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Business/Investment

Does Selling Your Company Seem Like a Good Call?

If selling your small business makes sense, are you willing to put the time and effort into making a sale go?

Selling a small business does not have to be like pulling teeth. That is if you do all the steps needed to make it a seamless transaction.

So, is selling in your near future?

Be Smart and Do Your Homework

When deciding now is the time to in fact sell your small business, here are a few pointers to help you out along the way:

  1. Be prepared for what is to come – It goes without saying that selling will involve paperwork and more. That said be sure you have all your ducks in a row. Missed or incorrect paperwork can slow down a sale. In some instances, it could thwart the sale altogether. By taking the time to do due diligence, there is less of a chance you will find yourself in a bad position. There are people out there who can help you get all the paperwork in order. There are those who’ve got the experience to direct you towards potential buyers too. Be prepared and work with the appropriate pros to make selling as easy and quick as possible.
  2. Have a plan for what is next – You also will want to be ready for what comes after the company is no longer in yours. So, any thoughts to what you may want to do next? You may end up trading out companies. You sell the one you have and end up buying another one be it established or a brand new venture. There may also be the possibility of you going to work for someone else. Would you be comfortable no longer calling the shots? That is being under the guidance of another person or persons? Depending on your age and finances, might you consider retiring? By having thought things through, there is less of a chance you will end up in a bad situation financially. 
  3. Learn from this – Unless you plan on hanging things up, learn from this experience of selling. You can get some good tidbits to come out of it should you go and sell again down the road. See what works and also what may not have worked. This can make the next time you go to sell a little less challenging. Also, make it a point to understand the financial implications. That is of selling and even buying another company should you choose to do the latter. The goal with any sale along with having it go smoothly is to come out ahead financially. So, when you decide to put your company on the market is a big factor in how things can turn out. Be cognizant of what is going on in the particular industry you are in. This would be when it comes to companies selling, consumer buying trends and more. Knowing the trends can tell you when the best time to sell may in fact be.

As you go about deciding if selling is right for you, are you confident it will all work out in the end?

Written by Ester K. is a content writer at Deepak Shukla and a sales and Public Relations (PR nerd), obsessed with research, sleeping in as much as possible, and listening to podcasts. When I am not at home with my fam I enjoy long walks through the beautiful city of Jerusalem.

Business/Investment

3 Ways to Better Finance Your Small Business

As a small business owner, odds are one of the things that can keep you awake at night is your financial situation.

With that thought in mind, are you happy with how your company is doing financially?

If the answer is no, do you have any thoughts on how to go about improving your finances?

Take Steps to Better Ensure Success

In looking at where your finances are now and how you can go about improving them, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Not being afraid to seek financial help – Some business owners can be a little stubborn. That is when it comes to asking for financial help. While it may be a pride issue, the bottom line is to know when you need a financial shot in the arm and how to go about getting it. One possibility would be to look into revolving credit. If you qualify for such credit, you can access it when you need it without having to apply again and again. Even though you will have a pre-approved limit, the ability to access those funds and put them to good use is key. Whether you go with revolving credit, a small business loan or even folks to invest in you, get the help you need.

2. Removing credit card debt – Millions of Americans deal with credit card debt. That said you do not want to be one of those people whose business is suffering because of it. Take the time to review and see if such debt is weighing down your business. In the event it is, the goal should be to remove such debt sooner than later. Start by paying more than the minimum each month that is due. You should also look to use cash more often when buying things you need for your business. Although some items you get will need a credit card, be smart and avoid continually running the debt up. You might also check around with banks to consider a balance transfer. Transferring the debt over to another bank with better rates could be a wise move on your end.

3. Deals with vendors – If you work with vendors to provide you with items, are you getting the best of deals? If the answer is no, now would be a good time to work on that. Even if you have specific vendors you’ve worked with for years, do not be afraid to make some changes. That is if it will improve your financial picture as time goes by. Unless there is going to be a drop off in quality of the items they provide be open to switching. That would be when it will save you sizable amounts of money. Let them know you need to save money and that is why you want to end the relationship. You may find them willing to negotiate with you and you could come out ahead when all is said and done.

In doing all you can to better your small business finances, what will be your first move?

Rachael is a content writer at SerpWizz, who has written on a Ultimate Resume Guide, from colored diamonds to SEO software. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, sketching, cooking, and video games.

Business/Investment

When Will You Go Car Shopping?

Taking the time and effort go car shopping can be somewhat easy or quite trying.

This of course depends on if you have the right make and model in mind. You also need to know your finances as well as you can and even have a little luck along the way.

With that in mind, is it time for you to go car shopping anytime soon?

Where Will the Focus Turn?

If you decide to shop for another car soon, here are a few helpful pointers for you along the way:

1. Know your money – It is key to know your financial situation when considering shopping. Not fully knowing it could lead you to buy the wrong vehicle. That is one that is too expensive for you at the end of the day. If this occurs, you could end up in over your head when it comes to monthly bills and more. Sit down and go over what you have in the bank and so on. If you need to take out a loan to get another car, let the Internet help you out. That is you can review various loan providers via their websites. Having valuable info on them can help you determine which you’d consider applying to for an auto loan. Also look into if your auto insurance is likely to rise when buying a car.

2. Know type of car – While you do not have to narrow it down to the color and so on, do have an idea of the type you’d like. This will save you time and effort when you decide to begin looking. Along with what you may see on the roads or what people you telldvise you, use the Internet to help. You can use different auto industry resources online to help you out. Did you know you can use a California plate lookup or a similar one in your state to research used cars for sale? The more you learn about a used car for sale, the closer you will be to deciding if in fact it is right for you. With older vehicles having a history, do your best to learn such on vehicles of interest.

3. Know what you will do with the car – Finally, it is important to know how a new or used car will fit into your lifestyle. With that thought in mind, will you use it for long commutes to and from work and also some road trips? Do you live in a challenging winter environment where vehicles tend to take a beating? If so, you want something as durable as possible. Do you have a teenager at home now or soon to be behind the wheel? If the answer is yes, will they have permission to drive what you buy? These and other related questions should be things you will be able to answer.

In deciding if now is the time to go car shopping or you want to wait a little further down the road, think things through.

Business/Investment

Can You Put More Focus on Work?

No matter how long you have been at your present job, you obviously want it to go well.

That being the case do you feel confident things are in fact going well or could you use some help in the workplace?

If you responded with saying the latter, what steps can you take to improve your focus where it needs to be?

Don’t Let Your Work Get Away from You

In trying to bring more focus into the workplace, here are some hints to consider moving ahead:

  1. Knowing how important your job is in the first place – Do you take the time to appreciate having a job in the first place. Unless you are in quite a bad job and are looking to get out, appreciate what you have. The ability to have a roof over your head and food on the table is important. As such, your job goes a long way in making those things happen. Some people lose sight of their jobs at times. When they do, it can get them into trouble in the workplace. Go and do your job each day as if your life depended on it. More times than not, you will find out it does in fact.
  2. Use some help to keep focused – In the event focus at your job has been an issue, what can you do to change this? One option is to look at herbal remedies and how they could help you out when it comes to retaining focus. Go online and do some research on different herbal remedies in the marketplace. In doing this, you can come up with the answer to what is maeng da kratom and much more. The goal is to find a herbal remedy or two that will help you stay focused when you are on the job. Between meetings, meeting deadlines, clients and more, work could get the better of you. Using the right things to help you stay focused are key at the end of the day.
  3. Having a good set of coworkers – Depending on the type of job you have, you may have a fair number of co-workers around you. That can be true even if you own the company. That said you want to try your best to surround yourself with the right people. Doing this will make it easier to focus on the job at hand. If you have even one or too many of the wrong people on the job, you could easily lose focus. This can be from having to do the work of others to workplace drama and more. 
  4. Take care of you – Last, show up each day for work having given yourself a chance to recharge your battery. If worn and stressed out all too often, it can make it hard to give it 100 percent on the job. Take care of things like diet, getting exercise, having a good night’s sleep and more.

When you need to put more focus on work, are you confident you will get the job done?

Rachael is a content writer at Plant Sumo, who has written on a Ultimate Resume Guide, from colored diamonds to SEO software. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, sketching, cooking, and video games.

Business/Investment

Tracking Success with Your Company

It goes without saying that operating a company is a full-time job and then some.

Even when you think you have every detail covered, there is likely something else to pop up you forgot about.

That said how can you best go about tracking success with your company from day one?

Documenting Your Ability to Be Successful

In running a first-rate business, you want to do all you can to track and document as much of your operation. Doing so make it easier to see where you are doing well and where you need some improvement.

Among the areas to focus in on:

1. Sales data – Make sure you are tracking your sales efforts. Not doing so can lead to confusion and not being successful at the end of the day. From which products and services do well to which lag behind, track and record your company’s efforts. One important aspect of the sales process is following up on commissions. Your sales team members work too hard not to be rewarded for their efforts. By having the right kind sales spreadsheet in play all the time, you can better record. That is each member’s sales data, what commissions owed and more. The data should be compiled so that it is easy for you to access both in-house and when you are out of the office too. By selling the company on recording and tracking data, you do something positive for your biz.

2. Customer data – Also be sure to properly log customer data. You want that data so you can reach out to them for a variety of things. From billing to when you have special offers available and more. If the data is hard to come by or unorganized, it can make reaching them all that more challenging. You also want to be sure you protect that customer data. Nothing will irritate customers more than to find out their data is compromised. In a day and age when hacking is not uncommon, be sure you have the proper safeguards in place to best protect the data.

3. Marketing data – Are you doing a good job of putting out there and analyzing your marketing data? Without proper marketing data, it can be hard for you to know whether your efforts are making inroads. Each time you put a marketing piece out there, track to see how it is received by the buying public. You should also be tracking your social media efforts. What social sites are bringing traffic back to you and which are not worth all that much of your time moving ahead? Last, the hope is that you are using your website to market your brand. As such, check the traffic your site is receiving on a regular basis. The goal is to see what patterns you come across and where more efforts may need to be made.

In doing all you can to find success, track efforts and see where improvements are going to be necessary.

Written by Meghan Hale, a content writer at ladolcestudio.co.uk and editing machine. You’ll find me yelling at my dog to stop barking, whether it be at the neighbours or on a long afternoon walk   

Business/Investment

3 Tips on Better Organizing Your Life

How organized a person would you say you are these days?

If your organizational skills could be better, wouldn’t now be a good time to begin working on them?

By being more organized, you can see your world come into better shape.

So, are you ready to get more organized?

Where Can You Better Organize Your World?

In being more organized, here are three tips to help you out:

  1. Your finances – How good of a job do you tend to do when it comes to organizing your financial world? If your finances are a mess, chances are some or much of your life is too. The goal should be to do all you can to keep your money organized. This begins with not running up a pile of debt in the first place. If you have sizable debt, do all you can to lower it sooner than later. The most notable of such debt tends to be credit card debt. If you have a large amount of this debt, there are several things to do. One, pay more than the minimum each month. Two, stop using your card or cards all too often. Third, check around to see if other banks offer reasonable balance transfers for you. By getting that debt down, you will be in a better spot to enjoy life.
  2. Your paperwork – Are you good at making sure you have all your paperwork organized? This can be everything from bills to vehicle papers and more. If you all too often have to scramble to find papers, it can make life a challenge. The time lost to this can be both tiring and frustrating. For example, how organized are your vehicle papers? From your license to registration to insurance and more, can you find everything? You also want to be sure that it is up to date. If you live in Florida, you can go online to get details on your driving needs and vehicle. With a Florida license plate lookup, you can see what license plate combos are available. That is if you recently moved there or are buying a new or used vehicle. Speaking of paperwork be able to find your birth certificate, passport and more.
  3. Your health – Last but not least, do you take the time to make sure your health is as good as it can be? If you take any medications, at least make sure you have them organized to take on a daily basis. The last thing you want to do is mix up prescriptions or missing taking any for too long. You can get a pill organizer to use for daily prescription or OTC medicines. Also make it a point to organize any doctor appointments you need to go to. Missing out on appointments can be bad for your health if it occurs all too often.

As you look for ways to better organize your life, sit down and make a list.

Chances are you will come up with some things you may have forgotten about.

At the end of the day, being organized has its pluses.

Business/Investment

3 Keys to Being a Good Business Owner

No matter the length of time you’ve run a business, would you claim to be a good owner?

Running a business is a full-time job and then some.

That said you want to do all you can to run your business the right way. The failure to do so can leave you on the outside looking in if you are not careful.

So, how good of a job are you doing running your business?

Improve How You Go About Running Your Business

In looking to be an even better business owner, here are three keys to think about:

  1. Do your best to handle finances – It is critical that you are good at handling your business finances. That said have you been doing all you can to navigate what can be a tricky thing? Not managing your business finances properly can at some point lead to you having to pack things up. This is why it is important to recognize when you may need some financial help. For instyoance, you may come to realize that looking into revolving credit is well worth your time. By getting a line of revolving credit, you are doing something positive for your business. Having more funds for critical needs for your business is a step in the right direction. You also want to do your best to keep debt at a minimum. Too much company debt can hinder you for a long time to come.
  2. Continue to make good hires – You also want to make sure you are doing your best to hire the right people. Having employees can be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you need those workers to help you get the job done nine times out of 10. On the other side of the coin, you are responsible for their actions. This includes their handling of customers. Be sure you take the time to hire and train the best of the best. It is also good to give employees incentives to want to work hard and stay with you. Not having to continually hire people due to large turnover saves you time and money at the end of the day.
  3. Spread the word about your company – Last, how good of a job are you doing in spreading the word about your company? It is crucial that your company is seen and heard by as many consumers as possible. Sure, not all will end up being customers. That said the goal is to transform as many of them as possible into paying customers. You want to do all you can to get a buzz going about your company. This can be done via your website, social media pages, customer testimonials and more. Don’t be the business whose competition is beating them to the punch when it comes to marketing.

As you work to be the best owner, do what it takes to make your company known throughout the business community.

In doing so, you stand a much better chance of being around for many years to come.

Business/Investment

Give Your Small Business More Chances to Be Successful

Are you happy with where your small business stands today?

If you could be doing more for your business, you do not want to wait too long to put in place any particular measures.

By being smart and doing whatever it takes to be successful, you have the opportunity to be around longer.

So, what do you need to do to be more successful?

Improving Your Small Business Outlook

In reviewing what you can do for your small business, here are a few things to consider:

  1. Take care of finances – Any owner will tell you that their finances go a long way in determining success. That said could you and your small business be in better financial condition? If so, you may want to see what your options are. For example, will you look into getting a small business line of credit? That line of credit can be the bridge you need to better financial times for your business. In searching for such a need, go online and review different providers. You may also talk to other small business leaders you are on good terms with. See if they took out such a line of credit. If they did, can they recommend someone to you? By being better in charge of finances, you are doing something good for you and your livelihood.
  2. Hire the best and brightest – Are you doing a good job of hiring the best and brightest out there? The right employees in the right positions will go a long way in helping you be more successful. Take the time to interview properly and not rush things. Interviews go a long way in helping select the right people. You also want to make sure the conditions are conducive to employees wanting to be there. Along with a good salary and health benefits if applicable, provide room for growth and more. When you have the right team in place, anything is possible.
  3. Review customer service often – You also need to review customer service regularly.. If you are not doing all you can for your customers, chances are some of them will go elsewhere. When they do, chances are some of them will not be returning. Look to see if you give customers all they demand. This means everything from answering inquiries promptly to the best in pricing.
  4. Promote the heck out of it – Last, do all you can to promote your small business to the public. From your website to social media pages and more, let consumers know what you have to offer them. Do you have a business app? If not, now would be a good time to consider getting one. An app puts you in touch with consumers who’ve downloaded it to their smartphones 24/7. Now, isn’t that something you want?

In doing all you can for your small business, is it as successful as you’d like it to be?

If not, now would be the time to address such matters.

Business/Investment

Is Your Startup Healthy or Sick?

Running a startup can prove both invigorating and challenging. 

With that in mind, how would you view your startup now?

Are you happy with where things are at? If not, what step or steps might you take to change how things are going?

What Can You Do with Your Startup?

In looking at your startup and how best to manage things moving forward, here are a few things to think about:

  1. What are your goals? – Above all else, what are your goals with your startup? Do you envision hanging on to your startup for the foreseeable future (see more below)? Any chance you may want to sell it sooner than later? If the latter, will the sale go smoothly or could there be some hiccups along the way? If proposing to sell it, keep in mind that you want to know all the tricks when it comes to how to sell a startup company. If you make one or more major gaffes in trying to sell, it could haunt you for a long time to come. Do some online research to find the pros specializing in helping folks sell startups. Their expertise can go a long way in making things much easier on you.
  2. Keeping your startup going – If you want to keep your startup going, by all means that is your right. That said you want to be sure you do all you can to make it a healthy business operation. Not doing so is wasting your time and more importantly your money. This means doing things like promoting. If too few consumers are aware of what your startup has to offer, how can you expect it to be successful? It also means hiring the right people if you have employees working for you. The right people in the right positions can make all the difference in the world. Last, do all you can to rid yourself of debt. Too many startups get saddled with debt from day one and have a tough time recovering as a result. The last thing you want or need is debt hanging over your head. By working hard to keep your startup going, you can achieve good things if you try.
  3. Deciding to seek help – Another option when your startup needs more punch is investor help. If you decide now is not the time to sell and yet you need some help with your startup, investors may be what is in order. If so, you want to be sure you get the right investor or investors to come aboard. Some business owners think about having family or friends invest in their startups. While that is okay to think like this, be sure you do everything by the book. Even though these are people you know, you still want everything properly documented. Not doing so has the potential to cause financial issues, rifts among those you know and more. Get everything in writing and treat this as a normal business deal.

When you take the time to look and see if your startup is healthy or sick, hopefully you will get what you are looking for.

Business/Investment

Ecommerce liability: How to protect your business

When you first start your online food business, it can be a little overwhelming. You need to think about everything from the safe delivery of your products to the marketing and getting your name out there. Food entrepreneurship is not easy but it is very possible for you to set up your e-commerce business in no time at all.

One of the things that you need to consider when setting up your online food business is how you will protect yourself. Do you need e-commerce liability insurance? We’re going to explore this topic here so keep reading to find out everything that you need to know.

What Is E-Commerce Insurance?

If you are not familiar with what e-commerce liability insurance is then now is the time to change this. This kind of insurance is useful for any kind of e-commerce business but it is especially important for anyone operating in the food industry. Ecommerce insurance will protect your business should anything out of the ordinary happen and a claim needs to be made.

What Is Covered?

Each liability insurance policy is different but you’ll usually find that those relating to the food industry are similar in what they cover. Medical payments are a common element of this kind of policy and this is important. This can include any injury that a customer makes to themselves when they open your packaging or use your product.

Your e-commerce insurance policy will also protect your business in relation to your advertising plan. There are so many businesses in the food industry and so you could end up copying another’s marketing strategy by accident. If they were to then make a claim against you, you would find that your insurance would cover your business.

Why Choose E-commerce Liability Insurance?

There are many reasons to protect your business with e-commerce liability insurance including the fact that it can give you peace of mind. When you know that your new food business is covered against these kinds of claims, you can continue with setting up your dream company without too much worry.

Another great thing about having this kind of e-commerce insurance is that you will receive a certificate. This means that you can show your customers that you are taking this very seriously and that you are a company that can be trusted.

Where To Find It

If you do decide to invest in e-commerce liability insurance for your business, you should make sure to take a look online at the options. You should be able to find a quote for a policy that is within your budget and this can make things a little easier. These policies are often much more affordable than you think and they are worth it in the end.

Make sure to invest in an e-commerce liability insurance policy as a food entrepreneur and you can ensure that your new business is covered should anything happen in the future. We wish you every success with your new business.