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Akhil Shahani asked:


One of your biggest worries as a small business owner is how to secure capital to expand the business. Commercial finance is one of the many options available to people in your situation. This sort of financing is also called asset-based lending, since it involves some form of a secured business loan. The borrower guarantees repayment of the loan by pledging business assets as collateral.

There are several types of commercial finance options available to small businesses:

• Accounts receivable factoring

Businesses can “sell” unpaid invoices to banks at a discounted value for cash, which can be used right away for ongoing needs. There are many benefits to this financing option such as not having to give up a share in the business as with equity financing, and doing away with the risk and hassle of collecting payment from clients.

• Purchase order financing

This short term commercial finance option is popular because it enables building up of cash flow reserves. A growing business is likely to be strapped for cash while trying to meet its objective of manufacturing and selling products. At the same time, suppliers usually want to be paid upfront or are willing to extend only limited credit to new firms.

If the business has a few purchase orders on hand, it can solve this problem by seeking funds against the same. The financing agency pays suppliers directly for inputs that go into the production of that particular order.

• Asset based loans

This form of financing is used to test the robustness of a business and evaluate how it would perform given a long term loan. The business receiving the asset based loan has to prove within a limited period that given adequate financing its business model would be effective, and that a long term loan would sustain business growth over a period of time.

This form of financing is perfect for the business that can’t afford to wait to establish creditworthiness. Assets that can be offered as collateral against this type of loan include real estate, accounts receivables and finished goods.

Some other forms of commercial finance besides those described above include:

• Bankruptcy reorganization

• Secured lines of credit

• Trade financing

• Loans against inventory

Financing a business is a tough ask, but there are ways to do it, especially if your business idea looks sound. At the same time, it is critical that your business establish its creditworthiness in due course. Only with a good business credit rating is it possible to obtain large loans and other forms of capital. Work on building yours up so that your business is not one among the vast majority that has a loan application rejected

Catherine Harvey asked:


When it comes to small business banking, this can be a confusing issue for those just starting out. Some banks will use this situation to get the most out of those customers and independent advice on small business banking is always a good idea.

One of these issues regarding the finances of small businesses is the problem of staff. Offering staff enough incentive to stay with the smaller firm and not succumb to the added bonuses and attractions of a larger corporate firm is a hurdle to be overcome.

Small business banking dictates that large salaries and perks are not possible. However, there are some things that can be done. There are schemes that are currently running where small business managers can offer their staff the chance of private healthcare plans. These are discounted to the company and also have the added advantage of reducing time employees take off work sick. This is a bonus to small business banking as no money is lost through sick employees or having to find temporary staff and pay their wages too.

While some may think this wouldn’t be enough to keep staff it has been found that eighty per cent of employees actually liked the idea of voluntary healthcare benefits. ‘Voluntary’ is always a good word to use for staff benefits as it is also widely known that employees feel happier about their jobs when they are in charge of decisions that affect themselves. In fact, a quarter of those employees polled stated the choice of healthcare benefits as a deciding factor when choosing an employer.

Staff are the most important asset to any small business and healthcare plans are just one aspect that small business banking would advise is on offer. Other choices encompass pension schemes, bonuses and gyms, depending on disposable income and numbers of staff as to whether or not it would be viable.

A choice of some benefits as well as good treatment of staff can be the deciding factor over whether or not a small business will retain staff or not and is just one of the issues they face.

Another necessary problem that small business banking advice would suggest is that of keeping an eye on your charges. If you think you have suffered unfair small business banking charges, then you must find the time to act to reclaim them and not just put up with it. Hundreds of thousands of people have done this successfully.

Despite claims for unfair personal banking charges being currently on hold, this is not the case for business banking. The difference is that business accounts are covered by Common Law rather that Consumer Law and to this end, need to be worded differently. Always make sure you keep accurate records in case you ever need to claim back unfair charges.

It also pays to direct all mail concerning overcharging to your local branch rather than head office as this will ensure that if your case makes it to court it will be a court local to you. Always make sure you read the small print before trying to claim back small business banking charges. There can be nothing worse than shouting about a discrepancy and finding you were in the wrong.

Be on the lookout for excessive charges. It is only lawful for the bank to charge a fee in relation to what the inconvenience has actually cost them. Charges over and above this are seen as penalties and are not enforceable. Go back over old statements and records and work out exactly what you are owed. Your first step should be to write to the bank and request your unfair charges back. This often has favourable consequences and can remove the need for lengthy and costly court proceedings.

Take a close look at the court action choices open to you. Listen to what the bank has to say and if you decide to proceed, inform the bank of your choice. You will often find that this is when they back down and repay your charges to avoid the bad publicity.

Above everything else, ensure you keep a close eye on your small business banking. Avoiding the charges in the first place saves a lot of time and hassle that most small businesses can ill afford.

Ben Gannon asked:


It is worth noting the fact that all big things have their roots in some basic small beginnings that were made by people who are called as mentors in the present day world. With people dreaming of big empires, it would be viable to start with some small opportunities that come their way. If money is your constraint, then you can easily take up small business finance for overcoming it.

With any small opportunities that are falling in place for the businessman, it would be a good start even if he has to take up Small business finance for his monetary requirements. If it is starting a new business or even resetting up an older one, money is available easily to them.

In a business, money may be required for any purpose relating to the business. This may be payment of labor, getting raw materials, buying new machines, marketing, transportation etc. All these needs can be easily fulfilled with the help of these loans.

The borrower can take up these loans in the form that is suitable for him. If he wants a big amount or is intent on a low rate of interest, then he should go for the secured form of the finance. The borrowers have to pledge an asset for this form with the lender. This way the borrower can get an amount up to £10 million with a repayment term of 5-25 years. For this the borrower will have to pledge his home, car, machines, raw material etc with the loan lender to get a low rate for the loan amount.

If the borrower wants a smaller amount or does not have any asset to pledge with the lender, then the unsecured form of the loan is the best for him. Through these loans, the borrower does not require to pledge any asset for the loan and get a sum of up to £25000 for his business requirements.

Small business finance is a ready source of money for the businessmen who are in need. They can now establish themselves easily with the help of this money.

MOJO asked:


Small businesses have small amounts of money for advertising and promoting budgets. While big businesses can afford themselves wide area networks of Radio, Television and Newspapers, national scope,  small business have to limit themselves to local networks.

The struggle and competition among big and small businesses with their proportional opponents on the customers attention is strategically the same but the numbers and thus the tactics are different. Big businesses are talking about thousands of customers, losing or attracting them, is matters. For small businesses the struggle is over each customer, individually.

 

All businesses have websites. In many cases you can’t tell the men from the boys when it comes to be represented by a website. Small businesses can afford themselves complicated and well designed sites because every 15 years old youngster can develop a website nowadays some times for free, just for the fun of it. So money is not the issue here.

Although big businesses are thinking in big numbers (of customers) still – Customers services are important to them the same as for small businesses. Everybody knows that a happy customer brings 10 more and a frustrated customer drives out 100. This is why big and small businesses put a lot of attention to Customer services. It is only the outcomes of this efforts which is different. While for the big businesses a few angry customers are counted in fractions of percentages -  for the small businesses its 100% winning or losing each single client.  

 

There is one field of advertising and promoting where small businesses are big! The paper made printed materials: promoting Business Cards, Magnets, Stickers, Flyers and Postcards are circulated around by small business owners. You don’t expect “Sheraton” hotels chain or “TWA” to distribute Magnets from door to door or to stash Flyers in private mail boxes. But it is a natural advertising and promoting habit of plumbers, pizza parlor managers, and taxi drivers. The cost / effective ratio of such means are fit and suit small businesses perfectly, meeting their budget limitations and pay off.

Joshua Feinberg asked:


Do you provide small business IT services?

One of the best way to be successful in small business IT is to survey your prospects, customers and clients to find out about their true needs. This way, you can propose IT projects that will solve their biggest problems.

But how do you convince your customers and clients that they need the major projects you’re proposing? And how do you get them to agree to enter into long-term relationships with your firm?

The following 3 tips can help you understand why getting buy-in from customers — and building consensus — is so important to the success of major small business IT projects.

Know the Dangers of Not Getting 100% Buy-In. If a small business owner is totally gung ho about a planned project, but every other staff member is bitterly resistant, your life will be a complete nightmare. If not everyone is on board from the beginning, you also run the risk of having the owner pull the plug mid-project. Then you’ll have to either eat some non-billable hours or risk alienating a client with aggressive collection efforts. Either way, you’re much better off investing the time to ask the right questions, so you can uncover their true needs and build consensus right from the outset. Take Precautions Up-Front with New Customers and Clients. You can avoid major aggravation if you work hard at talking to all important people at a client site before starting any major small business IT projects. You want to make sure you talk to the owners/partners, internal gurus, mid-level managers/supervisors, power users and novice/beginner users. These talks will be your last chance to probe newly-discovered topics that need to be addressed and to ask for additional clarification. Make sure you completely understand their expectations and that they understand yours before proceeding. Remember, building consensus if crucial to your success as the project manager. Keep the Small Business Owner Involved in the Project. Make sure every client stays actively involved with any project you do. If the problem you are tackling is not urgent or important enough to demand the small business owner’s attention, or if the small business owner becomes disengaged, these are red flags that you may be headed for trouble. With small business IT projects, your clients can’t completely outsource decision-making, oversight and responsibility. You need periodic feedback and guidance at certain key decision intervals. Projects typically fail when the owner wants the project done immediately, but has no time to explain what is needed. You need to make sure your client is delegating responsibility to someone within the company that is authorized to make decisions.



In this brief article, we discussed 3 tips that help you improve the success rates and client satisfaction rates of your small business IT projects. Learn more about how you can attract great, steady, high-paying small business IT clients now at http://www.SmallBusinessITSecrets.com

Copyright (C), SmallBusinessITSecrets.com, All Rights Reserved

Arnold R. McIntosh asked:


This unique small business financing program offers many benefits, and not just to small business owners. This program allows referrals, and this can help you make a nice sum simply for referring small business owners to the program. The referral program is a situation where everyone involved wins, and there are no losers. This program requires no credit checks, tax returns, or any of the other documentation that is usually required. It is one of the best available small business financing options, and the referral program means that you can earn extra money simply by telling other small business owners about this fantastic program.

Referrals are paid for by the lender to help identify other small business owners who could benefit from this program. Many small business owners have networks of other small business owners, who may belong to the same trade groups or associations. In addition, many of us know people who own a small business and could really use financing right now to help in these tough economic conditions. The referral process is very easy, and takes almost no time at all. Anyone you refer will put your name as the referral source on the paperwork, and when your referral qualifies for the financing then you are paid a referral fee. You get money simply for helping an acquaintance or friend get the money they need for their small business. This financing program is risk free, because the processing fee is completely refundable if you are not one hundred percent satisfied with the amount of financing offered.

The referral program offered by this financing opportunity means you can help out any small business owner you know or meet, and benefit from it. The extra income you can make from referrals can really come in handy, especially with the slow economy and financial crisis that is raging. The best part is that this small business financing program sells itself, because of all the benefits offered and the fact that there are no disadvantages. You do not not to push to sell the benefits of this financing program, once small business owners realize the enormous potential and the ease and convenience offered. Financing is critical for any small business to grow and expand, and the financial crisis has made getting this financing extremely difficult from banks and other traditional lenders.

This new and unique small business financing program is a lifeline to small business who need financing but do not meet the perfect credit and documentation requirements that are needed in the current climate. The referral program means that you can get the small business financing you need plus earn some for telling people about the program you use. Unlike all the other financing options, this program is very flexible, and requires a small amount of documentation. Bad credit is okay and can still get approval. This program has helped many small businesses get back on their feet by providing the financing needed. The fact that you can earn money for telling people about this fabulous financing program is just another benefit, for a program that has many.

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Abhishek Agarwal asked:


People who own and run small businesses may have been overlooked in the past. Not attracted to the big budgets and sophisticated requirements of big business, the security industry has not focused on providing small business security. Small businesses had to settle for inappropriate and overpriced security that resembled home security systems.

But there’s good news. Leading security industry manufacturers and providers are paying attention now. They’re beginning to understand that the unique needs of small business security require tailored security measures and systems.

Small business security does have one advantage. Needing smaller staff and experiencing less turnover than large businesses, small business’s risk for in-house theft is significantly less, reducing the need for inventory tracking and video monitoring for break rooms and storage areas. But small businesses still face serious risks for theft, vandalism, and violence.

Small business security needs are in many ways like those of corporations and individual homeowners. Common-sense security measures are important. Things like removing potential hiding places for would-be thieves by eliminating blind spots on building exteriors is a basic preventive measure. Lighting the building, inside and out, makes it possible for people outside the building to observe criminal activity at night and when the business is closed. Keeping entry points clear of obstructions and shadows is important to safety and security. Installing locks with security codes for individual employees prevents entry by unauthorized people.

Exterior lighting is not only important for security. It’s an important way to prevent injuries to customers and to prevent crimes against both customers and employees outside the building. Liability insurance is a significant expense, and good exterior lighting can qualify small businesses for discounts and insurance savings. So in a way, liability insurance is a good small business security measure.

Every year, small businesses lose billions of dollars to preventable theft and vandalism. Monitored commercial alarm systems are an inexpensive and effective way to protect your small business. They’re easy to install in less than a day, and they’re easy to operate. A good small business security system will include control panels, security keypads, glass break sensors, window and door contacts, motion detectors, and sirens. Systems can be hard-wired or wireless. They can include loud immediate alarms or silent alarms that alert law enforcement without interrupting ongoing business. They can have add-ons like fire alarms and video surveillance. You can get a back-up system to assure your small business security needs are covered at all times.

If you haven’t already done it, you should ask a security professional to inspect and assess your small business for vulnerabilities and ask for a proposal that addresses them. Inherently more vulnerable to financial losses, there’s no such thing as too much security for a small business. An expert in the field can help you identify your small business security needs and create a plan that both meets your budget and makes your small business more secure.

When shopping for a small business security system provider, there are a few basic ways to select the best one for your needs. First, you should always talk to more than one company. Three or four reputable vendors is a logical choice that produces competition and gives you a variety of ideas and options. They should be willing to come to your business for face-to-face meetings. Be sure to get the proposals and price estimates in writing, and make sure the proposals are complete, including monthly charges, set-up and installation fees, and warranties. Find out if they offer training for you and your staff. Once you’ve made a commitment, review the contract very carefully to make sure it includes all the options you discussed with them.

The small business security specialist can analyze your physical layout, your internal procedures, and your vulnerabilities to help you come up with a comprehensive plan.

Samuel Martin asked:


About 45 million Americans are working from home, according to a survey conducted by ITAC, a telework advisory group. The survey also found that out of 135.4 million workers, 20.6 million conducted work in their car and 16.3 million worked while on vacation.

By installing a server with Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Small Business Server 2003 software on it, businesses can store all of its documents, e-mail messages, calendars and images in one location. Additionally, employees can remotely access all company documents as well as programs and data on their desktop – from anywhere in the world. With a server, mobile devices such as Smartphones and Personal Digital Assistants also can connect users to e-mail, scheduling software and other programs as though they were working at their desks.

A small-business server can help increase a company’s productivity and efficiency by allowing a specialized computer to perform services and run software for other computers, or “clients,” on its network.

For the millions of Americans who need to work when away from their office, Windows Small Business Server 2003 offers a solution that includes Remote Web Workplace. This application allows employees to access anything on their work desktop from any PC in the world that has Internet access.

Many employees who work in a business without a server can’t be very productive. They’re also unable to back up their data or prevent unauthorized users from accessing their computers, all common problems small businesses experience that server software can prevent. Later this year, Microsoft plans to launch a new release, Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2, which will include even more advanced security features.

The ITAC survey also found that during the past year, the number of employee telecommuters increased by 30 percent. As this trend continues, so will the need for integrated solutions such as small-business servers.

Whether or not their employees telecommute, companies are realizing the benefits of using small-business servers to streamline processes and decrease costs.

Jeff Schuman asked:


If you have a website of your own for your small business first of all congratulations. Many of you competitors do not have one yet. You have a leg up on them. For those that do have their own website they may not have it optimized for the maximum results from the search engines.

Here are a few ways you can get a leg up on them with proper search engine optimization for your small business website.

1. Duplicate Content: As a general rule keep all of the content on your website fresh and original. Don’t use someone else’s content unless you have paid for it and it is 100% yours to copyright.

2. Links: Outgoing links are bad. Incoming links are good. Internal linking to other pages within your site are good. Use hyperlinked keyword phrases to tell the search engines and your visitors what the page is about.

3. Keyword Density: Keep you keyword density at 2%-5% per page. This means that if you have an article of 400 words on the page don’t use your primary or secondary keyword phrases more than 20 times. Personally I think that is to much and would shoot for 8-10 times. More than that and it sounds like spamming and it probably is.

4. Title Tag: Keep you words to a minimum and include your primary kewyord and secondary keyword one time.

5. Description Tag. Keep your words to a minimum and include your primary and secondary keywords to describe what your web page is about

6. Keyword Tag. These do not serve much of a benefit from a search engine optimization standpoint, but it is o.k. to include 2 or 3 as they relate to your page.

7. Alt Text. Search engines can not read pictures, only words. So tell them again what your site is about by including your primary and secondary keywords followed by the word graphic or image.

8. Headline Tags. h1, h2, h3 followed by the keywords in order of importance. Then use those again one time in the body of the text following the headline tag.

9. Bold, underline and italicize your primary keyword one time in the first paragraph only. Use keyword variation throughout the page without any bolding, underlining or italicizing. Bold your primary keyword one more time in the last paragraph and finally again as the last word in the bottom of the page.

Search engine optimization for your small business website is really all about making it easy for a search engine to understand what your page is about. The easier you make it for them the better they will rank you for that keyword search.

Kyle Ware asked:


Small businesses face many technological challenges to success. Typically, small businesses do not have the resources of a large publicly traded organization. How can small business compete with these large corporations when they have less labour and capital available?

The answer lies in taking advantage of free software opportunities available to small businesses. Large corporations by their very nature have large R&D budgets as well as teams of in-house technical support. Large corporations don’t face the same challenges when it comes to acquiring business software.

Small businesses can take advantage of their lower cost structure by using existing free software rather then spend vast amounts of money on software development. The small business operator may not have the skills to program custom applications. The small business operator may not have the technical staff necessary to provide support for any in-house applications.

Using free software which comes with free technical support is the easiest way for small businesses to level the playing field with their publicly traded counterparts. For instance, instead of writing an application to handle web forms, a small business owner can simply use existing free software tools such as CreateForms. Should the owner require further tools they may try using free web tools such as CreateSites.com.

By taking advantage of quality free software and support small businesses can substantially reduce their cost structure and offer their products or services at prices below those of large publicly traded corporations. The Internet and technology may have leveled the playing field between large corporations and small businesses.