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Bookkeeping Scares Me!
Does the thought of bookkeeping scare you? Do you dread sitting down at your computer and entering all your receipts, deposits, and making sure everything is documented right for taxes? Never fear, there is a new, more affordable solution to having your bookkeeping done. Two words-Virtual Assistant. The industry of virtual assistance is relatively new, though the concept has been around for some time. With the age of computers, it has made the opportunity for small business owners to outsource their bookkeeping (and administrative tasks-but that is another article) to a qualified

ead to the next section. Marketing. More specifically defining my target market. Who was my customer? I was going after the wedding industry’s customer base. So I hopped on the Internet and went to the census bureau’s site www.census.gov and did a search for marriage statistics in my state. From that I was able to determine how many people had gotten married in recent years. I wrote a few paragraphs about that info.

Two sec

Top Five Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
In this article I’ll share the top five marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. As a strategic business development, PR and marketing expert, I am often called in to set up a marketing plan, media plan and a delivery system for companies who wish to use an in-house marketing team rather than a consultant. This is absolutely fine with me, except that no one likes seeing their baby turned over to someone without the skills to follow through. So this brings me to the #1 marketing mistake:1. Number One marketing mistake is handing your business development and therefore the future

The very first business plan I ever wrote was praised by the Small Business Development Center counselors and loan officers and immediately accepted and forwarded to the local SBA representative for approval. And no, I didn’t use canned software.

When I realized a business plan would be needed for my small business startup I scoured the Internet and read books and was so intimidated by all the required financial reports I put it aside for two years. But I knew a business plan was going to be a necessity if I was going to get serious about my business idea.

It took me only three weeks from beginning to end and was about 15 pages long. And it contained every single required report. How did I do it? I scoured the Internet for information. I did searches on business plans and compared several outlines against what was recommended at the SBA’s (Small Business Administration) web site. What I quickly discovered was that there was one generally acceptable format that contained very specific essay and financial reports.

At first glance it looked so daunting. But I was so tired of the corporate grind and I wanted so much to have my own business that I pressed forward. I took it one step at a time.

One of the required items was the business description. Within that section was to be a description of the competition. Easy. The reason I knew my idea was a winner was because there was very little competition in the immediate and surrounding area. I simply did a short write up describing those businesses and added a quick comparison showing how my idea differed from and improved upon those existing businesses.

That wasn’t so hard. Maybe I can do this. With newfound confidence I forged ahead to the next section. Marketing. More specifically defining my target market. Who was my customer? I was going after the wedding industry’s customer base. So I hopped on the Internet and went to the census bureau’s site www.census.gov and did a search for marriage statistics in my state. From that I was able to determine how many people had gotten married in recent years. I wrote a few paragraphs about that info.

Two sect

Leadership Skills For A Crisis
TIME. TIME. TIME is the main problem. Or rather, lack of time. Too little time to plan, to decide, to execute the plan.Your usual coping strategies, even your best ones, may not work in a crisis. New strategies for gathering information, judging its usefulness, and deciding on the best option are absolutely necessary.You've probably never faced a situation like this. That's why it's a "CRISIS". Otherwise, it would be a problem or a challenge, but not a crisis. For a problem or a challenge, you have a set of learned behaviors, such as: 1. gather the facts, 2. consider o

ut it aside for two years. But I knew a business plan was going to be a necessity if I was going to get serious about my business idea.

At first glance it looked so daunting. But I was so tired of the corporate grind and I wanted so much to have my own business that I pressed forward. I took it one step at a time.

Two sec

Small Office Congratulations With A Gift Basket
In small offices these days, seems that the few works are not given enough praise on the good jobs they do. By the amount of cut backs that offices have, at times these workers are worked to the bone and never give recognition.Managers and owners should take the time to give the staff an item that will show their appreciation. By taking time out of your day and getting a secretary a gift or small gift basket can make them feel they are needed and many times, they work harder to see if they get more. By taking your time several times a year to do this will keep your staff happ

all Business Administration) web site. What I quickly discovered was that there was one generally acceptable format that contained very specific essay and financial reports.

At first glance it looked so daunting. But I was so tired of the corporate grind and I wanted so much to have my own business that I pressed forward. I took it one step at a time.

Two sec

Wealthiest 10% of Americans Name Top Quality Brands for 8 Products in New Survey
The seventh in a continuing series of twice-yearly surveys by The American Affluence Research Center (AARC) reveals the brands considered to have the highest quality, regardless of price, by the wealthiest 10% of Americans, the 11 million households representing about half of all consumer income and spending, a third of the total US economy, and 70% of the personal wealth of Americans.Just released, the AARC report, The Luxury Market: Spring 2005 Survey of Affluent Americans, shows the affluent named Rolex, Cartier, and Tag Heuer as the top three brands for quality, regardless o

section was to be a description of the competition. Easy. The reason I knew my idea was a winner was because there was very little competition in the immediate and surrounding area. I simply did a short write up describing those businesses and added a quick comparison showing how my idea differed from and improved upon those existing businesses.

Two sec

Talk Isn't Cheap
The most successful organizations have good communication skills. Survey after survey bears this out. Poor communication skills are often cited in employee surveys as a reason for poor morale and performance.Having been in the business of building organizational communication skills for more than 25 years, I've seen firsthand the positive impact these skills can have upon a company. Speaking with respect and active listening are so important that I don't understand why more organizations don't teach these important skills. They can truly differentiate you from your competitors a

Two sections down with just a few more to go. It wasn’t such an insurmountable task after all! I realized the essay portions could be written in such a way that I was able to summarize my information into a few concise paragraphs for each section.

The secret to the essay portions was to use an exciting voice with very descriptive adjectives. I wanted to grab the reader’s attention and see why I was so excited about this business. I especially took great care to write the Executive Summary as a brief, but stimulating and provocative attention grabber. (It is extremely important to hook the reader from the get go so they continue on with the rest of the plan.)

The financial statements were just as easy to tackle. The first thing to do was the assumptions. To do that I simply took the selling price of my service (or product) and determined how much I would make in sales per day, week, month and year. That basic information was the basis for the remaining financial reports.

For example, the Cash Flow Statement is simply a detailed “budget”. You take your monthly sales assumptions and add any other incoming “cash” (loan dollars for example) and subtract your expenses. Carry over any extra (or loss) to the next month until you have populated the statement for 12 months. Voila! Another section completed.

Three weeks from start to finish.

When it was completed I took it to the local SBDC office (usually housed in community colleges) for their review and advice. They were floored that I had completed it myself without software. And better yet, they loved it so much they said it was good to go. They suggested local banks that were favorable to start ups and off I went.

The loan officer

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Writing a resignation letter can be a difficult task especially if you have been with your employer for a long time. The key to resigning from your current job is actually pretty simple.

In this e-zine we give you our 10 Commandments for the professional membership sales consultant. What are yours?

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