Alternative financing services?
Posted on June 22, 2008
With lots of reports on small businesses being affected by the rising fuel prices I’m sure that it’s also harder to get financing for a small business. Here in Eastern Europe where I live, the financing market is far from being mature, so I’ve decided to look for ways you could get financing for a small business in US. I’m not an expert, but if your bank refuses to finance your business due to lower profits, I believe Unsecured Small Business Loans might be your answer.
So, how does this work? Companies offering Business Cash Advance are usually buying a fixed amount of your Visa/Mastercard sales at a discount. Basically they are able to offer you financing in less than a week, and they collect automatically a percentage of your sales to pay back the money.
Also, you can use the money anyway you want - no need to have business plans to show you are eligible for a loan like you would have to at the bank. Of course, like in everything, you need to be sure you are investing the money wisely in something that will allow to increase your sales to repay the money. Small Business Cash Advance it’s probably a way to go for emergency situations when you have to respond to un-expected market behavior, so it might worth a look and see how this works.
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Review sta.rtup.biz - the small business social network
Posted on June 10, 2008
Got an invitation last week to join sta.rtup.biz - the small business social network. You know I have a category dedicated to small business knowledge resources, so I’ve decided to make a review for it.
First thing, I tried to see what it does and got the answer from the opening press release: “Instead of going to MySpace to scour through teenagers and goth queens, the casual business owner can now have a home among his peers. Sta.rtUp.biz is a small business social network where networking and resources intersect.”
So I’ve decided to sign-up to see what is what. First, you can build your profile - no surprise here, and if you invite 5 more people you get access to the eBusiness library with over 165 ebooks (let me know if you want an invitation from me).
Also you get access to the discussion forum - and most importantly the discussions are moderated by 3 experts: a corporate lawyer is there to answer any legal question. The “Search Guru” guides your website up the Google rankings with the free search engine optimization, and the veteran serial entrepreneur acts as your mentor on all business management and strategy.
A section you definetively don’t want to miss is the Motivational Video Clips area - like this video about a 5 years old entrepreneur - who did well. Looking at the Ask an Expert area - plenty of action there - good sign.
Starting a Business had never been easier! Well, have a look and let me know what you think.
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» Filed Under Knowledge resources | 1 Comment
USA Market Segmentation
Posted on June 6, 2008
I know for sure that Small Business Owners don’t think a lot about market segmentation and how they should target the right customer with their services and offers. But, I would say that you need to Discover Your Target Market. Finding out more about market segmentation is mandatory, in at least 2 moments in a business life:
- start-up time, when checking to see if your business idea is viable or looking for financing
- when things start to move on the right path and you need to see how you could do more.
Assuming that my readers are from U.S., I was looking for some time to find a good resource to explain the consumer behaviour and market segmentation in the US. I was quite glad to find Linda Morton’s Market Segmentation book that describes in detail various market segments in US and their behavior. It goes through many segments and describes their characteristics. Depending on your business, you can go through all the book, or just pick your target market and see how you can approach the people in it.
The book takes into consideration the following segmentations:
- Generation Segments (The WWII Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation y)
- Life Stages Segments (Early Adulthood, Middlescence, Age of Mastery, Age of Integrity)
- Education
- Social Class Segments
- Lifestyle Segments
- National Origin Segments
- Gender Segments
Then it goes through each of these segments and describes their characteristics. Depending on your business, you can go through all the book, or just pick your target market and see how you can approach the people in it. Let’s say you have a software product and you target young to middle aged people, with good income and an inclination on having the latest tech and gadgets. So, you target Generation x and y, Middle class, and Young Urban techies. Now, I’m quoting from the book, to show you what kind of content you can find:
Browse to page 74, about Generation Y: “Born between 1977 and 1994, members of Generation Y (Gen Yers) have reached young adulthood. Anyone wanting to relate to these 71 million young people must recognize, understand, and adapt to this new generation.” Generation Y appears to be a “notoriously fickle” consumer group, demanding the latest trends in record time. Marketers wanting to reach these young people have “to embrace that type of fast change.” A critical consumer group, Gen Yers “don’t like a hard sell.” They are “brand and fashion-conscious,” but as one advertising manager has learned, you have to get the “merchandise in front of them without being in their face.”
Browse to page 87, to find their Consumer Habits “Just as the middle class is caught between the other two classes in occupation and income, they are also between them in consumption. Those in the middle class strive to purchase luxury items previously reserved for the upper class, but, like the working class, they have limited incomes.”
Browse to page 123, Young Urban Techies- “Only 14 percent of the male population fall into this group. Like Fast Trackers, they are young men, but they are the most inner-directed of all the categories. Only a couple of years older than Fast Trackers, they earn $10,000 per year more. These young men are trendsetters because they buy products based on merits. They are well educated and politically progressive. They like reading newsweeklies, home electronics and political magazines”
And the book goes like this for 186 pages - you would think such a book would cost thousands of dollars, but surprise, it is more than affordable. Even more, Linda Morton’s portfolio includes a comprehensive set of books that talk about Target Market Profiles. The book is definitely not a one time read. You should save it and check if the events in your sales are market segmentation related. Or even better, customize your products for the best target! You would think such a book would cost thousands of dollars, but surprise, it is more than affordable.
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What kind of employees for your small business?
Posted on May 29, 2008
I have something that really bothers me lately. What kind of employees do you really want in your small business?
Usually if we are talking about a bigger business, it’s better to have more types, even if you consider them individually they are not the very optimum. I mean yeah, you want the best sales people, but you might just want one that can’t sell well in general, but has the luck or ability to sign just one huge contract a year. Or yes, you want the best programmers in the World, but you might want lighter ones to deal with your site.
Anyway, there are several types of employees you might want to have. I’m listing below the ones that comes first to my mind:
- the rookie. Good for tasks that are very repetitive or just plain operational
- the YUPPIE. Usually the best if you have an interesting business with great growth potential. They just want to grow together with you. They leave you the moment they have a better opportunity
- the seasoned professional. Good experience, but sometimes they might lack fresh new ideas
- the working mom or career woman. One of the best choices when it comes to pick up a CEO. Yes, you heard me right, if you have something to be done, then you can be sure it’s done.
- the lucky bastard. They don’t do much, nor are very skilled, but they seem to get it right each time it’s actually important. They might bring you more money, contracts or anything else than the most skillful dedicated sales person
- the Evangelist. Usually it’s in your company from the very beginning. You can count on him, he will be day in day out at the office and he knows stuff. He will spread only the very best words about the company and good for forming new teams as well.
- the opportunist. Heading to a better paid job already…
- the rich boy. He doesn’t really need to work, but still does it. They are not in for the money, so they must do it for fun. So they like it, and do it well
- moonlight entrepreneur. Works for you by day, has a second business to run at home in the evening. Interesting, usually they think just like you the entrepreneur. If they become successful, they head towards their own business
Which one would you hire?
- Make your employees happy - it’s an entrepreneur task
- Hiring in a bootstrapped company
- Entrepreneurs get a different kind of reward
- Small Business compete with Big Corporation
- 10 steps to get the right employees if you are a small business
» Filed Under Entrepreneurship | 1 Comment
Reasons to start a business
Posted on May 25, 2008
Writing the Small Business Entrepreneur blog involves a lot of reading. And since I do so much reading, I can tell you that I’m amazed to see how different the reasons to start a business are. Sure, we can have Necessity or opportunity entrepreneurship, but besides that, it depends on the way of thinking, time, money to burn and determination.
Let’s take for example Rob McNealy from Startup Story Radio - he needed more time to spend with his wife and child. He says: “My company, Neraida Vision Systems didn’t take off like I hoped, but it was a huge learning experience. Because failure was not an option, necessity caused me to take a step in another direction. As a result, my next company, Natural Wood Floors, was born about a year later.”
So what’s your reason?
- 7 myths and reasons to be an entrepreneur
- Reasons not to start a business
- The unfinished side of the story
- Entrepreneurs don’t want to work
- Entrepreneurship resource: David V. Lorenzo’s blog
» Filed Under Entrepreneurship | Leave a Comment
