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Keeping your Business Alive
As long as you eat and breathe you will stay alive. But is that really living? In a crisis that may be enough. If your business is in crisis - deal with it. But the secret to keeping your business alive is growth.That is the litmus test of keeping your business alive. Look at nature. Everything that is alive continues to grow. Growing your business is the best way of keeping it alive in the long term. How do you continue to grow your business? Feed it, nurture it, invest in it and treat the business as a journey - not a destination. On your journey you must keep one eye immediately on the road in front of you and the other on the horizon.Invest in your business success with smart marketing. Smart marketing does not entail expensive advertising campaigns. Instead it means managing a

ow does it work and what are the best sales people doing to get the great results?

o Test and measure your conversion rates—where is the biggest opportunity to improve. If you double your conversion rate, you can double your sales with zero investment in marketing.

For your business to succeed—you have to have sales. Understanding who you want to sell to and how well you convert them, will go a long way to building a great business.

Leverage

OK, you understand the inner workings of your business and have raised your sales working with the kinds of clients you love—congratulations. You are well on your way to owning a commercial profitable enterprise that runs without you.

The increase in sales is going to put pressure on internal systems to become more effective and more efficient. This is what the LEVERAGE level is all about. What we are going to accomplish is basically teaching paper how the prime processes run in your business. The b

Ecommerce Credit Card Processing: The Fees
For the uninitiated – and even for merchants who have owned an internet business for years - the wide array of credit card processing fees that can be incurred in the operation of an ecommerce store can be a bit bewildering.In this article, we’ll discuss most of the costs involved in maintaining an internet merchant account. Note that these fees are in addition to what you may have to pay as an upfront fee for the software required in order to set up your ecommerce facility (these fees can range from $50 to $200 usually, although nowadays some providers waive this fee altogether). You may also have to pay for a shopping cart, although this service too is now sometimes packaged as a freebie when you set up the ecommerce facility.Here are the fees that merchants can anticipate having

There is nothing more exciting than taking the entrepreneurial plunge and building your own business. It is a rare combination of anxiety, excitement, and a little bit of “all in” Texas Holdem.

One of the consistent pursuits for businesses is more customers. Without customers, frankly, there is no business. However, once a business is up and running, there is a structured growth methodology that will not only lead to more customers – but also profitable customers (because, it is not necessarily how much you sell – but rather how much you get to keep). We find that there are six predictable steps in building a business which include:

1. Mastery—understanding the way the business works
2. Niche—developing a marketplace where price is not the key competitive angle
3. Leverage—putting process in place for consistency
4. Team—having the right people on board so that as the owner you can work fewer hours without panic
5. Synergy—positioning for sale or GM
6. Investor—freedom as entrepreneur

In this article, we will address the first three – Mastery, Niche and Leverage.

Mastery—focuses on what is happening inside the four walls of the business. Topics that you need to have under control in mastery include:

• Margin—do you know which products you make the most money on and which ones you don’t.?

• Testing & measuring—do you know the numbers in your business? Do you know if your current advertising strategies are actually driving leads to your business? If not, how do you know whether to continue investing in them?

• Efficiency—how does your product or service move through your organization? Is it “turning around” as fast as you expect it to or is there an opportunity for a great deal of improvement?

• Financial mastery—do you have a feel for where you are from a financial perspective. Specifically, do you understand your cash gap (difference between when you get paid and when you pay your suppliers and team)? Do you have a cash flow budget with reserves to tap into when you need to? Do you have an annual budget for expenditures that you review on a monthly basis (at a minimum) as well as a consistent method for tracking the expenses?

• Customer database management—do you have a record of your current and past customers that you can manipulate for information? The easiest customer to sell to is one that has bought from you before. Can you identify your “A” & “B” clients (the kinds you really want more of)?

Before you increase sales in your business, make sure your business is ready to handle the profitable increase.

Niche

Now that you have the inside of the business in shape with good understanding of the clients you like to work with—it is time to go get more of them.

Niche is all about growing the revenue number. It primarily focuses on lead generation and conversion ratios.

• Lead Generation– how do you currently drive people to your business? If you are not sure, ask this question of every person that comes into your business—”do you mind if I ask you how you heard about us?”. Once you know what marketing is working well for you and getting you the clients you want—time to get more of them. One thing to consider—lead generation requires an investment. Lead generation is the one you have to watch before the financial investment gets away from you. What are you doing to drive traffic to your business?

• Conversion Rate—this is the process of turning those qualified leads into actual paying customers. The reality is that you can drive traffic to your business all day—but if you don’t convert them to paying customers it is merely an activity in marketing (which won’t pay the bills). Some ideas to improve your conversion rate:

o Ask for the sale—too many people wait for the customer to ask if they can buy

o Document your sales process—how does it work and what are the best sales people doing to get the great results?

o Test and measure your conversion rates—where is the biggest opportunity to improve. If you double your conversion rate, you can double your sales with zero investment in marketing.

For your business to succeed—you have to have sales. Understanding who you want to sell to and how well you convert them, will go a long way to building a great business.

Leverage

Small Business Survival
In today’s economic climate, the first priority for the small business entrepreneur is survival. A glance at newspapers, business journals, or cable news channels reveals a succession of corporations striving to stay on top of their game, and often failing, to slow the growth of outsourcing or to show real growth within their market space. In such times, knowing how to achieve long-term success is more critical than ever.The most important thing today’s small businesses can do is expose their organizations to critical self-analysis. Small businesses survive not by competing head-on with global corporations, but by pursuing the market niches larger operators ignore. Such a strategy requires constant attention to detail, necessitating self-analysis well beyond the operational level; it is c

for sale or GM
6. Investor—freedom as entrepreneur

In this article, we will address the first three – Mastery, Niche and Leverage.

Mastery—focuses on what is happening inside the four walls of the business. Topics that you need to have under control in mastery include:

• Margin—do you know which products you make the most money on and which ones you don’t.?

• Efficiency—how does your product or service move through your organization? Is it “turning around” as fast as you expect it to or is there an opportunity for a great deal of improvement?

Before you increase sales in your business, make sure your business is ready to handle the profitable increase.

Niche

Now that you have the inside of the business in shape with good understanding of the clients you like to work with—it is time to go get more of them.

Niche is all about growing the revenue number. It primarily focuses on lead generation and conversion ratios.

o Ask for the sale—too many people wait for the customer to ask if they can buy

o Document your sales process—how does it work and what are the best sales people doing to get the great results?

o Test and measure your conversion rates—where is the biggest opportunity to improve. If you double your conversion rate, you can double your sales with zero investment in marketing.

For your business to succeed—you have to have sales. Understanding who you want to sell to and how well you convert them, will go a long way to building a great business.

Leverage

Advantages of a Limited Liability Company
There are many advantages to the limited liability company (LLC) including the financial and tax advantages. Herein we discuss the other specialized uses and benefits to you for possibly implementing the limited liability company in your estate planning and business strategies.THE LLC IN ASSET PROTECTIONFirst-time business owners were first unincorporated proprietorships. As they began to realize the possible loss of their personal assets or as they started to get in trouble only then did they consider other types of ownerships. The limited liability company is the most efficient way to do business. No assets or business should ever be in their personal name.In other words, you should "own nothing yet control everything-else." Personal creditors cannot step in your shoes to

id and when you pay your suppliers and team)? Do you have a cash flow budget with reserves to tap into when you need to? Do you have an annual budget for expenditures that you review on a monthly basis (at a minimum) as well as a consistent method for tracking the expenses?

Before you increase sales in your business, make sure your business is ready to handle the profitable increase.

Niche

Now that you have the inside of the business in shape with good understanding of the clients you like to work with—it is time to go get more of them.

Niche is all about growing the revenue number. It primarily focuses on lead generation and conversion ratios.

o Ask for the sale—too many people wait for the customer to ask if they can buy

o Document your sales process—how does it work and what are the best sales people doing to get the great results?

o Test and measure your conversion rates—where is the biggest opportunity to improve. If you double your conversion rate, you can double your sales with zero investment in marketing.

For your business to succeed—you have to have sales. Understanding who you want to sell to and how well you convert them, will go a long way to building a great business.

Leverage

Teachers Pay in the United States
One of the most important positions for the forward progression and ongoing stability of a nation is that of a teacher. If we fail to teach the next generation correctly then all we have done in the present period is lost and will disappear in the next. But we must not only teach kids to memorize to get the desired answer, we need to teach them to think, fore there will be critical events in the future some of which we have not properly foreseen, which they will have to figure out for themselves.To insure the future is as bright or brighter than the present day, we must treat our teachers with the respect they deserve for the tasks ahead. Indeed I myself am very concerned with how we treat our teachers in the US. It concerns me that the low pay for such an important endeavor is considered

on– how do you currently drive people to your business? If you are not sure, ask this question of every person that comes into your business—”do you mind if I ask you how you heard about us?”. Once you know what marketing is working well for you and getting you the clients you want—time to get more of them. One thing to consider—lead generation requires an investment. Lead generation is the one you have to watch before the financial investment gets away from you. What are you doing to drive traffic to your business?

o Ask for the sale—too many people wait for the customer to ask if they can buy

o Document your sales process—how does it work and what are the best sales people doing to get the great results?

o Test and measure your conversion rates—where is the biggest opportunity to improve. If you double your conversion rate, you can double your sales with zero investment in marketing.

For your business to succeed—you have to have sales. Understanding who you want to sell to and how well you convert them, will go a long way to building a great business.

Leverage

Asset Management Journal Guide
Diligently managed assets of a business organization can make a lot of difference in its profit percentages. Judicious control over all tangible and intangible assets of a company makes sure that there are no leaking funds in the organization and all assets are utilized at maximum capacity. An inefficient management of resources and incorrect information about the objects in a commercial establishment may lead to drainage of finances and in turn adversely affect company’s performance.Realizing the importance of asset management in any company’s performance has led to newer advanced strategies in this field of trade. Entire business management consists of host of issues comprising of cost management, capital budgeting, expense accounting, financial planning and reporting and many other sim

ow does it work and what are the best sales people doing to get the great results?

o Test and measure your conversion rates—where is the biggest opportunity to improve. If you double your conversion rate, you can double your sales with zero investment in marketing.

For your business to succeed—you have to have sales. Understanding who you want to sell to and how well you convert them, will go a long way to building a great business.

Leverage

• Owner Saves Time—now, instead of answering each question you are going to be able to reduce your hours as the processes (and decision criteria) are well documented for 75+% of what happens in your business. Your team can make the decisions on your behalf in the same manner you would make them

• New Team Ramps Up Faster—as you bring people into the organization (or move them around within it) they will be able to accomplish their roles faster as there is a proven manual for them to follow. This will save you money on training as it will be quicker and more effective

• Customer Experiences Consistency—one of the largest challenges for a business is consistency as experienced by the customer. Think of a restaurant you found that was great when you went, but not as great when you went back with your friends. Inconsistency can kill a business as customers do not come back—and don’t tell you why. The LEVERAGE level allows you to build a repeatable experience for your customers that will turn them into raving fans who will actually help you build your business.

Entrepreneurs start business for a variety of reasons – more time, more money, leaving a legacy, etc. I have yet to run into an entrepreneur who started a business because they wanted more stress, less money and more work.

By following the Six Steps, and building a business correctly, an entrepreneur can truly have a Commercial Profitable Enterprise that Works Without Them.

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Just as an Oscar nomination is the pinnacle of an actor’s career, the same can be true when your business is nominated or wins an industry award. Katie Olver of Momentous PR tells us why your business should be entering awards and how to go about winning that prestigious title.

The first job interview can take several different forms and knowing in advance which form it will take can go a long way to helping you perform better.

Corey Rudl had been killed in a high speed crash at a race track in California. At the moment of his death at the young age of 34, Corey was a passenger in a Porsche that hit a retaining wall at over 100 miles per hour, killing him instantly and the driver shortly thereafter. The track had been rented by a local car club so that Corey and his buddies could take their expensive, powerful cars to the track to see how fast they could go.

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