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Big Picture Approach to Financing Growth

khmarks — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:39:18 GMT

Finding the funds to grow a company or work through a difficult time is always challenging. The activities that CEOs and CFOs must undertake are the same regardless of whether the company is growing and self financing, raising capital or thinking about selling. In the end, value creation is all about the amount of future cash flow the company can generate.

Some of the common questions that arise in driving the funding raising process are:

How much capital?
When do I need it?
Who should I get it from?
How much should it cost?
How much debt and how much equity?
Should I personally guarantee the company's debts? If so, how much?

The answer to all of these questions is surfaced by following a process that begins with end in mind, and then systematically works to narrow the likely and feasible alternatives.

Step one involves understanding the current and historical state of the business and how it got where it is. This is coupled with a clear articulation of the objectives of the shareholders and a defined go-forward strategy. Then forecast the likely scenarios and compare proforma company performance to competitive or industry benchmarks for realism. You should be able to assess the likely use of new funds and the timing of when they are required after several iterations. A nice byproduct of the process is an estimate of the value of the business and how it is likely to change over the forecast period.

Armed with this information, you can then begin to determine the go-forward capital structure and target funding sources. Test the market to see if you can really get the capital desired and drive the process in a competitive environment to negotiate and close the deal.

While this may sound easy, it takes time to prepare and execute... so being proactive is critical if you can (sometimes that is hard in a crisis). Getting the right team of players to partner with you and your management team is critical to drive the process and minimize distractions to operations.

Kenneth H. Marks, Copyright 2009, Lead Author of the Handbook of Financing Growth 2nd Edition http://www.handbookoffinancinggrowth.com/

Re: A Good Resume or A Good Blog?

nikecoo99 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:33:15 GMT

i will choose "a good blog"
because most of employers are focus on your past working experience.
of course,if you can make your resume a good looking,that will be better to atract them.

alice
http://www.trade-century.com

Re: Starting a Woodworking business

vnavguys — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:35:30 GMT

Let me know how to get a hold of you and I will more than happy to help out.

Ken

How to start a Mini Help Desk enabling business?

joolwee — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:11:42 GMT

I created a tool called mini help desk widget for business websites.
You can reach the FAQ section on silkwise.com to find details. The service is very good and convenient to use. How can I quickly help more and more business websites to enable it?

Thanks,
Jacob

Re: Starting a Woodworking business

primitive — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:30:32 GMT

We are a very small woodworking business, building out of our shop behind our house. We have done craft shows and all that stuff. Trying to get established online. Not alot of $$ resources right now. Trying to figure out shipping, best marketing...... Please help with any ideas?
We are in small town midwest missouri. Thanks for any advice.

Re: Financial Independence with Zrii and HMG....

MACoulter — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:40:08 GMT

Hager Marketing Group ~ Mentoring Leaders to Millions!

Hiring a Maid Tips

LindaC52 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:10:26 GMT

With the hectic lifestyle most people have and both partners
working, a lot of people find they don't have much time left for
domestic maintenance. Before you check out the Web or call up somewhere
to take on a maid, there are a few essential questions to ask, and
there is also some really important information that you should
carefully consider.You might find a maid from a service, in
which case the maid will be an employee of the service company. The
advantages are that the maid service will be responsible for any
employment taxes, carrying worker's compensation, and should have
bonded and insured the maid. (Make sure the maid is bonded against your
losses and not just the maid company's losses.) The company should also
have insurance in case the maid is injured while at your home. You
should ask for copies of all current polices, according to Scottsdale house cleaning (http://findmaidservices.com/providers-Scottsdale-AZ.html). However, when you employ
someone, federal law dictates that you must pay social security and
other specific taxes.

Inquire about what screening and background
checks the maid company performs on employees. Ask if the maids are
employees or subcontractors of the maid service. A maid service using
subcontractors can be more risky. These people are often not required
to report to work any particular time, might not have the training
employees have, and insurance liability can be sketchy.

Get
references from the maid service. Call each reference and ask if they
have had any complaints and if they recommend the service. Inquire as
to whether or not they are still using the service. If not, ask why.

Look
into whether the company has any sort of guarantee with respect to
quality. Do the maids have supervisors and if so what are they
responsible for? Request information from the company on whether they
provide any assurances, and what their current complaint process is.

Will the company be using their equipment or yours? This includes vacuums, mops, buckets, sponges, squeegees and so on.

Get a complete description of what services are included such as:

*emptying trash

*window cleaning

*dishes

*bathroom

*wood floors

*wood polishing

*furniture dusting

*blind cleaning

*light fixture dusting

You
also need to consider who will be supplying the cleaning products. If
you are supplying the products make a list and be sure you have them in
stock when your maid arrives. If the service will be supplying the
cleaning products, find out what they use and if the products are safe
for people and pets. Find out if the products disinfect pathogens.

There
are green cleaning products available. Check the ingredients and
effectiveness of each one. Some are only diluted versions of the
originals while others are bio based. These are made up of natural
bacteria and enzymes and considered non-pathogenetic natural substances
that can clean safely.

If you have specifically agreed to allow
the cleaning company to supply the cleaning products, ask for samples
and apply very small volumes of each one. People have different tastes
and smells and you do not want to come home to a house with a smell
that drives you out.

It's a good idea to be home the first time
your maid cleans if possible. There may be some questions you'll need
to answer, and at the same time you can watch them go through their
tasks.

With a little planning and these tips you should be able
to come home to a clean house and relax. If you have not had a maid
service before, you will probably find you never want to live without
it again.

A Good Resume or A Good Blog?

iyazam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:06:16 GMT

I have been getting many questions lately from individuals looking for a job and are seeking advice as to what should they focus on when looking for a job or what can they do to impress an employer.

Its interesting to see the two types of job seekers:

1) The resume job seeker

2) The blogger job seeker

The resume job seeker is someone who hopes to get a job based on a good looking resume and of course past experience.

The blogger job seeker is someone who will share his or her knowledge in order to pre-sell themselves to a potential employer.

Lets hear it - whats better in today's economy: a good resume or a good blog?

How Fast Do You Respond To Emails?

iyazam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:04:37 GMT

How long does it take you to respond to an email? In the world of the internet waiting more then 24 hours is considered a long time!

I believe this is why many businesses fail. So many people suffer from this problem called waiting.

Recent studies have shown that you can get an indication about a person based on this issue of responding to emails. If it takes someone a long time to respond and it happens over and over again - then you know that this person simply doesn't care about your email. Stay away from them and focus on building your business with serious people.

Another issue is when sending someone a lead and they don't even bother to thank you for it. (This has happened to me time and time again when I send people leads and I don't even receive a thank you.) This shows that the person who you are sending a lead lacks appreciation and this tells me not to send anymore leads their way.

Why is that? Because I want to send leads to people who are serious and to people who mean business.

One of the most interesting things that I have seen in the world of business is that those people who are super successful - also find the time to respond to emails on time. Even if its a small note. For the industry leaders this has become a habit and they know very well that its these little things that build a business.

http://www.iyazam.com/who-is-brian-tracy.html points out that when a prospect or who ever it may be sees that you are responding quickly - they see that you care about them and this attracts them to do business with you.

So the next time someone sends you an email...Don't Wait! respond as fast as you can.

Website Designers are not SEO'ers

iyazam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:02:33 GMT

Lets face the facts: People who build websites are not SEO'ers. I know...the web designer promised you that he will create an "optimized site that will be on page 1" within no time. (You've probably heard the old joke: Web designers keep the SEO people in business....)

Over the past few weeks I've met with a few Start-ups that invested lots of money in building a company website. Now that its time for marketing they can't figure out why no one is contacting them through Google or why they can't even find themselves in Google.

After one look at their website I am already thinking to myself - here is another sad story of a company that paid thousands of dollars for a website they have no control over and will most likely need to create a new one.

Most web design firms don't deal with the SEO aspects of building a website. This will backfire on you in the long run! When you are sitting down to meet with the web designer the topic of discussion should be: What are the critical elements for creating an SEO Google friendly website, what will be the ingredients that will help your website get found in the search engines etc.. These should be the web designers first comments. If the web designer is not talking about these issues - may this serve as a red light to you.

The Web Designer of today must be a true master in the field of SEO. There is no need to do the work twice. Its always better to do it once and right the first time!

If you need a true affordable Web Designer & SEO person (the ideal situation) I can recommend someone just for you!