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Archive for January, 2011

How to Start a Small Business

Posted in Starting small businesses on January 31st, 2011
Starting small businesses
by Office of Governor Patrick

DSC_8046
Starting small businesses
Image by t-dot-s-dot
Casey showing off a new card!

Casey and Adrienne are starting a small business playing music at weddings and in the studio. Casey plays cello and Adrienne plays violin.

To set up we created some great silkscreened business cards. I’ve detailed our process here: tylorsherman.com/node/1044/

Tell everyone you know, they are really great musicians and are eager to play!

Investing your money for business is a big gamble. Whether it’s a small or huge business, the chance of losing or winning is always almost equal. But the result still depends on the business plan you made. So before everything get ruined by wrong strategies, you better hire expert business service providers that can help you expand your capital in sure steps.

When you are starting small business, just remember that it’s no different in a big time investment. What makes the latter stand out is just their name. If you applied the appropriate business plan, who knows, your business will soar high in the future.

If you want to invest your money on business, you should devote yourself into this so it will bloom. It’s okay if you’ve got other priorities, but it would be better if you will go full-time to see what you’re business really needs.

To start with, you must think first of a very good business idea. This is what you call the theme of your business. An art store specializing on one specific product sells a lot because its target audience is specific. You can invest on a franchise or start your own company with your unique business ideas.

Find a name for your business. Business names are really important. Just like what an ad said, “a business with no name is not a business.” The more inviting your business name is, the more customer it attracts. Think of any name that will stick on customer’s brain. Something that will make them grin about on the first thought. The best business names are the funny ones.

You can’t start a business without a capital. You now have your business idea and business name, make sure that you got enough money to pursue your business. Maybe you can use small business loans. You can borrow money from your friends and family, from investors and the surest, from banks. Make sure that you are backed up with good financing. And once you borrow money, be sure to pay it back. If you don’t it is not only your business will fall, relationships will be ruined, reputation will get stained.

After considering the first three steps, you are now ready to start your business. But before you get rolling, you have to take legal issues first. You will choose if your business will run as Sole Proprietorship, Partnership or a Corporation. With this, your business can now be identify as a real business.

You are now ready for your business. You can now choose where to set it up. Do you a commercial space or a home office? Do you need to hire a number of employees to assist you? Is there a need for an accountant? What kind of taxes are you going to pay? After accomplishing all of these, you can now roll the dice. Let the journey start.

But of course, you will need to maintain your business. And to do this you can go through business management guides. Don’t make your hard-works get wasted. To prolong the life of your business, it should be sustained..through proper management.

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Studying Online Business Management in Marketing Degree

Posted in Business Management on January 31st, 2011
Business Management
by vancouverfilmschool

LeBron James: A management innovator?
Business Management
Image by opensourceway
Image source:
www.flickr.com/photos/meesterdickey/3764936964/in/photost…

Read the article on opensource.com
opensource.com/business/10/7/lebron-james-management-inno…

Created by Libby Levi for opensource.com

A degree in Business Management with an emphasis on Marketing will equip you with the relevant business knowledge, management skills and marketing techniques that are essential ingredients for success in helping you achieve your personal, academic and professional career aspirations.

The aim of the Business Management in Marketing Degree Program is to provide students with a broad-based curriculum that consists of a wide range of contemporary business and marketing-specific courses designed to help students develop a thorough understanding of the standards and techniques that bind the global business environment. You will also gain the practical exposure and experience needed to influence others to accomplish the tasks and challenges you face together on a daily basis.
Study Business Management in Marketing Degree Online

You can study Business Management in Marketing at the Associate, Bachelor, Masters and Certificate Level where your course work will explore the specialist functions of management. These include Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Production and Business Information Systems. Other topics covered are Economics, Quality Operations, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Data Analysis, International Marketing, Professional Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Company Law, Statistics, and Psychology, Ethics and Entrepreneurship.

The program utilizes various forms of teaching methods to disseminate the information to students such as seminars, a series of formal lectures, small tutorial groups, and problem solving workshops as well as computer-based simulations and state-of-the-art learning techniques. Students will gain additional hands-on exposure through a number of internship activities.

By adopting a relevant, rigorous and balanced approach, the courses covered throughout the program will provide you with a solid background in all the relevant tools and techniques needed to progress successfully in today’s modern business world. The program also prepares you to:

* devise, implement and manage complex marketing strategies
* develop information-based analytical decision-making skills and transform these research data into effective marketing programs
* develop proficiency in the technology tools relevant to the business environment and the application of these tools to enhance efficiency
* understand how new products are developed and branded

Careers with an Online Business Management in Marketing Degree

Depending on the level of qualification pursued, students who earn a Business Management in Marketing Degree can enjoy a host of rewarding and exciting career opportunities available within the marketing profession as well as other fields. Marketing majors can pursue middle to senior leadership positions in industrial marketing, education, health, sales, consulting and financial services. Other courses include web-based businesses, public relations, food services, advertising, government agencies, charities or political campaigns.
Marketing majors also have the option of beginning a career path as an entrepreneur, as the marketing skills you mastered in the classroom will help to model your business ideas into successful business ventures.
Average Salary with a Business Management in Marketing Degree

The average salary for graduates with a Business Management in Marketing Degree will vary significantly with the level of qualification, experience, skills, type of company and size, benefits, type of industry and location. Graduates with a Bachelor of Science (BS) Business Management in Marketing Degree working as a Marketing Coordinator or an Account Manager can earn anywhere between ,320 and ,691 per year, while a Marketing Researcher or Regional Sales Manager can expect a yearly salary hovering around ,000 and ,882.
Schools that offer an Online Business Management in Marketing Degree

Ferris State University

Leeds Trinity & All Schools University

Newcastle University
What are the pros and cons of earning an Online Business Management in Marketing Degree?
Pros

Flexibility: Most online programs schedule their online courses to accommodate the busy schedules of today’s working adults by offering day, night and weekend classes allowing them to study at their own pace depending on their learning capabilities.

Accreditation: With the rising popularity of distance learning, most organizations now recognize and accept degrees earned online, as most employees require online institutions to go through the same accreditation process as traditional on-campus institutions.
Cons

Hardware Intensive

Poor Accreditation

Lack of practical work experience as some online institutions do not provide internships

For more details kindly visit:
http://aboutonlinedegrees.org/blog/business-mgt-marketing/

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Deadly Business Financing Mistake to Avoid

Posted in Business Financing on January 31st, 2011
Business Financing
by bisgovuk

Avoiding the top 7 business financing mistakes is a key component in business survival.

If you start committing these business financing mistakes too often, you will greatly reduce any chance you have for longer term business success.

The key is to understand the causes and significance of each so that you’re in a position to make better decisions.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (1) – No Monthly Bookkeeping.

Regardless of the size of your business, inaccurate record keeping creates all sorts of issues relating to cash flow, planning, and business decision making.

While everything has a cost, bookkeeping services are dirt cheap compared to most other costs a business will incur.

And once a bookkeeping process gets established, the cost usually goes down or becomes more cost effective as there is no wasted effort in recording all the business activity.

By itself, this one mistake tends to lead to all the others in one way or another and should be avoided at all costs.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (2) – No Projected Cash Flow.

No meaningful bookkeeping creates a lack of knowing where you’ve been. No projected cash flow creates a lack of knowing where you’re going.  

Without keeping score, businesses tend to stray further and further away from their targets and wait for a crisis that forces a change in monthly spending habits.

Even if you have a projected cash flow, it needs to be realistic.

A certain level of conservatism needs to be present, or it will become meaningless in very short order.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (3) – Inadequate Working Capital

No amount of record keeping will help you if you don’t have enough working capital to properly operate the business.

That’s why its important to accurately create a cash flow forecast before you even start up, acquire, or expand a business.

Too often the working capital component is completely ignored with the primary focus going towards capital asset investments.

When this happens, the cash flow crunch is usually felt quickly as there is insufficient funds to properly manage through the normal sales cycle.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (4) – Poor Payment Management.

Unless you have meaningful working capital, forecasting, and bookkeeping in place, you’re likely going to have cash management problems.

The result is the need to stretch out and defer payments that have come due.

This can be the very edge of the slippery slope.

I mean, if you don’t find out what’s causing the cash flow problem in the first place, stretching out payments may only help you dig a deeper hole.

The primary targets are government remittances, trade payables, and credit card payments.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (5) – Poor Credit Management

There can be severe credit consequences to deferring payments for both short periods of time and indefinite periods of time.

First, late payments of credit cards are probably the most common ways in which both businesses and individuals destroy their credit.  

Second, NSF checks are also recorded through business credit reports and are another form of black mark.

Third, if you put off a payment too long, a creditor could file a judgement against you further damaging your credit.

Fourth, when you apply for future credit, being behind with government payments can result in an automatic turndown by many lenders.

It gets worse.

Each time you apply for credit, credit inquiries are listed on your credit report.  

This can cause two additional problems.  

First, multiple inquiries can reduce you overall credit rating or score.  

Second, lenders tend to be less willing to grant credit to a business that has a multitude of inquiries on its credit report.

If you do get into situations where you’re short cash for a finite period of time, make sure you proactively discuss the situation with your creditors and negotiate repayment arrangements that you can both live with and that won’t jeopardize your credit.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (6) – No Recorded Profitability

For startups, the most important thing you can do from a financing point of view is get profitable as fast as possible.

Most lenders must see at least one year of profitable financial statements before they will consider lending funds based on the strength of the business.

Before short term profitability is demonstrated, business financing is based primary on personal credit and net worth.

For existing businesses, historical results need to show profitability to acquire additional capital.

The measurement of this ability to repay is based on the net income recorded for the business by a third party accredited accountant.

In many cases, businesses work with their accountants to reduce business tax as much as possible but also destroy or restrict their ability to borrow in the process when the business net income is insufficient to service any additional debt.

>>> Business Financing Mistakes (7) – No Financing Strategy

A proper financing strategy creates 1) the financing required to support the present and future cash flows of the business, 2) the debt repayment schedule that the cash flow can service, and 3) the contingency funding necessary to address unplanned or unique business needs.

This sounds good in principle, but does not tend to be well practiced.

Why?

Because financing is largely an unplanned and after the fact event.

It seems once everything else is figured out, then a business will try to locate financing.

There are many reasons for this including: entrepreneurs are more marketing oriented, people believe financing is easy to secure when they need it, the short term impact of putting off financial issues are not as immediate as other things, and so on.

Regardless of the reason, the lack of a workable financing strategy is indeed a mistake.

However, a meaningful financing strategy is not likely to exist if one or more of the other 6 mistakes are present.

This reinforces the point that all mistakes listed are intertwined and when more than one is made, the effect of the negative result can become compounded.

Business Planning For Recession Survival and Recovery

Posted in Business Plans on January 31st, 2011
Business Plans
by I-5 Design & Manufacture

Business Planning 101
Business Plans
Image by khawaja

 The New Basics of Business

With unemployment continuing to rise, home prices falling due to a surplus of inventory, and small business lending at a standstill, this recession doesn’t seem likely to end soon.  The recovery will be slow and Americans will certainly not enjoy the prosperity of a few years ago for a long time to come.  It’s not just economists who think this way.  ”Half the population in [a] new ABC News poll  thinks both job security and retirement prospects in the years ahead will remain worse than their pre-recession levels.”  (“Poll: Less Job Security is the ‘New Normal,’” ABC News The Polling Unit, June 15, 2009, analysis by Gary Langer) This confidence, or lack thereof, is an integral part of an economic cycle.  The analysis goes on to say, “Those diminished expectations – plus the pain of the current downturn – are fueling retrenchments in consumer behavior that could fundamentally reshape the economy.”   

Basically, consumers are hunkering down to limit spending, save money, conserve resources, and change the way they’ve been living.  The major influence on the health of an economy is the psychological state of its consumers.  When there exists a broad belief that spending beyond necessity is unwise, people will change their habits and as a result, some businesses will have to close their doors.  The economy is molting into a new, leaner animal.  Rather than react in desperation to avoid doom, firms should interact with the current situation with innovative and forward thinking actions.  

No matter the economic slump, increasing profits is typically the number one goal of any business.  To ensure profitability, a company must demonstrate a competitive advantage over others in its industry, either by cost leadership (same product as competitors, lower price), differentiation (same price, better services), or focusing on an exclusive segment of the market (niche).  For long term maintenance of competitive advantage, a firm must ensure that its methods cannot be duplicated or imitated.  This requires constant analysis and regular reinvention of competitive strategies.  

A recession is the optimal time to reinvent competitive advantage because the pressure of a feeble economy will separate the strong businesses from the weak ones, with the weak falling out of the game entirely.  Your business will be strong if you have a plan of action based upon a little industry research, an analysis of what you have and what you want, and continuous monitoring of the results of your plan.  This kind of innovation is not only a necessity right now, but it is an opportunity to improve the quality and efficiency in the way you do business.  

The three basic actions for growing a business in any economic climate are: improve efficiency (maintain output while reducing inputs, such as time and money); increase volume (produce more in order to spread fixed costs); reorganize the business (change goals, methods and/or philosophy).  If you plan to implement one of these, you may as well plan to implement them all.  By focusing on one of the above strategies, you will find a ripple effect that causes a need to address the others.  This is a good thing.  

Right now, growth may sound like an unattainable goal as businesses are grappling just to survive, but hey, “flat is the new up.”  If a business can keep its doors open and lights on, then it’s doing better than many others.  But lights and open doors don’t make sales, so making changes that attract business is in a sense, striving for growth.  It won’t be this tough forever, but for now, putting some growth strategies into action may be what keeps your business alive, if not thriving.  

 

Every Business Needs a Plan  

Without a plan, there is little hope for growth, let alone survival.  As my small business development counselor, Terry Chambers says, “If it’s not written, it’s not real.”  That doesn’t mean it’s unchangeable, but it does show that you mean business.  In order to accomplish your strategies of improving efficiency, increasing volume, and reorganizing your business, you’ve got to examine what you have, what you want, and how you plan to get there.  

Sometimes it takes a significant event or change in existing conditions for a business to create a written plan.  I think it’s safe to say that the state of the economy is a significant change that should prompt business owners to alter the way they’ve been doing things.  If you already have a business plan, it’s time to get it out and revise it.  Make sure your plan includes answers to these questions:  

What do I want to accomplish? What do I have to work with? How have I done in the past? What might I do in the future? What will I do now? How will I do it? Is it working? 

 

A business plan can be used as a vehicle for accurate communication among principals, managers, staff, and outside sources of capital.  It will also help to identify, isolate, and solve problems in your structure, operations, and/or finances.  Along with these advantages, a business plan captures a view of the big picture, which makes a company better prepared to take advantage of opportunities for improvement and/or handle crises.  

Essentially, the three main elements of a business plan are strategies, actions, and financial projections.  In order to cover all of the principle elements, you will engage in other types of planning:   

Marketing plan: Includes analysis of your target market (your customers), as well as the competition within that market, and your marketing strategy.  This plan is usually part of the strategic plan. Strategic plan: Asses the impact of the business environment (STEER analysis: Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors).  Includes company vision, mission, goals and objectives, in order to plan three to five years into the future. Operational planning: With a focus on short-term actions, this type of planning usually results in a detailed annual work plan, of which the business plan contains only the highlights. Financial planning: The numerical results of strategic and operational planning are shown in budgets and projected financial statements; these are always included in the business plan in their entirety. Feasibility study: Before you decide to start a business or add something new to an existing business, you should perform an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis), as well as its financial feasibility, then asses its potential sales volume.

 

The process of business planning does not end when the written plan is complete.  Business planning is a cycle, which includes the following steps:  

Put your plan of action in writing. Make decisions and take action based upon the plan. Gauge the results of those actions against your expectations. Explore the differences, whether positive or negative, and write it all down. Modify your business plan based upon what you learned.

 

President of Palo Alto Software, Inc. and business planning coach Tim Berry says, “Planning isn’t complete unless you’ve planned for review.”  Review is the fundamental action that initiates putting your business plan into action.  In his blog at Entrepreneur.com, Berry lists some insightful strategies to making good use of your plan review, a few of which include keeping the review meetings as brief as possible and an emphasis on metrics as key to effective review.

Write your business plan in sessions.  Don’t think that you have to produce a business plan before go to bed tonight or you won’t be able to open your doors for business tomorrow.  I like Tim Berry’s Plan-As-You-Go method of business planning.  The practice of planning is an effective way to really get to know your business and you might end up discovering some important things about your company and about yourself.

There are various strategies and outlines available that will guide you in choosing the appropriate format for your business plan.  Check out the collection of sample business plans for a variety of businesses at Bplans dot com.  Every business is different, therefore every business plan will be structured differently, but for the purposes of this white paper, I will present the fundamental elements that make up strategic, operational, and financial planning.  Here is a basic outline, thanks to NxLevel® for Entrepreneurs (2005, Fourth Edition): 

 

             General Business Plan Outline  

                Cover Page  

                Table of Contents  

                Executive Summary  

                Mission, Goals and Objectives  

                                General Description of the Business  

                                                Stage of Development  

                                                General Growth Plan Description  

                                Mission Statement  

                                Goals and Objectives  

                Background Information  

                                The Industry  

                                                Background Industry Information  

                                                Current/Future Industry Trends  

                                The Business Fit in the Industry  

                Organizational Matters  

                                Business Structure, Management and Personnel  

                                                Management  

                                                Personnel  

                                                Outside Services/Advisors  

                                                Risk Management  

                                Operating Controls  

                                                Recordkeeping Functions  

                                                Other Operational Controls  

                The Marketing Plan  

                                Products/Services  

                                                Products/Services Description  

                                                Features/Benefits  

                                                Life Cycles/Seasonality  

                                                Growth Description (Future Products/Services)  

                                The Market Analysis  

                                                Customer Analysis  

                                                Competitive Analysis  

                                                Market Potential  

                                                                Current Trade Area Description  

                                                                Market Size and Trends  

                                                                Sales Volume Potential (Current and Growth)  

                                Marketing Strategies  

                                                Location/Distribution  

                                                Price/Quality Relationship  

                                                Promotional Strategies  

                                                                Packaging  

                                                                Public Relations  

                                                                Advertising  

                                                                Customer Service  

                The Financial Plan  

                                Financial Worksheets  

                                                Salaries/Wages & Benefits  

                                                Outside Services  

                                                Insurance  

                                                Advertising Budget  

                                                Occupancy Expense  

                                                Sales Forecasts  

                                                Cost of Projected Product Units  

                                                Fixed Assets  

                                                Growth (or Start-Up) Expenses  

                                                Miscellaneous Expenses  

                                Cash Flow Projections  

                                                Break-Even Analysis  

                                                Monthly Cash Flow Projections – First Year  

                                                Notes to Cash Flow Projections (Assumptions)  

                                                Annual Cash Flow Projections – Years Two and Three  

                                Financial Statements  

                                                Projected Income Statement  

                                                Balance Sheet  

                                                Statement of Owner’s Equity  

                                Additional Financial Information  

                                                Summary of Financial Needs  

                                                Existing Debt  

                                                Personal Financial Statement  

                Appendix Section  

                                Action Log  

                                Supporting Documents (Resumes, Research Citations, etc.)

 

Executive Summary  

A business plan starts with an executive summary, which is a one or two page summary of your business plan, or an introduction to your business.  Although this section is at the beginning of the business plan, it is the last thing to be written.  You’ll be able to condense your business plan more succinctly once you have the opportunity to work through the other parts of the plan.  The executive summary may be the only thing a potential investor or financier will read, so write it last because it has to be the most compelling.  

Start by writing a description of your business, including what stage of development it is currently in (conception, start-up, first year, mature, exit) and your plans for growth.  Discuss the nature of your business, the main products and services you offer, the market for your products and services, and how and by whom the business is operated.  

 

Mission Statement  

Then work on your mission statement.  Here is where you concisely state the focus, scope and hope of your business (or values, vision, philosophy, and purpose).  What is the customer pain you are soothing, the need you fulfill?  Here’s an example from Coca-Cola: 

“Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.  

To refresh the world… To inspire moments of optimism and happiness… To create value and make a difference.”

 

PepsiCo has a different take:   

“Our mission is to be the world’s premier consumer products company focused on convenient foods and beverages. We seek to produce financial rewards to investors as we provide opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees, our business partners and the communities in which we operate. And in everything we do, we strive for honesty, fairness and integrity.”  

This is the mission statement of Inspiration Software®, Inc.:  

“Our company strives to support improvements in education and business and to make a positive difference in our users’ lives by providing software tools that help people of all ages use visual thinking and visual learning to achieve academic, professional and personal goals.”  

 

Goals and Objectives  

Next, outline your company goals and objectives, including long-term and short-term goals.  You will get into more detail on how the goals will be accomplished in your operational plan and annual work plan, so focus on brevity at this stage.  There is a difference between goals and objectives and it’s important to know what that is.  I like how Andrew Smith explains it in The Business Plan Blog.  Objectives are non-emotional, precise descriptions of what is needed to achieve a goal.  Goals can involve emotion and don’t have to be as specific as objectives.  Objectives are the steps to actualizing the goal.  Here’s an example:  

Goal:  

                To have positive cash flow by the end of the year.  

Objectives:  

                Increase sales by 50%.  

                Offer customers a 1% discount for paying invoices within 10 days.  

                Increase efforts to collect on accounts receivable before invoices have aged 60 days.  

Of course, you will need a plan of strategies in order to accomplish each objective, but those details will be expounded upon in your annual work plan.  A list of three short-term and three long-term goals, along with the objectives necessary to achieve them, is sufficient for most business plans.  Remember to replace the goals and objectives with new ones as you check them off your list.

 

Background Information  

The section that details the background information should start with identifying the industry your business is in.  Even if you are not a member or have no intention of becoming involved, you should list any trade associations within that industry; you never know when you made need those connections.  Find out what publications, magazines or journals are available to businesses in your industry.  Use these and other sources of business information to identify how past trends (economic, social, political) affected the industry, as well as any current or future trends that may have an impact.  

How does your business fit in the industry?  What is the history of your business, including who started it, what changes have occurred, when was it started, where was and is it located, how was it started and operated, and why it was started?  What barriers to entry, if any, have you recognized?  

   

Organizational Matters  

The ownership hierarchy of your business, the management structure, and the personnel are described in the section on organizational matters.  This part of the plan deals with who, what and how your business runs.  Who is in charge of what and how are they qualified?  Discuss how the various parts of your business interact together; include details about outside contractors and consultants and what functions they perform.  See the example below, thanks to Edraw Soft Vector-Based Graphic Design.  

The organizational section of the business plan also needs to include an explanation of your record keeping process, checks and balances, and control management systems.  Anyone who reads your business plan should be able to understand the organizational procedures for running your business day-to-day, as well as in an emergency situation.  

The risk management plan needs to be fleshed out in the organizational section as well, including your risk strategy, the different types of insurance required, your contingency plans, and problem-solving protocols.  What will you do if a natural disaster ruins part of your inventory?  How will you handle the sudden illness or long-term absence of a key manager?  What happens if you are unable to finish a project on schedule?  What are some early warning signs to watch for?  

It may not be pleasant to imagine all the “what ifs,” but doing it now and planning for those unexpected events will improve your company’s chances of surviving a storm.  For an excellent step-by-step guide on the details of developing a risk management plan, see the article “How to Develop a Risk Management Plan,” by Charles Tremper at wikiHow.com.  

   

Marketing Plan  

The next section, themarketing plan, gets into the details of what your business offers and what market it serves.  Marketing is the communication of how your products and services “ease customer pain.”  Show the problem and how your business solves it.  Marketing is a necessity for every business because once your doors are open, you must invite customers to come in.  Everything you do in your business that affects customers is marketing because it sends a message about your company.  

This part of the plan details the features and benefits of your products and services, their seasonality and life cycle, as well as any future products and services you are planning.  It also includes a thorough market analysis, in which you will study your customers, your competition and the market itself.  Here you should include a PEST analysis, in which you will consider the impact of various factors upon your business.  The factors include combinations of the following, depending upon your business:  social, technological, economic, environmental, political, legal, ethical, and demographic.  

Studying your market will give you insight as to how you can make your business more appealing to people.  Market research is more than just noticing trends in your customers’ buying habits; it’s discovering what motivates your customer to buy.  Don’t assume that you already know because you’ve been in this business for years.  This study often unearths characteristics about your market that are hidden or new.  It’s best to discover these things before your competition.  

Another key element to the marketing section of your business plan is an outline of your marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics.  Writing down the avenues you travel in order to market your business will afford you the opportunity to record what worked and what didn’t work.  You must be able to measure and calculate the results of your marketing efforts, otherwise, what’s the point?  If you don’t know if something is working for or against you, then it’s working against you.  

Include details about all of the following that are applicable to your business in the marketing section of your plan: location and distribution, and promotional strategies, such as packaging, public relations, advertising, and customer service.  As a result of exploring these areas, you will naturally need to consider how much you will budget for your marketing efforts.  This question is closely connected to your sales forecast, which leads us into the next section of the business plan.  

  

Financial Plan  

The financial plan consists of four sections: Financial Worksheets, Cash Flow Projections, Financial Statements, and Additional Financial Information.  All of these components will tell the story of how you plan to start or grow your business from a financial perspective.  It is vital that you explain the assumptions under which you have based your projections, for example, “We assume that there are no unforeseen changes in economic policy to make our products and service immediately obsolete.” or “We assume interest rates will stay the same over the next three years.” (both quotes from Bplans.com sample business plans)  

I suggest that you construct easy to read tables and graphs for the financial portion of the plan.  The worksheets suggested are: Salaries/Wages and Benefits, Outside Services, Insurance, Advertising Budget, Occupancy Expense, Sales Forecasts, Cost of Projected Product Units, Fixed Assets, Growth (or Start-Up) Expenses, and Miscellaneous Expenses.  You may find some of the worksheet templates at PlanWare.org to be useful.  

The expected revenues and expenses for at least a year should be projected in the cash flow section of the Financial Plan.  It’s better to make conservative predictions rather than be too optimistic when it comes to cash flows.  As part of this section, a break-even analysis is essential.  This is the “amount of units sold or sales dollars necessary to recover all expenses associated with generating these sales.” (NxLevel for Entrepreneurs, 2005)  The formula for calculating the break-even quantity is Total Fixed Costs/(Price – Average Variable Costs).  

The financial statements section should show the way things are now if you have an existing business, as well as a forward look at your checking account, or projected income statement.  The only way a start-up company can provide an income statement and balance sheet is by projecting these figures based upon well defined assumptions.  Both start-ups and existing businesses should include a statement of owner’s equity.  

An income statement shows revenues minus expenses, in order to calculate net income or net loss.  Start-ups should project these expected results for the first twelve months of business, then quarterly for the next two years.  A list of a company’s assets (what you own), liabilities (what you owe), and net worth (assets minus liabilities) is called a balance sheet.  The statement of owner’s equity shows the owner’s initial investment, additional investments, and retained earnings, minus owner withdrawals.  

The additional financial information at the end of this part of the plan should give a summary of your business’s financial needs in order to grow, show its debt position, and state the owner’s financial status.  

   

Appendix  

In the appendix, which is the final section, an action plan or timeline for implementing the business plan should be presented.  This is where the detailed goals and objectives are expanded in a work plan.  Also, include in this section any additional information or supporting documents that are relevant to your business plan, such as important research, marketing materials, product specifications, and owner and employee résumés.  

   

Executive Summary  

Now that you have written the hard part of your business plan, it’s time to write the fun part, the executive summary. As mentioned in the beginning of this white paper, this is the most important piece of the business plan because it illustrates the very essence of your business in a captivating and condensed form.  If you ever share your business plan with a potential investor or potential buyer, the executive summary may be the only thing that is read.   

Make the executive summary brief (no more than two pages), but make sure you showcase the best qualities of your business without glossing over important information; show why yours is a winning business.  Write one to three sentences about each of the following:  

General description of the business Mission statement Management structure Business operations Products/services, the market and your customer Your marketing plan, including the competition Financial projections and plans

 

A clear, concise, and convincing executive summary will intrigue your audience and inspire them to read the rest of your plan.  If the plan is never seen by anyone outside of your business, don’t assume it was a waste of time.  During the planning process, you will have worked through an enlightening exercise that prepares you to run and grow a better business.  

Having this written document available for frequent consultation and review will improve your chances of not only surviving, but coming out strong on the other side of this recession.  Most people think that knowing in the back of their mind what they plan to do is sufficient for survival or recovery, but the difference between a written plan and an idea is usually the difference between failure and success.  

   

   

 

Related Business Plans Articles

Business Development

Posted in Business Development on January 31st, 2011
Business Development
by USDAgov

World Business and Development Awards 2010
Business Development
Image by United Nations Development Programme
World Business and Development Awards 2010 – Co-organised by UNDP, International Chamber of Commerce, International Business Leaders Forum.

How will you gain new clients and increase revenue?

Finding new customers is an ongoing process in any business. In order to be successful every business needs a plan for brining in new clients. Without new clients – most of us won’t be in business for long. You may have customers today but you need to plan for tomorrow.

Keeping the pipeline full of hot leads, warm leads and cold calls is essential.  I find that most businesses, no matter what they’re selling, can benefit from putting processes in place to develop new business. Business development should be part of everything we do. When you’re networking you’re building potential new clients, when you’re engaging in social media you’re making new relationships and when you’re involved in your communities you’re representing your businesses. Everything you do can be business development – yet that’s not enough – you must have a business development plan.

During a recession many businesses feel the pinch because they had stopped strategically developing new business when times were good. When times are good – there are more customers and they are spending more. When things get tight, money is scarce and people are more cautious. If you don’t make business development a priority activity in your business, a down economy could put you out of business.

Now is the time to make a renewed commitment to developing new business. Add prospecting processes to your business plan, hire outside help or just pick up the phone and start calling. Prospecting can be scary. Most business owners say they are terrified of making cold calls. It is hard, it can be scary and discouraging but it brings results. By practicing telling others what you do and the value you can offer them, you get better at marketing. You get more comfortable selling your business and in turn customers are more attracted to your business.

Confidence attracts new clients. If you show up in all your prospecting activities with confidence, you have already won half the battle.

There are many ways to develop new business. All the activities in this workbook are designed to develop new business. When you combine all your marketing strategies with an effective prospecting process – you’re setting yourself up for success.

Make a plan for how you will handle all leads and how you will cold call or prospect.

Hot leads are the leads that call you. They are HOT because they are ready to buy, have the resources to buy and may have been referred by another client. Hot leads MUST be followed up on immediately. Think about how you will handle this. Think about who will be responsible for returning these calls or making the sales presentation to HOT leads. These leads need to be followed up with within 24 hours. A hot lead will not remain hot is there needs are not met – they want your attention and they want it now.

In addition to following up with hot leads, think through how you will handle them if they say they need to think about it or are looking at a competitor as well. Make a plan for how you will follow up and when.

I call all hot leads to check in once a week. I want to stay in front of them and let them know I’m still here and would love to do business with them. In addition, after the initial phone call I send them my full marketing kit. They can get it on my website but I like to send a hard copy out with a handwritten note thanking them for their time and interest.

Warm leads are people who are considering buying. They may call you or someone you know may ask you to call this lead. Warm leads need more attention. They need to know what you do, what’s in it for them and why they should pick you. It is a good idea to try to meet with warm leads face-to-face if possible. You want to make sure you ask warm leads lots of questions. You need to understand what they are looking for and determine if you are a good fit. If your business can meet their needs, you must show them how. Keep your conversations about their issue and the solution you offer.

After an initial contact with a warm lead, I again send a marketing packet with a handwritten note. I then call warms leads every other week for a month or so. After that I call to check in once every other month. The time between calls depends on the type of business you are in and the product you are selling. I don’t want to be a pest to these potential clients but I want to stay in front of them. I have had some warm leads hang around for a year or so before they bought. Stay close to your warm leads – you never know when they’ll get HOT!

Cold leads are people who don’t know you exist. They won’t come to you – you must go to them. They don’t know you and they may not even need or want what you offer. Cold contacts are made with potential clients to find out if there is a fit between this person and your product. It’s a discovery process.

When making cold contacts, you must tell them up front what’s in it for them. If they give you time, you need to be prepared to share the value you offer and why you are different from your competitors. In addition you want to ask them questions and add them to your contact list.

Building a prospect list is essential to any marketing campaign. If you’re going to use cold calling, you need a list. This is why having a clear target market is critical. If you know who you’re targeting there are many ways to build a prospecting list. You can buy lists from a marketing firm or you can build lists from scratch if you have the time to do your own research. I have used both techniques successfully.

In our construction company we bought lists of our target market. We used these lists to begin our cold calling campaign with a welcome letter. The letter welcomed them to the area and introduced our business. A few weeks later we followed up with a call to the homeowner to introduce ourselves. During this call we often learned whether they had any remodeling plans in the near future. If they did they got put onto our call list and we stayed in touch with them through calls, newsletters and special mailings. If they didn’t have any immediate plans, we kept them in our database and sent them all special mailings.

In my speaking and consulting business I’ve built my own lists. I used the internet to find organizations in my target market. Once I identify an organization, I send them an introductory email. I then follow up a few weeks later with a phone call. If they have any interest in my services now or in the future, I add them to my database and stay in front of them on a monthly basis. If they’re not a good fit, they fall off the list. Remember you choose your clients just as they choose you. If I make a cold call and know there’s not a good fit – there’s no point in continuing to market to that person. 

It’s important to have a good CRM software tool to use when building your list. I use Act for this, though there are other ones out there. In addition, I use Constant Contact for my newsletter subscriptions. This is a secure way to email potential clients.

The key to building a successful business development strategy is to track everything. If you can’t track your success ratio with business building activities – you’ll never know what works and what doesn’t. Business development will be an ongoing process – it’s never complete. It’s work to stay consistently in front of potential clients and follow-up with all leads. Tracking activities will help you see where to focus your energies and keep you on track.

Lastly, business development should be fun. Growing a business is a journey. In order to remain passionate about what you do, you must stay connected and engaged. Making prospecting fun and then standing back to see the rewards will help you to build a solid, profitable business – one that will survive and thrive during any economy.

Small Business Resources Tips

Posted in Starting small businesses on January 31st, 2011
Starting small businesses
by LunaWeb

DSC_8018
Starting small businesses
Image by t-dot-s-dot
Here are the cards in their initial strips.

Casey and Adrienne are starting a small business playing music at weddings and in the studio. Casey plays cello and Adrienne plays violin.

To set up we created some great silkscreened business cards. I’ve detailed our process here: tylorsherman.com/node/1044/

Tell everyone you know, they are really great musicians and are eager to play!

Small Business development is quit so hard for the starting individuals. It needs great patience that matters to obtain financial freedom most likely the potential for you to go on other friends as well as travel more and to spend more time with your family. Starting your small business must hit the ground running and have a victorious take off. You must also consider prior to your small business start up. It is great for you to start now.

Any one who aims to build a small business first need to have business plan. However, another need is your marketing plans that you are going to use in order to make sure that what ever business you have is being noticed. The best use of this business plan will identify the business you wanted to build as well as your goals and the basic outline on your business being run. Continues research and deep study on different marketing strategies is also needed to have a better business. Better plans have better results on business.

Different marketing strategies are the deep roots of any business. These are the best methods to determine the success of your small business. You are also advised to consider a more careful marketing strategy as well as correct combination to build as to ensure the success of your small business. Right combination of this strategy will also produced successful marketing sales as starting business.

In this global economic crisis minimal marketing always rely on small businesses. This is the result of too much financial problems; besides do not be afraid to start up a new one because there are still best marketing strategies that could greatly help you. You have to get as many attentions as you can so that you can attract more sources. Experts believe that internet marketing has great points as technology and its development have over current years.

Starting small business needs further marketing methods. This is for the reason that you have the options not to have large budget to spend on different marketing strategies. Marketing via internet is very much advantageous. You have also to consider some computer options especially hardware and software’s. These methods should be always considered to maintain methods.

This consideration on different internet marketing made it easy that helps to ensure that even new businesses have the ability to compete with other businesses. Experts believe that marketing strategies and processes and finding the best combination is essential for the new business and its success.

Starting a new business is a more serious endeavor. It is always important to plan on how you want your business to run and also on how to market your business. There are so many options that help our new business men and women to use different effective marketing strategies. As long as you have the best plans on how to maintain your business. This is a BIG help to make your business a very successful one.

Experts believe on the best business are guided with different ideas of different people that is already in the top of the economy. They have been very helpful to the beginners. They have many articles in the internet as well as sites that produce e books and online tutorials in order to give you the exclusive techniques on business.

Save Money with Small Business Management Software

Posted in Business Management on January 31st, 2011
Business Management
by vancouverfilmschool

Why management innovation is so hard
Business Management
Image by opensourceway
Read the article on opensource.com
opensource.com/business/10/11/why-management-innovation-s…

Created by Libby Levi for opensource.com

Small businesses owners often find that there are certain times of the year when cash flow is not as healthy as it could be. This could be due to the fact that the business has seasonal customers, money being spent wastefully or through outmoded business practices. Regardless of the reason as to why money is being lost one thing is for certain – good business owners and managers are all looking for a way to save the business money.

One way to save money in a small business is to implement small business management software. Software such as this enables a business with less than 50 employees to be operated via one software application. By being able to switch to one application a small business owner can save thousands every year as all other applications that require a monthly or annual fee to be discontinued.

As soon as they see just what small business management software can do many business owners and managers are keen to start using it. Not only can small business management software save a business money in terms of slashing the number of applications a business has to pay for it also saves money in other ways such as:

•    Increasing the number of leads that are converted into sales with ease. When using small business management software an employee can create a quote and save this to a customer’s file. This will contain their contact details and other relevant information. If this quote is not accepted within a certain period of time, this lead can then be chased up by the sales department.

•    By ensuring that projects are always completed on time a business will not lose customers. With small business management software projects can be assigned and tracked in real time. Managers and owners can quickly and easily check on projects that are nearing their due date in order to ensure that they are progressing as they should be. By utilizing this feature projects should never be behind schedule ever again, which means that money will be saved in the long run through customer retention.

•    Small business management software also allows employee calendars to be seen by owners and managers at a glance. This means that projects and so on can be planned with regard to staffing numbers. Money is therefore saved by ensuring that all employees are working to capacity and not being diverted to projects which are already fully subscribed.

•    As small business management software is web based it means that it can be accessed from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection. So if a manager or owner is away from the office on business they can access the application and get any information that they need. This saves business money as laptops and mobile internet is not required when an owner or manager visits potential customers.
These are just a few of the ways in which small business management software can save a business money each month.

Commercial Mortgage and Business Finance – Real Estate Investing

Posted in Business Financing on January 31st, 2011
Business Financing
by Iron Man Records

Vince Cable 1
Business Financing
Image by bisgovuk
Business Secretary Vince Cable launches the Government’s Green Paper on business finance at a press conference in London.

For more information, see www.bis.gov.uk/news/topstories/2010/Jul/finance-green-paper

A complicated business finance process can occur when an investor previously familiar only with residential real estate begins investing in commercial real estate investment property and business opportunity situations. Before a borrower attempts to buy a business, it is important to develop a business loan and commercial mortgage strategy.

There are many key differences between financing for commercial property investing and residential real estate investments. Because more residential property investors are exploring commercial real estate and business finance opportunities, this business opportunity financing and business loan report is designed to help educate new commercial investors about key commercial mortgage and commercial loan issues.

Rather than specifically focusing on issues that differentiate business financing from residential financing (which we have thoroughly analyzed in separate reports), this report will offer a few key observations regarding business finance elements that are often overlooked in new business investment considerations. These factors include credit card processing, business cash advance options and working capital management.

Coordinating Credit Card Processing and Business Cash Advance Programs -

Many business investments will involve the use of credit card processing decisions. These business activities should be analyzed simultaneously with business cash advance programs for several reasons. If done properly, a business should reduce their costs and improve their cash flow.

Reducing Credit Card Processing Costs in Business Investing -

One of the biggest benefits of coordinating credit card processing with a business cash advance program is the real potential that overall costs can be reduced. Such an advantage is likely to be available in conjunction with the most progressive programs by linking a low cost credit card processor with the best merchant cash advance program. Many of the best credit card processors will not be available for businesses other than through a high-quality credit card financing arrangement.

Improve Cash Flow for Business Investments -

Credit card factoring strategies can produce a business cash advance up to several hundred thousand dollars. For most businesses, this level of financing is not routinely available via other business finance programs. The decision to choose credit card financing to secure a merchant cash advance is an increasingly practical business financing response to business lenders eliminating line of credit programs.

It is important to realize that there are certain key limitations and potential difficulties with business cash advance strategies. New business owners will occasionally eliminate using a merchant cash advance without adequately considering the overall benefits because they are confused by this business finance approach. Although credit card factoring is frequently considered to be a short-term commercial financing strategy, there are also effective longer-term variations which should not be overlooked.

Working Capital Management Strategies -

Obtaining a working capital loan is usually more effective when arranged in conjunction with buying a business. However many lenders do not adequately address this issue in the early business finance stages. Before completing a purchase offer to buy a business, all business loan issues should be discussed in order to fully understand overall commercial financing choices and limitations.

After acquiring a business, it is more likely that business or personal collateral will be a necessity in getting working capital financing. One major exception to this common collateral requirement will be the use of a business cash advance and credit card factoring as mentioned above.

Additional Key Investment Business Finance and Real Estate Mortgage Issues -

As previously noted, commercial mortgage and commercial loan requirements are very different from residential financing requirements in the United States. Additional business finance reports include a discussion of many other significant financing factors. Other reports address important subjects such as business opportunity loans, business appraisals, stated income business loan options and SBA loan programs.

Most of the additional articles will provide further detail about topics discussed in this report as well as offering business financing solutions for numerous other complex business loan situations. For example, some SBA loan processes can include working capital as part of the total initial financing. For those interested in learning more about both potential advantages and problems associated with coordinating credit card processing and business cash advance services, there are several additional resources (such as The Working Capital Journal) which will facilitate a better understanding of these complex business finance issues.

More Business Financing Articles

Planning A Business 4 Inside Secrets Of A Business Planning Director

Posted in Business Plans on January 30th, 2011
Business Plans
by Ivan Walsh

Business Planning Class
Business Plans
Image by Phil Sexton
Diane’s view

Planning A Business 4 Inside Secrets Of A Business Planning Director #1 Businesses Opportunities

Every business planning director understands that businesses opportunities are only any use if effective business planning is implemented to capitalise on the opportunities.

Business consultancy firms are often retained to help develop these business opportunities by providing access to new business grants, and/orbusiness loans specifically provided to enhance business development.

Consultancy provides an effective platform for planning a business for long term sustainable growth.

Planning A Business 4 Inside Secrets Of A Business Planning Director #2 Business Planning

General George S. Patton said “a good plan executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” This statement rings relevant for planning a business.

A business planning director looking at business planning, usually looks beyond businesses opportunities to the business development plans required to ensure business success. 4 inside secrets of business consultancy firms & consultancy includes new business grants & business loans.

Planning A Business 4 Inside Secrets Of A Business Planning Director #3 New Business Grants

Every business planning director recognises that all businesses opportunities require business planning , business development and business loans.

When working with business consultancy firms one of the business planning director 4 inside secrets is to identify new business grants relevant to planning a business growth strategy.

Outsourced consultancy is generally a good route to market for sourcing new business grants.

Planning A Business 4 Inside Secrets Of A Business Planning Director #4 Business Loans

It is rare for any business planning director to consistently exceed performance expectations without adequate financial resources.

One of the 4 inside secrets of planning a business to exploit any businesses opportunities is to identify business consultancy firms who have access to business loans for business development.

Consultancy may also have access to new business grants which are typically provide added value to your business planning. Business loans form the backbone of many businesses seeking long term sustainable business growth.

Businesses opportunities new business grants talks about availing grants for new businesses and available opportunities.

When planning a business to grow on the back of identified businesses opportunities new business grants is an idea mainly for new age entrepreneurs who intend to jump on the bandwagon of entrepreneurship.

Numerous business opportunities exist for entrepreneurs who are ready to use innovation as the key feature of their enterprises and offer value added products and services to customers.

Every business planning director entrepreneur needs to identify the opportunities and the needs of the customers and offer the right products and services to the customers.

One of the most important points that needs to be remembered is that the business planning director entrepreneur needs to be passionate about the business planning in order to successfully operate and grow it in the long run.

A recently published survey revealed an important consultancy. statistic about business opportunities.

Business consultancy firms state there are more than a million business opportunities currently in the personal care and lifestyle category and these business development opportunities are only going to see an exponential increase in the years to come as new business grants and business loans are made available to aid growth.

Raising capital for new business is also becoming easier with multiple options now available in the form of venture capital, private equity and low cost borrowings.

However, one of the most lucrative forms of capital is the business grant provided by many federal and state governments.

The International Business Guru says new business grants offer the best opportunity available for today’s entrepreneurs and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to make use of this opportunity to set up small businesses and develop them with the right business development strategies.

Once at the stage of planning a business, small businesses, especially in the category of personal care and lifestyle can use innovative processes and business strategies to provide cost efficient products and services to customers.

Many a business planning director outsources consultancy for the provision of special business training courses to young entrepreneurs on setting up small businesses and on the process of obtaining new business grants and business loans.

Business consultancy firms also provide vital assistance, business planning and business development consultancy services in devising correct business strategies.

It is important that entrepreneurs make use of available businesses opportunities and business loans capital to setup small and lean enterprises and make them grow into large businesses. Business Planning And Business Loans

Business planning and business loans outlines how a business planning director obtains loans for planning a business, nurturing businesses opportunities, implementing a business setup and business development.

The International Business Guru is often approached by business organizations on different aspects of business planning and he emphasizes that every business needs to do a lot of groundwork while devising a business plan before approaching the financial institutions and bankers for business loans.

Business planning and business loans takes a closer look at the process of devising the detailed business plan and its importance for raising business capital.

Business planning should consider all aspects of business, including projected growth in revenues, Sales pattern, geographical spread of customers, logistics costs, inventories, investments in capital equipment and cash flow.

With the improvement in the liquidity situation, bankers are more than happy to lend to businesses provided the business plan is well documented and elaborately explains how the organization is going to deploy the funds it intends to borrow and how it plans to repay the borrowed funds.

Before lending money, every banker would want to know his customers well and therefore the plan document should ensure that it makes the bankers understand the business correctly.

Bankers would also want to know the financial background of the promoters of the business in order to assess the risk level of lending. Hence the plan document should also include financial background of the promoters and may also insist on records of tax returns of preceding years and also bank statements.

In addition to these points, the plan documents may also include other relevant details like how the company will achieve its business development and growth objectives and the succession planning details in the event of the unfortunate death of the chief promoter.

Banks will also be keen to hear about any business consultancy firms associated with your company. They will also require proof of any new business grants you may have obtained.

In the interest of the business organization, it is also necessary that the business organization documents the budgeted spend on different business areas and assets.

It may be necessary for the business planning director to go through Business training courses offered via outsourced consultancy or avail services of business consultancy firms and business management consultants to complete the business planning and business development process meticulously.

When planning a business 4 inside secrets of a business planning director will enable you to look towards long term sustainable business growth as part of your strategic business growth and expansion plan.

The Evolving World of Business Development

Posted in Business Development on January 30th, 2011

It is common knowledge that new projects and business ventures provide the backbone for our economy as job creation is vital to America’s future. However, a paradigm shift in project finance coupled by tough economic times has caused many projects to stall amidst diminished sources of funding. While finding the money to launch, expand, or sustain business ventures is growing more difficult, a new concept of business development procured by FBS Corp may provide the key to unlocking success.

Business development is an emerging concept that reaches beyond simply creating a business plan. It aims to increase the odds of a business gaining the funds needed to achieve and sustain success. Further, experts in this arena believe they can revolutionize how businesses of this nature gain funding by providing a proven, multi-tiered roadmap to tap into unconventional monetary sources.

 “Our team believes that the suite of services it offers in business development can have a profound impact on the financing industry,” said Jay Landolfo, VP of Business Development at FBS Corp. “We have created a system that prepares our clients seeking additional funding to achieve an optimal level of success in both receiving funds and proceeding thereafter.”

 The business development model developed by FBS Corp is based on a multi-faceted approach that reaches far beyond more traditional methods. In the face of spiraling global economic trends and increased competition for venture capital and bank loans, it is extremely important that projects implement innovative methods to prepare themselves for investor expectations.

 It is no longer acceptable for businesses that seek additional funds to simply write a business plan, develop a marketing strategy and perform feasibility studies. Investors are looking for more information to ensure a safe return on their investment.

Business development is now being viewed as a revolutionary approach to preparing ventures for funding. It concentrates on the many intangibles typically dismissed or ignored by the more traditional methods. Professionals in this arena help clients develop a strong internal team as a foundation for future success. In addition, these experts also facilitate investor relations by opening new avenues of communication.

Internet marketing and website design initiatives provide a cost-effective, efficient means of gaining a competitive advantage in the crowded market of project finance. These resources are targeted, measurable methods for creating two-way forums in which information can be shared amongst budding business ventures and potential investors.

Such relationship development is a key cog in increasing the likelihood of achieving funding. By discovering what the investor is looking for in a project and aligning these needs with the client’s vision, FBS Corp is able to prepare projects to exceed investor expectations while positioning its clients to achieve optimal success. Business development and its concentration on building relations helps clarify a vision, helping investors understand the project’s feasibility and profitability.

“FBS Corp actively seeks to work with investors on business enterprises aimed at changing the world one project at a time. We are committed to helping investors who feel passionately about the project he or she is investing in by only accepting projects with moral and social values,” added Landolfo.

In addition, the FBS Corp’s business development model seeks to achieve long-term success. It is no secret that many businesses fail even after gaining additional funds. However, business development provides in-depth analyses and planning as well as team development, providing the necessary tools to help transform a vision into a successful operation. Such planning allows a business to foresee future obstacles within its respective market while further convincing investors of its potential for success.

Though business development is an emerging process, it provides a blueprint for translating ideas into profitable services or products. By guiding projects from their conceptual stages through implementation, business development may provide the foundation for future success within the finance industry.

“This new standard in project preparation and management has the potential to help rejuvenate our communities and create more jobs, serving as the answer to many questions currently surrounding the global economy,” said Landolfo.

FBS Corp’s business development matrix possesses all of the tools and resources needed to not only help individual projects and businesses, but may ultimately revolutionize the way in which we approach the financial industry.


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