Biz File Review

So after much careful research and consideration, you are ready to start your own business. First off, congratulations on having the courage to being an entrepreneur.  I believe entrepreneurs are born, cut from a different cloth.  Though the road to entrepreneurial success is often filled with uncertainty and hard-work, the rewards of creating your own successful business is immeasurable.

The only problem is that you can’t begin to make money until you have the building and equipment for selling the products, unless you are into the whole online marketing arena, where many products are digitally created right from ones computer.  That is another topic for another day.

Now, you may need to purchase materials and special machinery to create your products in the first place. Starting a small business can be very expensive because there is a lot of initial capital outlays.   That said, there are several options for finding the start-up capital you need to create a successful business.

PERSONAL FUNDS

Most small business owners fund their businesses using money they’ve saved for that purpose. Sometimes friends, relatives, and potential business partners are happy to help with start-up costs.   Securing money from family and friends can be beneficial in that there are often lower costs associated with borrowing.  For example, your rich uncle may charge you 3% APR, while your average nation wide bank  would charge fees that rival that of Columbian drug cartels – 20% APR, no joke.

It can be tempting to put your initial business investments on your credit cards, but you should check out other lending options first. Credit cards carry very high interest rates, (did I mention Colombian drug cartels) and can be much more expensive than traditional small business loans, even if you’re only making small purchases.  Yes, I know you want to be the hotshot 20 something year old who maxes out his/her credit card building the next big thing. For every one of these there is one of this

BORROWING

Long gone are the days when banks were eager to lend money to small businesses that seem qualified and responsible.   Today, you have a better chance of getting kicked in the face by Chuck Norris at a Huckabee convention than securing a business loan from a bank. Even if you’ve created a comprehensive and well thought out business plan you won’t be getting shit.  Despite the fact that you just bailed them out with your tax dollars – haha the joke is on you suckers!  By the way, you can TRY to get your money back – it won’t work though:

LOAN PROPOSALS

Still, if you want to tempt fate and see if you are one of the luck few to still qualify for a small business loan, you’ll need to create a good loan proposal. The (Evil) banks want you to explain in detail how you expect to pay them back before they give you any cash – um, haha we got screwed AGAIN – when the bailout happened we just gave them the money – they said everything was too complex and they would have time to explain it to us LATER.

Anyways, the basic information that you should put in your loan proposal include: the ownership structure of your business, an exact explanation of what the loan will be used for, and the exact amount of money you need to accomplish your goal. Banks also like to see a little information about the history of the business and what kind of business it is. Give the bank a good idea of how your business fits into its market and why your products will be successful in the marketplace.  Plus be prepared to offer up SIGNIFICANT collateral for this loan – nowadays I heard it’s a Kidney, there are current grumblings that next year it will be an arm and a leg. (pa-dum-pum chi)

THE SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

The US government sponsors a Small Business Association which grants loans to small businesses that might not qualify for traditional bank loans. This loan program also offers advice and business training for small business owners. If you’re new to the business world, or you are already a credit risk for some reason, the Small Business Association may be the best place for you to begin looking into building startup capital for your company.  They offer several different types of loans, and will be happy to help you figure out which one is right for you.  One thing to note the SBA does not actually give you the cash, instead they act as a gurantor incase you default.
Until next time…..Keep Grinding.

As a small business owner, you are always on the lookout for ways to promote your local business. When small businesses are under a strict budget, the pressure gets even more intense to promote your local business in new and creative ways that don’t cost you an arm and a leg. The way you promote your business is important as it is directly connected to how well your business will succeed. While that may seem like a heavy burden, take heart; there is one unique and easy way to promote your local business.

Rewarding Employees Can Equal Great Promotional Opportunities

Walk in to almost any place of business and you will see the myriad of “Employee of the Month” plaques gracing the walls. While this is a great idea to motivate your employees, you can also use these awards as promotion opportunities for your local business. How, you may wonder? When your company gives out an employee reward for anything, local papers will often run these tidbits as a free announcement. What you need to do is contact your local papers to find out what their requirements for a free announcement are. You will need to know word count and how often they let you run an announcement of this sort. Some papers will let you run as many as one a month.

Once you know what the requirements are and where you need to send your submissions, it’s time to decide the type of announcement your business will make. This will depend most on the type of business that you own. You can choose from “Salesman of the Year” or any other title that you want to reward an employee with. The sky’s the limit here so use your imagination. This will make a great promotion for your local business.

Spinning for Promotion

At the end of the announcement on what you rewarding your employee for and who they are, you can insert a few lines about your business. Don’t turn the announcement into an all out press release promoting your business, but there is room to tactfully mention the name of the company, what services or products you provide as well as where the business is located or a contact phone number. You have now taken the opportunity to do well and boost morale within your company and also get the name of your business in to the public eye and conscious.

Once you have gotten the hang of writing this type of announcement, you can begin to write them about any change within your company. If you have a new product, write an announcement to launch its release. If you are offering a new service, that is also a perfectly legitimate reason to announce it to the world. Before long, your name and the name of your business will be a household name.

By following these few steps you can learn to promote your local business. You will be on the road to small business success.