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Re: As a merchant, would you choose a cash advance?

phanio — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:21:15 GMT

Business cash advances can be expensive when compared to traditional lending. However, if this is your only option when taking advantage of a growth opportunity then it is really not all that expensive when compared to missing the opportunity all together.

If the benefits out way the costs - then you have a positive effect which should benefit your business.

I have an MBA in Finance - one of the biggest concepts in finance is "net present value." While this may be a bit complicated in corporate finance - the concept is very simple.

If you are presented with one or two or more opportunities to make money for your business - you start with the one that has the largest net, positive effect on cash flow as you should always employ capital in the most advantageous manner possible. You do this by estimating the net cash inflow from the opportunity (discounted back to today) then subtract out the costs of generating that income stream.

How this relates to you: If you have an opportunity to increase your income - an opportunity that provides more benefit then its costs (even just one dollar more) than it is a positive net present value project and, if no other options (other positive net present value projects) are available - this should be acted upon.

Now, if you plan to take on this opportunity, your task is to reduce as much as the costs as you can. You should research all the funding options that are available to you - rank them - then take the top one if you can or if not move down the list. Keep moving until you succeed or the costs start to outweigh the benefits of the income stream.

Example, lets say that you have an opportunity to earn $50K net income with a new project provided that you can get funding for it. You have outlined two options for funding. 1) Traditional bank loan that will cost you $25K when all is said and done and 2) a business cash advance that will cost you $35K when all is said and done. Of course you will pursue the traditional bank loan as it is cheaper and the total net effect is greater for your business. But, what if you don't qualify for that bank loan? You now have two options - take the business cash advance and net $15K for your business ($50K -$35K) or walk away and net nothing ($0).

Business cash advances are not for every business and should only be used to take advantage of opportunities to that provide a positive net effect (meaning with these funds, you bring in more money than it costs for those funds - net any other expenses).

Additionally, business cash advances are short-term financing vehicles - thus, they should only be used for short-term financing needs like operating cycle working capital or growth development that has less than one year pay back. If you need long-term financing - then look for long-term financing vehicles.

If you want to know if a cash advance is right for you - it depends on you and how you manage the advance funds. What may not work for one business could work for another - it is all up to you.

Business Money Today
www.BusinessMoneyToday.com

Re: Wanting to buy an existing Automotive type business

phanio — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:57:45 GMT

Don't know much about automotive niche markets - but can tell you that most gear heads would rather spend money on their babies (their vehicles) than on food. I would suggest this - find a local SCORE or small business development center (SBDC) in your area. They are part of the SBA and free to use. They can help you research your local market and answer many of your questions - especailly about your local market. They have tons of research and data at their finger tips.

Also, think about this. While the current business is in a very narrow niche - it does not have to be. If you purchase the business, there is no reason that you can't broaden the niche by adding additional products and services or by extenting your reach.

Business Money Today
www.BusinessMoneyToday.com

Re: How to start a Mini Help Desk enabling business?

phanio — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:46:11 GMT

If you plan to sell this online - you have to find ways to market your business online. This could be optimizing your website or finding out information about your potnetial customers - then developing a marketing strategy to put the right message in front of them.

Would also like to suggest what many businesses do today. Create two or more versions of your mini help desk with one being an extremely stripped down version with basic functions. Offer this basic package for free - then try to get users to upgrade to the other options with more features.

Once a customer has your free version, you can then market to them directly touting the benefits of upgrading.

Or, you might even offer the basic service for a short trial period. Then market your service or product as such. You will get a lot more response from this. Then, once these customers know about you and your business - work on getting them to upgrade or renew for your subscritpion price.

Business Money Today
www.BusinessMoneyToday.com

Re: Starting a temporary staffing agency

phanio — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:38:15 GMT

Do consider getting some experience - Here's why:

When starting a business most entrepreneurs have a very limited budget. If you hire someone with the experience that you don't have, you will face a huge salary expense from the very beginning - capital that could be better spent on marketing and development.

Additionally, since this person has the experience, they are essentially your business or your business is at their whims.

Lastly, information is king. If you don't understand the ins and outs then how would you, being the owner and risk taker, make decisions based on what you need or what is best for the business and not for this one employee.

Maybe volunteer was the wrong word - but there are unpaid internships. Even if an agency does not currently have a program, they may be willing to create one for you (it is essentially free labor to them) and a learning experience for you.

When starting a new business - there are many risks involved. As an entrepreneur one of your tasks is to understand and mitigate those risks. Adding $30K, $40K, $50K plus to your operating expenses right off the bat in executive salary (especially if it is for something that you can do yourself with a little experience) is not mitigating risks - it is putting a huge expense burden on your business that is, in my opinion unnecessary.

If they want you to sign a non-compete - simply say no and renegotiate - let them know up front what you are doing and that they are getting free labor. Seems like a good trade-off to me - especially in this economy. If they are that afraid of competition, then maybe that is not the company to get your experience from.

Your business will succeed or fail based on you - thus, you should arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can possible get and keep learning as you move forward.

Seasonal Business - Should we close in the down season?

krstymeggy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:37:05 GMT

Seasonal Business - Should we close in the down season?

Postby moabsdailygrind on Sun Dec
Hi, does anyone else operate a coffee business in a small, seasonal town? Our drive-thru has been open 9 months now, and we thought we were prepared for the winter down season, but it's been awful. We have never done extremely high volume, but we were at least turning a small profit which I thought was good for our first year. Last Saturday I sold $9, which was just depressing. So, now we are trying to decide if we should close for the winter season. There is one other drive-thru in town who is better established. As soon as December 1st hit, they radically cut their hours and started closing at 1 pm (they were open until 6). I try to pay attention to what they are doing, because I know they are really clever people.

I guess what my real question is, is do you think it would upset my local business if I closed for 6 weeks? Would this be detrimental to the growth of my business? My location is good, one that is more convenient for many people than the other drive-thru. However, because we are a seasonal town, many of the businesses close in the winter, including the restaurants.

When I first started, my goal was to capture enough of the local business to make it through the down-season. However, I did not anticipate that even many of my regulars leave in the winter because the town is so dead.

We have actually already been closed down a week because our espresso machine broke (another post). But, I spent so much on holiday flavors, christmas baskets, and extra beans, I don't want it all to go to waste. My husband says to just give it to our relatives for gifts this year.

Please share your advice.

Re: Home Based Business

vnavguys — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:26:57 GMT

I have noticed that none of your posts give any value to the community....why bother?

What is the affordable All in One Ecommerce for new business

efrizor — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:54:19 GMT

What is the affordable All in One Ecommerce for new business?

I looking for ecommerce to create my website with, I just started a new business and I want to be able to sell products online such as electronic, computers, and other. Since, I don't know anything about web development, I would like to use an ecommerce for my store which i think would be easy to customize. I know some of the top ecommerce but, I am not sure with which one I should go with, so, if anyone has a suggestion or a recommendation that would be really apprecited.

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dimediva — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:50:45 GMT

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