Write You - Business

Ways to Determine the Value of a Business
Determining the value of a business you are considering purchasing is a tricky subject. Most owners think their businesses are worth far more than they are. And in the end the true value of anything is determined by what a willing seller is willing to sell it for and a willing buyer is willing to buy it for.Step one would be to acquire the use of West’s Business Brokerage Handbook and skim through the rules of thumb sections. If you are looking, for instance, at a dry cleaning business Tom West, the author, describes the nationwide average values of dry cleaning businesses using either the gross sales percentage method—usually fr

eb apps like Basecamp allow you to collaborate with clients and partners in real time

Online meeting tools like WebEx give you the ability to hold instant virtual sales presentations and peer-to-peer client conversations

Podcasting can open up doors to new media and give a true voice to the people in your firm

RSS technology allows you to create dynamic content that can be personalized to the individual

CRM systems give you the ability to track a prospect's education process and know when they need more

Social software can give your clients the ability to generate marketing content for you and about you in an environment of trust

Autoresponders can provide education and training whenever it's requested

Intranet styled offerings and even chat platforms make remote and virtual communication with your suppliers and associates

Target and Define Your Organization's Mission Statement
A mission statement is simply an encapsulation of the mission of a particular organization – its purpose, its goals and how to achieve them. A mission statement may also be considered a blueprint for success, streamlining the efforts of an organization’s executives as all decide the direction the organization must head, delineating the perceived best paths towards objective fulfillment.It is not an easy exercise to target, define and create a mission statement – at least one that motivates employees, has bold and aspirational qualities, outlines concrete strategies, and galvanizes interest in those outside the organization.As with a

Forgive what may seem like a bit of a theoretical argument today. Sometimes you have to step back and get a sense of the biggest picture in order to understand how all the simple, practical parts relate.

Small business is often held together with sweat, creativity and a heavy use of duct tape. (In case you ever wondered where I came up with the term Duct Tape Marketing.) That's the outer reality of small business. The inner reality, the part that most don't see and even the owner of the business might not understand, is more like a living breathing ecosystem.

I didn't really excel in science in school, but to me the parallel is obvious. In an ecosystem, the many parts are dependent upon each other for success. In a small business, this is equally true and just as hard to measure and control.

There are lots of small businesses out there that appear healthy and happy on the outside but are being held back by some component of the overall system. The very first thing you must do is acknowledge this idea of dependant parts. If one isn't thriving, isn't even noticed, others will suffer.

It's very hard to have a healthy business if the employees don't feel appreciated. It's very hard to have a healthy business if clients don't know how your business is unique. It's very hard to have a healthy business if your referral partners don't know who makes an ideal client for your business.

There are countless examples of growing businesses that ignore what I'm suggesting, but I wonder if they are fun places to work and do business with?

Thinking strategically about your own small business ecosystem requires understanding who all the players are, the experience you want them to have with your business, and the tools you need to employ to make this integration happen.

First let's take a look at the major players in the small business ecosystem.

You may have some combination of:

Suspects - folks you've identified that might need what you do

Prospects - those who have responded to your lead activities

Clients- someone who has purchased something

Advocates - purchases lots and tells others

Associates - your staff

Vendors - companies you might purchase from

Partners - companies that might help you produce a product or co-create services and clients

You can define what each of these is in your business, but the strongest businesses understand that they need to embrace, feed and sell each - sometimes in order for one to thrive. For instance, your clients will become stronger advocates or referral sources the more they feel connected to your community of clients, associates and partners.

One of the ways to create these connections among all of the members of your ecosystem is to have and communicate in no uncertain terms your firm's unique core message. That message should contain a clear statement about your brand and how it's unique and who should care. The goal then becomes finding ways for your clients, advocates, partners, and associates to connect to this brand in a way that feeds them.

Technology and a host of new media tools have made the important task of feeding and integrating all of the parties in a small business world much easier.

Let's cover a few examples:

Blogs allow you to produce frequently changing content and interact with clients and prospects

Websites allow you to give access to a great deal of educational content

Web apps like Basecamp allow you to collaborate with clients and partners in real time

Online meeting tools like WebEx give you the ability to hold instant virtual sales presentations and peer-to-peer client conversations

Podcasting can open up doors to new media and give a true voice to the people in your firm

RSS technology allows you to create dynamic content that can be personalized to the individual

CRM systems give you the ability to track a prospect's education process and know when they need more

Social software can give your clients the ability to generate marketing content for you and about you in an environment of trust

Autoresponders can provide education and training whenever it's requested

Intranet styled offerings and even chat platforms make remote and virtual communication with your suppliers and associates s

The Details Dance: A Simple Three-Step for Event Planners Wanting to get Online Registration Right
A couple of weeks ago I attended an event planners Christmas function. The turnout was decent, there was no shortage of skewered prawns or celebratory cocktails and a good amount of effort had gone into the costumes worn by circulating serving staff.A few minutes into it however, I noticed one lady propped on a bar stool, looking tired and unimpressed. An ex-planner, with a career lifetime in the industry, she commented "They always get it wrong with the music at the beginning of these things". She was right. The funk band on stage was a class act, but the evening's organizers had given no thought to warming up the crowd, so this pr

healthy and happy on the outside but are being held back by some component of the overall system. The very first thing you must do is acknowledge this idea of dependant parts. If one isn't thriving, isn't even noticed, others will suffer.