Franchise opportunities are plentiful these days because many large and small companies alike have recognized the major benefits that are associated with franchising. There is no better way to expand and spread the brand availability throughout the world today than via franchisees. However, before any budding businessperson decides upon buying a franchise it is necessary to ask several questions. After all, if you are making a major investment in a franchise then you are also making an investment in your future and you need to be absolutely sure of your suitability beforehand.

Why Ask Franchisee Questions?

Franchisee questions are absolutely essential in not only giving yourself peace of mind regarding your investment initially but also to ensure your ongoing happiness and success in your venture. Buying a franchise is a major life choice and not just a business you can play with to suit yourself, so it is important for franchisees to fully understand what is involved.

There are many common questions that franchisees should ask and those that have failed after buying a franchise neglected to ask in advance. All questions should be asked of any venture and not just franchises that are offered by global chains.

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Finding an internet service provider for sale can be challenging.  You will find that the majority of people are reluctant to change internet service providers.  Before you buy an internet service provider, it is important to make sure that the current market trends will support the business.  If you find an internet service provider for sale, it could be because there simply were not enough customers for the business.

Technological Background
In order to operate an internet service provider business, you absolutely have to have a technical background.  You need to know the ins and outs of programming, ISP connections, networking, databases and other aspects of computer technology.  Without this knowledge you will be completely lost and unable to handle tasks without doing 100 percent outsourcing which would cost a fortune.

FCC Regulations
In order to be an internet service provider you need to comply with FCC regulations.  Additionally, there are regulations for different states and even government regulations for this type of business.  Being familiar with all the various regulations will save you from sinking your hard earned money into an investment that you might not even be able to operate.

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When you look at all the “superstars” our heroes, the people we emulate we tend to think they are endowed with Super Powers.  They are able to achieve fame, success, fortune due to abilities beyond those that we have been given.  They are simply blessed. 

However, that isn’t the case.  The people who achieve extraordinary results have simply learned how to use a series of skills to achieve their goals. 

Regardless of how vastly different their goals are, they all use basically the same skills.

The wonderful thing about this fact is that if it is just a skill – skills can be learned.  So you and I can Achieve Extraordinary Results, because, it’s just a skill!

In this program I break down the basic skills for goal setting and achievement into 7 tools and 7 rules.

Achieving Extraordinary Results is simple, but not easy.  It seems to me there are three reasons why this is the case for most of us.

First, we live in a society that gives us far too many options.  When we run into resistance we can simply move to something else. We lose sight of the objective.   It is easy to quit without penalty or consequence. 

Second, we have become lazy.  Everyone wants to stand on the platform and receive the gold medal, but few want to actually work for it.  We want the rewards without the work.  Since most of us can get that to some degree, we don’t push ourselves to goal achievement. 

Thirdly, and most importantly,  we really don’t know how to Achieve Extraordinary Results, it is not taught – until now. 

The most important skill that we are missing is the first of the 7 tools and that is how to actually set an achievable Goal. 

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There is so much information floating around out there about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to get some rankings.  So much of it is contradictory and confusing.   I wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about the secrets of top rankings. 

So, let’s jump right in with the secrets to SEO success…

Search Engine Secret # 1: There are no secrets!  The search engines make it all very public and clear what you need to do to get top rankings.  The success lies in the details and proper implementation.  But there is no top secret, proprietary technique for getting top rankings.

OK, so now we all know there are no secrets, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t information you need to know, such as:

If you don’t optimize your site, you won’t get top rankings.  It really is that plain and simple.  If the engines can’t spider your site and you don’t have links and strong content, you don’t stand a chance against the sites that do have all that in place.  So many people don’t want to spend money on SEO, or are afraid to take the plunge but then they can’t understand why they don’t have rankings.  So maybe there is a secret – maybe the secret is take action and get your site optimized!

Your site structure matters!  I can’t tell you how often people have said to me “I know my site is a mess, but I don’t want to spend the money fixing it, so can’t you just throw up some keywords and Meta tags and get me some rankings?”   Ummmm, no, I can’t.  Your site structure is your foundation.  You would never build a house without a solid foundation, why would you build an SEO campaign without a solid foundation? 

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In today’s tough business climate, managers and executives are becoming obsolete and are being replaced by leaders. The new manager/executive must be an expeditor and leader rather than an order giver and manager of people.

In this article, I have documented what I have found to be the leadership skills and abilities that are valued in leaders today. If you are looking to build a high performance team or company, these are the leadership traits that you and your managers should be focused on to improve personal and business performance.

1. Vision

Leaders have the ability to see things as they should become. Defining the organization’s direction, the leader defines the organization’s future.

2. Communication

Leaders are able to get others to share in their vision. They communicate in a clear and powerful way. Whether in large meetings or personal discussions, they never miss an opportunity to pass along their message.

3. Flexibility

Leaders are willing to learn. Leaders will be committed to furthering their own knowledge as well as making sure others keep up with the demand for a better educated workforce.

4. Action Oriented

Leaders know that it is not enough just to gather up the good ideas of others. When new ways of doing things can be implemented, putting them into action will fall on the shoulders of the entire team.

5. Bottom Line Thinker

Leaders know the financial conditions and limitations of the organization. Once they have the same information as senior executives, it is expected that they will reach the same decisions.

6. Builds Rapport

Leaders let the person or group know they understand their viewpoint, whether they agree or not.

7.

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“Lead, follow, or get out of the way.” – Thomas Paine

In theory corporate policy is to encourage creative thinking, initiative and growth. 

Their communications policy is to quickly and accurately support all of the audiences. 

Firms constantly seek new ways to efficiently and effectively accomplish that goal…as long as it follows corporate policy and conventional wisdom.

Conventional wisdom says:

1. Public relations should be the sole spokesperson for the company

The more mature the company, the more mature the PR policy.  Unlike business processes and procedures as well as product lines that are constantly evaluated regarding their value to the company and the consumer, PR policy is seldom scrutinized.  Few organizations seriously look closely to see if old efforts, measures and controls make sense in today’s environment.  Hence releases and clippings are the key measurement.

Many monolithic firms have a clear policy that conceals marketing, product and engineering management from the press.  Policy dictates that all queries must be centrally managed, filtered and controlled.  

In an era of global communications, some still focus on attempting to manage, even manipulate news coverage.

In this scenario the probing press-type explains the problem, question, issue to the PR person.  He or she will interpret it to one or more of the internal contacts.  They will then filter the query to someone else who will provide an answer (or partial answer).  This will be passed to the PR person who will then provide the information to the member of the media. 

If only part of the answer is provided, if it stimulates an added question or if clarification is needed; the cycle begins again. 

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Writing a business should be the first step before you start your business. Reducing your ideas to writing will greatly assist you along the way as you develop and mature your thoughts and decision making. It is often in the process of writing the plan itself that your vision is strengthened and galvanized into you mission statement and direction. Though a business plan, in order to be effective, needs to be a working and actionable document updateable at least on an annual basis and more often if situations warrant. A good business plan will contain the below components which are essential to the overall plan’s depth and ultimate success:
 

Cash Forecasts. Perhaps the biggest failing of entrepreneurs and business owners alike is their failure to carefully contemplate and plan for amount of cash that will be needed to adequately fund the business’s growth and day-to-day operations. It has been often said, “tongue in cheek,”  that one should carefully evaluate and plan for the cash flow that will be needed to run a business and then they should double it Often owners will spend cash without thinking ahead or re-forecasting for the next months and years only to find, if they had a “do-over” that they would have been more prudent with their spending. Developing a systematic and cautious methodology for spending that includes checks and balances, layers of approval, ample cushions and available credit are good defenses to ensure sound cash management practices. Great caution should be exercised to ensure that credit is only used when needed and not when convenient, when there is adequate investment in the expenditure/project by the company, and when there is a sound, reliable and predictable basis for repayment.
 

Budgets.

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These time tested techniques will do much to enlighten you to discover “hidden information” and relevant data as you prepare your 2008 Year-End Income Tax Returns. Whether you are a C Corporation, S Corporation, in Ministry, an LLC or LLP, Partnership or proprietorship looking beyond the numbers is the best way to discover critical and insightful news to help make wise and informed financial and business decisions. Whether you have a CPA prepare the return for your business or you chose to “go it alone” seeking out and utilizing this data will make you a wiser and more dutifully informed owner and entrepreneur. Evaluating and staying abreast of these key ratios, components and insights well help you steer clear of financial disaster:
 

Limit Debt Payments

We are continually exhorted to limit our debt payments but our society and now even our government has gotten on the band wagon of debt is good. In fact even the recent $15,000 “tax credit” announced by the IRS is not really a credit at all but a loan, as these monies will have to be ultimately repaid. By limiting your debt payments, you allow yourself to both have discretionary spending, to take advantage of opportunities, and to fulfill your mission statements and dreams. For the only way to have money, is not to spend it. A good general rule of thumb goes back to the old days of mortgage lending when debt could not exceed 25% of aggregate income and cash flow. In a bad economy a better goal would be 15% and when it is anticipated that interest rates are going to rise, then limiting your total debt payment to less than 10% would be prudent and advantageous. If we do not limit our debt then we will certainly become its slave.
 

Avoid Credit

If there is a key item on this list, it would be to avoid credit in its entirety.

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Helping to lift the veil of business is a key concern and goal for all those concerned in pursuing the furtherance of your business venture. Keeping these basic tenants in mind will do much to ensure your business success, and in so doing will enable the spiritual goals of it as well. These considerations will help you along the way and to ensure that your plans are both achievable and achieved.
 

Financial Model/Business Plan

Perhaps the most important first step is the development of a Financial Model/Business Plan. Such a plan should take the form of a written document and should be detailed enough so that someone independent of your operations would be able to review and to quickly discover your business resources, talents, goals, and plans to get there. A good business plan would contain all of the following:

• Description. Knowing and documenting who you are and what your short and long term vision are the essential components of this section.
• Marketing. Knowing how you plan to grow your business, church or ministry is integral to having a workable and viable plan.
• Financial Management. Knowing your financial strengths and weakness and your cash flow needs and need for capital are a critical part of the process.
• Management. Knowing not only the needs of key management players and the “trigger dates” for bringing on additional staff and administration are integral components of the success quotient.

Writing a business plan is your first step to maintain order and to develop a well-thought out and seasoned plan. It is during this process that many “missteps” can be avoided with wise and judicious planning.
 

Plan, Plan, Plan

Business Planning and its continual updating are essential.

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When you are looking for great investments to improve your portfolio, you will probably look for the most obvious business opportunities, such as retail, property and financial companies. However, there are plenty of smaller and yet just as profitable industries out there, and many businesses for sale that you should look at within them. For example, you will probably not entertain the idea of purchasing a print shop business for sale, but if you did buy a print shop business then you could actually sit back and enjoy the profit with none of the hard work, as well as tap into one of the most profitable industries out there at the moment.

Profitability
The profitability of the average print shop business for sale is in excess of $25,000 per year under the right management, and that is one of the smaller companies out there. The large ones have the potential to earn much more! However, poor management may turn a loss rather than a profit so be aware that it is may not necessarily be the shop that is to blame for a lack of profit and poor cash flow. These are cheap little businesses that can be picked up for less than $100,000 but can make you the same amount in a couple of years.

When you want to buy a print shop business and are looking at the profitability of an individual business then hire an accountant with experience in turning losses into profits to have a look. He or she will be able to identify areas in the cash flow statements that cause unnecessary losses as well as comment on the profitability in line with the figures given.

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If you ask the common man or woman on the street to name a film director then eight answers out of ten would always be the same man – Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg is one of the giants of the film industry as a result of a string of hit movies that he has made since the 1970s. He also has the major honour of being the highest grossing filmmaker of all time with a total that stands at the $8 billion mark. As such, the entrepreneur is an amazing example of what can be done in any given industry with a little perseverance and talent. Moreover, he has proved that major success is possible in an industry that is characterised by its fierce competition.

Early Life And Career

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 18, 1946, Steven Spielberg was born into a Jewish family that was extremely closely knit. As such, he had the freedom to enjoy his childhood without the burden that many of his generation of entrepreneurs did. He was making films from an early age and was amazingly making films that surpassed 30 minutes by the age of 13. In fact, it only took him until the age of 16 to make his first feature length independent film. His budget was $400 and he made a $100 profit!

After his move to California, Steven Spielberg tried to enrol in college to study film but was repeatedly rejected. Instead, he obtained an internship at Universal Studios where the entrepreneur learned how to use the editing suite. Although he did eventually get into college, Spielberg was hired by Universal Studios to be a television director and was the youngest director ever to work there. Spielberg knew that his opportunity would eventually come, and so it did a few years later when he was offered the opportunity to direct Jaws.

The Big Time

Jaws was a massive hit at the box office and catapulted the budding entrepreneur into the big time.

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Some modern entrepreneurs have an impressive formal education, but in years gone by those wanting to make the big money leagues had to learn the hard way. They had to learn via sheer hard work and they started at the bottom before climbing the ladder of success. A prime example of that old school philosophy was one of the greatest American fashion designers that ever lived, Calvin Klein. Today, Calvin Klein is a household name as a result of his success on the catwalk, but life was not always that way for the entrepreneur.

The Humble Beginnings Of Calvin Klein

Calvin Richard Klein was born in The Bronx, New York on November 19, 1942. His parents were Jewish-Hungarian immigrants and struggled to make ends meet. However, they had high hopes for their creative son, who won scholarships to both the High School of Industrial Art and then the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Although Klein showed promise, he failed to graduate after dropping out. With no contacts and no money, the future entrepreneur was forced to take a job at a suit manufacturer in 1962 and learned everything he needed to know about his trade there.

His apprenticeship in the world of fashion lasted five years, during which time he went from fashion store to fashion store until he had saved enough money to open his own fashion shop. It was then he met Baron de Gunzberg, the man that launched Calvin Richard Klein’s career into orbit.

New York Fashion

Calvin Klein’s work had attracted the attention of the Baron, who was the star of the New York fashion circle at that time, in 1968. It was through him that Klein began to meet the cream of the fashion crop and build a reputation as a fashion force. Klein’s style was undoubtedly minimalist and this trait ensured that his work was a hit.

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No matter where you are in your career, you can always benefit from keeping up with the latest literature related to career and professional development. Whether you would benefit from learning how to land the job of your dreams, how to get a promotion, or just how to function more effectively in your current career, there are excellent career development books that can be of great benefit to you.  

As a professional it’s important to continue learning and growing throughout your career, and keeping up with the latest professional development literature is a great way to stay ahead of the curve. The time you spend reading career development books is an investment in your long-term career success.  

Reading career development books enables you to learn from leading experts in the field from the comfort of your own home. No matter what professional or personal challenges you face related to your career, you’ll be able to find books that can provide valuable insights and tips regarding your employment-related concerns.  

Suggested Topics Include:

The following list includes a selection of current career development literature. These books are great tools for individuals seeking to grow as professionals. They are a great starting point, but just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the many publications that can provide guidance for building the career of your dreams.  

Career Advancement: Whether you are just starting out in your career, seeking a promotion, or are thinking about taking your career in a new direction, you will benefit from the practical tips and suggestions in Stepping Up: 12 Ways to Rev Up, Revitalize, or Renew Your Career by S. Gary Snodgrass. 

Take Charge of Your Career: Have you ever been faced with a difficult career situation that literally seemed to come out of nowhere?

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When you’re getting ready to attend a trade show, it’s a good idea to spend some time thinking about how you are going to set up your booth. When preparing for a trade show, you have to find the fine line between an adequate display and one that is too cluttered. Many trade show participants make the mistake of putting too much stuff on display, which results in an exhibit area that is crowded and difficult to manage.  

Think Visual Appeal

When you are setting up your tradeshow booth, don’t focus your efforts on trying to cram every piece of promotional material you own on the table. Instead, think about what you can do to make the design and setup of your booth have visual appeal to trade show attendees.  

Keep in mind that your booth has to be attractive enough to entice people to approach you so that you have an opportunity to educate them about your company’s products and services. Don’t make the mistake of making your display look so overwhelming that attendees are turned off by your display or find themselves too intimidated to approach you. 

How to Display Company Literature

You should definitely include some type of company literature on your trade show display. For most businesses, a general brochure is the ideal item to pass out at trade shows. You should bring a sufficient quantity of brochures to the trade show with you, but don’t stack all of them up on your booth at the same time. Instead, put out just a few at a time, and replenish throughout the day as your supplies begin to dwindle.  

How to Avoid the “Grab and Run”

Many people who attend trade shows take great joy in the freebies that vendors give away at their booths.

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Do you ever get times in your business where you’re really busy and then other times when you’re really quiet? Annoying isn’t it and frustrating? Wouldn’t it be much easier if you had business constantly coming in and never faced the really quiet times? 

Well, let’s see if this situation sounds familiar to you. One of my clients had lots of feast and famine times in her business. Analysing her business further, we concluded that when it was quiet in her business, she often panicked and did loads and loads of marketing resulting in customers. When her business was busy though, she didn’t have time to do any marketing so eventually customers dried up and when they did, she did some marketing again. 

That way, she virtually guaranteed herself the peaks and troughs a lot of business owners are familiar with. Are you the same in your business? Do you only do marketing when you can see current projects drying up and ignore it when you’re really busy? 

If you want to even out the peaks and troughs in your business, the easiest way to do that is to do marketing all the time – yes, even when you’re busy and you don’t have time.  

Why? Well, any marketing that you do today takes a little while to have an impact in your business. I usually give out an average of three months (although it does vary from business to business). That means that any marketing you do today, will take an average of three months for you to see the results in your business. 

So, it stands to reason that if you’re really busy today and do some marketing, you won’t see the impact immediately, but you will see the results two or three months down the line. Instead of getting quieter during this period, you’ll actually have business coming in through the door – how great would that be? 

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Recently we were told in no uncertain terms by a client’s prospective customer that she had seriously considered our product but after reading customer reviews on one of the many public consumer review sites.

She addressed her issues to us directly because ours was the only personal contact on the web site.  The others were sales@, customer support@, etc. 

She wasn’t the first prospective customer or actual user to contact us.

She won’t be the last.

The Internet and Web technologies have changed the way public relations professionals interact with others and in fact have changed the definition of publics.

Today your publics are online.  Having a visitor friendly web site is simply part of the cost of doing business.  PR should be part of the team that has inputs to and develops/maintains the site but only part of the enterprise-wide team.

However, most site visitors view the company web site as the starting point of their search…not the end.

There is literally a world of opportunities to find out about you, your products and yes your customer support.
 

Being Involved

Public relations people have to be more than just aware of the information options, they have to be involved with them…all of them.

Teens, tweens and millennials can hardly recall the pre-digital days.  Gen Xers and boomers have found the benefits of being online.  They don’t simply use the Internet as a means of doing business or staying in touch. 

The IP (Internet protocol) address is their doorway to the world of news, information and entertainment.

It means that PR pros have to open up to think beyond the 1 : many activities to efforts that help the company interact with prospects and customers. 

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Over the years hundreds of highly respected professionals, analysts and educators have developed comprehensive and sometimes complicated descriptions of public relations and corporate communications.  There have been heated discussions regarding the separation of public relations from advertising, public relations from marketing and the role public relations should play of the organization.

What is most counter-productive has been public relations desire to distance itself from the distasteful task of actually “selling” the company, its propositions, its products, its technologies and its services.  If it doesn’t help perpetuate the company what value does it serve…regardless of the definition?

We recently read one of the clearest, most concise and easiest to understand descriptions of public relations.  It stripped away all of the rhetoric and all of the lofty philosophy…”effective public relations is simply applied common sense.”

Common sense says that a company must achieve sales and must produce profit if it is to survive.  If it doesn’t survive then it stands for nothing and is worth nothing.  Done properly public relations adds value by employing people, by providing a return to shareholders, by supporting our governmental institutions and by delivering product/service value to customers.

Common sense says that for programs to be successful they must be founded on business objectives, not “PR” objectives.  They must focus on the company’s brand equity, not on individual products.  This branding activity must extend beyond media relations, charitable giving, legislative relations and other niches. 

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Most entrepreneurs avoid writing a business plan until they’re confronted with  the ultimate obstacle:  a need for outside funding.  The first question out of a  lender’s mouth, whether an angel, venture capitalist or banker* is inevitably, “Can I see your business plan?”  If you don’t have one, the conversation ends there. 

So if you’re unsure about needing a business plan, or if you’re sure you don’t need one, you should ask yourself the following questions—just one “yes” means you need a business plan. 

If you’re a start-up:

• Do you need outside funding (i.e., money from someone else)?
• Should you think about the big picture—where you want to go and how you’re going to get there?
• Do you want to avoid as many mistakes as possible?

If you’re an existing business:

• Do you need outside funding?
• Do you feel like your business is running you rather than you running your business?
• Do you want be more proactive and less reactive?

A business plan is an invaluable investment of your time and effort, regardless of whether you need outside financing.  I liken it to eating your vegetables—you may not like it, but it’s really good for you.  Why?  Because a successful business needs a solid foundation from which to grow.

What follows are the three most frequent excuses entrepreneurs use to rationalize why they’re not writing a business plan.  Since a business plan can mean the difference between success and failure, be sure not to fall into this trap.

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The number of resources available to help write a business plan is virtually infinite.  With the aim of narrowing down the list to a helpful few, here are a few of my favorites:

Business Plan Website

The Small Business Administration (SBA) at www.sba.gov.  The specific link for business plans is:

www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/index.html.

Business Plan Book

My favorite book is The Business Planning Guide by David H. Bangs, Jr.  It explains each part of a business plan in clear, concise language without too much jargon.  Examples can be found throughout.

In-Person Assistance

These wonderful organizations offer literature, seminars, workshops and consulting services at little or no cost:

• SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives):  www.score.org

• SBDCs (Small Business Development Centers):  www.sba.gov/sbdc

Legal Issues

Nolo Press (www.nolo.com) is the resource for legal information for consumers and small businesses.  Their legal self-help publications address a wide variety of topics, and can be purchased online or found in local bookstores and libraries.  More importantly, their information is trustworthy and easy to understand.  Topics include patents, trademarks as well as how to decide on the best legal entity for your company (LLC, incorporate, etc.).

Creative Financing

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Attracting an investor is like attracting a mate—you want to pique the investor’s interest without showing all your cards at the outset.  The perfect vehicle for achieving this delicate balance is the Executive Summary.

The goal of an Executive Summary is to whet the appetite of the investor by presenting a compelling premise, an irresistible hook.  Your short (5 pages or less) document is meant to give a potential investor every reason to say “yes” and little reason to say “no” to a face-to-face meeting.

While it’s typically included as part of the business plan, the Executive Summary should ideally function as a stand-alone document.  Its function is to build enough interest to get you meetings with potential investors.  Once you’re at the meeting, then you can dazzle them with your presentation and ready answers.  Ideally your Executive Summary should include the following 10 ingredients:

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