Archive for May, 2009

What Criteria Should Be Used To Measure Whether A Business Is Successful??

May 26th, 2009 admin

A business is successful if it meets the goals of the business owner. It may or may not not be successful by my measure of success – net profit, competitive advantage, equity growth, efficiencies etc., but I don’t matter in this equation.

A business owner may want enough to live on, low stress and plenty of flexibility while another may want to build a business to pass on to the next generation. Different goals – each having different measures of success.

Every business owner has his or her own goals, whether they be free time, or short-term income, or long-term wealth, or whatever that may be. The same is true for investors ….. some may be happy with more cash flow and less capital appreciation, and others may want to sacrifice cash flow in order to get a saleable asset, while others may want to be influential in a particular industry. I spoke a little while back with an investor who wanted to put a good sum of money into a luxury food product basically to get access to hot clubs. All of these people can be successful, but they may not all be the right partners for each other.

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61% of Americans Have Started a Business or are Considering Doing So.

May 24th, 2009 admin

We see lots of people who are considering a business startup. They are either creating a business out of a hobby they love, desire to get out of the rat race and spend more time at home, have discovered a better way to do something, or are “accidental entrepreneurs” who lost their job and feel the need to create something for themselves. This Wall Street Journal article from their Reinvent section, shows the increasing popularity of entrepreneurship. 

Ready to be the Boss?

Becoming an entrepreneur seems to be in vogue in this downturn. A 2009 survey by FindLaw.com indicates that 61% of Americans have either started or thought about starting a small business. And according to the Small Business Administration, small businesses employ about half of all U.S. workers and have generated more than half of the net new jobs over the past decade.

Liz Bayer is one of those entrepreneurs. She spent decades in retail management positions for companies like Williams-Sonoma and Bath & Body Works, but eventually grew disenchanted with corporate America.

“I felt that the companies I worked for weren’t invested in growing the company and nurturing the individual,” says Ms.

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Properly Distribute Articles

May 23rd, 2009 admin

While bulk submissions and automated distribution can be a boon to busy website owners, it should also have an element of quality in it. Most of the time business owners make the mistake of randomly distributing their articles to any and every article directory or email list. It’s essential to do a bit of research before you proceed with the distribution process. Find out if the website’s page ranking is good. It should have a PR of at least 3 or above.
Next, make sure that the domain name of the publisher site is not a weird sounding name. It should be easy to remember and be relevant to the site. Also, many sites will promise you free submissions but during the registration process you might find out the service comes at a premium subscription. Sometimes, the website may not have any publishing guidelines specified on its website.
After submission, you may receive an e-mail saying the article was rejected. Therefore, opting for good quality publisher sites that
provide you dividends on the time and effort spent are worth it.

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Successful Entrepreneurs Give Advice

May 22nd, 2009 admin
Each year the SBDC at UNF asks the winners of the annual Small Business Week Awards to share their tips for success.  This year, our winners had these thoughts to share:
 
Mary TappouniMary Tappouni, Breaking Ground Contracting Company
Florida Small Business Person of the Year 
 
Have a Vision that Infuses Every Day:  Everyone needs something to aspire to. Have a vision that you and all of your staff can believe in.  Enjoy every day of the ‘getting there’.  Don’t wait for the achievement of that next goal to make you happy. 
 
Be Passionate and Purposeful:  It is easier said than done, but if you craft your career to fit your passion, dreams begin to come true!  One of my favorite sayings is “You have two choices, you can make a living or you can design a life.”  This quote is from Jim Ruhn; but, you will find there are many ways that others have voiced a similar sentiment.  Design your life and have a purpose for what you do! 
 
Be Intentional:  My Mother gets all the credit here.  On my desk are the “Ten Qualities of an Intentional Life with Self, Work, Family and Community” as she defines them to me.  Many are included in other parts of this list.  Be true, purposeful, conscious, playful and open.  Being purposeful and conscious also applies to financial matters.  Be smart with your cash and re-invest in your business and your vision.  
 
Breathe:  Take a moment to pause, close your eyes and take deep breaths when things get tough.  It only takes a moment and can make all the difference in moving forward positively or with regret. 
 
Help Other Small Businesses:  You may think running your business is all you can handle; however, you can always find a way to assist another small business or that sales person who stood by you when you were not so successful and who continued to believe in you. 
 
Community is Critical: Two more of my favorite quotes, “Be the change you want to see in the world” by Ghandi and “There is no experience better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up,”  from John Andrew Holmes.

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ESPN, Boating and Ethanol

May 22nd, 2009 admin

The reach of government mandates sometimes surprises people – too often including the politicians and appointees doing the mandating.

Consider the current debate over ethanol subsidies and mandates. It got some coverage by ESPN.

An ESPN.com article covered various angles of the ethanol debate, but the unique aspect of the report was its reference to the impact on boating and the boating industry.

The entire piece should be read, but it’s worthwhile to note the following here:

Most gas-operated engines are designed and calibrated to handle E10. The long-term effects it has on engines, fuel lines and fuel system components are less understood.

“There are about 18 million boats in this country, and about 98 percent of them are trailerable,” says Matthew Dodd, the legislative director for the NMMA. “The owners pull into gas stations somewhere, fill up their boats’ fuel tanks, often if not usually with E10 fuel, and head for the water. The boats run, but it’s the after-effects that we have questions about.”

Generally, such concerns involve:?

• The affinity between ethanol and water, which encourages condensation and causes more corrosion in metal parts?
• The fact that ethanol burns hotter and faster than regular unleaded gas, which ultimately shortens engine life?
• The heat buildup in engines, which could lead to vapor lock in the carburetion system and sudden engine failure

Other issues relate to the caustic effect of ethanol on various resins and materials in fuel lines and fiberglass gas tanks.

Last winter, for example, Toyota recalled more than 200,000 Lexus cars to replace fuel-line components damaged by ethanol residue, and then spent big bucks making sure all of its vehicles could thwart the deleterious effects of E10.

Outboard engine purchasers also spend big bucks on what they assume will be an investment they can count on for 10 or 15 years, at least.

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The Best Business Resources For Professional Services Strategy, Marketing & Sales

May 22nd, 2009 admin

Ian Brodie has created a portal site for professional services strategy, marketing & sales at Rainmaker Resources

The site has links to the best resources Ian could find for professional services business development – including websites, blogs, podcasts, video, books etc.

Ian has tried to include general professional services sites (e.g. David Maister and Ford Harding’s sites) ….. along with sites specific to Law (e.g. Larry Bodine’s Law Firm Marketing), Accounting (e.g. Michelle Golden’s Golden Practices) and Consulting (e.g. Alan Weiss’s Contrarian Consulting).

There’s also a combined RSS feed with the headlines of the latest blog posts from the major sites.

Obviously, Ian has targeted websites that specialize or mostly focus on professional services – rather then general strategy, marketing & sales for other types of companies.

So …. if you’re business is in the professional services niche ….check out Rainmaker Resource. You should find something you can use.

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Small Business Lending Improving

May 21st, 2009 admin

Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (FFCFC) posted this release today as sent by the SBA. The winds of capital access are blowing better.

Small Business Lending Beginning to See Upswing

It’s finally happening. Efforts to get money to capital-strapped small businesses are beginning to work as banks have returned to making loans backed by the federal government, according to Karen Mills, the new Small Business Administration (SBA) head.

More than 10,000 loans have been approved following the February enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), representing about $3 billion in credit support for small businesses, Mills recently reported during a Senate briefing on the SBA’s efforts under ARRA.

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Obamamobiles

May 21st, 2009 admin

In the May 20 Wall Street Journal, columnist Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., referred to “Obamamobiles.” What’s up with that?

It’s straightforward and scary.

Automakers hit tough times, and two of those companies took government bailouts. Of course, with government handouts comes government meddling. And President Barack Obama is proving to be an all-pro government meddler.

On May 19, for example, the President declared that automakers would have to meet far tougher fuel efficiency mandates. By 2016, CAFE standards would 35.5 miles per gallon – 39 mpg for cars and about 30 mpg for light trucks.

So, the President’s idea is to force U.S. companies that are having a tough time with massive losses to make less profitable vehicles. Huh?

In effect, the President has decided that politicians know better than consumers. The political class will dictate what kinds of vehicles are made, rather than companies competing to serve consumers. For good measure, these government CAFE dictates translate into more costly and more dangerous (physics dictates that smaller and lighter vehicles mean more dangerous vehicles for passengers) autos.

None of this is good for automakers, for the many small businesses involved in the auto industry, and for vehicle consumers (again, including small businesses).

Jenkins has been doing fine work picking apart much of the Obama industrial policy agenda.

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Social Networking Workshop Announced for Small Businesses

May 21st, 2009 admin

Jack and the Social Media Beanstalk


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Learn about:< ?xml:namespace prefix = o />

  • Social networking
  • Create a brand in the new media
  • Acquire the tools to stay ahead of the ever-changing web

When you embrace Social Media you have to learn how to plant your magic beans and watch your business grow!

Details
June 26 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
University Club
1301 Riverplace Blvd., Jacksonville, FL

Advanced Purchase Pricing:
$160 for a Corporate Table of 8
$25 per person / $20 for University Club Members
*Advanced purchases must be made by June 23rd
Continental Breakfast is included
Each attendee will receive a free E-Book of the presentation

For more information or to register http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=umwyu8cab.0.0.nijod6bab.0&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnewmediajax.eventbrite.com%2F&id=preview or call 904.240.4910

Presented by CIME4,NewMediaJax and the Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida

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The Economist:Small Businesses Optimistic Worldwide

May 21st, 2009 admin

Small business executives remain optimistic about the long term despite global recession

Yet most remain very worried about the short-term outlook and say that governments are doing too little to support them, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit

It is nice to get a worldwide perspective on the state of small business from time to time. We believe that the worst is over here in Northeast Florida and recent studies like this one are bearing this out. the Economist Intelligence Unit is a part of the venerable publication, The Economist.

Growth is a challenge for any business, but never more so than during a downturn—especially one as severe as the global recession currently under way. Despite this, 83% of small business executives report that they are optimistic about their company’s long-term ability to rebound when the economy improves. In fact, 65% expect their company’s market share to have increased by the time the recession ends, and 73% expect revenues to have increased.

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Google, Small Business and the Internet

May 20th, 2009 admin

It’s National Small Business Week, and Google wants small business owners to get active on an Internet issue. Unfortunately, the company with enormous Internet presence wants small businesses to weigh in on the wrong side of the issue.

Google is getting active on how the federal government should spend taxpayer dollars on broadband. Part of the so-called economic stimulus package was $7.2 billion in broadband-related grants.

As banks and car companies quickly discovered, when government starts doling out taxpayer dollars to subsidize or bailout companies, government controls inevitably come as well.

However, Google actually is in favor of government strings being attached, and wants small businesses to weigh in for those government controls.

Google is urging its “Small Business Network” to sign a letter to Congress in support of “open Internet standards to ensure the growth of small businesses in the United States.”

Sounds nice. Well, that is, until one understands that an “open” Internet, in this case, means a regulated Internet.

Google declares: “Without safeguards that preserve an open Internet, the Internet could be shaped in ways that only serve the interests of broadband carriers, rather than U.S. consumers and Web entrepreneurs.” But why would broadband carriers work against their own customers?

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