Accounting 255

There are many things I learned in accounting 255 that will help me to become a lot more successful in the process of opening my own business.  The learning of how to use an electronic tool such as the internet is very useful for every to know.  It will help you to maximize your potential revenue and use a tool which will also enable you to use the largest marketing front known.  Here is just a few of the things I have learned.

1) I learned how to create, update, and maintain a blog.  This lets me share my thoughts and professional views and stances on issues that I care about.
2) I learned how to use Google AdSense which allows me to earn money advertising depending on the traffic amount I am seeing.
3) I learned about affiliation with other online retailers to get a commission.
4) I learned how to use Google analytics to track the performance of my web site.
5) I learned how to use search engine listings.
6) I learned about click-to-pay and other advertising programs
7) I learned how to make an e-book
8) I learned how to make an online virtual identity.
9) I learned how to use other blogs as a resource
10) I learned how to use other peoples websites as a source
11) I learned about various online business models
12) I learned about utilizing new technology in innovative new ways
13) I learned about several different types of web pages
14) I learned the many types of blog postings
15) I learned about linking and how to promote your website
16) I learned about advertising placement
17) I learned about ClickBank products and how to make your own

Finale?

It has truly been a pleasure to do all this research on a topic I love as much as small business.  I would like to thank all my readers and I am going to post a link to this blog on other peoples blogs in the hopes that we can all benefit from the sharing of knowledge.  There can never be too much information available for those who want it.  In today's day and age information is the supreme tool in making educated business decisions and gambles.

I do not know if this will be my last blog post ever, as I would like to continue to post to this blog if interest remains high.  However I don't think I will update this blog as regularly, but who knows?  I would love it if all of you would visit my website which can be found at two different address here and here.  This website goes into details about aspects of small businesses and the entrepreneurs founding them which I find to be the most important.  My advice comes from a love of small business, from my academic discipline focusing on small business, and from my job which is also a small business.

Overall, I would just like to leave all you young businessmen and women with the idea that you should do something you enjoy doing.  As a restaurant manager I can't say that every day is an easy day and there are failures and successes that come with my experiences there.  Overall I love the idea of the restaurant, I love my customers, and I love working there.  The culture is great and I don't think I could have a better learning experience to help me in the small business or the corporate world. 

Good luck everyone and thanks for reading!
Michael Wiseman

Young Business Stars

I'm finally coming to the conclusion (possibly) of my blog which presents a lot of advice to the young and inexperienced entrepreneurs.  I figured that all this advice that I give is good and researched advice, but wouldn't you like to find out from people who are young and successful in their own small business adventures?  In order to provide some real-world examples who give real world advice I found a video on CNN, where there is a video of three of the top 40 under 40 business people, as listed by Fortune.  This video can be found here, under the title of hot young business stars. 

 All the material I used here is useful but there is nothing like real-world experience and these experts have it in plenty despite their young age.  They have plenty of advice which is useful but the common theme is that they were ambitious and confident.  This confidence enables them to talk to and debate with people who are their elders in the business world.  Confidence is the key to a young business person being successful, as they must be totally devoted and confident of their abilities to work at a high level. 

Please watch this short video to just get a look at how your future can turn out if you are confident and capable.

Alcohol Recession-Resistant?

I think this will be an post which all my fellow college students can appreciate.

This is a specific product a lot of companies will not be able to add to their repertoire as there are many businesses out there that are considered "family-friendly" and will refuse even the thought of selling alcohol to ruin that image.  Alcohol has been statistically proven to be a rising seller in times of economic distress, probably because of the whole distress element.  There are many businesses that are using alcohol in their products in new and unanticipated ways. I found a list of businesses using alcohol in innovative products, which can be found here.

The truth is alcohol is a relatively cheap way to feel rich, as top-notch alcohol doesn't cost nearly as much to purchase as other luxury items.  This means that people can treat themselves without breaking the bank, which is a good thing in these times of belt-tightening.  Some of these ideas may seem a little eccentric, such as selling ice cream with alcohol  or cupcakes topped with tequila frosting. 

Many of these businesses were started by individuals who didn't really intend for their product to be so successful.  The mom who came home from work with her own private cocktail of chocolate milk and alcohol didn't share her recipe with the world until a friend said it was too good to pass out.  Now she has an alcohol mix that is selling extremely well and she is trying to keep up with demand.  She used blogs and other tools to spread her product awareness virally, and her success speaks for itself.

Be Wary In 2012

Now usually I'm all about optimism when it comes to economic recovery and its effect on small businesses, but this time I'm advocating caution.  A smart businessman or businesswoman will never make a business decision on how to run their small business without first considering everything and acting with a degree of caution.  In a small business setting you don't have the capability to recover from a major slip up, because you don't have that large safety net that larger corporations have.  That safety net doesn't even protect them as can be seen with the recent examples of Netflix and Bank of America recording massive losses with programs that were intended to generate additional revenue.

I recently found a list on the Wall Street Journal which details the positives of the economy, but also details pitfalls that may happen to small business owners if they are not very careful.  This list can be found here.  Most of the issues that are discussed in the article are issues I have already addressed in previous blog articles but there was a new one I have seen which could be a potential pitfall for owners.

With the economy recovering the owners of small businesses have been cutting back on the discounts that hurt their bottom line the year before when purse strings were tighter.  This has lead to a slight rise in the price of the goods they are selling which, while not significant yet, may scare away potential or existing customers.  The owners must be careful not to alienate their customers as the secret to small businesses are sustainable consistent customers, so the owners must be very careful about which products they price higher.

Without a large customer base like a larger company has, the small business must be willing to make sacrifices in the short term to ensure the long-term survivability of the business.

Small Business Lending Strengthens

As rough as the economy is it appears we have turned a corner when it comes to the availability of loans available for small businesses.  This is a good thing because small business is a driving factor on the road to economic recovery.  Its also a good sign because with more available capital there are more people who are going to expand or improve their operations.  This article can be found on Fox's small business section on their website, or you could take the shortcut and just click here.

This happens mostly because of the Small Business Jobs Act which was signed into law by Obama.  This act freed up about $9.1 billion in capital for the use of the Small Business Administration, which filters it down to small businesses hiring new employees or raising wages for current ones.  This has caused an increase in hiring by small businesses to a clip of 188,000 from last years total of 68,500.  This creates jobs keeping people happy and keeping the economy on track for recovery. 

This move made by the government has also caused banks to loosen the purse strings on small business loans.  Many of the top banks, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase, are increasing their loans for small businesses by double digit percentage amounts.  Bank executives say they are still being cautious and that the loan market is far from ideal, but these are still encouraging signs for small businesses.  The bank executives cite the desire to grow, a feature of small businesses, as a primary benefit to giving these loans out.  They say that it only helps the economy to have businesses growing rather then just hoarding their money and sticking it out.

These factors should encourage the small business owners to make steps in trying to improve or expand their small businesses right now to gain as much market share as they can.

Saving Money On Office Supplies

As good as some of the indicators are for small business in today's economy, the truth is that small businesses are facing increasingly stiff economic and governmental situations.  With the way that the recession happened there has been an increase in governmental oversight and regulations put on small businesses in order to make sure that they aren't harming the economy as a whole.  They are also facing increased taxes in order to try and make up the huge federal government deficit. 

However, another factor that has been driving up the price of doing business has been the inflated price of business supplies, which has steadily been rising.  In today's economy companies need to be more focused then ever on their core revenue raising activities rather then worrying about supply chain and technical issues.  This means you must make sure your phones work, registers work, and your supply chain is impregnable. 

However there are companies out there who assist in making these kinds of things easier for you.  An example would be Network Merchant Supplies, a company I discovered on a Seattle Newspaper site which can be found here.  They are key innovators in the industry and have an extremely reliable and adept support staff which can solve just about any issue you might have with logistics.  This company has over 20 years of experience and utilize a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility which can handle just about any business supply needs that you would require.

If you are looking for a small business supplier to cover all of your business supply needs you might want to look into using this company as yours.  Keeping yourself well-stocked and with access to a good supply chain will give your business a distinct competitive advantage. 

Influencers in Small Business

I believe I have made the point of speaking about networking in my blog and how it can be used to great advantage.  Networking can link you with people of experience, with people with capital, or with people who run the services that you might need.  These people can also serve as examples for the budding entrepreneur to learn some good business strategies and tactics.  Many times these people are called influencers, as they can affect how your small business operates.  The top men and women in small business influencing people were listed on a website that I stumbled across and the list can be found here.

An influencer doesn't have to be another small business owner, he/she just has to be someone who positively affects the small business environment.  This could include government officials, academics, journalists, or even lowly hourly employees. 

This article has many top business leaders, but none more prominent in my opinion then John T. Hewitt.  Hewitt started two of the worlds three biggest tax consulting companies.  With 42 years of experience, Mr. Hewitt has assisted countless small businesses in finding tax breaks in order to increase their revenue stream.  He has been named in Accounting Today as most influential person... 10 times!  He has assisted over 3000 franchisees in making affordable and attainable financial goals.  He is by far one of the most useful influential people to know when consulting tax issues with your business.  He is just one example among many of useful contacts for the budding entrepreneur. 

Small Business Facebook Pages

As I talked about the rise of social media marketing and other relevant online methods of advertising I found a new website which lists some of the best Facebook pages that small businesses have produced.  These were judged by a panel of judges amongst 1400 submissions, and they rated them on many categories.  None of these businesses had a very large budget, just the drive and creativity to create a great Facebook page to promote their business.  The rankings that this panel of judges, who are experts at social media, can be seen here.

As we are the great Facebook generation, it is generally a good idea to appeal to the place where most people of the current generation are looking at the majority of the time.  This means they must advertise via Facebook, because as a college student I can tell you that we check Facebook more then we check our email accounts.  As a matter of fact Facebook is open on my list of tabs as I write this article.

Truthfully I hope that looking at these pages will help someone to design a very successful Facebook page to support their small business.  The usage of colors, words, creativity and other artistic elements really make these pages stand out from the pack.  They also utilize sound business strategies utilizing calls to action for the consumer and clever marketing schemes to generate a viral campaign.  These factors combined with the thought that goes into the product that is being presented present a compelling argument for using Facebook as an advertising medium.

Other Trends in 2011

Now in my last post I discussed the tech trends that were revolutionizing the small business landscape.  In this post I'd like to discuss, arguably the most important thing, which is all the topics that come into focus when you are financing your small business at this time.  I have probably said a hundred times during my blogging posts that the secret to a small business is making it sustainable.  To make a business however you need to have the start-up capital to finance your next great idea. As this USA Today article discusses here, the world of 2011 is not all doom and gloom for new businesses.

The Great Recession is receding according to all signals.  This doesn't mean we will have a boom again, but it does mean that things are optimal for opening up a new business to grab market share before maybe another boom.  The purse strings have been drawn a little bit tighter on the large loans that are provided out to businesses by larger companies but this has only forced the savvy entrepreneur to find new ways of finding money such as peer to peer loans. 

However the most promising sign that things are looking up for small businesses may be the fact that consumers are looking at local places to spend their money, rather then at the larger chains.  This means that if a small business manages to ingratiate itself with its community, they may see huge market share gains in their local market.  This just proves that a small business integrating with their community is not just a smart social move, but a good financial one as well. 

Predictions For Small Biz In 2011

As we are ending the year of 2011, it is always good to notice trends that are affecting small businesses, and to see the changes that are taking place.  It is also good to find out how accurate some of these predictions of what will change, because with the speed the world works at now, you don't want to be left in the dark.  In 2011, according to mashable, there are a few tech trends which will probably end up affecting small businesses profoundly.

1- There is the rise of website spending.  This will lead to an increased source of revenue from websites and other like materials.  It will also mean that you must take the opportunity to revamp your website to make your products easily findable, and make your website easily findable.

2- The rise of the smartphone generation of small business owners.  Nearly 49% of small business owners utilize smartphones to plan out and execute their business plans.  So learn to utilize your apps and your cell phone well.

3- The rise of social shopping and E-commerce events.  These lead to a greater risk because of the group buying aspect, but they also may promote a better return.  It enables you to widen your customer base and appeal to people who aren't in your local market.  This can be a huge competitive advantage if utilized properly. 

4- More focused social media efforts.  The more targeted advertising and other campaigns to promote your products thru Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets.  This will only expand in the future. 

5- The rise of cloud computing.  There are more people using web-based software for office work then ever before, and the cloud enables you to coordinate a groups efforts in order to achieve your goal. 

Stay observant of these tech trends to maximize utilization of technology in your company.

How To Become A Great Networker

The small business owner has the life of just sitting back and monitoring his business, without having to deal with customers right?  He just sits back and lets his business make his money for him, while just going in to supervise things and make sure they are going right.  This is definitely NOT the life of a small business owner, as a small business owner is constantly out and about networking to try and improve their network reach.  By doing so they may get news of better deals, they may be able to make better deals, and they will be able to spread their brand all over the place.  I recently ran into an article which shares some secrets about networking, with the customers, with businesses, and with associates.  The article can be found here.  

The main point of the article is quite simple however.  A small business owner should set goals for himself to network with a certain amount of people every week which enables them to grow their social network at a steady pace.  The true entrepreneur realizes that every opportunity to be around people is a networking opportunity which can lead to a very productive contact list.  The obvious answer to the question of when should I network, is ALWAYS.  You can never have too many contacts in your contact list. 

If someone needs advice on how to network this article is by far one of the best I have ever read.  Remember to try and constantly network if you want to be successful in small business as it is the only way to negate some of the advantages larger companies have.

Success Rates of Entrepreneurs

I recently read an article that was listed in a publication that is named the Entrepreneur which should speak for itself in its credentials.  This article involves a team of Harvard researchers who researched some hot questions about the whole process of entrepreneurship.  They produced a 35 page report that breaks down the rates of successful entrepreneurship, which is boiled down to a summarized form on the web page, which can be read here.

The article showed that an entrepreneur who has tried once before has a 30% rate of success versus an entrepreneur who is new to the game who has only an 18% chance of success.  However as if in contrast to this, venture capitalist forms are far more likely to fund an entrepreneur who has failed over one who has succeeded.  Whether a company's success can be attested to entrepreneurial skill or luck, it was found that starting a company at the right time is a skill.

It was also discovered that one success will breed another success in general as they will reassure investors that they can persistently deliver that.  It was discovered that companies started with venture capital money are far more likely to succeed then others.  Most entrepreneurs were discovered to draw their inspiration from former employers.  It is also strange to find that venture capitalists are less likely to loan money to someone even after they have gotten one loan from the venture capitalists and were successful. 

I encourage anyone who is looking to find a way to lock up venture capital funding for their business to check out this website, and to check out the Harvard document which can be found here.

Large Corporations Started During Recession Times

Again I decided to go back to using examples of businesses that today are extremely successful, that were started during recession times.  Again this is meant to inspire all you young entrepreneurs out there to have the guts to go for the business you want and to make your dreams of working for yourself to come true.  The list I used, which I excluded some previously mentioned companies from, can be found in its entirety here.

1) Burger King Corp. - The King was given burth in Miami, FL in 1954 and made it thru the recession and even invented its successful signature burger, the Whopper, to enable it to maintain profitability thru that time

2) IHOP Corp. - another star restaurant from the age after WWII, IHOP opened in July 1958 in Toluca Lake, California.  They began franchising three years after opening, and today there are over 1300 locations in the US.

3) LexisNexis - a star research company that is a hub for law and media, the company originally made its computerized legal research during the 1973 oil crisis.  The company, which is now based on the Internet, is used by 100 countries by professionals in law, government, education, and business.

4) FedEx Corp- one of the worlds best logistical delivery companies began its life on April 17, 1973, the owner Frederick W. Smith hoped to get a new contract with the Federal Reserve but failed.  Still the company that delivered 186 packages to 25 cities on first day of operations now does more then 7.5 million shipments a day world wide.

These companies have stood the testament of time due to superior business planning and execution, and they serve as good examples for any young entrepreneur to base their company off of.

Strategic Vision in Small Business

After writing these blog posts that share advice with you from many sources, I decided to focus this blog post on what I believe is the most important aspect of any small business.  That is the fact that I believe they should be planned for the long haul, so that you can come back ten years later and see a thriving and more successful business then when you started it.  These are the kinds of businesses that stand the test of time and deliver the best value for their customers, workers, and owners.  I found a post on a website that mirrors my views and it can be found in its entirety here.

From the first day that you are planning a business you must decide to set aside time for strategic business planning.  It is recommended that you at least have quarterly, preferably monthly board meetings just to have a strategic planning session.  Holding these meeting allows you to look critically at your business and use whatever measuring system you decide to use for success. 

What needs to be measured differs from business to business, as some are more customer profit oriented, where as others are product oriented, and yet others service oriented.  They all may have different metrics to measure by such as average number of customers, profit margin, and feedback on service.  You must decide on a scale you agree can be used to measure success.  If you are consistently meeting or exceeding your standards for success you know that you have a successful business model on your hands, and you can make subtle adjustments at strategy meetings to increase what you want from your business. 

Hot Growing Sectors To Open Your Business In

There are many new sectors that are becoming available as our economy becomes more of an economy driven by mass-customization versus simple mass-production.  With the retirement of one of the wealthiest and most powerful generations in American history, the baby boomers, a lot of these jobs will be open in the sector that has to deal with retirement and health care.  These sectors can easily be fulfilled by the savvy businessman.  MSNBC recently did a report of industries that are likely to explode in the next decade or so, and it can be found here.

The first seven hot businesses on their list involve health-care, nursing home services, and retirement recreational companies.  As more and more of these wealthy baby boomers retire there will be more and more opportunities to provide them with the high class retirement they have been working for their entire lives.  Whether its providing a safe area for them to live, helping them improve themselves, or helping them take relaxing vacations, there is a lot of potential money to be made.

The last three hot businesses on the list are companies I have discussed already in this blog which mainly have to do with outsourcing and IT consulting.  With large profit margins and a growing demand these companies help other companies cut their expenses so as to be more profitable.

This list of companies reveals the truth that timing can be everything when it comes to opening up your own business, as it sometimes depends on serving the needs of a single generation.  If you do a good enough job with the baby boomers you might have luck enticing, the more likely frugal, recession-scarred survivors of this generation. 

Matching Yourself With The Right Industry

It is generally a good, probably necessary, idea that when you are founding a business that you have a passion for it.  You must try and align your skills and experiences with the industry that is the best fit for you, which is a more difficult thing then most people realize.  I recently read an article that compared different types of startups to the different kinds of entrepreneurs that were needed for them, but for the sake of briefness I'm only going to compare two.  The article can be found here.

The first example that the article used was the world of business brokers, or the matchmakers who bring together buyers and sellers of small to medium-sized companies.  With corporate downsizing and baby boomers cashing out this leaves a lot of room for expansion.  The ideal business broker is a person who can turn potential buyers into real buyers, which requires excellent people skills and ability to overcome rejection. 

Smart-clothing is another industry that is ideal for young entrepreneurs to invest their time in as it is already a mature industry with manufacturing being done overseas.  This has left the apparel business in need of creativity and innovation so that the entrepreneur can meet the more specialized needs of today's more discerning customers.  Their is a huge risk in the fact that you must choose a niche that's not too mainstream lest you get muscled out by bigger companies, but not so narrow you can't make a profit, so to be successful you need the ability to outmaneuver larger retailers, with an emphasis on adaptability.

These are just two businesses that are poised to have great opportunities associated with them, and there are many more.  I encourage you all to read the article that was linked in my blog post. 

Profit Sharing As Incentive?

Not exactly a new invention when it comes to business, profit sharing enables a company to share their profits with employees as a means of financial incentive for performance.  One of the ways that this profit sharing is done is by giving the employee stock options that will increase based on the improvement in the company made by their work.  However stock options can be taxed quite heavily so there are other ways of profit sharing which have earned a mention. 

The most common is the 401 K plan which allows employees to make a contribution to a 401(k) account that the company may match, giving them a viable retirement option to live off of.  The 401(k) can also be considered a safety net as many of them enable you to cash in your 401(k) which can provide with enough cash to make it thru an emergency if you need to.  The amount that these deferred profit-sharing accounts give to the employees all depend on their account balance.

Companies decide the amount of profit-sharing contributions in two ways.  The first method is by a set formula that is written into a planning document which typically depend on the measures of profitability the company sets up.  Owners may decide that instead of using a set formula they are going to decide what an appropriate amount would be.  After deciding this there are many different ways to allocate the funds to the employees, such as sliding scales, percentage of total payroll, or other factors.

As a small business it is probably a good idea to set up some form of profit sharing for your employees to motivate them to work harder.  The small business owner should, however, contact a financial adviser or an accountant before they make any decisions. 

Tips for Small Businesses

After searching the web for more tips to appease my readers, I discovered a website that gave a few tips to small businesses.  I know I have just thrown a ton of information at you guys the last few months, but truthfully it never hurts to be fully informed on techniques that are used to make small businesses successful.  You can choose which techniques you wish to use for yourself, but while I still have your attention I would like to point you towards Access2000's tips for small business which made for some humorous reading.  This site can be located here.

One of the first elements they discussed is that you want to look for a market that already exists, as it already has some form of public awareness about the products.  The author compared the success of the original ab machine to the ones that came afterward, and the first one tanked while the subsequent ones succeeded extremely well.  Secondly you must also know all your margins or you will go broke.  They said an ideal profit margin for a successful product is about 4:1, and if you aren't making that you are probably barely making anything. 

A third element of small business success is to make the solution immediate and easy, as solving common problems is usually not a cause to break the bank, and delivers increased value for the customers.  Fourth, you should usually aim to solve a problem rather then prevent one because the consumer is more worried about solving an imminent problem then solving a future problem.

After all of the other posts I have done about making successful small businesses I'm happy to show you a slightly different, even irreverent spin on how to make a successful product. 

Mom And Dad Shops Turned Empires

Mom and dad businesses are loved by the public as they represent the traditional American idea of being your own boss and not working for a stranger, but friends and family.  Being smaller in scale it can be harder for these businesses to compete with the bigger competitors.  However some of the largest and most successful companies were started as a small family run business.  I just wanted to list some of them here for you.

1) The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf - aka "The Bean" it is a Los Angeles based family run store that sells, shockingly, coffee and tea.  They have 350 stores operating all over the US and in Southeast Asia, and they compete regularly with Starbucks

2) Ben and Jerry's - strange ice cream company founded in Burlington, Vt, in 1978.  Were bought out by Unilever for $326 million

3) Party Pieces - an online and catalog party supply company in the UK.   Still maintains family business model. 

4) Energy Brands (Glaceau) - privately owned subsidary of Coca-Cola, makes Smartwater and Vitaminwater.  In 2006, raked in $350 million in revenues and in 2007 bought out by Coka-Cola for $4.1 billion

5) Wrigley Company - had to throw in a successful Chicago business!  Is one of the largest producers of gum and candy in the world, started by William Wrigley Jr. in 1891.

These examples are to encourage you to try and open up your own family business, as the success stories roll in from family started businesses.  It also gives you the opportunity to put your family members to work... I mean a chance at partnership for a profitable business venture.

Small Business Driver of US Economy

It is well known that small business is a huge factor in the U.S. economy.  In recent years small business has accumulated a percentage of the GDP in this country that is quite large, especially considering how many of them there are.  There is also this stigma that small business, because they don't have the resources that large corporations, are not a significant driver of our economy.  This is a flat out lie that is being dis proven every day, as small businesses are becoming even more essential to our society. 

Small business accounts for nearly 40% of the United States gross domestic product.  This is a huge chunk, and it has been growing faster and faster as we have gone along in the record books.  This is because small business is run by dedicated people who have what they consider to be a great idea, and they are very driven to see it happen.  It also helps appeal to the American dream which follows the pretty simple motto of "be your own boss."

The other thing is that the United States is well provided for when it comes to a wealth of financial and business qualified people.  Other countries may say whatever they wish to about our people, but in general, the reason the United States rules the roost is because our business-savvy executives make our country the one with the most money flowing in an out.  America has ruled as a superpower because of our extremely strong economy and the entrepreneurial spirit that lives in most of us.

Tech Giants Birth Startup Founders

I recently read an article which was discussing which tech giants gave birth to the most successful startup founders.  This interested me because of my background of technology where I have been application programming, building computers, and setting up mine and my friends networks.  Tech companies, as far as right now, are extremely volatile companies that can lose you a bunch of money, or make you a boat load.  The full article can be found here. 

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Facebook are all large companies that continuously compete to draw the top talent in every group of bright tech minds.  Many of those that are recruited later go on to trade cushy jobs for the risk-taking life of a small business owner.  As the tech giants compete with each other for talent, they also have to compete with these brilliant minds wishing to go elsewhere and start up a competitor. 

Thus far out of these large tech companies, Google has the most funds raised by founders who come from their company at $309.88 million.  This doesn't mean that this is the best measurement of success however, so we have to look at the other companies overall and decide what the best measure of success is for you.  Yahoo has the most startup founders coming from their ranks and while they make less they point to the corporate atmosphere at Yahoo! for enabling them to be as successful as they are.

Overall these tech giants will always have to deal with the threat of these employees deciding to go take their services elsewhere.  For those of you who are interested in starting a tech startup just go to one of these corporations with a little money and a lot of opportunity, and you'll probably end up with a tech professional.

Cafe Yumm! How To Found A Restaurant

Mark and Mary Ann Beauchamp are owners of a restaurant called Cafe Yumm!, which is a new success story on the restaurant scene.  They said that the path of running a restaurant all spawned from a shared desire to eat great, healthy food, and feed and teach other people to do the same thing.  They never expected success to be as widespread as it has been for them, but that's alright with them because honestly they just wanted to fulfill their passion. 

They shared their personal desire to serve people healthy food after Mary Ann had a revelation involving a family member continuously eating unhealthy food.  She met Mark in college at the University of Alaska, and Mark, who was already considered a nutrition nut, had personal views that she shared.  After a lifestyle change, they decided to become vegetarians, which forced them to create things to a whole new set of boundaries and rules.  This lead to them coming up with their most successful product, the famous Yumm! sauce. 

They opened up a deli and demand for the sandwiches and rice, black beans, and salsa with Yumm! sauce skyrocketed.  They opened up 2 more stores which were all within three miles of each other, and they took a leap of faith believing in their product and themselves.  They got more and more people inquiring about franchising opportunities and originally they shot most of them down.  After contacting business professionals and utilizing the Business Plan Pro to get a long term strategic goal.  Now they are more successful then ever.

Being devoted and utilizing their passion is what helped Mark and Mary Ann achieve their goals, in addition to the tools provided for them my Business Plan Pro.  They are an example of how to start your own restaurant chain for any interested people.

Avoid Failure!

In an economy where the climate is ripe for a small business growth there needs to be some measures taken to insure that the facts are known to all entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurs must have very good environmental awareness if they expect to stay alive in the ever changing landscape of small business enterprises.  Therefore I decided to share some statistics with you ambitious driven businessmen and businesswomen of tomorrow.

According to surveys and data gathering being done by US Small Business Administration, only about 22% of small businesses survive in the long-term (in this case +10 years).  This is not meant to scare you away from deciding to follow your passion and not open up your own small business.  It is merely to give you a realistic image of how difficult it is to make a business sustainable in the long run. 

These low percentages just prove how much time must go into planning your business out and the careful preparation and hard work that go into successful enterprises.  That is why I am encouraging all of you, my readers and followers, to go to my website which has many articles which are designed to help you succeed in making your small business the very best it can be.  My website can be found here.  My website has articles I have put together thru my research of other successful start-ups, personal experience, and academic exposure.  There is also a supporting website with other articles here.  There are also many links to very useful sites listed on my website which may lead you to other sources of knowledge.  There is never a price to information that is offered this freely, except the one you pay by ignoring it!

Small Biz Owners: Gold Mine For Corporations?

After reading this article written by an HR expert I was excited to share it on my blog today.  Being a small business major I have frequently worried that if I felt like it I would not be able to get out into the corporate world.  The HR director deduced correctly that small business men and women, many of whom only have a small online or home based business, are the perfect employees for corporations to target.  The article can be found here.

The author found that small business owners, because of their need to network, were a huge source of contacts which could be used to further any other business.  The author also mentioned that the small business owners deal with all of the regular problems that a business deals with so they have experience in these matters.  These men and women brought a plethora of useful contacts into the company which enabled them to find new clients, new suppliers, and connected them with a new social group. 

These people make excellent employees as they are also trying to improve your business.  They tend to look at working in your company as a learning experience so they throw their entire heart and soul into the work they do.  They figure if they make some of the missteps that come with taking risks with your money, they will be better situated when they open up their own small business.  These risks could end up paying up big for your company as they also understand the value of a reputation.  So hire young entrepreneurs for your larger corporations, Corporate America, and it will pay off in the long run.

Educational Needs For Small Business Owners

In general most small business owners usually have a college education in one of the sciences of business whether it be economics, finance, accounting, or human resources.  They usually use these skills and the skills of other professionals who they hire to make a good management team.  However many small business owners who do it by themselves have to outsource because they can't be doing everything by themselves. 

This has begged a question as to exactly how much education an entrepreneur needs, as there are many entrepreneurs that make it right out of high school.  What helped them to do such a thing?  Being well-rounded, having a good set of networking contacts, determination in your idea, and the ability to analyze your surroundings are all identified as necessary skills for the young entrepreneur.  So what degree does one get to help build those talents?

The general statistics point to most small business owners coming from a financial analysis background, as a good understanding of the loaning and financial markets will help you to secure funds.  The most successful entrepreneurs of late have actually benefited from the inclusion of new academic studies that focus exclusively on small business entrepreneurship.  These more broad programs of study usually involve the student getting involved and learning how to perform every phase of the operation of a small business.  If this trend continues we may be seeing entrepreneurship degrees to become more wide-spread, which would be good for the economy as whole.  Increasing the number of people who can operate their own business independently is a very valuable addition to our economy.    

Most Profitable Small Businesses

So I thought I would take a slight break off the recession theme and use a new theme that might inspire small business entrepreneurs to open new businesses.  A word of warning for those who get excited about this post.  Profitability can not be the only goal you have when you want to measure the success of your business.  In my opinion the best business goal is to be sustainable and last for a very long time.  Without further ado, here are some of the most profitable small businesses according to Forbes, which lists them here.

These businesses were all arranged based on order of profit margin in general.
1) Offices of CPA's = They have an average pretax margin of 16.5%, with low overhead and marketing because of repeat clientele.

2) Offices of Chiropractors = An average pretax margin of 15.3% grants chiropractors a great financially performing company.

3) Free standing emergency centers = handling out patient services in addition to immediate trauma that need treatment immediately is very lucrative, lending a pretax margins 15%.

4) Other accounting services = 14.9% profit margin isn't bad for people handling simpler book keeping without a CPA

5) Office of Dentists = Dentists operate at a 14.7% scale of profit mostly because they can handle several patients at once, and hygienists don't cost much.  A lot of the customers pay out of pocket which gives dentists more pricing power.

These businesses are the most profitable by pretax profit margin, so if you are entering into one of these industries, CONGRATULATIONS!  However realize that these are all averages, and not every business is run according to this scale.

Reasons to Outsource

A few days ago I mentioned that one of the best businesses to start would be an outsourcing company.  These companies are fairly recession-proof and are easy to do if you have a particular skill set that will save large companies large amounts of money.  There are many reasons that outsourcing does so well but some of the top ones I discovered on a new website I discovered, and it has a more detailed outline here.

Outsourcing saves the small business owner a lot of time.  This pays itself back as you have more time to invest time in networking, growing your business, and other vital business functions that you used to waste on paperwork.  Outsourcing assistants can make travel arrangements, manage bookkeeping, manage your website and a lot of other administrative duties, which leaves you free to devote time into your business.  It also helps lessen the burden of HR functions which speeds up the process of managing employees.

Outsourcing also saves a lot of money.  You can probably hire an outside consultant to do a job for half the money you would pay a full-time on staff employee.  Outsourcing also helps expand your knowledge base which is valuable.  Usually most outsourced work is done by certified professionals which enables you to stay informed of new trends, and learn from industry experts.

Outsourcing also enables you to build your brand.  Outsourcing makes your business look professional and the uniform manner in which the administrative services are done allows you time to focus on what core things your businesses are good at. 

Outsourcing is a valuable tool for entrepreneurs and I suggest that all new entrepreneurs look to it as a possible benefit.

Amish Entrepreneurs?

Now normally I am all for the maximization of the use of technology in small business as it is the best way I know of to improve productivity.  But it would shock you to realize that the businesses that have the highest success rate are those that are started by the Amish.  Amish businesses have a 95% success rate when it comes to staying around greater the 5 years.  That is an incredible statistic especially when they achieve it by old means.  Why is this so?

The secret may live in the culture of the Amish which emphasizes working hard and cooperating to make up for the lack of mechanical tools.  It could also be because the Amish tend to stick to things they know, which is playing to their strengths culturally and personally.  It may also be the fact that the Amish are very humble and polite, so they would probably not give themselves the credit for the success they are facing.

It could be their upbringing of working long days on the farm, waking early and working long days with a lot of physical labor involved.  This gives them a work ethic that is very difficult to get without living the lifestyle of manual labor without machinery.  The Amish usually make very good traditional things such as furniture, which the consumer knows has been hand done with every detail done by another human being. 

While I'm not urging everyone to cast off the technology which makes a business more successful, some lessons can be drawn from the Amish for all entrepreneurs.

Recession Advice From 90's Small Businesses

Now I know I have done a lot of posting about how to make sure your company can make it thru the recession if you are a small business owner, but I feel like it is a topic that couldn't be covered enough.  Recessions are ended by small businesses rising up and making new markets, in my opinion.  Therefore if all of this business advice lead to someone having a successful business then I will be happy. 

Based on research from O2 the best focus for a small business aiming to survive would be rigorous business planning, with the ability to adapt, and a determination to be successful.  The people who give this advice are the same ones who made it thru the 90's recession alright and have been successful.  They boiled it down to 10 key points.

1) Getting the basics right - having a great business plan with an accurate set of financial forecasts allows small businesses to prepare in advance for effects of a downturn
2) Cut costs - you should definitely identify and have a lot of scrutiny when observing expenditures to limit you non-essential costs.  Cutting back on office space is also advisable as it reduces monthly overhead.
3) Careful cash management - Don't overextend your revenue past your expenses and keep your business sustainable.
4) Spend on Marketing - marketing is something that is essential to the future of your business so should never be skimped on
5) Determination - determination to do whatever it takes and stay in business
6) Hold onto existing customers - make sure to retain your customers even if it costs you in the short-term.
7) Diversify your product and customer base - try and develop a way to adapt or broaden the appeal of your product so that you might increase market share
8) Deliver excellent customer service - keeps customers loyal as they tighten their belts
9) Credit check customers - This may seem to go against #6 but it will help you to ensure that large amounts of money are not owed to you
10) Invest in Technology- pick the right technology to help you succeed. 

Using these techniques may help your business survive a recession, perhaps even thrive in it.

Starting in Outsourcing

There are many companies today which don't have the money to keep a full-time expensive staff on hand for every administrative thing.  Larger companies are always looking to trim their costs which leads to them looking outward sometimes for help.  This has lead to a growth in outsourcing.  Outsourcing has gotten the stigma that its always Americans outsourcing to other countries, when in reality they usually outsource to companies that are in the same area. I got some of my data for this trend from here.

This sounds difficult because how are you going to deliver your product cheaper and with better quality then the in-house people they have?  An example would be someone who does accounting and does it exceptionally well being hired to just do the company receipts and balance the company books.  If that person can grind out 4 companies books in the 8 hours they would usually work they got the same job done that would have taken those companies paying 4 separate people to do.

To be a successful outsourcing company you have to do many things before you start up.  You must take stock of all of your skills and decide which type of small business would be the best for your skills.  Make sure that your skills fill a niche where you think businesses might outsource.  You should also start by scouting out all of the local businesses in the area.  Then go to the director of the businesses there and find out what they need, and if you can supply it.  Make sure to have your price quotes ready to go.

You should also not ignore online business opportunities as these may open up a new market for you.  You must also develop your own professional marketing guide so that you could do it all yourself.  If you follow these steps you might well be on your way to founding one of the great outsourcing companies.

Best Businesses for Recession Part 2

I think I'd like to continue my last post right now in order that you might learn some more about businesses that thrive during a recession.  I already feel the heat as I am writing this next business because I'm sure everyone gets mad at these people all the time.

Debt collection agencies would be an obvious business that would thrive during a recession.  I realize that most people are saying "Duh!" at me right now but honestly I can't say I'd be happy if there were more debt collectors out there.  This business can be run out of your home if you want to reduce overhead.

Resume-writing services also tend to thrive during a recession as people are unemployed and underemployed.  This leads to everyone wishing to polish up their resume as a way to get ahead.  This is another business that can easily be run out of your home. 

Auto repair services also tend to grow a lot during a recession.  This is because most people don't want to make a big purchase like a car.  They would rather maintain their current car as long as they can then commit to that amount of debt.  The best part about this business is that there is always a demand for auto mechanics in the world so you could probably be successful after the recession.

Home staging companies tend to do fairly well during the recession as well.  They make houses look really good so that you might have an easier time selling it.  This is a necessary boon in the burst of the housing bubble.

A new industry that has come onto the scene recently, which is nearly recession-proof, is that of a virtual assistant.  The virtual assistant communicates with the senior staff and handles all the admin duties required which saves on expensive staff fees. 

Overall, I want to say that just because your company is on this list doesn't guarantee you success.  It is still very difficult to open your own business.  Conversely, if your company is not on this list, it doesn't mean that you won't be successful.

Best Businesses for Recession

In keeping with the theme I started with the last post, I have been reading up on businesses that do well in recessions or have been born during them.  I believe with the current economic climate in the world people need to have a certain degree of hope that they can come up with that next great idea that will help them become successful.  This doesn't mean that it is very easy for you to start up because you are still running the gauntlet when it comes to survival.  I found some useful information here, if anyone else is interested in reading the whole article.  I will be following up on this post with more ideas for good companies.

One of the best sustainable business that you can start today is an Accounting Services company.  According to an Intuit survey, 80% of small business owners felt that their accountant was a close business advisor, which requires a lot of one on one time.  This leads to a need for a personalized accountant who is not overworked on other cases.

Bulk food sales go thru the roof during a recession as many people start buying products in bulk.  They tend to buy large quantities of long term  items to feel some security and save some money.

Affordable luxury items sound like they would be one of the industries that would be hardest hit, as consumers choose value over style.  This could be something as simple as setting up a domestic vacation service, a candy store, a food store, an ice cream store, or any other small retail operation because people want to have some sort of luxuries after they have been hurt by not doing as many enjoyable things as they used to.

Recession Economy = Good for SBiz

That's shocking right?  There is no way that a recession economy can be good for cash-strapped loaners and cash-strapped entrepreneurs.  Right?  Well evidently that's not a true statement.   A recession can actually be a boon in many ways for the small business to blossom.  The reasons behind this truth are in both your personal situation and the state of the economy as a whole.  To write this article I used a post from here.

A recession leaves many people out of jobs.  These people who are out of work are not used to being out of work so they usually end up pursuing their own ideas.  In addition to the people who are unemployed, there are plenty of people who are underemployed, which leads to a rise in entrepreneurial spirit.  The creation of small businesses drive our economy, so the entrepreneurial spirit saves the economy. 

There are many examples of big businesses that managed to come out of recession or even depression times.  I just plan on listing some of them right here.
1) Walt Disney was founded out of the recession of 1926.
2) Hewlett-Packard Corporation came out of the 1938 Great Depression
3) Microsoft Corporation began during the 1975 recession.

USA Today also discovered that in the recession of the early 90's, 25% of downsized executives over 40 started their own companies.  Recession could be a natural way to clean house painfully and reset the economy. 

The recession also does a lot economically for you as well as mentally in your field.  The competitors you are facing may be weakened and tightening up their belts.  You may find a niche to slide into.  You must make sure that your idea is not flawed so you have to do market research to make sure that your idea will do well in good or bad economy.

Products are also much cheaper during recessions because of deflation, and this also lets you buy stuff on auction for massively reduced rates.  You must stay frugal with your funds and you should definitely try everything you can to pinch pennies, without sacrificing your product.  You should also negotiate better terms with your suppliers so that when business picks back up you are in a good spot.

Personal Tips for Entrepreneurs Part 2

I will now continue my blog post from last time, with some of the ways that a young entrepreneur may handle the mental and emotional stresses that come along with the territory of being very motivated and very determined for success.  These are some more reams of advice that was found on this great post that can be found here.  Thanks to powerhomebiz for the great advice that I can use, and that any young entrepreneur could use when times are rough.

You must be emotionally and mentally prepared to work VERY, very hard because typically the average entrepreneur works 60+ hours a week, and does a lot of networking. The phrase that was used in the article of working 8 hours to survive, and anything other then that is success should inspire entrepreneurs to work hard. 

As was mentioned before being successful in today's society requires building a large network of contacts.  You must always be alert for opportunities to grow your personal contact list as it may save your company.  You never know when a friend might come in useful for business.

You must always be willing to learn new things and adapt to new environments.  Being a great learner helps because it is what drives the entrepreneur to keep trying to maximize their potential. 

You must persevere and have faith in the hard times that your business will be successful.  Persevering in the face of adversity is a skill that almost all entrepreneurs have.

You must also learn to discipline yourself in order to make sure that you reach your maximum potential.  A true entrepreneur realizes that mastery of self can translate into mastery of your business.

And that wraps up my blog post for how to mentally and emotionally prepare yourself for entrepreneurship.  Good luck everyone.

Personal Tips for Entrepreneurs Part 1

Up until now I have only been focusing on the physical aspects of managing companies, which while stressful, is nothing compared to the amount of pressure an entrepreneur puts on himself.  Entrepreneurs tend to be very bold and take risks, but that doesn't mean they aren't calculated risks.  But they still live with the intense pressure and drive to succeed.  But what does it take personally and mentally?  To discuss this I read this article here, which was very informative.

Possibly the biggest thing an entrepreneur can do is to think about success.  It takes a lot of guts and daring sometimes, but thinking about success and how you will reach it is far more helpful then dwelling on the negatives or what could go wrong.  You must reinforce in yourself consistently what success is and that you will reach it.

You must be passionate about what you do, or else you are setting yourself up with failure.  Being passionate about what you do will motivate you to get thru the tough long hours that you have to work to be successful.

You have to emphasize your strengths while trying to improve your weaknesses.  You can't be the end-all be-all because it is impossible, so you use your strengths and work with people who cover your weaknesses with their strengths.

You can never consider the possibility of failure... ever!  If you do you will most likely fail, as no one starts something successfully thinking they will fail.  You must have faith in your abilities and in your idea and that they will succeed beyond the shadow of a doubt.  That doesn't mean you don't make every effort to minimize risk, but it takes some guts to do so. 

You should plan accordingly, taking into account your goals for your organization.  You should write the goals down as concrete proof of your plan.  That makes them tangible goals which should be reached.

I will continue this post tomorrow, so stay tuned!

31 Ways To Get Noticed As A Small Business (Good and Bad)

1) Catchy radio tunes that are often sworn about
2) Flashy signs that blind your customer
3) Being right next to a bar
4) Being right next to a gas station the morning after the bar night
5) Having a flashy uniform
6) Being known as the most fun area to be around
7) Bright flashy paint on windows
8) Be listed in the coupon book
9) Having employees who smile all the time
10) Having employees who are always unhappy
11) Being known as the area garbage men want to avoid
12) Having a pristine and spotless store
13) Being a college kid hang-out
14) Having ungodly long late-night hours
15) Being remembered as the best food right before you hit the can
16) Being feared for your ability to mess up orders
17) Working at a place where the supervisor is feared by customers
18) Working at a place where people come and haggle
19) Being known as the place to take care of customers
20) Being known as the place to hate customers
21) Having employees appear to be squeaky clean
22) Having a place where popular opinion of employees is that they are scumbags
23) Having a place where police visit often (not in a good way)
24) Being the place where all the townies hang out
25) Being the place where there are mostly wheelchairs and walkers
26) Being the place which is impossible for handicapped people to move around
27) Being the place with elevator music playing
28) Being the place where country music is playing
29) Being the place where there are a bunch of pick-up trucks parked
30) Being the place with a parking lot full of mini-vans
31) Being the place with sports cars in the parking lot

The Rock Restaurant Review

One of my favorite local restaurants, The Rock, recently underwent a location transfer in the town of Normal.  The Rock used to be over by Zorbas, and the South Side Dormitories.  Now it is in Uptown Normal, with a move that I believe will actually help them a lot during the long-term as I see nothing but good expansions for Uptown Normal.  The Rock restaurant serves Mediterranean/American food in a fast-casual setting.  The success of fast-casual restaurants can be observed by looking at the success of restaurants such as Five Guys, Chipotle, Noodles and Company, and many other chain restaurants.  The Rock has an exceptional menu with very good burgers and fries, but also the signature dish of their restaurant, the gyro.  The gyros here are amazing and the entire menu was revamped to make the product quality high.  The Mediterranean side of the menu originally had me skeptical but after trying baba ghanoush and hummus I was sold that this place was full of delicious food.  The Italian beef I had here was amazing, and the only place I can say I ever had a better one would be Portillo's up in the suburbs.  The service staff was equally amazing making me feel at home and comfortable.  The managers there are really awesome and I love to talk to them about local business, and I ask them how their business is going every day I go in there.  Judging by the amount of business they see, I can confidently say that I am not alone in loving The Rock.  The townies in the town go there as well as most of my professors.  They have a great business concept and it works for them, I only wish they had plans to go more regional with it so that I might enjoy one in my hometown. 

Duct Tape Marketing Forbes Favorite

I recently stumbled upon a new small business blog that is considered one of the best archives of small business entrepreneurship marketing techniques and expansion into new markets for the younger entrepreneur.  They are advertised as a Forbes favorite blog for small business entrepreneurs and small businesses.  When it comes to new small business ideas and they mention how to grow your business by marketing effectively and selling an experience.  A lot of these ideas can be applied to any business big or small.  The blog does not cover the other aspects of small business entrepreneurship such as operations or strategic resource allocation but focuses on the key aspects of your marketing strategy.  The blog is usually written in the 1st person but sometimes it switches to a 3rd person view.  This switch enables the author to change the tone of his blog from personal opinion to a more factual view.  The blog is very professionally done and has a link to other aspects of Duct Tape Marketing's business such as consulting work, programs of training, and other resources.  The blogger usually posts something about every other day so his blog is very up to date and has information that could only be obtained from observances in the field of present day events.  This makes me believe that this blog is very professional and the fact that Forbes lists it as a favorite for small businesses reassures me to the fact that they are very professional.  The advertisements that were posted on the website were of UPS, one of the largest distributors in the world, and Google, the worlds most famous search engine.  Therefore they paid a very good amount of money for the right to advertise on this spot which means it sees heavy traffic.  Overall I would recommend that anyone wanting to learn more about how to market their small business they should go to Duct Tape Marketing and get some advice.

Great Small Business Blog SmallBizTrends Forbes Favorite

  This small business blog is liked by Forbes for its skillful use of terminology and techniques for the benefit of small business entrepreneurs.  As small business entrepreneurship is becoming one of the driving forces of the economy in America and around the world, it is good that certain techniques and useful tips are taught to younger entrepreneurs by older ones.  This is brought to the forefront in this article, Tips for Young Entrepreneurs , where there is a list of common problems that younger entrepreneurs run into.  This article also shows some common problem solving strategies which the younger businessmen can use to solve problems they are unprepared for and are surprised by.  Another good article on this blog is an article that teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their small business.  This article, Building Your Own Small Business, shows a businessman how to grow  his business by using techniques such as the use of highly skilled human resource departments, and the concept of self-development.  The blog also teaches ways to maximize the resource usage of your small business and how to optimize operations to the point where your efficiency maximizes the profitability of your business.  It also emphasizes the fact that patience and strategic vision is required to make sure that your business model is sustainable for the long haul, and secure in its control of its market share.  In conclusion I would say that if you are looking to open up your own small business you should definitely invest some time into looking at this blog.  The blogs name is Small Biz Trends and is one of the best blogs according to Forbes for small business experiences and advice.

IT Support Business TeamLogicIT

I was looking for good small business ideas today and discovered a website that has many of them.  There were many intriguing ideas but one of the best ideas I have found is a franchising opportunity for an IT help desk and support firm.  This company has a lower risk associated with it for the short term as they offer a 6 month rebate on all royalty and ad fees.  This company is named TeamLogicIT, and they provide the resources and training to enable you to open up your very own IT support branch.  They also provide you with a list of equipment and training qualifications to get you started in addition to one of the most supporting environments available to a franchisee.  They have a very diverse and structured system of getting all the right tools to their franchisees to serve the needs of businesses.  They aim to help out small businesses and medium size businesses.  If you are concerned about what the starting costs are for franchising they are actually not too terrible.  They require an investment of around $80,000-$130,000, with a start up cash total of at least $60,000.  This type of business would be an ideal sell for the university setting as there is very few people who are talented at setting up their computer system.  An ideal time to do this would be around the time that move-in starts.  The company could move into ISU helping the less IT experienced college students set up their networks and printers.  Overall this business has a little temporary staying power but in the long run it has less staying power as there are not as many start up companies around Bloomington and Normal to warrant a new tech support service.