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Posts Tagged ‘entrepreneurship’

Question: Could I buy a legitimate prepackaged online home small business complete with a website, business plan, etc?

I don’t have any experience relevant to operating a small business, and if possible I wish to avoid building one from scratch. Are there any websites which offer a variety of packages o this nature?

Answer: Wow, no having to work at anything,hey? Hopefully at a business that comes with preapproved customers too?

Your best bet is to get an issue of Entrepreneur magazine and go through the entire thing, then check out the other business magazines at Barnes & Noble. They have the beginnings of these, but it really depends on what field of merchandise you’re interested in.

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Startup Costs Amortization

B2b Business Opportunities

B2B Business Opportunities

Why Should You Buy a B2B Business?

Buying an existing business is often a simpler and safer alternative to starting your own business. There are more financing opportunities available for the purchase of a B2B business compared to buying a business that only sells products or services to consumers.

Advantages

Time, money, and energy are required to startup or purchase any business. If you start with a new service, concept or an invention, you should be prepared to self-finance the business costs and your living costs for two or three years. When you purchase a B2B business, you can finance 80% to 100% of the purchase price with commercial financing.

Cash flow will start immediately with existing inventory, accounts receivables, an existing staff, business clients, and customer goodwill. You can finance your growth.

Disadvantages

The initial purchase price requires a cash down payment. Additional operating capital may be required during the transition period as you establish and implement your new business plan. Since the customer base, brands, and other fundamental work have already been done, the down payment may be substantial. The purchase price may be excessive. Inventory may be over-valued and accounts receivables that are valued at the time of purchase may turn out to be not collectable. Business brokers and consultants can help to avoid these problems.

Opportunities for Growth

You should determine your target company’s readiness to expand its operations locally, nationally or internationally and ascertain its ability to increase production of a particular product or service. You should systematically and objectively identify your target company’s strengths and weaknesses concerning these issues.

Financing Opportunities

When you purchase a B2B business with commercial financing, a Financing Statement (Form UCC1) is filed to perfect a security interest in named collateral, such as accounts receivable, inventory and equipment. The UCC1 establishes priority for the lender in case of your default or bankruptcy. It is a first lien on the business assets.

Many banks offer SBA 7(a) loans for Long Term Financing of:

• 51% or more Owner-Occupied Commercial Real Estate Purchasing & Refinancing

• Construction or Improvements

• Debt Refinancing

• Working Capital

• Equipment Financing

• Purchasing a Business

• Partnership Buyout

The SBA 7(a) loans provide for fully amortized maturities up to 25 years. Through their partnership with the SBA, banks can provide up to 90% financing for the purchase of Commercial Real Estate and up to 90% financing for debt to finance the purchase of a business. A UCC1 is required as a first lien on the transaction.

Many commercial finance companies offer accounts receivable financing, inventory financing and equipment financing to help B2B businesses grow. A UCC1 is required as a first lien on the transaction.

Both types of financing are available with proper structuring and negotiation if you purchase a B2B business. The SBA 7A loan may be obtained to purchase a B2B business with a carve-out for the commercial finance company to have a UCC1 lien on their portion of the financing. With financing for growth combined with financing for the purchase of the business the opportunities for success of your business increase. The advantages are: you can market for new business; accelerate cash flow to meet payroll, supplier and tax obligations; and have the opportunity to negotiate larger contracts for your products and services. If you purchase a B2B business without the carve-out, you may have closed the door to financing for future growth.

The One Thing That A Home Business Entrepreneur Has To Get Right

Moving from an employee to a home based entrepreneur presents a unique set of advantages and challenges. One of the challenges is learning how to manage your time so that you are spending the majority of it on money making activities. When I first got started in my home business, I was struck by the wealth of information and services available for home business training. My company provided more information and entrepreneurial training than I could absorb and implement. What I soon noticed was that it can be very easy to become a home business training junkie instead of a home business builder. Do you know the difference? Not learning the distinction will cost you a fortune.

From my experience, the purpose of home business training and education is not knowledge. It’s action. What good is learning if you do not apply what you have learned to get the desired result?

The secret to home business success? There is no secret anymore. Those who have been successful are usually very open about how they did it. Why? First, they understand that there is enough money and opportunity for everyone to prosper. Second, they know that 9 out of 10 people they train will not apply what they have learned and therefore will never be a threat of any kind.

When you are getting started in a new business, it is exciting. It can also be a little bit overwhelming once you figure out how much there is to learn. It seems like there is a lot to remember. Many new home business entrepreneurs react to this by finding ways to stay busy without doing anything productive to move their business forward. Doing “research” is a common way to stay busy without moving your business forward at all. Researching advertising, researching prospecting, researching team building, etc. At the end of the day, you haven’t done anything to potentially put money in your pocket.

There are countless ways to advertise, prospect and network. Some things will work for you and some won’t be a fit. You have to evaluate whether or not it fits in your schedule, budget, etc. To be successful, you will absolutely need to learn a new skill set and some of the activities you spend your time on absolutely should give you butterflies in your stomach. Butterflies in your stomach let you know that you are moving outside your comfort zone and stretching yourself as an entrepreneur and person. Examine your daily activities. If you are never uncomfortable in your business activities, there is a good chance that you not having much luck moving it forward.

It’s simple to determine if what you are doing is home business building or home business training. When the day is done, what did you do move your business forward (i.e. did you sharpen all the pencils on your desk and rearrange your office or did you speak to five prospect/customers about your product?).

Examples of staying busy: arranging your desk, ordering business cards, researching advertising possibilities that you do not immediately implement. Training should be a cornerstone of your business, but not to the exclusion of the things that bring in income. Training and education is critical, but only when you couple it with money making activities.

Examples of taking action: Placing advertisments, speaking to leads or customers, providing support for others in your enterprise.

If you are spending a lot of time on your business with little income to show for it, this is a great exercise to pinpoint the problem.

It comes down to this – It is a great deal easier (and more comfortable) to train than to take action. If you are always comfortable in your business, you are most likely not moving yourself forward.

Never forget that you learn so that you can take action. Here’s how you do that. Learn something, then immediately apply it. Use what works and discard the rest. Repeat. Soon you will develop an arsenal of tools to help you become a successful home business owner.

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Question: How do I go about starting a small event planning business?

I now work in the entertainment industry working as the Facilities Assistant. When it comes to planning parties and company events everyone in the office loves how the events turn out. I always get compliments on the dinner parties my husband and I have and everyone thinks I need to do a career change. I love planning social events and could really see myself planning small wedding, dinner parties, retirement dinner, anniversaries etc. but I have no idea how to start a business. If there are any entrepreneurs out there please lend some advice. Thanks in advance!

Answer: A working plan that you specifically design explores your market and your business structure. Many people skip this step, yet if you haven’t surveyed all your options, you may miss out! We like to plan and organize social events, yet the first thing to organize is your business operations. Sound unexciting? Well, perhaps—-yet put your “creative nature” aside for a minute and assume a “business” stance.

For example, do you limit it to only small events? Only parties? Will you branch out to all-occasion events? You may only want to target one service area, yet branching out into other avenues (i.e. sales) may assist in producing additional revenue for you. Does your targeted market call for a specialized coordination? Do you want to set up a small store front? Do you go into partnership with a friend or family member or go solo? How will your set up your business records? These are a few things I have on a very long list to consider when developing your working plan. Your “hobby turned business” must turn a profit or why do this? Thinking like a “business-minded” person, channels your goal which is – making money with your talents. Every town has a need and the trick is to find what is needed and be the best. Find your place in this growing market. The idea is to find the niche in the market for your area that has a gap. If children’s birthday parties are in need of someone to offer this as a service, then that might work best. Perhaps you desire to be the coordinator for Open House Celebrations, Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies for new businesses or even Note Burning Ceremonies when the debt is being paid off. You can work with the visitor’s bureau in your area and make contact with businesses and non-profit organizations. How about catering a chocolate fountain or “candy store” with several crystal bowls full of candy only be be scooped up with a silver scoop! But most important of all is look into a Solid business plan in that field from a book store like Borders and get tips from a mentor in the business and live the dream girl the only person standing in your way is you )

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Google’s Matt Cutts gives tips to small business owners

Question: where can i get free help with writing business plans and filling out grant applications?

Answer: For free help, you can get advice (but only advice and critiques, they will not write it for you) from SCORE http://www.score.org . You will have to hire someone and pay them to write your business plan and grant application

It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even if you buy books on “how to get grants” or list that supposedly has information on grants — all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same – hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html…

“The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments.”

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center’s Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It’s a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for “students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices.” Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don’t have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:

- SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
- Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html

You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:

- Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
- MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners

http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html

- VFinance – View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
- Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
- PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
- Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
- Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
- Business Plans Index – A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html
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Some recommended books are :

- Business Plans Kit for Dummies
- The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
- Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
- Business Plans For Dummies®
- Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan

Hope that the above resources help

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