The Small Business Blog

Three years ago, my company was not very tech savvy. We had computers, but nothing really substantial. Well upper management went to a seminar with tech talk and how to save money. Not only did they get discounts from Dell and everything, but they also signed up for this organization called America's Best Companies. Here's their website, http://www.americasbestcompanies.com/

After doing some digging into finding out what they really do, they seem like one of those organizations that really cares about guys like us...A nice change of pace.

In fact, by becomming a member of MyWorldPlus, you will receive a discount card that saves you money on shopping, dining, travel, golf, recreation, and more! You can get buy one get one free deals at Subway and McDonalds. Pizza deals. Movie deals. Plus, you can earn cash back for shopping at online stores like Target, Sears, Macy's and over 600 others!
--As a mom of four,I don't have a lot of time to build a business,Finally a comp plan where the "littleguya"can make money like the pros.This is going to be HUGE !
Join free mow!!
http://moneysoeasy.MyWorldMovie.com
http://moneysoeasy.MyWorldMoms.com ...

Well, whaddya know? I just tried some of the "tricks" and they work wonderfully. I got so used to that spartan Google home page that I didn't even notice those other links. Thanks for this great advice.

Great point you make, Rieva. I recently had an experience where I visited a 'high-end' hair designer, but the experience was very 'low-end': she was late, her shop was untidy...the whole experience would have been just as sour if I'd only paid $10 for it!

Small business owners really need to take the time to run a business and not get bogged down in their to-do lists.

Stuart Preston
Founder, MyBusiness Advisors, Inc.

I remember reading that FSB issue in April; to me the saddest thing in there was about JumpSport being donkey-punched by Wal-Mart ... that and how Andy Gibbs, CEO of Patent Café says "inventors looking to sell to big retailers should spend at least $100,000 on patent attorneys and litigation specialists to craft a bulletproof patent document and distribution plan.

"If you don't have that cash," he says, "don't even start.""

I actually wrote FSB saying I can't be their only reader who hasn't dropped nearly that much on IP protection and we are well past "start"! You can't be dumb or too trusting, but you can't let fear or outrageous legal fees/services keep you frozen either!

Any advice to help on tax audit avoidance is a good advice. Thanks for sharing.

It is really simple - And I wonder why so few employers take notice. If your employees are not engaged, they would not be thinking about how to improve the business. New ideas and innovations would be hard to come by. Worse, the amount of negative energy that it breeds could literally stall your business.

I have experienced that financial compensation has very little to do with employee engagement. In my opinion, the single most important factor is employee's flexibility to innovate and experiment with their ideas. If they find that they really cannot bring about any change to the business, then the only thing they work for is the paycheck. Take Google for example: the company consistently being rated as #1 in employee satisfaction. While I agree that financial compensation is huge in Google, employees are encouraged to spend 15% of their time on the projects of their own choice.

Are you allowing your employees to innovate? Are you listening to their ideas?

Asking for help is absolutely crucial, especially for the younger, less experienced entrepreneur. Literally you can acquire hundreds of years of combined knowledge by merely asking successful entrepreneurs questions. Don't be afraid. Just do it. They did it also.

Next, besides asking for help, entrepreneurs need to learn how to recondition their mind and develop a mentality of success.

How to recondition your mind for success...

1. Understand the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking... if you think positively... positive things will attract to you

2. Meditate... meditation activates your reticular activation cells which are some of your most powerful memory cells, and are untapped in day to day thinking

3. Practice Affirmations.... tell yourself repetitively that you will accomplish X and you will accomplish X by doing Y... you will set a mental non-conscious standard for yourself.. which will push you to achieve whatever it is you want to do.

More great tips here... www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
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We switched to a web conference system a year or two ago and I initially hated it. There were just so many problems with it. For example, we always needed to keep an IT guy right there to fix any problems (of which there were many). For a lot of meetings, we didn?t even bother using the web system, and just stuck with our conference call system. This seemed to make the fairly expensive upgrade a wasted gesture.

Recently, we switched to a vastly better system and the difference was like night and day. We haven?t had a problem yet and the quality is much better than a phone system. Also, the RHUB system was more affordable and easier to use than our old one. This was the system we used, http://rhubcom.com, and I highly recommend it.
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I've tried to apply at Newegg.com several times through the companies job postings on Monster.com Twice on different dates when the same job has been posted at different times I've send a cover letter and resume to a very specific job which I won't name here. I know that I am qualified; I have a web site that shows my work for which I am qualified for the job posting on Monser.com for Newegg.com is looking to fill. I however never have got a call one way or the other saying; thank you for applying, But no thanks or anything.

It is very difficult to find any way to communicate with their office from their web site. All that you get is customer service numbers that lead no where, which I have called. When I go to their web site I see the founder and CEO is Asian, I scourer their web site and all I see is Asians, Hispanics, blacks, woman, 99% of they appear under 30. Since I do not fit into these groups my only thought is that they do not hire older, white men, (who now should be in our own protected class) since 'we' are being dis included in jobs and opportunities which otherwise we are qualified for.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so when you go to newegg.com and look through all the links in the about section of the web site you see the rest of the melting pot except middle age white men. Coincidence?

Go figure- Nice!
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Too much emphasis is placed on profits, and not cash flow. It is starting to makings sense to many business owners, but not enough is being done ...

Reiva,

Thanks for sharing your insights about the challenges you've experienced while starting your own business. I read AllBusiness on a weekly basis and continually witness the entrepreneur who either finds them self in a rut while starting their enterprise - DON'T WE ALL! I have own a small business strategy consulting company in San Diego. I started it up about 2 years and experienced a tremendous amount of early hurdles and headaches. I would highly suggest taking a look at John Assaraf's new book "The Answer." It provides a tremendous amount of insight, outside of the box strategies, for solving some of entrepreneurs most common issues. I'll provide the link below. Good luck!

Amazon

I've been reading through all of your posts and have found them extremely inspiring. It's such a blessing to see people helping each other. The law of attraction really does bring like minded individuals together to help, support, and advise each other. I don't know if you are familiar with John Assarof - he's a motivational speaker and business coach. He just came out with a book called the answer and I'd highly suggest you pick it up. It has a wonderful section about how the law of attraction can be understood and harnessed to stimulate your life and influence succes. Here's the link to the site: http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?rta=forum

Thanks again and best Wishes.

-Corey
Hello Everyone,

I wanted to hear everybody's opinion about John Assarof's new book called "The Answer: Grow any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live and Extraordinary Life" One of my friends who owns a small business referred it me and I picked it up the other day. I found the text to be extremely helpful, giving entrepreneurs a whole new perspective on how to confront challenges, adversity, and really embrace natural laws to solve problems and grow your business. Has anybody else read it or heard about it? Thoughts? Any suggestions for other great Entrepreneur books? Here's the link:

http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?rta=forum

I'd love to hear some feedback everyone!

Best,

Corey
Many brilliant thinkers have contemplated the entrepreneurial code - the magic algorithm that puts a business over the top, allowing a company to hit crucial mass and skyrocket above the rest of the competition. Has anybody discovered this code? The best place to look for the key elements to growing a mega-business are from the people who have successfully done it time and time again.

John Assaraf and Murray Smith are mega successful entrepreneurs, business coaches, and motivational speakers. You may or may note be familiar with them: between the two they helped build multiple billion dollar business: (Re-Max of Indiana), Bamboo.com (fastest IPO in history), Dave and Busters,

Here are some of their top keys to building a mega business:

1. Focusing on the important few vs. the trivial many.
Many times, entrepreneurs place equal amount of focus on many parts of their business. The key to growing a business from scratch is the crucial things that are mandatory for growth really well. You must identify what the most crucial, and fundamental necessities for growing your business and place your efforts there.

2. Outsource or hire people to do the things that are your weaknesses.

Learning is always great, but when you are in startup mode, you don't have time to be the jack of all trades. Outsource or hire to take care of the things you are weakest at. If you are an awesome salesman, then do sales. Hire somebody else to take care of operations or member services.

3. Understand the Law of attraction and consider it in your daily practices.

Neural research shows that when you think positively towards a certain idea or object, every time you think of it in the future, positive neural chemicals are released in your brain, influencing you to take a positive stance on whatever it is your are thinking about. The same happens with negative thoughts. Learn to control your mind and you will be able to accomplish anything, as well as be able to adapt to adverse situations.

Anybody who has not had the chance to read The Answer yet, by John Assaraf and Murray Smith, do it now. It is the most enlightening book for the entrepreneur.

Learn more about John and Murray here, as well as read a couple chapters online from their book.

http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?rta=blog

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I've had great success with using a web-hoste CRM application from HostedDatabase.com to help run our sales department. It is great because we can access all our contact info from the road. Plus, the price is right when you consider there is no software to install on our compan servers.

Reiva -

Welcome to the allbusiness.com family. Thanks for pointing out to our readers that even a "seasoned pro" like you can run into bumps along the way.
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Rieva,

Thanks for showing the not so rosy side of business ownership. I am a new entrepreneur myself, and eventhough I have my husband (a successful business owner for over 30 years now) to help coach me, it has been a challenge to say the least! Would love to hear more about the stuff that did not go as planned. I think we learn more from these stories than from "success stories".

Lin Jenkins
GoldAllianceGroup.com ...

Rieva,
Thank you for sharing your experiences as a new small business owner.It will get better, really...
{Eventually!}
Joel Libava
AllBusiness.com Franchise Blog ...

A solution for the workplace smoking issue comes in the form of electric cigarettes, cigars and pipes available from Crown7 (www.crown7.com):
* They emit only a harmless vapor that simulates smoke yet satisfies the nicotine urges and cravings;
* They're not offensive and can be enjoyed anywhere smoking is prohibited; and, perhaps best of all,
* They leave none of the residue and odors that accompany traditional cigarettes on clothing and other surfaces.

Worth consideration, don't you think?

I couldn't agree more! It's always annoying to be reading something, especially a professional document and see such errors. Although they are small, one can't help but think a little less of the author's intelligence.

I have worked for the rural development since 2004 but untill now I couldn't find any progress in rural area. why so? In Madagascar the real plan of developping farmers doen't exist. We have the trends to follow west evolution but in fact our power to ateign that is not enough yet. Farmers in Madagascar lives under the lowest income in the world. How could they get good life if the fodd entered in their mouth is so low.
I worked for delopping rice production but I have noticed I have lot of work to do because some poeple take profits of the ignorance of poor farmers. I have trained them but that is not enough. I gave the basic in envirnment evolution but few farmers recieved the information. Now I plan to enlarge my activity but me too I am wick.

Sheryl, pls contact me so we can discuss.

Okay, first off I know some of these people that were suspending from there for smoking. They lied to save money, and therefore diserve what they get. You can't tell me that they didn't know they were lying. They actually think it is funny that they FINALLY got caught. The worst part about this is these employees do worse things then that. There is a problem with employees selling perscription drugs to other employees at Whirlpool. Whirlpool needs to look into that because it has been going on for awhile. The employees got what they diserved because it's not fair for the non-smokers and the smokers that were truthful about their smoking habit.

Well, as we all know advertising in the 21st century has evolved due to the explosion of internet, making advertising a pretty tricky task now for bussiness owners(specially the small one's) to emerge in this BIG BAD ADVERTISING WORLD, to be able to do so an enterpreneur needs to have knowledge on some marketing skills, blogging, podcasting, etc. but honestly, do you even have an idea what this terms mean? -nothin', right!?!? Thats why you should call on the professionals to do it for you! Try http://www.getpaidtopost.com/ and ADVERTISE THE EASY WAY!!!! IT WORKED FOR ME....

That flow chart will be helpful to my readers. Thanks for sharing it.

Due to the fact of global warming the diesel fuel price at usd 4.- a gallon is still very cheap. In Switzerland we pay at the moment for a gallon usd 7.-. In future transportation prices will increase because governments are forced to protect enviroment for the next generations.

Sean, I was thinking about that as I was writing and researching the story. HOWever, at this point, what is a few hundred bucks in fuel amongst friends.If they are like you and me, it is going on their Visa's, anyway... JL ...

Hi Joel! Nice place you've got here. Does it strike you as a bit ironic that truckers drove their big rigs to DC from all over the country to protest $4.00 + a gallon Diesel Fuel? Couldn't they just have blogged in their complaints on the Information Superhighway and saved themselves a bundle? Sean ...

As you stated execution is key. Part of execution should include being proactive. Looking forward and adjusting to changing conditions before they negatively affect your plan and put you in a reactive mode which can lead to frustration and increase your odds of failure. A free template, flow chart, for a typical operating plan can be obtained at http://www.bizstrategies.biz/charts/business-operational-planning-process-chart.html ...

I can't identify all motivators. Employers are motivated to provide rewards for quitting or premium penalties for smokers to promote good health and save money. There's plenty of research about the additional medical costs incurred by smokers.

As if the motivators to stop smoking aren't already high enough, this raises the motivator bar even higher. I made a choice a long time ago to give up smoking. It was in leaner times when I had to choose between cigarettes and groceries. Now that the motivators are even higher, what keeps them smoking? It's a paradox of huge proportions.

Absolutely using friends and family as a source of funding is risky. I hope I didn't say otherwise in my post. Certainly unsecured credit is something to look at, but for many friends and family is still the only source of funds available.

- Ney ...

Using friends and family as a source to fund a new business is really risk. If a business goes under it can ruin ones relationship with the person that helped fund the company. In addition, using them can jeopardize their credit. One of the most over looked ways of funding a business, and probably one of the best ways to, is unsecured finance. It is a great way to finance a business that puts little liability on you. All you need is a good credit score and you are set. You can get up 150K in one year. The benefits of unsecured finance is low interest rates, you only pay back what you use (so it is like a credit card), builds company paydex score, and the little to now liability on your credit. www.randrfinance.com ...

Like the saying goes sex sells, I run a singles dating website and a adult personals site. I've had more success with the adult site than with the dating site. Kelly - http://www.online4love.com ...

You're welcome, Kay. I suspect you'll also appreciate Michael E. Gerber's "The E-Myth." The book has well-detailed steps for solo practitioners to plan, and build, effective businesses. You can pick up a copy on Amazon for as little as $3.50.

Great info! I've always added a 'T' to SWOT to make it SWOT-T. The T for Trends. A Trend can be like a wave that sneaks up on you at the beach and knocks you over. A business always needs to check the future to see what it might bring. That way, you see it coming. The reverse is true, too. You can see opportunities coming your way! Stuart MyBusiness Advisors, Inc.

It's amazing what people still fall for. I had a friend of mine last year that received an email from her bank. Or so she thought. She responded with the information they requested and her bank account was wiped out. The really sad part is they make it look so official, or at least some of them do. Her email even had the Bank of America logo on it as if she actually received it from them. I get emails all the time about someone from overseas wanting me to receive and hold $1.5 million for them, what a joke. I just delete them all. What you've said here should be on a billboard somewhere for all to see. Your bank, the IRS or any other legitimate agency is not going to ask for this information. They already have it, why would they need it again? Great info!

I have a small real estate company with about 40 agents and 3 clerical employees. We recently had to close one of our sales offices (due to the troubled real estate market). It is getting impossible to keep all 3 of my girls on payroll, since I have been putting my savings into the company to keep afloat (and that is dwindling). Is there a law as to who you must let go first, as far as seniority or salary? I would like to let go of the girl with the highes salary (she has also been with us the longest). Or do we have to fire the last hired first? Thank you for any help you can give me on this.

I agree with this post so much. I am a small business attorney, and I meet with so many new business owners that want to "try this out" and not really dive in, and others who are so well funded that they don't know what to do with all the money. Both scenarios are recipes for failure. Being well funded is great, and it can happen with a good enough idea. But the bottom line is this: Create something to can sell NOW. Generate a revenue stream NOW. Yes, there are great ideas out there that will garner enough interest and VC money that they will get off the ground and become profitable. But this is very rare. For the other 99.99% of us, we need to sell something for a profit right from day one. It's important to have a ten year plan. But you also need a one year, one month, one week, and by-the-end-of-today plan too. Thanks for the article.

Thanks for posting a link to our blogging webinar. I guess I will "see" you on the webinar next week. Mike Volpe VP Marketing HubSpot http://Blog.HubSpot.com ...

There are always opportunites in every economy. However, in tight times, products that are more affordable but still solve problems will be in higher demand. If you have a good product with a great benefit and it's competitive with other existing products, many manufacturers will still be interested. Maybe even more so, since they are looking to remain competitive. Of course some companies may not invest in new products when times are tight. You just need to find the companies that are interested in your idea. And as all my students know, the only way to find that out is to call some manufacturers and pitch them your idea. You're not really in the game until you make some calls to sell your idea. Thanks for the great question.

Keep Inventing,
Stephen Key
www.inventRight.com ...

Intriguing post, Mike. It's weird the way Small Business America has been the missing player in the Democratic primaries. Other than broad references to supporting the middle, I haven't heard much about the current state of the small business economy or how the candidates plan to keep it running strong. In fairness, I haven't heard much from Small Business America, either. Where do entrepreneurs stand on the candidates and their policies. I suspect the biggest problem is that we're just not telling the small business story. It's too bad...this group is the lifeblood of the American economy. Obama, Clinton, McCain -- which one will run the country the way you'd run YOUR business? That's a question I'm still listening for answers to.

Hey stephen wanted to ask your opinion about the economy and bringing a product to market. Do you think that if the economy is heading toward a recession that would hinder or heighten your chances of successfully licensing a product? Or that you can never tell? Thanks.

I'm happy to hear that you're looking forward to upcoming interviews. And yes, you do have to be a little crazy to be self employed, but when you get advice from people who have been down the path you want to walk, you can dramatically increase your chances of success. Good advice and action will get you where you want to go. Thank you for the feedback. I love to hear from my readers. I will always give you the best advice I can from my personal experiences and the experiences of those I interview.

Kindest Regards,
Stephen Key
www.inventRight.com
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hello, nice blog.. I'm not sure who should you interview but I am looking forward for it. I like reading and knowing the stories behind successful entrepreneurs. Despite the "fear of unknown" You Need to Be a Little Crazy, "Somewhere along the line, you simply close your eyes and leap." I prefer not allowing fear to conquer my world..

I think interviewing inventors new to the game as you suggest is a fantastic idea! I'll do it and you can hold me to that. You want to hear from some one that's in the same boat as you are. No problem! Will do! Excellent suggestion!

Keep Inventing,
Stephen Key
www.inventRight.com ...

I personally would find interviewing the regular "no name" inventor very informative and motivating. Someone who just started with an idea and stuck with it until they finally saw it on a store shelf. But I need detail. From how hard it was to file their first provisional to how easy it was cashing their first check. It's always interesting to find out that your doing the same steps that someone successful has done without even knowing it, it's reassuring.

Everything is relative, isn't it? I could not imagine working in any of thoses offices. I'm not the neatest person on the planet, but I wouldn't even be able to breathe in one of those places!

Oh my! I thought I was bad with files and mail! You just made me feel so much better. I seriously do not see how someone can work in messes like those! I would never get any work done. One thing I can say about those people is that I would bet they spend most of their time on their computer. I have noticed when I spend more time on my computer; I don't pay attention to the mess behind me! Have a great day and thanks for the laugh!

You're certainly right, staying on top of emerging trends is certainly one of the main challenges of a business owner. The extensive list of tactics is really impressive. If we would have to look at the 5 or 10 best ways; what would be your choice? Thanks for your great work. Frequentia ---------------------- http://frequentia.net ...

You're certainly right, staying on top of emerging trends is certainly one of the main challenges of a business owner. The extensive list of tactics is really impressive. If we would have to look at the 5 or 10 best ways; what would be your choice? Thanks for your great work. Frequentia ---------------------- http://frequentia.net ...

Great Materials ...

Great Materials ...

I like the on-demand software idea and think you miss one important point: on-demand requires no packaging of any type. Absent the packaging there is nothing to ship which is another bonus. The EPA has some useful information on their site as well. EPA ...

The internet is loaded down with so much useless information and sites that aim for nothing less than simple traffick and clicks on their ads to generate income. I can spend hours upon hours each day searching for useful ways to market my businesses, and come up with relative few options. I can easily see why the companies that can afford it spend thousands of doallars every month just to be at the topp of the page on the popular search engines, but we can't all afford this luxury. We have to optimize our own sites the old fashioned way, by getting the word out where ever and whenever we can.

I would ad another one after #3 saying "Don't speak ill of your Customers" It becomes toxic and destroys your respect for the your position in the with the client ...

When I was a brand new pizza store manager I was greeted with insubordination on my first day. I asked the tallest employee to dust above a wall clock where I had noticed flour accumulating. This was absolutely within his job description. As the evening went I, I repeated the instruction a couple more times ... each time in front of witnesses. When we were about to close up I asked him why he hadn't done it. He said he couldn't reach it. This was patently false, but I let the lie slide. The next morning I brought a sturdy step-ladder in for him to use. This time, looking for a confrontation, he said he didn't want to do it. I calmly made it a direct order because I sensed that he was trying to intimidate me with his size. Then I went home, leaving the assistant manager to run the store. I wasn't scheduled to be present then, but I felt like I needed to follow through on this matter. On arrival the following morning, I noticed that he still had not complied. Looking over the logs I noted that we had been overstaffed for most of the evening, even though we had taken 'a late' on a 3-pie hour. Obviously he had had plenty of time to do the work and that ladder had taken away his excuse. So I prepared his termination papers and, when he showed up for work a half an hour later (and about 15 minutes late), called him into my cubby hole of an office, remained seated and defenseless, left him standing (absolutely the wrong staging had I been intimidated) and fired him on the spot. It was my third day as manager. Ever. His sister quit the following day. At the time, the store was already short-staffed and that particular job description was now vacant. Normally I would not fire someone unless I already had their replacement trained to fill the slot without interruption ... but this dismissal couldn't wait. The 6 remaining members of the crew stepped up to bat and we never missed a beat. Later, one by one and privately, they came and thanked me for standing up to this bully. They said that the former managers had fired him a couple times, but always brought him back -- and they asked me not to. That was never my intention ... I don't fire the same man twice. By Monday, I had filled both those vacancies and added two more. They blamed his attitude for keeping sales (and their earnings) down. They thought he was stealing from their tip boxes. Later, I asked an experience driver about this and he reported that the thefts had stopped. I've got to believe that. The day I walked into the store, we were two weeks from the end of that accounting period. There were 8 employees, myself and the poorest assistant manager I've ever seen. Over the course of the next full accounting period of 4 weeks, we earned the 2nd highest product & service award the company had to offer ... even though a new driver shanked it at the door with one of the mystery customers.* We also we quadrupled the staff ... with everyone trained to at least two positions. I was losing one young man to the Marines but our store was hitting record sales at the same time that all the surrounding stores were taking a dip of 4-7%. We beat the grand-opening sales ... and that's saying something. The take-away? Don't be afraid to fire people who have earned it. Don't be afraid to reward those who earn it, too. Use the stick AND the carrot. Reward competence (only) and that is what your people will give you. My drivers were making money, the store was making money, the CSR's were getting all the hours they wanted, plus a little. Pretty much everybody was happy except that assistant manager ... who I refused to promote until she learned her job well enough to warrant the expense of sending her, on full salary charged to the store, to pizza college. Manage. *He dishonored a (falsely) claimed late delivery. Company policy is to honor all falsely claimed lates (there is still profit in the pizza and there is NO profit in losing the customer entirely ... customer acquisition costs being what they are) and to volunteer all genuine late deliveries rather than wait for the customer to request that the delivery guarantee be honored. In this way, a poor delivery is actually a way to "WOW" the customer. ALWAYS go for the "wow!".

Hi Mary, thanks for pointing out this post. The venture capital myth is the one that sounds so exciting and snares the inexperienced. Yet, a tiny tiny percentage ever get VC money. The rest just waste precious time and effort in a fruitless quest for money, when they could be building their businesses (which is what I recommend). Anita ...

I'm glad you liked this post. If you would like me to speak at your conference, feel free to give me a call at 1-800-701-7993. I've spoken at Stanford University and many other colleges. Your conference and it's goals are very admirable.

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This post raises a number of key questions and challenges for small businesses -- and for businesses that are accelerating growth. A conference for executives and entrepreneurs has been organized by the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship at Mays Business School. The conference will be held in San Antonio in late April, and it features an impressive set of internationally renowned experts both in workshop and keynote sessions. (The conference will also be a very good place to find very good customers.) I hope to see you all there -- and to get your business cards! http://envision08.com Mike Chambers mc3 Strategies ...

In working with a client, we followed the protocol as I suggested in my post. And now the time is here to review the employee's progress on their action plan. Stay tuned for an update on how it worked (or didn't) and how the employee's expectations changed (or didn't).

I enjoyed reading your post, and, hands down, completely agree with you. I agree that the youngsters these days do have a 'you owe me' attitude and seem to feel like world owed them something. I with you. It is our responsibility as business owners to be prepared and aware of the realities we will have to face. This issue is just such a reality we want to address but probably could conceive of an ethical way of how to deal with it. Will this post is it. Don't pass up such good information...read it. Thands for sharing the knowledge.

We found out if you follow up all your leads 100% of the time and give great customer service you business will grow and grow. Thanks JW Patters Auto Professionals, LLC ...

Tracy, will all due respect, I didn't say 'because MLMs haven't been shut down, they must be legal'. What I did say is "they will be closed down fairly quickly" (if they are pyramids) - because usually sooner or later the FTC will get wind of them. In the meantime they do present a concern for people trying to start a home-based business. I realize there are a lot of those borderline MLMs and it's defintely a case of buyer beware and you really have to lift the veil to see for yourself. Thanks for your comments.

You've used the faulty logic that because MLMs haven't been shut down, they must be legal. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because the FTC doesn't act, doesn't mean that these companies are legitimate. Almost all MLMs are product-based pyramid schemes. That means that they use the product as a front to cover up the fact that they're running a pyramid scheme. Little actual retailing of the product goes on. Instead, the focus is recruiting new marks and frontloading them with products they'll never be able to sell.

I'm asking for advice about some business arrangements I have in mind. Following is my business plan proposal for 2008: I own six properties in Maryland. Five of them are individual houses, rented out to tenants, as they have been for several years. The sixth property is a small horse farm, including main house, stables and outbuildings. The farm house is vacant, recently renovated, in great condition. I live in another house close to the six properties. Up to this point I have always declared all income and deductions, filed taxes, and acquired properties with mortgages as an individual investor. I want to establish at least four, possibly five corporations this year: Three corporations will be LLCs: Two rental properties each will come under the first two LLCs; a single rental property under the third LLC. That will give me some liability protection. The fourth corporation will be an S Corp, with a stated mission of "Property management, property acquisition, property improvement." I've been doing those things as an individual investor for several years, but I want to incorporate those duties into a company. One reason for this change is liability and bankruptcy protection. The other reason is I hope to interest a bank to invest in further property acquisition and improvement, at some time in the future. The fifth corporation I want to create would be for the farm, though I'm not sure about the details of that enterprise. I hope to use that business to cover liabilities, expenses and income for its agricultural activities. Since I intend to rent out the farm house, that would be the farm's primary income source for several years at least, while agricultural activity will be slowly developed. My accountant told me this arrangement may prove unworkable, though it seems very straightforward to me. As I envision things the property management company will manage the income, expenses and future expansion for the six properties, with their individual corporate structures set up as I outlined. Do you see any pitfalls, mistakes, oversights or bad ideas in my plan? Would you offer any suggestions for the year ahead? I hope to start the incorporation process this month if possible, but I want to have a clear idea of what I'm up to before I begin. Thank you!! Homestead200 ...

I agree with your post wholeheartedly. Not to mention, I have found in my own personal experiences that acquiring an SBA is almost next to impossible. However, that is just my own humble opinion. I agree with your recommendation to the business owner to come up with more creative financial plans in addition to applying for an Small Business Association (SBA) loan.

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I love the diagram! Owning a small business is being the business and unless you can pack along your fax machine, computer, and other essentials, a vacation is unheard of. The diagram you give is a great way to realize all the shoes you are filling. It can be so overwhelming at times, but taking it one step at a time can increase your momentum and clarity of where you are. Starting small and building up is the best way to go. There are so many companies that fall due to their budgets being exhausted immediately. If you implement a plan such as yours, take your time hiring the right personnel and doing so as your company can afford it, you will win the battle. I love crossing my name off the list as I go up the ladder! Thank you for the advice!

Web 2.0 may be the best choice for SMBs because slowly the concept of marketing evolves. For example the exchange of information thru blogs is more efficient than using the forums and the list might go on. In my opinion Web 2.0 might be more efficient for SMBs than for large businesses because the amount of information is smaller and it?s easier to implement ?the new world order? to a small business. If the ?big guys? do it first then the smaller businesses will follow the example and implement the "conversational marketing" but if the SMBs do it first then they will have aa head start that could be very useful for their future Ada Opiate Addiction ...

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I think it's reasonable to say that larger businesses enjoy the exposure and success of Web 1.0 and therefore, may not feel the need to jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon just yet. I believe any hesitant SMBs will catch on to Web 2.0 and take it to the next level as it is clearly an effective and cost efficient way to promote their businesses. I think big business will catch up with it once it realizes smaller businesses are taking away from them--but then it will be back to the same old battle.

I just got an email about Ellie Drake's and Mike Filsaime's Free Report called - "The Death of NetworkMarketing" I will admit, like you may also be feeling now, that I thought it was some hyped up offer to get me to buy something... ...Turns out I was wrong. Way wrong. The bottom line is, this report really opened my eyes that Network Marketing may be dying. When I read this, I immediately thought of sharing it on my blog The times are changing for us and it would be a shame for you or anyone to not read this report and fail like many will. I read it, and I wanted to share it with you ASAP. I recommend you take a break from whatever it is you are doing if you can and get access to this report now. Consider your future success by going here now... http://www.the-death-of-networkmarketing.com/?see-why=2473 Thanks, John PS - Mike and Ellie say it will only be available for a few days or so, so do not delay...

I disagree that colleges who offer credit for life experience should be discounted. Actually, I think more colleges should offer this to their students. As a returning student later on in life to school, it would have been a great benefit to me. I am not saying that you should be able to skip years of college for life experience, but I can see a benefit to being given credit for certain courses, especially if you have worked in a certain field for 10 or more years. I wouldn't consider it a free ride, just an acknowledgment that perhaps you did learn what's required by that course in the outside world. This, of course, would be from an accredited school. I am in total agreement on the need for employers to verify the education and experience that potential employees have on their resume. Those of us who worked our way through all the hours of class should not be slighted by someone who carelessly lied about it and never gave it a second thought.

Thanks for stopping by, Benjamin. your comment about "Mom" is right on target.

Thank you for mentioning the golden rule! I think it is a very good excercise for any Customer Service professional to analyze how they like being treated when they are the customer. To go one step further, would your Mom appreciate how you treat your customers? Thank you for your nugget of wisdom.

Thank you for mentioning the golden rule! I think it is a very good excercise for any Customer Service professional to analyze how they like being treated when they are the customer. To go one step further, would your Mom appreciate how you treat your customers?

If you have an online store, employ the same strategy that you do in your stores. Provide education alongside your products. There's a reason that online stores have a "you may also like" section on each product page. It's because products complement each other. And that alone is a form of education.

Hi Robert, I agree with the response you received from the Essence of Business valuations. I suspect that he hit the nail on the head when he said if your business is a start up business you?ll find it difficult to produce the proof required by most lending institutions to validate your business' valuation. However, I have been in your shoes and thought you might look into a resource that I found success with. I truly can sympathize with you. When I was beating pavement trying to get my own personal home-based business off the ground and establish it in a professional physical location, I almost lost hope. I kept hearing the same thing over and over again at every bank I tried. One of the biggest hurdles I faced as I tried to make my business a reality was how to convince a lending institution that my business would make enough money to repay the requested loan amount. I found it very difficult to convince any bank that my home-based business could be a tremendous success, if I could acquire the resources I so desperately needed to get things on stream. The fact remained that my efforts were fruitless. I ended up using an online lending resource, www.thesnaploan.com. Based on my experience with this site, I was able to successfully acquire a start up loan for $100,000. What?s even better is that I was able to apply online, and I got my approval pretty fast, about two weeks. It sounds like this website could be right up your alley.

Good post. These principles apply to both brick-and-mortar stores as well as online stores. Too often I see online stores just trying to sell items. Since online customers can comparison shop so much easier, it's important to distinguish your products from the others. It also helps establish credibility and repor. A tab explaining details about a particular product or a section that educates customers can make all the difference. Regards, Michelle Greer Marketing Specialist www.volusion.com ...

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your question. If I understand your question, yes, there is a hard cost of interviewing people internally; time. And there is a greater cost if you have the wrong people conducting the multiple interviews with a new candidate. If you don't have people within your organization who you trust to effectively interview and assess a candidate as well as put your company and the job opportunity in the best light while being authentically realistic about the position, then you're better off handling this yourself until you do have these types of people in place. Otherwise, while you may attract a great candidate, having the wrong people interview them can quickly drive that candidate to your competition or to another company.

Ultimately the greatest cost to your company and to any company would be to not have a comprehensive and thorough interviewing process. Lacking this type of system leads to mis-hires, costly decisions, wasted time and ultimately a detrimental impact on your bottom line. While I'm a firm advocate of multiple interviews, taking the candidate out 'in the field' for a day to get a strong sense of their position and putting them on some type of initial trial period, (as well as having an initial 30 day New Hire Orientation) I realize some companies may run into situations that may now allow for this well rounded approach. However, let the inability to honor this type of process be a result of legal issues or compliance and possibly a lack of human resources to conduct the multiple interviews rather than time or money. Time or money isn't a valid excuse to put a plan like this together especially with today's thinner talent pool, as the cost of turnover will still be the greatest cost you'll incur.

Hi Taco,
Thanks for your post. To offer any sage advice to you, I'd need to learn a little more about what you're currently doing and your ultimate goals/objectives and expectations you are looking to reach.

That said, here are some basic questions to explore:

1. Do you have a business plan or better yet, a marketing plan to drive the growth of your company? Most important, make sure your plan is both specific and measurable. I.e. here's the marketing strategy, here's what we expect, here's where and when we are going to launch this and for how long, etc.
2. Does part of your growth plan include referral business? Do you have a referral program now?
3. Aside from straight advertising and marketing, what types of alliances are you creating within your market? Have you done any collaborative or co-op marketing with other firms that target the same audience?
4. Regardless of what avenue you choose to advertise, how are you tracking results?
5. And when the leads do start coming in, most important, what is the process you have from the time you speak to a prospect up until the time they buy from you? For example, how are you qualifying them, how are you building out your unique selling proposition? That is, what makes you better than the rest and how do you get that point across to your customers without sounding 'salesy?'
6. Are you utilizing any telephone selling/cold calling?
7. Do you have a compelling message and offering that you use consistently that separates you from the rest?
8. Have you mapped out a specific budget for this initiative and over a certain period of time?

I hope this helps you as you travel down this path to grow your business. No pun intended ;-)
...

I have to say I join the rest of this thread in saying, wow. Who would have thought that a home based business may require a license. I certainly took it for granted that a man's home is his castle, so he can do with it as he pleases, legally speaking that is.

Excellent point, Kim.

Thanks Denise! And...Robert, the conditions of needing a permit will vary depending on locality. Your best bet is to check with them and be proactive rather than have to react to some local complaint.

It is always best to be honest with your clients/customers. But you also need to be aware of the ethical reputation of someone that you do business with on a regular basis. If you have ever heard the term, guilt by association, then you know what I mean. It is difficult to determine the reputation of someone you just started doing business with, but once you have been "partnered up" with someone, you can assume their bad rep as well. I am in the mortgage lending industry and did business with a certain realtor on a regular basis. I would have never thought that this person's reputation would have repercussions for me. After all, we are in two separate fields. But, I soon realized that they were not well liked by others in their profession and it spilled over to me as well. So, be careful who you are doing business with as well as keeping your own self ethical to earn that honest reputation.

This is an interesting article. I have a home based business where clients receive their services at my home. While they are not pets, as the example used in your articles states, I do have consistent business traffic during the week, which is one of the reasons why I am trying to acquire a small business loan to acquire a building in a commercial location. What is the actual issue that may cause a home business owner to need a permit? Thanks for making me think of something I would never have considered on my own.

Shape is sure racy - but what a success. There's nothing worse than a bruised banana.

Never underestimate the power of suggestion. Now I MUST have a BananaBunker, don't know how I made it this long without one. I'm sure they sell them at the Container Store. (I noticed they even sold cupcake holders there that hold one single cupcake.) No more bent bananas for me!

I'll add: -- Do your best to keep emotion out of the discussion and focus on the facts of the situation.

Great points about the importance of getting taxes in order early. I have a fun article called "Making Taxes Dyno-mite" on my site that your readers might enjoy: http://www.thoughtshotconsulting.com It takes readers through some steps to get taxes in order but keeps them entertained along the way.

Sir Its constructive to read. What however still troubles me is the cost of interviewing and the effectiveness of all people in organization like you said conducting multiple interviews with different people in company of the same individual. Could that be effective enough?

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