Archive for Small Business
December 7, 2007 at 11:02 pm · Filed under Small Business
Having extraordinary skills and talent in a business area, being hardworking and determined, persistent, having great ideas and full of energy is a fantastic mix for a successful business career. But all those exquisite qualities mean nothing if the end result is not represented in the bottom line.
The financial section of the business plan is where all the operational items included in the rest of the business plan come together. There are three essential elements to a properly thought through and well constructed business plan. Those elements are a forecast profit and loss account stating the income and expenditure, a cash flow statement that determines the liquidity and a sensitivity analysis that indicates the risks and opportunities within the business plan.
The forecast profit and loss account should be prepared on a monthly basis for the first year with an annual projection for the second year. The first year of every new start up business can be difficult due to financing and funding growth from a standing start which is why the first financial year should be detailed.
The forecast profit and loss account is the financial calculation of all the sales, purchases, expenditure and prices contained within the other areas of the business plan. In addition full account should also be taken of the business administration costs. All the figures in the business plan income and expenditure account should be fully supported from the physical projections contained in the other sections and derived from those sections.
From the sales section multiply the sales volume of each product by the considered selling prices. Keep to a minimum sundry additional income that might be expected. The resultant financial calculation produces the expected monthly sales turnover.
Using the information in the production or operations section of the business plan and if included the purchasing section the sales volume should be evaluated at the expected purchase cost of the products and services. This produces a cost of sales figure which when deducted from the sales turnover provides a forecast gross profit figure each month.
The business plan should include notes and comments of all other main cost items including projections of staff requirements. Together with administration and overhead costs a monthly projection of the expected running costs of the business start up can be produced. The business running costs are an important area to forecast in detail as while sales prices and costs may be determined with some accuracy errors in the business running costs could cause a good business to fail.
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November 25, 2007 at 1:04 am · Filed under Communications, Small Business
As many small business owners know, it can be difficult to connect with clients who live outside local calling areas, as it is an awkward thing for them to foot the phone bill. The solution is pretty simple: toll free numbers. Toll free numbers allow the customer to contact a business without paying out of their pocket, making communication much easier. But is it possible to make your business toll free? Luckily it now is. With a one time purchase fee for a toll free number, and modest usage fees, http://www.get800today.com/ makes it possible for any small business to have a toll free line.
The website offers side-by-side comparisons with other leading phone companies, as well as several rave testimonials. In addition to this though, the site offers a very simple method to sign up for a toll free number: simply picking a number according to price range, and entering a routing number will set you well on your way to having your own toll free number. Also, a list of included services is available, naming the ability to switch the routing number while maintaining the same toll free number, and even called ID. An 800 number is the perfect way to kick start any small business looking for national appeal, and get800today is helping these businesses to do exactly that. You can also check out their Toll Free blog.
July 13, 2007 at 9:16 pm · Filed under Small Business
If you are considering approaching schools to put in your vending machines, you need to be prepared for some issues. There are plenty of opinions out there about if they even belong in a school or not. If you talk to parents, teachers, and students you will find a mixture of different takes on the issue. For anyone with a vending machine business, you can’t help but think of the possibilities for large revenues here though.
More than of students from 7th through 12th grade acknowledge buying items from school vending machines on a regular basis. Their parents aren’t aware that they do this with the money they give them for activities and school lunches.
Many parents are angry over vending machines being allowed in schools. They believe it doesn’t encourage children to make healthy choices when it comes to the foods they consume. This can lead to a child becoming overweight, not getting the right vitamins and nutrients they need, and it could cause them to be diagnosed with diabetes later in life.
Many schools are attempting to meet parents and vending machine owner’s half way. The machines aren’t accessible during the lunch period so that if a student wants to eat they have to get something nutritious from the school. Still, many schools quickly find those students that live close by or that have a car go eat what they want from a local store or a drive up window.
Of course if you look at this from the prospective of a vending machine business owner, schools are a prime location. There are plenty of hungry children running around and many of them enjoy sugary drinks and snacks. As parents and schools work together to provide kids with the best nutrition though, this prospective location could end up being a thing of the past for many vendors.
One alternative is to change some of the selections offered in the vending machines. This way they could remain in the schools but offer some healthier options that will be good for the students. Instead of soda drinks offered could include water, sports drinks, and juice. Instead of sugary snacks students could choose from peanuts, granola bars, yogurt, fresh fruit, and crackers.
You just might find offering healthy foods and drinks in your school vending machines increases your sales. Many staff members may start making purchases from them as well. Most adults try to refrain from sugary drinks and snacks on a regular basis so they may really like that you offer them some healthy alternatives.
Be prepared to answer plenty of questions when you approach a school to install a vending machine. You may find the location is open due to the controversial issues. However, if you come in with fresh ideas and offering only nutritious items they may allow you to do so.
Robert Farnham - veteran vending business operator and author. He now writes articles and gives advise to new operators to help them avoid vending locating company nightmares, and the best way to find great vending locations.
June 7, 2007 at 9:18 pm · Filed under Small Business
As the saying goes ‘it takes money to make money.’ This is especially true when it comes to business funding. Business funding is getting the cash to get your business off the ground, which can often be a challenge. The traditional route for getting business funding is going to your bank. Going to your bank, however won’t get you far as banks do not like lending money to start-up businesses who have no history/assets.
There are several ways in which you can fund your business where you become your own bank, giving you total control over your money, the very control you wanted in the first place:
• Part time job
• Life insurance policy
• Family/friends
• Credit cards
By taking a part time job you can use the funds from it for your new business whilst still working your normal job and sorting out your new business venture. You have to ask yourself however if this is realistic; if you have the energy to take on a third job. Could you work a 60-80 hour week? You would be risking burn out and would more than likely end up hurting your health and family relationships due to stress.
You may also be thinking how can a life insurance policy help me while I’m still alive? The answer is simple you can put your life insurance policy to work while your still around as, what most people don’t realise is that you can borrow against the cash value of a life insurance policy and pay it back on a flexible rate, which is on your terms.
Bootstrapping is the term given when you start your business with no outside money. The way this works is you use personal savings and adjust your living allowance so that the start-up costs of your new business are taken care of. The advantage of funding your business in this way is that you are completely independent in how you run your business. The disadvantage however is that your business could end up being under funded as there is nothing to support it. Also when people use their own money to fund their business they tend not to write a business plan. Not having this business plan increases the chance of failure due to the fact the business will not be well researched and analysed and there will be fewer opportunities for feedback.
It is highly important that you find the right funding for your business. You must be selective and smart or your dream business could turn into your worst nightmare, you should think about your long term personal business goals and the type of business you’re planning.
There two main categories of funding; debt and equity.
Debt Funding
You borrow money and must pay it back with interest within a certain timeframe. Debt funding sources can be from banks, finance companies, credit unions, credit card companies and private corporations.
Equity Funding
You raise start-up finance for your business by selling a portion of ownership in your company. Selling equity means taking on investors, many small businesses raise equity by bringing in investors to make their business succeed and to get a return on investment. The two main types of equity funding are business angels and venture capitalists.
Helen Cox is the web master of Angel Start-ups, home of all your business funding needs
February 13, 2007 at 9:20 pm · Filed under Small Business
There is a business that will take under an hour a day to run, where there is never a recession and it only costs a few hundred dollars to start. The really good news about this business is that anyone can master it quickly. Let’s look at it in more detail.
The business is trading currencies over the internet.
Before you say I couldn’t do that - consider the advantages
- Anyone can learn it everything about trading currencies can be learned in a few weeks and you don’t need a college education.
- There are always opportunities for profit as one currency rises another must fall and vice versa.
- There is never a recession opportunities present themselves everyday.
- You only need a computer an internet connection and a few hundred dollars.
- You don’t need any expensive staff stock or a marketing budget.
- You can this business in an hour a day or less.
- You can take breaks and holidays when you want.
- Best of all - you get to leverage your money.
Deposit $500 with a broker. and they will let you trade 100 x the amount so $50,000 is at your disposal - to build wealth quickly.
There are no credit checks you get the leverage granted to you as soon as you deposit and in many instances a broker will give you up to 400:1 leverage.
More people than ever are becoming professional currency traders from home and to enjoy online business success, there is no better home based business.
It’s a fact that currencies trend - that is they move in a sustained direction for long periods of time, as they reflect the underlying health of the economy they represent.
These are easy to spot using forex charts - all you have to do is learn to spot formations that repeat over time as human psychology repeats.
To give you an idea of the potential a famous experiment was conducted by trading legend Richard Dennis who proved that anyone could learn currency trading. In two weeks he taught a group of people from all walks of life, of all ages and both sexes to trade Dennis then let them test their knowledge.
The result?
They made him over $100 million dollars and went on to become some of the most successful traders of all time. He taught them a simple system and the mindset to execute it with discipline and run winning trades and cut losers which is essential when dealing with leverage.
Leverage is what makes this business so lucrative and the profit potential so huge - but it’s a double edged sword and you need to execute a specific plan and that’s exactly what Dennis taught his group of traders to do.
The rewards are limitless with this business and you could learn it in, in fact anyone can.
Is it really that easy?
The answer is yes and no. It’s not easy and you wouldn’t expect it to be with the rewards on offer - but it’s not that hard either. If you have the desire to work hard and a winning mentality, then online trading success is within your reach and you can enjoy currency trading success.
The question is are you up for a challenge?
If you are - welcome to the world of global currency trading the worlds most exciting and lucrative online business.
LIVE THE DREAM BECOME A PROFESSIONAL FOREX TRADER FROM HOME!
Even if you have never traded before you can trade like a pro so get 2 x free trading guides and an exclusive Forex Trading Course visit our website at: http://www.learncurrencytradingonline.com/index.html
January 6, 2007 at 9:19 pm · Filed under Small Business
There is no magic formula that a vending machine business owner can use to determine which vending machine to buy. The needs for each person are different so you will have to make your decision after you have carefully evaluated all of your options. You definitely need to do what is in the best interest of your business. Here are some things you need to consider so that you can be profitable from the start.
Having new stuff is always exciting, but it may not be a reality when you are starting your vending machine business. That money you invested to buy a brand new machine could turn out to be a bad choice. If you have to finance it or put the vending machine on a credit card then you will have those payments looming over you. Even if you are moving products you may not make enough profits to cover all of your expenses.
With that in mind, you may decide investing in used vending machines are the way to go. You can pay for them with your savings and avoid a monthly payment. This means you will accumulate profits faster from your vending machine business. As your profits increase you can invest in more machines for other locations. This is a great way to help your business grow.
Of course buying used vending machines can backfire on you as well. If it continually breaks down you won’t make much money from it. Repairs can be expensive and time consuming to complete. Consumers will also get tired of getting ripped off and avoid using the vending machine. Make sure you keep a close eye on the operations of any vending machine you have in place.
Offer your consumers as many options as possible. You want vending machines with several holders so you can provide a variety of products. Of course they won’t be able to buy these products if they don’t have the change available. It is your responsibility to make sure there is a dollar bill acceptor on the vending machine as well. This will definitely improve your profits.
Invest in vending machines that are reliable so that you can fight vandalism. You don’t want your machine to be destroyed by those that don’t care about the property of others. Plastic is cheaper to replace than glass, and in many cases it will be very durable. Try to place your vending machines in locations where you can install monitoring equipment.
You may have to select your vending machine based on the amount of space available for it. These days they come in various sizes - both in width and height so you should be able to find something that is a good match. Don’t go out and buy a vending machine before you have a location for it!
Take your time to look around and see what the various vending machine options are. Compare prices and weight the pros and cons of buying new versus buying used. The internet is a great place to read reviews about the various types of vending machines too. This way you can find out what your options are and make informed choices about your vending machine purchases.
Rob Farnham started writing articles exposing the vending business in an attempt to help new operators navigate through the vending business opportunity minefield. From locating company issues to overpriced machines he has authored 2 books and many articles. Learn more about the real vending business, check out his websites
