Tag: Common Goal

Steps to Starting your Own Business

Paul Calhoun asked:

Introduction:

Thinking of starting a business? My hat is off to you, and I hope that this blog can provide resources for you to get started. Since my retirement from industry six years ago, I have been a SCORE volunteer (Service Corps of Retired Executives). Over these years I have met many clients who dream of starting their own business. Their motivation to start a usiness may vary, but their common goal is a desire to be successful and to be their own boss. My experience has imparted to me a good sense of those who will be successful and those who will not be successful. It is those people who are prepared and have a strong urge that are successful. From my training and experiences I have prepared a suggested road map to start your own business. Do take advantage of your local SCORE volunteer while planning for your business. The service is free and the volunteer can be found through your local Chamber of Commerce.

The Business Idea

The idea to start your own business can come from many sources: your hobby, your work experience, your desire or a situation you found where a service was not being met. To confirm that you have a sound plan you have to: – Describe the business in a paragraph or less. – Decide if the product or service is unique… cheaper or faster, etc.? – Decide whether this business meets your personal goals? – Commit to investing many hours to make your business successful? There are many other questions that you will need to answer truthfully to yourself and then discuss them with your spouse and close friends. Once you are comfortable with the answers then you are ready to proceed to the next steps. The Small Business Administration has a full list of questions to help fulfill this part of the journey. http://www.sba.gov Above all, your business has to “solve your client’s problem”. It is this objective that makes a business successful. If this main objective is met, then all your other needs can be fulfilled.

Start Preparing for Your Business Plan:

You need to do some basic work before you prepare your business plan.

Finding a Business Name: You need to derive a business name that represents your dream of a business yet does not infringe on another business. Your State’s Secretary of State can readily tell you if you have a unique name. You will find that this is important as you get deeper into your business plan. Try to derive the most attractive name you can identify.

Finding a Potential Location: Is your business going to be a storefront, web site, home or perhaps out of a van business? Inputs to your business plan will require lease or rental expenses, insurance and other facility expenses. Just as importantly, you will have to determine the traffic past your selected location and how many potential customers your business will attract. The more attractive locations will attract more business but will be more expensive. A local commercial real estate agent is of great value to help you with this decision.

You need a Logo: I believe that all businesses should have a logo. It will be added to checks, business cards, literature and other materials. In my opinion, it brings the business together. The logo will be used on business cards, letter heads, web sites and all other forms of advertisement. Take a look at http://www.logomaker.com/index.html for a very reasonable logo design.

Business Structure: You need to decide on your legal business structure. The options are: Sole Proprietorship C Corporation S Corporation Partnership Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) For the majority of my clients, the Limited Liability Corporation is the best fit. For a reasonable fee you can have a business entity that has limited liability for business debts, which protects your personal properties. You can form the LLC with your State’s Secretary of State. A good Web Site to review the four business structures is: http://www.quickmba.com/law/org/

Employer ID Numbers (EINs): You should get an Employer ID Number (EIN) from the Federal Government. The number is issued by the IRS and it is free. http://www.irs.gov/. At the minimum this will save your using your Social Security Number for identification. The IRS site has lots of good information on small businesses that can be of benefit to you.

Write Your Business Plan: The business plan is the most important document for starting your business. The Small Business Administration has a template that you can use to write the business plan. http://www.sba.gov The business plan document should have the objectives of the business, its structure and it financial road map. This document will always be used to keep all participants on the same roadmap. It is the most laborious yet important document you will derive. This document should be reviewed by your spouse, good friends, and SCORE Counselor. A good web site to find samples of business plans is http://www.bplans.com/. This site shows examples of successful business plans and also has good information for starting a business. Again, I must emphasis that you need to keep the overall objective of “What Problem am I solving for the Client” in front of you. If you fulfill this objective the rest will fill in.

Financing: You have finished the business plan and now will decide if you need financing to start your business. How much do you need? Most of the clients that I see can actually finance their business with a credit card. They need a financial record of 650 or better to get a card and probably can use the card for up to $10, 000.00 financing. Perhaps you can provide money from your savings or take in a financial partner.

If you require more money to finance your business, prepare for battle. The banks are tough and you are competing for time with people who will be doing much larger business with the bank. This is what you will need: A polished business plan A list of start-up costs Past three year personal tax returns. A statement of personal histories Credit reports from Equifax (1-800-658-1111), Experian (1-800-682-7654) and Tran Union(1-316-636-6100)

Be prepared to answer all questions on your finances and needs. Be prepared to show that you are conservative in your plan. Seek out used or rental equipment or other innovative techniques to save money. You should remember that the banker is usually interested in helping start a small business if they have a stong plan and collateral. You have to be prepared because his or her time is limited.

Further Steps for Success: Hopefully, you will make it through these hurdles and be ready to open your business. You are to be congratulated because this is a great accomplishment. You are your own boss and in charge of your future. Do not celebrate too much for now, though, as you still have to hire employees, choose the technology you require for running your business and wade through many other details. May it be rewarding and profitable.

Should I Join Fortune Hi-tech Marketing (fhtm)

Brent Vanderstelt asked:

Can you afford not to join Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing? With FHTM you can earn residual income from sales name brand products that you may already be using in your home or current business.

 

A residual income will help you meet your current financial obligations with foreclosures at record highs ( a new wave coming), credit card debt also at record levels, and the current credit crisis facing you and the nation, who could not use an extra pay check from name brand products that you may already be using.

 

Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing is a team of highly motivated and dedicated individual working together toward a common goal; achieving success with integrity. FHTM has allowed thousands of individuals, regardless of education, experience or current financial situation, to reach their financial goals by becoming FHTM business owners. Through support, encouragement and guidance, our Independent Representatives work together to become the best possible advocates of our quality, name brand products and services.

 

FHTM can set your life on the “Fast Track” to success. Please take a moment to review this site and watch the FHTM video

 

We can show you how to start a full or part-time business that will help you to generate the money you need and deserve while working from the privacy of your own home.  We look forward to helping you achieve financial freedom and helping you achieve all your dreams! Don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to working with you in the future.

We are former YTB Power Team Leaders that moved our team to FHTM. We quit YTB for a number of reasons and they are the inability to promote our business on the internet, pending lawsuits, and the lack of communication and direction from YTB leaders.

Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing is currently available in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom (UK).

If you are frustrated with your current financial situation, and living pay check to pay check, you owe it to yourself to explore your options and spend 20 minutes to see how FHTM can change your life, just working part-time a few hours a week from home and check out or join FHTM and change your financial situation today.

Sherri Russell and Brent Vanderstelt

 

Four Ways to Help your Business or Nonprofit Think Outside the Box to be More Successful

Jane Straus asked:

Dear Jane,

I’m the Executive Director of a large nonprofit and we’ve been stuck in a rut for a while. We rely on the same fundraisers, the same donors, and the same volunteers. How can we think “outside the box”?

What’s the biggest problem facing your organization? Inadequate funding? Burnout of employees, volunteers, board members? Lack of vision? Overwhelming workload?

Many, many organizations face these issues. But if you think “Well, that’s just the nature of this kind of work,” think again. These problems are often symptoms indicating that an organization has slipped into what I call a culture of endurance.

Please note that endurance is not the same as perseverance. When organizations persevere, everyone may work long hours and get by on a shoestring, but employees, volunteers, board members, and general membership all feel energized, enthusiastic, and united by a common goal/mission.

When companies or nonprofits are in endurance, however, they exhibit some typical symptoms:

*Gossip

*Complaints

*Attrition

*Ruts/Staleness of Ideas

*Victim Mentality

Endurance is insidious because, as I suggested earlier, it often passes for normal. It may be the norm but it is unnecessary and obviously does not help an organization grow and thrive. Instead, it leads to a wilting process, where spirits wither and idealism sinks.

The good news is that endurance, once it is diagnosed, is completely curable! Here are some suggestions for getting your organization back on track. Whether you are a manager, staff member, volunteer, or a board member, you can have a profound influence on your organization by implementing any one of these ideas:

*Revisit/Revise/Renew Your Mission Statement/Goals

Sometimes, organizations fall into a boring rut because their original mission no longer fits. Perhaps your team or company has already achieved its original goals and it’s time to set new ones. Or maybe technology has changed the way you need to do business to achieve your goals.

I know of a nonprofit magazine that was losing ground financially because it hadn’t entered into 21st century marketing and database practices. Its goal had been to increase its subscription rate by 50 percent yet it claimed that it couldn’t afford to implement new strategies to get to this goal. In the meantime, it was getting deeper into the red each month and its writers were losing the motivation to produce articles. Finally, the editor-in-chief could see that she couldn’t afford not to invest in marketing, public relations, and database management. Once the staff and board saw the connection between these investments and their primary goal of increasing subscriptions, they felt a renewed sense of mission. They were able to find new volunteers to help with the technical aspects and a PR firm “showed up at their door” willing to let the world know about their magazine.

*Connect the Dots

A lot of work done in an organization can seem trivial and menial, whether it’s licking stamps, calling donor lists, buying office supplies, or answering customer calls. Most people don’t join organizations with these tasks in mind. Therefore, it is crucial that workers be reminded how their efforts are directly contributing to the greater good of the organization and the customers or community being served. These reminders need to be frequent, if not daily.

They can come in the form of awards lunches (brown bag is fine), certificates of appreciation, small gifts, and, of course, verbal kudos. “Every stamp you licked today brought us closer to our goal of reaching our target for the year. You probably brought in X dollars today. Thank you.” People should be applauded especially for the drudgery that makes most organizations as successful as they are. These acknowledgments don’t necessarily need to come only from the top down. Create a climate where everyone acknowledges everyone else. Even managers need to hear from their staff that they are appreciated, right?

*Turn Complaints into Action

Every organization, whether for-profit or not, will experience surges of complaints. Consider them your early-warning detection system that something probably needs to change. So, as tempting as it is to roll your eyes and want to ignore or even oust complainers, pay attention. There may be something valid and even valuable in what they are saying. But instead of jumping in to fix the problem yourself, ask those who are complaining to become part of a task force to solve the problem. When people feel ownership of a problem, they are much more likely to be energized and creative about finding a solution.

*Encourage Balance

We all know how insidious burn out can be. You are likely to lose some of your best, most dedicated people if you don’t pay attention to the necessity of balance. I am reminded of one organization I worked with whose staff was dropping like flies. Everyone could identify with at least some of the symptoms of endurance—depression, lethargy, to-do lists that were impossible to complete, and a “woe is me” atmosphere.

We started by brainstorming some ideas about what would brighten their days, lift their spirits, and remind them that there is life after fundraising and budget shortfalls. The group listed things like socializing together at least once a month outside the office, inviting recipients to give testimonials about how the nonprofit had helped change their lives, starting an internal newsletter so that everyone felt more connected, going on field trips to sites that had been impacted by their work, playing music in the lunchroom, and—very importantly—getting out from their cubicles at least once a day to talk to each other instead of communicating by email. After three months of following through on these ideas, I could see that the magic had taken hold. The staff and volunteers reported in with a much higher level of personal satisfaction and enjoyment. Balance is delicate and subtle but crucial to any organization getting out of endurance mode.

There is an ancient Buddhist saying that no enemy can harm us as much as our own thoughts. The corollary is that our own thoughts can also lead us and our organizations to new and extraordinary heights. Any one of these four ideas can unlock your organization from its prison of endurance. Choose one and put it into practice. A thriving organization is a worthy goal in and of itself—beyond any mission statement.