Entrepreneurs

Posted by Bonny Albo

I've written a fair amount of business plans throughout my entrepreneurial career, either for my own businesses or for clients who paid me to write one for them. I really enjoy writing business plans too, and have sought out work along this regard for years. Something about seeing a business come into its own in front of my eyes, almost like molding a piece of clay. The nature and details change constantly, ever evolving to fill in holes and smooth out cracks in order to make a stable structure. In the end, the business plan may not seem anything like what it was originally intended to be, yet it is a beautiful piece of art like no other, imbued with painstakingly lovingkindness.

With that in mind I've created a step-by-step how to for entrepreneurs in need of a business plan, as well as provided numerous free business plan templates and free marketing plan templates for those wanting a bit more inspiration. And for those truly adventurous entrepreneurs among us, there are always the Business Plan Writing Contests to enter, which oftentimes offer large sums of money and support to get the business plan you've written off the ground.

Posted by Bonny Albo

I get a lot of emails from readers wanting information, advice or suggestions on what kind of legitimate budget business ideas are worth contemplating for a new or inexperienced entrepreneur. Unfortunately, I am unable to answer many of these questions because they are so specific in nature. I can't do the legwork of determining whether or not a budget business idea is right for you - but I can lead you in the right direction with tools, tips and advice to get you started.

So, with that in mind, I am working on a comprehensive list of budget business ideas that anyone could start for $50 or less. Each budget business idea would include marketing ideas and ways to find customers, a breakdown of estimated startup costs, any training or certification that may be required, and links to further or more detailed information such as sample business plans or similar companies.

Are you started a business on a shoestring, and don't mind sharing your budget business idea with our readers? I'd love to showcase your business here and link back to your business, along with any pertinent information other entrepreneurs can use to start a similar concept on their own. Please email me, and I'll get back to you when I've had the chance to post your budget business idea here.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Learn how to take your web marketing message and turn it into paying customers with this free webinar, hosted by MIke Volpe, VP of Marketing at HubSpot. Topics covered will include:

• On and off-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Blogging
• Web Form Optimization
• Analytics

The webinar will take place on September 25th, 2007 from 1-2pm EDT.

Posted by Bonny Albo

Disruptive Capital Partners has just announced they are hosting a contest with $50,000 total ($25,000 Grand Prize and $25,000 in other prizes) in award money to find the companies with the best disruptive investment value. Entrants must write a 5-page paper describing why a company is disruptive, and why it would be a good investment overall using the models of disruptive innovation as described by Clayton Christensen and others. More information can be found on the Disruptive Capital Partners website.

Related: Business Contests

Posted by Bonny Albo

It looks like I'll be picking up my last issues of my favorite business magazine, Business 2.0, this summer. That is, if this NY Times article comes true.

It seems that the Time Inc., the owner of San Fransciso-based Business 2.0, decided several months ago to change their advertising set up to sell ad spaces in all of their related business magazines (Fortune, Money, CNNMoney, and Fortune Small Business) at the same time instead of seperately selling space for each individual market.

Yet the subscriber based was solid and steady throughout 2005 and 2006, and publisher Josh Quittner has tried (so far unsuccessfully) to garner venture capital for the enterprise.

Here's to hoping the final decision isn't to axe the publication as of September 2007. I'm personally a huge fan of the publication and look forward to its tech and internet insights every month.

Tags: Business 2.0 business business magazine internet business time magazine money

Related articles: Free Business MagazinesFree Business eBooks

Posted by Bonny Albo

The Stanford Graduate School of Business free monthly Stanford Knowledgebase, reports on ROI and other financial accounting ratios that determine profitability, and how well the people who use these terms actually understand them.

The idea for the research came from a conversation between two of Standford's professors, Stefan Reichelstein and Mark Soliman. Reichelstein, a managerial accountant asked Soliman, a financial accountant, asked how financial ratios reflect real economic values.

“I said to him, ‘Take a firm in a competitive industry such as steel, construction, or agriculture and suppose the industry is in a steady state. Should we expect a typical firm’s return on investment to come down to the cost of capital because in a competitive industry the real economic rate of return must be equal to the cost of capital?’” Reichelstein recalled. “Mark's immediate answer was, ‘Of course, everybody knows that.’ And that’s how we got started, because (a) I certainly didn’t know it, and (b) I wasn’t so sure. When we began doing some calculations and model-building, it turned out there was a lot more to the story.”

Posted by Bonny Albo

October and November of 2006 saw just under one thousand small businesses with revenue of less than $5 million a year answer a myriad of questions related to payment systems.

The study found that, on average, small businesses receive an average of just over two hundred and fifty payments a month from all sources, predominantly paid by cash (25%) and checks ($40%), with nominal amounts paid by credit cards (16%) and PayPal (9%).

The research also showed that payments are a sore spot for almost sixty percent of all businesses polled, who use outside sources to deal with payment issues (such as accountants, business colleagues, financial institutions and payments processors).

“There is clearly an opportunity for financial institutions and payment processors to deepen customer relationships and offer specific services for the small business sector,” said Laura Fuller, a director with Dove Consulting and the manager of the study.

Posted by Bonny Albo

June 2007 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Hispanic Business magazine's annual Hispanic Business 500(R), a comprehensive list of the largest Hispanic-owned companies in the U.S.

This directory, commonly known as the HB500, is oft regarded as the one-stop resource for economic indicators in U.S. Hispanic communities. Revenues combining all 500 businesses totalled $34.87 billion last year, up more than fifteen percent from 2005.

The rankings will be available as a searchable reference on the Hispanic Business magazine website and for full review in their June 2007 print edition.

Posted by Bonny Albo

“Women face particular challenges in planning a secure financial future,” said Marty Durbin, president and chief operating officer of First Command. “While the gender gap in earnings is narrowing, women earn less, on average, than men. They typically work fewer years than men — and live longer than men, making their need for long-term financial security even more important. This new online content is designed to help women take responsibility for their own financial well-being and pursue the quality of life they desire.”

Women can go to www.firstcommand.com/mylife to learn more about how to address the special financial concerns and perspectives they face in their lives. The site offers helpful information on ways to take control of your financial destiny, including an online subscription to a free monthly eNewsletter

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nine out of 10 women manage their finances alone at some point in their lives,” Durbin said. “So it’s essential to start thinking about tomorrow today. First Command Financial Advisors are committed to helping consumers pursue their financial goals and dreams.”

Posted by Bonny Albo

The TAS Group, the world leader in sales effectiveness solutions, today released results of its TAS Index Global Sales Effectiveness Benchmark Study 2007, which shows that in 50% of companies globally, less than half of the sales team achieves its sales targets.

In addition, the report notes that American salespeople lack deal-closing skills compared to their European and Asian counterparts. It also finds that sales management and sales reps have widely differing perspectives on what’s working and what’s broken, salespeople employing sales methodologies perform much better than those who don’t, notes which industries have the most effective sales teams – and which are the worst, and more.

Not Making Quota

According to the study, more than 50% of companies say that less than 50% of their salespeople make quota. Based upon this figure, it would appear that an enormous number of organizations are experiencing severe sales challenges.

American Effectiveness vs. Europeans, Asians

While European salespeople scored similarly to Americans in terms of sales effectiveness (6.41 versus 6.35), they appear better at generating sales opportunities, deal close rates and maximizing value creation in those deals. American reps, however, are better at managing the sales cycle. Compared to their counterparts in Europe and Asia Pacific, Americans seem to be worse at closing deals, supporting their channel partners and disseminating a standard sales process throughout their sales organization.

On the other hand, it would appear that European and Asian salespeople could learn a few things from their American colleagues when it comes to integrating the sales organization with the rest of the company. The report indicates that the Americans seem to have better alignment with marketing and the overall company strategy and are better at describing the value a company has to offer.

The top three things Europeans could teach Americans are defining the sales process, supporting channel partners and dealing effectively with competition. Asian salespeople, on the other hand, seem to the best in the world at qualifying sales opportunities, leveraging sales management for coaching rather than just chasing the sales team for details and maximizing the value from each customer.

Different Perspectives of Sales Management and Sales Reps

According to the study, the different perspectives of individual sales people and that of sales management can lead to sub-optimal sales effectiveness and immediate improvement opportunities. Nearly three out of four (72%) sales managers believe that their sales process is well defined, while nearly 50% less, just two out four (56%) of sales reps believe this is so. In addition, 48% of sales managers think they spend their time coaching (not chasing the reps for updates), while just 34% of reps agree. Conversely, 58% of reps believe they close deals when originally forecasted, while only 46% of managers agree. And 53% of reps believe they are effective at maximizing return from existing accounts, versus only 42% of managers.

Methodology Usage and Related Sales Effectiveness

The study showed that companies that use a sales methodology more than half the time do much better than those that don't. In fact, among those salespeople, the number of people who make quota is 50% higher than those who don’t and the percent of sales proposals resulting in a sale is 77% higher. Strikingly, sales force turnover is lower by 39% when methodology usage is high. This has a really significant impact on a company’s cost and sales effectiveness as the average time taken for a sales person to ramp up to full productivity is more than three months in 83% of cases and more than six months in 50% of companies.

Top, Least Effective Sales By Industry

Salespeople surveyed were largely from the financial services, insurance, high-tech, medical devices/pharmaceutical, consumables and food and communications industries. Within these segments, sales people from financial services ranked best (7.1), while insurance salespeople ranked last (5.1) in effectiveness.

To get more details on the TAS Index or to participate in the ongoing study and obtain results for themselves at no cost, interested parties should visit www.tasindex2007.com.