Sunday 6 March 2011

Creative Strategies To Improve Cash Flow

Cash flow is one of the most important aspects of running any business – large or small. It is one of the single most imperative reasons why many businesses fail – regardless of how good the business is. Managing cash flow therefore is vitally important in the smooth running, survival and success of a business. This activity will look at what cash flow is, and use some examples to show how cash flow can make the difference between success and failure. Failure in this case means collapse. If you are penniless then you are unable to pay your debts. We often use the term ‘bankrupt’ to describe this but strictly, only an individual can be declared bankrupt. Companies are declared as in debt. The principle however is the same. Some firms deal with so-called ‘personal insolvency’ which effectively means bankruptcy so the use of the terms can sometimes be confusing!
Let’s reminisce the yester years when credit lines flowed like water and all you needed to do was call the bank to get set up with short-term financing when you needed it? Gone are those days , now small businesses are being forced to find other ways to free up much-needed capital.
Ever heard of a trade network? Here’s how it works. Let’s assume a Business X wants to open a booth at an exhibition but it needs cash to do so. Business X has broken-down mechanic equipment that Business Y is interested in fixing and selling. After selling the equipment he can use the cash as bartering dollars to pay for another network member’s Business Z display booth. Trading is an excellent means to conserve cash and it can really pay off, quite literally.
so many businesses bill clients on a 30-day cycle. But if you have to pay your employees twice a month, this can cause cash-flow difficulties. Instead invoicing clients twice a month can be a great option. One company did so and reported that more than 90% of its clients didn’t mind the change because it still allowed them 30 days to pay. Another issue is bad credit and for that an effective way to prevent it, is to send pre-lien notifications to each customer on all jobs exceeding a certain sum , lets’ assume 3000 dollars The notices should state that the company is protecting its right to place a lien on the merchandise that was purchased if the bill isn’t paid within the pre-set time. One large company reports that after sending out the notice, bad debt shrunk by $350,000 in the 8 to 10 months.
To change your future, you must remember your past. To increase cash flow a merchant cash advance is a great way to go. It is the bright business future to overwhelm every bank denial in the past. Choose wisely, because your future is crystal clear with cash, because with cash flow you cash success.

How To Determine The Value Of Your Business?

A lot of businesses today find it hard to accurately assess how much their small business is worth. After all, how do you place a dollar value on the years of immensely hard work, dedication and passion you have poured into your small business? But like it or not, eventually you are going to be forced to quantify the value of your business. In a recent article in Score.Org the valuation process is described http://www.score.org/article_business_valuation.html .Before we proceed with the numerous ways to do it I suggest you go through This Article where brighter forecast is clouded.

The first valuation method determines the value of a small business based on its ability to generate profit during a specified period of time. To understand start by determining your small business’ net profit (gross income minus expenses) before interest and taxes have been paid. Next, multiply that figure by a “multiplier” — typically 3, 4, or 5. The multiplier is based on the number of years it will take a new owner to earn back his/her investment. So for a business that has a lot of assets, it is more appropriate to choose 5 as the multiplier because it will take longer to pay off the investment. For a business with relatively few assets, a multiplier of 3 would make more sense.
Another way of valuation method uses the value of the small business’ assets to determine the dollar value of the business. While an asset-based valuation method is not useful for every small business, it works well for retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and other businesses that regularly own large quantities of fixed assets — i.e. equipment, inventory and overhead
The industry average valuation method estimates the total worth of your small business based on the sales price of other small businesses in your sector or industry over the past six to 12 months. This method is somewhat less precise than the other methods because no two businesses are exactly alike. Each business has variables that make it more or less valuable than its peers. Factors such as location, size of the customer base, company reputation, market share and others can make your estimate more accurate, but in the end it is simply an estimate. For that reason, this method is often used to produce a range of values during discussions between the buyer and seller.
A more thorough approach, and the most common, is the cash-flow method. The easiest way to do this is totally cash flow minus expenses. This number represents what a new business could make free and clear during his first year. If you have a start up or a very small business, the process is precise enough that you could do it on your own. You may be able to take a more accurate measure, however, by using a more complex multi-year projection of cash flow, called a discounted cash flow. Appraisers will factor in a discount rate, referred to as the buildup discount rate, which accounts for risk. This rate is usually allows the cash flow and includes such things as the growth rate of your particular industry and hazards associated with your small business. Ultimately none of these valuation methods offers an absolute and definitive value. Like your personal house, the true value of your business can only be determined by how much someone is willing to pay for it. In an anticipating manner for them, decide which of these methods makes the most sense for your state of affairs and go to work. Here’s the success story of a small business owner reaching success with a massive cash flow with a Small business loans .

How To Improve Your Sales Techniques

Bringing a product to lime light may be easy but convincing people to buy that product is always difficult. You’ve got your sales team screened, hired, and trained on the features and benefits of your product and now it’s time to put their “feet on the street!” But what about their sales approach? Did you think through the possible sale techniques and make an assertive choice about what would work most effectively for your product and market? If you negate the prospect, then be prepared to lose the game before it even starts. It’s time to take action by your thinking prodigies on the approach that would work best for sales environment your reps will have to face.

Magnitude For Improving Sales Techniques

Here are some steps to improve your sales techniques.

Master In Becoming A Good Listener

During the average customer interaction, most sales people talk 80 percent or more of the time and let the prospect speak little. Usually sales people start out with a long sales pitch about their own favorite product or current specials. That’s a mistake, because the sales person may not be interested in current specials. The first step to good salesman ship is to get the customers talking about what they want, when they want it and most significantly why they want it. This creates a reciprocal relationship, by involving customer and active in the sales practice and give the sales person important information for developing an effective pitch.

Inquire Customers Unclear Queries

The trick to getting the customer to tell you more is, of course, to ask precise queries. This is best accomplished with inquiring customer’s vague queries. By that it means, questions that will not be answered by a simple,’ yes ‘or’ no’. Vague queries help the customers think their way through what they really want. “Can I help you today?” is an overused question in the retail world, for instance, and rarely generates any more information than, “No, I’m just looking.” Right way is; “which of our products are you looking for today?” This begins a conversation that provides a salesperson with important information.

Discover The Hidden Secrets of “why”

Why would the customer consider giving you their money? It’s not just because they might want to buy one of your products or services. It’s because that product or service will bring them something what they need. For instance, does the customer want a new car primarily to look stylish, to save money on gas or carry the kids and their soccer gear? Learn their basic need and provide accurate service or product.

Importance Of Creating A Sales Pitch

After you’ve spent a bit of time asking questions and after a bit more time listing closely to the answers, only then are you ready to deliver the sales pitch. Using info you’ve obtained from customer to craft a personalized pitch is key to helping your customers believe you care about their needs and are looking out for their best interest. At this point, you’re not so much a sales person as you are a consultative partner, educating your customer and helping in coming up with the right decision. The pitch might start along the lines of, “so you say you’re looking for a budget computer, suitable for kids to use, with internet access but without a lot of bells and whistles you don’t need to pay for. Do I understand you fully? Great, then may I recommend”. And then give it your best shot of selling your product. You are bound to succeed.

Show Pride Of What Your Selling

At this point, you’ve created a targeted message for your customer and proven how a certain solution will meet all their needs. If you’ve done properly, then there’s no need to look or sound awkward, uncertain or apologetic, even if your solution is a bit on the expensive side. You’ll never see a salesperson for a high-end sports cars apologetic for the price of their sports car. Just like in real life you are taught to be proud of your inheritance, a great sales technique is be proud of your product.

Dedicated Professionals

At Merchant Advisors http://www.onlinecheck.com the dedicated advisors to your small businesses funding solutions and business loans guide you, through their extensive knowledge of business and clients needs. They follow the rule, “put yourself in my shoes”, and provide best services and solutions.

Why Investing In Your Employees Makes Good Business Sense?

Let’s assume I’m your business fiscal adviser. You’ve requested me to review your corporate balance sheet with eye towards helping you find and unlock hidden value in your business. Like all good business men you’d want to leverage your business values to recruit stake holders like employees, suppliers, customers, partners etc, with potentially greater value added contributors. A business value should always be a reflection of its share holder’s equity reflected in the balance sheet statement. Share holders equity is measured by how much your assets exceed your liabilities. So the question is how to increase the value of your business assets and what is the most important asset for your business?

Employees is the asset to your business because they are the ones who make business products and services and talk to your customers. Do effort to make your clients love your business. Come up with systematic solutions and sacrifice their precious moments spent with business goals and meeting deadlines. They not only add revenues but also find partners and vendors to help to help your business growth. Their engagement , passion , inspiration and connections with customers give life and meaning to the clients and customers . Moreover a great new meaning to your products and services.
The right employee training, development and education, at the right time, provides big payoffs for the employer in increased productivity, knowledge, loyalty, and contribution. Learn the approaches that will guarantee your training brings a return on your investment. Technological innovations, employee retention strategies, and the need for organizations to constantly develop their employees’ ability to keep up with the pace of change is a great way to train your business asset to increase business profitability. The American Society for Training and Development has traditionally recommended a minimum of 40 hours of training a year for every employee. This is consistent with the emphasis employees place on the opportunity to grow and develop both their skills and career while in your employ.
Training is crucial to the ongoing development of the people you employ and their retention and success. Following the creativity of your employees, you need to invest in them and your business. A merchant cash advance can help you with cash flow for your business. That can allow you to a mutual lucrative investment on your business and your employees.

How to Run a Business?

Your small business success depends on your ability to secure adequate financing. Not enough funding is one of the most common reasons a start-up business fails. Knowing where to look for funding is the first step to accessing capital; being prepared to convince investors to fund your business is the next. According to Score.org Most common small businesses consider how much business funding do they require, how much capital they need to accelerate and what are their business goals.

Indeed there are small businesses out there that are considering growth opportunities even as the current recession that keeps a tight hold on the economy. According to an SBA Report a recession often changes consumer demand, spending habits and attitudes. It is thus extremely important that small business owners take the time to ensure that their businesses are operating in line with this shifting environment. The primary source for funding a new business is personal finances. However, many experts say this method is the riskiest financing option. The reason: you’re putting up your own collateral to finance your business. If you take out a second mortgage on your home or use a line of credit, you can wipe out your assets if your business falters. Other options such as credit card loans or tapping into personal savings are equally risky. No matter where you turn for capital, you’ll need to provide solid documentation that your business concept is sound. Be prepared with a convincing business plan, cash flow projections and personal financial statements and tax returns. With the right materials, you can convince lenders and investors that you’ll be able to repay the loan.
Money that’s raised privately can be a boon, because it may be interest free or low interest. However, you should be aware that interest-free loans by the traditional lenders may have tax implications. Loan requests should be professionally presented and include detailed financial projections. Avoid the temptation to forgo formalities with loved ones. Draft a promissory note when getting a loan from friends or family so that interest payments are clearly detailed. Be prepared that if the business fails, it could damage personal relationships with investors. If you can show that your business proposal is strong, you may be able to land a loan from your bank. These loans are issued in many types, with varying interest rates and maturity dates. Most are secured against hard assets, such as real estate or equipment.
For those new small business owners who have negative credit, a merchant cash advance could be a necessary element of business overhead. The beneficial aspect of receiving a merchant cash advance as opposed to a business loan that will provide working capital for necessary purchases and the known fact that there is no limit set as far as what your business can acquire. The funds can be applied to get supplies, renovate or modernize your businesses storefront or even pay off your taxes. As one would imagine, merchant cash advance for your small business can provided through your merchant account has higher interest rates than those supplied with a more typical business loan lenders , primarily your nearby bank. This guarantees that over the time of the loan, you may repay more for the benefit of rapid access to business funds along with a lesser amount of hassles. Also, for small business owners who obtain these alternatives to a small business loan, the payment schedule is always adjoined right to your business’s credit card volume of the week, thereby eradicating anxiety in regards to your business not possessing enough to make good on the monthly payment and keep up with your additional business obligations. Another reward for getting merchant cash advance is not risking to lose your personal assets, you keep your personal belonging away from your business. Business asset and personal assets should differ.

Small Business Loans Can Twist The DownFalls Of Businesses

Prediction according to an SBA Report says economic growth the rest of this year and early next year will be weak — less than 3 percent. For the April-to-June quarter, economists pegged growth at 2.8 percent. That’s far below the 3.7 percent pace predicted just three months ago. The unemployment rate will be no lower at the end of the year than it is now — 9.5 percent. The mainstream think it will be 2015 or later before the rate falls to a historically normal 5 percent. State budget shortfalls pose a “major” or “stern” risk to the US economy. The loss of tax revenue has forced state and local governments to cut services and lay off workers.

The weak economy leaves Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill vulnerable to debate on how to tackle these crisis’s. The economists have turned more gloomy since the recovery hit commotion last May. Europe’s debt crisis sent tremors through Wall Street, causing stocks to tumble and raising doubts about the durability of the rebound. Since then, businesses have been slow to step up hiring. Americans’ confidence in the economy has declined, leading shoppers to reduce spending. And the housing market has weakened further with the end of a home buyer tax credit that had buoyed sales earlier this year.
Customers aren’t leading this rebound, as they usually do, despite ultra-low borrowing costs. Their spending growth will weaken in the second half of this year and strengthen only slightly next year, a majority of economists said. They think shoppers’ reluctance to spend more money poses a “significant” or “severe” risk to the recovery. A designer in Chicago, said the recession taught her to rein in her spending. The key moment came early last year, when her employer cut her pay 15 percent to avoid layoffs.
The inflation, scant pay raises and drooping home values are forcing others, too, to spend less and save more. Americans saved 4.2 percent of their disposable income last year. That was the highest level since 1998. Economists expect roughly the same level of saving this year and next. That’s why growth of less than 3 percent is forecast into 2011. And weak growth helps explain why unemployment is likely to stay high. It takes about 3 percent growth just to create enough jobs to keep pace with the population increase. The Fed’s outlook has turned bleaker, too. It’s why Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are weighing new steps to invigorate the economy if the recovery shows signs of backsliding. They are also expected to hold interest rates at record lows longer than economists thought three months ago. A survey the Fed released Wednesday showed the economy facing a bumpy path back to health. The pace of economic activity remained modest in most of the country. Most economists surveyed said the Fed would being raising short-term rates no sooner than next spring. In the last survey, most had thought it could happen as soon as late this year. At the same time, state budget shortfalls have emerged as a major threat in the economists’ view. State and local governments cut their spending in the first three months of this year at a 3.8 percent pace. That was the biggest cutback since the second quarter of 1981, just before the economy entered a severe recession.
Nodoubt there are small businesses out there that are considering growth opportunities even as the current recession that keeps a tight hold on the economy. According to an SBA report a recession often changes consumer demand, spending habits and attitudes. It is thus extremely important that small business owners take the time to ensure that their businesses are operating in line with this shifting environment. The primary source for funding a new business is personal finances. However, many experts say this method is the riskiest financing option. The reason: you’re putting up your own collateral to finance your business. If you take out a second mortgage on your home or use a line of credit, you can wipe out your assets if your business falters. Other options such as credit card loans or tapping into personal savings are equally risky. No matter where you turn for capital, you’ll need to provide solid documentation that your business concept is sound. Be prepared with a convincing business plan, cash flow projections and personal financial statements and tax returns. With the right materials, you can convince lenders and investors that you’ll be able to repay the loan.
Money that’s raised privately can be a boon, because it may be interest free or low interest. However, you should be aware that interest-free loans by the traditional lenders may have tax implications. Loan requests should be professionally presented and include detailed financial projections. Avoid the temptation to forego formalities with loved ones. Draft a promissory note when getting a loan from friends or family so that interest payments are clearly detailed. Be prepared that if the business fails, it could damage personal relationships with investors. If you can show that your business proposal is strong, you may be able to land a loan from your bank. These loans are issued in many types, with varying interest rates and maturity dates. Most are secured against hard assets, such as real estate or equipment.
I’m thinking about the notion of strategic resilience . In the face of growing unpredictability, how would one provide with appropriate option for future business success? How do we leverage the increasing interconnectedness of our markets without becoming victims of those collateral risky bank loans? . Take a deep breath! From a biological perspective, resilience means having multiple options for survival. You can survive small business woes and worries as every specie can emerge to address their needs. Small business loans are a gate way to the optimal business success with tax free business funding without collateral hindrances and the tiresome wait. I guess the power of your brain can sort out that small business loan is the best business funding apt to change the rules of collateral loans. And Small business loans is our route to a long prosperous business journey.

Business Loans Befriending Small Businesses

Federal ,state & local governments offer a wide range of financing programs to help small businesses start and grow their operations. These programs include low interest loans, venture capital and scientific and economic development grants. Small businesses can’t survive without funding for their operations. They need funding to increase working capital, cyclical needs, and cash flow. This is where a business loan can make a difference.
Bank loans have been difficult to obtain during the great recession. Banks tightened up credit and credit requirements. As the recovery progress, credit requirements are gradually loosening as customers become more willing to buy small businesses need to obtain short term loans to ramp up their inventory. Most businesses have been dealing with debt financing, both debt and equity financing have a rightful place in all but the smallest of businesses. If we focus on debt financing, most businesses have traditionally applied for their business loan and have had to lose their small business due to intense collateral. This collateral raises risks for any small business. But few of the basics that a small business requires is to have a solid business plan, a great preparation of your paperwork, and your target loan.

A Solid Business Plan

Most small businesses might already have a general business plan that covers everything from the initial store layout to eventual world domination , but the traditional lenders and local banks want to see how its funds will improve your small business .

Preparation Of Your Paperwork

Usually the banks will want to know how you’re going to repay the bank loan, which means a lot of fiscal statements to review. The banks will also review these papers to see how your small business is handling money given in the past, whether you keep good records.

Your Target Business Loan

Business loan from banks require intense collateral. There are many sources of business loans. State and local economic development agencies and numerous non-profit organizations provide low interest loans to small businesses who may not qualify for traditional loans by the banks and traditional lenders. When it comes to applying for these loans, the good news is that most of traditional lenders require same information. Obviously each loan program would have specific form that you are required to fill up before you get approved. But for most part, you’ll need to submit the same type of documentation so it’s a good idea to gather what you will need before you proceed to the actual application.

Business Loans Without Collateral

With Merchant Advisors small businesses can prosper from a no collateral business loan with massive cash flow without the gigantic paperwork hassle with repayment schedule that doesn’t consume your daily cash flow. Tax free business loans with poor credit acceptable.