Hard Money Loans

Small and medium businesses (SMB) often invest in the creation of a business plan or strategy at some point or another. The effort is often justified by :

• The need to have a reference document to submit for financing issues,
• The need to comply with business practices that business managers learned or heard about. After all, all business advisors will say that you must always have a business plan.

 Yet, after completing the business plan, the SMB will quickly start ignoring the plan and not monitoring against it. This is usually due to the entrepreneurial nature of the SMB, their fast-pace and also the fact that most business plans are impractical to communicate, maintain or monitor:

1. Business plans are usually made of 20-50 pages of text and numbers, all related to each others. Changing part of the plan is not easy and it often forces lots of rework. The plans tend to become obsolete very quickly, defeating their purpose.
2. The plan contains confidential information like financials and it is unpractical to distribute it freely to all staff. The plan tends therefore to stay secret, again defeating the purpose.
3. The business plans do not allow easy monitoring of the performance. Quickly managers will rely on pure financials assessment of their business, focusing on P&L and balance sheet, forgetting the other important aspects of the business.

A better solution for SMB is to use on-line enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions. Easy to share between managers and staff, yet easy to secure confidential information, the EPM is easy to implement, easy to maintain, straightforward to monitor. Best EPM are based on the balanced scorecard concepts, where the strategy formulation and its monitoring (through KPIs) is built-in a single, easy to understand framework. The strategy stays always fresh, is communicated well and the active monitoring foster better short and long term performance.

To get an idea or try an EPM you can visit our web site at www.managementscorecards.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/strategy-planning-for-small-and-medium-size-businesses-1508794.html

Crucial Tool #1: Your Own Web site

The most important and critical tool in internet Marketing is having your own web site The first step in any booming internet marketing business is building a great, credible and professional looking web site Your web site is the leap off point for all your selling efforts. Thus, you must 1st build a user-friendly web site, which will attract your prospects and encourage them to click-through on the links to the products and services you are marketing – and then help them make a purchase. Consequently, you must first focus your efforts in building a web site that will provide exactly what your prospects think they need.

The most significant thing you should consider is that almost all web users go online to search for information; NOT necessarily to go and purchase something. Above all else, make your web site appear to be overflowing with original, fresh, relevant and valuable content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Bear in mind that, on the internet, content rules supreme! Plus – good quality content will not only build your credibility, but it can also assist you to achieve a higher search engine ranking. By placing relevant and useful articles, you brand yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy expert of the product or service which you are promoting. Building a good reputation is a wise step in developing a loyal consumer base.

Crucial Tool #2: Incentives

Competition is extremely close in the online world. You must always be one-step in front of your competitors to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible way to encourage people not only to visit your site, but also to click-though and continue visiting your web site that has the products and services you are marketing. Building an opt-in email list is one of the better ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can do all sorts of things like: award free software, give access to selective services, give away valuable freebies that will be accommodating to your prospects.

Significant Tool #3: Link Popularity

The significance of driving highly targeted traffic to your web site can’t be stressed enough. The all-important thing you want is “internet traffic” – and it needs to be at the top of your list of the most important things you need to do in the online world. Drawing people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to attain a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the criteria that search engines use to decide search engine rankings. Therefore, to improve your link popularity, you must launch an ambitious reciprocal link campaign.

One of the top ways to do this – at zero cost – is by submitting articles, with your web site’s link to things like e-zines and free article sites. You will not only derive exposure, you will also get the opportunity to advertise for free. Then, all you do is to include a link back to your web site. The more web sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, fresh, relevant and useful so that more web sites will pick them up and post them on their sites!

These are just 3 of the numerous tools that an internet marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are infinite and they are limited only by your imaginativeness, creativity, resourcefulness and purpose. You can always search other ideas and adapt other tactics & strategies, which you think might help you become a top producing internet marketer.

Thank you, David James

David and Christine James Online Business Owners and Mentors.
Questions may be replied to davidandchristinebttw@gmail.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/three-essential-tools-for-the-internet-marketer-1471025.html

Every business has basic needs like accounting, marketing and business strategizing. No business can run without these aspects, but not all businesses can afford to have all of these businesses outsourced to other companies. So, how does a company look for business support services without worrying about pricing themselves out of business?

The Local Options
Many colleges offer work options to juniors and seniors based on their major. You can contact the local college career planning office and let them know that you have either paid or unpaid internship opportunities at your business. They’ll list your company in their career planning catalogue or verbally tell students about the availability when they locate a match. You’ll be assisting the students with their curriculum credits and obtaining inexpensive or even free assistance for your business support needs.

You can also contact your local unemployment offices and inform them that you have an opening for a skilled professional in your office.

Posting your position with your local city or county employment offices will also get the word out to the local community for your needs.

Virtual Opportunities
With so many businesses being virtual these days, it’s easy to see how the virtual business support field has exploded. There are dozens of websites dedicated to providing virtual candidates to clients looking for business assistance all over the web. These sites house candidates that are their own boss and run their own company as well as individuals that are looking for supplemental income outside of their forty hour a week jobs.

iFreelance – This paid service allows business owners to post their positions on the site to be searched by business type by thousands of qualified service providers. You have the option of setting a bid amount for your position to keep all costs within your own budget or to allow the applicants set the bid amount, if you’re not sure of the going market rates for your business support needs.

Elance – Also a paid site, elance allows for online chatting with potential candidates who apply to your position so you can get a sense of their personality as well as their expertise.

Find It Local 411 is a web based online community resource for the Michiana region of the United States (Northwest Indiana & Southwest Michigan). Finditlocal411.com serves the area by providing local business listings, classifieds, events and business advice and consults on their blog.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/find-business-support-with-these-ideas-1438365.html

The business world is tough and for this reason it calls for an entrepreneur to be aggressive, innovative and focused in order to make money. The economic recession has not made things any better. Big and small businesses are reeling from the effects of the economic slump with some even closing shop. It therefore becomes imperative for a business owner to implement business strategies that will ensure survival.

Identifying the weakness of your business competition, then going ahead to exploit these limitations will help you stay ahead of your business opponents. In addition, note the strengths of your competitors and avoid them. In business, it is a matter of perception especially when it comes to marketing. The opinions of your customers are the ones that determine and map your business success.

As a business owner always be paranoid about your competitors. By this I mean; have a mindset that your business competitors are constantly up to something. This will help to come up with new business ideas and strategies and hence have an edge over your business rivals.

Find every opportunity to gather information about your business contenders. This can be achieved by reading magazines that feature your business rivals or inquiring from customers about the products and services been offered by your competitors.

Anytime something happens to threaten business operations, for example, realize of a new product by a rival company or the current economic crisis, business people tend to get disoriented and some may take irrational actions. This is why I started this article by stating that in business there is need to be focused and determined despite the challenges that come with running a company.

Stephen is an Business Organizing Expert . He researches and studies on big and small business strategies . Website: Business Management Solutions for efficient business operations.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/how-to-overcome-your-business-rivals-1401704.html

“In fact, we often joke about “having a case of the Mondays” because nobody ever does.”

I have mentioned in previous articles that I approach leadership from the “servant leadership” mindset. This means that I put the interest of my team before my own (of course, with the interest of my company’s overall welfare as the focus). If your team is like most then you probably expect the typical Friday to be relaxed, light and less productive than other days, right? That’s not exactly my expectation or what happens on Fridays at my company.

Servant leadership has lead me to give my team freedom to determine how, when and where they work as long as they live up to their responsibilities and deadlines. That has resulted in Friday being like most other days of the week – productive, relaxed yet focused and usually just as fun as a Monday. In fact, we often joke about “having a case of the Mondays” because nobody ever does.

Creating this type of work environment takes more than just telling everyone they can do as they please. It requires the company leaders to constantly reinforce the expectation of fulfilling roles, nurture clear communications to keep everyone engaged and to recognize the right times to deliver good and bad news. Having a case of the “Mondays” is directly related to how much you dread working on Monday so don’t give your team something to dread. There’s no point to having someone stress out all weekend over a problem that can, or even must, wait until Monday to address. As a leader I do my best keep the stress to myself until the time is right to focus on the issue. The result is everyone gets to work on Monday ready for action with a positive attitude.

Thanks for reading,

Richard Walker

(Blog: www.EfficientCEO.com)

(Website: www.Quikforms.com)

I became an entrepreneur when I started my first business at age twelve. My dream was simple: become a great leader and change the world. Today, as the President and CEO of Efficient Technology Inc, my vision is constantly being exercised and my goal is still the same. These articles are about the many facets of my passion for business: leadership, management, people, processes and technology. While I enjoy other passions like snowboarding and surfing, my focus is to share what I learn daily with everyone around me, and readers like you. I welcome your feedback and insight!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/lead-on-friday-to-be-happy-on-monday-1393941.html

To read part 1 and understand what a merger and acquisition is, please go to: https://ivoireconsultancy.org/blogs/ivoire_article_view.php?id=54

Limitations of M&A

One should know that M&A as a strategy for rapid growth can be risky and uncertain. Shareholders of acquired firms are likely to earn above-average returns, while shareholders of acquiring firms’ shares fall as soon as an intention to acquire is announced. This is indicative that investors do not see M&A as a vehicle for achieving any added value to the acquiring firm.

Over the years we have experienced the failure of major M&A. Some manages are rather concerned with empire-building strategies rather than maximising shareholder value; the bigger the firm, the bigger the bonus and salary.

AOL Time Warner is an example of a US multimedia giant created in 2000 by the merger of AOL and Time Warner, new and old media industries. The merger was intended to exploit cross-promotional opportunities following the decline of AOL after the dot.com crash. However, the marriage failed to produce any intended synergy.

Some of the reasons link with M&A failures:

1. Integration difficulties
When two large organisations try to integrate their activities, this can be time-consuming and difficult- The existing organisational culture within each firm is a major barrier to merger. Companies really never integrate their activities some decades later.

However, some organisations like Cisco have managed to achieve effective post-merger integration. Cisco, an American company has developed strong capabilities in this area. The firm always allocate substantial resources to its M&A activities and make great effort in integrating financial, technical and human resources.

2. Inadequate evaluation of Target Company

Acquiring firms do not take sufficient time to evaluating the target company. Lack of a strong due diligence has been cited as the reason of the poor choice of take-over target.

3. Large or extraordinary debt

The revenue-generating activity of the acquired company can be over-estimated, pushing the acquiring firm to take on too much debt to pay for it. In the end, there is not sufficient revenue to service the debt.

4. Inability to achieve synergy

Lack of synergy could be cause for concern. Many companies have failed to achieve the intended outcomes because managers are too focus on their own interests and fail to identify problems within target firm operations during due diligence. Balance sheets of acquired firms could show bad debts that are not mentioned prior to the bid.

5. Too much diversification and too large

Successful managers are too often distracted by M&A and end up destroying what they have already achieved organically, by, losing sight of the core business activities and, investing in activities that fail to maximise shareholders value. In the end the organisation become so large that managers struggle to control.

Ivoireconsultancy.org is an online outsourcing site where businesses and consultants meet to work on projects.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/why-some-ma-fail-to-succeed-1391980.html

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing is tapping into someone else’s expertise. If you try to become everything to everyone, you won’t get the results you want. There are so many sources of automatic training available to tap into it’s almost ridiculous to think that anyone would have to spend time training reps themselves.Without a doubt, the biggest drag on the momentum of building your home business through the direct selling model is the task of training, supporting and motivating your new reps. You should be doing the activities daily that keep you generating the most profit… recruiting and selling all day long. Getting into “management mode” by stopping to train your team, can KILL your business.

Do What the Pros Do

Some of the highest paid achievers in our industry are leveraging their time by outsourcing their organizations’ training, development, motivation and support. They have more time to do what makes them the most money. How do they do it? They have partnered with a support system that does this for them.  They recruit and sell all day long and after some initial one on one, they refer their reps to an online training system that can provide weeks and weeks of training.  There are free generic support groups like Mentoring For Free and paid or subscription resources such as Dani Johnson and MLM Lead System Pro.   Additionally, many MLM companies have built-in training for new reps.  Some are better than others though.  Some are just useless.

You Can’t Be A Leader Bee If You’re Busy Being A Worker Bee

Freeing your mind from the tedious process of training people on how to set up websites, capture pages, call leads, have a better presence on Facebook or Linkedin, etc will allow you to be an inspirational leader instead of a professorial one.  You don’t need to try to do it all yourself.  In face, you CAN’T do it all by yourself.

Delegate or Die !

Truth be told, you will probably lose a few reps along the way.  Those that need their hand held every step of the way.  It’s happened to me and while it’s a shame to lose them, you’ll find you are better off with self-starters.  Hand-holding can bleed you dry and keep you from doing the things that drive your business forward.  Delegate or Die !

Henry Ford once said in regards to his apparent lack of knowledge in some areas, “I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk, and by pushing the right button, I can summon to my aid men who can answer any question I desire to ask concerning the business to which I am devoting most of my efforts.

Each and every one of us has at our disposal infinitely more “buttons” than Henry Ford could ever even imagine.  Give it a shot and get some new prospects and reps some kick butt training.   You’ll be glad you did.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/learn-to-push-buttons-like-henry-ford-and-explode-your-business-1383788.html

ATTITUDE…  As a man thinketh, so he is.

When those words were first spoken, what was it’s meaning?  Language as we know it today has changed or interprets meanings differently than it’s original intent.  Even the language written in the countries founding documents require the Supreme Court to interpret, rightly or wrongly, many of it’s original meanings on a variety of topics.

But, what does it mean, ‘As a man Thinks, so he IS.’?

We’ll, there is another saying that is circulated more that may put some light on it; and that is, ‘You are what you eat.’  The out come of this statement is readily seen in many cases.

Let’s Rephrase It.

You IS what you Think On or About,

You Are what you think

or a favorite,

Garbage In, Garbage Out.

When someone takes full control of and has an understanding of this concept, they will understand that, they highly influence their own destiny.  That is a strong statement.

Like many homes today I came from a broken home, but in my day it was not the norm and there was a much larger stigma and social pressures from society in my day.

Both my parents were alcoholics; they were physically and verbally abusive to each other and to my siblings and myself.

To avoid being home and to make money to buy candy and such, you, things that are important to a kid and because my parents drank any allowance I would have gotten, I did what the Little Rascals on TV did.  I started my first business.  I went to the local Bars, and Taverns (where else) and sold ‘Shoe Shines’.

When my allowance, if I got one, was 0.10 cents a week and I could make $1.00 – $1.50 A DAY shining shoes, why did I need my allowance.  I also opened doors at a local Fine Dinning Establishment for tips and sold Christmas Cards Door to Door.

When I was 7, just 18 months after my parents separated and eventually divorced, I and my siblings were placed in a home for kids, that were without parents and those who’s parents could not handle them because of behavior issues.

I WAS ABONDONED!

I was a talented artist and had aspirations of working with a well known animation company.  After applying for and being accepted to the High School of Art & Design, I though I was on my way to designing my life and working in my dream job when I graduated.

Because I mother did not ‘give us up’ but kept parental rights, I believe to get child support from my father, my ‘legal address’ although my physical address was in the home and she did not visit, was where she resided.

When she moved outside of the cities limits, I was no longer eligible to attend that school.  Dreams shattered.

This pattern continued until ‘I’ had control of my own life.

Not knowing what I was doing, but knowing I did not like the life I had or those who were guardians of my care, I took on ROLE MODELS of people I wanted to be like and who seemed to me as a kid were nice.

While others were reading comics, although I liked Spiderman, the Hulk and Thor, I read books from many Motivational Leaders and Sales Gurus of the day.

They both had several major themes that inspired me.

Regardless of circumstances, I CAN BE WHO I WANT TO BE.

Yeah Right! A kid like me, how?

BELIEVE!  Believe in yourself.  ‘Still not helpful.’ I was a product of my environment.

Then came the application.  As hard as it sounded to believe and it being against all forms of logic, seeming like hocus pocus, each book, from these unknowing surrogate parents, thought me to visualize what and who I wanted to be.  But not who I wanted to be, but more on who I say myself AS BEING, NOW.

The advice was to see myself as if watching myself on a movie screen as playing out the part of the person I wanted to be, but was, in the movie.

So I did that.  As a Man Thinks so he is.

I thinks, I is a.  And I filled in the blank and say the pictures in my mind.  I played the pictures in my mind, over and over again.  In the physical works I played out the part of a big shot and because of my change of perception of myself, I became the person I set out to be.

My friend.  I am here to tell you that, if you want to be a millionaire, you must do what millionaires do; but MORE IMPORTANTLY, you must NOT DO what millionaires don’t do.

(But don’t think small there either, Think BIG!  Go for Billionaire!)

In his book, ‘Thinking For A Change’, John C. Maxwell puts it this way

• UNSUCCESSFUL people focus their thinking on SURVIVAL.
• AVERAGE people focus their thinking on MAINTENANCE.
• SUCCESSFUL people focus their thinking on PROGRESS.

One of the saying I often use when coaching people is, “ If you keep hanging out with Turkeys that scavenge on the ground for scraps and eat dirt, you won’t have time to soar with eagles above the mountains and who get the prime meats.”

That combines a number of sayings that are similar, but I believe it creates a better visual.

Allow me to close here by leaving you with this morsel paraphrased from Thomas Edison.

Don’t let your education (past learned and practiced understanding of reality) get in the way of your schooling (the ability to adaptive and be open minded to new ideas and apply them).

Go in Peace, Love and Prosperity!

About the author:

Albert Johansen has been an entrepreneur since he was a child. His first ‘Real’ business venture was buying an 8-unit apartment with a friend. He’s had a Limo Company in NY, A Dance Company in FL, A Furniture Repair and Restoration Company in MI, A Mortgage Company in MI, NC, & FL, A Telecommunication Company in Florida.

His recent ventures include Being a Close Protection Operative (Bodyguard work) www.ExecutiveProtectors.com, and a Gunsmith, www.PatriotGunsmith.com

But the love he has for helping others in his Global Marketing and Consulting Company, he says is a joy. See his myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/JohansenMarketing

You can also follow him on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/JohansenMrktg

Email: JohansenMarketing@GMail.com

407-579-7557

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/attitude-as-a-man-thinketh-so-he-is-1368447.html

Writing a business marketing plan is always the first step to achieving your business goals. It’s important to create a well-researched marketing plan because it will surely lead you to a profitable and successful sale.

If you’re planning to put up your own cleaning business, it’s imperative that you have your own marketing plan even if you’re catering to a niche market. This will assist and guide you in your daily decision-making which in turn, will be your key to success.

Let me give you some tips on how to start your business marketing plan to keep your commercial cleaning business thriving despite our sluggish economy:

Tip 1: Planning on how to allocate your capital is one of the factors you need to consider when creating a business plan.

On the one hand, spending on expensive but quality cleaning materials and equipment might lead to slower return on investments. On the other hand, if you scrimp on equipment and cleaning materials, the quality of your service would most likely suffer. You obviously have two choices: cheap equipment but faster ROI or expensive equipment but slower ROI. The key here is to find a balance between cost-optimality and quality service.

Tip 2: Setting a price can make or break your cleaning business. Is your cleaning service priced too high or too low?

Your business marketing plan should also be based on the law of supply and demand. If your business is located in an area wherein there is pretty much non-existent cleaning business, then you could price it accordingly to position yourself into your customers’ mind as the market leader. However, be sure to provide quality service so that your customers’ will get their money’s worth. If your cleaning business is located in a highly competitive neighborhood, then you have to lower your prices accordingly. Always keep this in mind whenever you’re studying the pricing strategy: your markup should be within the reasonable value which leads me to…

Tip 3: Know your competition. Are there are a lot of cleaning services sprouting left and right in your neighborhood? Do you still want to take the risk strong amidst the strong competition? If yes, try to set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. Offer complementary products that your competitors haven’t thought of yet.

Tip 4: Set a deadline. When is your target launch? When do you expect to break even or recoup your investment?

Setting a deadline will drive and motivate you to be consistent. This will also keep track of your progress as well as help you spot your strengths and weaknesses.

More often than not, these factors are often taken for granted. What makes a business marketing plan effective is when you exhaust all possible scenarios. Once you’ve come up with the best AND worst possible scenarios for your cleaning business, then it’s time to put your plan into action!

Jeremy Gray is a successful entrepreneur and a commercial cleaning business owner. He also owns and maintains CleaningBusinessSecrets.com. Head to his site if you want more information on how to write an effective business marketing plan.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/top-tips-for-creating-a-business-marketing-plan-1366670.html

There are many ways to set up a business model, and more are developed every day with the growth of the world wide web. The classic brick-and-mortar storefronts, pure service ventures, and manufacturing and warehouse models still exist, but have been expanded from their classic versions to remain competitive in today’s environment. In addition, purely web-based businesses and incorporating internet opportunities into the classic models have been added to the mix. These various distribution channels serve to both multiply the startup opportunities and increase competition for consumer spending.

With so many options available for how you set up your business, it is critical to consider which alternative best fits both your personality and your business idea. If you are looking forward to working with the public and doing something different every day, a purely online business is probably not for you. If you are eager to work independently with few distractions, and you prefer to be in an office in front of the computer most of the time, a brick-and-mortar store is probably not for you. Be realistic about the environment that motivates you to do your best work. Brainstorm the different ways that your business idea can be developed to be successful in that environment.

Different business models require different resources to successfully launch. A brick-and-mortar store or manufacturing operation requires significant startup capital to cover the lease costs, furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) expenses, staff to cover the open hours, and inventory. A purely online retail business requires more time than capital — it can take months to show up on the top search engines, especially if your business’s key words include significant direct or indirect competition. The actual expenses can be kept fairly minimal, as you can use dropship distributors so that you carry no or very little inventory or you can use a just-in-time inventory system to keep your costs down. You can run the business from home so that your overhead expenses are kept low as well. If you have a good idea of the resources you will have to launch your startup, develop a business model for your startup that is within those means.

Whatever your basic business idea, there are likely a number of business models that could be effective for launching and growing your venture. Ultimately, it is best to diversify both in product and distribution channel, and those future expansions should be in mind when determining where to start. For example, if your goal is to own a chain of pet supply and training stores but you don’t have the funding to open even one storefront, consider starting out with a limited online retail store. Add self-published how-to books for training and animal care and perhaps a local in-home training service. Build a reputation as an expert by submitting good articles to websites and print magazines that draw your target customers. Consider adding seminars on related topics for other trainers or pet owners. Over time, you will increase your revenues to the point that leasing space is within the budget, and you will have multiple income streams up and running before your overhead becomes a major factor.

The business model you choose is not the primary factor in whether your business succeeds. Many business ideas can be modified to fit different methods of distribution, as long as the benefit to the customer is convincing. Selecting a business model that doesn’t fit your personality is set up for failure because you will lose your motivation and desire to keep pushing through. Every venture requires dedication and perseverance to succeed, so you have to enjoy at least the method enough to keep you focused on building the business.

K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur with a J.D. from Duke University, is co-founder of LaunchX LLC. The LaunchX System, a five Unit series of step-by-step startup procedures, key business software, and marketing reference books, is designed to assist entrepreneurs in developing a business idea into a successful company. Take the free Business Readiness Assessment and get on the road to business startup today.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/strategic-planning-articles/choosing-the-right-business-model-for-your-startup-1369150.html