Posts Tagged ‘Business Owner’

Starting your own business is exciting, but also often a little intimidating.  Perhaps the most intimidating part is trying to acquire the financing you will need to successfully start your business.  Most new businesses come with substantial startup costs, far more than what business owners can come up with out-of-pocket.  Therefore, getting financed is one of the crucial steps to starting your own business.

Unfortunately, not every aspiring business owner is able to find financing.  Lenders and investors tend to want to see first that the business — and its owner — has a good likelihood of success before they back it financially.  Remember, a lender’s primary concern is making sure they’ll be able to get their money back again — as well as the interest accrued.  If you can convince a lender of that, your chances of getting a startup business loan are pretty good.

Here are some tips for how to start your own business the right way — with sufficient funding.

Know the Industry

Experience in your business’s industry is extremely important.  Lenders and investors will want to know your background in the industry, because if you know the industry well you have a much greater chance for success.  If you don’t yet have experience in the industry, you should consider taking classes or working for a business similar to the one you want to start.  You can also form a partnership with someone with the proper experience, form a Board of Directors to advise your company, or hire someone with the required experience as one of your top managers.

Clean Up Your Credit

Many startup business owners mistakenly assume that since they are financing a business, their personal credit does not come into play.  Quite the opposite is true.  Since your business is a startup, it has no track record, of either income or paying bills on time.  As the sole proprietor, it will be up to you to qualify for — and guarantee — the loans your business is given.

In order to put your best food forward, it is important to start this process far in advance.  Cleaning up your credit can take several weeks or months.  You will need to first pull your credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies, as major differences can exist between what each one reports — particularly if there are mistakes.  Carefully go over each credit report, and contest mistakes with both the credit reporting agency and, if necessary, the creditor.  Most credit bureaus offer online forms for disputes, which make cleaning up your credit report easier than ever.

Finally, if there are accurate but potentially negative items on your credit report, you may be able to negotiate with your creditors to remove the items — particularly if your track record with them is otherwise good.  Taking these steps ensures that you will make the best possible impression when applying for a startup business loan.

Have Some Sort of Collateral

Just as you will need good personal credit in order to acquire financing for your business, you will also need to be able to provide some sort of collateral.  If you are looking for a loan to help you start your own business, chances are you do not have any business property yet — although if you do, that would be the logical first choice.  Without business property as collateral, however, you will need to use your personal property to guarantee the loan.  Examples of property that could serve as collateral are your home or commercial real estate (minus what is still owed on the mortgage), a work truck or other heavy equipment, and office furnit

Write a Business Plan

While you are going through the lengthy process of cleaning up your credit is the perfect time to thoroughly research your business venture.  Starting your own turnkey business is more than just getting a business loan and hanging up your shingle.  You will need to know where the market stands right now, where it is projected to go, and how your business will fit in.  You will also need to know who your target customers are, and how you will reach them.  There are many different factors that play into how successful your business is, and you want to be sure to fully understand all of this before you get started.

Once you have done this research, you will put it together into a business plan.  This is important because the business plan is how lenders and investors decide whether your startup business is worth funding.  A well-researched, well-written business plan demonstrates that you know your market and therefore have a pretty good chance of starting a successful business.

Starting Your Own Business with the Proper Funding

One of the most important parts of launching a business is getting enough funding to start off on the right foot.  Most startup businesses rack up considerable costs, and trying to cut corners on some of these can be disastrous to your business’s chances for success.  Most small businesses fail within the first two years, usually as a result of insufficient funding and poor decision making along the way.  Taking the time to find the proper funding for your business is imperative for not only supporting a successful launch, but also for making your business more likely to succeed.

When it comes to successful business growth – one of the key differences that separates the successful business owners from the average ones…

Is what the business owner ‘works’ on – when they have employees.

I have noticed that the best business owners work on improving their employees…

Why? Well, so that the employees learn and then do certain tasks that the business owner used to do.

By doing this, the owner can remove themselves from the ‘day-to-day’ running of the business so that they can work on areas that can grow the business – and/or do the things they enjoy doing.

Like playing golf, going on holidays, spending time with their families.

On the other hand, the average business owner continues to work ‘in’ the business despite having employees. For a number of reasons the average business owner says that they don’t have the ‘time’ to improve their employees.

As a result, the employees lack the skills and/or the freedom to do the tasks that would free up the business owner from the day-to-day running of the business.

So guess what happens? The business remains dependent on the Business owner.

So the Business owner has to continue working.

Despite having employees, the business owner is still working a million hours… but the business never seems to grow to the levels that the business owner is hoping for – even though they’re working harder than they ever have.

Does this sound familiar?

Let’s explore how this happens.

The average business owner that wants to grow their business – but find it very hard to grow successfully… tends to do the following.

They have a business – and it’s growing. Early in the business it’s just the owner and maybe a few others. The business is growing, and the owner is working a million hours.

The average business owner knows that they should employ staff, but they put it off and put it off, until they can’t possibly cope with the workload anymore.

So they hire new staff at the last minute.

Usually the new person is employed in such a hurry that the business owner doesn’t have the time to train them. Because the business is so busy.

After all, the business owner has been working a million hours, so they’re probably feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed.

They’re typically not feeling in control and calm – that’s for sure.

And the business owner usually doesn’t have a system to hire appropriately skilled or passionate people.

Because they don’t have a proven hiring system, the staff that are employed can often lie their way through interviews telling the owner that they do have skills – when they actually don’t.

You know how the story goes…

Anyway, a new person is hired.

But because the business is busy, and the business has no real induction or training system to get the new employees up to speed – the business owner continues to focus on doing the work themselves.

When the owner checks to see how the new employee is performing, they get disappointed because the new person doesn’t have the ‘skills’ or the initiative to do things properly.

So the business owner steps in to ‘do it themselves’ because they think that they can ‘save time’ by doing it themselves.

It’s at this time the business owner starts proving to themselves that ‘no-one can do it as good as me’.

And they are correct. Of course no-one can do it as good as them – because no one has taught the new employees properly.

So the average business owner continues to do the ‘day-to-day’ things, and take over from their staff when the staff aren’t doing the right things…

By continuing to do the work that the employees are suppose to do, the staff very quickly realize that the business owner will always ‘save the day’.

So they back off on their productivity, and their passion.

The staff quickly learn how to ‘hide’ in the business so that they just get by.

They become ‘clock watches’. They turn up to work, to watch the clock and as soon as it turns 5pm – they’re out of there.

And this hurts your customers. Because the customers of the business receive inconsistent levels of service.

The customers quickly begin to realize that if the business owner serves them – they may get extraordinary service.

And if the staff serves them – they’ll get inadequate service.

If the service is poor and inconsistent the customers will start to get annoyed. They’ll literally ask for the owner every time they come into the business. Because they know they’ll get the service they want.

And that’s a sign of a poorly trained team.

As a result the customers end up going somewhere else, the business suffers, the sales and profits dwindle – and the business owner blames it on the ‘staff’.

The business owner may then go into “see I told you I can’t find the right people’.

The average business owner has tried to grow the business, yet misses a few crucial things that makes them miss out on the rewards of a successful business.

The result is unhappy staff, unhappy customers, a business that barely makes any money – and an owner that works around the clock, stressed and overwhelmed for little or no return.

Well it doesn’t have to be that way!

You can quickly and easily turn this around, if you’re in this position, or even better you can completely avoid it by following my guidance.

Every great business owner that I know, that has successful business growth follow a number of specific steps to get them out of the situation I’ve just outlined.

And it’s crucial for the growth of your business too.

It’s wonderfully easy when you learn how to do it for your situation.

Let’s look at what the best business owners achieve by following these specific steps – and what you could possibly achieve by following my guidance.

Firstly – your staff will have the right skill sets and attitude to work in your business. Plus they’ll improve and grow rapidly (faster than you may think). This means that you can comfortably rely on them to get the ‘job-done’.

By focusing on getting the team up to the standard you can be assured that in a few weeks or months they’ll be at the point where you can depend on them.

They’ll be doing a great job and delivering consistent levels of service.

As a result you can now forget about having to ‘look over their shoulder’, or forget about having to ‘save the day’ like other average business owners.

Because your staff are now producing – you have freed yourself up from the day to day running of the business – so you can focus on ways to grow and improve your business.

And you can even spoil yourself with reduced work hours, time off and even holidays.

Imagine that?

Now, back to your staff.

Because they’re learning, growing and producing you’ll be happy with them and they’ll be happy with themselves – and of course they’ll be happy working for you.

And it’ll rub off on your customers.

Why?

Because your customers will get great consistent service from your entire business.

So what will this mean to your business?

For a start, your customers won’t always be asking for you, because they know your staff are consistent – so you won’t feel trapped.

Because of this consistency your customers will reward your business with their repeatable profitable custom, positive word of mouth and ongoing referrals to your business.

Now you’ll have a business where the team are growing and happy, your customers are happy and raving about you, and your financials are healthy and very profitable.

That’s right, your business will be profitable which means you’ll be making great money – and remember, your staff will be doing most of the work… so you’ll not only be making great money – you’ll also have ample free time.

Can you see, hear and feel what’s happening to your business?

Multi-millionaire business owners always tell me that the most important part of their growth – is good people. They’ll always hire people that know more and perform better than them on the certains task they are employed for.

People are one of your greatest assets as a business owner. And like any asset you need to invest in it to get returns.

Invest your time and your focus on growing your people to do better than you. That way you’ll have the time to grow your business.

On my one-on-one business coaching program I take my clients through this process step by step so that they can fast track their growth – with the safety and peace of mind knowing that they are following a process that has worked time and time again.

Copyright © 2007 by Casey Gollan. All Rights Reserved

Picture this…

The typical business owner starts a business. Usually it’s just them by themselves or maybe one or two other people.

They do a great job. As the number of staff is small everyone is working together and they are getting things done.

They become successful and it’s time to employ some more people.

A couple more people are employed – but some cracks start to appear.

As the business employs some more staff – the cracks become wider and wider.

Soon the business owner notices that there’s not much money being made by the business.

There’s staff problems.

There may be some customers complaining. Some customers may even be lost.

Things just aren’t working anymore.

The business ‘plateaus’ and the owner becomes stressed, tired and overwhelmed.

The business owner starts to ask whether it’s all worth it.

Should they downsize and just go back to the way things were… Or do they grow.

They want to grow the business – they know that’s there’s heaps of potential in the business – yet they keep hitting ‘a brick wall’.

They are trying to make it to the next level, but they keep getting sucked back in to the business to ‘put out fires’… and it’s wearing the owner down.

Sound familiar?

I see this all the time. It’s at this point that my clients seek me out.

I specialise in helping business owners through this point in their business growth.

And it’s easy; I do this day in day out.

Let me describe how the previous situation happens.

In the initial growth of the business, when a business only has a few people – everyone has an idea of what everyone else is doing – so they can work effectively together.

Yet when you get to about 3 to 7 people or more, things need to change.

Because around that number of people, some of the people can ‘bludge’, they can hide. So they do.

After all – at this size, the business owner is usually still ‘doing’ things in the business at this stage, so they have their hands full.

And they want to grow so they know they need staff to help them. But because most business owners don’t have much training in how to hire, train and motivate staff – they tend to ‘put up’ with staff that JUST do enough to stay employed.

But what happens is that the business owner ends up ‘finishing things off’ that their people have started or can’t do.

The business owner tends to ‘save’ the day.

They know it, and so does their staff!

So their staff let the owners come in to save the day – and they do it often. After all, most people have a lazy streak in them. So why not wait for someone else to do it, “after all it’s their business” – the employee thinks.

It’s at this point that the business can often start to wander off track, the business owner can become stressed, overwhelmed and questions whether it’s all worth it.

It is worth it, and if you’re at this point in your business – don’t give up – because with a little guidance from me, it’s easy for you to fix.

And the rewards can almost immediately start flooding in.

If you’re at this point you’ve done most of the hard work in business. You’re turning over good money, you have customers, you have a place in the market, and you have employees.

Now it’s a process of getting IT all to work for you.

Rather than YOU having to do all the work – to make it work.

Because when you get your business working – you won’t have to work.

The reason why most business owners work so many hours – is because their business doesn’t work.

All successful business owners have stepped through this phase in business growth.

It’s a phase where your staff have to step up and do what you are employing them to do – without you having to ‘look-over-their-shoulder’ to make sure it’s getting done.

There are 3 Crucial things that you must have in place for you to make it through this phase successfully.

On my 1-on-1 business coaching program I take you though these 3 crucial things so that you have them specifically and especially designed and implemented for your business.

That way it’s unique for you and your situation.

When you have these 3 crucial things in place here are the benefits you’ll enjoy…

When you have first Crucial element in place – you’ll find that your staff will individually take ownership and responsibility for their roles and responsibilities in your business. They will willingly want to work at their optimal in your business, and make it happen.

It’s at that time that they’ll do what’s required of them – willingly.

When you have the 2nd crucial element in place you’ll find that Your staff will regularly review, plan and improve areas in your business to help the business grow.

Everyone in the business will willingly work together and will be aware of what is going on in the business. Everyone will work efficiently and effectively so that their individual roles work harmoniously with each other thus creating the power of synergy in your business.

They’ll also have the initiative to find out what they have to do and when they have to do things by.

And finally, when the 3rd crucial element is in place you’ll benefit because your staff will naturally start to follow you. And they’ll willingly want to perform at higher levels.

They’ll be aware that for everyone to benefit from the business, everyone must work together like a team. And they’ll all know that there’ll be consequences for anyone that lets the others down. So they’ll work extra hard to make sure no-one lets the team down.

This sounds like a dream to most business owners. And sadly – for some – it is.

Despite being readily able to achieve this in their business – for some odd reason they think it could never happen. So they never try to find out how to do it.

And it’s disappointing. Because it can happen.

I’ve been doing it with business owners just like you and with businesses just like yours – for years now. Successfully. Go to my testimonial pages http://www.caseygollan.com.au/businessgrowthtestimonials1.htm and listen to the long interviews – you’ll hear success after success.

Wouldn’t any passionate, determined business owner want to at least try to achieve this level of success?

Happily some business owners do. And with great success.

In essence, the secret is to get everything else working ‘together’ in your business – that way you (the business owner) don’t have to work.

And these 3 crucial areas will allow you to make it happen.

How fast could you do it? Well that depends on you, your business structure and your situation.

But rest assured you can do it.

All the best business owners use these 3 crucial areas. Learn what they are – put them into place and you can reap the rewards.

Copyright © 2007 by Casey Gollan. All Rights Reserved

All business owners like you, are always worried about the popularity of their business. Who don’t want his business to become popular and gain him more and more profits? The popularity of any business depends on many things. These may include good customer service, proper marketing, timely delivery of products, customer satisfaction and may more.

If you want your business to grow more and become popular so that people like to buy products or service, you should consider some ideas that will be helpful for your marketing. In this article, you will find such ideas. Read on the article and explore the ideas about the success in business.

The internet marketing is new way to attract people to your business. If you explore your business globally on the internet, you can get global people to be attracted to your business and they may also use your services or buy products from you. Business directory is the latest and popular concept of internet marketing. A Business Directory is a website thst lists description of various businesses. It provides facility to its user to find the business in which the user is intrested. The information that is provided is name of the business, location, services and products provided by the business, and the region of the service. The business directory can be used by the general customers as well as business owners. As a business owner, you can upload the information about your business to the business directory. The next section describes the tips for exploring your business to the business directory.

Start with the introcution to your company. Provide a detailed information of your company in a short and sweet manner. Avoid giving long history of the company. The information that should be provided includes name of the company, location, information about the products or service, and contact number and website address. After the introduction to your company, the detailed information of the products should be provided.  The information about the products should be in the form of a table, if possible. Provide product name, description, and price of the products.

Post the current offers available at your store to the business directory. This will attract more number of people to your shop. The promotions or sell offers is the first demand of the customers. What customer wants is the quality with less price. If you offer such products, you can be the king of the market. Also consider to remove the offers that are closed and you don’t have enough stock of the products offering such offer. Always try to make your business directory content fresh and intresting for the customers.

You can use the business directory to get the best suplliers of the raw material for your business. You can find the suppliers that provides you best services with affordable price in your local area. Look for the web business directory that provide you information about the various suppliers of business processes for your business and the suppliers that provide you best services with affordable price.

One of the greatest tools needed to overcome hurdles in business is to seek for the solutions to surmount these hurdles. Almost every type of business is faced with difficulties. Some seek for solutions and some find it not easy to arrive at the appropriate solutions. Whatever the case, the only solution to surmount any hurdles found within your business environment is to first and foremost look for the root of the problem and then look for the solution. Keep in mind that finding the root of the problem is half a cure to the problem.

The Difficulty of Getting Finance for the Business

Almost every form of business will be in need of money to take care of its activities. This is true for the big as well as small businesses. Financial difficulties can be experienced at any time in the business. It can be during the conception of the business or at the mature stage of the business. Also remember that without the sufficient amount of money, there is no business that will last for long.

Even with the required amount of money, another problem of better administering that money will come up. One thing that should be taken note of is that every business should be able to manage the money that it gets with the money that it gives out. In fact, the money that goes out should not be more that what comes in. This is the more reason why the business must make use of the best administrative and accounting personnel to manage the affairs of the business.

Taxes

Taxes are other aspects which will take much of what the business makes. Much of the earnings of a business may end up being used as taxes if care is not taken. This is the more reason why every business owner must get recommendations from a tax advisor on methods of avoiding taxes. Remember that tax avoidance will mean minimizing your taxes. What should be guarded against is tax evasion. What you should also know is that the process of determining what you are liable to pay as tax will not be the same for every region. Therefore, ahead of getting into any business in any location, make sure you are aware of all the tax implications involved in it.

Conformity with Administrative Requirements

You must know that administrative requirements for business may be altered and even frequently. There are so many regions in which these procedures will pose serious difficulties to business owners. It is also good to research on those locations with little or no administrative stress on businesses.

You must also verify to make sure that the nature of where you intend to set up you business is not very litigious. Remember that engaging into unnecessary court actions may be a waste of money for your business.

The Difficulty of Personnel

You must be ready to look for the best manpower that will pilot the affairs of your business.

The Difficulty of Availability of Finance

If you find it difficult to get the require financing, you should better manage your business so that what you get from it can be ploughed back into the business.

Almost every potential business owner is faced with the trouble of seeking for ways in which finance can be acquired to run the business. However, it should be noted that such troubles are not only identified with potential entrepreneurs. Research has shown that even experienced business owners also faced such difficulties. Keep in mind that in seeking solutions to such difficulties, there will be accuracies as well as inaccuracies and these will all determine the success or failure of the business. The above is an indication that starting a business and running the business should not be an end in itself. You must seek for means through which the business will be able to stand the test of survival often posed by its competitors. The following lines are aimed at identifying ways through which a business can be financed, be it incorporated or unincorporated:

Unincorporated Business

This type of business will refer to those that have unlimited liabilities. In most cases, such businesses have not been properly documented and the status of legal personality is absent. There is no distinction between what the business owns from those of its owners. Keep in mind that in the event of any problem, the owners are personally liable for the debts of the company.

Any source of finance on this type of business organization will weigh on the owner. Keep in mind that there is no legal personality in the business and this will deter any lending institutions from providing capital to the business. What is normally open to owners of such businesses is finance through the use of credit cards or some other forms of personal savings. But the problem with using credit cards is great. Remember that you may sometimes make use of these cards out of intuition. It is simple to ‘charge it’.

For this reason, there are lots and lots of lending institutions which will be afraid or unwilling to lend to unincorporated associations. They will not want to place their finances in ventures in which they are uncertain about their future. A good number of such businesses have been known to disregard certain essentials in running the business or even in repaying back their loans.

Incorporated Businesses

These are businesses that have fulfilled all the essentials of setting up a business and that have adequate cover in the event of any crises. Such types of businesses will include limited liability companies or partnerships. In most cases, the records of these businesses are open for appraisal and the administration of such businesses will conform to the required business standards.

It is very easy for these types of businesses to receive the required finances. Keep in mind that lending institutions are more confident of their ability and willingness to pay back. Financing with such businesses will be easily obtained at any phase of the business. Remember that there are lots of individuals as well as groups who will be willing to come in with finance that the business needs. This is however possible only when the appropriate individuals or groups have been identified. This type of situation is known as angel financing. Remember that when a business is properly administered and it has a sound reputation, it will attract more investors. Investors will also find it appropriate to be part and parcel of the current affairs of the business.

Besides the above type of financing, there are also many financiers who are willing and able to invest in high risk ventures, but with an expectation of equally taking home more profits. The business can also make open its shares for acquisition by the general public. In some cases, banks and other finance institutions will be willing to finance these businesses if they see a convincing business plan. However, if you are in search of any means to finance your business, it is necessary to carry out proper research ahead of resorting to any source of finance.

Are you a business owner or do you have plans of venturing into business? If yes, then this article is for you. It doesn’t matter whether your business is old or new, or what type of business you’re into- if you’re in the business industry, you should take advantage of the benefits of business credit cards. Why is a business credit card a must for every business owner?

Track Your Business Expenses Efficiently

Primarily, business credit cards help a business manage its finances more efficiently. For instance, tracking business expenses can prove to be a challenge. Keeping inventory of the costs and making sure that not a single cent is missed involves a lot of work. However, this task is made much simpler with the help of business credit cards.

How Do Business Credit Cards Help You To Manage Your Business?

All purchases that are charged to your business credit cards are automatically included in your account history. Most business credit card companies provide an online account access option to its holders so you can check on the status of your business credit card account anytime. Monthly billing statements will also be sent regularly along with quarterly and yearly summaries of your account. Account summaries are indispensable tools when doing your accounting and bookkeeping tasks. These summaries are also wonderful references when filing your taxes. By checking into your account summary, you can easily identify the items or purchases that are qualified for tax exemptions.

Another great feature of business credit cards is the option to distribute extension credit cards to your employees. This way, you can give out credit cards to your selected employees which they can use for official business expenses. Because all expenses charged to these extension credit cards will also be listed in your account statement, you can be sure that you can keep track of your employees’ spending habits and that the cards will be used accordingly.

The use of business credit cards also enable a business establish a separate business credit history for the company. By using your business credit card, keeping within your given credit limit, and staying true to your payment obligations, you can build an excellent credit history for your company more easily. Of course, don’t forget that in order for your business credit to be recorded, you need to register with a business credit reporting agency like D&B and Experian.

Furthermore, business credit cards help you separate your business funds from your personal money. This is a crucial factor especially as your business begins to grow and as expenses start to multiply and mount up. A separate business account helps you see exactly how much your budget is and thus, will enable you to make business decisions more effectively.

Use Your Business Credit Card with Care

Caution must also be taken when using business credit cards. For instance, some business owners carelessly use their business credit cards even for their personal purchases. Doing so can easily put you into credit card debt and can cause problems to your business. Therefore, make sure that you’ll use your business credit card strictly for business expenses only. Don’t use it when you’re at the mall or buying your groceries or when dining out with your family. Remember, your business credit card should be a tool to help you with your business and must never be used for personal whims.

As a business coach I often observe that the challenge with growing a business for most business owners is that they can be scared of ‘letting go’.

You see, most business owners start off in their business doing everything… and as the business grows they try and take on more and more to keep ‘in control’.

Yet the time comes in the growth of the business where they HAVE to let go…

They can’t physically keep up!

Sometimes the business owner does their best to keep up. They work more, longer and harder but despite all of their efforts the business starts to ‘stagnate’.

And the owner becomes tired.

There are no more hours in the day.

They begin to realize that they can’t possibly keep their fingers in ‘all the pies’.

They have to let go.

Now most business owners are proud of the fact that they ‘know what’s going on’ in every area of their business…

And some dread losing this ‘contact’ or ‘control’

You see by being ‘in’ the business the business owner gets a feel for how the business is traveling.

If they keep on the ‘floor’ they can see customers coming in, what stock is selling, what stock is being delivered.

Now the big step (for them) is moving away from being involved to overseeing. Because they are scared that they’ll lose the ‘feel’ of the business.

And it’s at this point that some business owners panic.

What’s the answer?

The best business owners learn how to keep a ‘feel’ of their business without having to be there.

How can they do that, you may ask, if they’re not involved every day?

How can the best business owners know if it’s busy?

How can they know what stock is needed?

How can they know if customers aren’t happy?

How can they know which staff are being productive and which ones aren’t?

How can they keep their eye on the registers and the petty cash?

How can they do all this?

They can do it by setting up and monitoring their measuring and reporting systems.

I call them ‘dashboards’ or ‘scoreboards’.

You see the best business owners set up ‘dashboards’ so that they can ‘see’ how their business is going.

It’s like a dashboard in a car, or a cockpit of an airplane.

When you’re driving you don’t need to put your head out the window to ‘feel’ how fast you’re traveling. You just look at your speedo.

And you don’t need to look in your petrol tank to see how much petrol you have used. You just look at your fuel indicator on your dashboard.

If you set up Key Performance indicators in your business you can see how different areas of your business are performing.

All the best businesses do it. And you should too.

And you should start now… before you put on more people…

I get all my clients to start measuring critical areas of their business. And there’s a certain process to do it, and a certain way to measure it so that it works.

And when you get it working it can help liberate you from your business.

When you have your own ‘dashboard’ or ‘scoreboard’ you will need to look at some key things daily, whilst others are better to look at weekly, monthly and even quarterly…

And when you have them you can step out of your business. Because the ‘dashboard’ will tell you what’s going on when you’re not there.

It’s magic.

Even if you’re not in the business you’ll be able to gauge how things are going and how your people are going. Who’s doing things and who’s not… so you can step in and take action to improve the situation immediately.

With the right systems, people and training like I have outlined, works like a charm and it’s one of the most powerful things that you can do to take your business into the multi-millions of turnover.

I use these with my clients with extraordinary success.

We look at them every week to assess how the business, and how the team in the business are performing and based on the accurate and timely information take action to correct anything that ‘off-track’ and caress anything that is on track.

For example.

One of my client’s critical areas dropped from 37% to 22% then 21%. Now to you that may just be a percentage figure but to the business owner and I it meant we were losing $2,000 profit per week every week that it stayed at the new lower level. That’s $100,000 profit in a year.

So we jumped into action. After a certain process that I stepped him through we drove it back up to 44% and kept it there. That one thing alone made him tens of thousands of dollars in just a matter of weeks let alone what it made him over a year.

Another step that I take my clients through is setting up their ‘dashboard’ whilst they are still ‘involved’ in the business then the next step is to send the ‘dashboard’ to their home for them to look at in their own time

This steps them from having a ‘feel’ of the business to looking at the ‘dashboard’ so that they can transfer their ‘feel’ of the business into assessing the numbers that are on their ‘dashboard’.

As we step through that we determine ‘standards’ that each of the critical areas should be reaching each day, week, month for the business to be dong ‘nicely’.

Then armed with the standards and the dashboard the business owner can comfortably step out knowing what the dashboard has to show for him/her to stay in control of the business.

We then work on getting the business owner out of the day to day running of the business. For example if the owner is working 5 days in the business… the first step is to move him to 4 days in, and one day out. Then 3 days in, 2 days out… then 2 days in 3 days out and so it goes until the owner is able to choose their work hours because the business runs without them having to be there.

Then when you choose to come into the business you can do the work you want to do, and focus on the building your team to run your business for you.

Remember when your business is working it means that you don’t have to.

Your life may never be the same.

Join me when the timing is right for you and together we can grow your business and help you ‘let go’ of your business and stay in control.

Set up your business so you can let go and stay in control.

Copyright © 2006 by Casey Gollan. All Rights Reserved

Business Coach, Mentor And Growth Specialist

Casey Gollan, Business Coach, Mentor And Growth Specialist. Grows $1 Million p.a. Small Businesses Into $2 to $5 Million p.a. Businesses Over a 2 to 3 Year Period.

The positive economic atmosphere in the market is also felt in the large number of new businesses opening in Israel. Each day, many new businesses are opened, most of them small and medium sized. More than once this relates to young people who have finished their world tour and now are full of energy and attack the market with a view to conquering it. Our office feels the reawakening of the economy and mentioned that recently there has been a sharp increase in the number of those contacting us in order to receive advice and to open a new business. Also, the new reforms planned by the Ministry of Finance make the establishment of new businesses more worthwhile and more profitable.

Nevertheless, even if a business owner has a fantastic idea and a tremendous potential for success, incorrect decisions at the start of the road may decide the fate of the business already at its infancy. Most of these incorrect decisions in opening a business result from a lack of knowledge of legal and accounting affairs connected with establishing a business. In order to assist businesses at the outset, we hereby submit a complete manual for opening a business:

Location of the business

Throughout the country and in the center of the large cities, there are many areas available for leasing. The prices are lower than at any time and one can choose the most suitable building for the business’s needs. In a new business, it is not recommended to sign a lease for over a year, but to have an option to extend the lease under identical conditions. A short-term agreement will ensure the transferring of the business to another place should the chosen location not be successful from the business’s point of view. When choosing the location of a business, remember that the costs of transferring it are very high and include transport, renovations, etc.; and therefore, it is most important to choose a suitable location.

Bank and credit frameworks

Despite the fact that many self-employed continue to run the business also using their private bank account, this is not recommended. The management of a separate account for the business provide a more precise indication of the business result and makes the management of cash flows in the business easier. In addition, in order to recognize bank expenses and commissions as recognized expenses, the tax authority requires the business to have its own account.

It is recommended that the business account will not be kept in the bank in which the private account is kept. Generally, the bank will see both accounts as one account for the purpose of giving credit frameworks and calculating indebtedness. The opening of a bank account with another bank can increase the credit framework given to the business.

It is very important to see the bank as a partner and to maintain a positive reputation with it. When a problem is expected in cash flows, it is recommended to inform the bank and come to a joint solution. Cooperation with the bank is even more important due to the new regulations which forbid the bank to allow an overdraft without approval as from July 1, 2006. Maintaining good relations with the bank does not contradict that it is recommended to negotiate the amount of interest and commissions, and in this way to save money.

Funds for small businesses

One of the central problems of new businesses and businesses in general is credit difficulties. In Israel, there are many funds that operate and encourage new, small, and medium – sized businesses with the method of granting credit changing from time to time.

Generally, assistance is given to businesses that already exist and operate, but there are also funds that give loans to businesses being established. At the time of taking credit, it is important to ensure that the business can meet the monthly repayment. For businesses that cannot meet immediate repayment, there are loans where repayment is made only after a period which is decided in advance.

Value Added Tax

The business can operate only after registering and opening a VAT file.

There are two types of independent business:

a. An exempt business – where the expected annual turnover will not exceed NIS 65,720 – generally, these are small business and employees who are only starting their activities as self employed. Such a business only reports once a year to the VAT and does not collect and cannot set – off VAT. Businesses such as the liberal professions cannot register as exempt businesses, no matter what their revenues

b. A taxable business – anyone whose annual turnover is expected to exceed NIS 65,720 must be registered as a licensed dealer.

When filing an application to the VAT authorities for opening a business, you should have the following documents: an application to open a business signed by the dealer/partners, a photocopy of an identity card/identity cards, a cancelled bank check / any other document showing details of the bank account and details of the holder of the bank account and the rental contract.

In certain cases, the Value Added Tax Authorities are entitled to demand additional documents such as future engagement agreements etc.

Income Tax

After the change in the law, about a year ago, dealers are required to report to the Income Tax on the opening of a business, and anyone who does not do so is exposed to administrative fines. In order to register an independent business, an application to register one must be made with the assessing officer. Despite the fact that it is possible to open a business with the tax authorities independently, it is recommended to obtain the assistance of a CPA to do so.

Opening a deductions file for employees

If the business employs people, a deductions file must be opened with the assessing officer. The opening of a deductions files with the National Insurance Institute is carried out automatically by obtaining data from the Income Tax Authorities.

National Insurance Institute

In addition to registering VAT and income tax, an independent dealer must register also with the National Insurance Institute. Registration is done by completing the annual report form. The Institute requires that the number of hours expected and the level of expected income. There are two types of self employed in National Insurance:

1) A self employed person who meets the definitions of a self employed person – pays advances on account and insures the income for which he pays advances.

2) An independent who does not meet the definition – a dealer who works in the business less than 12 hours a week and earns less than NIS 3,692 per month. This status generally is suitable for employed people where the business provides him with complementary income. When the business is registered with the National Insurance Institute – the Institute examines whether insurance fees were paid from the age of 18 until the age of opening the business -whether there are periods where the dealer was abroad or did not work – he will be required to pay for these periods.

Keeping books of accounts

Every person who has income from a business or profession must keep books. The method of keeping books changes according to type and size of the business. At the start, it is recommended to keep close contact with a professional person – certified public accountant or tax consultant in order to obtain a detailed explanation of the method of managing the books and the procedures of issuing invoices and receipts. In addition, cooperation with a certified public accountant assists the business in understanding more correctly and releasing its owners from waiting unnecessary time.

Non keeping of proper books causes their disqualification by the tax authorities. This sanction is likely to result in a situation where the assessing officer will determine for himself the annual assessment that the business owes, and its owner will have to prove the exact income according to which the tax is paid.

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For additional details regarding the specific requirements of every client, send us your query and we will gladly get back to you with a response regarding your specific needs.

Unsecured Business Loans are monetary loans that are not secured against the borrower’s assets. These kind of loans have higher interest rate and do not offer collateral terms against the business loan. These loans fulfill the financial needs of small business owners easily and quickly. They are flexible and easily available without any need of collateral security. The rate of interest depends upon the degree of risk involved in the whole activity. Unsecured business loans are much cheaper and contain less risk terms to the borrowers. Unsecured business loans can be used to commence a new business as well as to expand an existing one. Prospective business plan helps to win the confidence of the lender. Unsecured business loans are meant for individuals, who need funds to their business without facing any of their assets on risk. It is one of the best options for self employed people working for  other enterprises. You can extend your business domain at any point of time. Unsecured business loans are configured in such a way, that if any business who has no regular source of income, can avail this kind of loans. These loans put a close view on all the requirements of the business. It is quite true that all kinds of unsecured loans are becoming more preferred choice to everyone, as these offer hassle free finance at affordable rates. With these loans a business owner can easily arrange the financial needs to fulfill all the external requirements of the business.

Some of the major benefits of unsecured business loans are:-

1.  These loans do not require any kinds of collateral or security.

2.  One may use these loans for personal, educational or even holiday purposes.

3.  The payment period is up to a maximum of 60 months.

4.  Simple and flexible process: This process provides you easiest way to expand your business successfully and helps to make your business more flexible.

5.  It offers more security and reliable alternative to traditional businesses.

6.  It provides fast track to successful business.

7.  Fast Approvals : the approval process is very fast and efficient. It provides more flexibility to your decision making.

8.  Easy application process: the paper work is very less.

9.  You are free to utilize the funds received for any purpose.

10. It helps to gaining experiencing rapid growth easily

11. Risk: Risk term find out the probability of occurring any event and loses included. Risk defined as qualitatively as well as quantitatively. It is an issue which leads to negative results. In case of unsecured business loans the chances of Risk are very rare.

If your business is facing any major or minor problems in smooth running just because of finance, than unsecured business loans are the best option for you. These loans are available for each industry type, it means business owners from every level of corporate world can apply for them. Well established business owners can also prefer business loan to meet the ever-increasing requirements of their business organizations.