Top 15 Ways to Build Your Subscriber List

Top 15 Ways to Build Your Subscriber List

Email marketing can be profitable for any business, no matter what kind of product or service you offer. It is significantly cheaper than other advertising methods and, if done right, helps build loyalty and trust with customers. As a result, you generate more sales and more profits!

The foundation for successful email marketing is a targeted, permission-based email list. Marketers call contact lists their 'goldmine' because it can generate much of their sales revenue. If you've built up a list of opt-in subscribers that are qualified and interested in what you have to offer, then you've completed the first step and are on your way. Now it's time to 'mine' for gold!

Below you'll find several list-building and retention ideas that will help you get the best results from all your email marketing activities:

1. Provide useful, relevant content. Your visitors will not give you their email addresses just because they can subscribe to your newsletter free of charge. You have to provide unique and valuable information that will be of interest or use to them.
2. Add a subscription form to every page on your website. Make sure it stands out so it is easy to find. If it doesn't look cluttered, you may want to include more than one on some pages. For instance, if your opt-in form always appears in the top-left corner of your site, you may want to add one at the end of your most popular articles.
3. Add subscription forms to your social media pages. Make sure that you don't waste this valuable source of revenue opportunities. Integrate your sign-up forms with Facebook and more!
4. Make it easy for readers to sign up. The more information you request, the fewer people will opt-in. In most cases, a name and an email address should suffice. If it's not necessary, don't include it here. You can always survey them once they're customers! We do recommend that you provide a link to your Privacy Policy however.
5. Publish a Privacy Policy. Let your readers know that they can be confident you will not share their information with others. The easiest way to do this is to set up a Privacy Policy web page and provide the link to it below your opt-in form. (Note: If you don't have one, put the words 'privacy policy generator' into a search engine and you should be able to find a suitable form to use.)
6. Provide samples of your newsletters and Ezines. This lets potential subscribers review your materials before they sign up to determine if it's something they'd be interested in.
7. Archive past newsletters and articles. An online library of past newsletters and articles is both appealing and useful to visitors and builds your credibility as an authority. In addition, if your articles are written with good SEO techniques in mind, they can increase traffic to your website through enhanced search engine positioning.
8. Give gifts subscribers can actually use. Offer an opt-in bonus for joining your subscriber list! Write an ebook or provide a PDF business report, or even hire a programmer to create downloadable or web-based software. But don't limit yourself to offering gifts to opt-ins. Give them out when your readers fill out a survey, provide a testimonial, success story, or a great product idea. Let them know when they can expect the next gift offer. Everyone likes to get something for free! And if you pass out 'goodies' throughout the year, your subscribers will feel truly appreciated − and that's good for business!
9. Ask your subscribers to pass it on. Word of mouth is a powerful viral technique that works great with email marketing. If your subscribers find your content interesting, amusing or informative, they'll probably share it with their friends. This can be a great source of new customers, so make sure to remind them to 'pass it on'.
10. Let others reprint your newsletter as long as the content is not modified. If you're happy to share your content with the universe, then why not! Many webmasters and newsletter publishers are actively looking for high-quality content and, if they reprint your newsletter, you'll get new subscribers, and more traffic and links pointing to your site.
11. Include a 'Sign Up' button in your newsletter. If you're using plain text instead of HTML, be sure to provide a text link to your subscription page. You may feel that this is not required because the subscriber is already on your list, but remember that readers will forward your newsletters to others, or reprint them online. Make it easy for them to subscribe!
12. Add a squeeze page. A squeeze page has one goal − to acquire opt-ins and build your list. Think of it as a mini-sales letter to go along with your subscription or opt-in gift. It should feature a strong headline and a couple of powerful benefits that should make subscribers salivate to sign up! Once created, use a service such as WordTracker to find hundreds of targeted keywords, and promote your offer using pay-per-click advertising from Google, MSN and Yahoo. Now that should make a splash!
13. Include testimonials on your squeeze page. This is crucial. Put one or two strong testimonials from satisfied customers on your squeeze page. This can be in any format, but you may find that multimedia (audio or video) is more 'believable' and inspires more people to action. To further enhance believability, get permission to use actual customer names, locations and/or urls (Don't use 'Bob K, FL'). Add a note inviting others to participate. After all, it's free publicity!
14. Blog religiously. Blogging is a great way to communicate with prospects and potential customers, and creates a nice synergy with your email marketing. Be sure to include your newsletter sign-up form on each page of your blog. You can start a free blog at Blogger or WordPress.
15. Post on other blogs. Post thoughtful comments and information on similar blogs with a link to your squeeze or opt-in pages. Also comment on others' blogs through trackbacks. In most cases, your comments will be posted on their blogs with a link back to your site. This is an easy way to generate new traffic and subscribers, and get your brand out there!

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Check Out These Wonderful Ideas To Help With Video Marketing

Check Out These Wonderful Ideas To Help With Video Marketing

Video marketing is one of the best techniques you can use to improve your business. 

It is a huge mistake not to utilise this highly effective marketing method. This article contains several great video marketing tips. By studying them carefully and applying them to your business, you are sure to enjoy tremendous success.

Try outlining the path of your video. Great videos make it clear early on what will be discussed during the video. Just diving in your content will not help the viewers understand the benefits of watching it. Start with an outline like you would an essay to explain to viewers early on what to expect during the rest of the video.
What are your customers asking? Do they want to know how to use your products? Would they like to know how you create each item? To answer them, formulate a video which provides a 3-minute peek into whatever it is they wish to know, you'll find they appreciate your efforts.

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You should create a video to document your typical day at work to give your customers an idea of how products are created and shipped. Introduce your colleagues, show your workspace and follow the different steps you go through to complete an order. The goal of this short documentary is to convince viewers that you are a trustworthy professional.

Do you find that customers are emotional about your brand? Put them on video! That's a great way to show potential customers what it's like to buy from you - show them how they will be purchasing a life long bond with your company which is already changing lives around the nation.

Even though you are trying to market a business, it is a good idea to get a little personal with your video delivery. This means that it is okay to share personal stories that may help you connect with others. Make sure you stay professional, since being otherwise may cause you to lose users.

If you are posting videos on a regular schedule, you have to stick to it. Over time, people will begin to anticipate videos from you and your company. The same way people follow television programs, they expect your videos to be released at a specific time and on a specific day. Let them know if there will not be an update or new video coming.

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Even hardened video marketing professionals can learn a thing or two from the viewer comments. If people are telling you about issues with your videos, listen to them. Maybe on slower connections your videos are loading too slow. Listen to what they have to say so that you can adjust your videos and make them work for all viewers.

YouTube is a great way to share your videos but do not expect all your customers to have YouTube accounts. Some people will use their YouTube account to comment and subscribe to your videos, but you should make this content accessible by sharing your videos on your site and social media.

Post your videos to a host of different sites. While YouTube should be your number one choice, don't rely on it entirely. Other sites, like Break and Vimeo, could all be beneficial to you. You may even be able to find a site that caters to your type of business.

As was talked about in the opening paragraph of this article, video marketing is a terrific, highly effective way to improve your business and boost profits. By taking advantage of the great information you've learned by reading this article, you can see higher profits than you ever imagined. Don't wait any longer, start working on your video marketing strategy today!

RIGHT NOW, INTERNET MARKETING IS CHANGING THE BUSINESS MODEL FASTER THAN ANY OTHER TIME PREVIOUSLY

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Real Asset Solutions Australia

Many businesses will simply not survive in their current format and will need to be ready to adapt to fast changes in coming technology should they wish to remain viable.

Gone are the days where a small business can rely on a physical office or retail location to attract new customers. Research clearly shows that those small businesses who are bucking the economic trend and are experiencing growth can attribute most of the growth from online marketing or having an online presence.

Shoppers now have more choice at their fingertips than ever before. Statistics tell us that nearly 50% of people will not do business with a website that does not load correctly, is cumbersome and slow to use or is not designed to be viewed on the persons device. Coupling this is the fact that consumers will use a number of different devices across numerous platforms throughout the day. Mobile is now expected.

A quite remarkable number bandied around is that approximately on 30% of Small Businesses have an internet offering that can not be viewed on any platform and even more astounding is that close to 30% of small businesses in Australia do not have a dedicated website for their business. With over $92 Billion transacted in 2013 via mobile gateways a figure that is over 300% higher that 5 years ago these retailers are missing the opportunity to capture sales from this group of people. They are in fact promoting their business to a little over half of their available markets.

Don’t be fooled by the latest trend or gimmick. Sustained Activity aimed at the correct audience will get you far better results than any tool or software

When the internet first arrived it took many years for people to feel safe enough to purchase and pay for things online. Sites like Ebay were the pioneers that made online purchasing an everyday event. With the introduction of the internet, there were  benefits for small business owners in that it  allowed a particular organisation to reach many prospective clients wherever those clients may be.. Even if you have one store or location you could now advertise your goods/services anywhere in the world.

The hard part for Small Business Owners though is the fact that getting your business on the  internet and getting noticed is not an easy task. Think of the Internet as the biggest shopping mall in the world with new shops opening and others closing every millisecond. Each operator ever more keen to promote their products and services with the latest gadget or plug in.

Think back 20 years ago; having a small flyer designed and printed was a two week-long event – if you were lucky! Today you can order printing from any where in the world and have it delivered to your door within a few days. Not only do you have a product and service far more superior than 20 years ago you also have literally thousands of competitors worldwide all trying to get your business.

The lesson for small business is don’t regard the internet as a medium for advertising your business, if you look at it from that angle you might as well take a classified advert out in every paper in the world. Obviously there needs to be some narrowing down of target markets, research needs to be conducted and testing and improvement is extremely important to develop a profitable distribution channel. All of these things are part of the core principle of Marketing, Product, Price Promotion & Price.

People often confuse marketing as being only advertising related, they feel a catchy slogan or an amazing offer will be enough to sway people to their product or service over their competitors. However Marketing is far more of an exact science that relates to getting a product to market whilst earning the greatest amount of return on your investment of time and money.

Think of Marketing as the recipe to product success; just like with baking a cake some ingredients suit better than others.

The answer and solution is working out what ingredients and at what amount need to be added to your cake mix to bake that award winning masterpiece. Sacrificing water for milk or cream for eggs does not work just as mixing the wrong marketing tools together will not work either.

To succeed online you have to harness and maximise the unique qualities of the web, this includes being able to find a way to offer your clients or customers a better way of doing things or a better experience than they can get elsewhere.

The words Online marketing – these two simple words placed together cover an enormous amount of subject matter, This is where a good marketer will understand that this raw data needs to be filtered and targeted to a point where you now have a method to communicate effectively to  those who may be seeking your product and services and what you are promoting is an enticing offer that in some way is better than your competitors.

Remember as a Small Business you do have some leverage over large competitors in terms of speed to market and the ability to be adaptable without a big bureaucratic noose around your neck. As a small business owner you need to maximise these weaknesses in your competitors Armour and cement your place in the market place before someone in a far far distant place finds your customers and begins to drag them away.

REDDOG Business & Marketing Strategies is an agency that differs from many other marketing consultants as we are salespeople and small business owners ourselves and first and fore most we agree and understand that having the biggest glossiest website or the best pay per click budget is worth nothing unless they are proven to be the right ingredient used at the right time in the right way.

Visit our website www.reddogstrategies.com.au for Free Marketing Tips

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Fast fact:  Practicing inbound marketing results in 54% more leads than outbound marketing, according to HubSpot. But what exactly is inbound marketing, and how does it differ from the way most small businesses market themselves?

If you’ve ever been to one of those networking events where small business owners mingle and make contacts, you’ll probably know this guy: the “pusher.” The pusher shoves his business card in your hand, makes idle small talk that somehow revolves entirely about him, and disappears only when he detects a new victim he can push his card to.

Luckily, this type of event also happens to be the natural habitat of the “puller,” the one who earns your attention by taking an actual interest in your business. She offers tips and advice to overcome your challenges, and volunteers to send you some useful info if you give her your email address.

Those two characters, ladies and gentlemen, are the best examples of outbound marketing and inbound marketing. The first refers to traditional marketing that’s based on pushing and “interrupting” consumers via cold calling, flyers, and emails (as well as billboards and TV/radio spots for big companies). Problem is, studies show that consumers are becoming more and more resilient to that type of marketing: They throw away flyers, ignore mails, and even worse, don’t even see banners anymore, let alone click them.

So what does affect consumers these days? Well, according to a study published last year, 81% of customers go online and read before they make purchases. That’s where inbound marketing comes into play.

Inbound is all about pulling (instead of pushing) current and prospective customers with valuable online content they are already on the lookout for. This content could be text-based like a blog post, or visual like a video or infographic. The basic goals you’ll want to keep in mind are providing quality info to the consumer and finding the right way to connect to your product through that content.

For example, when you think about marketing ideas for restaurants, coupons and print ads usually come to mind. But why not use the best types of content these businesses can offer? For instance, recipes are some of the most popular online attractions, so it’s only natural for a restaurant owner to open a blog with unique recipes—and then use that blog to encourage readers to visit their restaurant. A beauty salon owner, on the other hand, can easily create helpful videos that teach viewers how to create certain hairstyles. That way, when a potential customer searches online for a specific look, they are more likely to discover the video star’s beauty salon—especially if the video is particularly popular.

Of course, if you have a mobile app, inbound marketing is a great way to get people to download it. When consumers read your useful content and then want to stay in touch, it can help to suggest that they download your app to access even more quality content. You can also add content channels like a newsfeed, Facebook, and Instagram to practice inbound marketing within your app.

Now that you understand the value and meaning of inbound marketing, here are eight simple steps you can take to start off on the right foot:

  DEFINE 
As many successful entrepreneurs will tell you, the key to success in life starts with defining what you want to achieve. Answer the following questions:

• “What is my goal? Do I want to raise sales, get more app downloads, or get more reviews?”
• “Who is my target audience? What are their age, gender, and hobbies?”
• “What types of content are they looking for online? What content will bring them actual value?”
• “What sort of content can I provide to offer that information to them? Should I write a guide, shoot a short video, or publish a blog post?”

Have a pen handy? Go ahead and write your answers to all those questions now!

  CREATEOnce you’ve defined your goals, your audience, and the topics they’ll be interested in, you can start producing valuable content! A great way to start is by creating your own blog, as blogs are often considered to be at the heart of inbound marketing. You may want to use WordPress, a free do-it-yourself tool that allows you to create a blog, embed it in your existing website, and even get stats and data about your blog readers. If you don’t feel you have the skills to pull off strong written content, consider alternatives that show your expertise, such as instructional videos and product reviews.

  SHOWIf you choose blogging as a core part of your inbound strategy, keep in mind that too much text could become tiresome for the average consumer. Use interesting and relevant images to spice up your post and make it much more attractive. If you’re a good photographer, you can use images you took yourself, but you can also use free images from sites like Wikimedia Commons (just remember to give credit where needed).

  CONNECTOne of the biggest challenges businesses face is not creating the inbound content itself, but figuring out how to convert readers into paying customers. The key is offering an effective call to action (CTA)—that short sentence that directs your readers to click, sign up, purchase, or otherwise act on the content they’ve just read. To make your CTA successful, keep these two factors in mind:

• Style: Your CTA should be actionable and answer the consumer’s eternal question: “What’s in it for me?” For instance, if you’re writing a product review and your goal is to increase your app downloads, you could end with a message like, “For more professional product reviews that save you time and money, click and download our app,” followed by a hyperlink.

• Position: Your CTA should be placed in a logical place within your content. For example, let’s take a health food shop owner who set out to increase orders through his website. He decides to write a post about the best types of food for energy throughout the day, including relevant products from his shop. At the end of the post, after reviewing the products, it’s only natural for him to close with, “For all the products listed here and many more that’ll give you an energy boost, click here.”

  SPREAD
Now that you’ve created your content, your major mission is to spread it to your customers.Remember your social media channels? Now is the perfect time to post your content on Facebook and Twitter. Not only will you reach your fans directly, but you’ll also supply them with valuable information they long for, the stuff social media marketing gold is made off. Make sure to ask your fans to share the content posted in your updates and tweets.

Got a newsletter or a mailing list? Take this opportunity to grab your customers’ interest by offering them useful content in their inboxes!

  NURTUREInbound marketing is a lot like parenting: It takes time, care, and learning from mistakes to make the best of it. Just like a parent wouldn’t expect their child to start running in their first month, you shouldn’t expect to see significant results immediately. Sure, some of the customers will click your CTA, but most customers will come, read, and go—and that’s OK. Inbound marketing is about creating long-term relationships. Even if they haven’t bought your product on their first visit, if they now know you supply quality content, ultimately they will be more inclined to read your next piece. Provide useful content, and you are bound to see the results on your platform’s statistics page.

  PERSISTInstead of getting discouraged if the statistics say certain types of content do not click with your customers, take it as a learning experience and continue to experiment. Choose a different topic, place the images in another location, or make subtle changes in the CTA. In the end, you’ll find the perfect formula that suits your clients.

  COMBINEInbound marketing is an amazing tool, but that doesn’t mean you should rely solely on it. Instead, combine outbound and inbound techniques to create a killer strategy that customers won’t be able to resist. For instance, send an email with a free how-to blog post and a promotional discount to help drive sales. The key is to always offer actual value and then top it off with a tempting promotion.

If the past couple of years are any indication (and I think they are), inbound is only going to become a more powerful force in online marketing—increasing profits, boosting app downloads, and creating customer relationships. For those businesses still living in the outbound-dominated past, now is the time to start using inbound techniques to better reach customers.

What are your inbound marketing tips? Share them—or any questions—in the comments below

REDDOG Business & Marketing Strategies: Small Business Failure Post GFC

REDDOG Business & Marketing Strategies: Small Business Failure Post GFC: Ever notice how some small businesses seem to thrive under just about any economic conditions, while others constantly struggle and miss op...

Small Business Failure Post GFC

Ever notice how some small businesses seem to thrive under just about any economic conditions, while others constantly struggle and miss opportunities that come their way?

 In part, in might be the type of business, the location, or financial backing.

 But the most successful business owners display some clear patterns and habits.

When struggling entreprenauers were analyzed there were some findings that occurred regularly , there was a period or point in time when a decision was made or not made early enough that started a rapid spiral down in both motivation and more importantly resouces. Trying to make money in business is hard enough, never mind havng to take a large portion of profit out to pay off previous liabilities.

You see profit is the blood flow over every business, not enough and certain areas start starving for resources and ultimately hinder future performance.

Now most people would consider a business failure to be the cause of a misguided enthusiasm coupled with a poorly researched and planned idea. Interstingly, the data does not confirm this, in fact quite the opposite.
Yes, there are many people who have a dream to buy or own a business. Now who wouldn't want that, you're your own person, no one to answer to, you are top dog in the workplace and you'll need a wheelbarrow every Saturday to get all that moolah into the sagging boot of your car.

However, whilst it is correct that the majority of new start up ventures will never gain traction and will swindle down to nothing or the business owner just accepts his fate and takes his medicine, usually a bankruptcy, and a fight to keep hold of that family property you assured everyone would be fine.

No business failure is nice and no real entrepreneur will go through life without there fair share of failure and most who make it the top of the hill can tell the war stories they encountered on the way, as we all know it is tough, emotionally you are up and down like a yoyo and i'm yet to meet a small business owner who hasn't spent at least the occasional evening laying in bed with tired eyes but a head running around like a dog in the butchers shop. Things like "how can i pay that supplier tomorrow, I hope he comes after lunch etc.

Of course for every 8-9 failures , these are usually an result of 1 or  combination of 3 things.

1) WOW Factor - Geez, we thought it would popular but wow. Right time, right product, right place.

2) Deep Pockets,  Now if you can afford to pay the shop rent for a year or so even if no one walked in the door well that turns the tables, it becomes not so much as struggling to get a business to a critical mass point it is more on making sure you do not do anything to harm what is coming or will come in time.

3) The Grafter, these are the people who personally I really admire, not so much as they're the hardest workers, infact that flies in face ove basic management principle, My admiration is based on their tenacity to not give up and if that means working 20 hours a day to break even then so be it, to these people failure is not an option.

The area I want to discuss, is those small businesses that found growth, albeit at a steady consist level, they had operated for for between 2-3 years and began to become a brand rather than just a restaurant or shop.. This could be the couple who took over a restaurant, built it to a sustainable level and even started to leverage by expansion.

This is the point where I think that a lot of potential gold mines die a unfulfilled death, now lets go back to the start, the couple obviously had some skills and obviously people wanted what they were offering. So whst goes wrong.

Well with leverage, every up side has a down side so and just like the sharemarket, the more leveraged you with debt to asset ratios then the more vulnerable to market fluctuations. Cashfow id king in business so if you're not paying bills on time, never mind bein profitable your on a long hising to nothing.

1) Firtstly, without enoogh cash flow the only survival mode is contraction. If a business cant pay for the things it uses to operate on time, then how can you increase that risk by doubling order volumes. and attempt to increase revenue, improve margins and focus on eliminating areas that could e detrimental


other business owners make many of the same mistakes that are often avoidable, especially when it comes to growing a business. Part of the problem is short-term thinking – chasing the latest shiny advertising object that happens to pass by, for example. Or spending too much time seeking new customers and not enough taking care of the ones you have.
Solid, long-term growth starts with what I call “inside-out” thinking – doing the things inside your business that you can control, and paying less attention to the outside things you can’t control.
Here are 10 such “inside out” secrets for successful growth.
 1. Change how you think about growth
Consider growth a constant – not something you switch on or off depending on conditions. For example, many business owners reduce offerings at the first sign of an economic storm, or overspend when the outlook seems rosy. But a steady-as-she-goes approach makes for long term success.
2. Check your ego; seek out sound advice
You know your business inside and out, but that doesn’t make you an expert at running every part of it. Smart business owners know what they don’t know. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and then take it.
3. Remember your first fans
Many entrepreneurs seem to forget who helped them get started. If you have investors, keep them apprised of what’s going on. Good communication is critical.  A good investor group can provide mentoring and other resources, so keep them involved.
4. Share your knowledge
In today’s social media driven world, success and influence are in the hands of those who share ideas and information. So when you’ve found a great tool or solution, or gained insight, tweet it, blog about it, author an article, post it to Facebook.
5. Hire help to watch your money
Lack of strong accounting and finance can be the only thing keeping you from reaching your financial goals. Find well qualified people who share your vision and then step back and take their advice.
6. Know when to persevere
Stick to your mission. Many would-be success stories end prematurely because they give up when challenges mount. Don’t let hurdles stop you. Arm yourself with market knowledge and an expert team and push through.
7. But recognize when to change direction
Still, there are times you may need to change direction or call it day, and having the courage to do so can be liberating. You may end up with a clearer picture of what will or won’t work.
8. Keep cash on hand
One of the biggest mistakes growing businesses make is to run out of cash. While the sun is still shining on your business or before your financial picture has a chance to turn sour, meet with lenders and/or landlords proactively to see if there are opportunities to restructure debt, payment terms, etc. Having cash on hand is critical for staying afloat and continuing to grow.
9. Get more when you have more
Don’t wait until cash balances get low to secure more funding. The best time to get more is when you don’t need it. Securing a line of credit while you still have money in the bank gives you the ability to negotiate a larger line and better terms. It also gives you the ability to make payroll during slow times and to have access to cash as needed. In addition, it gives you an opportunity to develop a business relationship with a bank.
10. Sell when you get the chance
Many business owners miss, or worse – pass up – incredible chances to sell their company because they are not prepared to adequately evaluate the opportunity. Know where you stand in the marketplace at all times. That includes what your potential is, and what it will take to reach your potential.  That way, when opportunity knocks, you’ll know

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STARTING OR CURRENTLY RUNNING A SMALL RETAIL BUSINESS - Is it worthwhile??

Nearly everyone who has ever started a business has underestimated the costs, and then faced the danger of running with inadequate capital reserves. We are told regularly that the key to  avoiding this pitfall is to adopt a rigorous approach to your research and planning prior to committing to even go in to business.


Begin by estimating expenses.  What will it cost you to get your business up and running?  The key to accuracy here is attention to detail. For each category of expense, draw up a list of everything you will need to purchase. This will include both tangible assets (for example, equipment, inventory) and services (for example, remodeling, insurance). Then determine where you might purchase these goods or services. Research more than one vendor; i.e.: comparison shop.  Do not look at price alone; terms of payment, delivery, reliability, and service are also important.

Contingencies

Add a reserve for contingencies.  Be sure to explain in your narrative how you decided on the amount you are putting into this reserve.


Working Capital

You cannot open with an empty bank account. You need a cash cushion to meet expenses while the business gets going. Eventually you should do a 12-month cash flow projection. This is where you will work out your estimate of working capital needs. For now, either leave this line blank or put in your best rough guess. After you have done your cash flow, you can come back and enter the carefully researched figure.


Sources

Now that you have estimated how much capital will be needed to start, you should turn your attention to how you intend to fund your new business. What amount you will put in yourself, how much will be injected by partners or investors, and how much will be supplied by borrowing.


Collateral

If you're going to a bank to request a loan for a new small business, just make sure you take enough collateral to cover at least 80% of the loan. Unfortunately most banks want residential property that is owned by you and does not involve third parties. You have to understand that it seems that most recently, the Australian banks are the most astute at assessing risk, therefore you should take heed at their requests for so much collateral which is nothing more than saying "sure take the cash, good luck and don't forget don't pay and we've got your home in our sight". No wonder small business is so daunting.

As an employee if I make a bad decision ultimately, albeit maybe painful, my employer should not be put in a position of personal bankruptcy & liquidation of their personal assets. However, as a new small business owner, even a small incidental decision can have dire consequences not only you financially but also emotionally for you and those close to you.

Start ups are a massive risk and return on investment proposal. No matter how good the idea or product is, if you can not produce the product and distribute through channels that leave a profit large enough to allow reinvestment in infrastructure and systems then a business based on a good idea is going to suck your resources dry by the pulling at the bit growth the good idea is demanding.

 The above can be, and usually is far more detrimental in the event of a collapse than the little guy who brought a heap of stock and sat in a shop that no one visited.

So a god idea or concept is nowhere near enough of a reason to o in to business.

There are millions of poor people with good ideas and millions of people who have made money with little knowledge or expertise in a particular industry selling products that have been around in the same form for hundreds of years.

What it comes down to is accepting business as a science, sure there are the unknown and unexpected, however fundamentally it all evolves around a simple equation, revenue in - expenses = Gross Profit - interest and tax =  Nett Profit.

An interesting point to divert on here is what the owners does in terms of the day to day operations of a business. Although very broad and vague, generally a business (especially small business) is based on the amount of return received by the owner multiplied by a factor that relates to barrier of entry and longevity of leased premises etc.

Let's look at a small cafe. Owned by a husband and wife who both work full time in the business supported by a few casual staff over peak periods.

The businesses lets say returns $100,000 p/a to the owners who are quite happy with this amount.

Now they place the business on the market and after some research and deliberation decide to value the business based on a factor of 2.5 times there annual profit. After a quick smile at each other they decide to offer the business for sale at $225,000 just to get a quick sale.

Now fast forward 12 months and this couple are still working in their coffee shop. Although they have had numerous parties show various levels of interest nothing has eventuated further than a few visits by possible purchasers. They both look at each other, shrug their shoulders and blame the economic downturn scaring purchasers away.

However let's step away and look at things from a simple investment strategy.

Ok, quite simply the obvious problem here is the business generates a profit of $100,000 p/a based on two owners working full time. If I;m buying a business as an investment the fact I am completing a job in that business should be irrelevant. The duties I perform need to be done by someone in order to achieve the revenue taken, therefore the duties the owner performs should be looked at as a deductible expenses not profit.

Take the owners out of the above business and there would be at least another 80 hours per week in labour to replace them. At $25.00 ph there is $2000 that would then be paid to the employee, on top of that would be workcover and other charges relating to employing some one.

So now as an investor this business may be worth 2.5 times what it makes as it makes nothing.

This couple have brought themselves a job that doesn't provide annual leave, is far from  flexible, has tons of responsibility and unless something dramatically changes is going to provide little if any capital growth. There is also a good chance that within a certain period they will face increased competition and most likely shrinking margins.

Hardly the stuff dreams are made off.

If you're in business or contemplating going in to business don't be a job buying sucker, get some good advice on how to be self employed as an investor, who may or may not work in the business.

Good luck & Happy Entrepreneuring

Mobile Business Is Booming—Miss it and Miss Out! - POSTED BY INNA KUBOVSKI IN SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS

For anyone still dubious about mixing mobile with business, it’s time to get used to the new reality: Mobile is no longer the future. It’s the present. Everywhere you look, the signs point to more and more growth for mobile—and we haven’t even seen the wearable device movement take off yet. The numbers speak for themselves:

• According to The New York Times, the mobile industry is now valued at more than $1.6 trillion. It’s expected to spike to a multi-trillion dollar industry in the next ten years.

• Almost a billion smartphones were shipped in 2013, according to Business Insider.

• On average, we spend one hour each day on our smartphones.

• Perhaps most important of all, mobile devices are the only media devices growing with regards to how much time we spend using them. Time spent on mobiles increased another 8% in 2013, while time spent on desktop, radio, and print all decreased. Amazingly, over a fifth of all Internet traffic is now happening via mobile devices.

And we’re not just using mobiles for fun and games anymore. Mobile devices now account for about 25% of e-commerce traffic and 13% of e-commerce sales. PayPal witnessed $30 billion in mobile transactions in 2013, while Starbucks saw a billion dollars. Apple, meanwhile, earned $10 billion in app revenue last year.

Let’s also remember that the great mobile boom is changing small businesses just as much as big ones—if not more so. A recent survey commissioned by AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council found that small business owners save some $67.5 billion a year by using mobile apps, tablets, and smartphones in their day-to-day business activities. “Apps offer small businesses a means to increase revenues and visibility, as well as enhance the customer experience,” Marla Tabaka explains in Inc. “Whether you own a restaurant, offer a service, write a blog, run events, or manage a DIY platform, you can grow your business just by adding an app.”

The revenue is expected to just keep coming. In her recent State of the Internet talk, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers partner Mary Meeker predicted use of mobiles will keep growing. Meeker sees a $30 billion opportunity in U.S. mobile advertising alone, as consumers spend more and more time on the channel.

Those in the marketing industry take note: Mobile app revenue now accounts for 68% of mobile monetization, making it the biggest opportunity for marketers. What’s more, Gartner predicts that global revenue from app stores will further increase 62% this year to $25 billion.

One vertical that will especially benefit from the mobile boom is the travel industry, with PhoCusWright estimating that by 2015 mobile will make up a quarter of U.S. online travel sales and a fifth of bookings in Europe. This is up from 2% of U.S. online bookings in 2011.

With this kind of growth, it’s no wonder that the Mobile World Congress trade show is such a huge event—this February there were a record 72,000 attendees. As the Times puts it, the event has “evolved from a networking event for industry insiders to a convention where companies from all corners gather to introduce new gear, services, and partnerships to gain attention in an increasingly crowded market.”

It comes down to this: Mobile has become a key channel for reaching customers and sparking sales, whether or not those sales actually occur on a phone. If you’re running a business—big or small—and mobile is not a central part of your strategy, you’re missing out. Big time.

Do you agree? How do you see mobile impacting your business? Share your thoughts!

 - POSTED BY INNA KUBOVSKI IN SMALL BUSINESS MATTERS