It is almost everyone’s dream – to have your own business, be your own boss, make your own decisions and control your time.  We hear or read about success stories of people who leave the corporate world, work on their dreams and rake in cash.  Is it that simple?

First of all, you must have a plan.  Get a grip of your skills – what you do best.  Decide which industry you will get into by knowing your passion, strengths and interests. Will you be offering a product or a service?  Will this address a need?  Is there a demand for it?  Will you create a unique product or put a new spin to an existing one?  Or, will you provide a special service?  Will your business invite repeat customers?

Study the competition.  Do not get into a business already saturated with competitors.  How much will it cost you to start the business?  Where will you get your business financing?  How big do you want your business to be?  How many employees do you need at the start?  Are you willing to take risks?

Approach your plans methodically.  Ask around.  Seek advice and suggestions.  Do your research and write down important details.  Without the right preparation and mind set, you might end up broke and disappointed.

The following is a how-to article at AllBusiness.com about brothers Ian and Shep Murray.  Ian and Shep built Vineyard Vines clothing company, and they are sharing their start-up lessons with David Worrell.                                 

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John Warrillow’s article at StartupNation.com relates the experience of Michael Dell of Dell and Ross Slater of Highspot on their negative cash flow after their startups.  To solve their business financing problem, they required their customers to pay upfront upon placing their product orders.  By reversing the typical cash cycle, Dell was able to use his customers’ money to fuel his company’s growth and required less borrowing to grow the business.

Your startup will need a lot of cash if you’re paying for stuff before you sell it. If you begin to grow fast, this negative cash flow cycle can cause a catastrophe.

It almost did for technology giant Dell back in the ’90s. Dell used to inventory parts and pay suppliers for the gear it kept on hand to make computers when customers called. The company ran short of cash and almost choked on its own growth.

Galvanized by the near-death experience, Michael Dell himself set out to remake his company’s cash flow by charging customers before buying the bits and bobs needed to build the computers they ordered. By reversing the typical cash cycle, he was able to use his customers’ money to fuel his growth, which meant he required very little external money to grow the business.

Highspot is a small, Toronto-based startup that charges up-front for everything it does. Co-founder Ross Slater explains the company’s payment policy: “In the beginning, the cash flow helped us get started without a lot of financing. Now we see prepayment as a mutual commitment to the success of the relationship we’re creating with our clients. By paying up-front, the client commits to participating in the process, and we commit to providing value and delivering on the trust they have placed in us.”

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The National Federation of Independent Business reports that U.S. small businesses laid off employees for the fifth straight month in October.  Employment fell by an average of 0.1 per firm from 0.3 in September. Reuters.com also disclosed that nonfarm payrolls increased 95,000 last month after rising 103,000 in September.  This finding does not augur well for the foreseen economic recovery.

U.S. small businesses shed employees for a fifth straight month in October, but the pace of layoffs moderated, a survey showed on Thursday.

The National Federation of Independent Business said employment fell by an average of 0.1 per firm from 0.3 in September, according to its survey of 2,077 small businesses.

The persistently weak U.S. labor market has been in sharp focus as a key issue holding back the economic recovery.

The government will release its closely watched monthly payrolls report on Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased 95,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey, after rising 103,000 in September.

Though the estimated gain in nonfarm employment is below the prior month’s count, it is actually an improvement given that September payrolls were lifted by the return of 45,000 striking Verizon Communications workers.

The jobless rate is seen holding steady at 9.1 percent for a fourth straight month.

The NFIB survey showed 12 percent of small-business owners added an average of 3.2 workers over the past few months, while 11 percent reduced employment by an average of 3.6 workers, an improvement from September.

The remaining 77 percent of owners made no net change in employment, with just under a third reporting few or no qualified applicants for positions.

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The 2012 Business Excellence Awards is now accepting nominations for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award until December 15.  This award recognizes business owners or entrepreneurs who excelled in bringing their companies to exceptional growth in 2011.  The Business Excellence Awards cap the 2-day Business Excellence Forums to be held in 3 regions – the U.S. (Memphis, Tennessee), U.K. (Berkshire) and Australia (Gold Coast) early next year, according to the PRNewswire.com.

The 2012 Business Excellence Awards issued a call for entries today, in the category of Entrepreneur of the Year, seeking to honor the “Best of the Best” in results for small-and-medium sized businesses in 2011.

The Entrepreneur of the Year Award will recognize entrepreneurs who have achieved outstanding results since the beginning of 2011.

Entry kits for this and every category in The 2012 Business Excellence Awards may be requested at http://www.actioncoach.com/businessforum2012-awards

The entry deadline is December 15, 2011.

Recognized as the premier awards competition for small businesses in the world, the Business Excellence Awards serve as an appropriate conclusion to the 2-day Business Excellence Forum, and honors those business owners and their companies who have taken their companies, teams and results to “the next level” of success.

The Business Excellence Awards will conclude each of three 2012 Business Excellence Forums.

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Starting an e-commerce business used to cost a lot decades ago.  But these days, a personal home-based business website is almost within everyone’s reach.  Marty Zwilling in Startup Professionals Musings offers a guide on how to set up your own website.  With low cost tools, you can customize your site according to your needs and requirements.  That, though, is just the easy part.  Then, you have to promote, market and blog.

If you have a unique creation or invention, and you are not selling it around the world on the Internet, now is the time to start. The cost of entry has never been lower. Anyone can be an entrepreneur today, without a huge investment, bank loans, venture capitalists, or Angels.

In the early days (20 years ago), most new e-commerce sites cost a million dollars to set up. Now the price is closer to $100, if you are willing to do the work yourself. Here are the key steps for a personal home-based business website selling a few products (as an alternative to Ebay):

1.     Go online to reserve a website domain name. Be sure it matches your business, and get a hosting agreement from one of the popular providers like GoDaddy. The cost for the domain name is maybe $10/year, and the hosting starts around $50/year. Start simple.

2.     Download free website tools. Many hosting services offer free tools, or will build a default website for you. Other popular tools are available at low cost, with built-in e-commerce capabilities (pay via PayPal or credit card), including FrontPage in the Microsoft Office Suite, and DreamWeaver by Adobe.

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UPI.com presented statistics from surveys by Nationwide Financial and the Harris Poll about the lack of a 401 (k) plan or similar employee self-funded retirement plan for small businesses.  While majority of small business owners say having such a plan attracts qualified employees, they say that they find this too expensive to offer their employees.

Three-quarters of small business owners say so many Americans are financially unprepared for retirement it’s reached crisis levels, a survey says.

A survey of small business owners by Nationwide Financial indicates small businesses may add to the problem because only 19 percent of these businesses offer their employees a 401(k) or other employee self-funded retirement plan.

The Harris Poll of 501 small business owners indicates only 11 percent say they are likely to add an employee sponsored 401(k) plan within the next two years, 69 percent say they won’t because their business is too small, and more than half say it would be too expensive.

Thirty-seven percent of small business owners with more than six employees say they are under pressure from employees to offer a retirement plan, and 78 percent of that group say having a retirement plan is effective in helping to attract qualified employees.

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Reuters.com presented data from Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index showing an increase in borrowing by small businesses.  This bodes well for the economy as small business account for the largest share for new hires.  There is also a drop in delinquencies, PayNet data shows.  PayNet gathers data from over 250 leading U.S. capital equipment lenders.

Small U.S. businesses borrowing surged in October, registering a 15th monthly double-digit increase and signaling the economy will continue to grow in coming months.

The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, which measures the overall volume of financing to U.S. small businesses, rose 20 percent in October after increasing a revised 12 percent in September, PayNet said on Thursday.

Still, at 98.1, the index shows borrowing has not yet recovered to its level of 100 reached in 2005, well before the credit boom that burst with disastrous effects in 2007 and 2008.

Increased borrowing by small businesses points to better times for the broader economy because small firms account for the lion’s share of new hiring. Companies use loans to buy equipment, and they need people to operate that equipment.

“It’s not showing tremendous strength,” PayNet founder Bill Phelan said in an interview. “But certainly this shows we are not headed for a double dip.”

Two years into a recovery from the worst recession in decades, the United States is still dogged by 9 percent unemployment. The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday the U.S.

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Liza Whiting, a graphic arts company owner, started with 3 employees and plans to increase this to 50 next year.  To do so, she has to expand her business by buying additional equipment, but banks would not lend her the money.  CBSNews.com reports that Liza’s credit score, like other entrepreneurs, dropped despite their on-time payment history with credit card companies.  Marilyn Landis, CEO of Basic Business Concepts, explains, ” computer scoring and computer-based decisions, and … million-dollar loans are being done on credit scoring”.

The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 120,000 jobs last month. It is encouraging but still leaves a long way to go. Small businesses play the leading role in job creation, provided they can get the bank loans they need to expand. CBS News correspondent Russ Mitchell visits a businesswoman who’s been finding the credit window shut.

Wisconsin native Lisa Whiting created a graphic arts business.

Using loans from the county for hiring special needs workers, Whiting grew “Imagination Trends,” making floor signs and logos for major sports teams and other clients. In 2009, the staff grew from 3 to 36.

Whiting met expenses using credit cards and savings. Soon she had enough orders to grow into a multi- million dollar business. But then a snag.

“Now we have additional orders and additional projects that are huge,” she said. “We’re putting our hands up in the air because the banks aren’t able to lend us the money to buy this additional equipment.”

Whiting discovered that the banks weren’t lending because her credit score had suddenly dropped.

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FoxBusiness.com published a write-up by Susan Schreter on how to go about presenting a business plan to prospective investors.  One major concern of budding entrepreneurs is the possibility that their business idea may be stolen by people they turn to for financial support.  Schreter listed three tips to minimize such occurrence.

Q: I’m afraid to send my business plan to investors. After all they can just steal all my ideas and go make all the big money without me. What can I do to protect myself?

A: During the earliest days of business building, entrepreneurs know they are vulnerable. They’ve heard the stories. Yes, there is competition everywhere, but nothing is worse than thinking your best ideas will be usurped by the very people you turn to for financial support. I’d like to give you assurances that your business plan won’t circulate among potential industry competitors, but I can’t. It happens.

What I can assure you is active angel club investors and venture capital funds are not likely to steal your ideas and morph into your main competition. The purpose of startup and early stage investors are to fund high-potential companies like yours, not operate them. Savvy investors are happy to let you do the hard work of perfecting products and services, and steadily building the value of a company to a lucrative sale.

Here are some recommendations:

No. 1: Don’t send entire business plans, patent filings or other detailed proprietary information to potential investors as part of an initial solicitation. Start with an executive summary.

No. 2: Take the time to read about a venture capital fund’s portfolio companies.

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Jay Goltz, in an article in The New York Times, lists down the major reasons for business failure.  He says that entrepreneurship is not for everyone.  One has to have the drive, tenacity, perseverance and personality to be a successful entrepreneur.  He also lists down tips in starting a business.  If you are thinking of starting a small business, read on.

People start businesses for all kinds of reasons. Some expect to get rich, some want to be their own boss, some want to follow their passion and some want to control their own destiny (or at least try). Many have one thing in common; they fail. More than half, depending on whose number you use and how much time you give it.

When I started my business in 1978, there was very little information out there on how to start, expand and operate a small business.

The world has changed. Today, there are countless magazines, Web sites, classes, organizations and consultants available to help the aspiring entrepreneur. Given all of these resources, the question arises: Why is the failure rate still so high? I believe there are three reasons.

First, many entrepreneurs learn to build a business the way some people learn to swim; they just jump in. They might have the basic skill, or even be very talented at the task at hand, whether it is baking or programming or candlestick making. What they lack is basic knowledge of marketing, management and accounting. Even though there are many resources available, they are too busy doing the task to learn how to do the basics. In this case, ignorance is not bliss; it is a ticking time bomb.

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According to Google, more than 60% of the nation’s small businesses have no website.  To change this and at the same time to drive economic growth with tools and resources to get online, Google and partners are offering a free, easy-to-build website, among other things, for a year.  Scott Levitan, Google’s director of small business engagement, told BusinessNewsDaily.com, “We created the program to nip the idea in the bud that going online is hard, expensive and time- consuming.”

While 97 percent of Americans look online for local products and services, 63 percent of the country’s small businesses have no website, according to Google. The search giant has teamed up with a network of national and local partners to change that, one state at a time, and has already put thousands of small businesses online.

This program is designed to drive economic growth by providing the nation’s businesses with the tools and resources to get online.  Small businesses that want to participate are offered a free, easy-to-build professional website from Intuit, a free customized domain name and hosting for a year, a free local business listing on Google Places and free tools, resources and local events.

“The reality is that many businesses are invisible to their customers and potential customers looking online,” Scott Levitan, Google’s director of small business engagement, told BusinessNews Daily. “We created the program to nip the idea in the bud that going online is hard, expensive and time- consuming.”

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Porter Gale, former Vice President of Marketing at Virgin America, asked top venture capitalists tips on how to pitch your company to a venture capitalist as worthy of investment.  Among the DOs are to be forthright about the business, focus on the company culture, and to have a long-term vision for the company.  This article in Huffington Post provides a guide to to help you in your pitch to venture capitalists.

I turned to several venture capitalists and asked them their “do’s and don’ts” of pitching. Below are DO and DON’T tips from five leading VCs. Please take note.

Tony Conrad
Partner, True Ventures
DO get your entourage onboard from the beginning.
DON’T get caught up in the current funding environment and overly value your company.

David Hornik
General Partner, August Capital
DO get introduced to VCs by a trusted friend or advisor, if possible.
DON’T hide the ball. There is no point in hiding any portion of what you are doing when you are pitching. Full disclosure isn’t just the best policy, it is the only policy.

Mike Hirshland
Founder, Resolute.vc
DO focus on company culture
DON’T believe your sales guy’s projections

James Joaquin
Partner, Catamount Ventures
DO act small and think big.

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Start-up companies are finding it difficult to find money for the next level of their business.  Every year, many start-ups do not make it to the next round. But this year, the situation is particularly bad … and next year they expect it to get worse.  There is less cash to go around.  Many start-ups will have to look for alternatives to raising new funds, writes Sarah McBride at Reuters.com.

Venture capitalist Bill Gurley has noticed something new this autumn: a big jump in the number of what he calls “legitimate introductions” that he receives each day to entrepreneurs who hope he might invest in their start-up companies.

The money-seekers are companies that have benefited from a tidal wave of early-stage investing in start-ups and who now need funding from mainline VC firm’s such as Gurley’s Benchmark Capital to take them to the next level. But many companies, even some that have done fairly well in their initial phase, are finding it increasingly difficult to raise the next round of cash.

So far this year, some 859 companies have raised an initial round totaling $3.9 billion, according to data from the National Venture Capital Association and ThomsonReuters. That compares with 777 companies raising $3.5 billion this time last year and 523 companies raising $2.3 billion in the first nine months of 2009.

The plethora of early stage companies is a result of the comparatively low cost of bringing new technology products in the age of dirt-cheap software and data storage and massive social-marketing engines such as Facebook. A growing legion of wealthy “angel investors,” many of whom made their money in the last boom, has contributed to the start-up boom too.

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FastCasual.com reports the opening of the first Fatburger restaurant in Seoul, Korea.  This is the first of ten locations planned for Korea by the franchisee SW Group Inc.  Andrew Wiederhorn, Chairman of Fatburger, happily welcomed the franchisee into the Fatburger family.  This restaurant chain offers lean beef burgers grilled right in front of customers.

Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc.’s Fatburger restaurant chain has opened its first location in Seoul, Korea. The Gangnam-gu location, in the southeast part of the city, is a significant business district as well as a shopping and entertainment hub.

This is the first of multiple units planned with franchisee SW Group Inc., and the first of 10 planned to open in Korea. Additional locations are expected to open there in 2012.

“We look forward to working with the SW Group and are pleased to welcome them into the Fatburger family. As Fatburger continues to expand internationally, South Korea’s economy and trade relationship with the United States make it an important market for our Brand,” said Andrew Wiederhorn, chairman, Fatburger.

For more than 59 years, Fatburger has been serving big, fresh, 100-percent pure lean beef burgers custom made and grilled right in front of customers.

Photo by roboppy

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2nd Event – While CES has a much wider array of Apple-centric products/solutions than this year’s Macworld/iWorld, the event was still an opportunity for the fans to see what all of the iTalk was about and to renew old acquaintances.

If you spent a few days in SinCity for Macworld I (CES) to see the star-studded array of Apple-centric hardware, software, semi-ware; it sorta’ took your breath away. Then you go to San Francisco to see Macworld II to see a lot of the same only with a dramatically smaller venue. At Macworld I, there were thousands of booths and hundreds of thousands of people jamming in booths, standing in cab lines and hoping for a dinner reservation. At Macworld II, there were hundreds of booths, thousands of people checking out stuff with credit cards in hand, hailing cabs, eating at charming out-of-the-way restaurants. The biggest news at the event wasn’t the stuff on the floor but:
- Apple’s blow-out results for the quarter in sales/profits
- Apple’s huge cache of money (nearly $100B) sitting in offshore accounts
- Apple passing HP in PC sales
- The assertions that Apple didn’t care about the working conditions for employees at their suppliers (fortunately, Cook subsequently and vehemently said wasn’t true)

Showy Difference
Macworld I may have had its drive-in theater LG OLED TV screen, but the real Macworld had a $68,000 set of speakers … so take that Shapiro!

Rich Sounds – They may not sound like your Bose speakers, but the $68,000 red leather-lined, diamond-studded speakers from All Jack would certainly make a statement in your home or apartment. Photo – PC World

It’s totally unfair to compare the two events and you try not to but…you just can’t.

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Canada’s Brookfield Residential Property Services has acquired Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, one of the country’s biggest real-estate agency franchisors.  Prudential Real Estate affiliates shall continue using the Prudential brand, according to the news release published at USAToday.com.  This addition establishes Brookfield as the world’s second largest employee-relocation services provider.  It is present in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Portugal.

A Canadian investment firm has purchased the residential real-estate agency-franchising subsidiary of Prudential Financial, which has 22 offices and more than 500 agents in Arizona.

Brookfield Residential Property Services, a Brookfield Asset Management Inc. affiliate, said Wednesday that it had closed on its purchase of Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, one of the country’s biggest real-estate agency franchisors, from Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Financial Inc.

Brookfield, based in Toronto, said the addition of Prudential to its existing businesses focusing on residential real-estate franchising and employee-relocation services establish Brookfield as the world’s second-largest employee-relocation services provider after the Cartus Broker Network and the third-largest residential real-estate franchising business.

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“Things that are little become big,” Phil Friedman, CEO of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina, told the KnoxNews.com, of his vision to expand the Mexican restaurant chain across the Southeast.  The company, famous for its burritos, tacos, enchiladas and salads, has more than 80 locations and Friedman hopes to build more with better customer service and hospitality.

Phil Friedman doesn’t believe in spending his time inside an office.

The CEO of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina can be found most days at one of the company’s more than 80 locations.

Getting a lot of Friedman’s attention — Knoxville brothers H.P. and J.T. Patel of Laxmi Ventures, the largest franchisee of the Charlotte, N.C.-based chain of fast casual Mexican restaurants.

Friedman, who grew McAlister’s Deli from 27 to 300 locations as its former CEO, is working with the Patels to “take it to the next level.”

The industry veteran, who says he left McAlister’s “in search for something new,” is betting big on Salsarita’s, which specializes in made-to-order burritos, tacos, enchiladas and salads.

Friedman, who acquired Salsarita’s last year, called it an “underutilized brand” that he hopes to expand through its existing markets across the Southeast.

Single-unit franchisees represent 85 percent of the company, but over time, he says he’ll be working to reverse that statistic.

“We have a good product, a good variety at a good value,” he says. “It’s on trend. It offers real value, not cheap value.”

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As Domino’s Pizza celebrates its 51st year, it announced more Web-based sales following its record-breaking online orders the week after Cyber Monday.  The pizza chain surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time in its history.  The Los Angeles Times reports that 30% of Domino’s sales come from online orders.

Pizza is going more and more digital as several major chains said they broke online and mobile ordering records after Cyber Monday.

Domino’s said Internet orders surpassed the 1 million mark from Nov. 28 through Dec. 4 for the first time in the company’s history. Online orders now make up 30% of the chain’s total.

Today, the company is celebrating its 51st anniversary by trying to pump up more Web-based sales, offering half-off pizzas ordered online through Facebook.

Pizza Hut, which recently began offering its sprawling Big Dinner Box deal, told Nation’s Restaurant News that the post-Cyber Monday period was also its best week ever for online sales. Papa John’s said it was a “big online sales week” as well.

The popularity of mobile ordering is steadily percolating through the restaurant industry.

Since 2004, websites such as GrubHub and Snapfinger have teamed with major chains such as California Pizza Kitchen to facilitate online ordering from customers. Last month, daily deals website LivingSocial began offering online ordering options for restaurants.

Photo by skampy

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Taxes are an important part and issue in running small businesses.  Advocacy groups hope Congress will pass laws to simplify compliance and to lower taxes.  Such measures will help small businesses create jobs and improve the economy.  Much depends, too, on the outcome of the elections in 2012.  Barbara Weltman enumerated tax trends for 2012 in SmallBizTrends.com.

Can a discussion of the federal deficit, now in excess of $15 trillion, be separated from a discussion on taxes? Of course not! Therefore, taxes will continue to be an important topic on the federal level because of the dichotomy between raising taxes to address deficit concerns vs. keeping taxes low to help create jobs and improve the economy.

Which will win out in 2012? Much depends on what happens in the November elections. Until then, however, there are some important trends in taxes worth noting:

1. Taxes will remain a political football.
As a general rule, Republicans are against raising taxes, while  Democrats want to raise taxes on the so-called wealthy (many of whom are small business owners).

Taxes will surely be a key issue in the presidential race.

2. Tax audits are on the rise.
According to one KPMG survey, tax audits of businesses have increased. Corporate executives who were surveyed reported a 61 percent increase in federal tax disputes; 37 percent reported an increase in state tax audits.

What continues to be a popular audit topic is worker classification to determine whether a company is properly treating a worker as an independent contractor or whether the worker should be treated as an employee.

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Just Baked, famous for its gourmet cupcakes, recently opened its commissary in Livonia.  It is nearing its target to make 2 million cupcakes this year.  Not only that.  With four retail stores to open in Detroit this month and 5 more middle of 2012, the company is nearing its goal of  20 stores in southeast Michigan.  “You don’t need ovens, mixers or refrigeration,” founder of Just Baked Pam Turkin told AllBusiness.com. “You just need to build a retail storefront.”

While Pam Turkin, founder of Livonia-based Just Baked LLC’s cupcakes, has spent most of her time and energy getting her baked goods into more than 400 stores across Michigan – including Meijer and Spartan Stores – she is now developing a franchise system to grow the brand in Southeast Michigan.

Just Baked, known for its gourmet cupcakes with names like Fat Elvis and Grumpy Cake, has seven retail locations in Southeast Michigan and is set to open four more around metro Detroit by mid-December, three of which will be franchise-owned.

Turkin said she expects to open five more by the middle of next year, for a total of 16. She said she hopes to open 20 stores in the region in all.

“You don’t have to be a baker or have a culinary background to own a Just Baked franchise,” Turkin said. “This model lets people who don’t want to put the time and money and risk into opening a bakery, open a bakery.”

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