How to ensure a seamless change of ownership in business

How To Ensure A Seamless Change Of Ownership In Business

So you have completed your due diligence, talked to all your advisers and professional consultants, taken all the steps necessary to value a business, lined up your financing and taken the plunge. What should you do with your new baby to ensure that you get through the critical stage of transition and make sure that you survive and prosper?

You will already know quite a lot about the business and its requirements before you take control of the keys. You should have spent many a long hour in preparation and have drawn up your own comprehensive plan already. This is one of the essential prerequisites when you plan to own a business. They say that when you move a house plant from one position to another, it goes into shock. The same analogy can be used when it comes to the business, and you will need to ensure you minimize the «shock».

The first point that you’ve got to remember is that you’ll need to keep all your attention on your goals. Now, probably more than ever, it is essential that you’re not distracted and that you allocate as much time as is humanly possible to this new enterprise.

Wherever possible, have the previous owner add some much-needed stability by staying around for a predetermined period of time. He or she can act as an advisor and can be seen (but maybe not heard as much) by clients, customers, employees and vendors. Try not to make any sweeping changes, as clients and employees may react unfavorably. If you make small changes, make sure that you view the results before you progress to make others.

Take the time to meet all the key players — your employees and your vendors. Create a one-on-one, personal relationship with your staff right from the start. Maintaining employee morale at the outset is vitally important and make sure that you establish a positive mode of communication. Try to get in touch with every vendor, if you’re able to, and do whatever you can to establish a positive relationship with these important players.

The previous owner and employees represent a wealth of information and you should make sure that you gather this data before you consider implementing new procedures. You may be in charge, but you are still «the new kid on the block» around here, so make sure that your decisions are based on a solid footing.

Don’t be tempted to throw out any procedures, especially record-keeping and bookkeeping. You need to be able to compare where you are now and where you are going in the future, with previous results. You will not be able to make informed decisions otherwise.

Your customers, who sustain the business, are familiar with being dealt with in a particular way. By all means, review the customer relationship policies and procedures, but don’t be tempted to make any wholesale changes. Your goal is to keep those customers at all costs and to make sure that they are happy during the transition.

You may now own a business in an unfamiliar industry. It is important to get to know the ins and outs of the industry as quickly as possible. Familiarize yourself with the technology, software, programs, procedures and how to handle potential problems in the future.

Establishing goodwill is one of the main objectives at this point. When you purchase business assets, one of the key elements is this goodwill and whilst somewhat intangible, it is very valuable. Consider doing something for all your key players — clients, employees and vendors. Give some kind of an introductory special offer, of some significance, to your clients. Think of an enhancement that you can offer your employees, maybe some improved working conditions or an upgrade to their terms of service.

In summary, remember that you now own a business which is dynamic. You have to give a great deal of your attention to the critical early days and make sure that you grow the business and strive to reach your highest goals.

I lost my job on april fools day

I Lost My Job On April Fools Day

Yes, on April Fool’s day this past year, my boss came up to me and stated that my job was no longer needed. I was greatly shocked, especially after nearly 20 years of loyal service to a company where I thought retirement would be the only reason to leave.

I came down to reality quickly realizing that in a few short sentences, I was no longer able to support my family, provide shelter, pay bills and look forward to my retirement. I was very depressed as one can imagine. The drive home at 10 AM was not at all common; it felt out of place just as the whole morning had come to pass.

The realization that I had enough savings to secure about 60 days of support for all our financial needs was falling short. For years there were always people coming up, and stating «Mike you need to get ready for any emergencies». The thought was passing, but I had worked devoted to a company that seemed to have no end, so what would ever happen. I had more than enough life insurance to take hold incases of death, yet now, how was I going to even pay the premium? WOW, what an eye opener for a reality check. My wife was home, she was off on Monday’s. Her normal routine was to what she has done for our 25 years of marriage, house chores, groceries, and take care of her matters at hand.

I opened the door, walked in and she stood in the kitchen. She obviously was curious why I was home? The words came out «I was just fired». She quietly went into the living room and I could tell she was upset. Tears came to my eyes as well as hers, and we talked together. We had no solutions; the same questions came up from my wife, as that had just passed thru my mind on the 30 minute drive home from my employ.

In depression, many things came up in my mind. I could end my life, that would provide for my wife and kids, yet that would be cheating myself, and those who did care and love me. No, I would not take a cheap route out of my situation. It took about a week to get my thoughts cleared enough to really focus on how I would pull out of this temporary set back in my life.

I found and updated my resume, forwarded it electronically to literally hundreds of job sites. In fact, I considered sending out résumé’s out of state that would take me away from my family just so I could provide. There were no hits; emails were full of spam type offers that were not related to what I needed to provide for my family.

There were other options, which one was where could I go to work from home and make an income that would supplement or even surpass my earning from past employ? Yet, could I do this type of work, I had no experience, no knowledge with Internet Business. I started typing on word search thru the internet. I had literally hundreds of hits, sure was going to take some time to wade thru them, yet was determined to find a niche for making money.

It took about 2 weeks and had narrowed my search to one company. EDC came up several times as the choice. The program was easy to afford (3-levels of entry), even though my income savings were very limited I had to make the commitment. I went with EDC Gold. I had enough savings for approximately 2.5 months on a conservative note. When my mentor called, I committed to him what my plan was to be. I asked him several times, if this was a business that would bring in success, and more importantly income for my family. I was assured that yes, there was no reason that failure would come into the game plan unless I strayed from the step by step guidelines on how to market the business. I believed him, and I still do. The only reason I could fail is if I stop what I am doing.

It is a matter of what type of sacrifice will it take to do this, I in essence was going to be the Pig, who provided the bacon for breakfast. The chicken will also give, yet the egg. I dove head on into EDC. There is no way that I was going to fail. I wanted to in time, to be able to go into work and just leave after 20 plus years, and give no excuse/reason.

The business EDC Gold could be worked from home at my own hours, and the potential was great! Since my youth, I watched my Dad and how he provided, and sure it may have been tough on him at times, we always had food, and shelter. I was going to survive, I was going to continue to provide everything that my family deserved and that was that.

I made the choice. I went to an EDC Registration site, signed in and all started so very fast. I did not know anything about Internet Marketing period. The concept was completely foreign, as if trying to understand and write a language that I had no idea what it meant. EDC had promises in writing in more than one area about support, and step by step guidance, and more of the same. I went with my gut instinct that I was going to make everyone at EDC come through on that promise. Guess what, they did everything as promised. I received 3 websites, tools, software, capture pages, email response, online training, and so much more, even online live support Monday thru Fridays.

It was after 2 weeks of no employment I was offered a lower job position at the same company that just removed me from my prior position. This position was better than nothing, even though it was a humbling experience to say the least. I was a supervisor, delegated over 40 employees at one point, now I was greeting customers as they walked into the place of business. The loss of pay was nearly $30k a year less, Wow. I still worked with the same people whom I used to be a Supervisor.

The 20-30 minute drive home now is not so bad now. I get home about 7 PM, after leaving for work at 7 AM, and eat. Then, it is off to start up my computer; I then go through a routine that I apply for generating traffic to my web site. I place ads, market research, and send emails till about 11:30 PM every night. The weekends are full days, doing the same routine as my week day stuff, but more research, more ad submitting and more emails. All in all I put in about 20 hours plus per week, yet do not get tired of this type of work for some reason?

It has been nearly 4 months since I have registered with EDC. I have learned more about marketing, and making websites, and directing traffic to my website than I ever thought I would know. I was hoping when I paid to sign up, that I would have thousands of internet dollars in my bank account within a few weeks as I have been told that some people have, yet not in my case as of date. It takes time to understand Internet Marketing, for me, I am still learning. Yet, the training, support that is given to me is incredible.

Yet, in fact, in past 4 months thru Aweber, I have 180 signed opted in registered people who are looking for supplement income. Also, in same time also, I have 53 people who registered as my down line with EDC «WOW». The money will come, if all sign in paid, will be lots of $$$’s in commission to me and my family. I put a counter on my website, and in past 120 days have had over 4800 visits to my site. I am amazed, and even if there are no immediate sales, I have learned that there is a way to survive even if one has no experience in a certain field like the internet. However, I feel being consistent on a daily routine bases will bring business in which in turn will help my family.

The owners of EDC, and my mentor all promised success if you follow their way to make this program work. I do thank Craig and Michael, and Shay for having this opportunity to learn, and earn with their proven business plan.

Thanks for allowing me to share with you my story.

Michael B. Amos

How to choose the right commercial lender and the right commercial loan

How to Choose the Right Commercial Lender and the Right Commercial Loan

Ask the lender to give you five to five references, so you can evaluate their experience and background. If permitted, contact the references for feedback to see if they are satisfied with the lender.

Does the lender offer a wide range of financing options? Is financing accessible?

Check if the lender offers a range of financing options / loan packages that serve your present as well as your future needs. You may need a simple loan arrangement now, but can the lender support the future needs of your business? Accessibility in acquiring the funds right when your business needs them is important.

How well does the lender know your industry?

Lenders who know your industry will generally know the needs, capabilities and potential of your business, and they are in a better position to give you a suitable loan package. They can also see the total picture and recognize temporary limitations against your business’ potential.

Choosing The Right Loan

Once you have narrowed down your list of potential lenders, you can evaluate their financing options to determine which is most suitable for your business and for your needs.

Term Loans

These are the most common loan types that are used for general purposes such as working capital, expansions, purchases and acquisitions. Term loans are used to support your straightforward needs for additional funds, which are to be used for clear and specific purposes. These loans will allow you to acquire large sums over long periods which are to be paid monthly or as in the case of short-term loans, smaller amounts that are paid in full at the end of the term.

Credit Lines

These types of loans are more flexible as they allow you to draw additional funds whenever the need for additional cash arises. Interest rates for credit lines are based on the outstanding loan balance. Different lenders offer many variations of credit line type loans – you must evaluate each credit line carefully and determine which will fit your needs without being too costly.

Factoring

Another not so common option for smaller companies is factoring or receivables financing. Factoring allows you to «sell» your invoices so that you can have the funds immediately. If your business has active but slow paying accounts, factoring may be very useful.

Meeting your needs

If you have taken necessary measures and the time to properly evaluate potential lenders and their loan packages, you will be able to choose the right commercial lender and the right commercial loan to meet not only your current needs, but the future needs of your business.

Find Commercial Loans using our free Commercial Loan Application to compare rates and submit your information to multiple commercial lenders. We have over 300 commercial real estate lenders, business and construction lenders as well as private equity groups waiting to help you. Best of all, GlobalBX is FREE!

Find Commercial Loans using our Commercial Loan Application to compare rates and contact multiple commercial lenders for FREE at GlobalBX!

How to get the leads you need to be successful

How to Get the Leads You Need to be Successful

Starting your own business is the first thing you need to do to become successful in your field. But once you have your business up and running there are other things that you need to do to continue to grow and become more profitable. Generating leads is key to the growth of a business but that can sometimes be hard to do. Not only is it hard to get the solid leads you want but it can also be stressful because there are so many different people that you want to reach in a small amount of time.

There are several different programs on the internet that will claim to be able to help you do just what you need, generate leads. The problem with these is the fact that you never really know what you are getting and if what you are investing into is really going to work.

The first thing you need to realize is the fact that there will be some kind of investment needed to really make things take off. You should have a budget of about $500 in order to get the tools you need to make your business grow.

Once you have made the investment you will want to see immediate results. There are several ways to do this but one of the most effective ways is to have a voice broadcasting which can help reach a large amount of potential buyers all with one broadcast through one click of the mouse. While this may be the one feature that will get you hooked and excited about your investment make sure there are also other features included in your package to make it well rounded and easy to use. Look for a tutorial that will explain everything step by step to should you have it can work well for you.

There are also many different companies that will not only get the job done but will also help you to organize our leads as they come in along with offering personal support if you ever have questions you need answered.

You should also look for a company that will offer free training with online resources which will help give you the knowledge to reach your goals as a business owner. It’s important to know what you are doing and so it is important that you choose a company that will provide you with the tools you need to be successful.

You can invest your money in any company but not just any company can give you the results, customer service and training that you need to be successful and profitable in your business. Choose the company that works the best not only for you but with you.

It was just a misunderstanding

It Was Just a Misunderstanding

It was just a misunderstanding… that’s not what I meant…. Have you heard those, or similar statements, recently? If you have, then you are in the midst of a breakdown in communication. The best leaders are excellent communicators, and they encourage a clear, effective exchange of information in their teams. Yet we often experience confusion and misinterpretation at work (and at home). What is going on? Quite simply, we don’t work at stating our ideas explicitly. We take communication for granted, we get lazy, we get careless—and then, bad things happen.

With all the communication tools at our disposal, we are more at risk than ever for miscommunication. Isn’t it great that email has that «receive receipt» function? I think there is a «read receipt» message also. In using these, we are notified that the receiver of the message did, in fact, get the message from us.

Of course, there is no «understand receipt» to insure that the receiver actually «got» what we were trying to say. When we are face-to-face, body language and changes in pace, tone and vocal inflection help us to determine if our message has been understood. In email, we lose these important visual and aural cues, making successful communication much more difficult. Misunderstandings become frequent, and additional emails meant to clarify can make the even situation worse.

At this point, it would be appropriate to visit the classic (and often misquoted) study on communication by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, Professor Emeritus at UCLA. Dr. Mehrabian examined the process by which people decide whether they like one another. The results of his research tell us that how we say something is critically important to others’ understanding of our message. And, as we noted above, this is precisely the factor that is lost in written communication. Therefore, the more we use such quick and easy means of communicating as email and text messaging, the more at risk we are of being misunderstood.

Don’t get me wrong; I love email. It is a very convenient, efficient, and effective method of sending and receiving information—but sometimes, it just isn’t good enough. I also love looking someone in the eye and seeing that they «get it.» Last week, I flew to San Francisco on short notice for this very reason—to make sure my meaning was received and understood clearly. I didn’t want to fly cross-country for a four-hour meeting, but I did anyway, because it was that important.

How often do you send an email or leave a voice mail when you would be better served by interacting face-to-face? It’s tempting to hide behind email. But vital nuances can easily fall through the cracks. What about your people? I spoke to a friend about this the other day and he said this about his managers, «I tell them to call someone and they send an instant message. They are missing my entire point.»

Misunderstandings cost money. For that reason alone, we must work to eliminate them. Always remember the «understand receipt» function when you are communicating with someone—no matter what method you are using.