Business Directory


My neighbor asked me, “Why would anyone sell a successful company?”. He could not understand why anyone would leave a business that was doing well. Of course successful companies get sold all the time.

So why do these business owners sell? The short answer is that most closely held businesses sell for human reasons, such as burn out, retirement, illness, partnership disputes, family issues or other personal reasons. Usually the business is fine but the human being running the business needs a change. To understand this better it is key to understand the other options for exiting a business.

Close the Business/Liquidation

Closing a business that is profitable never makes sense. Even if the assets are liquidated the price is likely to be pennies on the dollar versus selling the business as a going concern with employees, customers and a reputation that is intact. Not only does the business owner get the lowest value but the employees, vendors and customers are hurt by this type of exit.

Accident, Illness or Death

No one wants to exit their business this way, but many do. The loss of an owner not only creates tremendous issues for the family but also creates a leadership void in the business. Even the most competent management can struggle when a key business leader is lost to a serious accident, illness or death. No one plans for this type of exit but many end up exiting the business this way because they failed to create an alternate plan.

Succession

Succession by a family member or key employee has its benefits. They know the business, its product or service, employees, customers and vendors. Succession can be operationally successful for the exiting owner if they make sure the successor is carefully selected, qualified and groomed for the position. The owner must be careful not to make an emotional choice of a relative or favorite employee but instead choose the successor with the right skills to lead the company into the future. You are not seeking an “Employee” mentality but an “Owner” mentality. If that rare person can be found in the business who can make the transition to Owner, they often do not have the cash needed to purchase the business. They are also likely to want to pay less for the business as familiarity will blind them to many of the value drivers of the company. So although succession can be operationally successful it is rarely a financial success for the outgoing owner.

Sell

Closing or liquidating the business minimizes the value to the owner. Accident, illness or death forces the issue on the owner. Succession provided a very limited pool of options with limited financial reward.

Selling on the other hand allows the business owner to decide their ideal timing, maximize the value of the business they worked so hard to build, coordinate the use of the sale proceeds for financial planning and align their personal goals with the sale of a business. Selling the business allows the business owner to create a wealth event and often significant on-going passive income without having to run their business.

Whatever they are, human reasons are always pushing and pulling on a business owner. Burn out, stress, divorce, illness, partner disputes and limited growth capital are some of the human reasons that push owners out of the business. Retirement, enjoying life, relocating, a new business opportunity and passive income are some of the reasons that pull a business owner out. Whatever the motivation, the fundamental reason a business owner chooses a sale as their ideal exit plan is control. The business owner chooses to understand the value of their business and to proactively pursue the right buyer and the right price. By selling a business you choose to exit your business by choice, not by force.

The professional team at Sunbelt Midwest can help you confidentially sell or buy a business in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, and surrounding areas. For more information check out our site at http://www.sunbeltmidwest.com.

Business Directory


Let me ask you this… What makes a successful business owner?

Well for me, a successful business owner is someone that earns well into six figures or more each year from their business, working around 3 to 4 days (or less) per week.

I call this ‘successful’ because if they can make a few hundred thousand a year from their business, and only work a few days per week they have to have a lot of great things in place…

Not just in their business but in their personal life.

It tells me that in their business they have fabulous systems and staff members that are willing and able to work even when the owner isn’t there.

And the business would have great information systems so that the business owner would know everything that’s going on (even though they’re not there) so they can still ‘control’ the business.

They’d have excellent marketing and sales systems that day in day out draw in ‘ideal’ customers that willingly buy from the business, at full price.

Plus because of the level of service and quality in the business the customers are loyal and enthusiastically refer other people to the business.

The business owner would also have a high level of trust in their staff to run the business which shows me a couple of things.

Number 1, they’d have excellent staff recruitment and training programs to build their staff into competent team members.

And Number 2 They’d have a high level emotional maturity to allow this to happen.

In their personal life, I’d consider these business owners successful because they would have enough free time during the week to spend on their own doing exercise or their favourite hobbies.

This recharges their ‘batteries’ and keeps them fresh. Thus they always seem to be ‘on-the-ball’.

Plus, they spend good quality time with their partner at home and their family.

And that’s crucial.

Just ask anyone whose business has caused a marriage break up, and/or illness through stress.

You see, growing a business that overtakes your life is very, very easy. Most business owners achieve this within the first couple of weeks of starting!

Growing a business that also enhances your lifestyle is a lot more difficult.

But it is possible.

And that’s what I do with the business owners I work with.

We create profitable business growth that enhance their lifestyles

For me it’s about Business and Life Harmony.

So what’s the underlying secret to achieving it?

Commit to becoming a better business person.

Every successful business owner will tell you this…

It’s not one single thing that will make the difference to your business growth.

It’s a lot of things.

You see most business owners are waiting for the ‘one big’ order or the ‘one great year’ or the ‘one great staff member’ that will make all the difference.

The successful business owners know differently.

The successful business owners know that to have an extraordinary business they must be an extraordinary business person.

They know that if they want to grow to $2 Million… they have to learn how to become a $2 Million business owner. And this requires improving their business skills.

There are many skills to learn.

You’ve got to know how to make the product or deliver the service.

You’ve got to know how to market your business

How to sell, how to find suppliers, how to negotiate, how to hire people, how to train people, how to read and understand financial statements the list goes on and on.

Yet it can be, and is simple… when you learn how to do it simply.

And that’s my role with you.

You see as a business coach my skill is making your business growth predictable, controllable and a hell of a lot easier.

All of my clients will tell you that.

So back to you.

If you want to grow your business you may realize that you need to learn some new information and skills.

And that’s what Super successful business owners have done before you.

They realize that to really grow their business they MUST become a better business person.

Most ‘unsuccessful’ business owners believe that the way to grow their business is by making a better product, or providing a better service.

They feel that if they have the ‘best’ product the market will come to them.

Well the product or service is only one part of your business. It’s not enough.

Super successful business owners initially build their business on a good product or service. Then when it comes time to grow… they focus on areas that will grow their business.

Super successful business owners focus on areas that most unsuccessful business owner’s neglect or are too busy to focus on.

Areas like…

- Creating Vision, Mission and Values Statements

- Marketing

- Sales

- Customer Care

- Operations

- People

- Team building

- Financial statement

- Financial analysis

- Taxation

- Law

- Technology

- Key Performance Indicators

- Business/life balance

-And building their wealth through

All of these areas sound separate yet they are extremely interconnected and dependant on each other. And as we travel through each session you’ll hear how each topic is linked to, and how much each topic relies on the other topics for its success.

That’s what makes a great business person using all the areas.

It may seem like a long list. If it does or doesn’t don’t worry. It’s a list that I’m absolutely passionate about helping you with.

Because that’s the first step to growing your business.

Become a better business person by working on your business, rather than just working in it.

It’s what I do with clients that I work with one-on-one over a couple of years in my Business Coaching Program.

Copyright © 2006 by Casey Gollan. All Rights Reserved



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Business Directory


You may have heard about the online business directory that provides you the information about the various businesses in your country. You can find a lot of information such as address, contact number and about the products of the business that is listed on the business directory.

You can also submit your business to the online business directory to get more customers who buy your products. Business directory is the way to make your business online. In this article, you will find the information about how you can list your own business to the business directory, what are benefits to include your business to the online business directory, what information you should provide about your business, etc. This article will solve all of your problems of listing your business online.

What is a business directory?

A Business Directory is a website that lists description of various businesses. It provides facility to its user to find the business in which the user is intrested. The information that is provided is name of the business, location, services and products provided by the business, and the region of the service. The business directory can be used by the general customers as well as business owners. General customer finds the business that provides them the services which they need. Business owners finds suppliers, transportars and other service providers that are needed in the manufacturing process and marketing.

Business directory for business owners:

Business directory helps the business owners to make their business global. They can market their business to the global public. They can attract more number of customers from all around the world or from their local region if they publish their business online on the business directory. Business owners provide the information about their business to the business directory and many number of customers watch their information. If the customer is attracted with the business information, he will surely buy products or use services of the business.

Business directory for general public:

General public can use the business directory to get information about the various businesses available in the specified region and specified field of service. They can gather information of various products available in the market and also compare them. They can choose the best business services for them among the various services available. There are many directories available on the internet which provide such services. You can also get information about various business services in your local market from the business directory. You just have to find your local business directory and use the directory service provided by it.

The concept of business directory is very useful to the general public as well as the business owners. Business owners get their products sold and more profit. General public get the best service for them from the trusted business service providers from their local region. Business directory exists for almost all the countries and states in the internet. You can also use the business directory for your local region to make your business grow or to get best service as per your need.



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Business Directory


I recently filed chapter 7 bankruptcy. I want to buy a business from the owners I work for as soon as possible. I am working on a business plan (with help). So my question is do you think its possible i’ll get approved after waiting a certain period of time(2 years?), and if I have little capital to apply towards the loan? This is a well established business that ive been running for the owners for over 2 years, I know how to completely run the business already.

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Business Directory


I’ve been thinking about opening a business mowing lawns in the summer and plowing snow in the winter now for the last 2 years now, except I’ve never actually worked in the industry. I was just wondering if anyone could give me any information about the way that these business owners contract their business. Do they get a year or two contract with each business or is it by the job? Also, in either of the two scenarios how much money would be considered going rate to their customers? Thanks in advance for the information.

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Business Directory


cmypitch.com is an online community for entrepreneurs and business owners. Using video, it connects businesses to sources of funding, information, advice, opportunities and services.

It has three main groups of users: 1. business owners; 2. investors; and 3. business service providers. Through video, businesses can present their ideas and companies with real impact. Investors can get an instant feel for the people behind an idea or a company. Service providers can differentiate their services to a targeted group.

The community focuses on different stages of the business life cycle, and within each one, business people can network, build their contacts, share ideas and interact with like-minded individuals. cmypitch.com is unique for the following reasons:

o It is the first site in the UK to use video as a platform to connect entrepreneurs seeking funding for their business with investors.

o It provides a niche business directory with 60,000 suppliers for business owners. Each supplier can upgrade their listing to a cmypitch premium listing and market themselves to the targeted cmypitch community.

o Through ‘Entrepreneur TV’ cmypitch.com interviews and showcases the most successful entrepreneurs in their fields.

o The dynamic user-generated information centre, seeded by cmypitch.com and further populated by directory members, provides fantastic insights and relevant information about the business and entrepreneurial world.

1. Business Owners: entrepreneurs, start-ups and small & medium businesses

In the UK alone, approximately 500,000 people start a business each year, and join approximately four million who already run small and mid sized companies. cmypitch.com will support these businesses by connecting them to sources of funding, advice, opportunities and services. Business owners looking for equity funding of £25,000 or more, post two-minute video ‘pitches’ on cmypitch.com, presenting their propositions to potential investors. Investors can review the videos online, filtering them according to market sector, location, and the size of investment required. Think Dragons’ Den meets YouTube, but only for serious investment opportunities.

Easy and affordable access to good professional advice is crucial to business success. With the ‘Tailored Advice’ feature, businesses can post a short video outlining their business issue and can be contacted by professional consultants within the business directory offering tailored consultancy on how to address the problem.

‘Entrepreneur TV’ shows interviews with successful entrepreneurs to help aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners learn from their experiences. Interviewees to date include: Kwik-Fit founder, Sir Tom Farmer Champneys boss, Stephen Purdew YO Sushi! founder, Simon Woodroffe Formula One’s Eddie Jordan Glasses Direct founder, Jamie Murray Wells Serial entrepreneur and presenter of Risking it All, Martin Webb Red Letter Days founder and former ‘Dragon’, Rachael Elnaugh Founder of eSpotting and star of Millionaires Mission , Seb Bishop Travel industry entrepreneur, Ray Nolan

There are three channels where business people and entrepreneurs can research a wide range of opportunities, depending on their areas of interest: franchising, business opportunities (where people can earn additional income without a large upfront cost) and businesses for sale. Businesses for Sale focuses on mid-market businesses (valued at over £250,000).

Users can access the business directory, which includes a list of 60,000 suppliers and professional advisors across more than 20 service categories, such as accountants, banks, lawyers and marketing agencies. Users can either search the directory themselves or post a request (lead) for a supplier or consultant to call them back.

Within each community area of the site, users can access blogs, participate in forums, join groups, and keep up to date with all the relevant events. Community members can create personal and business profiles and build their contacts and referral network.

cmypitch.com is the first site to offer video profiles of emerging and interesting start-up companies – a great way for new businesses to raise their profile. The cmypitch.com team is constantly on the look out for exciting start-ups to profile, such as Kindo.com, Amuso.com, Plebble.com, W-41.com, Findsyou.com, Lastseason.com, Mucho Mas and Findatvexpert.com.

cmypitch.com also features classified advertisements for start-ups looking to assemble a new team. Businesses can post a video to attract potential employees, mentors and nonexecutives. Candidates can receive email alerts where a posting matches their criteria. 

2.Investors

For investors, including the UK’s 18,000* angel investors, cmypitch.com makes the task of identifying investment opportunities much quicker, simpler and more effective. They can save valuable time by reviewing online two-minute video pitches, allowing them to not only assess the business opportunity but also the people behind the proposition – something that usually requires a time-consuming, face-to-face meeting. Pitches can be filtered by size, market sector, location and rating, and investors can receive email alerts when a new pitch is added to the site that matches their preferred criteria. Investors can also view opportunities in the business for sale channel. *source EISA (Enterprise investment Scheme Association)

3. Business service providers

cmypitch.com gives service providers fast and affordable access to a targeted business community across the UK. With a premium listing, suppliers can advertise in the directory using video to communicate more directly with their potential customers. They can market themselves across the site by uploading resources to the Information Centre and respond to requests submitted to the Tailored Advice section. In addition, they can answer leads that match their requirements based on location, sector and company size. Leads from businesses are sent directly into their cmypitch inbox where they can be managed easily. Banks can direct start-up companies to cmypitch.com knowing that it is a reliable and credible source of information that will help them start or grow a business. They can also refer businesses to cmypitch.com to apply for funding.

Business Directory


There are five business success factors (critically important core profit principles) that all businesses share – both small business and large. In times of economic crisis like these, they are essential. And, they can make the difference between just getting by – or you getting ahead in your business.

Here, we’ll explore what they are – and how you can put them to work for you in your own business. These principles form the basis for most success in business achieved by entrepreneurs, business owners, business managers, and professionals. Without following them at least to some extent, you’ll find business to be a struggle – and much less rewarding than it could be.

As you read this, see how well your own thinking and actions in business stack up to these five core principles:

1) Profits are essential for your business to succeed – they are what pays you.

You don’t have to look far to find examples of businesses imploding due to lack of profits. (The current banking and financial crisis immediately comes to mind… Or, remember the dot-com bubble?… the spend, spend, spend your way to market share type of thinking.) And, those are just some larger, more visible examples… small businesses are at even more risk.

Ultimately, profits are the essential key ingredient for business survival – and your focus on them is key. The very existence of your business depends on a steady-stream of profits… to pay your bills… your salary… your employees… your vendors and suppliers… and to secure your financial future.

Profits make the difference between the success or failure of your enterprise. They’re the essence of being in business and are the fruits of your labor. Without profits (or deep pockets), you can’t last long.

2) Most businesses miss profit opportunities on almost every transaction or customer/client relationship – and are limiting their incomes without even knowing it.

Here again, you won’t have to look far for examples. Just think of all the leads that don’t get proper follow-up, the customers/clients that receive only occasional communications (if any), the up-sells, cross-sells and add-on sales that could have been part of a given transaction, the unrealized intangible opportunities that exist in your customer/client or vendor/supplier relationships – and you can begin to see a sad pattern.

It’s a pattern of profit opportunities gone by… wasted utilization of assets… or under-realized profit potential in your transactions. In many cases, business owners, managers and professionals are completely unaware of their lost profit opportunities.

Make your expenditure of time, energy, capital, and resources produce more for you – and capture the money that most businesses miss. Think about your sales, marketing, and advertising process as a total package – and create, test, and put in place processes that take advantage of strengths in your business.

3) Stability and security comes from creating a “Web of Profits” in your business.

Do you have a number of different sources within your business to support you? Or, are you relying on only a few? Or, even worse, relying on only ONE primary source of profit?

The majority of businesses rely on fewer than five profit sources – and think in terms of “profit centers.” In other words, a collection of different channels of profit from individual sales of products or services (retail), bulk sales (wholesale), joint ventures, ownership interests, licensing and/or other arrangements, and so on.

But, when you create a “Web of Profits” in your business – that is, an interconnected approach that integrates a variety of profit sources and activities together into a single unit of functionality – you stand a better chance of leveraging your business in new ways.

4) The focus on Increasing Profits is more beneficial than the focus on Cost-Cutting.

In times of recession or economic crisis, sometimes cost-cutting is the only logical and sane option. If you’re bleeding… you stop the bleeding before anything else. But, when it comes to cost-cutting, the effect is temporary and fleeting. Once you’ve drastically reduced your expenses, any additional cost-cutting might hurt your business’s effectiveness and viability.

Crisis management aside, it’s much better to focus on getting more business, to create new profit sources, run better promotions, do better advertising and marketing, and generally operate your business in a more customer/client oriented way.

That’s what eases the pressure from high-costs… and provides you with what you need from your business. The thinking that goes into a profit-oriented focus and mindset can often provide innovative and inspirational breakthroughs in results.

5) Strategically plan for Profits – and take the specific action steps needed to implement your plan.

Being laser-focused on profits – rather than your strategic planning being primarily focused on revenue – takes you to the next level in your business plan. You’ll be able to see alternative profit possibilities – and the action steps needed – so you can build them directly into your plan.

By their very nature, business plans focus on the bottom-line – and usually they just focus on the obvious sources – not necessarily on the alternative profit possibilities. And it’s these alternative profits that most businesses miss… profits that could even eclipse what’s being produced by your current business activities.

Often, the biggest difference between those who are able to implement new profit sources and those who aren’t – is simply the willingness to identify what potential alternative profit sources exist… to prioritize the order in which you want to implement them… and to know exactly which action steps to take. Then, of course, to simply get started – and systematically put them into practice in your business, one-by-one.

Copyright © 2008, Guerrilla Profits International