October 2022 - Page 2 of 12

How to Start a Plumbing Business

So, you want to start a plumbing business. This could be a terrific decision, or, it could be the worst idea ever. Starting a plumbing business, or any business really, involves a certain amount of structured thinking to put everything in place, and making sure that you have thought of everything. By following this strategy planning process, you will have covered all the important aspects of getting your planning and strategy in the right place, and this will make the starting of your own plumbing business some 450% more successful.

The Strategy Required to Start Any Business

Starting a plumbing business, a bakery, or a high-tech company all requires the same basic thinking strategy. To remember it best, use the EASI acronym. In this case, E stands for emotion, A for achieving a win, S for simple and straightforward and I for the implementation.

Everybody wanting to start a business should be aware that it is going to involve plenty of challenges, hardships, stress, worry, and a multitude of other issues. The process of starting a business has often been likened to jumping off a cliff, and building an aeroplane on the way down. It will mean sleepless nights, long working hours and the unwavering support of family and friends around you. This is real, and the reason so many start-up businesses fail.

The first step, therefore, is to examine the reasons that you want to start the business in the first place. This involves an examination of the emotions, or feeling behind the rationale of starting your own plumbing business. Everyone will have their own reasons for wanting to start their business. It may be as a last resort as they are unable to find employment in the field, it may be that they hate having a boss, it may be that they want to become extraordinarily wealthy. Whatever the reason, it is essential that the owners of the business, if there are more than one, are aware of the strength of their emotions regarding the venture. This will determine the power of the motivation, the real forces behind the venture, and, with the aid of a skilled consultant, allow the prospective business owners to determine if their vessel will survive the storms on the ocean, or if there needs to be some additional emotional management included.

The second item speaks to the vision, or goal of the organisation. A prospective plumbing business may have as its goal to be a loss leader and therefore a tax write-off. It may be that achieving a win with the business would be familial survival, or putting children through school. Either way, all the owners need to be able, collaboratively, to understand what the goal is and to have a combined vision of the business that everyone can buy into. Without this shared vision, any subsequent planning and strategizing will ultimately be negated and sporadic, with everyone involved having different goals and aims, instead of pulling together in the right direction.

Keep Things Simple and Straightforward

It does not take any real skill to make things more complex. The real genius in any situation is to make things more simple. This line of thinking is propagated by all the top entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. Albert Einstein often used to say that if you couldn’t explain a thing to a six-year-old, you didn’t understand it yourself. In light of this strategic thinking, the next piece of advice is to keep all your plans and strategies simple and straightforward. Set a goal that everyone involved, all the stakeholders, can buy into. See where you currently are, and plan a way to get to that goal that all concerned can understand, appreciate, and take ownership of.

The final step in setting up a new plumbing business is to implement the strategy. Without a rigorous implementation strategy and plan, all the goal-setting and personal examination of business vision and motivation will just become a distant wish. Implementation plans fall into five basic categories; overall business strategy, financial planning, human resources and communications, sales and marketing, and project management. All businesses must be able to conduct planning with respect to these five regions of business expertise in order to be successful.

Implementing Your Plumbing Business Strategy

The first step in initiating the plan within all the five sectors that need examination is to complete a real, practical, and genuine business plan. Having gone through the initial strategic thinking process as outlined above, compiling an overall business plan should be relatively easy. Nevertheless, failing to spend sufficient time aligning a business plan to the strategy will mean that the business is also likely to fail, because one of the well-known factors in determining business success is that more than 80% of successful businesses have determined their overall strategy in detail, aligned the business plan, gone into each aspect of the business plan in detail, and repeat this strategic thinking process regularly amongst all the stakeholders.

Once the business plan has been compiled in detail, with all the necessary inputs being not only realistic but pragmatic as well, then the detailed considerations in each of the five business aspects can begin. This should dovetail with the business plan, but expand on the details simply stated in the plan to some extent. In the case of a plumbing business as we are considering here, some of the parameters in these five aspects of the business will be examined. Not in an attempt to intimidate any prospective plumbing entrepreneurs, but rather in an attempt to illustrate the importance of this strategic thinking process, and the reasons why it should be conducted in detail, and why utilising effective and experienced business consultants will not only increase the chances of success, but probably save substantial money in the medium to long term.

Five Business Areas to Conduct Planning

These five business areas, as related to a plumbing business, are strategy, financial, sales and marketing, human resources and communications, and projects. Overall strategy has been discussed in some detail, and following the above instructions will guarantee success in this regard.

The financial planning aspect when starting a plumbing business is of crucial importance. A detailed understanding of potential income, and expenditures related to the running of the business need to be examined. Whereas these are obviously tied in the overall strategy, the practical aspects of a plumbing business will need to be added by the stakeholders, using their experience and knowledge of the field. Office premises, the maintenance of stock and supplies, transport, and the ability to survive until the income exceeds the costs needs to be determined. All potential financial considerations, such as stakeholder input, the possibility of generating loans and financial support and receiving up-front payments all need to be planned in great detail.

Income of a plumbing business is directly related to the amount of work undertaken and the charges levied on this work. In an overall sense, the amount of income must exceed the costs of the business, and the aim of any sales and marketing plan is to ensure that this is, in fact, the case. With the advent of social media and the internet, the avenues available to market a business have increased exponentially. The starting point for any plumbing business, like any service related business, is to determine in as much detail as possible who exactly the people are that would be providing the business with revenue. These people, as a whole, are called the buying persona of the business. A plumbing business may, for instance, decide to stay small and provide after-hours services to family and friends, or it may target large corporate projects and tenders. Or anything in between. The better any prospective plumbing organisation understands exactly the behaviour, like, needs, wants, and aims of their prospective market the better they will fare. The example here is that a plumber who caters to the lower end of the economic market would use more print media and posters to advertise the business, while a plumber catering to an upper market segment may elect to use social media more since richer people have smartphones and will be reachable using digital platforms.

Human resources and communications requires detailed planning on its own too. Depending on the structure of the plumbing organisation, and their unique selling points, there may be a customer service department required, or a marketing department if this is the determining factor of achieving business. Planning and structuring the organisation accordingly will depend on the overall aims and vision, but will need to take the entire business plan into consideration.

Plumbing services generally will require on-site operations and the effective management of these operations as individual projects. Good project management is key to any service industry and the basic principles of project management is going to be essential. Once again, though, project management should not be seen as a complex and difficult issue, but rather a simplified and straightforward way of dealing, and communicating with all the stakeholders involved in every project.

The Required Starting Blocks of a Plumbing Business

These steps, as outlined above, if conducted thoroughly and efficiently, with the businesses core vision in mind and a positive collaborative mindset as a starting point, will ensure that the business has a better than 80% chance of success. However, as stated numerous times during this discussion piece, this is not a 5-minute exercise. This is a detailed strategic thinking process that will require honesty and commitment. There are certain things, therefore, that should be borne in mind before even embarking on the strategy process.

The first is an audit of the emotional intelligence of the stakeholders in the plumbing business. Like any service industry, plumbing involves hard work and much on-site work where things can easily go wrong. A high emotional intelligence score amongst the business owners is the best possible indicator of success. Emotional intelligence means being able to cope and manage the stresses and challenges involved, it means training your mind to find solutions in the midst of chaos happening all around you, and it means being able to be an effective leadership team who can steer a business through uncertain times. On the other hand, it does not mean someone who succumbs to the influences of anger or vindictiveness. Emotional intelligence can be learned and improved upon, so it certainly can be developed, but it is key that this quality be determined before initiating any business.

Secondly, there needs to be an understanding that knowledge is vital. The prognosis for a baker who wakes up one morning and sees a plumber friend making lots of money and then decides to start a plumbing business is unfortunately not very good. Plumbing, in order to be successful, needs to be done well. In a highly competitive business environment such as there is today all over the world, any business needs to actually be good at their job to be successful. It is for this reason that it is a prerequisite of starting a plumbing business that the stakeholders at the very least have access to high quality plumbing services. This includes knowing all aspects of the work, the market potential, and the survival rates of their competition. Without this core knowledge, no matter how good the strategizing process and the plans that come out of it, there is no chance of success.

In conclusion, therefore, starting a plumbing business is easy. Starting a plumbing business that is successful and over the short, medium, and long term can deliver on the aims and requirements of the owners is less much less easy. The key differentiator here is having a good, well thought out and innovative strategy, and using this strategy to generate and compile effective implementation plans in the right areas. JFK always used to say that efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction, and so it is with many things, and starting a plumbing business is one of those things.

Your New Woodwrking Business – Knowing What To Charge

When selling your wood projects, what you charge for your final product is an important aspect of your woodworking business. If your prices are too high, you will lose customers, but if your prices are too low you risk the ability of having a profitable business that will provide you with the necessary income. This is a challenge that faces many woodworkers when starting a new woodworking business.

A good formula for determining a good price point for any specific product is to calculate the costs of materials, shop supplies, shop expenses and any subcontractor fees.

The total of these expenses is multiplied by whatever number that gives you a product price that is equal to your anticipated profit and your costs combined. Although this is pretty basic, it can be a little tricky.

Here’s a simple way to calculate all of the cost factors involved.

First, base your material costs on the price of the wood used and add 15% for waste. Add in any cost of fasteners, hardware and shop supplies like sandpaper, thinners, solvents, etc.

The next step is to come up with an overall hourly rate for your shop. The best way to do this is to combine your shop expenses with what you want to charge for your own time and labor.

Start by calculating all your woodworking business shop expenses like rent or mortgage, utilities, machinery maintenance, advertising and any other shop related costs. The easiest way to come up with an hourly figure for your own time is to determine how much you would be earning if you worked for somebody else.

An average month has 4.33 weeks, and if you plan on a 40 hour week that comes out to about 175 hours a month. Add up all of your shop expenses and divide that total by 175. Now take that number and add it to what you want to charge for personal labor and you now have your shop’s hourly rate.

You now have a basic outline of how to calculate prices for any of your products. Here is a simple example:

Let’s keep the numbers simple and assume that your shop expenses are $875.00 each month. That would come out to $5.00 an hour for a 175 hour month.

Now add you’re your personal labor charge. Let’s use $20.00/hour for this example.

So the shop’s hourly labor rate would be:

$5.00 + $20.00 = $25.00

The materials for this project cost $300.00 and the time spent was 30 hours. Your price for the project should be:

($25.00 x 30) + $300.00 = $1050.00

At this point, you need to determine whether or not you are going to add in any amount for your profit margin. This is important to any woodworking business and should be added. The industry standard is 15%.

For this example the profit margin would be 15% of $1050.00 or $157.50 and you would add this to come up with a final price.

$1050.00 + 157.50 = $1207.50 Final Price

This is a pretty basic approach to calculating product costs based on your overall expenses and it is effective. Of course, if your expenses are very low your prices will also be lower and more affordable. On the other hand, high expenses have the opposite effect. A good reputation is very important to your woodworking business, so be fair and give good quality for the money.

The Need for Carpet Cleaning Training

If you are thinking of engaging in the carpet cleaning business, then carpet cleaning training is in order. This is especially so if you have limited knowledge and exposure in this area. And in order to make your skills more marketable, it is advised that you take an IICRC accredited course. Upon completing this and passing the exam, you will be awarded a certificate. This is proof of your knowledge and competency in the accepted procedures in carpet cleaning.

Although many are of the belief that carpet cleaning is a simple process of applying shampoo and using a strong vacuum cleaner, those in the know are aware of the complications. Applying the wrong chemicals or using an inappropriate procedure may ruin the carpet permanently. This will lead to replacement, which is more expensive. For this reason, certified cleaners are sought by commercial establishments requiring consistent professional results. And more often than not, these professionals have undergone some form of training in order to acquire the necessary procedural and equipment handling skills called for in carpet cleaning.

The Scope of Carpet Cleaning Training

The training includes an in-depth discussion of different types of carpets – the construction, material, and dyeing. Identification of the different types of fiber used is also taught. Knowledge of these factors is essential since they have a bearing on how the carpet should be cleaned as well as how spots and stains are removed.

The training curriculum also includes customer handling. In the business world, this is quite important since a faux pas in this area will ruin your reputation and it will reduce your chance of success. For this reason, the proper explanation of the procedure, the risks involved, and the management of customer expectation is covered in the training.

Spot and stain removal is given emphasis. In the household setting, it is usually the stubborn spots and stains which prompt the homeowner to seek professional help. These unsightly marks are even more plentiful in the commercial setting. Naturally, it is expected that the cleaner has the capability of removing these unwanted and ugly blemishes.

Carpet cleaning training will not be complete without a discussion of the equipment and chemicals used. In this regard, it is best that you choose a training provider which does not sell or promote a particular line of equipment or chemicals. This will ensure that there is no bias in the discussion of these topics.

Other Related Courses

Most training providers also offer related courses such as Advance Stain Removal, Upholstery and Fabric Cleaning, and Water Damage Training. Your decision to take up any of these courses should depend on the demand for that particular skill. If your area is prone to flooding or there seems to be a large requirement for water damage restoration, then taking specialized training in this area is in order.

There is a lot of earning potential in the carpet cleaning business. You may go into it on your own or via franchise. But regardless, it is best that you are knowledgeable of carpet cleaning procedures and skills. Hence, training is advised.

Factors Directing You to the Best House Cleaning Services

With the schedules being highly hectic nowadays, people do not find enough time to clean their homes. Thus, a majority of people, especially working couples, prefer to hire professional cleaning services. The same proves to be cost-effective and saves on money incurred by hiring permanent staff to clean your house, which is comparatively expensive.

When it comes to hiring a professional maid service, a few factors are needed to be taken into consideration before a final decision is reached. Numerous housekeeping service providers are available today. But, it is influential for you to choose the best from among them all to get your residential or commercial space cleaned in a proficient way. It is crucial on your part to evaluate the house cleaning company based on its quotes and its professionalism level. There are a number of companies offering quality cleaning solutions at fair prices, but before you go for one, you have to settle on your personal requirements and budget. Determining this factor will allow you to select an apt house cleaning service that best suits you. Below are some other factors, which are needed to be considered by you to enjoy the advantages of professional house cleaning services that ensure clean and tidy surroundings all the time.

Type of cleaning products they use: – Usually, cleaning products include toxic chemicals, which can have a harsh effect on the environmental health of your home/office. Cleaning service providers select inexpensive products while providing the best possible results. But, an effective cleaning product may not mean that it is good for health too. Thus, you should not sacrifice with the quality of the cleansing product. It is important for you to ask the cleaning company to use only eco-friendly products to clean the house/office in order to safeguard the health of your family members or the office staff.

Trained professionals – Make sure the company you are hiring has a team of well-trained professionals. The company should insure its whole staff against damages/injuries caused while working in your space. If a company lacks to do so, it shows carelessness on its part to prove that the services offered by it are not worthy.

Company sends the same cleaning maid every day: – This is actually a major factor when it comes to considering a professional cleaning service, for constancy is a vital ingredient in this business. If the house cleaning company hired by you sends the same team or maid every day, it will mean that she is getting comfortable with your home, which is necessary too. Not only will the same allow her to work with ease at your place, but you will also not need to instruct the maid every day.

If the company you are hiring is insured: – This will provide you safety in case you seize one of the cleaners stealing something from your house. Knowing that the company is insured will help you get peace of mind. You should also ensure if the company will cover accidents caused by its staff in your space. Last, but not the least, go through the contract papers thoroughly and if you find yourself comfortable with the same, only then go ahead to hire that company.

If the company screens its staff members:- While you are allowing strangers to come to your home for house cleaning, who would remain in and around your house, you need to ensure that they are reliable and trustworthy. You must ask the company if an analysis has been done by them on their staff’s background to check if they have a fair/clean record. Apart from this, drug screening should also be done on them.

Keeping the aforementioned in mind, you can easily hire a reliable housekeeping service provider for your residential or commercial space.

Two Ways to Make Your Restaurant Start-Up Profitable

No one goes into business just to see it fail, more so if it is a restaurant business. If you have just started up or are planning to start up a restaurant business, you have to get your business plan polished to make sure that your profits will be rolling within a few months after you have opened your establishment.

To make your restaurant a success, you have to make sure that the food you serve tastes great and is made of high-quality ingredients, that the service you provide is impeccable, and that the ambiance of your establishment is warm and inviting. But the formula for a successful dining establishment does not end there. You need to have a good marketing strategy going on for your dining establishment. Also, you need to have a clear idea of how your sales should compare with your expenditures months down the road.

Marketing Your Restaurant Business

No matter how good your dishes are or how superb your brand of service is, you will not make any profit if no one knows about your restaurant. Thus, you need to get the word out that your dining establishment exists, preferably before your opening date.

How do you get the word out about your business? There are many strategies that you can explore to market your establishment, but word-of-mouth is still the best. Word-of-mouth advertising is a classic because many people still would rather believe the word of a friend of a friend. Other strategies you can use include building a website or posting an advert in your local paper.

Regardless of the strategies you use, the important thing is that you get the word out about your dining establishment and that the word should be good. If people are talking about your restaurant, they will go and try you out.

Having a Clear Forecast of Your Restaurant Business

Another thing that you need to do to ensure the profitability of your business is to have a clear sight of how much you are earning per meal you sell. It is suggested that you do your computations per meal instead of adding up your gross monthly sales because unit sales are easier to count. You should have an idea of how much sales you can make based on the number of tables that you have, on the approximate number of customers you can have on a Friday night or at any peak time that your restaurant is full, on the number of drinks and desserts that can go with a meal, and other such factors.

You also need to be concerned with how much you are spending per meal that you serve. Naturally, you would deduct from this amount the fixed costs of running your business, such as employee salaries, rents, power bills, gas bills and other fixed costs. Being constantly aware of such things will help you gain more profitability from your business in the long run.

Of course, these forecasts are never to be considered as iron-clad. A lot of factors that can affect your restaurant business can change, such as the price of ingredients, manpower costs and other such things. It is a good thing to have a solid business plan for your restaurant business, but make it a point to be flexible enough to make room for possible changes.

The Booming Catering Industry: Facts and Statistics

Factual and Statistical Info

The revenue from the catering market worldwide is expected to reach $265 billion US dollars 4 years from now with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 5 percent according to Research and Markets. Significantly, the market encompasses the major sectors in various communities including schools, elderly facilities, sports centers, and even hospitals. These institutions outsource their food service needs so they can lessen their spending and focus their labor force on more important matters.

Recent Technomic study shows that the catering industry in the U.S. made about $537 billion dollars in total sales last 2017 with a continuous growth rate due to easy and fast online ordering system. There are more than 10,000 caterers in America, employing about 110,000 people altogether. Most of these businesses are small and locally controlled that don’t account for a large portion of the market share. The demand for their services is higher in densely populated areas.

The Asia’s largest catering market and the second in the world, China reached an estimated revenue of $616 billion US dollars as reported by the China Cuisine Association. At the moment, it has around 5 million active companies in the catering industry. This has been attributed to the implementation of online to offline marketing strategy where customers are encouraged to order food by going to the caterer’s physical shop rather than online.

Just imagine how many people are choosing the convenient and practical way of catering food to their guests to celebrate life milestones. Statistics show that caterers are in demand for the following occasions: weddings, engagements, birthdays, corporate events, graduations, holiday parties, and even funerals. There’s also an increasing need for food services in trade shows and conferences worldwide.

Reports show that the money spent on food service mainly depends on how much corporate clients or individual consumers can spend for certain occasions. That is why catering companies often offer various packages, and sometimes even create meals suiting the most limited budget on the line.

To be able to serve large groups opens a series of catering opportunities for them so it is rare for them to turn down any offer, deal or invite. However, although the demand still exists, customers are less likely to order for catering services during uncertain economic times.

Based on Koncept Analytics’ market research, the 3 major factors fueling the increasing demand for contract and self-operated caterers are the people’s need for customized food orders, the rise of the middle class, and the continuing use of digital technology.

The 2018 Analysis of the World’s Contract Catering Market by Orbis Research

By Segment

Business & Industry (B&I)
Education
Healthcare
Elderly Facilities
Government Agencies
Sports & Entertainment

By Region

North America
Europe
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Africa
ROR (Rest of the Regions)

By Country

United States
Canada
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Others (Spain, India, China, Japan, Australia & Brazil

So what type of food catering service would you prefer to establish in your own local community?

Contract Catering
Self-Operated

How to Start a Beef Jerky Business

Starting a beef jerky business can be as easy as making jerky in your kitchen and selling it at a local farmers market. But it also can be tough to find success and earn a good living at it.

Here are some tips to help you see more clearly what to expect…

1. Government Inspection – By law, if you make beef jerky for the purpose of selling it, your production facility must be state or federally inspected. If you plan to sell your jerky in the same state as it was produced, you only need state inspection. If you plan to sell to consumers in other states, you need federal inspection.

Getting inspected is not so much the bigger challenge, as it is maintaining inspection. A state or federal inspector is going to visit your facility everyday.

However, many small “mom and pop” run beef jerky businesses don’t bother getting inspection, and seem to never run into any trouble. They make all their jerky at home, in their kitchen, and sell it wherever they can. Both state and federal government inspectors don’t bother looking for violators, the issue only seems to come up when consumers get sick and file complaints.

2. Private Labeling – To get around the state and federal inspection requirements, most small businesses hire an inspected and approved meat processing facility to make jerky for them. The facility can make jerky based on your recipe or use their own house recipe. They can even source beef specifically to your requirements, or use their own. The facility will then package the jerky with your label on it.

The problem that most entrepreneurs find when they hire a facility is that the jerky never comes out with the same flavor and consistency as it did when they made it themselves in their own kitchen. The answer is to try several facilities and find one that will produce something closest to what you’re looking for.

Do a Google search on the words, “USDA Establishment Number” to find a list of federally inspected meat processing facilities.

3. Preservatives or No? – Most consumers tend to stay away from foods containing preservatives, artificial flavors, and fillers. Sodium nitrite is a common preservative in beef jerky, and there have been studies suggesting that it causes cancer, though there have been other studies disputing it.

The problem for manufacturers and retailers is that beef jerky must be able to sit on store shelves for several months to retain freshness. To do this, is has to contain preservatives. Most distributors and retailers won’t even consider stocking a jerky that can’t guarantee freshness for more than a few weeks.

So, the trick for a small, upstart beef jerky company, if they want to avoid preservatives, is to find markets where long shelf life is not an issue. Selling jerky at farmers markets, street fairs, and trade shows is common. Selling jerky online from a website is very popular. Some manufacturers have arrangements with smaller stores to come in once a week to buy back old stock and replace with fresh.

4. Distributors – The jerky brands you see in convenience stores and grocery stores were placed there by distribution companies. Names like Core Mark, Sysco, and US Foods represent the largest distributors in the United States and are responsible for filling the store shelves of all the national retail outlets. You can’t just talk to a national retail chain and get them to stock your jerky, you have to go through a distributor. And the way things are in the 21st Century, distributors are unwilling to talk to small, upstart brands.

You can instead talk to smaller, niche distributors, and/or small non-chain grocers. Look for those that focus on natural foods. Small independent health food stores in your area are willing to buy jerky from local producers because of their desire to stock “locally grown and sourced” foods, provided it doesn’t contain preservatives.

To get the larger distributors to take notice of your brand, you have to build up the name recognition of that brand across the country. That means a lot of social media, a lot of sponsorships, getting mentioned on television and radio, etc.

5. Don’t Partner – Starting a beef jerky business from the ground up is a lot of hard work. It takes years of dedication just to build up a loyal customer base, and even then you’ll find that your life all but revolves around your business. Your business is going to become your life.

If you have a partner, other than a spouse, often times you’ll find your partner becomes your enemy. Even if it’s your brother, your best friend, or your mother. You’ll always find that your partner is not doing their job, or is telling you how to do your job. It’ll seem like your partner is not working hard enough, but is still getting half of the profits. You might find that your partner is working harder than you, and you may feel guilty about not doing your part.

If you need a business partner, talk to your spouse, and have him or her get on board with starting a beef jerky business. If you can’t find a partner, and you believe you need one, then maybe it’s not the right time to start. Otherwise, take a deep breath, clear your mind, and be prepared to do it all yourself.

The rewards are greater that way.

Getting Your Venture Lease Approved

Each year venture capitalists fund more than 2,500 start-up companies in the U.S. Many of these companies try to conserve their equity capital by approaching venture-leasing firms to secure equipment financing. By obtaining lease financing, these savvy firms are able to use their equity capital for high-impact activities like recruiting key personnel, product development, and expanding their marketing efforts.

What are the qualities that make some start-ups more attractive than others to venture lessors? Here are ten factors that most venture lessors evaluate to decide which start-ups to finance:

Caliber of the Management Team

Most venture lessors consider the start-up’s management team to be the most critical success factor for the venture. Though it can be challenging to quickly evaluate management talent, there are several qualities that venture lessors consider. They look for experienced managers with high integrity and a proven history of business performance.

Quality of the Venture Capital Sponsors

Another important factor for most venture lessors is the quality of the start-up’s venture capital sponsors. Venture lessors look for experienced venture capitalists with successful investment performance over a number of years. The venture capitalists should also have good reputations for dealing fairly with creditors serving their portfolio companies. Before entering new lease arrangements, most venture lessors verify that the start-ups’ venture capital sponsors are actively supporting them.

Soundness of the Business Plan

Successful start-ups usually have compelling, well-articulated business plans. Lessors look for signs that the start-ups have promising market opportunities, clear and credible projections, and reliable financial statements.

Cash Position /Monthly Burn Rate

A yardstick used by many venture lessors to measure risk is the start-up’s projected cash consumption rate. The ratio of available cash to the start-up’s monthly burn rate is a useful measure. It crudely determines how long the start-up can last before a new equity round is needed. The lessor views a transaction as less risky if the start-up can make full payments during a significant portion of the lease term without raising additional equity. Most lessors look for a ratio that supports at least 9 – 12 months of the start-up’s operation.

Equipment Quality

The quality and intended use of the equipment is an important factor for most venture lessors. Most lessors look for transactions involving equipment that is essential to the start-up’s operation. Additionally, the equipment should have acceptable collateral value and be readily re-marketable in the equipment aftermarket.

Product Prospects and Revenue Track Record

If the start-up is in the development stage and has yet to sell products, venture lessors generally look for products capable of establishing a strong market position. If the start-up’s product is already in distribution, lessors look for strong monthly or quarterly revenue growth. A poor reception of the product in the early stages, when measured against the business plan, can often signal a faulty product launch or faulty product concept.

Valuation History

A valuation history records the share prices of stock sold to investors by the start-up. Unless there is a good explanation, most lessors look for significant share price appreciation over successive offering rounds. The assumption is that the start-up is making steady and significant progress in its development, which will be reflected in rising share values.

Balance Sheet Strength

Venture lessors usually evaluate a start-up’s working capital to ensure that the start-up can make payments when due. Along with an analysis of the start-up’s burn rate, lessors use traditional working capital measures like the current and quick ratios. Lessors also look for other signs of balance sheet strength, such as: low to moderate leverage; positive tangible net worth (inclusive of subordinated debt); and minimum paid-in capital of $7 – $10 million.

Outside Professional Involvement

Most venture lessors view the involvement of reputable and successful outside board members as a positive factor for start-ups. A reputable CPA firm, law firm, institutional partners and/or service providers are also viewed by lessors as positive. These professionals can bring valuable expertise and contacts that can help the new venture to succeed.

Payment Performance

As with more traditional lessees, venture-leasing companies frown upon poor lessee payment histories. Most venture lessors expect lessees to have satisfactory payment histories, unless good explanations can be offered. Like other vendors, satisfactory payment of bills by customers is where the rubber meets the road. Whether the lessee is a start-up or a Fortune 500 company, most lessors view prompt payment as sacrosanct.

While venture lessors use additional factors to make their credit decisions, these ten factors seem to be used universally. Though most of these factors are subjective, they have stood the test of time for venture lessors in making informed and reasonable credit decisions.

How Much Money Do You Need to Start a Medical Staffing Agency?

The amount of money you need to start a medical staffing agency will depend on several key factors. Let’s examine some of the key factors to help you figure out exactly how much money you will need to start your staffing business.

Medical staffing franchise:

If you are interested in starting a franchise business, well it will cost you a lot more than a typical startup. Franchise cost can range in cost and services.

Range in cost: Between $25,000 to $150,000

The Range of cost for a Franchise staffing agency will only include the cost associated with the fees and construction; it does not include the cost associated with trying to find clients. OH, ya! I forgot to tell you, the cost of franchising is before you have one contract.

You will be expected to pay royalties to the franchise and you will be expected to follow the protocol set by the franchise. Some people find this helpful and some people may find this restricting.

You are committed to the franchise today and for the rest of the time you own the business.

Let us continue:

The next possible option is to go at it alone.

Start your own medical staffing agency:

OK, this is when it can get interesting, your cost can range in this scenario and the cost will really depend on your experience.

Range in cost: between $2,000 to $7,000

The Range is exactly what it will take to open the doors. Keep in mind; this cost is associated with the three phases of opening up a medical staffing agency.

Phase 1: All The legal stuff.

Is typically the phase you get incorporated, you get your website and you get all your documents in order. This phase can take some time but this is a fundamentally needed phase and it must be done right.

Phase 2: Recruiting

This is the phase you begin getting all your talent pool and this is the phase you must begin from day one and continue through your agency. You have to continue this process because part of owning and opening an agency is always having enough people to fill the needs as your agency grows.

Phase 3: Getting Clients.

I consider this the most important phase, you must and I repeat, you must get clients in order to survive. Getting clients is the lifeblood of your business and must be continually analyzed. Getting business or getting contracts will be your number one priority when opening the doors for your business.

The options:

As you can see I have described two options here for starting your staffing agency. Both have pros and cons and you will have to determine what is important to you, how deep are your pockets? And can you afford either one.

You will always have unexpected expenses that you have to deal with in any business. You will have issues that come up that you did not expect. Planning is very important and planning is critical in any business.

I had a wise man tell me once: Planning is really only 30% of a business, the real fun begins starting the business at 70% effort.

Earn Money Through Personalized Gift Basket Making

Are you fond of making personalized items as gift presents? Then, why not use that passion to generate income? Did you know that gift basket making has been a rapidly growing business these days. The good thing about this business venture is that it does not require sizable money to get started and usually can be started right at the comfort of your home. Sounds great? Definitely it is.

Gift giving has been the trend even before. Normally, you choose gifts that will fit the personality of the recipient and gift basket has been used as a gift choice for important occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries as well as romantic occasions. Moreover, it is also used as gift items in celebrating significant achievement in life such as congratulatory baskets for new baby, thank you baskets and even sympathies. Oftentimes, budget has a very important role when starting a business venture. However, this is not a big deal in gift basket venture because it is a low overhead and mainly depends on your imagination and creativity. Thus, do not just keep your creative skills inside the closet. Let it out by putting your creativity into reality. By starting a basket making work-from-home business, you generate income out of your creativity.

Here are some factors you must consider in starting your basket making home-based business.

• Make a business plan – This is very important when starting a business. Your business plan mainly covers the overall scope of your business. Also, you will have to tailor an effective marketing strategy to gain more patrons and attain desirable sales output. Besides, you need to figure out your location to make gift baskets, target market, budget availability and business management. All of these must be addressed when making business plan.

• Specify the products – The basket comes in variety to choose from either you go for smaller market or the larger ones. Better yet, knowing your target market is the key as to the products you will sell. For instance, Food/Gourmet gift baskets are the most famous gift basket venture intended for gift ideas for family, friends and corporate associates. Meanwhile, body and bath gift baskets are also popular commonly used in the packaging of toiletries such as home-made scented soaps, aromatherapy products, lotions, oils and fragrances.

• Income potential – This factor mainly depends to the gravity of your hard work, marketing plan, creativity and design, market as well as business management. However, gift basket home-based business is seen to attain desirable and even high sales turnout.

• Supply – You must closely monitor your supply and ensure that the supply level and sales output are consistent. Of course, when the sales grow, supply level must go with it.

Going through the above mentioned factors coupled with excellent business management and creativity, the success of your home-based personalized gift basket making is certain.