Forget the Store, Save your House! Planning When to Quit your Business

Author: Chris Lamela

You are in business for yourself or are seriously considering it. You’ve found your niche, done your homework, and even considered some downside scenarios. But whether you have already stared your business, or are about to, there is one part of the business plan few people are eager to consider: Where to set your limits if things don’t go so well and when to call it quits.

The word “quit” is contrary to the whole idea of starting a business, and you may secretly fear that to plan for it will somehow create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If things don’t go so well (and the rule of thumb is that 4 out of 5 times they won’t), it is amazing how quickly you can go into excessive debt – or even bankruptcy. When things get crazy, our judgment can get cloudy, and that urge to hold on just a little longer can be overwhelming. So setting limits ahead of time is a little like making a will: Both should be done when you are of sound mind and body – and before it’s too late!

The goal is to lay down measurable, finite limits before things get crazy. Unlike the old phrase, “He who runs away lives to fight another day,” this is not about cowardice, this is about courage to assure your personal financial survival just in case you are one of the “other 4.”

Five Simple Steps

Even if you are already in business, here are five simple must-take steps to help ensure that even if you “lose the store” that you won’t also lose your house.

1. Make a business plan. There are not enough words to stress this. It is astounding how many small and medium-size businesses don’t have business plans. A little secret is that a good business plan is not measured in inches; a three-page, thoughtfully-considered, hand written plan can be worth a million times its weight in gold.

2. Plan your limits. Business plans are inherently optimistic – that is, after all why you are doing this right? – but you need to include a section titled, “When to quit.” Keep the limits simple, measurable, and absolute. Most importantly, make them realistic so life can go on after business.

Some examples might be: “If I can’t pay my own salary in six months”; “If I incur $25,000 in debt”; or, “If my order backlog falls below 30 days.” Simple, measurable, absolute.

3. Find a “limit judge.” Your limit judge shouldn’t be your partner in the business, but can be a spouse or significant other, parent, sibling, friend, or mentor – any trusted associate to whom you will give complete authority to judge if you have reached your limits. It is always when we get near our limits that we may want to push them just a little – and then just a little more – until it’s too late.

Your limit judge can also be a coach who can help you with alternate strategies, but if the time comes to quit, he or she will make that call. Choose this person carefully, and be open regarding all important business matters. Seek his or her advice, and be willing to change your plans if things start going astray, or to quit if your limits are reached. You will naturally want to question the call, so be sure you trust and respect the judgment of the person you select.

4. Recognize the difference between “business” and “business opportunity.” In other words, know the difference between a bird in the hand and a bird in the bush. Be extremely careful of this trap. More than one storefront bakery has failed even though there were a lot of cars driving by, and more one marketing company has gone south even though the national volume of print ads was on the rise.

Seek guidance from your limit judge to distinguish the difference between these two birds that so often look alike. It is hardest to walk away from a businesses that has lots of promising prospects, even when there is no money left in the bank.

5. Stick to your limits – if it is time to quit, QUIT! When things get tough, don’t go to your limit judge with the intention of negotiating. Go to hear if, in his or her sole judgment, quitting day has come. If it has, shrug your shoulders and remember once more those staid words of advice, “He who runs away lives to fight another day.”

Does your Small Business Need a Website?

Author: Marvist

The following is a checklist of questions to answer before you can think of going online with your business -

• What kind of a small business is it? If it is about selling a product, then can the product be sold online? When ordered for, can it be transported to any part of the globe?
• In case of a service-oriented business, will the website be able to provide information pertaining to the service or industry? Buyers like to purchase from the net only after they are thoroughly informed. Therefore, web sites must be designed to inform the customers about the services that the small businesses offer.
• How can the web site be used to cut costs? Will the web site reduce costs of manufacturing, distribution etc? Also, will it be easier to communicate with distant vendors, clients and workforce?
• How can the small business develop better relations with clients using their website? Small business can adapt several methods such as provide guidance, up to date information on products or services, feedback forms etc. on the web site.
• How does the small business intend to reach out to its potential customers using its website? As the Internet is full of customers who know what they want and are looking to buy, it is important to have a solid marketing plan so that the business can successfully sell its products and services.

Once the business decides to have a website, it is necessary to include the web site in collateral material and also submit to search engines, as nobody would visit it unless they know it exists. The small business should also try to get listed in directories and place banner ads.

What do small business owners feel about having a web site?

The Internet has not only been useful for running small businesses but also has also helped them to succeed. In a survey carried out by Lewis, Mobilio & Associates for Homestead Technologies, Inc. in 2002, out of 970 small businesses owners in the US, 57% agree that having a website is a key to the success to their business. About 75% of the respondents believed that they couldn’t do without a web site, while 61% wanted to have a web site for their business. 86% would recommend other small business owners to build their own site.

In another survey conducted by Verizon SuperPages.com's Third Annual Small Business Internet Survey in 2001, about 50% of small business owners having a web site communicate regularly with customers through e-mail. Another growing use of web sites by small businesses is for advertising and communications. The study discovered that 35% of small businesses with a use it to advertise or offer company data in comparison to 8% who sell their products and services through the web site. Also, 56% of business owners believe that the web site has a complete return on investment.

Office Furniture: Which Ones to be Chosen

Author: Brooke Theresa

Furniture is an integral part of an office and hence an office needs some. Without them an office can exist but cannot run. So, every office has furniture in it. The question is how important the flashiness of office furniture is! Should they be plain or attractive and luxurious? Should one spend a big amount on them or just manage with the ordinary ones? Is it an investment to spend on furniture or simply an act of lavishness?

Well, the trend we see now gives us rather an ambiguous answer. Some cases it is seen that the office furniture is exorbitantly expensive, extremely beautiful and highly comfortable. While in some offices, it is seen that the furniture is of very poor quality, shabby in look and lack in comfort. So, when you compare both these conditions, you find them neither to be ideal.

In fact, they are. Neither too flashy, nor too cheap quality office furniture can serve the purpose of an average office. The expensive ones will be out of reach; the poor one will be too bad to live up to the expectations. So, what every average company needs is furniture that is nice to look at, comfortable in use and, at the same time, affordable in cost. And the market is teemed with such furniture.

Many of the office furniture manufacturers have vast collections of office desks and furniture systems. They range from modular operator workstations to executive office furniture. You will find a stock of wide range of style, finishing and shapes to suit your budget and office environment.

Whether operator chairs, ergonomic operator chairs or leather executive chairs are your choice, office furniture manufacturers have the right option for you. Reception seating, canteen seating and multipurpose chairs for training rooms, conference rooms and meeting areas are also abound in the market.

Consumers Can be Attracted With the Psychology of Behavioral Marketing

Author: Rajesh Kumar

In today’s world of cutthroat competition, the advertisers are constantly trying to implement ways and means to attract the consumer eyeballs. As the online business flourishes, the advertisers try to make the websites presence felt through innovative means like search engine optimization, article syndication and link building. The latest kid on the block that helps marketers to attract consumers to their product or service is the psychology of behavioral marketing. The psychology of behavioral marketing can be employed to many dimensions in objective. Its systematic tracking and monitoring of individual conducts can be extended to communication scheduling and business operations.

The psychology of behavioral marketing enables the website owner or advertiser to understand the buying behavior of the consumer depending on their movement across the internet. The website is then adapted in terms of style, design, navigation and content to suit the needs of the user and attract the potential consumer to the site. If the psychology of behavioral marketing is applied to information search, purchase decision, need recognition and evaluation or comparison, then you can easily see a strategy fit for every segment. Marketers must easily define principles for using the psychology of behavioral marketing before taking certain risks.

At the root of the psychology of behavioral marketing is an analysis that is based on learning the forms of behavior for consumers. This helps the marketers fully understand buying patterns of clients in a matter of time and scheduling the activities of a client that is directed not only at a single purchase, but also for a lifetime or on an annual basis. As different marketers are increasingly trying to comprehend the significance of value for the lifetime client, they are starting to appreciate the fact that behavioral marketing can be a source for producing a recurrent analytical study of consumer trends and patterns.

For the analysis of the psychology of behavioral marketing, we must suppose that all of the dimensions determine the aptitude completely. The most advanced direct response advertiser will be likely to generate many re-targeting portions that are based on the extent to which a specific consumer went into the sales process before he decided not to close the deal by purchasing the product or service. Once advertisers who are practicing the psychology of behavioral marketing ‘distinguishes’ a target visitor as previously visiting the website, they can formulate plans to attract and retain that visitor.

An advocate of the psychology of behavioral marketing can know the fundamental demographic and behavioral traits of customers. The advocate can then provide the behavioral marketing traits to a marketing network and distribute the advertisements to various users that reveal those exact behaviors. Hence, as an online business owner you must strongly consider partnering with a behavioral marketing advertisement network as part of the advertisement plan, as they provide the inputs that enable your business to set different goals. The psychology of behavioral marketing when applied in context to any business can turn in to an essential tool for the advancement and growth of that particular business.