Blog Archives - Page 10 of 10 - Hybrid Business Advisors

What is Your Business Worth?

Posted on by Joan Nowak

Build Business Value Profit Did you know that up to 80% of an entrepreneurs net worth is typically tied up in his or her privately owned business? So how much is your business worth and what are some of the key drivers that determine market value? What you don’t know may hurt you.

According to Steve Wrubleski, Managing Director at A Neumann & Associates, most owners are universally wrong about the value and sale-ability of their business. This is often due to myths around profit, uniqueness, and size. Here are a few that may sound familiar: My business is so unique who would want to buy it? I’m a one-person business. My company does not make a lot of profit.

Do I Need a Business Valuation?

A business valuation is a processed set of procedures used to estimate the economic value of a business. Most owners recognize the need for transaction valuations. These are done if you plan to sell, purchase or even refinance a business. Valuations are also used to determine the tax basis for an owner’s estate and settlement in the case of divorce.

So do you need to wait for one of these events to have a business valuation? No. Many business owners have them done for strategic planning. In other words, to help them determine the driving factors to maximize future value. Better data and information leads to better decisions. It’s a great business tool!

7 Business Value Drivers

As a business owner, you have an emotional attachment. That’s normal. But when it comes to business value, you need to look at it from a potential buyer’s perspective. Here are some factors that impact business value – in a positive or negative way:

Quality motivated management team
Established, documented operating systems
Above industry average profit margins
No reliability on any one customer or vendor
Attractive facility
Realistic growth strategy
Good and improving discretionary cash flow

If you want to build business value (and you should), here are a few questions to start asking yourself…

Is my business dependent on me – or a quality team with operating systems?
Do we sell on value and/or uniqueness – or price with low margins?
Are sales spread among a lot of customers – or are we too dependent on one or two?
Do we have multiple vendors for all your critical needs – or too reliant on one supplier?
Do I have a written plan for growth? Is that growth sustainable in any economy or only during economic booms?
Do I have consistent financial statements – and understand the numbers, trends, and opportunities?

As a final thought, your reputation can also impact the long-term value. Potential buyers will likely do an internet search. Can people find you through the search engines? Is your website a positive reflection of your business? Do you have reviews from customers? Are you in the news and part of the community?

How Do You Measure Up?

Curious how you measure up in critical areas? My FREE business success checklist can help you figure it out. Click here to access this free download.

Tips To Get Your Press Release Published

Posted on by Joan Nowak

Publicity is a powerful way to get the word out about your company, products, and people. It’s news and carries third-party credibility that most advertising can’t deliver. So how do you generate it? While there are a lot of ways to spread information, press releases are part of most public relations efforts. But they’re only effective if they get published.

According to Jackie Pantaliano, owner of Impressions PR, your press release must have impact to get the coverage you want. Here are a few tips to get yours noticed and in print:

Make It Newsworthy

Public interest is a must. So focus on topics that are relevant to the readers of that specific publication. What’s going on in the news now – locally, regionally or nationally – that you can tap into. Here’s some news that you can spin to get coverage: new openings, management hires, community efforts, sponsorships, new products or services, events, and fundraisers.

Know Your Audience

While the press release is submitted to an editor, the content needs to be relevant and written for the publication’s audience. Use straight forward language. Research past editions to get a feel for the publication, topics they cover and style they prefer – before preparing and submitting the press release.

Write Good Quotes

Since a press release is news, you need to use short but intelligent quotes to reinforce the facts and state opinions. You can integrate a variety of them using different experts and influencers. Don’t be afraid to ask customers to provide quotes. Depending on the topic, these can be compelling.

Include a Photo

An image helps create a richer, fuller story – and publishers want them. If submitting to a print publication, the image must be high-quality for them to use it.

Use a Powerful Headline & Lead Paragraph

Write a short and concise headline to grab the readers’ attention. Make your lead paragraph count because some publications will only print that (and your audience may only read it too). Your lead paragraph should be 3-5 sentences capturing the 5W’s – who, what, where, when and why. Put the most relevant points upfront. You can always expand on them later in the release.

Proofread

Nothing says unprofessional more than spelling and grammar mistakes. Ask others to check it. Multiple perspectives are great ways to find mistakes and ensure the message is clear.

Before submitting the press release, put it through the litmus test. As you read it, ask yourself “Who Cares?”. Is it relevant to the audience? If not, time to tweak. If so, let it go!

More Ways to Grow Your Business

For new business improvement articles, exclusive tools and insights on entrepreneurship, click here to subscribe to my monthly eNewsletter. When you do, I’ll also send you my free eBook, How to Build Profit Through Leverage.

Where Are Your New Product Opportunities?

Posted on by Joan Nowak

Looking to grow sales? You have some options. You can expand into new markets, find new targets for current products, develop a new product and services for your current customers – or a combination. Here’s how one business owner in Philadelphia used this strategy to build sustainable growth and profit.

Business Spotlight on Pinot Boutique

Opened in 2006 as a wine accessory and gift business, today Pinot Boutique is a wine lover’s playground with local wines, classes, tastings, accessories and more! Client and Owner, Dan “The Wine Man” Soskin, shared some of his secrets to success with my radio listeners.

#1 – Talk to customers. They can help you identify needs that you can fill. What products or services do they WISH you had available? Conversations work best – whether they are face-to-face or via phone. And you don’t need to have hundreds of conversations to uncover opportunities. Quality discussions with a handful of high-value customers can reap a lot of rewards.

#2 – Look for niches within your target market. New products or services do not need to appeal to everyone in your target market to be successful. In fact, many are attractive to a sub-group or niche. While most of Dan’s customers enjoy and drink wines, there are sub-groups that are ideal for certain products. For example, wine lovers who also want to learn about wines and how to pair them with foods enjoy his wine classes. Tourists who visit historic Philadelphia enjoy the line of souvenir wine accessories he has available.

#3 – Know your competition. What products and services do they offer and how do they price them? Who are their customers – are they the same as yours? What do their customers say about them based on reviews, testimonials or discussions? What do they do well? What are their weaknesses? Be honest, especially as it relates to their strengths and weaknesses. Look for gaps that you can fill.

#4 – Test and track. We typically expect success from our new product or service. Why else would we do it? The reality is that some will be a hit immediately, some may need tweaking and others will fail. But you won’t know this if you don’t test different elements and track results.

#5 – Cost vs. Potential. Identify the costs for the product or service and marketing investment needed to get the word out. These are important, but only relevant when compared to earning potential – how much revenue and profit can the new product or service generate. Being optimistic, most owners tend of over-estimate potential revenue, so begin by calculating the break-even level. Based on your costs and expected selling price, how many sales dollars or customers do you need to cover the costs? This gives you a good starting point to evaluate the decision.

More Ways to Grow Your Business

Would You Benefit from a Virtual Assistant?

Posted on by Joan Nowak

Feeling overwhelmed or stressed out? Can’t get to the important, high-value tasks that will make your small business soar to new heights? It’s a common issue for many small business owners. You need help but aren’t ready to go down the hiring path. No problem, go with a virtual assistant!

Why businesses seek virtual help?

Most obvious, a VA allows you to remove routine tasks from your plate so you can focus on more important things – those that help you grow the business. But he/she can also fill a skill gap and take on projects that require expertise that you don’t have or need to learn in order to be successful. Better quality in a lot less time! Of course, they can also fill the procrastination gap, projects you keep putting off because you simply hate to do them — even if they are a strength!

When I started my coaching practice, I hired a virtual assistant and still use her today for some tasks. While the scope of what a virtual assistant can do will vary based on their expertise, here are some that small businesses may want to consider:

Updating contacts and implementing a system to stay connected with prospects and customers. Those business cards sitting on your desk aren’t doing you any good. Put them to work!
Updating blogs, website or social media. A set it and forget it approach doesn’t work. Consistency and frequency matter if you want to get leads and paying customers from your efforts.
Follow up calls. From sales and appointment setting to post-sale feedback, a good system can easily be executed by your VA.
Research. Need information on what your competitors are doing? Looking for vendors or suppliers for products or services your company needs? Wondering what applications you can use to support your business? Let a VA do the legwork and provide you with the options or information to make a sound decision.

Looking to engage a virtual assistant? Even though they are not an employee, a virtual assistant is an extension of YOUR business. Make sure there is a good fit. Check out their background and experience as it relates to your goals. What do you want him/her to do?

Prepare a list of all the tasks or projects you would like to get done or get done faster. Then openly discuss them with your potential virtual assistant. A quality VA will be honest about their capabilities and strengths. Most want to focus on what they do efficiently and effectively — since it creates a win-win. If the items on your wish list fall outside their realm of expertise, they may even recommend someone else that better fits your needs.

More Ways to Grow Your Business

5 Questions to Ask Before You Put Your Business Online

Posted on by Joan Nowak

If Google doesn’t know you exist, then potential customers won’t either. Getting found online is a must and one of the best places to start is with your website. But for start-ups, creating a website is often a challenge. If you’re ready to get your business online, take a few minutes to answer these questions:

What are my goals for my website? How will it support my overall business goals: attract new business, build relationships with current customers, become an ‘expert’ with your target market, build passive income or create strategic alliances or power partners? This is important so give it some thought.

What do I want my website to do? Is it simply for marketing purposes to educate and communicate value? To generate leads via calls, emails or requests for quotes? Do you want to earn money directly through product sales or class registrations? Do you want video on your site? Do you want it to integrate with social media? Will you offer customers technical or service support such as order tracking or scheduling appointments? Do you want to be an information source for customers and prospects?

Who do we want to reach online? A clear target and message is the foundation for good marketing. Your website is no different. Be clear on who you want to reach, what you want to sell and why you are the best choice versus your competition.

Who will update and maintain my website? Adding and updating content is important for search engine optimization. If you plan to blog or add press releases, new products or landing pages, you will want a platform that allows YOU (or some other non-techy person) to easily perform these tasks. The WordPress platform is popular these days. With a lot of common applications (widgets) built right in, web developers can create a quality website in a lot less time. In addition, it’s easy to use and inexpensive to maintain, a plus for small business owners. Finally, Google loves WordPress. Need I say more?

Should I hire someone or do it myself? While there are do-it-yourself templates, these are appealing to start-ups who are looking for a quick and inexpensive way to get their new business online. Most have preset formats for different types of businesses that you can tweak and be online quickly. However, there are some downsides.

Most small business owners are not experts at writing copy. As a result, your content and messages may be weak or not compelling enough to create sales opportunities.
Your website may have the exact same look and feel as others in your industry. So much for standing out.
Savings and speed are less of a factor. Today’s technology makes it easier for web developers to create a quality website for you – quickly and affordably! My advice, talk to one before you assume you can’t afford it.

More Ways to Grow Your Business

Bookkeeping Tips for Small Business Owners

Posted on by Joan Nowak

For most new business owners, bookkeeping is a challenge. Many don’t like it or find it overwhelming. But like a lot of areas in your business, record-keeping can be learned. And as you grow, it can be delegated or outsourced. You’ll have the understanding and maintain control without doing the day-to-day work!

Ready to take control of your financials? According to Denise Worrell, owner of Your Bookkeeper, here are a few questions you should ask yourself to get started:

How do you want to handle the paperwork flow? Take a few minutes to write down how you want to handle common transactions like invoicing clients, receiving inventory, paying vendors, capturing credit card or cash receipts, etc. A little planning here will go a long way.
What method do you want to use for your record-keeping? Do you plan to do it on paper (not recommended) or use a financial management system, like Quick Books? Quick Books is the most popular for small businesses for a reason. It’s easy to learn and use, provides financial and sales reporting including trend comparisons, offers professional invoicing and payment tracking plus a whole lot more. And learning is a lot easier when you start because the volume of work is lower and less complicated.
When and how often do you want to handle bookkeeping tasks? Do you want to do it daily or is weekly sufficient? Will you invoice weekly and pay bills monthly? There is no right or wrong – but your decisions may impact cash flow. Decide what is best for you, especially when getting started, and block time off to do it. Remember, tasks you don’t like are typically not going to get done unless you schedule them!
What do you need to record and keep? Most owners recognize that income and expenses should be tracked, but are not sure about assets, liabilities, credit card receipts and statements, etc. Even if you plan to do the bookkeeping yourself, you can consult with a bookkeeper or accountant to help you set it up.

Understanding the financials is not as complicated as some would have you believe. But it starts with a good bookkeeping method, one that allows you to stay on top of what is going on and make better business decisions. Give it a try and you too can effectively speak the language of business.

How Do You Measure Up?

Curious how you measure up in six key areas that impact your business? My free business success checklist can help you figure it out. Click here to access this free download.

More Ways to Grow Your Business

Is Procrastination Holding You Back?

Posted on by Joan Nowak

We’ve all been guilty of procrastination at some time or another. It’s okay to admit it. Many business owners link it to poor time management (no time) or lack of planning (no goals). While this may play a part, procrastination is more about attitude.

Procrastination is putting off or delaying actions or things that need to be done. In many cases, we put off important tasks while doing low-value stuff. So why do we put off for tomorrow what we can do today? While common excuses include no time and not sure what to do, the main reason for most people is ‘I didn’t feel like doing it’.

The things we often put off are the things we don’t like to do – even when they are important. In his book, Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy provides 21 ways to stop procrastinating and get more done. One of the takeaways that I use often is to attack the ‘biggest’ frog first! Early morning is when I’m at my best so I try to work on critical tasks (even ones I don’t want to do) at that time. It also gets the ‘task’ off my plate early, so it’s not hanging over me all day long.

Another way to beat procrastination is to break projects into smaller actions. Big tasks can be overwhelming – so we tend to want to put them off. Chunk them down and spread them out over smaller periods of time. Finishing the first task will often motivate you to keep going!

I find these work for me and other suggestions in the book may work for you. Procrastination is a self-management issue, don’t let it stop you from accomplishing what you need to do to achieve more in your business and in life.

Get Started. Stay On Track

Are you ready to take a leap forward? To get started and stay on track? My accountability programs offer an affordable way to get the help you need. More than accountability, this program provides business owners with structure, another set of eyes and practical advice too! Click here to learn more.

9 Billing Mistakes to Avoid

Posted on by Joan Nowak

Looking to improve cash flow and profitability this coming year? Then take a look at your billing and collection systems. Most small businesses have opportunities to get paid consistently without investing a lot of time and money chasing the cash.

Common Billing Mistakes

Send end-of-month statements that support individual invoices you previously sent. These cost you time, money and resources and are not necessary. Stop sending them unless specifically requested by the customer.
Not enforcing the payment terms and conditions you set with customers. Customers figure out quickly which vendors tolerate late payments and which do not. Don’t be left on the bottom of the payment ladder.
Extend credit without any guidelines or credit checks if credit requested exceeds a pre-set amount.
Allow customers to take ‘early payment’ discounts when the payment did not arrive early. If you are not going to enforce it, then eliminate the discounts as an option.
Send invoices via multiple methods such as email and mail. Why send it twice? Determine the customer’s preference and send it only via that method. Always push for email if possible – it gets there faster and saves you time and money.
Lack of timely billing. You can’t get paid until you invoice a customer and nothing raises more questions and creates further delays than bills sent out 2-3 months late without explanation.
Poor quality control in billing, including wrong contact information, incorrect amount or unclear descriptions of services, cause delayed or non-payments. When it comes to billing, accuracy is important.
No system or process in place to consistently monitor, follow up, and take action to collect on past-due dollars. The squeaky wheel gets the grease or in this case, the payment. Don’t wait for cash flow crunches to follow up – make it something that is done consistently.
Lack a shut-off policy – or a lack of enforcement. You must be willing to stop doing business with customers who do not pay or use your business as their bank.

A quality system, consistently and efficiently implemented, will go a long way to improve your cash flow and profits. Make it an ongoing process and you will reap the rewards.

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How Your Website Reports Can Help You Improve Results

Posted on by Joan Nowak

In my earlier post, What the Numbers Tell You, I discussed the value of looking at data trends and using this information to improve your business. But what about your website?

When was the last time you looked at the website analytic reports? Whether you use Google, Piwik or another option, these reports offer valuable information that you can use to improve results.

Your dashboard or landing page provides an overview of important metrics. It not only allows you to look at the data by day, week or month, you can look at trends too. You can customize the period you want to look at then compare it to the previous period or year. Talk about helpful.

3 Performance Indicators Worth Noting

Unique visits. While visits provide total traffic, unique visitors represent people since it eliminates visitors returning multiple times.

Average page views. The page per visit is an indicator of engagement. Are they going to one page or multiple pages when they visit your site. The higher the number, the more engaging.

Bounce rate. This shows how many people left immediately after landing on your site. A high bounce rate is not a good thing. With a few clicks, you can see which traffic sources and keywords are producing the highest bounce rates – and take action to improve it.

But there’s more. Traffic source data is broken into three primary categories – direct, referring sites and search engines. If you use campaigns and include analytics, they will appear too. With a click, you can see what sites are referring traffic to you and what keywords are being used to find you. Wouldn’t that be good to know?

Finally, the content section provides a lot of information to help you determine which pages are of most interest to web visitors. With a click, you can see which pages get the most traffic and what are the top landing pages (don’t assume it’s the home page!). And for those of you with Google Analytics, check out the In-Page Analytics under Content. It will show you the % of people who click on every link on your site – from the header or side bars to those contained within the content. Really cool and often surprising.

If you are among the many who are not using this tool, start exploring today. And use the information to improve your web traffic, get people engaged and increase conversions.

More Ways to Grow Your Business

How Clear Are Your Goals?

Posted on by Joan Nowak

Clear Goals & Consistent Action According to the author, Brian Tracy, success is 10% competence, 10% confidence, and 80% clarity. Lack of clarity is more responsible for underachievement and frustration than any other factor.

I see this a lot when working with small business owners. Most of them have goals, but they tend to be vague. And vague goals create vague results. People with clear goals, in business and in life, accomplish far more than those without them. With clarity comes a sense of purpose that ultimately forces us into action.

Clear Goals & Consistent Action Equals Success

So how clear are you on what you want? And what actions are you taking to make those goals a reality? Here is the 7-step process from Brian Tracy to help you get more from your business and life.

First, decide exactly what you want in all areas of your life – financial (income, money), relationships (family, friends, community), personal (spiritual, hobbies, health and fitness), personal development (learning, new skills), business or career … to support your financial and lifestyle goals. BE SPECIFIC.
Second, write them down in detail.
Third, set a specific deadline. Break down big goals into a series of smaller ones with deadlines.
Fourth, write down a list of what you need to DO to achieve each goal.
Fifth, prioritize and organize the items into a plan. You can’t do everything all at once. What is most important? Then what, then what?
Sixth, take action! Work on the most important thing first.
Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward one or more of your important goals. Block time off to do it if necessary – but do what you commit to doing.

With clarity and consistent action, you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. As my parents were fond of saying when I was a little girl, “Anything worth having is worth working for.” And yes, achieving the goals you set will require some work on your part – even if it’s only 30 minutes a day. But remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.