Keep the Cash Coming In: Cash Flow Management
Cash is the lifeblood of a business, regardless of the industry or type of operation. The cash flow needs to be steady and strong for a company to survive and grow. Is there a secret to maintaining a healthy, positive cash flow? Not really—all it takes is an awareness of effective techniques and a consistent attention to detail.Here are some cash flow management tools that work:Sweep account. This is a service banks offer which lets you earn the maximum interest on all the money in your accounts, even if it’s just overnight, without penalties or concerns of bouncing checks. The system is set up so funds are automatically moved—or swept—in and out of the appropriate accounts each day. This means, for example, that you can maintain a zero-balance checking account. With a sweep account, at the end of each day, any deposits to your checking account which are not needed to cover checks can be automatically applied to pay down your line of credit (or other loans); if the checking

Ten Traits of Super Successful Salespeople
Selling is the best profession in the world according to most successful salespeople.When you look into the profession you find that the most successful people have a few things in common.Read on to find out what they are.1.They don’t settle for an average return. Sounds simple and it is. They have a burning desire to be the best. Not just against other salespeople but just to be their best.2. They’re not normal. Super successful salespeople always set their own targets, goals and objectives, and there is usually nothing ‘normal’ about them. They don’t want to be mediocre so they simple play by their own rules.3. They are highly motivated. Setting a goal is one thing but having a single-minded determination to achieve it is another.4. They sacrifice. Anyone who excels in one area, be it sales, sport or business, have to sacrifice something to be so good. Make sure what you will gain overcomes and short-term sacrifices you have to make.5. They feel good abou

Work vs Play: Which is the Better Way to Make Big Money?
If you want to make big money, you have to play not to work."What do you mean by that?" You ask.I attended a workshop last weekend and the speaker said if you are serious in making big money, you've got to play, not work.He further explained that if you work, you can only make small money. That's what most people end up with. Making small money by working.This point is best illustrated by studying the Chinese character for play. The character has two parts: one consists of the character "King" and the other is "Money".By combining these two parts, it becomes "King of Money." And in turn, "King of Money" forms the word "Play."Hence, play is the "King of Money."That's the interesting part about Chinese characters. The wisdom in the character "Play" is if you want to make big money, you must be able to enjoy the process of wealth creation.If you don't enjoy the process and you treat the process as another piece of work, you can't make a lot of money.your growth well, you will end up with more problems than you can handle.

Is growth right for your company? Here are some important questions you need to ask yourself before you decide to expand your business: Is your company meeting the demands for its products or services in current markets? Do you see potential in markets next door, across the border, or even overseas? Do you have enough resources in production, materials, people, finance, and time? Do you have a proven ability to plan strategically and follow written business plans? Do you see growth as a way to strengthen your business, and not as a way to solve current problems?

If you answered no to any of these questions, you should not expand your business without laying more groundwork. But, if you answered yes to all the above questions then you are ready to expand.

Expanding your business requires commitment. You must explain to your management team and other employees how growth will benefit the company. If even one person at a relatively senior level in your organization isn’t convinced that the company should grow, it means one of two things. Either your reasons are not good enough, or the person won’t buy into it no matter how good your reasons are, in which case there’s no place for him or her on the team.

As you consider a plan to begin growing your business, ask yourself a few more important questions: Is ego driving your desire to grow? Are you growing to gain increased personal power and prestige? Is your plan based solely on the fact that you are already successful? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your plan for expansion probably won’t be successful.

If your business is going to expand and grow successfully you and all your employees must possess knowledge. Knowledge is power, and knowledge of your industry and the economy is essential to expanding successfully.

Knowledge of your industry brings a sense of timing, one of your greatest assets when expanding. The right timing helps you to know what moves to make and when. For example, you must know which of your competitors are doing well, and which are hurting. This knowledge allows your company to negotiate deals at the best time and at the best price.

When you are considering whether growth is right for you, be sure your company has adaptability to new markets. For example, if you sell snow removal equipment, it would probably be difficult to move into the Florida market. While this sounds obvious, many companies have gone out of business because they became so excited about the idea of expanding to a new market that they overlooked the fact that no one there wanted to buy what they were selling.

Before you can embark on expanding your business, you need to put your plan on paper. Your business expansion plan should be separate from your original business plan. This plan should be specifically tailored to your business expansion and needs to spell out your costs, financing needs, and help you to track your progress toward your goals.

A good business expansion plan should have three main elements:

* A narrative section that documents objectives, strategies, assumptions, and sets your timetable.

* A financial analysis, including and income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow projections.

* A sensitivity analysis, to determine how variables; such as shifts in interest rates, changes in pricing structures, or slower-than-expected sales, will affect you and how you can adapt.

Because of the Internet, expanding your company can mean you’re doing business on the other side of the globe within seconds or just winning customers in your own backyard. Even if you aren’t aiming for distant horizons, you must protect your current position through internal growth. This will also make it easier for you to move into new markets when you are ready.

Growth within your existing market can be accomplished in a number of ways, one of which is being more competitively priced. Check to see if your are as low-cost as you can be. The bottom line is to control your cost, which may mean paying employees slightly more for higher productivity and investing in better ways to deliver your product or service.

Internal growth can also come from improving your marketing, adding new products and services or value to existing ones, or opening more locations in your existing markets. But where should you open? What should you add? How can you better market your business? The answers can be found by learning more about your customer’s needs.

Once you have successful internal expansion underway it is time to expand into new markets. In determining where to target your expansion, think of your objectives. If you want to protect your company against regional economic cycles, choose markets that are subject to different economic swings.

Another objective may be to give your company such as wide-ranging national or international presence that you can outmaneuver your competitors, in which case you should target numerous markets across the United States and Internationally.

Whatever your strategy, be sure to do your homework on potential new markets. Before you enter, find out about the customer, the market size, the competition, product and service demand, pricing, methods of marketing and merchandising, packaging and labeling regulations, environmental regulations, labor issues, tax issues, and the ability of the market to serve as a marketing hub for other regions.

No matter how you choose to pursue growing your business, be it internally, through acquisitions, or by entering new domestic and foreign markets, the most important thing to remember is that growth introduces your company to many opportunities. It allows for increased profits, protection from recessions, improved quality and efficiency, and, most of all knowledge. Busin

ersonal power and prestige? Is your plan based solely on the fact that you are already successful? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your plan for expansion probably won’t be successful.

If your business is going to expand and grow successfully you and all your employees must possess knowledge. Knowledge is power, and knowledge of your industry and the economy is essential to expanding successfully.

Knowledge of your industry brings a sense of timing, one of your greatest assets when expanding. The right timing helps you to know what moves to make and when. For example, you must know which of your competitors are doing well, and which are hurting. This knowledge allows your company to negotiate deals at the best time and at the best price.

When you are considering whether growth is right for you, be sure your company has adaptability to new markets. For example, if you sell snow removal equipment, it would probably be difficult to move into the Florida market. While this sounds obvious, many companies have gone out of business because they became so excited about the idea of expanding to a new market that they overlooked the fact that no one there wanted to buy what they were selling.

Before you can embark on expanding your business, you need to put your plan on paper. Your business expansion plan should be separate from your original business plan. This plan should be specifically tailored to your business expansion and needs to spell out your costs, financing needs, and help you to track your progress toward your goals.

A good business expansion plan should have three main elements:

* A narrative section that documents objectives, strategies, assumptions, and sets your timetable.

* A financial analysis, including and income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow projections.

* A sensitivity analysis, to determine how variables; such as shifts in interest rates, changes in pricing structures, or slower-than-expected sales, will affect you and how you can adapt.

Because of the Internet, expanding your company can mean you’re doing business on the other side of the globe within seconds or just winning customers in your own backyard. Even if you aren’t aiming for distant horizons, you must protect your current position through internal growth. This will also make it easier for you to move into new markets when you are ready.

Growth within your existing market can be accomplished in a number of ways, one of which is being more competitively priced. Check to see if your are as low-cost as you can be. The bottom line is to control your cost, which may mean paying employees slightly more for higher productivity and investing in better ways to deliver your product or service.

Internal growth can also come from improving your marketing, adding new products and services or value to existing ones, or opening more locations in your existing markets. But where should you open? What should you add? How can you better market your business? The answers can be found by learning more about your customer’s needs.

Once you have successful internal expansion underway it is time to expand into new markets. In determining where to target your expansion, think of your objectives. If you want to protect your company against regional economic cycles, choose markets that are subject to different economic swings.

Another objective may be to give your company such as wide-ranging national or international presence that you can outmaneuver your competitors, in which case you should target numerous markets across the United States and Internationally.

Whatever your strategy, be sure to do your homework on potential new markets. Before you enter, find out about the customer, the market size, the competition, product and service demand, pricing, methods of marketing and merchandising, packaging and labeling regulations, environmental regulations, labor issues, tax issues, and the ability of the market to serve as a marketing hub for other regions.

No matter how you choose to pursue growing your business, be it internally, through acquisitions, or by entering new domestic and foreign markets, the most important thing to remember is that growth introduces your company to many opportunities. It allows for increased profits, protection from recessions, improved quality and efficiency, and, most of all knowledge. Busin

o spell out your costs, financing needs, and help you to track your progress toward your goals.

A good business expansion plan should have three main elements:

* A narrative section that documents objectives, strategies, assumptions, and sets your timetable.

* A financial analysis, including and income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow projections.

* A sensitivity analysis, to determine how variables; such as shifts in interest rates, changes in pricing structures, or slower-than-expected sales, will affect you and how you can adapt.

Because of the Internet, expanding your company can mean you’re doing business on the other side of the globe within seconds or just winning customers in your own backyard. Even if you aren’t aiming for distant horizons, you must protect your current position through internal growth. This will also make it easier for you to move into new markets when you are ready.

Growth within your existing market can be accomplished in a number of ways, one of which is being more competitively priced. Check to see if your are as low-cost as you can be. The bottom line is to control your cost, which may mean paying employees slightly more for higher productivity and investing in better ways to deliver your product or service.

Internal growth can also come from improving your marketing, adding new products and services or value to existing ones, or opening more locations in your existing markets. But where should you open? What should you add? How can you better market your business? The answers can be found by learning more about your customer’s needs.

Once you have successful internal expansion underway it is time to expand into new markets. In determining where to target your expansion, think of your objectives. If you want to protect your company against regional economic cycles, choose markets that are subject to different economic swings.

Another objective may be to give your company such as wide-ranging national or international presence that you can outmaneuver your competitors, in which case you should target numerous markets across the United States and Internationally.

Whatever your strategy, be sure to do your homework on potential new markets. Before you enter, find out about the customer, the market size, the competition, product and service demand, pricing, methods of marketing and merchandising, packaging and labeling regulations, environmental regulations, labor issues, tax issues, and the ability of the market to serve as a marketing hub for other regions.

No matter how you choose to pursue growing your business, be it internally, through acquisitions, or by entering new domestic and foreign markets, the most important thing to remember is that growth introduces your company to many opportunities. It allows for increased profits, protection from recessions, improved quality and efficiency, and, most of all knowledge. Busin

re should you open? What should you add? How can you better market your business? The answers can be found by learning more about your customer’s needs.

Once you have successful internal expansion underway it is time to expand into new markets. In determining where to target your expansion, think of your objectives. If you want to protect your company against regional economic cycles, choose markets that are subject to different economic swings.

Another objective may be to give your company such as wide-ranging national or international presence that you can outmaneuver your competitors, in which case you should target numerous markets across the United States and Internationally.

Whatever your strategy, be sure to do your homework on potential new markets. Before you enter, find out about the customer, the market size, the competition, product and service demand, pricing, methods of marketing and merchandising, packaging and labeling regulations, environmental regulations, labor issues, tax issues, and the ability of the market to serve as a marketing hub for other regions.

No matter how you choose to pursue growing your business, be it internally, through acquisitions, or by entering new domestic and foreign markets, the most important thing to remember is that growth introduces your company to many opportunities. It allows for increased profits, protection from recessions, improved quality and efficiency, and, most of all knowledge. Business growth is about learning. New horizons open up new and better ways of doing business.

There’s no question that growth puts your company at a certain level of risk. But, in the final analysis, standing still places your company in even greater danger, the danger of losing everything. Perhaps you’re satisfied with the products, customers, and competition you have now. But that doesn’t mean that your competitors, both nearby and abroad feel the same way. While you may pass up the opportunity to expand, other companies could be studying your market, and crafting plans for their own successful business expansion.

Copyright© 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.