Category: Small Business

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5 Steps to Better Problem Solving

problem-solving1Modern humans are the greatest problem solvers the world has ever seen. While our predecessors developed primitive tools to better live in their environments, humans are the first to develop the mental acuity necessary to transform their living space. As a consequence, we thrive around the world, altering hostile, barren desert lands and freezing climates into hospitable habitats with growing populations.
 
Of course, problem-solving abilities vary considerably from one individual to another – some of us excel in resolving overarching dilemmas, while others are more adept at making basic day-to-day decisions. Researchers at the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan believe that difficulty solving problems tends to stem from the following two issues:

Inaccuracy in Reading

Incorrect interpretation of a problem can stem from perceiving it without concentrating on its meaning. It can also result from reading unfamiliar words, overlooking important facts, and starting to address it prematurely. Simply stated, many people have difficulty framing a problem accurately at first and consequently develop inadequate or incorrect solutions.

Inaccuracy in Thinking

Ancients Greeks called the ability to properly reason “logic.” Today, we sometimes refer to this ability as “pragmatism”—a system of thinking to determine meaning, truth, or value. Poor decisions result from a lack of clarity so that irrelevant information is considered in the problem-solving process. We sometimes pursue solutions that do not meet our intended goals, or we fail to break complex problems into understandable parts when time constraints force us into premature decisions.
 
Each of us makes decisions every day that affect our happiness, careers, and satisfaction with life. By learning and practicing the skills of proven problem solvers—and following the necessary steps— you can boost your self-esteem, reduce interpersonal conflicts, and lessen overall stress.
 
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How to Prepare to Sell Your Business

sellbiz1New job applicants get haircuts, shine their shoes, and practice their interview skills while preparing to hopefully land a position. Those seeking to sell a home often repaint inside and out, primp the landscaping, and clean from top to bottom before hosting an open house.
 
And a business owner who hopes to receive a fair price for his or her company would be wise to engage in such “dressing up” activities as well. While it may go without saying, putting your best foot forward is always the best strategy to maximize the value of any sale.

The Importance of Seller Objectivity

Achieving a sale at the price you want means that you should look at your company as objectively as possible, problems and all. This prepares you to counter any buyer’s objections or degradation of your company’s value, and allows you to maximize assets and minimize (or at least be prepared to handle) flaws.
 
Recognize that it is easy to get an inflated sense of importance, especially when a stranger comes calling with an interest in buying your company. After all, starting and running a successful company is not an accident, nor a matter of luck. Long-term business success requires a combination of intelligence, guts, and hard work.
 
As a consequence, many owners assume interested buyers understand the business opportunity and profit potential of their company. They presume that an acceptable offer will be forthcoming, only to be surprised when the would-be buyer tells the owner that their baby – the company – is ugly.
 
Getting the highest price for your business requires a thorough understanding of the opportunities and threats facing your business. Potential buyers focus on the future of a business, not its past. Accordingly, why would any potential buyer be interested in your company? Does it offer unique products or services? Does it dominate its geographic and industry markets? Does it have capabilities and capacity that are difficult or expensive to replicate?
 
Buyers are most interested in those companies whose products and services are in growing markets with unrestricted pricing flexibility or obvious expense reduction possibilities. They seek under-utilized – but valuable – assets that can be exploited, especially by the potential purchaser. Similarly, any threat to the business must be identified, quantified, and strategized.
 
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7 Questions to Ask Before Selling Your Business

sell-biz1Each year, thousands of small businesses change hands. Some owners decide to retire, others need new capital to exploit market opportunities, and some businesses fail and are liquidated.
 
According to the BizBuySell.com Fourth Quarter 2014 Insight Report, 7,494 small businesses traded hands during 2014, the largest number of transactions since BizBuySell starting tracking sales data in 2007. While higher than previous years, there are approximately 45,000 small businesses—ranging from restaurants and retail stores, to service and manufacturing companies—available for purchase at any given time.
 
The motive to sell can arise for both negative and positive reasons. Sometimes, plans do not work out, and business results fall short of expectations. While in the best of circumstances, buyers – drawn by the success of a business – make unsolicited offers to purchase the business. Either circumstance can dictate the potential sale.
 
Unfortunately, not all owners have a choice whether to sell their companies. The failure rate of small businesses is extraordinarily high, with almost half going out of business before their fifth year, according to Statistic Brain.
 
Despite their initial optimism, many owners regret starting their business, no longer hoping to get the cheese but to get out of the trap. In such cases, the owners’ objectives are to achieve the highest valuation possible to reduce their losses and restore their business reputation. If a liquidation appears likely, competent legal and accounting advice is essential. Owners may also consider retaining the service of an experienced business broker to help present the company in the best possible light and negotiate favorable terms of sale.
 
If your business is a successful operation, you may find that potential buyers or their representatives regularly solicit the purchase of your business, perhaps accompanied by preliminary (though very attractive) estimates of market value. But before putting your company on the market or engaging in negotiations to sell the business, there are a number of questions you should resolve.

Questions to Consider Prior to Selling Your Business

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6 Tips to Starting a Business in a Foreign Country

start-business1The combination of inexpensive technology, accessible virtual markets, and easy funding through crowdsourcing is changing the face of entrepreneurship. Today’s new business starters are socially sophisticated, willing to bear more risk than previous generations, and more likely to work out of a home or small office and rely on others for business processes. Some are small guerrilla outfits surfing from one hot concept to the next, and some are venture capital-funded geniuses with disruptor ideas.
 
It is a great time to start a new business – the best time in history.

The Keys to Success

America has always been the land of opportunity, the Mecca for entrepreneurship. While great fortunes have been made by immigrants and first-generation Americans such as Andrew Carnegie in steel, John D. Rockefeller in oil, and William A. Clark in copper, thousands of others formed successful small companies that provided financial security and employment for hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens.
 
The possibility of being responsible for one’s own fate has never been greater in the history of the country. Latent opportunities for new ideas and businesses have exploded exponentially, each new concept and novel interpretation of old methods pregnant with possibility, just waiting to be birthed. There are several key reasons why this is so.

1. Cultural Accommodation

For much of history, capitalism was restricted to the beneficiaries of high birth, ancestral wealth, and exclusive education. The wide-open spaces and untapped resources of the new continent in the 19th century shattered cultural norms that had existed for hundreds of years. Entrepreneurs flooded the country, exploiting new resources, new markets, and new technology to create the greatest industrial nation in the history of the world.
 
Despite the success, access to these new possibilities was unfortunately generally limited to white males. Minorities (except in their limited communities) and women were excluded, restricted by racial prejudice, cultural stereotypes, and inefficient educations.
 
America in the 21st century is a more open society and access continues to broaden regardless of sex or ethnicity – anyone smart enough and brave enough to create a new business can try. According to a 2013 American Express report, there are 8.6 million women-owned businesses in the country, generating more than $1.3 trillion in revenues and providing jobs for 7.8 million employees. The rate of growth between 1997 and 2013 in new women-owned businesses has been one and a half times the national average. In a U.S. Census News release in 2011, Tom Mesenbourg, deputy director of the U.S. Census Bureau, proclaimed, “The growth in the number of minority-owned firms – both employers and non-employers – has far outpaced that of businesses overall.”
 
Led by federal and state governments, programs to assist potential new business owners are readily accessible and generally free. An entrepreneur can access classes ranging from basic accounting, to sophisticated product and service contracting. Face-to-face onsite mentoring is available from organizations such as S.C.O.R.E., while municipalities, colleges and universities, and private businesses offer incubator facilities with administrative and accounting assistance at low cost. Federal laws require that a percentage of federal contracts be subcontracted to small businesses and provide detailed contracting assistance for those individuals and companies who seek such work.
 
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