Posted by Margaret Gerber on February 13th, 2011
A buyer’s source of financing depends in part on the price of the business being purchased. The vast majority of smaller businesses (less than $2million) are purchased with a significant portion of the purchase financed by the owner. The buyer, however, still must make a down payment and be sure that adequate working capital sources are available.
If the funds needed for the down payment are not readily available, the buyer must look for financing from an outside source. To grant such financing, an institutional lender is almost certain to require personal collateral for the loan as well as a wealth of financial and operating data of the business to be acquired. The most attractive types of personal collateral from the lender’s point of view are real estate, marketable securities and cash value of life insurance. In a
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Posted by James Campos on February 11th, 2011
For hundreds of years architectural drawings were drawn up and reproduced by hand with ink on paper. These scale drawings were drawn according to standard conventions and used as building plans, working sketches, and as records. During the twentieth century technical advances changed the way draftsmen performed their job. The introduction of digital technology has caused a switch to computer aided drafting, or CAD.
The origins of the detailed plans of structures common to modern times was in the Renaissance, when artists made detailed sketches of classical buildings and began planning buildings that they imagined. In those days, the renderings did not include measurements and the conventions for detailed plans had not yet been set. Builders were expected to follow the illustration and work out the details.
As building became more complex, the art of drafting the plans advanced so that everything was spelled out in detail. Read Full Post…
Posted by William C on February 10th, 2011
After looking at hundreds of online shops and providing critiques for many shopowners, I see the same mistakes being made over and over again. And what’s frustrating is that most of these mistakes have to do with either being too cheap, greedy or lazy.
For example, most newbie webmasters simply use the out of the box shopping cart installation without any modification which results in a sub optimal shopping experience for their customers.
To be successful, you have to take the time to make your store unique and attractive. You have to stand out and the default look just isn’t going to cut it.
Other shop owners think that they can cut corners and skimp out on paying for critical products and services in order to save money. Bel
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Posted by William C on February 7th, 2011
In the more than 30 years Ive been involved with business planning, Ive seen styles and fashion of plans change a lot, but the fundamentals remain fairly constant. To help you craft a plan that hits all the right notes, heres a list of some of the more common business planning mistakes you should avoid:
1. Dont put off writing a plan. Dont wait until you have enough time, dont wait until you have the right people, and definitely dont wait until theres an urgent reason you suddenly need a plan. Instead, just do it now. Recognize that you need a business plan and that your first step is to prepare your first plan. Get a draft up and running and then continue updating it to keep it current with your business. Of course, youll soon realize that your plan may never be done, but the important thing is, youre planning.
You should always be planning your business.
2.
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Posted by James Campos on February 7th, 2011
Whatever CRM system you choose, implementing it correctly is essential to the success of the CRM project. To implement it correctly, you need an effective project methodology. This will minimise the risks and costs associated with CRM initiatives and achieve high return on investment by providing maximum user adoption.
So what is a CRM project?
A CRM project is a distinct series of tasks and activities that produce a set of tangible outcomes within clearly specified constraints of time, quality and cost.
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Posted by Margaret Gerber on February 6th, 2011
It would seem the Web has come to rule our lives. Everyone has a website. Personal websites, blogs, corporate websites and online social communities are struggling to gain the attention of readers; seriously diminishing attention spans and making it difficult for websites to gain a loyal audience.
Design is usually the first aspect of a website that you, as a business owner, will probably consider. Naturally, you want your website to be cool and trendy. You will soon be disappointed to find out that in the sea of outstanding designs, it might be difficult to create something that stands out.
The reality is that standing out visually will not get you customers…flashy design is not why people invest money in products and services. P
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Posted by James Campos on February 3rd, 2011
South Africa faces rising risks to its inflation outlook due to commodity prices, and inflation may move to the upper end of the 3% to 6% target range sooner than expected, Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said.
In a speech posted on the Bank’s website, Marcus said rising global and domestic prices were likely to pose a challenge to monetary policy in the coming months. She reiterated that the likelihood of further loosening was limited.
“While inflation appears to be under control, there are increasing risks to the outlook posed by rising global commodity prices, particularly food and oil prices,” Marcus said.
“Should food and oil prices impact on domestic inflation by more than is currently expected, we may see inflation moving towards the upper end of the target range sooner than expected.”
The Reserve Bank left its key repo rate unchanged at 5,5% in January and signalled the possible end of a 650 basis point easing cycle that began in December 2008. Read Full Post…