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  • Will You Add? - Starting a New Business? Plan Accordingly

    Customer Satisfaction is a Rearview Mirror
    What is the difference between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty?One package delivery company uses a regular survey to measure customer satisfaction: shipping volume (increasing, decreasing or stable), error rate (packages lost, damaged or delayed), and customer rating (happy, neutral or upset).While these indicators provide a valid snapshot of performance and customer opinion, they are lagging rather than leading, like looking in the rearview mirror.The difference between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is illus
    t became frustrated quickly when we tried to put together a business plan and accompanying schedules to give to the lender. I depended on them to give me relevant information relating to their business because I knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, they simply didn't know as much as they should about the adminstrative and financial segme
    Hot Buttered Customer Service
    "Sixteen squirts."I didn't know what my wife was talking about. I was busy counting out money for my popcorn at the AMC refreshment stand. "He put sixteen squirts of butter in your popcorn," she answered my confused expression.I looked over as the movie attendant filled my small bag of popcorn with more popcorn and then squirted in more butter. I had asked for "lots of butter." I don't usually get it. This time, I got it.I received the bag and carried it like a bag of gold dust. It was almost that heavy. The bag was warm and a wonde
    Last year, I was approached by a small group of people who had recently quit their jobs at a company that manufactured commercial food processing equipment. They became disillusioned with their employer due to lack of efficiency in production, marketing, and a general atmosphere of disorganization. The leader of the group felt they could "build a better mousetrap" if they went out on their own. Each member of the group was adept in the operational side of the business. They enjoyed good relationships with the company's customers, who were also frustrated by missed deadlines, broken promises, and even incomplete orders. The group leader covertly talked to some of these customers (medium to large sized food manufacturers) about buying from their new company. Several firms seemed excited about the prospect and made verbal committments to buy equipment from them. Needless to say, the group of four wanted to move forward with forming a new manufacturing company. Now they needed start up financing.

    Although these people knew the business from the operational end, they were all lacking in several key areas. None of the group understood accounting, cost structures, cash flow, or anything related to finance. This posed serious problems for me, whom they counted on to get them the money they needed to get going. To make a long story short, I worked with them as best I could, but became frustrated quickly when we tried to put together a business plan and accompanying schedules to give to the lender. I depended on them to give me relevant information relating to their business because I knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, they simply didn't know as much as they should about the adminstrative and financial segmen

    Are Fake Security Cameras Effective?
    Are fake security cameras effective? The answer is a resounding "Yes."Fake security cameras have helped to prevent many crimes. Mounted in high profile, totally visible locations, these cameras are not hooked up to anything, they mostly operate for a long time on batteries and sometimes have a few flashing lights or other obvious characteristics to make them look as if they are doing something.Many a would-be robber has changed his or her mind about entering someplace illegally after spotting one of these dummy security cameras looking r
    better mousetrap" if they went out on their own. Each member of the group was adept in the operational side of the business. They enjoyed good relationships with the company's customers, who were also frustrated by missed deadlines, broken promises, and even incomplete orders. The group leader covertly talked to some of these customers (medium to large sized food manufacturers) about buying from their new company. Several firms seemed excited about the prospect and made verbal committments to buy equipment from them. Needless to say, the group of four wanted to move forward with forming a new manufacturing company. Now they needed start up financing.

    Although these people knew the business from the operational end, they were all lacking in several key areas. None of the group understood accounting, cost structures, cash flow, or anything related to finance. This posed serious problems for me, whom they counted on to get them the money they needed to get going. To make a long story short, I worked with them as best I could, but became frustrated quickly when we tried to put together a business plan and accompanying schedules to give to the lender. I depended on them to give me relevant information relating to their business because I knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, they simply didn't know as much as they should about the adminstrative and financial segme

    Cheap or Free Off Line Methods of Advertising
    The internet has widened the horizons for businessmen inasmuch as it has provided an innovative method for advertising and marketing. Ironically, though, it has also narrowed the field for some (especially those whose business resides strictly online) who have been led to think that internet marketing is the only way to go for it,s relatively cheap, it has a wide reach, etc.While it,s true that internet marketing brings a lot of advantages, it,s not wise to neglect off line methods altogether. While it,s true that more and more people are using
    large sized food manufacturers) about buying from their new company. Several firms seemed excited about the prospect and made verbal committments to buy equipment from them. Needless to say, the group of four wanted to move forward with forming a new manufacturing company. Now they needed start up financing.

    Although these people knew the business from the operational end, they were all lacking in several key areas. None of the group understood accounting, cost structures, cash flow, or anything related to finance. This posed serious problems for me, whom they counted on to get them the money they needed to get going. To make a long story short, I worked with them as best I could, but became frustrated quickly when we tried to put together a business plan and accompanying schedules to give to the lender. I depended on them to give me relevant information relating to their business because I knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, they simply didn't know as much as they should about the adminstrative and financial segme

    Political Correctness is the Enemy of Brands
    Stop With Political CorrectnessPolitical correctness is the enemy of great brands. It is, in fact, the enemy of great marketing. The finest brands and the best marketing are those that seem most transparent to the customer. When a consumer sees an advertisement, they should see the brand and not be aware of the message. When they see the brand, they should see themselves and not all of the product attributes.Clarity Is Your AllyClarity and single-mindedness are the allies
    siness from the operational end, they were all lacking in several key areas. None of the group understood accounting, cost structures, cash flow, or anything related to finance. This posed serious problems for me, whom they counted on to get them the money they needed to get going. To make a long story short, I worked with them as best I could, but became frustrated quickly when we tried to put together a business plan and accompanying schedules to give to the lender. I depended on them to give me relevant information relating to their business because I knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, they simply didn't know as much as they should about the adminstrative and financial segme
    Online Surveys, Can You Really Make Money From Them?
    There are plenty of different ways to make money from the comfort of your own home. One good way is by taking online surveys. Many companies are willing to pay a wide cross-section of people to give their thoughts and opinions on particular products and services. Most people who do online surveys do it for extra money since it is very hard to earn enough to live on just by doing surveys. You often see advertisements on the internet saying something like ‘online surveys make money work at home’ and many people wonder if it really is so easy to make a few
    t became frustrated quickly when we tried to put together a business plan and accompanying schedules to give to the lender. I depended on them to give me relevant information relating to their business because I knew nothing about the industry. Unfortunately, they simply didn't know as much as they should about the adminstrative and financial segments of the business, and it showed. They were turned down from two leasing companies, and were then rejected for an SBA loan. Despite the difficulties, they still would have gotten the SBA loan if the potential customers had signed off on buying committments, but they didn't.

    The moral of this story is to have your ducks in a row for all apspects of your business. What would have happened if they had gotten financing? Unless they would have hired some top flight in-house financial officer, I think they would have ended up in deep trouble.

    Some helpful tips for developing a business plan:

    1. Be conservative with your sales projections. It's easy to get caught up in the glamour of lofty sales forecasts, but you should assume it's not going to be rosy the first few years. Make sure you have a solid basis for your projections.

    2. Don't view it as a mere formaility to get a bank loan. Look at it as a blueprint for the life of your business. Writing an effective business plan means doing a lot of soul searching and research. What market entry challenges will we have? What is the most effective means of marketing our products? Which suppliers provide the best value for our raw materials? The answers to these questions (and many more)must be well thought out.

    3. Carefully analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your management team. Part of the

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