Friday, May 2, 2014

Accounts receivable

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that.

     Many small businesses sell to other businesses, companies, corporations and other big time operators. 

     You work hard to get these accounts. And you work even harder to keep them happy.

     Getting paid, however, can become a problem with big accounts. They frequently don't pay on time.

     I once had a serious conversation with a senior vice president at a major corporation about this. His company was three months in arrears and still ordering. Exasperated, I blurted out that I was not in the business of financing his company. That was it. I had put my finger on the problem in a way that he understood. By continuing to furnish his company the materials they ordered from me, and, at the same time, not being paid in a timely manner, I was providing financing. 

     In a very small way, my small business was acting like a bank for his corporation. Big companies do this all the time with their small suppliers. 

     If you are having a similar problem, consider trying one of these solutions. 

     1. Change your terms. Offer a 2% discount for payment within a short period of time (10 days, 30 days, or whatever you decide). When invoices arrive at a big company's accounts payable department, those offering discounts get attention right away. It's a way of prioritizing your invoice in their system.

     2. Set up progress payments. If you are providing a service based on significant inputs of labor/materials, set up contractual milestones that trigger partial payments on the overall project. As project phases are completed, send the appropriate invoice, referencing the negotiated contract.

     3. When dealing with a buyer who is "lost" in the corporate structure of a big company, it's useful to develop a close and continuing relationship. A face-to-face conversation about timely payments will frequently get positive results. Key here is the relationship you develop.

     Small businesses that sell to big companies have a valued customer. But the relationship must be carefully nurtured and managed--particularly with regard to accounts receivable.

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy always respected.

      

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Holiday promotions

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that.

     Holidays are opportunities to promote your business. But you must think outside the box.

     The public has become accustomed to flowers at Mother's Day and pumpkins at Halloween. Holiday promotions that still cling to cliches no longer attract attention. At least, not the attention you deserve in your small business.

     Florists must see to business all year, not just at Mother's Day. Party stores also need to attract customers for birthday celebrations, and these can occur every day.

     One way to get out of the holiday promotions rut is to think ahead. You do this anyway in the normal worrying about your business. So why not plan ahead for holiday promotions?

     Example: A florist I know concentrates on promoting his design capabilities. Of course, beautiful designs are available for your special mom on her day. So his emails and Facebook pictures do double duty far ahead of Mother's Day. Beginning in March, he reaches out to customers, reminding them of fresh designs to meet their needs--birthdays, anniversaries, corporate meetings, etc. And, of yes, remember Mother's Day is coming up. 

     Today's advertising is much more than an ad in the local newspaper. And it's more than a special reminder of an upcoming special day. The Internet has seen to this, and there ain't no goin' back!

     Example: An ice cream parlor (yes, they still exist) devotes most of its space to special events the customers hold there. Birthdays, anniversaries, corporate meetings, etc. are more fun when held at an old fashioned ice cream parlor. Of course, the place is updated--with frozen yogurt, sugar-less concoctions, biscotti and lattes all around. Instead of just a summer-time destination, the place hops all year. The ice cream has receded, but it contributes to the special ambiance which brings customers back. And back. 

     Thinking outside the box can help you with promotions. You can start with any holiday, and then take it to the next level. Concentrate on the excitement that brings people back--you can build it around a special holiday, but the holiday is not the chief reason for the event. 

     Example: I know an Internet-based operation built entirely around brownies. They will ship brownies anywhere. There is no brick-and-mortar store. Only Internet orders are filled. They regularly send out emails to former customers. The email consists of three words: "Time for brownies?" And a picture of a scrumptious, chocolaty, nut-filled brownie. That's it. Who could resist ordering for any holiday? Or for no reason at all?

     With holiday promotions, remember that you and your business are reason enough for the holiday, not the calendar. Just do it. Find your own way.

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy always respected.  

         

     

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Facebook pictures

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that. 

     There's just no doubt about it. Facebook is a godsend for small business.

     More and more small-business people are using Facebook. It is a giant leap forward for an operation trying to grow. And it is so easy to use.

     Example: The owner of a local landscaping business is driving to a job. He spies a clump of daffodils, the first flowers of spring. They are catching rays of sunshine as they nod in front of a stone wall. He stops, gets out of his truck, points his camera and snaps a close-up picture. A couple more clicks and the picture appears on his Facebook page. Customers smile as they sip their morning coffee, and they call the landscaper to schedule some work.

     Facebook and smart phones are revolutionizing small business. The process of reaching out to existing and potential customers has become very easy, quick, and inexpensive.

     Example: An attorney volunteered to speak to a local club. She specialized in helping businesses solve legal problems. At the end of her talk, she asked for permission to take some pictures of the audience--saying that she wanted to post them on Facebook. No one objected, so she snapped several shots of people sitting at rapt attention and uploaded to Facebook. Later that day, several people called, requesting appointments. 

     Pictures posted on Facebook need not be made by a professional photographer. In fact, a case can be made that stylized and doctored pictures don't work as well as those made by amateurs. You are capturing a moment that conveys a good feeling. And your business tags along.

     Example: I know a gift shop owner who reaches out to artists and artisans, helping them find buyers for their works. The owner displays the works in her shop, but more importantly, she photographs each new item and posts it on Facebook. She receives dozens of items each week. and photographs each separately. Every day, new pictures go up--a piece of gold jewelry, a glazed pot, a painted silk scarf, a turned wooden bowl. Customers get in the habit of checking this Facebook page daily--and they tell their friends.

     Pictures always attract attention. Pictures taken on the run, or in a meeting, or those of specific items you are offering for sale--all these can be used in small business.

     If you are not posting pictures on Facebook, you are missing business opportunities. Do it. 

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired. I am not selling anything. Your privacy always respected. 

      

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Scary small print

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that.

     Every one of us has done it. We download software, and we click the yes button that we agree to the terms and conditions.

     The truth of the matter is we have not read the terms and conditions. We have no idea what's in the small print. 

     It is never a good idea to sign a legal document without reading it. Yet, we do it all the time. Software aside, how about a long-term lease for space?

     Example: A business owner I know was so anxious to get her business moved into a more desirable location, she signed the lease without reading all the small print. Soon, she began receiving bills for electricity and natural gas amounting to more than the monthly rental. Both were used to heat the space, and the bills came from the landlord--not the utility companies. She had an expensive mess on her hands--with no way out but to pay.

     Example: A holistic counselor rented a small office in a professional building without reading the fine print in the lease. Turns out the lease stated that this business agreed to expand into the adjoining office space as it became available. Several months later, the business next door suddenly vacated their space. The holistic counselor was notified that the new monthly rental would triple. Fortunately, this landlord was accommodating and let the holistic counselor out of the lease--writing a completely new one.

     People in business learn quickly that a lease is a legal document. Signing a lease without reading it--and understanding it--can be dangerous. The danger usually lies in the scary small print. 

     Before signing to any legal document, it is a good idea to run it past an attorney. Language you and I use every day can mean something entirely different in court. Of course, an attorney looks for the legalities. You, as a business person, must look for the business aspects. 

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.   

Monday, April 28, 2014

Time to start

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that.

     The time to start a business is now. It is never too early, and it is never too late. No matter your age or situation, today is the day to begin.

     Teenagers and pre-teens are good at starting businesses. If nothing else, they have energy and attitude. These two traits will take them far.

     Seniors have gained much of life's experiences. They know the value of persistence. They can turn a long-held interest into a business, avoiding the set-backs younger people might experience.

     Adults between youth and retirement frequently change career directions and start a business. They are looking for more fulfillment than that they leave behind.

     Example: I once helped a woman in her late 70s establish a new bagel house. She bought used equipment, rented a high traffic space, and in less than a year, she had established a thriving operation, selling bagels retail as well as wholesale. The key here was her drive and the excellence of her bagels. People came, they came back, and they brought others. 

     Example: A teenager came to me for advice on growing his business. He had spent years cutting grass, trimming shrubbery and doing yard clean-ups. He wanted to grow into a full landscaping operation after he graduated high school. I helped him do a business plan and he was on his way. It was an easy transition to grow into a business based on the customers and reputation he already had.

     Example: A lady in corporate American left her office every day to hurry home. There, she pursued her first love--at her potter's wheel. After we talked a few times, she took early retirement and set up her own pottery operation. Her special glazes attracted early attention, and her pottery commands high praise--and high prices. 

     Anyone can start a business at any age. Never think that you're too young or too old or too locked into a career that no longer excites you. 

     Today is the day to begin. It's easier than ever to get that idea off the ground and running. The Internet makes it easy to reach out, far beyond your own community, tapping more and more people on the shoulder, and turning them into customers.

     I wish that the Internet had been around when I first started out. "Yeah, Dad," my daughter would say. "Those were the olden days."

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Future markets

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that.

     Today's world is very different from yesterday's. And tomorrow's will be even more unrecognizable.

     A degree of certainty is required for business to survive, much less thrive. Right now, your small business is caught up in a juggernaut of change.

     Think of what's happening with energy. We are caught up in a big debate on energy sources, and who knows where it's leading us.

     You and your customers depend on electricity. Without electricity, your computer will go dark. Without electricity, banks and supermarkets will close. You won't be able to drive your vehicle (gasoline stations close), you won't be able to cook meals or wash clothes (most appliances stop running), reaching out by telephone will be iffy (then your batteries run out). And your customers will be in the same fix.

     Viable alternative sources of energy are still largely out in the future. Hydroelectric and nuclear plants are producing significant streams of electricity right now. So are solar farms and wind turbines--to a more limited extent, considering the need. Coal is being banned. 

     Where will tomorrow's energy come from? Like it or not, we are still in an age of oil and gas. And we will be for the foreseeable future. As coal is phased out, electricity generating plants are using more and more oil and gas. Luckily, this country has more proven reserves of oil and gas than all of the Middle East combined. 

     So where does all this leave you and your small business? Well, if I were still in business (I'm retired now), I would be giving a couple of thoughts to the problem. How will I stay in business and serve my customers if the electric grid goes into frequent brownouts, or worse, crashes for a month or two? 

     Other uncertainties will affect your business in the future. As a nation, we are in a big debate on health care. Is the future in small, privately run health clinics or in big government bureaucracies? Or is another system of health care on the horizon?

     Another: Genetically modified foods now pervade the food chain. A reaction to GMOs is afoot--cities and some states are insisting that GMO foods be so labelled. The concern revolves around the effects of these foods on human health--and there are good reasons to be concerned.

     Still another: 3-D printing technology is right now producing devices that will forever change manufacturing. Will small machine shops and tool makers go the way of the hot lead typesetters of the past? 3-D printing companies are already making parts for the automotive industry, aerospace, health care, home and personal products--including jewelry, lighting fixtures, shoe wear and more. All these and other items are now being manufactured in plastics and metals.

     As owners of small businesses, we tend to think about today's problems. But it's a good thing to consider where we're headed. The future is not knowable, but trends tend to continue. Thinking about these trends will help you structure your business to survive--and prosper. Or, maybe, get into a new line of business altogether. 

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired and I am not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.  

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Planning box

     Free daily advice for people in small business
     from someone who has been there, done that.

     I firmly believe in business planning. The planning process forces you to think through the ideas you have.

     Planning is a straightforward exercise in principle, but it can be extremely difficult to do.

     With business plans, the aim is to match your business to the market. This forces you to look at the market, define it as best you can, and see if your business ideas measure up.

     Questions: Is there truly a market for my goods/services? How big is this market? What part or parts of the market can I serve? What's the future of the market segment I plan to address? Is there a technological component/impact? 

     More questions: Is this market mature? Is it moving to the Internet? What's the competition? Shall I establish a bricks-and-mortar operation with an Internet presence? Or is it better to be totally Internet based? 

     These questions--and more--get at the foundations of a business. The answers must be reduced to numbers. The hard, cold numbers you derive from the marketplace will tell you whether you can succeed or fail. Planning can save you from dead-ends and failure. 

     Projecting numbers of future sales and costs is an iffy undertaking. The marketplace is dynamic. It can change directions very quickly. Business owners must account for this as best they can, continually adjusting.

     I've found it useful to have a planning box. It rests on a shelf among the books. Anytime an idea occurred to me or a scrap of useful information crossed by path, I'd write it down and drop it in my planning box. About every 2 to 3 months, I take my planning box down and sift through the whole mess.

     At this point most of the miscellaneous notes got discarded. But there were always gems to be found. These became a part of my road map to the future. I would flesh out ideas with some numbers, I would round out some projections, and then I would decide whether or not it would be worthwhile to change the business direction.

     Get yourself a planning box. It can make planning an on-going and almost daily process. Then you'll have a solid basis to write that formal plan the lender requires for a loan. And you can head off into that expansion, confident that you've covered all the bases.

     Questions? Email me direct at AlWarr16@gmail.com and put BLOG in the subject line.
     I am retired and I'm not selling anything. Your privacy is always respected.