In any business endeavor, a win-win outcome is always the most satisfying and productive. It certainly beats the alternatives - win-lose, lose-win, or (heaven forbid!) lose-lose - in which one or both parties walks away feeling an assortment of negative emotions, possibly including disappointment, anger, resentment, and a desire to throw crockery against the wall.What do we mean by win-win when it comes to finding new partners for our network...more
I could make up a terrific story about this, but I won't lie - I had avoided (as in postponed, side-stepped, procrastinated) having a board of directors until now. Frankly, I had visions of having a group of old, cranky, humorless men telling me what to do.Of course I was just being lazy, too. I would rather be out making products and building a business than sitting around trying to make sense out of Excel files, charts and graphs, and...more
Have you ever been asked that question?I was! Back in 1979 while doing a "pressure cooker" course on selling with an insurance company!I wondered how relevant that question was, considering my personal and financial situation at the time.No wife! No job! I was a solo dad with three children, one of them a baby less than a year old. "You must be kidding", I thought to myself at the time! What relevance can that have to me learning to sell insurance policies?How naive I was! The course that followed had an unbelievably positive and a life changing effect on me. Although it only took affect several years later. The seed had been sown!You're probably saying to yourself, "How can a course on selling life insurance have that much effect on anyone?"Well that Insurance Company was the one created by W Clement Stone. I found the course to be very challenging, because in New Zealand at that time we weren't really aware of the "Hype" that Americans used to motivate their workers to perform at their optimum. It pleases me each time I think about it now, to know that I passed, top of the class and received a book as a reward, this book was already a best seller, but I'd never heard of...more
Sales turnover and net profits may follow a rollercoaster pattern familiar to most business but when the cash flow dries up the game is over. Urgent attention to the management of working capital can provide every business with the cash resources to exploit its potentialMost businesses will experience periods of lower sales and times when losses...more
There are 4 parts to a UFOC:* Cover Page* Table of Contents* Items 1-23* ExhibitsThe format for each of these sections is very specific and covers the following:Cover Page The Cover Page identifies the franchise business, including the name under which the franchisee would operate and what type of business it is. It also includes the amounts of the...more
Whether you are planning to start a brand-new business, expand an existing company, or get financing for a business venture, you will need to write a business plan. A business plan not only lends your business a sense of credibility, but also helps you to cover all your bases, increasing your chances of success.Although writing a business plan can be a lengthy, intimidating project, it is not necessarily difficult. Here is an overview of how to write a successful business plan.What to Include in Your Business PlanYour business plan needs to demonstrate that you have thoroughly considered all aspects of running your business. To that end, the standard business plan has nine major sections, covering everything from your business's mission statement to a detailed financial analysis.Executive SummaryThe first - and most important - section of your business plan is the executive summary. This section is so important that it should literally be the first thing the reader sees - even before the table of contents! However, it should also be written last, as you'll have a better understanding of the overall message of your business plan after you've researched and written the other...more
Exchange Traded Funds, better known by many investors as iShares, the brand owned by Barclays Global Investors ('BGI') have been around in the UK since April 2000, with the launch of the iFTSE100 on the London Stock Exchange. From a slow start, by...more
Superior business leader and American investor Warren Buffett is often called "Oracle of Omaha" or the "Sage of Omaha" and philanthropist. (Wikipedia, 2007) Buffett is the CEO, and the biggest shareholder of the Berkshire Hathaway Company. Buffett's...more
People are losing their homes and many more will lose their jobs before the mortgage meltdown works its way through the system.To paraphrase Alan Greenspan's remarks on March 17th, 2008, "The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged...more
For many people, even those with good spending habits, creating and sticking to a budget may seem like a significant challenge. Learning to budget wisely, however, isn't just a tool for getting by from month to month. Good budgeting is the first step...more
Obviously, when it comes to credit card debt, the easiest answer for "how to get out of it" is simply to pay everything off. Unfortunately, everyone isn't in a position to do something like this, especially those with extreme credit card debt....more
Does listening to the news or reading the newspaper make you feel scared? Does walking to the mailbox invoke feelings of gloom and doom? Do you walk around the majority of the day feeling anxious and afraid as if waiting for the other shoe to drop?...more