George’s high productivity got stopped dead in its tracks.
His mother was demanding meeting after time-consuming
meeting over the details of how to renovate their new
facility.  George was making a major expansion in his
family-owned business.  He was adding a new home care
division.  The expansion was consuming much of his time.
Now mother was telling George what bids to take and what
contractors to use.  And of course, all those meetings ate
up his precious time.

George needed additional funds to make the new change.
Mother was one of the big investors.  Now mother had taken
her position as a major investor as permission for her to
tell George what to do.

George was in a quandary.  Mother was undermining his
authority as CEO, interfering with his decisions and
wasting large amounts of his valuable time.  Furthermore,
he wanted a high quality facility, not a cheap one that his
frugal mother was bent on providing.  What was he to do?
He couldn’t fire his own mother – could he?

It was a tough decision!

Finding A Solution

Confused and anxious, he discussed this challenge with his
coach.  During this discussion, it became clear to George
that George had allowed his mother to overstep the
boundaries of an investor.  Most investors do not have
oversight to the running of a business.  Their role is
passive.

George realized he allowed this to happen when he accepted
his mother’s offer of help.  Mother had offered to help
George renovate the new facility.  This “help” turned out
to be like a lifeguard hitting a drowning victim in the
head with the life preserver he was throwing to the victim.
This could not go on.  He could not afford the time and he
wanted a high-quality facility – not the low-quality his
budget minded mother wanted.

The first thing he had to do was to confirm that it made
good business sense to fire her.  Secondly, he had to know
in his heart that he had the right to do this.  He
conferred with his brothers and sisters who supported his
decision.  This would be harder than it was the time he
fired his nephew four years ago.

He was naturally nervous about confronting his mother.
Although he was now a grown man, he had a long childhood
history obeying his mother.  He certainly did not want to
hurt his mother’s feelings or cause dissension in the
family.

It would be a delicate conversation.  Rather than demanding
or pleading with her, he decided he would ask for her help
in solving this problem.

George role-played with his coach the intended
conversation.  Using principles of assertion, George
practiced with his coach until he felt comfortable.

It worked like a charm.  His mother turned the reins back
over to him without a tear or a reprimand.  George was in
charge of his company once more.

Other Dilemmas

Running a family business has many advantages.  Your
relatives are usually much more dedicated and loyal then an
outsider would be.  However, there are dilemmas, like the
one I just described.  A brother may just not have the
necessary skills required.

A sister may think she has a free ride in the family
business, hurting the business by drawing a high salary for
inferior work.

Just like any business, to succeed in this competitive
environment, you need to have high quality, competent and
motivated workers.  They have to be in a job that matches
their skills.  Sometimes your relative has to be
disciplined or even fired.  This is especially hard to do
to a family member.  It is extremely difficult to be
objective about family members.  The cool objective eyes of
an outside consultant or coach can be a huge help.

—————————————————-
Stan Mann, C.P.C. supports business owners, top executives
and commission salespeople to substantially grow their
business and have a balanced life. He is a Certified
Professional Coach. For additional articles and resources
please visit http://www.stanmann.com

I’m always glad when my clients ask me this question. Their
readiness to take financial responsibility for their
business is a sure sign that they’re serious about starting
it.

Not All Money Is the Same

There are two types of start-up financing: debt and equity.
Consider what type is right for you.

Debt Financing is the use of borrowed money to finance a
business.  Any money you borrow is considered debt
financing.

Sources of debt financing loans are many and varied:
banks, savings and loans, credit unions, commercial finance
companies, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
are the most common.  Loans from family and friends are
also considered debt financing, even when there is no
interest attached.

Debt financing loans are relatively small and short in term
and are awarded based on your guarantee of repayment from
your personal assets and equity.  Debt financing is often
the financial strategy of choice for the start-up stage of
businesses.

Equity financing is any form of financing that is based on
the equity of your business.  In this type of financing,
the financial institution provides money in return for a
share of your business’s profits.  This essentially means
that you will be selling a portion of your company in order
to receive funds.

Venture capitalist firms, business angels, and other
professional equity funding firms are the standard sources
for equity financing.  Handled correctly, loans from
friends and family could be considered a source of
non-professional equity funding.

Equity financing is usually a larger, longer-term
investment than debt financing and often involves stock
options.  Because of this, equity financing is more often
considered in the growth stage of businesses.

7 Main Sources of Funding for Small Business Start-ups

1.  You

Investors are more willing to invest in your start-up when
they see that you have put your own money on the line.  So
the first place to look for money when starting up a
business is your own pocket.

Personal Assets

According to the SBA, 57% of entrepreneurs dip into
personal or family savings to pay for their company’s
launch.  If you decide to use your own money, don’t use it
all.  This will protect you from eating Ramen noodles for
the rest of your life, give you great experience in
borrowing money, and build your business credit.

A Job

There’s no reason why you can’t get an outside job to fund
your start-up.  In fact, most people do.  This will ensure
that there will never be a time when you are without money
coming in and will help take most of the stress and risk
out of starting up.

Credit Cards

If you are going to use plastic, shop around for the lowest
interest rate available.

2.  Friends and Family

Money from friends and family is the most common source of
non-professional funding for small business start-ups.
Here, the biggest advantage is the same as the biggest
disadvantage: You know these people.  Unspoken needs and
attachments to outcome may cause stress that would warrant
steering away from this type of funding.

3.  Angel Investors

An angel investor is someone who invests in a business
venture, providing capital for start-up or expansion.
Angels are affluent individuals, often entrepreneurs
themselves, who make high-risk investments with new
companies for the hope of high rates of return on their
money.  They are often the first investors in a company,
adding value through their contacts and expertise.  Unlike
venture capitalists, angels typically do not pool money in
a professionally-managed fund.  Rather, angel investors
often organize themselves in angel networks or angel groups
to share research and pool investment capital.

4.  Business Partners

There are two kinds of partners to consider for your
business:  silent and working.  A silent partner is someone
who contributes capital for a portion of the business, yet
is generally not involved in the operation of the business.
A working partner is someone who contributes not only
capital for a portion of the business but also skills and
labor in day-to-day operations.

5.  Commercial Loans

If you are launching a new business, chances are good that
there will be a commercial bank loan somewhere in your
future.  However, most commercial loans go to small
businesses that are already showing a profitable track
record.  Banks finance 12% of all small business start-ups,
according to a recent SBA study.  Banks consider financing
individuals with a solid credit history, related
entrepreneurial experience, and collateral (real estate and
equipment).  Banks require a formal business plan.  They
also take into consideration whether you are investing your
own money in your start-up before giving you a loan.

6.  Seed Funding Firms

Seed funding firms, also called incubators, are designed to
encourage entrepreneurship and nurture business ideas or
new technologies to help them become attractive to venture
capitalists.  An incubator typically provides physical
space and some or all of these services: meeting areas,
office space, equipment, secretarial services, accounting
services, research libraries, legal services, and technical
services.  Incubators involve a mix of advice, service and
support to help new businesses develop and grow.

7.  Venture Capital Funds

Venture capital is a type of private equity funding
typically provided to new growth businesses by
professional, institutionally backed outside investors.
Venture capitalist firms are actual companies. However,
they invest other people’s money and much larger amounts of
it (several million dollars) than seed funding firms.  This
type of equity investment usually is best suited for
rapidly growing companies that require a lot of capital or
start-up companies with a strong business plan.

—————————————————-
Susan L Reid, MS, DMA, Small Business Start Up Coach &
Accidental Pren-herâ„¢ is the soon-to-be author of
Discovering Your Inner Samurai.  She provides value,
inspiration and direction for entrepreneurial women
starting up and launching small businesses.  For ideas and
start up tips, subscribe at
http://SuccessfulSmallBizOwners.com for your free e-Zine
today.  To read about what’s inspiring other pren-hers, go
to http://susanreid.typepad.com

Small business is often held together with sweat,
creativity and a heavy use of duct tape. (In case you ever
wondered where I came up with the term Duct Tape
Marketing.) That’s the outer reality of small business. The
inner reality, the part that most don’t see and even the
owner of the business might not understand, is more like a
living breathing ecosystem.

I didn’t really excel in science in school, but to me the
parallel is obvious. In an ecosystem, the many parts are
dependent upon each other for success. In a small business,
this is equally true and just as hard to measure and
control.

There are lots of small businesses out there that appear
healthy and happy on the outside but are being held back by
some component of the overall system. The very first thing
you must do is acknowledge this idea of dependant parts. If
one isn’t thriving, isn’t even noticed, others will suffer.

It’s very hard to have a healthy business if the employees
don’t feel appreciated. It’s very hard to have a healthy
business if clients don’t know how your business is unique.
It’s very hard to have a healthy business if your referral
partners don’t know who makes an ideal client for your
business.

There are countless examples of growing businesses that
ignore what I’m suggesting, but I wonder if they are fun
places to work and do business with?

Thinking strategically about your own small business
ecosystem requires understanding who all the players are,
the experience you want them to have with your business,
and the tools you need to employ to make this integration
happen.

First let’s take a look at the major players in the small
business ecosystem.

You may have some combination of:

Suspects – folks you’ve identified that might need what you
do

Prospects – those who have responded to your lead activities

Clients- someone who has purchased something

Advocates – purchases lots and tells others

Associates – your staff

Vendors – companies you might purchase from

Partners – companies that might help you produce a product
or co-create services and clients

You can define what each of these is in your business, but
the strongest businesses understand that they need to
embrace, feed and sell each – sometimes in order for one to
thrive. For instance, your clients will become stronger
advocates or referral sources the more they feel connected
to your community of clients, associates and partners.

One of the ways to create these connections among all of
the members of your ecosystem is to have and communicate in
no uncertain terms your firm’s unique core message. That
message should contain a clear statement about your brand
and how it’s unique and who should care. The goal then
becomes finding ways for your clients, advocates, partners,
and associates to connect to this brand in a way that feeds
them.

Technology and a host of new media tools have made the
important task of feeding and integrating all of the
parties in a small business world much easier.

Let’s cover a few examples:

Blogs allow you to produce frequently changing content and
interact with clients and prospects

Websites allow you to give access to a great deal of
educational content

Web apps like Basecamp allow you to collaborate with
clients and partners in real time

Online meeting tools like WebEx give you the ability to
hold instant virtual sales presentations and peer-to-peer
client conversations

Podcasting can open up doors to new media and give a true
voice to the people in your firm

RSS technology allows you to create dynamic content that
can be personalized to the individual

CRM systems give you the ability to track a prospect’s
education process and know when they need more

Social software can give your clients the ability to
generate marketing content for you and about you in an
environment of trust

Autoresponders can provide education and training whenever
it’s requested

Intranet styled offerings and even chat platforms make
remote and virtual communication with your suppliers and
associates simple and seamless

Content management systems can give your firm’s employees
and clients access to your entire searchable library of
documented knowledge

Streaming video and video screen capture makes providing
simple help and training a snap

I suspect you get the point from the list above, but, of
course, technology itself isn’t the answer. It is the
beautiful way in which you tap the power it possesses to
help meet and exceed your client’s expectations, build a
thriving community of partners, associates, and advocates
around your business, and generate and close more deals,
more profitably.

To do this you must embrace new tools, new media, and new
technology and figure out how to bend them to serve the
goals of feeding your unique small business ecosystem.

—————————————————-
John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning
blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World’s Most
Practical Small Business Marketing Guide. You can find more
information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com .

“Brand identity” is the result of the combination of
consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing
materials. A basic brand identity consists of a logo,
business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended
to include a website, brochure, folder, flyer, or any other
professionally designed pieces.

I’m not a big company:  I can’t have/create/build a brand.

Just because your company’s not huge doesn’t mean that you
can’t benefit from creating a brand identity. Even for the
smallest company, a brand identity will make you look
bigger than you are, will make you appear more
professional, and will make your sales process easier.
You’ll also have a starting point for designing all of your
marketing pieces, and your brand identity will make your
marketing a breeze as well.

You might not be able to create a branding program that is
as comprehensive and self-sustaining as those of some of
the big companies, because you won’t be able to educate
your clients like they can. Big companies with immediately
recognizable logos and brand materials have made those
logos and materials recognizable by spending a lot of time,
money, and effort on educating the public about their
brands. This is mainly done through advertising.

But this isn’t to say that you should jump out there once
you have built a brand and start advertising; for many
small businesses, advertising is expensive and doesn’t
offer a good return on investment.

I run my business in a personalized, one-on-one way:
building a brand would make my business impersonal.

Building a brand identity isn’t necessarily a
depersonalizing tactic. You can build a brand that’s very
personalized, and even centered on you and the way that you
work with your clients. You can even use the personalized
way that you run your business as a differentiation tool.
That personalization can be one of the pieces of your
business that makes you different.

Some major brands are built with this personalization. For
example, Mrs. Field’s Cookies is built all around her
story, techniques, and recipes.

Having a brand identity shouldn’t change the way that your
business works. There might be some slight changes when you
start working on the inner layers of your brand, but brand
identity just changes the face of your business to the
public, making it look cleaner and more organized and
professional. You can even design your brand identity to
look personalized by using a signature, initials, or even
your photo in your logo or Visual Vocabulary.

Creating a brand is too much work.

There is a lot of work involved in creating a brand
identity and then creating the rest of the brand to match
it. But it’s all part of the overall work that you should
do when you begin your business: determining your
differentiators, creating your brand foundation and
creating some of your brand basics, and positioning your
brand.

Doing this work will give your business a clear path, and
will make all aspects of your business easier. You will
have the groundwork for your business laid out, and you’ll
be able to build on that groundwork to create success.

Beyond this groundwork, you shouldn’t have to do much work;
if you pick a good designer, you should be able to take
more of an advisory role. Beyond answering some initial
questions about your business and brand, you should be able
to sit back and make the choices between options presented
to you by that hired specialist, throughout the development
of your logo and brand identity.

Your level of involvement in the design process will also
vary depending on the amount of personalization that you
have in your business. If you’re running a very
personalized business, then you will probably want to guide
the design process closely, since in a personalized
business your logo should reflect your tastes and style. If
you’re building a bigger business, then the style of your
logo should reflect the industry and what’s best for your
business; often, a designer will guide those choices.

I can’t use a symbol that’s been used before:  I have to be
entirely unique.

By using a variation of a symbol that’s been used before,
you’re leveraging the recognition and meaning that the
symbol already has. This is often the best course of action
for small businesses, because you won’t have a large budget
to spend on educating your audience on the meaning of a new
symbol.

What should be unique about your brand identity is the way
that you use these symbols. You can develop new
combinations of symbols to communicate your message. Or you
can arrange the symbols in a different way, or use them in
place of letters in your logo to make it more unique.

Another way that you can make your symbols unique is to
draw them using different techniques or effects, such as
calligraphy or paint strokes, or using different
proportions. These techniques make your symbols unique and
interesting, and can also communicate more of your brand’s
personality.

—————————————————-
Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big
visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf
design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand
out in front of their competition and attract more clients.
Her “Define Your Difference Branding Workbook” will help
you with your brand definition – the most important step in
the brand identity design process.
http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html

A small business vision can be compared to planning a
holiday! People usually decide where they want to holiday
based on the offerings of the destination.

If it’s a relaxing holiday they are after, they may go to
Fiji. But if it’s for shopping, then Dubai may be their
choice. If it’s to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge then
they will go to Sydney, Australia.

Holiday destinations are determined by desires, with a few
restrictions like budget and time available.

The same should apply to your small business. In 5 years
time what do you want your small business to look and feel
like?

Do you want a large street frontage or small office at home?

Do you want to be actively involved or have a manager
controlling your employees?

How many employees do you want?

Do you want a business with excellent cash flow or a
business that is worth a large sum of money when sold?

Answers to these questions and much more will help to
provide a clear vision of your small business in 5 years
time. And often this will completely shape your growth.

The majority of small business owners start a small
business based on their trade or what they know. They never
usually give much thought to their small business vision.

While it’s comforting running a small business using the
skills you have, sometimes this can be a recipe for
disaster.

Business is a game – it should be simple and fun. But
Business Owners tend to complicate things and the business
ends up controlling them.

Owning a small business should mean a better lifestyle -
flexible and shorter working hours and more money. But this
is hardly ever the case; it’s more like working 60+ hours a
week for about $4 an hour.

Why is this so?

Because small business owners don’t have that vision. They
don’t know where they are heading, they have nothing to aim
for. They have no idea what the finished product will look
like, so the business eventually takes control.

Decisions are based on what happened that day, instead of
the business vision you are working towards.

Take the time now and think of your small business vision.

What will your small business look like in 5 years?

Why will your customers continue to buy from you?

How will you beat your competitors?

What will make your small business attractive to any buyers?

What are all the potential risks?

Think carefully about these questions and then write your
vision down. This will immediately tell you, the universe
and anybody else, exactly what you are creating.

It gives you a defined target to aim for and achieve.

—————————————————-
Why do some business owners plod along, while others
effortlessly succeed? Ian McConnell has the answers in “The
Instant Profit Multiplier” an absolutely “must read” for
any business owner.
FREE Details here ==> http://www.small-business-secrets.com/

This talented and skilled professional was on a slippery
slope to a failed business. She was using one of the most
enticing and dangerous models for the direction of her
business: Offering just one service to just one market.

One service, one big client, one product, does not make a
one-person business that can thrive.  And, it can get you
in hot water if your one client with your one product or
service is corporate: you start to look too much like an
employee to keep the IRS happy.

So, what’s the answer? For this new client, my first
question was “Have you done the numbers?”

Her blank look was enough of an answer. So, we walked
through the numbers process:

==> how many contacts she needed to generate a lead

==> how many leads to make a sale

==> how long the sales process took in both hours and days

==> how much it cost out of pocket to develop a paying
customer

==> how long to deliver the service

==> how much she needed to sell to cover her expenses, to
generate enough to get by, and provide a quality life for
herself, and

==> how long before the customer was ready for the next
service session.

The answer to her problems was very clear. She needed to
sell six new clients a week to get by in order to pay her
bare living expenses. But, it took significantly more time
than 40 hours per week to generate the leads, close the
sales, and deliver the service. More like 80 hours per week.

She had also not taken into account the amount of money her
marketing and sales was taking, as well as the money needed
to produce the service. So, although her target was 6 sales
a week, she really needed to make at least 7 to cover both
the costs of production, and the money she needed to cover
her living expenses.

An undoable plan!

The answers to her dilemma were the strategies one-person
business owners need to consider for themselves. What kind
of multipliers can you implement so you can provide for
yourself in a manner to which you would like to become
accustomed, and at the same time provide quality products
and services to your target market.

Start with a commitment to yourself that you will never
again have just one service or product for one market. Aim
for at least 3 service/product offerings in 2 – 3 markets.
(I know when you are just starting out, it is hard to
develop all three at the same time. Just make sure it is in
your plan, and then work your plan.)

Devote your next executive meeting with yourself to
reviewing your product/service packages. Look for ways you
can multiply your efforts, or transfer your current
offerings to another market. Ask yourself:

==> Is it time to make one of your service packages into a
stand alone product you can make once and sell, sell, sell?
Consider ebooks, workbooks, resource guides, quick start
guides to using a product or service. Plus with add on’s,
hard to source supplies, and specific tools.

==> Can you bundle stand alone, or individual services into
an ongoing coaching, consulting retainer agreement with
your existing or new clients?

==> Can you service a number of clients at the same time?
They can get the benefit of learning from one another, and
lower individual fees while still increasing your total
income/time. Consider teleseminars, group coaching, group
counseling or therapy, seminars, workshops or training
classes.

You can also look at unserved potential clients in the work
you are already doing. Many professional speakers develop
products or services so their audience members can take a
part of the speaker home with them, or continue learning
more than what was possible in one presentation. Consider
what you could offer the executives who make the decisions
to hire you. Or, additional products or services for
meeting planners. This means you have three different
potential client bases all in the room with you when you
are presenting. Do you leave them wanting more…or do you
have products and services just for them?

Bottom line-one product, service, or client doesn’t make a
viable one-person business. Make a commitment to yourself
to build a stronger, more profitable business.

—————————————————-
Need to get your small business more strategic, organized,
automated? Click here => http://www.1PersonBusiness.com for
Pat Wiklund’s complimentary introductory course on How to
Run a One-Person Business Without It Running You.

Your Parent’s Workplace

The old-school work ethic was based on the notion that
security, peace of mind, and a steady income came from
having a job, being loyal to the company, and maintaining
the status quo.  Indeed, less than 70 years ago,
generations of men and women confidently built their family
economic and security systems around this way of thinking.
Then, people generally had one job, advanced through the
company ranks, and kept that job for life.  In return, the
company was there for them in good times and in bad.

The Changing Workplace

Today, if you want to work in the traditional workplace,
don’t expect the same work environment your parents
probably experienced.  You need to be ready for a brutal,
80-hour-a-week “extreme” job.  You need to accept that your
workspace is a little cubical on the third floor, where
people driven to excel and win at all costs surround you.
It is likely that you will come in early, stay late, and
work weekends.  And, in the end, there is no guarantee that
all this hard work will help you get promoted or keep you
from being down-sized.

Today’s Workplace

Today’s workplace is driven by an information and
communications technology that wouldn’t have been
considered in previous generations.  In addition, it is
fueled by a Baby Boomer generation whose dominant
characteristic is individualism and supported by Gen Xers
who aren’t motivated to do anything unless they find
meaning in it.  These harbinger trends of our times are,
arguably, the most significant factors that have influenced
our changing workplace and how we think about work.

Many Baby Boomers, once the stalwarts of the production
work force are getting ready to retire, if they haven’t
already done so.  Education has lost its distinctive power
to get you hired.  What’s more, experience and long service
to the company do not guarantee continued employment.

The Baby Boomer generation knows that as company fortunes
rise and fall, jobs are created and destroyed.  Security,
peace of mind, and benefit packages are casualties of the
process.  Vastly different from their parents, Baby Boomer
workers find themselves in a less stable and predictable
work environment, with the length of time spent at each
job, whether by choice or otherwise, getting shorter.

For the first time, they are faced with something that
their parents never had to consider:  how to make ends meet
while ensuring a secure retirement and financial future
with adequate health coverage.  The traditional workplace
is gone, and left in its wake is a confused and discouraged
workforce wondering about its future.

The Case for Owning Your Own Small Business

Small Business ownership is on the rise.  According to the
U.S. Small Business Administration, the estimated 25.8
million small businesses in the United States:

• have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually
over the last decade,
• employ 50 percent of the country’s private sector
workforce,
• represent 97 percent of all the exporters of goods,
• and represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.

According to The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s 2005
Report on Women and Entrepreneurship:  “Women represent
more than 1/3 of all people involved in entrepreneurial
activity.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that “black-owned businesses
are the fastest growing segment, up 45 percent between
1997-2002.”

Entrepreneurship among seniors is growing due to jobs
disappearing and people taking early retirement.  AARP
reports that in 2002 “those age 50 comprised 40% of the
self-employed.”    Definitely, the trend for going smaller
is growing bigger.  As large corporations scramble to keep
pace with the latest business developments and trends,
independent contractors and small business owners are
stepping in to fill the gap.  Security, peace of mind, and
a steady income (once thought only possible by working for
a large company) are now being viewed by millions of small
business owners as “doable.”

For the individualistic Baby Boomer generation, becoming a
small business owner is the mother-load of opportunity.
For value-driven, looking-to-make-a-difference-in-the-world
Gen Xers, owning a small business is the way to go.  In
light of today’s changing workplace, now is a great time to
become a small business owner.

—————————————————-
Susan L Reid, MS, DMA, Small Business Start Up Coach &
Accidental Pren-herâ„¢ is the soon-to-be author of The
Accidental Preneur: Discovering Your Inner Samurai.
Transforming start up woes into start up goes, she provides
value, inspiration and direction to entrepreneurial women
starting up small businesses. For ideas and start up tips,
subscribe at http://SuccessfulSmallBizOwners.com Add your
pren-her story at http://susanreid.typepad.com