Posts Tagged ‘small business’
TweetsByUs: How ActSeed Benefits From Twitter
Tuesday, March 29th, 2011Much of the early success in creating awareness of ActSeed and engaging entrepreneurs has come from leveraging social media. This includes Twitter, which is an excellent medium to engage and interact with the entrepreneurs and others who value our mission and our purpose. While Twitter can be an excellent conduit to engage, it can also be distracting, cluttered and frustrating if you don’t really understand how to utilize it properly.
To make sure we have a meaningful, quality interaction with all of our Twitter followers, we have partnered with TweetsByUs, a service provider that continuously manages twitter accounts for all sizes of businesses, from startup to enterprise.
Why we like TweetsByUs.
TweetsByUs uses proven strategies to gain targeted followers, increase ActSeed’s brand exposure, and attract new clients. They can oversee the entire process including tweeting, providing content, responding to replies, and promoting ActSeed as an involved thought leader. While ActSeed maintains active internal engagement with its Twitter followers, the TweetsByUs team has become a part of the ActSeed family and our mission, so they don’t feel like some “outsourced partner”, but rather an integral part of our team and our mission.
Again, what makes TweetsByUs stand out in a sea of Twitter services is their focus on quality that is aligned with ActSeed’s own commitment to managing a high value business community. Other services promise increases in number of followers or a minimum number of tweets per month, but can they create meaningful relationships that turn into real clients and partners? From our work with TweetsByUs over the past year, we know they spend time to help us provide meaningful content, develop our community, and engage prospects.
If you have not already discovered the benefits of Twitter or how to utilize Twitter for your own clients and community, then you should contact TweetsByUs and explore how they can help you create and implement an effective strategy. If you have an existing account, they can be a reliable and cost-effective way to help you grow and manage your followers. Given our own experience, we can confidently recommend them as a valuable and cost effective service provider to manage your company’s social media outreach.
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RevenueLoan: Filling an Important Gap in Small Business Funding
Thursday, March 17th, 2011You need an infusion of capital to grow your business.
The bank says you have insufficient collateral or they don’t lend to businesses in your industry.
Venture capitalists and angel investors aren’t usually interested unless they think you are going to unseat Facebook or cure cancer (home run plays in healthcare and IT) in the next 18 months.
So where can you get the funding you need to grow your business? Who is going to step boldly into this funding gap that the majority of American small businesses fall into?
RevenueLoan!
Utilizing the Royalty-Based Finance (also known as ”Revenue-Based Finance”) model of lending, RevenueLoan provides growth funding to businesses who are not being served by conventional lenders.
No collateral? No Problem!
A royalty-based loan does not require any collateral.
Not interested in giving up 10%, 20% or even 50% of your company for funding? You may have an alternative!
A royalty-based financing does not require you to sell part of your company to the investor. You remain in complete control of your business. You simply agree to pay a small percentage of your monthly revenues – generally less than 5% - until an agreed-upon multiple of the original loan amount is reached.
Yes, this does make royalty-based financing more expensive than a bank loan (if you even qualify for a bank loan), but a royalty-based deal also makes your monthly payment vary in harmony with your revenues. Try telling your bank that you missed your revenue target this month and don’t want to pay the usual amount, and see what they have to say! With a RevenueLoan, flexible monthly payments that don’t deplete your operating capital are business-as-usual.
Since this loan structure is based upon your revenues, this is not a good fit for most startup businesses that haven’t started generating consistent revenues. …but if you have an established revenue stream and just need a cash infusion to bump your business up to the next level, RevenueLoan may just be the lone YES in a forest of NO.
ActSeed is glad to welcome RevenueLoan as a valuable resource to the ActSeed community for small businesses and the entrepreneurs who are building them into durable, sustainable, competitive participants in our economy.
Learn more at www.RevenueLoan.com.
Owing Taxes When Your Biz Doesn’t Generate Cash
Friday, March 11th, 2011Yes, this can happen. No cash to you, but Uncle Sam and your state still expects to be paid. Our friend and valued colleague, JoAnne Berg, CPA and founder of Peer Coaching Network Inc., has allowed us to share her thoughts on this topic as we approach Tax Time.
“Understanding Why Your Business Owes Taxes When It Didn’t Generate Any Cash”
by JoAnne Berg, CPA
Peer Coaching Network, Inc.
Your business has several silent partners: Uncle Sam and his state and local cousins. Many of the decisions you make on a daily basis will impact their take, so it’s wise to be at least somewhat familiar with the tax laws when you run your own business.
One of the most important financial metrics for most businesses is “How much cash did we generate”? However, business owners sometimes do not realize how much taxable income (not cash income) their business generated during the year. Then, at the end of the year, they get a tax bill that they do not expect. This can wreak havoc with cash flow and business growth plans.
Here are a few of the situations that can cause this, and some ideas for how to deal with them.
Your business is required to pay taxes based on the accrual method of accounting, but you’re keeping your books on the cash method.
- Under the accrual basis of accounting, you must record income when you make a sale, not when you get paid. In general, this applies to any business that sells goods from their own inventory such as retailers, wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers.
- However, the amounts you pay out for inventory are not deducted from your net income until the inventory is sold. For many businesses, a lot of cash is tied up in inventory, so it’s not hard to see how you could have taxable profits but no cash!
- It’s extremely important to handle your inventory and sales accounting correctly. Be sure to have your bookkeeper or accountant prepare your monthly financial reports using the accrual basis. It’s worth spending a little more money here on good financial reporting.
- From a business planning and management standpoint, this is where good inventory and credit management techniques come in. Learning how to manage your inventory levels so that you don’t have any more goods on hand than you need to run your business profitably, and managing your receivables so that there isn’t a long lag between the time you make a sale and the time you get paid for it, both make a significant difference in your cash flow and your profitability.
You paid off debt, or bills from last year, during the year.
- Debt repayments are NOT tax deductions!
- If you’re finally becoming profitable and are paying off the loans and credit cards that helped you start your business, remember that you already deducted the expenses that those loans and credit cards paid for in a previous year. This means that your taxable income may be more than the net funds generated from the business during the year.
- From a business management perspective, ask your accountant to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows along with your monthly Balance Sheet and Income Statement. This will help you really understand what’s going on in your business because it reconciles your net income with your cash flow.
You’ve invested in equipment, vehicles, or other assets that are needed to run your business.
- The Federal tax law allows for many of these purchases to be deducted immediately from your taxable income instead of being depreciated over time. This is often referred to as the “Section 179 deduction”.
- This is a great deal, but there’s a trap here. Many people do not realize that this is a tax DEFERRAL, not a tax SAVINGS. The tax savings reverses in future years because you won’t have the depreciation deduction in those years– you used it up when you bought the asset.
- If you think your tax rate will be going up, you may be better off taking the depreciation deduction in future years, when it will save you more money.
- If you finance the purchase with debt, you need to be very careful. A typical scenario is that a business owner buys an asset, finances it, and then takes the Section 179 deduction, saving taxes in year one. However, in future years, they have debt repayments, which are non-¬‐deductible, and no depreciation expense to report. The result? Taxable income is higher than the cash generated from the business. This can result in cash flow problems if you haven’t planned for it.
- From a business planning and management standpoint, think of the tax savings from the Section 179 deduction as a loan from the government that you will have to pay back.
These are just a few examples of what can happen. Taxes can become complex very quickly when you have a growing business with multiple types of transactions. To avoid surprises, always have your tax professional do a tax projection for you well before it’s time to pay your taxes, so that you can make informed decisions when you’re running your business – you’ll be glad you did!
JoAnne Berg, CPA is the founder/CEO of Peer Coaching Network, Inc. in Carlsbad, California. She is a trusted business advisor with over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur, CFO/COO, and CPA/advisor to closely held businesses. Read her blogs at The Art of Small Business. You can follow her on Twitter @JoAnneBerg and on Facebook.
How to Write an Effective Business Plan in the 21st Century
Tuesday, December 28th, 2010David Ronick has penned a winner.
If you’ve never drafted a business plan (and need to), “Hit the Deck” is a great investment.
The title of Chapter 1 is “You Need a Business Plan. (Yes, This Means You)”. We absolutely agree, so we read further.
We’re glad we did. Ronick really “cuts to the chase” about what a business plan of the 21st century should look like and why it’s important not only for pursuing investors, but even more for the entrepreneur to set a solid foundation to enter the marketplace and complete.
Lots of step-by-step guidance and examples.
If you’re new to investing, it’s a great book for you to read as well; here, you can learn what you should be understanding and what you should be seeing from the entrepreneur pitching you an idea.
The days of a business plan looking like a 48 page master’s thesis are gone. David shows you how to craft a solid plan quickly and with both internal and external impact. Again, it’s a book you should add to your library, a quick read, and won’t set you back more than $15 or so.
You can buy “Hit the Deck” by clicking here.
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Derby! Entertainment and Exercise Drives Empowerment at OC Roller Girls
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010Roller derby leagues are resurging around the world, with the growth coming from the grassroots, entrepreneurial spirit of enthusiasts that view the sport as more than entertainment and exercise. ActSeed is proud to count one of the up-and-coming roller derby leagues as a member (member link) of the ActSeed Entrepreneur Community: the Orange County Roller Girls (“OCRG”), based in Huntington Beach, California.
The mission of OCRG is to make a positive difference in the lives of women. They are transforming roller derby into a catalyst for profound change and enrichment, promoting the value of the individual, the strength of the team, and the power of the female spirit. This is a far cry from the raw, entertainment-focused heritage of roller derby from the 1970’s, but retains some of the fun aspects of this legacy, like having each team and player skate under creative aliases using clever word-play.
History of OCRG
OC Roller Girls was founded in 2006 by Heather Shelton (aka “Disco Dervish”) to provide women with an envir
onment that enhances personal growth and development through sport, and draws upon a diverse team of multi-talented women to compete and share dreams and victories on and off the track.
OCRG is a true bootstrapping entrepreneur success story. For Heather, OCRG has evolved from a hobby into a full time job, and now she is proudly employing others. OC Roller Girls now offers roller derby for adult women, juniors (age 10-17), a co-ed team, roller fitness classes, a brand new skate shop, and fantastic entertainment for spectators.
As Heather likes to say, “Roller derby is cool way to exercise and network: more interesting than kickboxing, more competitive than running for PTA president, more team building and networking opportunities than the local playground. Far from the typical “Newport Beach housewife” perception of Orange County, “The Wheel Housewives of OC” team provides an outlet to workout, network and is part hockey, part primal rage, and entirely entertaining.”
What’s next for the Orange County Roller Girls?
Banked Track!
While there are over 400 roller derby leagues across the US, most of them use a flat track, which sits flat on the ground. A few of the more successful leagues are able to afford installing a banked track which provides more action and entertainment. The careful management of Heather and her leadership team (including her business partner “Dirty Deborah Harry”) has enabled OCRG to operate profitably this year and start the process of installing a banked track.
Creative and Innovative: Raising Capital in Non-Traditional Channels
Heather started her fund-raising only a few months ago and instead of chasing institutional investors or wealthy, accredited investors, she leveraged the loyal skaters in her league to help raise $10,000. They “pounded the pavement” to pull in donations and set up a crowd funding presence on IndieGoGo. Through these two initiatives, OCRG has already met their goal, although you too can still participate and receive some cool “swag” by contributing on IndieGoGo through December 20. Please visit ORCG’s crowdfunding page, send them a few bucks and get a cool perk like a t-shirt, sticker, signed calendar or tickets to a bout.
Below are highlights from a recent question and answer session with Heather where she talks about her experience as an entrepreneur and founder of OCRG.
Q. Describe your “Eureka Moment” that turned into a roller derby league.
A. I was watching it in Tucson and when I moved here, I didn’t know anyone, my day job at the Opera was boring, and I am restless if I am not working on projects. The closest league was in LA. I drove one time up there from OC and on the way back decided I had to do this in OC as I couldn’t commute up there to live the dream.
Q. How did you fund the company to its current state?
A. The company was funded by personal credit cards and loans, borrowing supplies and my working every lunch break, every weekend and every opportunity (not at regular job) to pass out fliers and faking it until we made it. I cut back on my personal expenses, my grandma gave me $25 for my roller skating club, I liened my car and maxed out my credit cards.
Q. ActSeed champions the need for solid planning and preparation from the very beginning. How important is planning and prep to your company’s success?
A. I have started or managed many companies and each provided insight or lessons that helped prepare me for this one. I spent the first two years of running OCRG, struggling on day to day finances and projects and only being able to plan a few months in advance. It is only now in the 5th season that I can start planning years in advance because we now have a solid support team in place, I am no longer personally funding it and we have a large group of dynamic women running it.
Q. How long did it take to get your idea into the market from initial concept to first customer?
A. I thought up the plan on June 27, I went home and put up a DIY website, put together the applications, fliers, handouts, wrote the craigslist ad, sent out press releases & filed paperwork. By July 23 we made the cover of a local magazine, had a coach and 10 skaters, the logo, and practice space. We didn’t know how to skate then.. but we faked it. Our first game was on November 11 and was attended by 800 people that had not seen roller derby in OC.
Q. What influence have the internet and new media had on the way you are marketing, selling and supporting your products/services?
A. We rely almost 95% on internet marketing with very little budget spent on what could be called traditional marketing.
Q. Describe the challenges you faced as you built your customer base, including defining the customer target, establishing the right price and pricing strategy and of course, closing the first few deals. Any wisdom to share with other entrepreneurs on this subject?
A. I was injured before the first game and had to fight to keep our league growing strong with integrity. The market and pricing structure was benchmarked against similar leagues in other markets and other entertainment and sports options in OC. When we had the first recruits show up, I had the polices and vision in place. I did most of the work myself until the group grew leaders. The biggest obstacle was earning respect.
Q. What techniques have you used to establish credibility in the eyes of customers, investors, partners, personnel and the general public?
A. The biggest obstacle was getting strong willed women to believe (and trust) in the fact that we were going to be a success. Even though they had never seen a game, we hadn’t yet shared victories, they didn’t know my management style, many didn’t have leadership opportunities until we empowered them – all the while I was trying to be both a peer and a leader.
Q. Have government, University, or other community / economic development programs been useful? If so, how?
A. No. Unless you consider that getting laid off from a failed opera company in 2008- moved the league from a hobby to a fulltime obsession. I was frustrated working for others that refused to get up to date on current marketing and media trends. I was anxious to help grow audiences and produce something creative – so guess I had to do it for myself.
Q. What is the most important thing people never tell you about joining or founding an early-stage company?
A. Be willing to do every job, take responsibility for everything and every decision made and then find people smarter than you to step up.
Believe in yourself and treat others with integrity. Be willing to fight for the dream because sometimes you might be the only one who shares your vision.
[Borrowed from "The Gambler"]
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em
Know when to fold ‘em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done
Q. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
A. Roller Derby Girls are tough on & off the track: Take the hit- get back up! Work as a team. Win or lose- it is how you play the game.
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Fear: It's Part of the Process. Don't Pretend It's Not.
Thursday, December 9th, 2010“I would wake up in the middle of the night literally like clutching my chest, like, ‘What have I done?”
This quote could likely come from most of us entrepreneurs at one time or another. However, most of us may be surprised that it very recently came from one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time: Oprah Winfrey*.
We should be encouraged that even Oprah shares common entrepreneurial fears when launching a new venture. Fear is often part of the equation, but like risk, you shouldn’t try to ignore it or pretend it’s not there. You should be willing to manage both fear and risk and be able to absorb a higher dose of each, or seriously consider not taking the plunge into a new venture until you’re ready for this reality.
Again, you are not alone with this emotion, and there are many resources like ActSeed and local organizations in your own neighborhood that can help you confront the issues that “keep you up at night”.
Below are two video testimonials on how a couple of ActSeed Entrepreneurs deal with their professional fears:
*This quote comes from Oprah’s upcoming interview on ABC television with Barbara Walters tonight (December 9). Click here to learn more.
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LAUNCH! ActSeed Entrepreneur Heidi O’Connor Opens Doors at The Kids Cooking Corner
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010Congratulations to Heidi and her new company, The Kids Cooking Corner, on its grand opening. Heidi exemplifies the spirit of entrepreneurship and the tenacity and planning that is required to get an idea off of the ground. With an overall ActSeed Score above 89 (on the scale from 0 to 100), she certainly expresses an ability to execute her plan.
The Kids Cooking Corner is a woman-owned business located in Vancouver, Washington. Its mission is to teach children, ages 3+, about nutrition and safe, healthy cooking. Heidi’s classroom curriculum includes helping kids apply skills in math, reading, science and etiquette. Heidi’s plans for expansion include extending the food and nutrition experience to gardening classes, so she can cover the experience “from the farm to the table”.
While Heidi has already some fully booked classes and birthday parties, she still wants to secure some working capital to help her promote the business and cover short term operating costs as she builds her customer base and attendance. Impressively, she is one of the many entrepreneurs who invested their own savings and “sweat equity” into launching their dream. She has been incredibly resourceful in partnering with local business to contribute to her startup costs through trade, barter and donation of materials.
Heidi is looking for an investment partner who may share her passion for helping kids establish healthy nutritional awareness in the kitchen and at the table.
If you know of someone who is looking to get involved with a startup like Heidi’s in the area of food services, nutrition or educational services with the possibility of national expansion, please contact Heidi and check out her ActSeed profile at http://www.actseed.com/profile/Kcookingcorner.
Of course, if you don’t have $10k to invest but want to support Heidi, you can simply donate to her cause by clicking here.
Below is a brief Q&A with Heidi about her experience as an entrepreneur and small business owner.
Q. What was your “Eureka Moment” – the market opportunity that drove your decision to form a company around this product/service?
A. My own children! Realizing that they will not have a chance to learn at school like I did. Cooking programs have been eliminated in our schools. I wanted to build a place where every child can learn the art of cooking and gardening! In the future I want to add sewing classes!
Q. How did you fund the company to its current state?
A. I did a lot of bartering. Asking for free rent with me doing all the sweat and labor of love. I asked for as many donations as possible for paint, lighting etc. I am now working on trying to get kitchen appliances. Otherwise I have paid out of our savings!
Q. ActSeed champions the need for solid planning and preparation from the very beginning. How important is planning and prep to your company’s success? Can you share an example or two?
A. I first started with a rock solid business plan. I started contacting everyone I knew and trying to get it in the right hands of people that can help me. Every day I promote myself and my idea, contacting magazines, TV stations, city recreation centers etc. I am trying to find sponsors daily that share the same vision I do.
Q. How long did it take to get your idea into the market from initial concept to first customer?
A. 1 month
Q. What influence have the internet and new media had on the way you are marketing, selling and supporting your products/services?
A. I have met quite a few people on twitter and Facebook that have been influential in helping make this dream come true, getting me in contact with people who might be able to help with donations or investment.
Q. Describe the challenges you faced as you built your customer base, including defining the customer target, establishing the right price and pricing strategy and of course, closing the first few deals.
A. Well this is still coming. I am opening Dec 1. I have contacted just about everyone I could think of that would have the same demographics that I have. I’m also targeting family magazines to advertise in.
Q. What techniques have you used to establish credibility in the eyes of customers, investors, partners, personnel and the general public?
A. I am truthful and full of excitement when I am talking about this project! People get excited when they see what I have been working on and can feel my passion come through. Its exciting to know I will have a business that will effect so many young lives in such a positive way where schools may not offer it. The Kids Cooking Corner will be there to offer classes and have fun with the kids!
Q. Have government, University, or other community / economic development programs been useful? If so, how?
A. Not yet! I am in the process of working with the community officers to see if they have any possible connections to help me.
Q. What is the most important thing people never tell you about joining or founding an early-stage company?
A. It is not easy to get financing!
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Are You Part of the 50% that Survives?
Friday, June 25th, 2010Do you want to be a statistic or a success?
Don’t become one of the 50% of companies that fail. Join other focused, dedicated professionals who use ActSeed’s cost-effective resources to help avoid wrong turns, poor decisions and bad investments.”
Business planning is more than helpful. It is necessary.
Investors will listen to a good idea but will only invest if they believe you have a solid plan and are prepared to execute that plan toward a profitable return on their invested dollars.
What does 50% mean?
A very good batting average.
A very bad mortality rate.
If you are building a young business, less than 50% is approximately how many will survive at least five years, and more than 50% is how many will fail.
ActSeed exists to make sure YOU are on the right side of this statistic.
So how do you start leveraging ActSeed toward your success? Click the “Join Now” button at the top of the page or just click here.
Questions? Send us a note or click the “help” link on the registration page.
If You're Raising Capital (and you probably are), Read This Book
Thursday, May 6th, 2010“You can tell a story in a sentence; you can tell a story in a paragraph; and you can tell a story in a 20-minute pitch. Startups need to do all three.”
– from “Pitching Hacks” introduction
I’ll try to be as concise in my post as the book is in guiding you toward successful fund raising.
Nivi and Naval have a storied career with startups, both as fund-raising entrepreneurs and as investors, not to mention facilitators for other entrepreneurs and investors.
I’ve authored more business presentations, projections and plans than I’ve read about how others do it. But I’ve read a few books, and “Pitching Hacks” is the most concise, the most pragmatic and the most useful.
If you are about to “walk the fundraising gauntlet” – even if you’ve lived on Sand Hill Road before – read this book. For the first-time entrepreneur, it’s a gold nugget of guidance. For the seasoned startup veteran, it’s a superb refresher.
As authors Nivi and Naval say: “Investors don’t invest in businesses. They invest in stories about businesses.“
To buy this incredibly affordable book (<$19), go to the Amazon-powered ActSeed Marketplace (or if you prefer, go directly to Amazon)!
How to Get More "Information" and Less "Technology" from IT
Friday, April 30th, 2010Information technology is often a “third rail” of small business planning. IT is empowering …until it’s crippling. Planning and managing IT infrastructure in a small business usually seems massively distracting and expensive, right?
If you’re one of the rare companies that doesn’t even need a computer, read no further. On second thought, how are you reading this in the first place? For the rest of us business owners who need a little or a lot of IT to get our job done, I found a great book.
Leslie Knight recently published a book called “Navigating the IT Minefield“. It’s a very readable font size – 11 chapters and 150 pages of useful information for us small business owners who want a framework to address our technology needs and keep us from getting swindled by consultants. It’s not full of jargon. It’s full of useful and well-organized information. It’s not available in stores or Amazon as of this post, but you can find it here.
How about this scenario:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where.”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
While this is actually an excerpt from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it could be a conversation between a small business owner and an IT consultant (with the last statement likely being what the consultant is thinking, not saying out loud).
Leslie’s 19 years of IT experience (Amoco and Gartner Group) is just part of where the value of this book is derived. Her work in management consulting and involvement in “CEO Space” helps her relate to the rest of us who aren’t IT gurus.
What is the value of a fire extinguisher? That somewhat depends upon if you use it, but investing in a fire extinguisher is no different than investing a couple of hours reading Leslie’s book and having it handy for reference.
I’m not paid to promote Leslie’s book, nor is ActSeed an affiliate marketer of this book. It’s just a book I definitely believe is worth a few of your shekels.
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