, if you cash out early, you will have to pay surrender charges. If your annuity carries a surrender fee, you should try to wait until the fee no longer applies. Surrender charges generally start at 7 percent and decrease incrementally, usually by 1 or 2 percentage points each year, until they reach zero.
  • Earnings on annuities are considered ordinary income, so you must pay taxes on any earnings when you cash out your annuity. This is in addition to the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty.
Author’s Bio: Bill Fay is a writer for Annuity.org, focused mainly on news stories about the spending habits of families and government. He spent 21 years in the newspaper business and eight more in television and radio, dealing with college and professional sports, then seven forgettable years writing speeches and marketing materials for a government agency.

Cool Tool Review: Business.gov

by Leave a Comment

Todd Hoskins chooses and uses tools, products, and practices that could belong in an entrepreneurial business toolkit. He’ll be checking out how useful they are to folks in a business environment.

Cool Tool Review: Business.gov
A Review by Todd Hoskins

The Small Business Administration was created in 1953 with the charter to “aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns.” Most entrepreneurs are familiar with SBA loans, but are unaware of the additional services offered by state and local SBA offices.

Business.gov is a collection of resources, designed to help small businesses (under 500 employees) get the help they need. This includes loan applications, tax information, licensing, and relevant regulations. Contrary to what many people believe, the SBA no longer offers loans directly to citizens. They act as a broker and guarantor for business owners seeking loans (currently numbering more than 240,000). But they do much more than that.

There are approximately 1,000 Small Business Development Centers across the US. The SBDC’s provide one-to-one counseling, educational programs, and financial analysis services. I was surprised when friend Mike Nolan joined the SBDC in South Central Minnesota. Mike is a serial entrepreneur and professor of entrepreneurship. Rather than launching more projects, he has chosen to help others expand and excel.

The site is much better than most governmental agency sites, but the online community could use some nurturing.

There are people who want to help you. And they also have something to gain – small business growth leads to tax revenue and jobs. Whether you are in the planning stage, survival mode, or a growth phase, find your local office and see what is available.

Summing Up – Is it worth it?

Enterprise Value: 2/5 – A great way to inquire where to help serve your local business community

Entrepreneur Value: 5/5 – Why not? Free assistance!

Personal Value: 0/5 – Extraneous government involvement unnecessary

Let me know what you think!

Todd Hoskins helps small and medium sized businesses plan for the future, and execute in the present. With a background in sales, marketing, leadership, psychology, coaching, and technology, he works with executives to help create thriving individuals and organizations through developing and clarifying values, strategies, and tactics. You can learn more at VisualCV, or contact him on Twitter.