14 Powerhouse Tips to Build Trust on Your Landing Page

Building a lead capture landing page is not just a matter of inserting a form on a page and driving traffic to it. You can always use this strategy, but do not put your hopes so high because it wouldn’t perform well. The foundation of your landing page should be built on trust.

Try these 14 powerhouse tips and create a high-performance landing page fully optimized specifically for gathering leads.

1. Know your target market and set your marketing goals

You need to know who you are marketing to, otherwise, every strategy you will execute will be in vain. Build a database of all your existing customers, leads in your email, and prospects. Then, start to expose fresh content or product demos that may turn them from fence sitters into real and active customers. Nurture them with more content, events, and special offers that would spun their interest.

2. Write an enticing intro paragraph

Make it clear what people should understand about your service by writing a short yet persuasive introduction paragraph. This should serve as an extension of your headline and an appetizer to your bulleted content. Make each word as descriptive as possible to ensure an enticing atmosphere.

3. Address key benefits and advantages through bullet points

Given how little time visitors spend on most web pages, you only have a few seconds to garner their interest. After grabbing their attention via your headline, you need to dig into some simple benefit statements. Instead of rambling on in long paragraphs, state the benefits of signing up to your website in bullet points.

4. Be consistent in your brand and message

Your banner, landing page, and destination should belong in the same family or you will lose the opportunity to make your business grow. Ensure that your visual design complements your banner and landing page. Don’t play with the color palette and typography just because you feel like it. Show professionalism in your website layout by practicing consistency and coherence.

5. Offer something free in advance

Give something away for free in advance before asking for personal details in exchange. It could be a small portion of the materials you are providing, a newsletter, or a catalog. If what you are giving away is valuable and worth the trouble, this will greatly augment conversion rate.

6. Avoid gimmicky sales tactics

The web is already filled with irrelevant sales tactics. No matter how much you feel the desperate you are for clients and you feel like this is the perfect time to use the “Buy now to avail the best deal ever,” do not do it. Remember that authenticity rules. People are on the lookout for something trustworthy in the web and they are starting to learn when web pages are telling the truth or not.

7. Refrain from using pop ups or pop-unders

Pop ups are the easiest way to shame. Unless you want your customer base to leave you for a company with more integrity, do not give in to this cheap tactic. Pop ups and the like only promise slight and short term improvement in conversion.

8. Present verifiable facts

Bold claims about your product or service may extract anxiety on the part of your visitor. If what you are promising isn’t 100% true,don’t publish it on your web because you will eventually be caught.

9. Never underestimate the power of testimonials

Testimonials from real people are credible. Interview your previous clients. Never place overwhelming and exaggerated statements by personas grabbed from stock photo sites.Might as well, ask one of your loyal clients to share their personal experience on your web page. This will make people trust you and believe that you have affected someone else life.

10. Attach all relevant certification logos

This is an effective strategy to garner trust. If you have an association or affiliation with trusted companies, wear their logos proudly on your sleeve. Use relevant and well-known brands that have the same visions and missions as you.

11. Shout professionalism all throughout your landing page

The World Wide Web works like this: the more expensive and corporate you look, the more people will be likely to believe your cause. You still need interesting content, but a killer layout with picture perfect design.

12. Use endorsements to build reputation

If you are affiliated with famous people such as celebrities or known experts, make them endorse your product or service. Their endorsements will help your company build credibility. People are willing to spend a grand because the celebrities promoting it are placing their credibility on the line.

13. Stop extracting information you don’t really need

If certain information is not critical to product or service being requested on your landing page, then don’t risk scaring people away by getting irrelevant information. These data will not be of any good use to you anyway.

14. Show your contact details

Make sure that your visitors know that they have someone to contact for queries. Post your contact information, including your phone number, mobile number, and email address. It also shows that you are legitimate and there are real people behind the website.

Apply these tips and you are on to a successful marketing campaign.

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Making Money is Killing Your Business

I am a huge fan of the German approach to business. The mittlestand, family businesses that are homegrown, anchored in the locality, with a long term multi generational perspective, focused on creating wealth. Particularly “Hidden champions” opened my eyes.

So I was very taken with “Making money is killing your business”.

Time to grow up

It is time for a lot of business owners to grow up. It is time for businesses to grow up. Chuck Blakeman has an interesting perspective on start ups and small business. Too many do not grow up and you have created your own job, not your own business.

The tyranny of the urgent

He refers to it as the tyranny of the urgent versus the priority of the important.

Urgent is reactive, short term and defensive and is the treadmill of making money. Important is proactive and long term. It is about making money versus building a business.

Wealth

It comes down to the definition of wealth, which is the ability to choose what do with your time and your money. Can you?

  • Are you the main producer/deliverer by choice or necessity?
  • Does the business make money when you are somewhere else?
  • Are you making decision based on where you are, or where you want to be?

Chuck blames the focus on exit and selling your business. In his view that is similar to selling your children. Why would you invest all that love, time and passion to sell it off, instead of creating an ongoing stream of long term wealth?

Time and money are at a premium

Gallup research tells that the average business owners work 52 hours a week (hose are the lazy or lucky ones). They work 6 days a week, some have zero vacation and when they do over 50% still answer work related e-mails and calls. Only 3% of business owners create 86% of the revenue in the USA. So time and money are at a premium. How can you earn more money in less time?

Are you on the treadmill?

According to Blakeman there are seven stages of business

Stage 1 Concept and start up
the trick here is to move as quick as possible from dreaming to doing. Dreaming includes thinking, researching and planning. The number one indication of success is the speed of execution.

Stage 2 Survival
you have burned a lot of fuel, time is grinding, sales are difficult and you are focused on making money. You are now on treadmill of urgent.

Stage 3 Subsistence
you can pay your bills and are making money. There is little time to relax and your focus is on keeping it going. If you don’t watch it you are back in stage 2.

Stage 4 Stability
you are making a net profit and you have freedom money to spend. You can choose what you can do with your money. Time is still a big issue. You have created yourself a well paid job. You are an employee of yourself. An hostage to your own business.

Stage 1 to 4 are treadmills. You focused on the wrong question, which is “How do I make money”. Making money is NOT an empowering vision.

You need to get off the business treadmill!

The basics of a mature business are that you are not the main producer and it makes money when you are not there. Which moves us to stage 5 to 7.

Stage 5 Success
you have shifted your mindset to building a business versus building a job. You are moving from production to process. This is where Chuck introduces “freedom mapping”, which is a version of process mapping that brings clarity to what people are supposed to do and how it fits into the overall customer delivery process. It makes things consistent, repeatable and replicable.

Stage 6 Significance
you role has shifted to becoming a leader and you are less and less involved in direct delivery and production. You business is starting to make an impact. You are free. However, leadership is in place, leadership is not in charge. It is vision and guidance, which means you still need to keep an eye on the business and guide management.

Which brings you to the last stage. Stage 7 Succession. This is where leadership is in charge and you have ingrained a culture that embraces you vision. Only vision. You are truly free.

The key question

What is stopping you to get to stage 7? Chuck thinks it is only one reason. You are not asking the right question. How do you build a mature business and when do I want to get there?

What do you need to do?

It is very simple. Intentionality. Make the decision, put a date on it and go public. Going public changes everything (the Hawthorne effect (also referred to as the observer effect) is a type of reactivity in which individuals modify or improve an aspect of their behaviour in response to their awareness of being observed).

As a business owner you owe to yourself to try. Why would you not? How could you not? Particularly if you know that retirement as we know it now is bankrupt. Create your own retirement on your own terms.

Pick a date. You now have a clock ticking in your head. Define what does your business look like at maturity. Consider your lifetime goals (why, why, why, what is the transformative purpose). Consider the time and money required to create your ideal lifestyle.

More money, less time

Now back to basics I. More money in less time. How to increase revenue and continually reduce time to bring in that revenue.

The freedom questions

Is this (whatever you are doing right now), the best use of your time? If this is not the highest and best use of your time, how do you ensure you do it for the last time? Those two questions need to be asked constantly in all parts of the business. Parts such as leadership, business development, operation and delivery, financial management, customer and employee satisfaction and to community and family impact.

Systems and processes are the key. What is your yield per hour now? What should it be? Do the activities you are involved with now, warrant the yield per hour you want?

Back to basics II

  1. Back to the big why. Why are doing this? Why do you matter? Why does your business matter? Why is it significant? What do you want to be remembered by? Purpose and passion. Using time, money and energy to create significance. Every book on strategy we covered on Bookbuzz always boils down to that question. See http://www.bookbuzz.biz/the-strategist/ for example.
  1. You then need a strategic plan. You don’t need a business plan. Chuck is not a fan of business plans. Planning does not create, movement does. And the size of commitment to the intent. Straight from Do! by Kevin Kelly . Develop a two page strategic plan with key milestones and with an action plan attached. You review that strategic plan every day. You need to be able to recite that plan verbatim any time, any place within a maximum of 3 minutes. In the meantime the business maturity date is ticking in the background……
  1. You need then set of outside eyes. A group of mentors. An advisory board. Make sure you are not alone.

In the book Chuck Blakeman gives a wide range of toolsets to figure out your lifetime goals, strategic plan, your leadership profile, etc. But the most important tool is the freedom mapping. Your franchise handbook. Your process descriptions. If you do one thing, do that. Map your overall business process and then break it down.

Stop playing office

Build a business engine. Create wealth, not money. Become a master of your own destiny. Become intentional, set the date, tell the world and move.

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Small Business Secrets: Technologies To Invest In

Almost every business today, whether large or small can see the amazing effects the right technology has on total revenue. Many of today’s customers relate well to technology whether utilized for marketing and advertising, bill paying, or communicating. Although it may seem expensive to invest in at times, the initial cost of better technology will reap dividends in the future. These four options are among the best types of technology for small businesses to invest in now.

Small Business Secrets

Accounting Software

Although most large businesses have their own accounting staff or hire out for their accounting needs, small businesses don’t have the capital to invest in such large services. In addition, many small business owners, while having what it takes to run their businesses, may not have the financial knowledge it takes to keep detailed books, do end of year taxes, or payroll. Accounting software doesn’t require a large financial investment, but instead decreases the amount of time spent doing the books each week.

Cloud Storage

Speaking of online programs, a smart choice small businesses can make is to store company information in a digital cloud. While many companies have recognized the importance of changing their filing systems from paper to digital, this process can become even safer by using an online cloud. The cloud safely stores any information in a variety of off-site servers, ensuring that if anything happens to the business’s on-site computer systems the information remains safe on the cloud.

Company Website

A company website is vital in today’s marketplace, since most customers will turn to online browsing to find products or services. A website is often the first introduction consumers have to a business. Small businesses should either invest in a premium website building service, or hire an IT services company to build a unique website that includes search engine optimization. The best websites catch the eye, show up in the top search engine results, and include a blog and social media links. SEO services will help you connect with more business for an investment that’s well worth the cost.

Online Security

As with any part of your company, data and information need to be kept stored and secure. Your website and online programs that will launch you into the modern world will need to be refined with better security. A good option is to outsource here as well to IT services like the Bedrock managed services in Ottawa who work with local businesses to protect websites and programs against outside attacks. You should also consider getting new anti-spam and malware services.

Each of these technologies will take a substantial amount of money and time for any business to set up initially, and learn how to use. But because these services will save employee time and be cost-effective overall, they are each well worth the investment. As information technology and online services boom, businesses of all sizes must keep up in order to retain current clients and gain new customers.

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7 UX Tools That Simplify Web Designers’ Task

We come across various websites on the internet; some of them simply have a breathtaking view whereas some are a sheer delight to interact with. But less do we know about the efforts that go behind making those websites the way they look. Web designers toil everyday in adding a wonderful dimension to site’s user experience. But a few hit the nail on the head. Websites today are not static pages anymore that people read and move ahead. They have become playgrounds for interacting, learning and communicating. You see customers are no more pleased with a site’s look but the entire experience.

When it comes to designing websites visual quality is dominated by functionality and interface elements that constitute overall user experience. Therefore web designing is subject to guidelines falling within the realm of user experience. Here are some tools that will curtail your stress and enable creation of websites users love exploring.

UX tools can be broadly categorized in two divisions: a. Wireframing Tools and b. Research & Testing Tools

a. Wireframing Tools

In software development lifecycle system’s look and architecture is contrived in the Design phase. These tools create blueprints for screens that enable developers to emulate the form and function in the live model. It can also be called idea testing from the designing point of view as it mainly focuses on functionality. You can create a mockup from your specifications to examine its working and to visualize ideas narrated by the client. A bunch of such prototyping tools are available in the market. Let’s take a closer look at some of the chosen ones here:

1. Axure RP Pro: One of the most widely used wireframing tools it produces dynamic prototypes as well as UI specification documents. Rich UI elements called widgets help you build interactive prototypes. It provides a huge widget library for a wide number of industry websites as well as apps. A rich collection of placeholders, shapes, gradients, icons, etc. makes it a workhorse producing almost real working models. Its HTML mockup makes it convenient for people to view the wireframe without installing an RP player, on desktop as well as mobile. The inbuilt SVN client feature allows users to share their work. Its intuitive interface can emulate even very complex websites. The inline notes allow UX designers to state business rules for clients and developers (this feature can be turned off when not required). It supports Mac and Windows Operating Systems.

Axure RP Pro2. Balsamiq: It’s a quick tool for creating static mockups. If you want speedy replication of multiple wireframes then this is the tool you were looking for. However it does have certain limitations. If you want to integrate interactive elements into this wireframe, then it fails to overwhelm you, as this is ideally suited for only sketching a system’s UI and not mocking it.

Balsamiq

3. Invision: It’s not just a prototyping tool but it works as a good collaborative tool as well. It collaborates with Photoshop, illustrator and Fireworks. By uploading images and hotspots it gives an impression of an app. It is a versatile tool that creates interesting prototypes.

b. Research & Testing Tools

Information drives decisions. Our UI design is majorly derived from disseminated cognitive theories, which should be ideally based on user reviews gathered through surveys and research tools. Around 1000 papers get published every year regarding web design and usability. Still websites fail at providing the expected user experience and suffer sporadic traffic outpour.

A few accepted guidelines spur the design layout; however there are tools available to understand customer’s interaction manners and general site expectations. There are tools that perform quantitative research and those that perform qualitative research.

1. Usability Tools: It’s a comprehensive package of 9 tools to predict user demeanor. These tools are classified into 2 suites: First is the UX Suite that contains elementary methods of comprehending and connecting with users through surveys and scenario-based testing. Second is the Conversion Suite that gets you a more detailed overview of user input and analysis, especially the form-tester tool. So now instead of correlating the output from different tools, you have one tool performing most jobs. And the best part is, it does not restrict you to test a specific number of websites; instead it charges based on the data gathered from your research.

Usability Tools
2. Userzoom: This is a research and analytics tool that provides insight into customer behavior with respect to your website. You get to see your site from an end user perspective. What you get at the end is tangible reports and no guesswork. Conducting in-lab tests is not always feasible, therefore tools that provide a framework to interpret user movements throughout a website and generate analysis reports based on it simplify designers job.

3. ClickTale: This tool set visualizes customer behavior and analyses friction points in a website. Its deliverables like mouse move heatmaps, click heatmaps, scroll heatmaps, link analytics, comparisons and visitor playbacks give an astute vision of site’s usability.

ClickTale

4. Formisimo: This tool mainly revolves around web forms and checkout process. Since these checkout forms are the last step to conversion, it’s crucial to know how users relate with them. Sometimes websites experience high traffic inflow but the conversion ratio falls much below the expected figures due to complex checkout procedures. Therefore it’s important to study your checkout forms usability and this tool does just that.

What led to the discovery and acceptability of these tools in the digital industry was the need to provide web designers with actionable data for designing user centric websites, which successfully attract and sustain traffic. Select the tools that best serve your purpose and fall within your budget frame.

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You Need More Than Responsive Web Design to Improve Sales

The whole world is going gaga about responsive web design. And after Google’s new mobile friendly update, no one is even ready to take the risk of being left out. In fact, having the “mobile friendly” label matters a lot, statistically speaking. According to a recent comScore study, around 20 percent of all search activities originate from smartphones while another 9 percent comes from tablet devices. It also indicates that a large number of people are using mobile devices (46 percent using smartphone and 48 percent using tablets) for watching online videos.

Moreover, being mobile friendly is an absolute necessity if you are targeting teens. A report from Nielsen indicates that 80 percent of teens in the U.S. own smartphones and over 90 percent of them are using these devices to search the web online. Another study conducted by L2 further shows that 69 percent of global consumers aged between 18 and 39 with incomes ranging from $75,000 to $99,000 are using smartphones to research products online, whereas 44 percent are using tablets for the same purpose.

By now you are already convinced that all you need is a responsive web design to make your online business the next big hit. Wait, we are not yet finished. If you are happy and super excited after resizing the browser, we are probably going to vandalize your glee. Having responsive web design alone is not enough to improve your sales.

Why Responsive is Not Enough

Focus on responsive web design as your only solution for mobile and you will end up losing your users and money too. The goal is to apply responsive design intelligently as performance is the ultimate truth for mobile, as for web. To do it right, you need to first understand the problem.

Since the beginning of mobile, designers and developers are oversimplifying the issue. Responsive web design has become a cookie-cutter solution to all of our problems. As a result, we often overlook the real purpose of mobile web experience – speed. People browse mobile on the go and they need what they are looking for real fast. You need to therefore provide a lightning fast mobile web experience to your users. And here lies the real challenge.

Delivering a usable, fast and compatible mobile web experience across all devices is easier said than done. It remains same when implementing a responsive technique. A better and more feasible approach is to embrace performance, right from the beginning.
That being said, we are not criticizing responsive web design. It is in fact a great thing, but responsive web design isn’t a silver bullet. It cannot be your only weapon for a winning mobile strategy. Otherwise, performance issues are likely to impede your conversion rate.

According to a research by Akamai’s Guy Podjarny, only “18.7 percent of a list of 10,000 top-tier web sites is responsive.” The number decreases in accordance to the site’s traffic. In fact, the percentage comes down to 11.8 percent when analyzed the top 100 sites. The research also indicates that 72 percent of these responsive websites are delivering equal number of bytes, irrespective of screen size and mobile network connections.

But you should not forget that Internet users are known for their lack of patience and the problem is even more acute in mobile users. They won’t be waiting for your website to load, at least not all of them. The good news is that you can make things right and minimize the loss, now that you have a basic understanding of the issue.

Responsive + Speed = A Winning Mobile Strategy

There is no denying that responsive is a smart approach than an m.* subdomain but you also need to understand that responsive web design is not a replacement for mobile web sites. What we mean is that there is no hard and fast rule that you need a single URL to deliver the same content across various devices or that all devices need to download the same resources.

While responsive design has tons of benefits, it is certainly not meant to solve performance issues. There are other techniques for that. You need to design responsively in order to cater to various viewport sizes across mobile and desktop. But when it comes to mobile devices, considering only screen size will lead you nowhere. Today we have different possibilities, depending on the device type, open to us especially as the line between desktop and mobile is becoming more and more blur. As a result, responsive web design too need a few tweak to sync with the modern vision.

Long story short, responsive design is not a cookie-cutter solution, neither is it a silver bullet to be applied to all kind of documents. Rather, you need robust mobile solutions that maximize performance.
Here are a few ways to do it:

  • A mobile-first approach is a better solution, especially if you are creating something from scratch.
  • Use same content and same URL to deliver your document across all devices but do not follow the same structure.
  • Resizing your desktop browser is just a thing of past. Instead, test your website on real devices and try loading resources to see how much time it takes. What is the user experience?
  • There are several optimization tools; leverage them to measure and improve your mobile performance.
  • Use JavaScript to deliver responsive images.
  • Consider the loading time; don’t make the website heavy with unnecessary JavaScript. A better approach is to load only what you need for a particular device with conditional loading.
  • Follow above-the-fold content delivery format or inline the initial view for mobile devices.

The key techniques you need to incorporate for a smart mobile strategy include applying responsiveness according to group, conditional loading, above-the-fold content in 1 second, and a server-side layer.

Conclusion

The real challenge with responsive web design is that each designer define “responsive” differently, leading to communication issues. To address to this issue we need to first understand the broader goals we need to achieve through mobile. Responsive design is not the goal, neither it means to be mobile-compatible. The goal is “user satisfaction” as it is your happy users who lead to more conversions, the ultimate goal of any business.

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Microfinance Ireland future plans

Michael Johnston, CEO of Microfinance Ireland talking about the future plans. Next stage is to grow to lending 8 million next year (it is now 6 million) and an expected growth of 25% each year for the coming years.

 

 

If you are interested in applying for a loan, please go to http://microfinanceireland.ie/how-to-apply/

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Green Business ideas

A profitable business model can also be friendly to the environment. It’s just the matter of choosing eco-friendly way in the overall strategy of the company and consequently, all areas of the organization will be aligned with this goal. It is not something that can happen overnight, but it is not an impossible mission either. Increasingly, people are more aware about the importance of protecting the environment. Therefore, it is time to renew the business strategy and make it 100 percent organic and, above all, highly productive. Let’s look at some green business ideas.

Direct your staff to green goals

Ideally, before embarking on any long-term strategy, talk to your team about what practices and goals should be achieved. This information is even more relevant when it comes to forming habits within the organization that is friendly to the environment. Talk to your partners and colleagues about what the maximum use of resources could be, for example office paper, plastic, water and even cleaning products.  The simplest thing such as turning off the light when leaving the room can make a difference in order to meet the desired goals. This way, you will create a dynamic working conditions to go hand in hand with the organization’s mission – to be 100% pro-environment.

Watch energy consumption

One of the key things to keep in mind when creating the overall strategy of your company is to make an estimate of the operating expenses. This means having an annual screening in terms of energy, water and material resources that are used. And do not forget to consider the environmental impact that this generates. Replacing inefficient light bulbs gives impressive results in energy savings of 50 to 75 percent. And best of all is that this produces equal performance. Remember that the most important points of energy consumption in a company are lighting, heating, air conditioning, food storage equipment, computers and audio devices.

Calculate CO2 emission

Knowing the percentage of greenhouse gases emission in your business requires a calculation of the direct consumption of the organization. This includes everything from light and water to other elements used to operate as inputs. It is recommended that you seek advice from an expert to assess the emissions you produce and the areas where the impact on the environment can be reduced. So you can make an estimate of the percentage of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by your company and take action accordingly. For example, a home inhabited by two people with two cars, who do not use public transport, do not recycle and consume natural gas can generate about two tons of CO2 per year. One of the most affordable solutions is to plant a tree and care for it to help neutralize the emissions.

Sort your waste

If you recycle only half of garbage you generate (individually), 1080 kg of CO2 is issued per year. Because of this it’s good to separate waste in biodegradable bags in three colors – blue, green and red. Inorganic waste is deposited in the first, such as paper, glass, metals, textiles, etc. Organic waste, such as food, coffee filters or tea and dirty napkins, goes in the second, while in the third all health and medical related stuff, such as syringes, edible oil, cigarette butts, etc. are discarded. Remember that if you crush organic and inorganic waste, you will take advantage over each of the bags’ space and spend less on them, which will also be reflected in your budget. You can store whatever you want in New Zealand shipping container, whether that’s growing plants or waste bags.

Look for green suppliers

Start by assessing whether the products and services you acquire for your business harm the environment. At this point it is important to remember that just like people working in your company perform ecological practices, your suppliers also should. If you believe that you won’t find everything you need in the market, you’re wrong. Today, more and more shops only sell organic products. To identify organic articles, look for a distinctive mark on the packaging that says it’s environmentally friendly.

Get certified as a green company

For environmental certification different points are evaluated. For example, consumption of water and wastewater, soil and subsoil, air emissions, environmental indicators, solid and hazardous waste, noise and environmental risk. Remember that your certificate guarantees consumers that the product is environmentally friendly and does not harm the environment at any stage of manufacture.

Create a media strategy

Once you have everything ready, it’s time for customers, suppliers and the market in general to find out you’re friendly with the planet. In order to do this, make a plan of communication and marketing to highlight this feature.

Although ecology and business seem to be two antagonistic concepts, circumstances have made them go hand in hand, even creating a niche market that is growing every year. These businesses are mainly supported by the progressive awareness of the population on environmental matters, because ultimately, they are the end customers in demand for organic products and services.

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Why Wasn’t Your Business Plan Funded?

While there can be so many differences that appear between business managers when they want to create a really effective financial business plan, this does not mean that there is always a guarantee that funding will be found. Many think that once financing was obtained once, something similar is going to appear in the future. This is not always the case. Let’s take a look at why your business plan wasn’t funded.

Financial Business Plan

Expertise in creating financial business plans is the most important factor that has to be taken into account when you want to obtain funding. You have to adapt to the market situations and you need to always take into account what the funders want to invest in at the moment.

In order to successfully obtain funding, you have to prove that the company is prepared for investments. This means that you basically have to prove the fact that you are going to generate a profit for the investors in a given period of time. Knowledge of what the investors want is a necessity.

A Lack Of Competitive Edge

The very first reason why a company is not getting funding is the fact that it does not have a competitive edge in the niche/industry that is chosen. The marketing strategy in this case is not well-created or there is actually a complete lack of a strong strategy. Remember that investors want to see that the company will succeed. If the marketing strategy is not great, how can they see that?

Lack Of Management Experience

Most people think that they just need to show that the business is viable and that the management team and the owner are not going to be analyzed. This is completely incorrect. The business plan needs to highlight the management approach and there is a really strong possibility that the investors are going to want to know as much as possible about past experiences before making a decision.

Unclear Business Strategy

If the business strategy is not clear and there is risk that capital is going to be lost, nobody will want to invest. With this in mind, taking the necessary time to create a really strong business strategy is a necessity even before funding is considered.

Too Many Assumptions

Most of the business plans that are sent in for funding consideration are incredibly optimistic. Assumptions are made and there is no proof that these assumptions are realistic. The assumptions that are made have to be proven. There are stress-tests that are performed and if you do not have realistic assumptions, it will show and the investors are going to walk away.

Conclusions

The bottom line is that you should never treat the situation lightly. If you need funding and you have to look for investors, the most important thing is to be properly prepared for their analysis. The facts that were highlighted above are just the most common. Remember that even one improper assessment can be seen by the investor as a sign that something will go wrong. In the event that you do not have experience in creating business plans for companies that would receive funding, it is a lot better to simply hire someone that has. This drastically increases the possibility of receiving money.

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Guide to Buying a Small Business

Embarking on a small business venture takes courage, lots of energy, and a willingness to take risks. This guide to buying a small business, instead of starting a new business from scratch, will showcase several advantages that buying an established small business venture offers.

The current owner has already done the crucial, real-world testing, and established a cash flow track record, which proves the products or services have a market. Learning how to buy a small business is largely a matter of paying attention to due diligence, and evaluating three core concepts.

1. Cash Flow and Profit Margin

One of the most important questions to ask when buying a small business is what is its profit margin? Profit margins vary between industries, and you should do your homework on what is a competitive level to shoot for.

The income and cash flow statements should give you a window into what is working for the company, and if there are products or services that are dragging down the profits. What to look for when buying a small business is the breadth of the customer or client base. If losing one or two major customers would jeopardize the cash flow of the venture, you should develop a marketing plan that brings in new clients.

2. Human Resources

What to consider when buying a small business in terms of human resources are the following: employee morale, work ethic, and commitment to quality. Taking the time to talk with as many of the employees as possible is a great investment. You need to find out if they are committed to staying with the business, and if they have ideas on areas in which the business processes can be improved.

Just like a business that is too dependent on a few customers, the loss of key employees can also destroy the venture. You need to make sure the crucial employees are willing to stay, or train in their replacements.

3. Processes

There are processes the business uses for everything from marketing, customer service, manufacturing, inventory, billing, receivables, etc. By asking lots of questions on the current processes, you gain a clearer picture of the true health of the business. This post is a good guide to the legal processes which may be involved.

What is the cost to acquire a new customer, and how is it accomplished? Does the business rely on advertising, trade shows, or word of mouth, and is there a marketing plan to test new ways to generate more business? How much is an individual customer worth over time, and is there a system to sell them additional products or services?

How current is the business on paying its bills? And how efficient is it in collecting its receivables? The balance sheet may list receivables as assets, but the employees may know which ones really are unrecoverable.

How accurate does the business know the cost of goods sold? Many small businesses have very poor inventory control systems, and manufacturing often is delayed by parts shortages. Does the business check with several vendors to keep its costs down?

Is there space allocated to dead inventory? Just like bad receivables, some inventory listed as assets may well be worthless. Even worse, the dead inventory continues takes money to store, count, and manage.

If it is a manufacturing process, how current is the equipment? If a piece of equipment breaks, what is the repair or replacement cost? And what does the work flow look like. Many companies have just grown over time without any thought to work flow, and have ended up with an inefficient process.

What is the quality of the products and services the business produces? Do customers continue to buy from the business, and refer new customers to it? How good is the business at meeting its time commitments to customers? What is percentage of products that are defective, and returned?

Final Thoughts

After taking the time to investigate as many of the business processes and employees as you can, you will be in a position to evaluate the numbers. Is the business sustaining growth, or have revenues and profits margins dropped? What is the reason the business is now for sale?

Before you make an offer, you need to have a clear plan on the direction you want to take the company. Does it require more working capital, new equipment, new product development, expanded marketing efforts and better customer service?

By doing the appropriate due diligence, you can deduce the inherent risk of ownership, and the investigation process itself can uncover new ideas for your success!

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