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The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Staff and Business Survival

Being involved with technology solutions professionals see things that could be a real threat to you, your staff or even your business; while the internet can be seen as a wonderful tool (cloud based communications and solutions for example) and all of the other great achievements that the internet has created there is a far darker side to it all; of that there is no doubt and it can be a real threat.

And factually you have in your business nowhere to run or nowhere to hide; sooner or later it becomes a high odd’s bet that employee, you or your company will suffer and in severe cases the effects could even close your company overnight.

Don’t believe this? Read on where examples of actual major threats are shown below. Not worried? You should be!

It’s so dangerous that Deloitte opened a cyber threat hunting service!

But on an everyday level to ordinary SME’s just like your business there really is no amount of anti virus this or anti malware that available that is really going to help; the examples below show you exactly why; things these days have moved on exponentially to levels that you may not believe, but some are revealed that are actual examples highlighting just how bad these threats have become. There will be casualties no doubt but you don’t want to be one of them!

Email has been a driving force that has moved forward communications between every aspect of business that anyone could imagine, from sales, customers, support, management, publicity and many more important areas; but it’s obvious that the underlying technology of email servers are flawed and because it’s now a worldwide transport for communications that’s hard to fix; these communications channels have to be compatible with every other email server in the world and that creates massive inherent vulnerabilities.

In almost every town, city or country, government bodies are working towards combating fraud and other nasty things from many areas, but email is one of the most widely abused platforms there is because of the ease of abuse by non-experts. And if you’re not an expert it does not take long to learn how to be one!

One organisation in the UK is Action Fraud operated by the police and while they handle other areas of fraud, email scams are very high on their list.

But here’s where things start to get nasty. Since the advent of cryptocurrency worldwide fraud has increased exponentially. And in the USA SEC Rejects Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund because they are very concerned about investor losses in Bitcoin.

However, this article is specific; Bitcoin is being used fraudulently and in both of the cases shown below Bitcoin is clearly involved in the transportation of monies to the perpetrators of these illegal demands on you, your staff or even your business. It’s no joke and anyone ignoring these really bad potential harms to their organisation will sooner or later come unstuck in maybe a really big way. The results could be catostrophic.

The first example shown below included personal details of the recipient that have been removed for security reasons. But this email (that passed every check through a company’s infrastructure) is threatening the life of an employee and should never be ignored.

Note that bitcoin and email addresses are edited for security purposes throughout this article.

HERE IS EXAMPLE ONE VERBATIM:

“From: kristin*********

Sent: ******

To: *********

Subject: How to save themself

Read this warn carefully, since it can be the last in your life.

People are by nature envious. Given the fact of successful development of your business, people (your contestant ) paid me 30,000 Pound Sterling for your head on a stick.

It’s not the first time I’ve done this kind of work, but I’m already tired of these envious bastards and your life will be the last one I’ll take or will not do, it’s up to you.

Under normal circumstances, I would just do the work for which I was paid without going into the details, but I’m going to get away from it and go on a long-awaited vacation.

You have 2 versions for deciding this problem.

Adopt my proposal or refuse.

You pay me 5 thousand GBP for safe your life and you receive all the information about the customer with whom you apply to the police and thus you save your life and the lives of your relatives.

The second option is you ignore my proposal and turn to the police, but by the same token you will only postpone your judgment day, even if I can not do the work, then somebody else will do it, not within a week and say in a month or half a year, but order for your head will be fulfilled sooner or later.

Thus, you will be afraid of every rustle, walk around looking and thinking that you are being persecuted.

If you want such a life, your choice, but if I were you, I would think very well.

Tickets to England have been taken for July **, and you have exactly 3 days to transfer money to an anonymous account bitcoin 1QJNjRmon3iD3RwdjaGomFLHs25B******.

I can check the last time receipt of money before the flight to you, on the **th

In the event of receiving a reward, I will not come to take your life, but will also pass all the information about your customer (Let the bastards get what they deserve) and you can protect yourself, otherwise you know the consequences.

The well-being of the future life depends on your choice.

Think about your life, you family.

on all will of Allah”

END OF EMAIL MESSAGE ONE

The above email is unedited except for recipients details and Bitcoin account numbers. It can be clearly seen in this email that there is a threat on the life of the recipient. While some recipients would simply brush this type of email off, others become extremely concerned; it’s easy to see exactly why. Indeed some recipients will go and pay the demanded money and not think twice. Imagine that a key employee received this email and they completely believed its contents? The resultant downfall of the employee could be extreme. This email threatens the recipients life and mentions their family etc.

Notice that the spelling is incorrect for English on this example (undisclosed but its in the content) and somehow the writer suggests that the email is the ‘will of Allah’. Probably not. But the user identified the recipient was in ‘England’ likely from the email address so the recipient could believe some of the contents.

The above email passed numerous checks throughout the receiving companies infrastructure. Now it’s easy to see if you are tech savvy, but most email users are not. And if you’re a small SME then things could happen that could literally create very serious effects on your business even though the email targeted an employee. But if you’re not tech savvy and a company owner, would you believe the above? and send money? Many will have and that ‘feeds’ the criminals for millions of pounds or in this case $US.

Bitcoin in the above example is used because Bitcoin CANNOT be traced to the ultimate recipient of the payment. This is a major flaw in crypto currency and one reason (irrespective of some suggesting it’s an easy way to make money) you really should have nothing to do with it. Criminals use Bitcoin all the time.

As suggested, you just might not believe the above email if you received it, but there is no doubt that you might well believe the next example because it has information in it that is only known by you!

HERE IS EXAMPLE TWO VERBATIM:

From: “Gloriana Feany”

To: *********************

Date: *********

Subject: (HERE WAS THE USERS NAME AND THEIR PASSWORD)

I know ****** is your password. Lets get right to the purpose. You may not know me and you are most likely thinking why you are getting this email? Nobody has paid me to check you.

actually, I actually setup a malware on the X videos (porn material) web site and you know what, you visited this site to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were viewing videos, your web browser initiated operating as a RDP that has a key logger which gave me access to your display and webcam. Immediately after that, my software program gathered every one of your contacts from your Messenger, social networks, and emailaccount. And then I created a video. First part displays the video you were watching (you’ve got a fine taste hehe), and 2nd part displays the recording of your web camera, yea it is u.

There are two different possibilities. Let us take a look at each one of these options in details:

1st alternative is to skip this message. In this case, I most certainly will send your very own video clip to all your your contacts and visualize concerning the humiliation you will see. Moreover if you happen to be in a committed relationship, how it will affect?

Next choice should be to give me $3000. We are going to call it a donation. In this scenario, I most certainly will quickly remove your videotape. You will continue your way of life like this never took place and you will never hear back again from me.

You will make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search for “how to buy bitcoin” in Google search engine).

BTC Address: 18PvdmxemjDkNxHF3p3Fu9wkaAZ********

[CASE sensitive, copy & paste it]

In case you are thinking about going to the law enforcement officials, very well, this e-mail can not be traced back to me. I have covered my actions. I am also not trying to charge you a lot, I simply want to be rewarded. I’ve a unique pixel in this e-mail, and at this moment I know that you have read through this email message. You have one day in order to pay. If I don’t get the BitCoins, I will certainly send your video to all of your contacts including family members, colleagues, etc. Having said that, if I receive the payment, I’ll erase the recording right away. If you really want evidence, reply Yup! then I will send out your video to your 7 friends. This is the non-negotiable offer, and thus please do not waste my personal time & yours by responding to this e mail.

END OF EXAMPLE TWO EMAIL:

This is an entirely different threat. The recipient picked this email up because of a multitude of reasons that were simply incorrect and not representative of their actions on the internet; however, the stated password was about 80% shown (and it would be reasonable to assume the perpetrator knew the rest of the password). This could be seen by many as a factual document and it’s credibility is created in the recipients mind by the inclusion of the password in to the threat.

Imagine owning a SME business that might indeed be a larger business, the threat demanded much more money and the recipient had viewed what was suggested in the email? People do. It could be seen as likely or at;east a possibility that the recipient might well pay the money to the perpetrator through Bitcoin. And again Bitcoin rears its ugly head.

Again in this second email instance shown the email passed all checks and tests in the company where the email was received. So these are real threats to individuals or business.

But consider this; how did the perpetrator get the recipients password? (it was an old password but nevertheless was mostly valid). The perpetrator suggested key logging on a site known for pornographic video and images. But that is most likely not where the perp got the details from.

When reading about companies like Facebook, TalkTalk, Dixons Carphone Warehouse, Equifax, Adobe, AOL, Apple, AT&T, British Airways, Mastercard and Visa, Compass Bank, Dominos Pizza, DVLA UK, Dropbox, Kmart, Hewlett Packard, eBay, Experian, Trump Hotels, Gmail, Vodaphone, Walmart, Morgan Stanley, NHS, Ofcom, SnapChat, Adidas, Macys, Sony Pictures (and the list goes on) is it really no wonder that most personal details of importance (even financially) of individuals and businesses are all over the internet. There is a Wikipedia about these breaches of data that is extremely concerning reading as these breaches involve all kinds of information that will no doubt be available to buy on the internet. With the incredible reductions in share prices at Facebook maybe that might be the start of a mass exodus from those sort of ‘social media’ sites; but of course Facebook is merely one of the very long list of companies that have let you down through not protecting your data properly as the list above clearly demonstrates.

Its easy to see why GDPR has become law and countries will continue to pass GDPR legislation accordingly. Thank all of the companies mentioned above and many more for allowing this ridiculous situation that could be the start of the downfall of the internet as it is known today.

But is it time to go back and retrospectively fine each and every company involved in the dispersal of personal details? Are those companies any less ‘guilty’ now? It seems for many companies that the only thing they understand is when they are faced with very large fines; and even the fines might be irrelevant to organisations like Facebook and Google because large fines seem to be ‘petty cash’ to some of those companies. But shere price reduction wakes them up.

If anyone is concerned about a ‘key logger’ from the above email example getting your information Kaspersky latest offering of internet security includes software that stops key loggers from logging your information as you type.

A third example of fraud covered in this article relates to a company that received an email pro-forma invoice to pay from one of its regular suppliers. One day the finance department received a pro-forma invoice that needed to be paid immediately. The email address and the invoice itself looked entirely unremarkable. The sending company advised the finance department that they had recently changed banks and that the new details were on the invoice attached. Finance paid the £60,000+ ( $US 80,000) invoice.

The only problem was, that the invoice was completely fraudulent, the email address did read correctly unless you looked close (instead of wonderful.com it was wonderfull.com (just made up example to illustrate the methodology used) and the recipient in the finance department saw and read what they were used to seeing. The real question is, how did the perpetrators get all that information about what an invoice should be like, the real suppliers details, etc., their website and email addresses and more; it’s food for thought and make no mistake it can be so easy to allow one of these scams through your business; the chances are pretty high and the consequences could be dire and even bankrupt your business if taken to the extreme.

There is no doubt that the underlying email systems are no longer fit for purpose in general and have not been for some time. Notice that in the first example the scammer sent mail from ‘mail.bg’ and the second one (even more concerning) was from ‘outlook.com’. While the sending email addresses can be ‘replaced’ with any email address upon examination those two shown emails seemed to be real; indeed one of the perps even used Google to advise how to use Bitcoin for payment. But there are multiples of very large companies that every day offer a service but allow their email servers and systems to send out such threatening emails to users. Maybe it’s time to pressure these organisations (outlook.com, gmail.com and there are multiples of others) to actually filter their emails properly as well as the sendersbefore these sort of threats go out and create serious harm that these sort of messages could easily do.

Of course there are millions of other examples of fraud through an outdated abused email system (and other related internet technologies) that could be shown here, but the aim of this article is to educate readers so that they don’t fall foul to these sort of appalling scams.

One company, Network Systems has seen many of these sort of internet related issues and offers a cybercrime service to SME’s to help to create a safe environment for empolyees and business as they work on the internet today.

Hopefully this article will at least make the reader think very hard about how they are going to ensure protection of employees and their company and if nothing else that is a wothwhile objective. Using specialist companies will always help more than by just trying to put solutions in place created by someone without experience in this area and could actually save your company.

So You Want to Start a VOIP Business in Uganda?

I have recently been reviewing the business model for a company that is dealing in VOIP. For the uninitiated, VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol(VOIP). It is basically a technology/ies that allows telephone calls to be made over the internet rather than over traditional telephone lines.

I set out my simple and straight forward observations.

First the cons (of course)

1. Internet stability.

Internet in Uganda can be very unreliable and where it is reliable it is very expensive. Now this is very critical as to make calls over the internet you need VERY RELIABLE internet and so this is the starting point for anyone looking to invest in this sector. It is however not uncommon for an ISP to charge $1400 per month for 64 kbps. That’s not a lot of bandwidth as a typical telephone call requires about 8kbps at any time and so 64kbps supports only about 8 simultaneous conversations or less depending on internet conditions. The good news of course is that this is changing with fibre optic cables being laid all the time and so internet costs reduce. My best advice, use ADSL and shared bandwidth. UTL does a good job here, with a great value and generally reliable product if you can get the telephone line.

2. Competition

VOIP prides itself in being cheaper than the traditional telephone companies and many a VOIP provider will give you rates that are much cheaper than the networks. That was until recently. Many telecom providers in Uganda for example Orange have great international calling bundles that give the VOIP provider a run for their money. The VOIP provider is therefore having to compete with the telecom companies in offering customers international calling services. You have to therefore be prepared to look at your financials closely and constantly lest you fall into losses so do yourself a favour, get a good accountant!

3. The Exchange rate

The Uganda shilling is depreciating against the dollar and this may continue to be the case. In 2006 for example the rate was Shs 1,700 to the dollar. In 2011 at the time of writing, it is Shs 2800. For VOIP,this is critical as the main purchase is “digital airtime” from international VOIP providers. This is purchased in dollars and as such the prices charged to customers need to factor in the exchange rate, in addition to ensuring remaining competitive against the BIG BAD WOLVES (I mean the telecom companies).

4. Technology know how

VOIP is a specialised sector and so it of course requires someone with interest but this is not such a significant matter as employing an IT person will help reduce the entreprenuers need to worry about this.

5. Start up capital

From my rough estimates, a typical VOIP business (say a phone shop to support 6 phone booths) can ideally start up business from as little as UGX 8.7m. This should cover; rent at 500k per month (including 2 month deposit bringing it to 1.5m), internet installation and subscription; 700k, purchase of the VOIP and computer equipment; 1.975m, furniture/ fittings; 1m an inverter; 2m, legal and related costs; 700k and signage(to advertise); 500k.

From my analysis, a VOIP business on its own is however not profitable and therefore it is ESSENTIAL to also have an internet cafe running side by side. The costs of the internet cafe side plus the VOIP side stripping out the shared start up costs like rent and inverter will be 20,383,275. I have written about an internet cafe set up costs separately in the article on the internet cafe. The total start up cost is therefore about Shs 20m

AND NOW THE PROS

1. Profitability and quick return on capital

Like the rest of Africa, In Uganda there are tremendous growth opportunities in the ICT/ communications sector and per Uganda Investment Authority, this is one of their key sectors for investment. Call traffic continually increases as Ugandans enjoy higher incomes. Despite the biting inflation, there is a continual increase in call traffic. VOIP is not being left behind and assuming ICT sector growths averaging 25% per year turnover averaging Shs 53m would not be an exaggeration. On the basis of my knowledge of this sector, I set out a summary profitability picture as well as the return on capital (this includes a diversified model which includes an internet cafe). All estimates are in UGX. The exchange rate to the USD is about 1 USD = Shs 2,700.

Gross profit

1.Revenue- calls: 65,520,000. Assuming 7 days a week at 180k per day.

2.Revenue- internet: 13,884,000. Assuming Shs 290k per week from 4 computers and multi purpose maching.

3.Cost of sales: -49,140,000. Assuming it is 75% of revenue for calls on basis of exchange rate and reseller margin.

4.credit transfer cost: -1,228,500. Assuming 2.5% of cost of sales

5.Franchise fee: – 655,200. 1% of revenue-calls.

Gross profit: 28,380,300

Overheads

Rent: Shs 4,800,000

Internet: Shs 3,840,000

Staff costs:Shs 6,000,000

Other overheads: Shs. 1,800,000

Total overheads: 16,440,000

Net Profit: 11,940,300

Capital investment: 20,383,275

Return on Investment: 1.71 years.

2. Return on capital

On the basis of the above profit picture therefore, this business should be able to have a return on capital of 1.71 years. A word of caution here. The model above assumes full capacity growth and so may not necessarily reflect a start up business in say its first few months. In addition the model assumes the internet cafe and call shop will run side by side and concurrently. I have done a separate analysis of the VOIP model on its own and from my analysis it will take 90 years to get a return on your capital! In Uganda, there is therefore no alternative for a VOIP investor but to integrate the call shop and the VOIP services.

3. Diversified services

Despite the fierce competition, a VOIP business can survive by being diverse. Many VOIP providers do not only provide low cost international calls. They also provide other related services like cheap calls on your internet enabled phone, a foreign number(for example USA) even while in Uganda and use of VOIP in homes/offices. Some like http://www.telebm.com provide a special Uganda rate. In addition many integrate an internet cafe within their models as well as selling telephones and accessories. The diverisifed services spread the over head costs and enable continued profitability. In the profitability analysis above, I assume this business is diverse offering both VOIP and internet cafe services.

4. Franchise model.

The beauty about a VOIP business is that it is very scalable meaning you can keep on expanding to other towns, other urban centres, other countries. The typical VOIP provider will give you a software management system which can be accessed anywhere on the internet (after all since calls are made over the internet, call logs are likewise internet based). This gives a key advantage of remote monitoring for the business owner. You don’t have to necessarily worry about revenue as you can remotely monitor the sales(calls) on a real time basis because the call logs display calls(and costs) as they occur. The model can therefore be replicated by having you the business owner setting up agents who also get access to your system. I believe this is the model that http://www.mafudian.co.uk a Ugandan VOIP company is promoting.

SUMMARISING AND THE FINAL WORD

First the numbers

On the basis of my analysis:

* Capital investment(internet and VOIP equipment) (A): Shs 20,383,275

* Revenue per year: Shs 79,404,000

* Profit per year (after all expenses (B) is Shs 11,940,300

* Return on capital(years to get capital back)(A/B) is 1.71 years

Now the basics you must get right before investing.

* Internet stability and reliability. Get a good ISP who supports VOIP

* Diversification of services. Don’t only do the VOIP services, consider an internet cafe, multipurpose machine, WIFI hot spots or even selling cell phones and related accessories.

* Location, Location, Location. This business best thrives in an urban setting with heavy traffic particularly of business users.

* Get an IT person, VOIP can be tricky to continuously configure.

FINAL WORD, YES OR NO?

This is not an easy sector to invest in with internet stability as well as the fierce competition with local telecom companies who now offer some good international calling bundles. Furthermore the exchange rates are continually changing due to the falling shilling hence potentially eating into the profit. I know many VOIP businesses that have failed and so to invest in it you need to have not only technology know how but like looking at the financial numbers as the margins can be very tight! A business which has taken off can however enjoy a significant amount of turnover and diversifying and expansion through franchising seem to hold the key to success.

Music Licensing – What, How and Why It’s Important for Your Business

Music licensing commonly refers to ‘royalty free music’ or ‘production music’. This is music that has been written and produced with the sole purpose of being used in another project. Anyone can then license this music for a fee, to use in their project.

What about commercial music?

Commercial music, written and performed by artists like Adele, M83 and U2 for example, cannot be used for any purpose other than personal/private performance. When you buy a CD or download an MP3, it is specifically stated that you cannot do anything with that song or music track except listen to it yourself. Any business use is prohibited, even playing it on the radio to customers at a hair salon.

To play commercial music to the public, a public performance licensed is required by the appropriate performing rights organisation of that country. In the UK it may be PRS or PPL. In the US/Canada, it may be BMI or ASCAP. These organisations arrange a fee to the proprietor of the business, based on the size of their business/location. This can be expensive, and time consuming just to play the radio to your customers on your premises, but does permit the business to play the radio to its customers without legal issues.

This is not a suitable solution for video production and filmmaking, as the usage and purpose of music is not the same. As many video production companies produce content for clients, they need background music for their video/film that is cleared for its intended purpose. When licensing commercial music, arranging such a license for online, public performance, in-store and mass distribution quickly becomes expensive and convoluted.

Royalty free music licensing offers a simple and cost effective solution to acquiring well produced music with all necessary rights for the client, within an affordable, transparent license.

Who needs to license music?

Anyone creating digital content with the intention of publishing it online or publicly. It’s really that simple. You cannot legally use music you have not written yourself, or licensed from a music library.

What about ‘home movies’ and ‘personal projects’?

The same rules apply to home movies and personal projects, but because these are produced not-for-profit, nor professionally on behalf of a client it is possible to use commercial music in this type of content. However, when this content is published to social platforms like Facebook and YouTube, you may find your video is blocked in certain countries, or deleted entirely. This is because commercial artists and record labels have an agreement in place that monitors use of their content on these platforms, and can enforce accordingly. There is however, many commercial artists and record labels who permit the use of their music in exchange for advertising. An ad will be attached to your content as a pre-roll, overlay or half-time break during the video in exchange for permission to use their music track. If you’re producing something personal, ‘for fun’ then this shouldn’t be an issue.

The risks of using commercial music in professional video

A client may want the latest chart hit in their video because it resonates with their target audience, or they feel it represents their brand. However, as outlined previously this could end up immediately being blocked or deleted with further implications like account suspension. If the video is not blocked or deleted, then it will be served with ads.

This is the last thing you want for your client. You’ve produced a video promoting their new product, and before the video has even started, viewers are being shown ads for competing brands and products. It degrades the potential of the video and the brand.

Why license ROYALTY FREE MUSIC?

There are THREE key reasons why licensing music correctly is hugely important.

1. You’re using music that will NOT be subject to copyright claims, blocks or deletion when it is published online. This means you can deliver your end-product to your client without fear of any music related issues.

2. You can MONETISE the content you produce. If you’re producing the content for your own online channel on YouTube, you’ll no doubt be entered into the partner program, to earn money from ads displayed on your videos. You cannot earn money from these ads if the music is not licensed, as it will go straight to the artist/producer of the music. Pay for the music license, earn money from that music license. Simple.

3. Create an identity for your video. Whether you’re producing something on behalf of a client, or yourself. If you use a hugely popular, well known commercial music track, chances are that song will resonate with the viewer more than your content. However, if you create really good video content AND license the perfect music track nobody has heard before, you’re offering a completely unique audio/visual package that is new and fresh.

What about free music?

If you look for it, you will find music that is available to use for free. But ask yourself, why is it free?

Free in exchange for ads and revenue.

The creator could be giving you permission to use their music in exchange for ad-revenue online via YouTube and Facebook, and you won’t know this until you publish it and get informed ads will be displayed alongside your video, with all revenue going to the artist.

A poor quality sample

The free music track you’re using could be a low quality sample of something an artist is trying to sell. This could be a low 128kbs MP3 that appears suitable, but when played back against high quality content, will sound quiet, muted and generally not as good. When music is licensed from a library, it should be available in broadcast quality WAV or 320kbps MP3 as standard.

Who else is using it?

You won’t be the only one looking for free music. People creating content purely for personal projects don’t have a budget for music licensing so they need something free. If you’re producing a project for a client who is paying you, would they be happy with you using the same free music track as everyone else? If it’s free, chances are a lot of people will make use of it.

Clearance and Assurance

Anyone can upload a music track online. There is no vetting, no quality control or legal assurance. Any Blog or digital content platform can host a music track for others to share. So, when you’re downloading a ‘free music track’ how do you know the provider actually has the rights to provide it to you? When you license a music track from a professional curated library, you have the assurance that every single music track has been reviewed, contracted and published legally for you to license and use.

Why pay for music?

There are thousands of music tracks online. What difference is there between ‘Track A’ and ‘Track B’? As a video producer/filmmaker, ask yourself this question: “There are thousands of video cameras available. iPhones can shoot 4K video and you can plug a microphone into them. Why should a company hire me to shoot their video”?

When you license music from a reputable library, you’re paying for the expertise in writing and composing the music track. From the start, middle and end. The quality of instruments used. The production of dynamic audio, the builds and crescendos. The post production mastering and edits so that a 3 minute piece can be condensed into a short 30 second edit without losing any of the magic of the music track.

The difference you get when someone films a corporate video on their iPhone compared to someone filming the same video with a professional camera, lighting and staging is painfully obvious. It is no different when it comes to music or photography. There is the technology, the knowledge the skill and ability to combine them to achieve the highest quality result.

What can I do with licensed music?

Whatever you want. Music can be licensed for limited use or global distribution, mass production and broadcast. You can license music for a specific purpose and tailor it to accommodate any additional requirements at any time.

Licensing royalty free music is intended to be the most cost-effective and practical solution for using music in your professional projects. General online distribution is commonly a one-time license fee per track for lifetime usage.

6 Tips For Business Relationship Management

All business owners whether you own a brick and mortar business, online business, MLM or a home based business, building a good business relationship with your clients or customers is extremely important. It will bring the obvious which is more financial success but it will also provide you with a good sensation of knowing you are providing a good an honest service. So let’s discuss what good business relationship management is.

When you look into building and maintaining a good business relationship with your customers, there are 6 areas you need to look at. The first one is empathizing with our customers. When you first meet with your client, they usually have a problem. Sometimes big and sometime small, either way you must be sensitive to their issue at hand.

Number two is remembering the little things about your conversation with your customers. During the meeting, they will share some information about themselves that will indicate what they like and what don’t like. Make a note so you don’t forget. Sometime they might even share something they like to do during their personal time. Make a note and on your way back from the meeting, start thinking about what you could do or send them that would be related. It could an article, could tickets to a sporting event. Anything that would be related that could help build that relationship.

If you commit to anything during your meeting, don’t fail. Be timely and over deliver on your promise. This will go a long way towards building a long lasting relationship. If you fail to deliver, that client is looking for another provider the minute you missed that deadline.

During your meeting with your client, it is very important that expectations are very clear. It is just as important that your client make his expectations clear to you as it is for you to them. Be very loyal to them. Don’t play games and be upfront. This will also go a long way in building your relationship with your customers.

Now the big one, the one no one likes to do or admit. If you make a mistake, admit to it immediately and apologize sincerely. Your customer will appreciate your honesty and will not hold it against you.

Business relationship management is not easy but when done correctly, it pays dividend like no others. Take your time and make sure you are taking the steps to building a good lasting relationship.

To your success,

Ghyslain

“My happiness depends on your success”

Traffic to Start Your Website Business

When it comes to an online business, the most important thing to improve on is your online traffic. Online traffic basically means the number of people who visits your website; better traffic means better profits. There are different ways wherein a higher traffic would help improve the profit of a website depending upon the nature of its business. In general, all websites would benefit from a high traffic because they will be able to increase the price of their pay per click links and other advertisements. When advertising on billboards and other locations, prime spots such as streets with high pedestrian or vehicle traffic are the most expensive spots to advertise in, this is the same when it comes to website advertising. A higher traffic would result in higher costs of advertising spots.

A common advertising model is known as pay per click which means the advertiser would pay the website where his advertisement is placed for every person who clicks on that link. The more traffic a website has then that website can charge more. The question which would remain of course is how can you increase the traffic of your online business in order to charge more for each link and advertisement?

There are actually a lot of different ways for you to increase your traffic in order to get your business up and running. The first step in increasing your traffic is to let other people know that your website exists in the first place and one method which is practiced by a lot of other websites is to write and distribute articles or press releases regarding their website. This gives your website some valuable publicity and let people know what you are all about. In distributing press releases and other articles about your website, it is essential that you give them to media which are related to your website’s nature so that you are able to target the people who may be interested in visiting your website thus increasing your traffic faster. This method is known to be the best and most effective way to increase traffic; you may also opt to compliment this by taking advantage of online video streaming websites in order to give your website more publicity. Create a video regarding the nature of your website then distribute them over these video streaming websites. Most of these sites are free so again, you get free publicity. Last, there are free online publications wherein you could place your website.

The online business industry has been estimated to be worth over 600 billion dollars annually, as a result more and more people have entered this business venture in hopes of making it big in the internet. What makes this more appealing is the fact that you will earn in the comfort of your own home. If you are strongly considering this business venture, it is important to learn and practice these methods of increasing your website traffic so you, like a lot of other people, can find success in the world of cyberspace.

How to Start Building a Profitable Affiliate Marketing Business

I remember when I first started out online. I had no clue about how to get customers and how to construct a website that would magically pull in cash from the internet. I thought then that it would be as simple as I had been lead to believe. Just click a few buttons and you will have a website, click a few more and you will have so many customers that you will wear out your shoe leather with all too frequent trips to the bank as you cash your affiliate cheques.

Just a quick note on that point. When signing up with affiliate networks, always be sure to have them pay directly to some form of online bank that you have, it saves time cashing cheques.

It is fine to accept US dollar cheques if you live in the UK as all banks will accept dollar payments, however they will charge you a fee.

Affiliate marketing is a great business once you get it right. You can shorten your learning curve and miss out most of the wasted time associated with a poor apprenticeship by following a few guidelines.

Earning money online by affiliate marketing requires three things. You need a product, you need a website and you need customers that are looking to buy what you have to sell.

It is also possible to do what is known as direct linking, in which case no website is needed, however by direct linking to the vendors website that you are promoting you lose the ability to capture the customers email address which means that you will be unable to offer similar products to that client at a later date. By setting up your own websites to capture leads, you are building the foundations to a solid, long term business.

Template websites are all that is required in order to promote most affiliate products and capture emails whilst being flexible enough to allow a newcomer to easily edit it as required.

Starting your online business by building a search engine optimised website is the right way to begin. You will avoid the cash sucking cost per click trap and attract free, organic customers to your site which is therefore 100% more profitable.

Choose profitable affiliate products by carrying out simple research and determining which ones to promote.

You will also need some website editing software, an FTP client and an auto responder package. All of these are fairly simple to use once you get the hang of it. Sign up to various CPA networks and a few article publishers also right away and your affiliate marketing business will begin on the right footing.

Learn The Hot Dog Business!

Hot Dog Vending

A Hot Dog Cart is a specialized mobile food stand for preparing and selling street food, to passerbies. A cart operator must meet health regulations designed to protect the public from food poisoning from food borne illnesses. They are quick and easy foodservice, supplying millions of people with food every day.

It is generally a compact, full self-contained and designed to serve a limited menu. An on-board or stand-alone cooler is used to keep them safely chilled until ready for reheating. It also provides a cold storage for beverages such as soda, and water. Most carts now use propane to heat the foods, making them independent of electrical power. A colorful umbrella is often installed to protect the food preparation area from contamination, provide some shade and advertise the cart’s location

They are generally built from materials that resist corrosion, hygiene friendly and are easy to keep clean. They are generally made of polished stainless steel, but some carts also have components made from plastic, wood and fiberglass. The food preparation body of the cart in often mounted on a chassis that can be easily transported to a vendor’s location either by hand or towed by a vehicle. There are several types of carts that range from lightweight push cart that weight up to 200 lbs, to fully enclosed walk-in carts weighing a ton or more.

The mechanics are essential to the taste and safety of the food. The inside contains pans that steam or boil you food. They are constructed so that the proper temperatures are consistently met and the food is well cooked.

The first one was manufactured for Charles Feltman in 1867. Charles Feltman owned a pie-wagon that delivered fresh baked pies to the inns and lager-beer saloons that lined Coney Island’s beaches. He clients wanted hot sandwiches to serve their clients. But, his wagon was too small. So he presented his idea the manufacturer of his pie-wagon manufacture. The solution was adding a tin lined chest to keep the rolls fresh and rigging s small charcoal stove to boil sausages. When the new pie-wagon was finished, low and behold the first one was created.

They are popular for many reasons. One reason, of course, is the hot dog itself. They are a permanent place alongside pizza and the cheeseburger as an American classic.

Another reason the they are popular is the cart itself. In most cases people eat their food at home, office or in a restaurant. It is a novel experience to grab a hot dog from a cart. This novelty offers the hot dogs cart a unique ambience.

People who buy from a Vendor want to be cheered up. They want to be reminded of old times when things were better, or so they thought. And nothing is better then buying a good tasting hot dog for a lot of people.

Finally it offers a quick affordable meal. They are designed for the smoothest, quickest delivery possible of fresh food.

Why Become a Hot Dog Vendor?

“You are never unemployed when you work for yourself”

James O Mazzola:

Why Selling Food Is Good Business

Selling is the oldest business in human history. In the annals of human evolution, the individual is able to sell what they have either for barter or money. Selling food in one of the best business that has sprung forth from human interaction.

Food is in constant demand. It is one of the basic needs of an individual. Not everyone though has the time or the skills and equipment to cook food. From here on end, people have chosen to go to these skilled cooks. Now, one of the most constant and consistent business that has earned money are those that are in the food service. They can be as simple as a hot dog stand to fine dining.

Food never goes out of style. No matter how ancient or original the recipe is, so long as it tastes good and is fulfilling, food never goes out of style. The demand for food is constant and with the increase in population, food demand is definitely on the increase. The art and science of the food preparation is the centerpiece of the business. Making good food makes for good business.

The Allure of Hot Dog Stands

When you are in a public park, out door event or on a street corner, you are sure to find a cart in the area. You can see there are many people milling around the hot dog stand, looking in and often buying hot dogs. There is a reason why this is such a regular sight to see and here are the reasons why the allure of stands attracts so many patrons.

A full meal. A hot dog stand provides a customer a full meal at a cheap price. They provide much protein and nutrients to help you on your way. It is cheap and often does not cost more the five dollars. The sandwich provides the fiber and the condiments provide the flavor for the full meal.

Food to go. Aside from waiting in line, you do not spend much time waiting for the food to be prepared. Once you have paid for it, you can easily walk away and eat your meal.

Food fun. Vending Carts are often served in bright colored ways. They provide boiled hot dogs and the aroma in the immediate area makes you hungry. The condiments are brightly colored, making it not only appealing to your palate; it is a feast to your eyes.

Vending is not gimmicky. They are bought and sold everywhere and they are very popular. In fact, hot dogs are such and American tradition that it would be impossible to find a city or a sports event without them. They are most popular when they are purchased for a vendor.

Integrative Business Planning – Managing Complexity

Introduction

Business Planning is normally done when a business plan is needed for financing purposes or to use as a guideline on running and growing a business (as a start-up or for the next time frame). Many crucial features of a business need to be addressed and balanced in this planning process. Various options, problems and risks relating to these features will be considered.

Entrepreneurs often assume that one variable has a linear relationship with another (e.g. $x spending on marketing will create $y income in sales). Business is, however, seldom that simple. Many multi-directional relationships tend to occur between the various features. Sales would for instance also be influenced by product quality, price, etc. Sales on the other hand will influence future expansions. To cater for this phenomenon an integrative business planning process is required.

Crucial Issues in Business Planning

Every business is different and the crucial issues in one does not necessary occur in another. What is, however, important is that the business planners ensure that they analyse and plan for all the relevant features for their specific business. This would normally include the issues that is highlighted below.

The Business – It is essential to ensure that the opportunity, the business concept, its products, services and strategies and the industry that it operates in are sound.
Marketing – Marketing strategy needs to be considered. This include aspects such as pricing and promotion.
Market Research – This is a crucial issue that is often neglected. It is important to know and understand the customers, the market size and trends and who the competition is.
Development – All issues regarding the development of new products, services, markets and facilities need to be planned for.
Operations – All aspects regarding the what, where and how of operations must be considered.
The Team – The management team need to match the requirements of a business. It would be preferable to establish what skills/jobs are needed and then to link the people to it. Where there are a lack of skills, training programmes can be implemented and new people can be hired. The whole organigram and composition of board of directors, management teams, etc. need to be planned for.
Finances – Finances are the ultimate yardstick of the success of a business, but it can not stand on its own. Important financial issues would typically include investment-, financing- and dividend decisions and policies. It is also crucial to plan for turnover (sales), gross profit margins and cost control (of expenses). The relationships between these issues (financial ratios) need further planning to establish if the business will be profitable, liquid and solvent. Return on investment (ROI) and sustainable business growth would for instance be specific aspects to consider.
Risk Management – The various risks that occur need to be determined, analysed and catered for. Fatal flaws need to be eliminated. Operational- and financial risks can often be hedged. This would incur certain costs and strategies such as manufacturing in various countries and buying and selling futures and options in different currencies.

The Complexity of Detailed Business Planning

A quick review of the brief summary of the crucial issues that need to be considered gives a glimpse of the complexity involved in business planning. If we just look at the financial issues we will see that the price will have an impact on the sales (turnover). The lower the price the more the physical volumes will normally be (except if image requires a high price). Turnover and total profits will, however, not necessary be higher. There is normally a fine balance that exist between the price, volume sales, turnover and profits.

To complicate this even further the turnover, costs and profits and there timings have a direct impact on the cashflow of the company (a very critical issue). This whole aspect is then further complicated by the investment- (capital expenditure), financing- (equity or debt?) and dividend decisions. By spending too much on a plant, having too much debt and paying out too much to shareholders will have a negative effect on the sustainable business growth of the company and this will reduce the targets that are achievable. This scenario shows only a portion of the various aspects that need to balance within the broader financial sphere.

Unfortunately the complication of the example does not stop with the finances. The finances influence many other crucial aspects of the business. On the other hand many of the other crucial aspects also have an effect on the finances as well as on each other.

The financial decisions would for instance have a direct bearing on the growth of the business (e.g. geographical expansions and new product development), marketing spending and people employment and development. All these issues would similar have an impact on the financial issues and on each other.

An Integrative Business Planning Approach

The general tendency in business planning would be to tackle each issue independently and then to just add the pieces together and re-plan if something is not making sense. Business planning often starts with some projected turnover and profit figures in mind. Everything is then worked backwards from there.

A much better option would be to have an integrative business planning approach. In order to do this the following steps are needed:

Determine all the salient features of the business.
Determine the relationships between these salient features.
Try and solve every feature by keeping the casualties and effects with other features in mind.
Use “what-if” questions to create better holistic solutions.

Summary

The idea in business planning is not to optimise the one aspect of the business and neglect or ignore some of the others. The various relationships (causes and effects) need to be catered for in an integrative way. One crucial salient feature or relationship that is ignored can put the existence of the whole business in jeopardy.

21 Secrets to Franchise Business Success

1) Evaluate your tolerance for risk

Opening a new business is a scary prospect. There’s a lot of personal, professional and financial risk to consider. It’s natural when contemplating such a profound step in your career to look at ways to manage your risk and increase your chance of success.

The Small Business Administration conducted a survey that found 62% of non-franchised businesses failed within 6 years. A separate study by the United States Chamber of Commerce found that 97% of franchises were still open after 5 years.

The research conducted by these independent third party organizations clearly demonstrates that choosing a franchise business carries significantly less risk than starting a business on your own.

2) Work with what you’ve got

Making a list of your strengths is easy. But when launching a business, it’s also important to make an honest assessment of your weaknesses.

Before you get to work selecting a franchise, take the time to develop a list that honestly depicts your strengths and weaknesses as a potential business owner. Then use this profile as a tool to help with the decision making process.

Ask franchise owners questions about the duties they perform, and compare the job requirements to your profile. If the business has the potential to be a good fit, the skill sets required to run the business will either be skills you already have or skills you can learn quickly. If this is not the case, it’s best to keep looking.

If a certain aspect of a franchise has a steep learning curve but the business is otherwise a great fit, you may want to consider hiring someone experienced with that position. If this is the choice you make, be sure to include their salary and benefits in the financial business plan.

3) Remember to run the business

Many potential franchisees make the mistake of thinking they’re limited to buying a franchise in their current field. In fact, this might be the worst way to go.

Some franchises will not allow someone skilled in a particular industry to buy a franchise in that industry. For example, a mechanic may not be allowed to purchase an auto repair franchise. Skilled technicians sometimes find the transition from hands-on work to management work difficult to make, and are tempted back onto the floor to do the job they’re familiar with.

The problem with this is that you grow the business by running the business, and what a franchisor wants to see on the bottom line is growth. A business owner needs to be out networking, marketing and interacting with customers. If there’s too much work on the floor of an auto repair franchise, then the owner – even if he’s a highly skilled mechanic – needs to hire more mechanics.

Basic business skills are transferable to any franchise. If your current position involves universal roles like sales, marketing or accounting then your franchise options are practically unlimited.

4) No business is recession-proof

There’s no such thing as a business that can’t be impacted by a faltering economy.

There are, however, certain industries that are considered recession “resistant.” These are generally products and services people can’t do without no matter how much they’re cutting the budget.

The good news is there are hundreds of great franchise opportunities in recession resistant industries. The following are just a few examples:

Top recession resistant industries: Food · Automotive · Healthcare · Medical·Clothing · Education

Recession resistant franchise industries: Fast food restaurants· Automotive maintenance, parts and repair · Weight loss and fitness · Resale shops and discount (dollar) stores · Education (tutoring) and child care

5) Objectively evaluate professional advice from personal sources

Friends and family have your best interests at heart, and their advice comes from a place of love and concern for your well-being. No one would suggest making the personal, professional and financial commitment to launching a business without consulting your loved ones.

But friends and family are not subject matter experts and their advice can – intentionally or not – discourage a new business venture. The people who love you worry about what could happen if you fail, and their instinct will be to protect you from the risk.

When it comes to the final decision whether or not to proceed with purchasing a franchise, of course you will carefully weigh all the advice you’ve received. The key is to rely most heavily on the advice offered by industry professionals.

6) There’s no such thing as a free lunch

There are countless “free” franchise brokers and consultants out there claiming to offer unbiased information on franchise opportunities. They will work with you to assess your needs, and use your professional profile to help make recommendations on franchise opportunities that may suit you.

The problem with these services is that they get paid by the franchises for selling franchises. That means they are naturally only going to show you options they’ll get paid for. And in the case of high profile franchises that may offer them 2 to 4 times the average commission, there’s a real risk they may steer clients to those businesses whether they’re a good match or not.

These broker services may have access to detailed data on several hundred franchises and they can be a great source of information. Just be cautious about their recommendations, and get a second opinion before investing your money.

7) Tune out the hype

Never before was the adage “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” more applicable. You’re going to hear a lot of hype – good and bad – while assessing potential franchise opportunities.

Between marketing blitzes and human nature, it’s easy for success stories to spread like wildfire. Think about the guy who lost weight eating Subway – that story is so pervasive it’s become almost impossible to separate the allegory from the restaurant in the public’s perception. The hype surrounding that marketing campaign will have an impact on potential Subway franchisees for the foreseeable future.

It’s also natural for people to look for something to blame when things go wrong. Because of this there are also going to be negative, emotionally charged franchise stories in circulation. However, keep in mind the nuanced details that created such situations are never discussed; only the attention-grabbing outcomes.

No one is suggesting you completely ignore these stories, because hidden beneath the hype there are likely valuable lessons to learn. Learn from them what you can while keeping in mind what they are: unique situations with complex back stories that probably have no bearing on your success whether or not you choose the same franchise.

8) Look beyond the big brands

Sometimes it’s easy to forget there are thousands of franchise opportunities out there, because the big name brands get all the attention. When you’re in the early stages of your search, it’s a good idea to bypass the overblown marketing of the huge franchises and make an effort to learn about the “no-name” franchises in your industry of interest.

There are quite a few advantages to lesser known franchise brands. For instance, they are often cutting edge concepts that can get a lot of marketing attention. Lesser known franchises haven’t yet saturated your local market. And they’re usually less expensive to start up, which means less financial risk.

Of course, you may be looking for the security and benefits that come with a big name franchise. Criteria such as national marketing campaigns, standardized employee training, management support and strong purchasing power may be at the top of the checklist for what you’re looking for in a franchise, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’re not interested in being another instantly recognizable box in another strip mall, then a ‘no-name’ franchise might be for you.

9) Look beyond the price tag

Just because a franchise is more expensive does not mean it will be more successful.

It’s important to evaluate every aspect of a franchise – financial projections, monthly franchise fees, franchiser support levels, issue response time, customer base and marketing, to name a few. The price tag is a factor to consider, but should not be the sole criterion for evaluating the quality of the business opportunity.

Once you narrow down your preference to a particular industry, conduct due diligence on 2 to 3 franchises in that industry. Gathering adequate information on several comparable franchises will allow you to make an informed decision.

10) Comparison shop

Once you decide a franchise is right for you, keep looking.

If you decide to purchase a franchise of Coffee House A, then it’s time to start looking for reasons not to buy it. Build a list of questions, and then go talk to owners of Coffee House B and Coffee House C.

Be blunt – ask the competing franchise owners why they feel their business is better than Coffee House A. Ask them what made them choose B over A and C. Ask them if they would recommend you buy the same franchise, and don’t stop digging until you’re clear on the why (or why not) of their response.

Build a spreadsheet comparing the details of the franchises. Include data such as the benefits offered, financial commitment required, estimated monthly expenses, commercial lease requirements and franchise fees.

If your franchise preference stands up to the scrutiny, then you’re on the right track.

11) Contact current and former franchisees

The best way to find out if a franchise is right for you is to go behind the scenes and ask a lot of questions.

Before making a buying decision, prepare a list of questions. Contact at least five current franchisees and make an appointment to discuss your interest in the business. Whatever else you discuss, be sure to ask the questions you prepared.

Try to arrange an all day job shadow session with at least two current franchisees. This will allow you to observe the daily operations of your potential future business without committing to personal financial risk.

Contact several separated franchisees to learn about their experience. Understanding their reasons for getting into – and out of – the franchise can impact your decision.

12) Do your due diligence

All franchises are not created equal, and it’s your job to sort them out. The information is out there – all you have to do is go get it.

Conducting due diligence on a franchise opportunity should include:

· Check with the Better Business Bureau for complaints

· Check with the State Attorney General for complaints

· Speak with the franchisor

· Request a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)

· Attend a discovery day with the franchisor

· Make at least 10 calls to current and separated franchisees

· Make appointments to meet franchisees and visit the operation

· Job shadow a franchise owner (or owners) for at least a day (longer, if you can)

· Repeat as necessary

The purpose of due diligence is to reduce your risk. All the steps are necessary, but the most important step is interviewing and job shadowing a current franchise owner.

Some franchise owners will allow potential franchisees to spend weeks at their business learning the ropes. They may be willing to share detailed financial data, and can confirm or refute claims made by the parent company. A franchise owner can answer questions the franchisor may be legally bound from discussing. You may be able to make assessments about your own management style or potential business location by observing theirs. Visiting operating franchises in the course of due diligence may be the single best method for evaluating your potential success with a franchise opportunity.

13) When the time is right, hire a legal and financial team

Getting expert advice on the legal and financial aspects of a potential franchise purchase is essential. Some buyers skip this step to save money, but this is not the place to cut corners. The relatively small fees a lawyer and accountant charge pale in comparison to the enormous financial loss you’ll incur if the business fails.

Bringing in the legal and financial experts too soon in the purchase process can also be a mistake. Their professional opinions are necessary and valuable, but their advice can be expensive and potentially counterproductive in the early stages of your search. It’s crucial to remember when seeking their input that they should not choose the franchise for you.

Bringing in an accountant too soon can mean paying for them to run Profit & Loss data on every franchise that catches your eye. This onslaught of numbers can cloud your judgment, particularly if they’re taken outside the context of in-depth, due diligence research on each business.

Bring in an attorney too soon can mean paying them to review the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for every franchise that strikes your fancy. Studying detailed franchise information at such an early stage with a legal advisor who doesn’t understand your personality, lifestyle and professional preferences can be detrimental to your search. You could end up inadvertently being talked out of the perfect business.

Waiting to bring in legal and financial advisors until your franchise choices have been narrowed down dramatically is not just cost effective. It’s the logical way to use the team’s expert advice to your best advantage.

14) Feel the fear and do it anyway

The best way to manage your fear of buying a new business is to manage your risk. The best way to manage your risk is to learn everything you can, then proceed according to what you’ve learned.

Start the process with no intent to purchase. That removes the chance of getting so excited about business ownership that you take an irrevocable leap with the first prospect you research.

Above all, ask yourself “can I picture myself doing this all day?” If the answer is “no,” then be grateful for what you’ve learned and move on to researching a different industry.

The research and due diligence processes get easier with practice. It may take a few attempts to find the perfect franchise, but your efforts are not wasted. By actively engaging in the search, you’ve made yourself familiar with the process. And there’s no fear in the familiar.

15) Go it alone

Business partnerships are appealing on the surface because the idea of splitting costs, liability and workload is tempting. But it’s nearly impossible for any two individuals to work together as much as necessary to launch a new business without problems developing.

If it is a financial necessity to form a partnership in order to purchase your franchise, it’s crucial to define the roles each partner will play well in advance. If at all possible, try to structure the partnership so you own 51% and have the power to make binding decisions for the business.

Entering a partnership is not to be taken lightly, and should not be done without consulting your attorney.

16) Lease, lease, lease

Most franchises provide detailed specifications on the type of commercial real estate required to launch the business, and many will assist with the search for an appropriate property.

Leasing a commercial property is nearly always preferable to purchasing one. The capital required to purchase a property is better reserved to fund operating costs for the first few years. It’s also preferable to sign short lease terms with options to extend rather than committing to a long lease term.

Because many commercial leases include taxes and assessment fees buried in the fine print that can cause financial problems for your business, it is very important to have your attorney review any commercial lease before you sign it.

17) Don’t forget you’ve got to eat

One of the most common mistakes people make when working up a financial business plan is forgetting to pay themselves. This simple oversight is at the root of a lot of failed businesses.

In a perfect world we would all have enough in savings to go a year without a paycheck, and everything a new business makes could go right back into making it stronger.

The reality is we’ve all got bills to pay. It’s important to be honest and thorough when estimating the salary the business will need to pay you. Cutting yourself short will create enormous problems, especially if your fledgling business can’t afford to give you a raise yet.

This is one area where decisions you make for the business directly impact your personal life. The franchise isn’t going to do you much good if your heat’s turned off and the bank is foreclosing. Taking extra care with this critical detail could someday save more than just your business.

18) Consider alternate financing options

In the current economic climate, strict lending standards are making it harder than ever to get a commercial loan issued. When loan approval is a problem, it is worth considering your 401(k) or IRA as a resource for purchasing your business.

These self-directed retirement structures do permit individuals to actively invest their retirement funds into a business without taking a taxable distribution or incurring early withdrawal penalties. A successful use of this financing method offers the chance for a greater potential return on your money than the original investments.

Using your retirement funds to purchase a business is not to be taken lightly. But if done right, having your own business could be the best retirement plan of all.

19) Lead by example

If you’re not working hard for your business, neither will your employees.

At the end of the day, the only one who cares if your business succeeds is you. This is not the time to kick back and count the money. In fact, that attitude is the quickest way to ensure that soon there won’t be any left to count.

Even the most diligent business owners may forget that employees can’t see through the office door. They have no idea you’re calling customers, ordering supplies, writing a marketing plan, reviewing applications and trying to find a way to cover next week’s payroll. For all they know, you’re taking a nap.

When an employee sees a manager coming in late, leaving early and taking long lunch breaks they think the worst. They don’t understand that you came in late because you attended a 7 am referral group meeting. They have no idea that your lunch ran long because you were signing a deal with a big new client. It doesn’t occur to them that you left early so you could attend a Chamber of Commerce networking function.

Communication with your employees can help them see you’re working as hard as they are. Share your growth projections and help individuals set goals to meet them. Bring key employees to client meetings. Send high performing employees to networking functions in your place. By giving your employees a role in growing the business, they’ll take pride in supporting your success.

20) If you don’t love it, don’t buy it

Confucius said “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

If you wake up in the morning and dread going to work, your franchise will not be successful. It’s as simple as that.

The beauty of franchising is the endless variety of options – there’s literally something for everyone. You just need to devote the time and effort to figuring out which one will make you hop out of bed every morning, happy to be doing what you love.

21) Use every resource at your disposal

Investing your personal, professional and financial future in a franchise opportunity is a big decision. Use every source of information you can find, and compare the data to make sure you’re getting the whole story.

9 Tips to Change Business Direction

In my last article we looked at the 8 Signs Your Company Can’t Change Direction. Now that you know what they are, let’s look at the opposite view on how to change direction.

Changes of business direction can happen as a reaction to economic conditions or a decision to change your business goals. Change is difficult and we all react to change with varying degrees of resistance. So, if change is something you want to do, or have to do, here’s how you can make the process easier.

Stop selling products and services. That’s what most of your competitors are doing. Start selling desired results or solutions to problems. No one pays a fee to a copy writer to write copy–they pay a fee for the results of the copy he/she writes.
Stop thinking your customers, clients or patients are different. Dan Kennedy says, “there are no Yogi’s in the forest. There’s no such thing as being smarter than the average bear.” Unless you sell to aliens or different life forms, you sell to people.
Listen to your clients, customers and patients. If you don’t have the time, survey the top 30 to 35% of your customers. Find out what they think and why they do business with you. You might end up being very surprised.
Get out more. As a minimum join your local association and one group of multiple business owners. Maybe it’s the local Chamber or Service Club, a venture forum or some networking group.
Start an idea and swipe file. Great ideas are all around us. The best ones are impossible to hide and someone else as already paid to test they work! Great marketing arrives in you mailbox and in the publications you read every day. Start becoming a collector of the ideas and ads. Write them down but don’t file them away-start using those ideas.
Fire up Google. Find other great companies in your field outside of your market and see what they’re doing. Pick up the phone call the owner, introduce yourself and start a dialog. Try it with a non-competing company in your own town!
Read. Read the trades in your own field or industry, read the trades in any target market and read to expand your overall knowledge. Hint–throw a novel of two into the mix, there are ideas in them too. Caution–don’t start reading all day and think you’re getting something done. Just one hour a day. One dose, 2 thirty min. sessions, or 3 twenty min. sessions. It goes directly to investing in yourself.
Get Accountability. Family, friends and associates are not good advisers. They have their own agendas and opinions on what’s right for you–and how what you do may affect them. Get a business coach, not to advise but to hold you accountable to your plans to do things differently and set new goals.
Keep–or get–the habit of taking action. Without action, deliberate action, nothing happens. Of course you know this so keep up the good work.

The ability to change directions comes directly from your determination to remain flexible. When something’s not working you have to make changes to get the results you want. When you find yourself resisting change remember:

Anything else has a higher probability of success than what’s not working right now.