Why You Should Consider Selling a Startup

Business

There may come that time as a small business owner that you decide it is time to move on from your current venture.

With that thought in mind, do you know how to prepare your startup for an acquisition?

Making sure you get it right is critical as you look to move forward in your business career.

A sloppy preparation can leave you unable to sell your startup or sell it at a much reduced price than intended.

So, what has you thinking it is time to prepare to sell?

Moving on from Your Small Business

When thinking it may be time to go about selling a business, here are some reasons you would consider such a thing:

1. Challenges in your industry – Depending on the line of work you are in, you may see stagnation in your line of work. While a few bumps in the road are not uncommon, you do not want to be in one where trouble seems to be coming at you all too often. As such, you may decide it is time to get out and move along to something you hope will be more prosperous. Keep in mind that a sluggish industry could make it a little more difficult to sell. Then again, some people may jump at the chance to get a business at what they consider a good price.

2. You lost drive to continue with a business – For one reason or another, the drive you had each day is not what it once was. As a result, you can’t justify continuing on with your business. You want nothing but success for it and determine someone else at the helm would be better. The idea of someone coming in with a fresh approach and more may well be what you deem is best for business.

3. Personal matters in play – Through no fault of your own, you may be dealing with a serious health matter. Or, you could have suffered a serious injury. This would be one that prevents you from handling work now and for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, you decide selling is in the best interests of the business. While these issues do not come up all the time, they can sway one to decide now is the time to turn things over to others.

4. Now is the best time to sell – The one scenario many business owners would likely welcome is there is not much left to do. You’ve gotten to a point and time where your industry is doing quite well. As such, you figure why not sell now when things can’t get much better. Getting out while on top can leave you with a nice payout. It can also mean the feeling of you helped contribute in some way to that success.

5. Time to relax – Last, if you’ve gotten up in years and done pretty much all you wanted in business, now may be the time to retire. The hope is you have gotten to a financial point in life where that is doable. If so, give yourself a little pat on the back for all that hard work and success.

In considering selling a startup, you may well find now is the time to do just that.

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3 Tips to Being a Smart Small Business Owner

Business

For many individuals, the idea of owning their own small business can be quite appealing.

From making your decisions to setting a schedule around your needs can be appealing.

That said operating a business takes smarts, good money management and even some luck.

With that being the case; are you cut out to be a good small business owner?

What will it Take for Success?

In looking at what it will take when it comes to operating a business for years to come, here are three areas of focus:

  1. Money management – How good of a job you do with money management will go a long way in determining a level of success. With that in mind, do you tend to do a good job of overseeing your finances? If not, now is the time you need to focus on that. Bad money management can doom a small business from the start. Given challenges small businesses face, especially in the early years, be on top of your money. That actually starts before you even open up your business for the first day to customers. If you are looking at acquiring a startup company, make sure you do your homework. Doing so will help you to find the right startup at the right price. Know that there are services online to help you with the search. By having that help, you are in a better position to find the right small business venture to move ahead with. Once running your company, look for good deals in working with vendors. Also be smart to avoid running up sizable debt. Make it your business to manage finances the right way.
  2. Overseeing employees – If you will need to hire people to help you operate a business, make the best hires. While some bad hires here and there tend not to be the end of the world, you do not want it to become a habit. Knowing you have the most qualified folks and they give you their best efforts each time out means a lot. Of most importance, it means your customers are getting good service. As a result, many are likely to stick with you for years to come. Also make it a point to treat your employees well. In doing so, you build a level of trust and most will go the extra mile for you.
  3. Promoting your brand – Last, how successful can you expect your business to be if too few consumers know it? That is why it is so important to get the word out from day one. Make sure the consumer world knows all about you and your brand. Use all the resources at your side to help spread the word to consumers. You might even want some customers to do some testimonials, tell family and friends about you and so on. Of all the key jobs you have to do in running a small business, being a good promoter is one of the critical ones.

When a small business is a big part of your life, how good of a job will you do in running it towards success?

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Why Your Start Up Needs a Financial Advisor

Business

advisor
Photo by CC user Christophe Benoit on Flickr.
Photo by CC user Christophe Benoit on Flickr.

Starting your own business is an exciting time and one that will test your mettle, your knowledge and ultimately your acumen. Whilst there are many avenues of success that you can find yourself walking down with your business, the roads to success are often fraught with dangers where a series of bad decisions could see it all fall down.

The financial management of your company is key, this is where the staggering numbers of start ups that fail often find difficulties. Naturally your business will need to bring in money through the popularity of your products and services but without sound financial dealings, you could find yourself in difficulty regardless of how high your sales are. Hiring a financial advisor for your firm is a smart move to make for the security of your business and here’s just a few reasons why your start up needs one.

Investment in Your Future

Whilst hiring a great financial advisor, people like the effective Keith W Springer, will set you back some money, it is important that you look to this as an investment rather than a cost. A financial advisor can help you make financial mistakes that could cost you money in the long run and their advice will essentially pay for itself over time. Deciding what part of the business to outsource can be tough but a financial advisor is one area that should not even be questioned.

Free Up Your Time

Even if you yourself are financially savvy, your time is better spent on working out how the business can operate better, how you can achieve growth and ironing out creases that exist. If you are bogged down in the financial side of things then this inhibits you when it comes to doing what you should be doing, which is leading your company. A financial advisor will give you more time in your business, the value of time to spend on your business is immeasurable.

Staying up to Date

The world of finance, taxation and government legislation is always changing and as a business it is vital that you keep on top of what you are required to do from a legal standpoint. A financial advisor is paid to stay on top of such changes and offer you advice in order to adhere to them. For you to spend time keeping up to date on such things will only take you away from the day to day running of the business.

An Extra Pair of Ears

When it comes to making key decisions for your business it is important that you bounce the idea off many people to gain various perspectives. Having a financial advisor gives you the opportunity to seek advice from a financial standpoint and from somebody with no vested interest. Generally speaking, financial advisors are those who deal in figures alone, they weigh up risk through calculations and can offer advice without any emotional bias, the perfect way to help you make your decision.

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Give Yourself Credit for Being a Smart Business Owner

Business

What does it take to be a smart business owner in 2016? More importantly, are you one of those smart business owners?

Running a company these days takes myriad of skills and traits.

For starters, you have to be a people person. If you’re not, you stand a good chance of not being in business for the long run.

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Secondly, you have to be an intelligent person.

No, a Harvard law degree is not exactly necessary, but you have to have an eye for managing finances, overseeing people (your employees of course), knowing when to go full-steam into an advertising or marketing campaign and when to cut back or pass altogether.

That said one of your other important tasks in successfully running a business is making the right deals with vendors.

From those who protect your computer system to those selling you merchant service accounts and more, make sure you align yourself with companies that not only have proven successful in their own right, but have your best interests in mind.

So, can you give yourself credit for being a smart business owner?

Increase Customer Base with Sound Decisions

So that you can increase your customer base (and hopefully your revenue stream), remember a couple of pointers moving forward:

  • Payment options – You will find the going rough if you do not do what is best for your customer base as far as payment options. Yes, some business owners stand by cash-only payments, but they are growing less and less by the year. Many business owners realize that not only is the credit card option necessary, but so too is the mobile option. Allowing customers to pay via their mobile apps is becoming more and more popular by the year. One of the big decisions you have already faced or will in the near future is finding a reputable merchant services company. That is a key piece of the puzzle, especially given how millions of consumers still rely on the plastic buy and rent goods and services. If you have been slow to accepting credit card payments with your business, give that a serious reconsideration moving forward. With the right merchant services company working with you, the sky is oftentimes the limit as to how much revenue you can bring in, especially if you have been a cash-only business up to this point and time;
  • Service matters – Without a solid customer service effort day after day, your business probably won’t stand a chance against competitors. Yes, offering customers the right payment options and allowing them to buy and rent on-the-go is crucial, but your customer service initiatives can never be taken for granted. Make sure you remind your employees time and time again that the customer should always be given the benefit of the doubt that is without treating any of your workers with disrespect. Also look for ways to make the customer experience even better for them on a regular basis. For example, customers who have been with you for a while now should stand out from the crowd, so treat them with a little extra care. From rewards programs to pre-sales that are not open to the public until your top buyers have had first crack, there are multiple ways for you to reward those loyal customers. If you have been a business owner for years now, you’ve likely made a career out of giving consumers what they want. Always ask yourself, what can I do more of to make my customers keep coming back over and over again? When you have the right answers, the rest will typically fall into place.

Smart business owners are those men and women who lose a little bit of sleep at night. Why is that?

They are the individuals always looking for ways to move their businesses forward, ways that not all others running companies are quick to think of.

Put the time and effort into determining how you can be one of those smart business owners if you are not one already.

Over time, you will to find that many of the traits needed to be a smart business owner all boil down to good old-fashioned commonsense.

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Organizing Your Office for Business Success

Business

Learning how to organize your business office can help you achieve long-term business success. The more organized an business is, the more productive it is, as organized businesses are efficient businesses.

When an office or business is disorganized, important documents can be lost, deadlines can be missed, and the whole business can slowly start to get behind, leading to loss of profits, dissatisfied customers, and potentially a business failure.

For those who are not naturally organized, or are feeling overwhelmed with the state of their office, here are a few simple organizational tips to help get things back in order:

Go Digital

Many small businesses do not use the technology available to their advantage. Whether the investment seems too hefty a price for a small business to make, or they simply do not realize the tools they need to help their business become more efficient, not going digital can be a huge mistake.

When it comes to keeping track of records, other important documents, and project files, store them digitally through a cloud storage system, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or other similar systems. The benefit is that not only are all the documents in one accessible location, they will also never be lost. Moreover, they can be viewed from any location and from multiple accounts, making it easy to keep employees informed and do business on-the-go.

Lastly, depending upon your business, consider investing in the right software programs, such as salon software if you are a spa or salon business. These types of software programs help keep your business running efficiently, such as providing your business with the tools and help it needs to be successful and productive.

Paper Files

For the paper documents you do have, take some time to go through them and get rid of anything that is no longer relevant or out of date. Not only will these alleviate some of the clutter, it can also help you recall where certain files are when you need to find them.

A great way to free up space is to scan them, turning them into digital files that you can store in your cloud system. Paper invoices, bills, receipts, and other statements can be scanned as a record, allowing you the ability to throw away the paper files and free up space in your office.

Email

While email is digital, a cluttered inbox can be as chaotic as a cluttered file box. Many businesses and business owners receive hundreds of emails a day, and if they are not organized properly, it can be easy for an inbox to start overflowing, which can lead to emails getting buried in your inbox.

Letting your email get out of control can lead to important emails being lost in the hundreds of messages. This break down of communication can lead to a loss of profits, or a loss of customers, should a customer have a question or complaint that never gets answered. Moreover, be sure to regularly check your spam folder, as many legitimate emails get filtered as spam for one reason or another.

Finances

Being disorganized with your finances can leave your business in financial ruin. It is imperative that you are up-to-date with your books, bills, and other financial obligations. Many businesses, especially small businesses, do not keep track of their finances as well as they should, and find themselves in the red at the end of the year, or with money missing from their business.

Staying on top of your finances will allow you to see if a business never invoiced you, if a payment is missing, or if you missed a crucial payments and are accruing late fees. Additionally, keeping your finances in order allows you to be ready and organized for tax season. As a small business, it is critical you have all receipts, expenditures, income, and other business financial papers accessible for your taxes.

Before tax season arrives, check in with your tax advisor or accountant in order to make sure you have all pertinent information you need for your taxes.

Organization will help you be more productive in the office, allowing your business to run as efficiently as possible.

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/calculator-paperclip-pen-office-178127/

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