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12 Tips to Conquer Black Friday
Is your small business ready for the chaos of Black Friday? Rieva wants to make sure your small business conquers Black Friday with these tips and tricks.
Veteran’s Small Business Week
We’re putting veterans front and center – from advice for veteran business owners to podcast content that puts the spotlight on the men and women who serve our country. Start with this compelling article from Ebong Eka.
How to Recover from a Catastrophic Mistake
Every business eventually encounters big problems, sometimes catastrophic ones. What can you do when disaster happens? Find out with Steve Strauss.
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This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday in the U S. You may not be celebrating because you're in another country...or you may be celebrating but need a break from the family and the… (Show moreShow less)
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Since 2012, “Giving Tuesday” has taken place on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. After all of the focus on shopping around that time – what with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber… (Show moreShow less)in General BusinessLike (0)
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. Have you or someone you know been considering buying a business, but a franchise isn't your cup of tea? You might consider buying an existing business and making the necessary changes to make it… (Show moreShow less)
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Does your business participate in the frenzy of purchase-generating deals that is Cyber Monday? If you don't already know what Cyber Monday is or how to leverage its value to boost your company's… (Show moreShow less)
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If you are new to Search Engine Optimization industry, then you must understand the importance and usefulness of Google Search Console (aka Google Webmaster Tool). This is one such tool which can… (Show moreShow less)
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Thanks, that was useful Information From now I am going to use it on Facetime for PC site, and I believe I will see some good effect on my site. Thanks again!
Hello! I am a cv writer and editor currently living in Washington. My interests range from photography to design. I am also interested in reading, travel, and writing.
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Hi Vanessamay, welcome to our community, we're glad to have you here! It sounds like you have a wide variety of interests and talents. If you're interested in starting your own small business, or…
Are you ready for retirement? Small business owners need retirement plans not only for themselves, but often for their employees. On the latest episode of, “The Heartbeat of Main Street,” Merrill… (Show moreShow less)in General BusinessLike (0)
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This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday in the U S. You may not be celebrating because you're in another country...or you may be celebrating but need a break from the family and the cooking. Again Happy Thanksgiving and be SAFE....
This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday in the U S.
You may not be celebrating because you're in another country...or you may be celebrating but need a break from the family and the cooking.
Again Happy Thanksgiving and be SAFE.
LUCKIEST
. Have you or someone you know been considering buying a business, but a franchise isn't your cup of tea? You might consider buying an existing business and making the necessary changes to make it fit your vision. Still, the issue of financing...
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Have you or someone you know been considering buying a business, but a franchise isn't your cup of tea? You might consider buying an existing business and making the necessary changes to make it fit your vision. Still, the issue of financing can be a stumbling block for many fledgling business owners. Steve Strauss is here with suggestions that can help you with this decision, in his latest article, Want to buy a biz? Consider the magic of seller financing.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Feel free to weigh in either here or in the comments section of the article itself.
--Lisa
Hi guys, My name is Michael from Oceanside CA and I am interested in starting a side hustle selling gardening products & tools online on eBay and Amazon. I was wondering if any of guys you have done it and how has it turned out...
Hi guys,
My name is Michael from Oceanside CA and I am interested in starting a side hustle selling gardening products & tools online on eBay and Amazon.
I was wondering if any of guys you have done it and how has it turned out for you? Profitable?
I've spent the last few months watching videos on YouTube on how to do it. It seems like dropshipping is the way to go.
I've also looked at Amazon FBA but it seems like I would need a bigger budget as opposed to the dropshipping route.
I also have a question for those who have successfully created a business selling on Amazon on eBay.
Where do you guys find your suppliers? What's the best supplier directory?
I have found two so far and they are SaleHoo and Worldwide Brands. Out of the two, it seems like
SaleHoo is more legit based on these reviews that I have read online: this one and this one
Other questions that I have is:
- How big of a budget did you guys start out with?
- What are the other hidden costs that I have to keep in mind?
- Should I go with selling on eBay or Amazon? Or perhaps both?
What are their pros and cons?
Thanks.
From my professional experiences ( Founder & CEO of Inventory Software Services ), I have worked with many small businesses. Here I share my professional experiences of small business marketing. I think it's greatly helping post for every...
From my professional experiences ( Founder & CEO of Inventory Software Services ), I have worked with many small businesses. Here I share my professional experiences of small business marketing. I think it's greatly helping post for every digital marketer.
Maximum small businesses are not global, they sales their products in specific regions. So, local business marketing is very important for a small business. Mainly there are two types of small business marketing: 1. Offline or manual marketing and 2. Online or internet marketing. Here I discuss both of these. Continue reading for your better local business marketing.
Offline or manual marketing:
Manual business marketing is the traditional business marketing. In this marketing, marketers manually work like talks with customers, Signboards, banners, and lift lets. Attend the local fairs, arrange campaigns, advertisements in local media and so on local activities.
- Talks with customers: Directly communicate with customers is a very effective way of local business marketing. Here marketer tries to attract customers by describing products quality, service, price, and especially. Though it's a very effective way, it needs huge manpower to attract huge customers.
- Signboards, banners, and lift lets: Signboards, banners and lift lets is another good way of local business marketing. You may take the advantages of this marketing way. Though it's a little bit expensive, It's very effective.
- Attend the local fairs: Local fairs the fairs of local humans. A huge number of peoples go fairs to buy their products. May give some discounts to attract customers and get instant sales in fair. Finally, fair is a great opportunity for your business publicity.
- Arrange campaigns: Arranging campaigns in another great way to your business marketing. Choosing correct locations is very important in this marketer way. In front of markets, schools or colleges and the places where gather in huge people.
- Sponsorship in the local concerts, tournaments or locations: Local concerts, tournaments (Football, Cricket, Golf, Tennis, hockey, volleyball etc. ) or local occasions are very important for local business marketing. A huge number of people attend on these occasions. If you get sponsorship of these occasions, it's a great way of local publicity.
- Advertisements in local media: Advertisements in local media like local newspapers, local tv channels, radios or others local media is a good way of local business marketing. But it's important to properly plan your local advertisement program according to your budget and targeted audience.
Online or internet marketing:
A huge number of peoples are using online today. It's increasing day by day. The market of E-commerce business increases 23% day by day. So, it's important to take the advantages of online marketing. There are many effective ways of online marketing like social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google plus, Instagram, Pinterest and so on ), SMS marketing, Email marketing, SEO, Advertisements networks and so on.
- Social media marketing: Millions of users using social media at every moment. It's an important media for local business marketing. Many businesses are using social media for your products marketing and generate huge sales. Why are you not? Open your social media account for your business; take marketing plan (you may hire social media experts) for more activity in more social accounts.
- SMS marketing: Almost every people use a mobile phone today. So, SMS marketing is a great marketing strategy. You can send your discount offers or new products news or greetings or offers on any social occasions to your existing customers. It's keeping a good relationship with customers as well as your effective products marketing.
- Email marketing: Email marketing is another popular business marketing strategy. E-commerce sites generate a huge number of sales using email marketing. You can collect local email addresses using email collecting software and can also market your products to your existing customer's email address.
- SEO: You can take the advantages of SEO if you have a website. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can generate a huge number of targeted users. You can get huge sales from your well-ranked websites. Though SEO is a slow process, it may open a great opportunity of your bright business future.
- Submit your websites in business startups: Business startup sites are another opportunities to increase your business popularity. There are so many high authoritative sites in this category like g2crowd, CrunchBase and so on. To get high authoritative business start-up submission sites you can take the help of search engines.
- Submit your products in products review sites: Product review sites are another great one for your online marketing. Maximum customers see the product reviews before buying your products. Good customer’s reviews by your customer's influence new customers. Same as business start-ups, you take help of search engines to find great products review sites in your niche.
- Use press releasing site to release your business news: Press on news releases sites publish your business or product news in their huge number visitors. It not only increases your publicity but also increases your trustworthiness. Some great press releases sites are PRNewswire, mashable and so on.
- Submit coupon codes in high authoritative coupon codes sites: You may offer some discounts to get customers. A huge number of od businesses offer discounts by coupon codes to attract customers and for this, they get so many sales. Why you are not? Offer some discounts using coupon codes and submit your coupon codes on high authoritative coupon submission sites. So many peoples search coupon codes on these sites before buying their products or services.
- Create your own apps: Create your own apps for Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Ubuntu and for all popular operating systems. Submit your apps in Google play store, apple app store, and other app submission sites according to operating systems. It opens great opportunities in online marketing.
- Create browser add-ons of plugins: Creating your browser add-ons or plugins opens connections between your business and online users. Every time they open their browser, they see your add-ons or plugins and it increases the probability to connect with your business.
- Advertisements: It's a very effective way of marketing to get instant results. There are many online adds networks such as Google add words, media.net, Facebook adds, Instagram adds and so many. It's important to properly plan your adds program to get maximum sales with your minimum budget.
The bottom line:
Above these techniques are very effective for local business marketing. By following all of these your business sales growing first and I wish you able to take the top position in your market.
Recent surveys reveal that 1 out of every 10 businesses are owned by a vet. And I imagine that thousands of employees in businesses are vets too. We are grateful for their service to us and our country. Please share your plans...
Recent surveys reveal that 1 out of every 10 businesses are owned by a vet. And I imagine that thousands of employees in businesses are vets too. We are grateful for their service to us and our country. Please share your plans for how you and your business will thank your vets for their service and for all they do to add to your business. Encourage others to offer words of thanks, too.
Cath
Dear moderators, I'm not sure which subforum to post in/how to contact a moderator so please forgive my duplicate posts. I'd like a thread that I previously made removed as it reveals personal information (or edited to remove my...
Dear moderators,
I'm not sure which subforum to post in/how to contact a moderator so please forgive my duplicate posts.
I'd like a thread that I previously made removed as it reveals personal information (or edited to remove my name/location): Starting Decal Business
Much appreciated.
Management is the key to success for all types of business. A good management can give you good sales and good profit. In big businesses, there are so many experts to manage business using advanced features of modern business management, but in...
Management is the key to success for all types of business. A good management can give you good sales and good profit. In big businesses, there are so many experts to manage business using advanced features of modern business management, but in small businesses, sometimes the only owner is the main decision maker or a business manager decides all the things of a business. In these cases, sometimes they are not familiar with advanced business management features. Here I discuss some advanced features of modern small business management and if you(Business owners or managers) not using yet, By using it, your business management is so well organized as well as increasing your profit and finally, your business growth is increasing more than any time before.
1. Analysis your inventory turnover: Inventory Turnover is the ratio of how many times an item is replaced or sold versus time period. A good turnover rate indicates good sales status of that item. It helps you to increase profitability and reduce holding costs.
2. Properly manage your demand forecasting: Demand forecasting is the process in which you can measure your future demand using historical data.
By using demand forecasting, you can properly manage your stocks according to your demands and finally, you can properly utilize your capital of business for getting your maximum benefit.
3. Calculating your safety stock: Safety stock is a measurement to reduce the risk of the empty stock. According to the products demands and time need to a supplier to deliver those products to ensure the stock quantity to reduce the risk of the empty stock.
Without ensuring safety stock sometimes you can't provide products according to customer demands. So you lost your sales as well as your benefits. It's also growing a negative effect of your trustworthy in the customer's mind.
4. Proper use of minimum order quantity: Minimum order quantity is the minimum quantity a supplier willing to sell. It's may vary products to products or suppliers to suppliers.
By proper using of the minimum quantity, you can properly utilize your business capitals. Proper using of it reduces unwanted stocks and holding cost and reduce the probability of empty stock.
5. Using of reorder point formula: Recorder point is a label which indicates it's the time to restock your particular products items. It is depending on your products sales quantity on average and suppliers take times to delivered products after ordering. It's the minimum amount of particular items stock keeping in hand reducing the risk of the empty stock.
6. Consignment inventory strategy: Consignment inventory is a supply chain management strategy in which a business owner store products from suppliers without paying money until the products are consumed.
It's a very important and effective business strategy for a business to go forward with the minimum cost.
7. Analysis of seasonal business: If you have seasonal products, it's important to analyze your particular items sales at a particular time. It helps to understand your business trending at different times in the year. You can realize your right demands at the right time and can take the right preparation for the right business.
8. Reconcile your business: Reconciliation is a process to check physical inventory with business records, and finally, adjust records according to physical inventory.
It's an important process of inventory management to ensure the accuracy of business records. It helps to find out any corruption of your business like employee theft or administrative cheating.
The Bottom Line: Above these advanced features of business management are very effective and help to increase your business growth. All these features you can get by using a good inventory management software. If you are not using yet I recommend using these feature and see what a business future is waiting for you.
In November here in the USA, we take a pause to remember those individuals who have sacrificed a part of their lives and liberty to protect ours. I'd like to express my thanks to those who served. Just in time for Veterans Day, Steve Strauss...
In November here in the USA, we take a pause to remember those individuals who have sacrificed a part of their lives and liberty to protect ours. I'd like to express my thanks to those who served. Just in time for Veterans Day, Steve Strauss brings us a fantastic article illustrating why veterans make excellent employees and entrepreneurs.
Why Veterans Make Great Entrepreneurs
Please take a look at the article, consider some of the ideas within, and if you have the opportunity as you go through your day, please take a moment to thank and encourage a veteran.
--Lisa
I'm considering in hiring remote sale people. I have read a lot of articles. Tried posting classified ads on indeed.com but the response rate was low. If anyone has experiences in working with remote sales people, I would like to...
I'm considering in hiring remote sale people. I have read a lot of articles. Tried posting classified ads on indeed.com but the response rate was low. If anyone has experiences in working with remote sales people, I would like to hear your experiences. Thanks.
You've probably heard that a headline is the most important part of your copy. In fact, many copywriters write the headline first and many write 50 or more before coming up with a good one. When you look around online, you'll find many tips to...
You've probably heard that a headline is the most important part of your copy. In fact, many copywriters write the headline first and many write 50 or more before coming up with a good one.
When you look around online, you'll find many tips to improve your copy and you'll find many fill-in-the-blank headline templates.
Copywriters usually start with templates because you get a proven format and it's easier to come up with ideas.
Sometimes your headline seems to be resisting. Nothing helps. When this happens try this tip: Write out your main headline idea in simple English.
What's the point you want to make in your headline? What's the most important point you want to get across? What is most appealing to your targeted audience?
Good Luck
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Since 2012, “Giving Tuesday” has taken place on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. After all of the focus on shopping around that time – what with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday – Giving Tuesday is...
Since 2012, “Giving Tuesday” has taken place on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. After all of the focus on shopping around that time – what with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday – Giving Tuesday is a welcome respite; a day for individuals and businesses to give back to their community.
It’s not surprising that small businesses are typically enthusiastic about participating in Giving Tuesday: After all, small business people are generally highly idealistic. (You have to be if you are going to quit your job and start a business from scratch.) But, beyond that, small business people also know if it were not for their tribe and community, they would not be in business for long. So, when it comes to giving to the community, small businesses know it is important to give back.
How, you ask? Here are some ideas as to how your small business can give back to your community – on Giving Tuesday, and indeed throughout the holiday season.
1. Team up: Last year on Giving Tuesday, Tadlock Roofing partnered with Boys Town, a national nonprofit that supports children, families and communities. Tadlock Roofing offered to match donations to Boys Town up to $10,000, and additionally, the President of the company agreed to jump out of a plane if they met their goal. Sure enough, the President of Tadlock Roofing was captured jumping out of a plane to show that the sky’s the limit to give back.
2. Encourage a community service day or days: Many local non-profits are now, in anticipation of Giving Tuesday, creating giving events for that day. See what is happening in your area and help out. Here are some examples.
More broadly, Giving Tuesday does not have to be confined to that one day. Employees love being able to volunteer, especially around the holidays, so a great way to give back is to offer your team paid time off to do volunteer work within the community. Contact local food banks, senior centers, and elderly services to see where there might be volunteer opportunities.
3. Give a percentage of your sales to charity: Pick a cause that you like, that inspires your team, and which will resonate with your customers, and then pledge to set aside profits for that Tuesday to that group or charity. Yes, it is nice that that will be tax deductible, but what is even nicer is the good you will do and the goodwill you will foster.
4. Offer special discounts for the elderly, the disabled, and those in need: Offering special discounts to these groups is another way to do well by doing good. It would be a win-win for all concerned.
5. Organize a food drive to provide donations for a local food bank: The amount of hungry people in this country is truly astounding. By teaming-up with an appropriate Giving Tuesday organization, you can really make a difference. Indeed, helping the hungry is as giving as it gets.
6. Organize a toy drive for the holidays: Similarly, there are not a few parents who are unable to give their kids the sort of holiday they would prefer. You can either work with a local charity, or even simply locate a needy family and “adopt” them for the holidays.
7. Get your social on: One of the cool things about Giving Tuesday is that it is a national, nay international, movement. Sharing your participation is not gauche as it helps spread the word. And the Giving Tuesday organization wants to help you do just that. You can download and use their social media toolkit here. Or just remember, #GivingTuesday.
(You can download the entire Giving Tuesday Communications and Participation plan here.)
About Steve Strauss
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss.
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Steve Strauss is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Steve Strauss. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2018 Bank of America Corporation
Are you ready for retirement? Small business owners need retirement plans not only for themselves, but often for their employees. On the latest episode of, “The Heartbeat of Main Street,” Merrill Edge executive and retirement pro, Matt...
Are you ready for retirement? Small business owners need retirement plans not only for themselves, but often for their employees. On the latest episode of, “The Heartbeat of Main Street,” Merrill Edge executive and retirement pro, Matt Gellene, discusses what you should look for in a retirement plan for yourself and for your team.
“The Heartbeat of Main Street” delivers timely insights tailored to the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Featuring a rotating line-up of small business experts and industry leaders – and covering a range of topics – each episode explores the trends that have an impact on revenue creation for small business owners.
The series is hosted by ForbesBooks, and more information can be accessed through a dedicated home page. New episodes will appear regularly on the Small Business Community podcast page. Be sure to check back often – so you don’t miss a beat.
Matt Gellene: Any company, even a sole proprietorship, can implement a retirement plan, just like a large company. In fact, they can implement a 401K plan, and that can really benefit their business, not only personally and what they can save for themselves, but also their employees and really help their business overall not only attract great talent, but really help them through a variety of different ways. Deductions for their potential taxes, you can deduct contributions, etc. It's something that I think a lot of small business owners don't realize.
Narrator: Welcome to “The Heartbeat of Main Street,” with ForbesBooks at forbesbooks.com and Bank of America at bankofamerica.com.
Gregg Stebben: I'm here on “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks and Bank of America. Matt Gellene joins me. He is the head of Financial Center Merrill Edge and National Performance Executive. We are going to talk about retirement planning, particularly for small business owners. But Matt, before we go there, I want to welcome you, and I also want to have you tell us a little bit about your job and your title.
Matt Gellene: Yeah, well first, Gregg, thanks for having me. I appreciate that, joining you today. Yeah, as far as what I do, I'm in charge of all of the Financial Solutions Advisors. These would be the financial advisors that are out in our financial centers, our banking centers throughout the entire country. We have 2500 of these individuals, and they're out there helping our clients solve their financial problems.
Gregg Stebben: Well, that's a huge job that you have. You must know on a day-to-day basis how you're doing, because you must get a lot of customer feedback.
Matt Gellene: Yeah, we do. It's great. We've had lots of our clients speak to us through, certainly the way that they interact through our client experience partners, but even directly with me, they talk about all the great things that our advisors are doing, the way that they are helping with their financial lives. It's really gratifying to see the work literally every day.
Gregg Stebben: Well, one of the things I want to talk about today is the difference between retirement planning for someone who's an employee, say an executive, and for the person who actually owns the company, because it's very different when someone else has created the plan for you than when you are, in a sense, in charge of both running the company and creating the plan for yourself.
Matt Gellene: Yeah, without a doubt. I mean, most people participate through the retirement plan through their company. In that case, it's already set up for you. It's a way for you to participate in your retirement savings through a really prescriptive way. But if you are your own business owner, if you are running your own company, now you really have to think differently about the way you engage with it, because in most cases, it's not already set up.
The good news, Gregg, is any company, virtually any business, even a sole proprietorship, can implement a retirement plan like a large company. In fact, they can implement a 401K plan, and that can really benefit their business, not only personally and what they can save for themselves, but also their employees and really help their business overall not only attract great talent, but really them through a variety of different ways. Deductions for their potential taxes, you can deduct contributions, etc. It's something that I think a lot of small business owners don't realize. We would be happy to explain that to anyone who is interested.
Gregg Stebben: So let's say I'm a small business owner, I'm listening, and I just heard you say, "Gee, Gregg, this is something you should be doing, because you own a small business, and there's some real advantages to it." Who do I call and what do I ask for? Can you help me with that first step so that I start talking to the right person to get the kind of assistance I need?
Matt Gellene: Absolutely, absolutely, Gregg. Thanks for bringing that up. As I mentioned on the outset, we have more than 2500 individuals throughout the country that actually have the ability to help any small business owner go over their options and talk through these types of solutions. The first step is trying to understand, really, what the plan is, what the small business owner is trying to accomplish. Then we can direct them to ways that they can use some of these things I said to help them do that plan. It's certainly something we do here at Bank of America Merrill Edge. We'd be more than happy to help.
Gregg Stebben: Do you find that this is a common thing, that small business owners are so wrapped up in running the business and keeping it growing and successful that they actually neglect to think about themselves and their own future?
Matt Gellene: Yeah, completely. I think any small business owner would tell you that so much of their time and their energy, really all of their mind share, is spent trying to grow and build their business. Even more so, I think many small business owners think that this business, in and of itself, is their retirement plan. They think that everything they do to grow that business ultimately will have some sort of retirement payoff, if you will. But it's important for everyone to sort of separate out their great work they might be doing to build their business and the plan they have to put in place for themselves for retirement, really separate and apart from what they're driving with their business. This is really a challenge for many small business owners.
Gregg Stebben: Well, let's dig into those challenges a little bit. So, let's say I own a small business, I've been thinking that, you know, at some point this is the retirement nest egg that I need to grow for myself. You're saying, "Well, that's probably not the right way to be thinking about it." What kind of things can go wrong if that is the extent of by retirement planning?
Matt Gellene: Yeah, if you really don't think separately about the way you save and the way you plan for your retirement, you could be overemphasizing your current projects for your business, and you might not have the right discipline to create that separation over time. So what I would always suggest, and frankly this goes not only for small business owner, but frankly anyone who is looking to save for a very specific goal to get, as I said, specific. Think about how much needs to be put away, how you're going to account for that, and really separate and apart from your other endeavors. Make the time and the energy to build a plan around that goal. You're going to be able to have a much better discipline over time to insure you reach that goal.
Gregg Stebben: Well, as I'm listening to you, I'm also realizing that if I own a small business and I'm counting on it to support me in retirement, I'm also banking on the fact that my business is going to continue to be successful without me there, because now I'm retired, or I'm counting on the fact that there will be a successful exit.
Matt Gellene: Right. I mean, I think ultimately every small business owner certainly has to have that optimism about the future, but in order to make sure that you can, as you say, continue on either after you've left the business, post retirement, you have to make sure that you have a great plan in place in case that doesn't come to pass. To your point, there are some businesses where you have succession challenges, and what's going to happen after I leave or directing the business—that's why we really, really want to sit down with the business owner. Create that plan, make sure that they have that benefit laid out, and really start to work through the contingencies that might happen if it weren't to come to pass as they envisioned.
Gregg Stebben: We're talking with Matt Gellene. He's the head of Financial Center Merrill Edge and National Performance Executive. This is “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks and Bank of America. I want to ask you a more general question, Matt. That is we've been focusing so far on small business owners, but let's broaden the scope. What is it that most people get wrong when it comes to retirement planning? Then I went you to drill in and say, "This is what most people do wrong. Now this is what most small business people do wrong." Because I think we're either going to learn that they make the same mistakes or very different mistakes, but it will very, very useful, either way.
Matt Gellene: Yeah, thanks Gregg. I think that there's sort of two big areas that most people, as you say, quote on quote, "get wrong," when they're thinking about retirement planning. The first is they begin to save, but they save just to save. What I mean by that is they're not laying out a full plan. They're not laying out an end goal and starting to plan for how much they'll need, how much they need to put away, what the rate of return will be necessary to get to that number. Unfortunately, they think, well, just putting a little bit away or making it a regular activity is going to get them to their goal. Frankly, it's because they haven't thought through the plan or the end result. That's the first thing.
The second thing is a little bit of a derivative of that. It's the whole notion of, "Well, set it and forget it." I will tell you, this happens to a lot of people who have a 401K and are contributing regularly. They are doing the right thing by setting that savings plan in place, but they're not looking at where that money is going or looking at where those investments have led them and what the returns are. I will tell you, as you go through your sort of economic life as you're proceeding through your career, you have to make sure that you're constantly looking at your portfolio and getting advice as to how it might need to be rebalanced. As you know, the investments and the markets change. The allocations of where you want to put your money will certainly change over time based on your risk tolerance and when you're going to need it. Too many people do the, "Set it and forget it," notion, and then when they go back to look at it when they're now ready to access it, it might not be where they need it to be. So saving to save and setting it and forgetting it are the two big items that I think many good savers who are planning don't do enough analysis to insure that they're going to be okay.
Gregg Stebben: It also seems to me that for a small business owner, their success in business could be very helpful here if they were focused, but I would imagine for some successful business owners, it could also be a trap. In other words, I know how to build a successful business. If I apply those lessons to my retirement, I'm probably going to have a very successful retirement plan. But on the other hand, you may think you know how to plan a retirement plan because you've been successful in business, but what made you successful in business may require a whole other set of skills.
Matt Gellene: You said it really well. I mean, ultimately, what you should be looking to do is seek out expertise in the areas that you really need help. In fact, the small business owner who's great at running his or her business may not necessarily have the right level of expertise to do the things that I just said. Set the right plan, make sure you're doing the rebalancing, re-evaluate the investments to make sure that they come out the right way, so to speak, when retirement comes around. That core is the expertise that we offer here at Bank of American and Merrill Edge. So we can deliver that for our clients while they spend all of their time building their business.
Gregg Stebben: I would also imagine that not all investing is about retirement, either. I mean, in many cases, when you're a successful business owner, you have money you should be investing for things other than retirement. Can you talk about things you've learned by dealing with small business people?
Matt Gellene: Completely. You know, I think one of the things that we will find is when you talk to a client, whether it's a small business client or an individual client, the most important thing is to find out what their priorities are. What's their, what we like to call, "their life priorities," where they're putting their energy and what's most important to them, because as we will talk to, especially business owners, we know that clearly their work and their business is probably an overarching, if not the first, priority, but there are going to be others as well. It could be how they educate their children, it could be, as you say, retirement planning. It could be simply to create some extra wealth to pass on to future generations.
We have to get to those pieces as well, because once you create that life priority framework, then you begin to be able to plan appropriately for each need. As I said earlier, you can sort of separate out the way you're approaching that, because they may have different plans, they may have different sort of investment profiles, so to say, they may have different risk tolerances. They could be customized depending on what the goal is. It's so important to have that perspective so someone can really own their financial life.
Gregg Stebben: Well and what's interesting here ... again, I'm talking with Matt Gellene. This is “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks and Bank of America. What's interesting here is that thing that makes successful business owners successful, in many cases, starts with this vision and drive to accomplish the goal. Really, what you're saying is broaden your ability to make goals, and make a goal for yourself personally financially as well, not just a goal for your business.
Matt Gellene: Yeah, that's really well said. You know, ultimately, you have to make sure that you set the right goal, create the right plan, and make sure you've got the right level of priorities. Along with your advisor, create the right level of interaction and constantly evaluate so you can get to those goals, whatever they may be.
Gregg Stebben: I'm going to ask you one more question, Matt. I want to boil this down into one thing to do today. So for anyone listening who realizes now, "I have not been planning adequately for myself, and my family, and even my business," the one piece of retirement advice you'd like to leave them with. I want you to close with, "Here's how you can reach out to us at Bank of America and Merrill Edge."
Matt Gellene: Yeah, well, thank you for that. I think the most important thing I would say is ... and you've heard it throughout thematically here ... is make sure that you have the right level of plan in place to meet that life priority. For us, I think the best way to do that is to be informed and to access the right level of expertise. At Bank of America Merrill Edge, we have that for you. Certainly, as I mentioned, we have 2500 Financial Solutions Advisors that are out in our banking centers, our financial centers, as we call them, but you could do it simply by going to merrilledge.com to begin the journey, see what we have to offer to help you in that regard. If you so desire to speak to someone, we can connect you right through that website to someone locally to help you.
Gregg Stebben: He's Matt Gellene. This is “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks and Bank of America. Matt is the head of Financial Center Merrill Edge and National Performance Executive. Thanks so much for joining us. Great tips.
Matt Gellene: My pleasure. Thanks, Gregg.
Narrator: Thanks for listening to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks at forbesbooks.com and Bank of America at bankofamerica.com.
Learn more about Merrill Edge® at www.merrilledge.com/small-business.
Read next:
- Why Small Business Owners need a Retirement Plan – Now by Steve Strauss
With the holiday season right around the corner, small business owners know it’s time to kick things up a notch. Especially with Black Friday and Cyber Monday only weeks away, this time of year is simply much too lucrative to do things...
With the holiday season right around the corner, small business owners know it’s time to kick things up a notch. Especially with Black Friday and Cyber Monday only weeks away, this time of year is simply much too lucrative to do things halfway.
Consider this: according to the National Retail Federation, the average American consumer plans on spends 4.1 percent more this year during holidays – and that is on top of the extra they spent last year.
People are getting ready to shop, and so we need to make it easy for them to do so at our businesses.
One way to do that is to get in on the Cyber Monday frenzy, which is the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday. That is the day Amazon and all other big online retailers pull out the stops.
For the small business owner, the “holiday” presents a golden opportunity.
It is kind of like this: Back in the day, my sweet dad owned a chain of carpet stores. His favorite place for a new location was across the street from a mall (like I said, this was in a different era!) Dad figured he could get the benefits of the mall traffic and buzz without having to pay the mall prices.
Cyber Monday is like that. There will be a lot of buzz, and with a little preparation, some of it should lead people to your online hive.
Here’s what to do:
Step 1. Prepare your loss leader:
The Internet generally, and Cyber Monday specifically, is about discounts. That’s the game. If you want to compete on Cyber Monday, you have to play by those rules, and that means offering something or some things at a greatly discounted price. In the world of business, this has traditionally been called a “loss leader.”
Essentially, a loss leader attracts customers to your business by offering them steep discounts on particularly popular items. As such, it is a strategy that involves selling goods or services at, or close to, a loss. Often, the sales price won’t even cover the costs of the product, what with advertising, overhead, cost of the goods, etc. You take a loss on the sale, hence the name, “loss leader.”
But the thing is, by offering a fantastic bargain on a specific item (or items), you lead customers to your website, with the intent of having them buy, not only the bargain, but other things from you that are not as deeply discounted. It is when they buy those other things from you that you make up for the loss you are taking on the sale item.
Step 2. Give your site a makeover:
Updating your website is part of why sufficient preparation time is necessary. You need to create specific web pages for the loss leaders (as that is critical to both good SEO and sales), and you must highlight the sale on your homepage.
Step 3. Make the most of your e-newsletter:
Take advantage of the fact that you have an opt-in list of people who have already given you permission to market to them. Begin to tease the sale now and get people ready for the big day. Be a player. (That said, what you cannot do is bombard inboxes with promotions as that will only lead to an influx of unsubscribe requests.)
Step 4. Advertise and market the heck out of the upcoming sale:
There is going to be a lot of noise in the next few weeks, what with everyone competing for eyeballs. Simply put, and frankly, getting noticed above the din will not be easy. But the good news is that you have a list and a name and a brand and a clientele that is all yours. Market to that.
Step 5. Sell and deliver:
Be ready on Cyber Monday, have enough inventory, have any customer service tools you use at the ready, and sell, sell, sell. Aside from the loss leader and related items consider selling gift cards. Why? Because gift cards are the most popular gift in America. Because about 6 out of 10 people prefer to receive gift cards as gifts, it would behoove you to also advertise and offer them.
Finally, the next day, on Tuesday, begin to fulfill your orders. Remember – that is also the beginning of the busy shipping season, so be prepared for that as well.
Read next:
About Steve Strauss
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss.
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Steve Strauss is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Steve Strauss. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2018 Bank of America Corporation
Black Friday is always crazy—both for consumers and retailers—and this year promises to be even wilder than usual. According to a survey by Natural Insight, 20% of consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping on Black Friday, up...
Black Friday is always crazy—both for consumers and retailers—and this year promises to be even wilder than usual. According to a survey by Natural Insight, 20% of consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping on Black Friday, up from 15% last year. Whether you own a brick-and-mortar store, an e-commerce site or both, advance preparation is vital. Follow these “12 steps to Black Friday success” to ensure you’re ready.
1. Review last year’s data. What kinds of products were hot sellers? What times of day were busiest? What marketing and advertising campaigns worked best? How well did you manage inventory?
2. Research. What’s trending in your industry? What “must-have” products are your customers clamoring for? Combining your research and sales projections with last year’s figures will enable you to make educated estimates this year.
3. Determine what products to promote. Focusing on those that are hard to find or unique to your store will help you attract more customers.
4. Staff up. Make sure you’re adequately staffed during the times of day you expect the most customers. If you’re hiring seasonal workers, get moving: The National Retail Federation projects retailers will hire between 585,000 and 650,000 temporary workers this year, and competition is stiff.
RELATED CONTENT: Tips for Hiring Seasonal Employees Ahead of the Holiday Rush
5. Prepare your people. You’ll need time to train those temps—and your regular salespeople—to provide stellar service. Your staff’s product knowledge, helpfulness and demeanor can make or break the sale at holiday time.
6. Test your tech.
- If you sell online, run a speed test to make sure your site loads quickly and a stress test to ensure it can handle at least double your normal traffic.
- Secure your website against cyberattacks and build customer trust by using trust seals from your SSL certificate provider to indicate site security.
- Test your website navigation and checkout processes for ease of use on both desktop and mobile devices: Holiday shopping will be more mobile-driven this year, eMarketer Retail predicts.
- Make sure your in-store point-of-sale system is running smoothly and accepts multiple forms of payment. Younger consumers are embracing mobile payment solutions.
7. Embrace holiday décor. Enjoying holiday decorations is one of the top reasons consumers shop in-store instead of online, according to Natural Insight. Create a festive atmosphere with holiday décor, music and scents. Get creative with color: Bold, icy shades of pink, purple and green will be cool alternatives to plain old red, white and green this year, says Frontier Label.
8. Check your local directory listings. If you own a brick-and-mortar store, make sure the information in your local search listings (such as Google My Business and Yelp) is current and complete; if you have special holiday hours, add them.
RELATED CONTENT: Why Local SEO Matters More Than Ever (and 4 Steps to Success)
9. Review your reviews. Do you have enough recent online reviews to convince new customers to shop at your store? If not, start a campaign to encourage reviews from satisfied customers.
RELATED CONTENT: How to Boost Positive Online Reviews for Your Business - And Deal with Those Pesky Bad Ones
10. Plan your inventory. Inventory management software can help you find the perfect balance between too much inventory (that goes unsold) and too little inventory (that disappoints customers).
11. Create your marketing calendar. Build excitement around Black Friday by starting your holiday marketing campaign early. (More than one-fourth of consumers start shopping before Thanksgiving, so it’s not too early to start promoting.) Plan your email marketing messages and cadence, creating different promotions for loyal customers and for new ones. Push to get more email signups before Black Friday.
12. Think social. Social media will have a huge influence on holiday sales this year, according to eMarketer, and it’s where SMBs will concentrate most of their ad spending this year, says Reveal Mobile. Plan now for special holiday-themed social media content, contests and promotions. Look for photogenic, fun and unique ideas to encourage social media sharing. You can even start selling products straight from Facebook with the Storefront Social app.
By following these steps, you’ll be well-prepared to succeed not just on Black Friday, but during the rest of the holiday shopping season, too.
About Rieva Lesonsky
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and Co-founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. A nationally known speaker and authority on entrepreneurship, Rieva has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart Show and Oprah.
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs. Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate, and received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Web: www.growbizmedia.com or Twitter: @Rieva
You can read more articles from Rieva Lesonsky by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Rieva Lesonsky to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Rieva Lesonsky is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Rieva Lesonsky. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2018 Bank of America Corporation
As a company that serves local business owners and customers, Bank of America Merchant Services is proud to join with American Express as a corporate supporter of Small Business Saturday® this Nov. 24. Small Business Saturday was...
As a company that serves local business owners and customers, Bank of America Merchant Services is proud to join with American Express as a corporate supporter of Small
Business Saturday® this Nov. 24.
Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 to help strengthen local economies. Today,
it’s a holiday shopping tradition and part of a nationwide Shop Small® movement dedicated to uniting communities and supporting all kinds of small businesses. From the corner store to your favorite diner to a trendy online boutique, it’s unique small businesses like yours that help local communities stay vibrant.
Participating in Small Business Saturday is a great way to reach new customers and help promote your business. Here are some ideas for getting involved on Nov. 24:
- Let your customers know that you plan to participate in Small Business Saturday. Visit ShopSmall.com/Participate for customized marketing materials for your storefront, website, and social networks for free.
- Transform your store to help your business make an impression. While supplies last, order free merchandise courtesy of American Express.
- Connect with your community. Contact your local chamber of commerce to see how your business can participate in Small Business Saturday events and promotions.
- You can also help attract more customers by displaying signage on your storefront or website. You’ll show Card Members you accept American Express and that you’re ready for their business. Get your free signage at americanexpress.com/signage.
- And if you accept American Express® Cards, your business could get recommended to potential customers. In 2017, over 15 million people received recommendations on where to shop.* Learn more here.
Not sure if you’re set up to accept American Express® Cards? Call 800.430.7161 and we can help.
It’s a privilege to support you on Small Business Saturday and serve you every day of the year. We hope you will join us and participate on Nov. 24.
The external links provided above will take you to a third party's website that is not sponsored or endorsed by Bank of America Merchant Services.
*Based on an analysis of American Express merchant recommendations in 2017.
©2018 Banc of America Merchant Services, LLC. All rights reserved. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of and licensed by their respective owners. Merchant Services are provided by Bank of America, N.A. and its representative Banc of America Merchant Services, LLC. Banc of America Merchant Services, LLC is not a bank, does not offer bank deposits, and its services are not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC or any other governmental agency.
As the labor market continues to tighten, there are a significant number of jobs – about 6.7 million – remaining unfilled. That means for all businesses, and particularly small businesses that may have a harder time attracting talent,...
As the labor market continues to tighten, there are a significant number of jobs – about 6.7 million – remaining unfilled. That means for all businesses, and particularly small businesses that may have a harder time attracting talent, creativity in terms of seeking out potential employee candidates is imperative.
One group often overlooked is former entrepreneurs. Ex-entrepreneurs provide a wealth of experience that can be leveraged by a business to make a fantastic employee.
Some businesses may be concerned that someone used to running the show wouldn’t thrive as an employee. However, Catherine Morgan, a business consultant with Point A to Point B Transitions, disagrees.
Morgan offers six reasons why former entrepreneurs make fantastic employees and should be a top consideration when looking for candidates.
1. Ex-Entrepreneurs Know How to Manage Change: As businesses are being disrupted by technology and market needs, Morgan says ex-entrepreneurs fit the bill perfectly. “Ex-entrepreneurs are comfortable in fluid environments. They will be able to more easily navigate management or market changes.” This is a skill that is hard to learn on the job.
2. Ex-Entrepreneurs Are Multi-Tasking Mavens: The ability to wear multiple hats might be overlooked on a resume, but shouldn’t be in the hiring process. Morgan points out that, “Many, if not most, companies are trying to do more with fewer resources. Entrepreneurs have learned a wide array of skills and have performed many job functions in their businesses. These professionals can be great additions in thinly staffed organizations because they can add value in multiple roles.”
3. Ex-Entrepreneurs Can Make Decisions: Decisive employees can help lift the burden of the CEO in a small business. As Morgan shares, “Ex-entrepreneurs are not afraid of making decisions because they made them every single day in their businesses. Decisiveness is one of their super powers.”
4. Ex-Entrepreneurs Understand Financial Implications of Decisions: While making decisions is one skill, understanding the financial implications is another. What business isn’t looking for employees who understand return on investment? This is even more critical for small businesses. “Many entrepreneurs have bootstrapped their businesses,” Morgan says. “Ex-entrepreneurs are hard-wired to evaluate costs and returns on investments. They may even show your company where it can save money!”
5. Ex-Entrepreneurs Will Bring a Fresh Perspective: Often, those that aren’t close to a business can see things that those inside can’t. It’s that whole “can’t see the forest for the trees” problem. Morgan says bringing in an ex-entrepreneur will give your company an outside perspective. “This can be especially helpful if most of your employees have been at your company for a long time. The ex-entrepreneur’s get-it-done attitude and experience as a business owner might be exactly what you need to shake things up.”
6. Ex-Entrepreneurs Are Resourceful: If you need help finding new markets to explore, launching new products or mastering a new technology, a former entrepreneur could be your best hire. Morgan emphatically agrees. “Hire an ex-entrepreneur! They are used to building the plane while flying it. Moreover, they tend to be life-long learners, so if they don’t know how to do something, they will figure it out along the way.” This is a compelling skill that is hard to uncover in a traditional search process.
Morgan also adds, “If you have a new position or a new business venture, you can’t find a better candidate than an ex-entrepreneur. In fact, you might want to actively recruit for one.” Having someone that is used to uncertainty and is agile can help you define and execute the role in ways that you can’t currently imagine.
Read next:
- Four Steps to find your best employees
- 3 Big Problems Small Business Owners Struggle With, Part 2: Finding and Retaining Employees
About Carol Roth
Carol Roth is the creator of the Future File ® legacy planning system, “recovering” investment banker, billion-dollar dealmaker, investor, entrepreneur, national media personality and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. She is a judge on the Mark Burnett-produced technology competition show, America’s Greatest Makers and TV host and contributor, including host of Microsoft’s Office Small Business Academy. She is also an advisor to companies ranging from startups to major multi-national corporations and has an action figure made in her own likeness.
Web: www.CarolRoth.com or Twitter: @CarolJSRoth.
You can read more articles from Carol Roth by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Carol Roth to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Carol Roth is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Carol Roth. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Now on the Small Business Community, listen to part two of Exploring Veteran Entrepreneurship. In addition to gaining insight on the entrepreneurial mindset of the men and women who have served their country, learn practical tactics for managing...
Now on the Small Business Community, listen to part two of Exploring Veteran Entrepreneurship. In addition to gaining insight on the entrepreneurial mindset of the men and women who have served their country, learn practical tactics for managing your business like a veteran. Did you miss part one? Tune in here.
“The Heartbeat of Main Street” delivers timely insights tailored to the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Featuring a rotating line-up of small business experts and industry leaders – and covering a range of topics – each episode explores the trends that have an impact on revenue creation for small business owners.
The series is hosted by ForbesBooks, and more information can be accessed through adedicated home page. New episodes will appear regularly on the Small Business Community podcast page. Be sure to check back often – so you don’t miss a beat.
Marcus Flakes: I was deployed three times in my military career in the Navy. One thing I want to point out is that what I learned from these deployments. I learned sacrifice, mission, and core values.
Now, there were a whole lot of different things that I learned, but one of the few things that stuck with me was sacrifice, mission, and core values. I use these traits to develop an organizational culture within my company as well.
Narrator: Welcome to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks at forbesbooks.comand Bank of America at bankofamerica.com.
Gregg Stebben: I'm here with Marcus Flakes, the CEO of Commercial Sanitation Initiative. A company that, frankly, I think is on the cutting edge and doing some really exciting things, but rather than me talk about it, Marcus, welcome. I want you to tell us about your business and what you're doing.
Marcus Flakes: Thank you, Gregg. I appreciate it. Well, a little bit about my business. The umbrella company is CSI US Military Maintenance. We're a cleaning maintenance and remodeling company. We hire local veterans and their families as well as patriotic non-veterans with the mission of giving back to the community. We do this through industrial and military training for economic development projects, i.e., restoration of homes, cleaning, commercial cleaning, remodeling commercial buildings and things like that. Since our company's inception, which was February 2017, we've grown significantly with small business partnerships that have also enabled us to start a subsidiary venture known as Commercial Sanitation Initiative, CSI. CSI is a North American distributor of EnviroCleanse. This company is a combination of veteran entrepreneurs and small business owners distributing cleaning products and organic disinfectants nationwide.
Gregg Stebben: One thing you said, Marcus, that I'm a little unclear of—and I did not serve in the military—and that may be why, but there's lots of people like me who may not understand some terminology. Did you say that you use military training with your employees? If that's the case, explain how that works because it's not clear to me.
Marcus Flakes: Okay. Absolutely. The military training, as you well know, it's called Military Occupational Specialty, MOS. Within the military there's a myriad of knowledge, skills, and abilities that we acquire. One of the things I was focused on is how we can use the exact training from the military and transition that into civilian sector. I created this company around what the military actually does. Not in all facets, in a good piece, cleaning for instance. We learn that going into the military. I don't know a better cleaner than a military person.
Gregg Stebben: We all know the ability of soldiers to do things like make beds and shine shoes and things. It's legendary to all of us just through what we see on movies and on TV. I suspect there's a lot more to it than what we see and what you've done is, I think, is actually recognize that those are highly valuable skills, and that once people are out of the military, you are able to put those people and those veterans and those skills to work.
Marcus Flakes: That is absolutely correct. That's what we do.
Gregg Stebben: I want to hear about your military background, but before we do, I want to pick up on something you mentioned, which is a product called EnviroCleanse. I think you said you're the North American distributor?
Marcus Flakes: Correct.
Gregg Stebben: I want to know a little bit more about that including, this really caught my eye on your website, and by the way, Marcus' company is Commercial Sanitation Initiative, the website is commercialsanitationinitiative.com. One of the things that caught my eye on your website is that there's some relationship between your company, EnviroCleanse, and Warren Buffett, or Berkshire Hathaway. Can you just explain that because I find that very, very interesting?
Marcus Flakes: Yes, absolutely. EnviroCleanse LLC, it's a division of Charter Brokerage LLC, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
Gregg Stebben: Which is owned by Warren Buffett.
Marcus Flakes: Yeah, which is owned by Warren Buffett. Yeah. Absolutely. I have not yet talked to Warren Buffett. Very large company. I'm just one of the smaller entities down here making the mission happen for EnviroCleanse. With all due respect to Warren Buffett, he is the man behind the scenes making a lot of things happen for EnviroCleanse. I consider CSI as having an intricate role to distributing these products on a national level. When I say on a national level, I'm talking about the many industries that this product intersects.
Gregg Stebben: Which are?
Marcus Flakes: Which are retail, commercial, and industrial. You think about population health, I have a master's in public health so I think very broadly on these topics, but I'll make it very, very simple, is that everybody is seeking organic and sustainable products. I'm sure whoever is listening to this call could actually agree with me on that.
Gregg Stebben: Yes.
Marcus Flakes: We provide just that. We provide a product that is an organic disinfectant and we provide green cleaning, de-greasing formulas within another product. We've had a lot of traction from retailers and commercial and industrial. We're on the growth side at this point.
Gregg Stebben: I think when you pick a product like EnviroCleanse and it has essentially not just the endorsement of Warren Buffet, but the fact that he owns that company and the product that the company makes, I think that for a lot of people is a level of validation that's untouchable. It's the gold standard. You know that if Warren Buffett has put his name on it essentially, it must be a great product and you're now the distributor for North America and I assume using it in your cleaning for your clients yourself at CSI.
Marcus Flakes: That is absolutely correct. We've seen nothing but success when we talk to our clients about cleaning contracts. Not only do we offer our services with a good work ethic, but we also offer this product in conjunction to the contract. It gives them a double-edged view of what they're getting from us.
Gregg Stebben: I'm talking with Marcus Flakes, the CEO of Commercial Sanitation Initiative. It's commercialsanitationinitiative.com. Tell us about your military background because it's a very big part of your story.
Marcus Flakes: Okay. Well, I'm a 22-year veteran. I have a very wide background. My experience is within the Navy, Army, as well as full-time employment with the Texas Air National Guard. I was also a food program manager for the state of California Army National Guard as well. I was deployed three times in my military career in the Navy. One thing I want to point out is that what I learned from these deployments. I learned sacrifice, mission, and core values. Now, there were a whole lot of different things that I learned, but one of the few things that stuck with me is sacrifice, mission, and core values. I use these traits to develop the organizational culture within my company as well.
Gregg Stebben: Would you say that as a business owner if you hadn't had that military training your business would be running very differently and would you actually look at your military training and say, you know, if I hadn't got those years of training in my 22 years of service to my country, I might not actually know how to be successful at running a business or starting a business?
Marcus Flakes: You know, there's a true and false to that. The truth is that I gained the confidence from the military. Some of the things that they teach us, they teach us resiliency. They teach us leadership. They teach us sacrifice. Not being all about yourself. It's that selfless service that comes into play. It really brings on your ability to mentor others, which I do on a daily basis for other business owners that seek me out and want to know what I'm doing and how I can help them. But, as far as false, I would say if I never had gone to the military, I had interest prior to enlisting in the military and it was business and health. Looking in hindsight, I think I would've gone to school a lot earlier than I did and picked up a lot of knowledge, skills, and abilities and perhaps just like every other small business owner who doesn't have a military background, they're very successful as well. I really can't take that credit away.
Gregg Stebben: What you're pointing to is that by serving that time in the military, in a sense, you sacrificed something else that was of interest to you for a long, long time, for 22 years, which was your interest in business and health. It's just interesting hearing your perspective on this because I think frankly for many of us, if we haven't served, we don't think about the idea ... We know that veterans come out of the military and then most of us in business know that they make great employees, particularly in the areas where they have trained, but I think most people today don't yet have the idea of what great entrepreneurs veterans make. Did you find in starting your business, and I don't know if this was your first business or you've started others, but in your time as a veteran starting businesses, have you found that there are certain hurdles that have been bigger hurdles for you because you were a veteran?
Marcus Flakes: I have. I have. Starting out with employment. Usually when a veteran comes off active duty or gets out of the National Guard, they're taking on a new journey so to speak. We close that chapter and we start a new chapter here. One of the first attempts is getting a job. Not just any job, but a higher-paying job using the skillsets that they have acquired from the military. Now, when they get that, this is where the problem starts. Either you're over-qualified or you just don't have what that company is looking for. It's been a question for a long time as to why is it like that.
Now, what happens to that veteran after they get so many No’s it becomes very frustrating and they start to ... their resilience, their resilience training starts to kick in because they're not gonna give up. They have no quit in them. They turn to entrepreneurship. There's groups out there. I'm a member of several groups with over a million veterans involved sharing information with one another, trying to make it easier on their comrades because quite frankly one veteran has more experience than the other. It's a beautiful thing because they're able to share that.
Gregg Stebben: You know it's interesting. There was a study published by the Department of Veteran Affairs in 2017 last year that said that veterans are nearly twice as likely to be self-employed compared to non-veterans. I looked at that and on one hand I was surprised and on the other hand I wasn't. I could see a case being made either way. But that's the statistic. It never occurred to me that the process might be as you're describing that veterans get out of the service and then actually have a hard time getting an appropriate and better paying job given their skill level. They might be over-qualified. That only after that experience do they turn to entrepreneurship. I just assumed that a lot of veterans got out and when surveying the landscape of opportunity might think, oh, I can get a job, I can go into this kind of industry, or I can start my own business. Do you have a sense of how many veterans go through that process of having a hard time getting a job because they're over-qualified and turning to entrepreneurship versus taking that on as their first thing directly out of coming out of the service?
Marcus Flakes: I think the percentile is pretty high having a problem finding a job initially. I think that percentage is somewhere around 40%. Then after that is when different veterans will think about different opportunities. Some start in the civilian sector and start looking for a private-owned company and want to work for them. Maybe a food distributing company or something like that. If they don't have any luck there, they usually turn to federal employment. Now, there's a lot of veterans looking for federal employment. Unfortunately, these federal agencies can't hire everybody. They can't hire everybody. They get very, very picky and selective about which veteran they’re going to hire. That's why they have those preferences. If you're service disabled, 50% or 100%, those go to the top. The people who don't have a disability, they're competing with the rest of the applicants with only a five point preference or so.
Other than that, when they exhaust those opportunities, then they start looking at, okay, what can I do. It's usually entrepreneurship. They start thinking about what did I do in the military. Maybe I can start up a security company because I was a military police. Maybe I can start up a restaurant because I was a culinary specialist. You see the correlation of why they select different industries to start a business in.
Gregg Stebben: I'm wondering if you have ideas ... I'm gonna ask this question in three levels. I'm wondering if you have ideas for things we as the individuals listening can do to help veterans either overcome the hump of getting a job because of what you said among other things being over-qualified, or more quickly move to the idea of being an entrepreneur. What can we as individuals do because we all have family and friends who are veterans and many of them are returning veterans or veterans looking for different career opportunities? I'm also wondering beyond us as individuals, and some people listening to this own small businesses or would consider starting another small business or another division as in a sense you've done, but I'm also wondering if you think there's things that government should be doing like Veteran's Affairs, and if there's things the federal government should be doing to make this process better for veterans who are no longer serving.
Marcus Flakes: That's a really good question, Gregg. Not sure if I can fully answer that, but I'm gonna definitely give you my take on it. Whether it's government, nonprofit, or corporate entities, personally I'd like to see them as stakeholders such as theSBAand investors taking interest in business plans that are developed by veterans. The reason I say that is because I think that idea funding is more accessible than credit-based funding.
Gregg Stebben: Really good point. Was access to capital an issue for you?
Marcus Flakes: Access to capital is an issue for everybody. I don't know a business owner who doesn't need capital. When you're out there looking, where are you supposed to be looking? You could be a part of groups. You can put it in there. You can go on LinkedIn. You can say it there. There's just so many places you can say it, but that's social media. You're not having that conversation with that investor who gets the opportunity to sit at the dinner table and actually spell out what you want done for your business with the intention of that investor potentially wanting to help you. That opportunity doesn't come often.
Gregg Stebben: I'm really interested in what you just said, Marcus. I'm talking with Marcus Flakes. He's the CEO of Commercial Sanitation Initiative. It's commercialsanitationinitiative.com. I'm really interested in what you said about idea-based funding versus credit-based funding for veterans. Are there programs like that that exist that veterans know about? I know, for instance, right here on Bank of America's “The Heartbeat of Main Street” that we do here with ForbesBooks with Bank of America, and they've rolled out a $20 million program for lending to US military veteran entrepreneurs. I know those kinds of programs exist, but I'm wondering to veterans know they exist and could part of the job here be just to do a better job of making them aware of it?
Marcus Flakes: Yes. I've been doing my part as far as spreading the word out about this funding that's available to veterans for starting businesses. But I think this, they're hesitant because this is what they're thinking, is this just another hype about supporting veterans? Because to be honest with you, they're not really looking for a handout. I'm gonna give you a scenario. If you told me that I can give you money and you pay me back versus I can give you this account and we'll utilize your services and we'll benefit from your services while you earn money, I probably wouldn't go for the loan. I'd probably go where I'm earning revenue. I'm actually working for that capital.
Gregg Stebben: I may be wrong about this, but I'm speculating you may actually be describing something that doesn't exist today, which is you mentioned idea-based funding. There's credit-based funding. But you're really describing a scenario where it's a work for funding. Does that exist or is this something that you have conceived of yourself?
Marcus Flakes: This is something that I conceived of myself. You sit here and brainstorm about how do you access capital. There's no rule to how you access capital as far as I'm concerned. Accessing capital, I do it every day. The reason I say that is because I opened up another business so that it can be funded by the umbrella business. Listen, for instance, if I go out and get a $50,000 contract and it lasts for maybe two months or something like that, remodeling a home, what happens is that I take that revenue from a founder's perspective, I take my percent and I reinvest that back into the company. That's not capital. What I've done is I'm also increasing my percentage of injections into my asset ability of my company. Now I'm able to go to the bank and say, hey, look what I've been doing
Gregg Stebben: A scenario where someone is just starting out, I think what you're suggesting is if there was a program that said you're going to get the $50,000 contract and the $50,000 access to the $50,000 today so that you can tool up to get the job done. You've just reverse-engineered the process you just said. It just involves having access to the capital upfront instead of at the end when the job has been complete.
Marcus Flakes: Exactly. Because when you think about it, if an opportunity were to be presented to any veteran, or any small business owner for that matter, if it were to be presented that way, now you know you have revenue. Planned revenue. What do you do? You take that and now you can use invoice factorization to make sure you're able to take care of your employees. Now you're managing a business and you're not just looking for funding.
Gregg Stebben: I want to ask you one other thing, Marcus, because this is really a fascinating conversation. As you're talking with other veterans, do you find that there are similar things that they say that prevents them from doing what you've done, which is starting a business that we as friends and family of veterans could hear? You might've already said this in a way, but I want to drill into it very specifically. As you're talking with veterans and they're thinking about starting a small business, are there certain things that stop them that you think we as friends and family should hear so that we know how to give the best encouragement to those veterans who are perhaps the next best greatest entrepreneurs?
Marcus Flakes: I have not met a veteran that I've talked to that just stopped in their tracks because maybe it was something they read or something that they heard. They usually go into the startup. They have X amount of dollars to start. It's not very much usually, but they're all in. They're all in. What happens is that when they start, without the right mentor letting them know where those forks in the road are gonna be, that's when the confusion starts for them. There's this thing called business lifecycle stages. I don't think that veterans ... This is not to discredit any veterans. There are some great veterans out there that are doing some great things better than myself, but business lifecycle is an education in itself. It'll teach you a lot about startup, the growth maturity, and the acceptance and renewal by consumers. This is where you're able to understand where your business sits in the marketplace.
Gregg Stebben: Yeah. Really what you're saying is for a veteran who wants to start a business, grit is not the problem. Getting started is not the problem. At some point though, they just may not know what's coming next or what they need to prepare for. That's where something like a mentor and business lifecycle, as you're describing it, can really make a difference.
Marcus Flakes: Absolutely because they'll go from startup and skip growth to maturity. You miss the growth. This happens a lot. This happens a lot. They're good companies. They're solid. They're making connections. They've got leads and they're making money. Money is not really being invested back into the business, so you're not growing.
Gregg Stebben: Yes. Yes. They have all the pieces, they just need a road map or help creating the appropriate road map to keep going forward and continue to build on that success.
Marcus Flakes: Absolutely. Here's a gem. If they miss the investment, the injection back into their company, when they go to the table for a loan, they will be denied because there's a certain amount of injection percentage that the banks must see from your business. If it's not there, you don't have the tools to generate these financial statements, PNL statements, balance sheets, and all of that. If you don't have the tools to generate that, then you're gonna get overlooked anyway.
Gregg Stebben: By skipping a step, there's downstream consequences you might not even understand until somebody stamps denied on your application.
Marcus Flakes: Exactly.
Gregg Stebben: That's a lot to think about. He is Marcus Flakes. He's the CEO of Commercial Sanitation Initiative. Commercialsanitationinitiative.com. Making a really great case for why veterans make such great business leaders and entrepreneurs and things they need to know about to ensure their success even if they're at the point where they started a business and it's doing well, being able to look forward. I think mentorship is a really great point you make. I want to thank you, Marcus, for joining us here on the Heartbeat of Main Street.
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks at forbesbooks.comand Bank of America at bankofamerica.com.
Did you know veterans are twice as likely to be self-employed as non-veterans? Listen to part one of the latest podcast episode of “The Heartbeat of Main Street” to hear about the entrepreneurial priorities, drive and future of the men...
Did you know veterans are twice as likely to be self-employed as non-veterans? Listen to part one of the latest podcast episode of “The Heartbeat of Main Street” to hear about the entrepreneurial priorities, drive and future of the men and women who have served their country in the military.
“The Heartbeat of Main Street” delivers timely insights tailored to the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Featuring a rotating line-up of small business experts and industry leaders – and covering a range of topics – each episode explores the trends that have an impact on revenue creation for small business owners.
The series is hosted by ForbesBooks, and more information can be accessed through a dedicated home page. New episodes will appear regularly on the Small Business Community podcast page. Be sure to check back often – so you don’t miss a beat.
Jeff Cathey: You know they've fought for this country and now they can maybe own part of it or run a piece of it. Some that we talk to are very interested in coming back maybe even to their hometown into the community and helping their own reintegration efforts in that respect.
Narrator: Welcome to “The Heartbeat of Main Street” with ForbesBooks at forbesbooks.comand Bank of America at bankofamerica.com.
Kate Delaney: Boy, I'm so excited. This time around we're diving into something really close to my heart to be honest. Jeff Cathey joins us. He's a Senior Military Affairs Executive for Bank of America and a former Navy captain. I'm married to an ex-Navy guy so I know what that's like. It's interesting because what we're going to talk about with Jeff is so, so significant. According to a study published, Greg, in 2017 by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, when you look at the veterans they are twice as likely to be self-employed compared to non-veterans. This does not surprise me. So, Jeff, first of all, welcome, and do you think this status really widely known by veterans themselves?
Jeff Cathey: I think it is. We know that about 180 to 200,000 service members leave the Army and the Navy and the Air Force and the Marines every year. And as they do formerly they go through a transition assistance program in their individual services. And about 10% of them raise their hand and say, "I want to start my own business. I want to get in there and run a franchise or start my own business, and I'm very interested in receiving an initial primer on what that is all about. What are the resources out there? What are the barriers are there to either help me or hinder me in going forth with my efforts?" So it's a strong cohort that's interested in it.
And the services have set that up to kind of segregate them off to the side and say, "Okay, if you're interested in starting your own business come over here and we'll start talking about business plans, and marketing plans, and so forth."
Gregg Stebben: So Jeff, you're a former Navy captain, you're now the Senior Military Affairs Executive for Bank of America and I mean this is really what you focus on every day. I'm wondering looking back on your past as a Navy captain and now interacting with these veteran entrepreneurs every day, are there certain things that draw people to military service that then lead them to become great entrepreneurs? Are there things that happen in the training or in the course of their years of service that make them great at being entrepreneurs? Can you kind of see it as a whole or as a whole process for them?
Jeff Cathey: Gregg, you know I would say that those who want to come out and start their own business really probably want to control their own destiny. And maybe in some ways quit taking orders and start giving them, right? And they're going to be successful. Employers are looking for talent, work ethic, and attitude. And 70% nationwide survey of companies are looking for primarily work ethic and attitude. So, I think the ones who raise their hand and want to start their own company, that work ethic will transfer over. It’s up to them to keep the attitude on because there are going to be starts and stutters and so forth. And then the talent portion of it, that's the neat part where they're going to be intellectually curious. They're going to have to go and start a new mission, and they're going to have to learn all this stuff from the business plan to the marketing plan, to how to raise capital and so forth.
I just see them as they fought for this country and now they can maybe own part of it or run a piece of it. I think they don't lack confidence. I think they've had a ton of responsibility in the service. They've had global exposure. They worked in diverse environments. They've done some crisis action planning and they've made some decision making at high rate of speeds. So, I think they can jump right into it. Some that we talk to are very interested in coming back maybe even to their hometown into the community and helping their own reintegration efforts in that respect.
Kate Delaney: Jeff, I referenced this in the beginning because of my own family I saw this, and I talked about this study that was published in 2017 by the US Department of Veteran Affairs, and in that study they also found that self-employed veterans demonstrated higher levels of gratitude, community integration, and altruistic service to others. I'm not surprised by that because of what I've seen. Can you talk about how supporting veteran entrepreneurs and encouraging other vets to become entrepreneurs and small business owners also brings great benefits to the community at large?
Jeff Cathey: It does, Kate. To get out there and ... there's less than one percent of Americans that are putting the uniform on. And so, they are highly trained, they're very specialized, their operational tempo is high, they deploy a lot. Americans nationally and in the local communities want to support the troops so to speak, but they can't find them. And so, they're just gone. And to be able to come back and self socialize and to start up through your own initiative your own company, and get rid of the national tendency towards isolation whether you're on a military installation or you're on a Mac flight going overseas, or you're on the ground deployed in South Korea or Germany, or you're in a combat zone. That isolation has just really got to be peeled back. And to start your own company, and to put a sign up on the window kind of demystifies the whole thing. I think so many of the veterans, they're community integrators, they're going to be contributors. They want to get in there whether it's on the little league field, at the church, any kind of associations to include in the business community.
Gregg Stebben: We're talking with Jeff Cathey, the Senior Military Affairs Executive for Bank of America—he's a former Navy captain. We're also talking about how and why veterans become so great at being small business owners and entrepreneurs. And one of the things I want to ask you Jeff is, what are some of the challenges that veterans face? And when I Googled this I actually came up with the term “vetrepreneurship,” so there's clearly a movement here, but what are some of the challenges that veterans face in starting a small business or continuing to run one, and what kinds of programs are out there? For instance, I know that BofA just launched a programto help military veteran entrepreneurs.
Jeff Cathey: We did and it's exciting. And let me just table that for a second, Gregg. But I would say the barriers are access to capital. Really where are the dollars, number one. And number two I think inside the military we have appropriated dollars from the tax payers through the Congress. And so, it's a budgetary sort of exercise, large budgets but it's different then the raising of capital in the generation of revenue. And so that is something that the vetrepreneur sort of has to learn, and then also how to manage expenses, and how to borrow money to grow that business. So I think those are the barriers. And then that business acumen part, now it's, "Okay, I gotta develop a business plan. I've gotta know my marketing plan and who's the competitors, who else is already out there." Maybe this market in Des Moines, Iowa, is saturated or over saturated in trying to do mobile automobile detailing or dog grooming, or whatever it is. So, those are the things that are out there.
And then as I said the access to capital is the big one. So, if they come to most banks, they leave the Army on Friday and want to start their business on Monday and they walk into the bank, they're just not bankable. So, a lot of them will go over to other sources of capital or maybe even a credit card and pay pretty high rates to borrow that money, and sometimes that can be crushing and put them out of business before they even start.
So, Bank of America on the 8th of June announced a $20 million veteran entrepreneur lending program whereby the non-profit lending arm of the company and some community development financial institutions, CDFI's, are out there. We funded five of them over seven states: Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, California, New York, and both Carolinas. And it's a real solution. At about an eight percent plus or minus percent type of lending for the veteran. And so, we lent about zero to one percent to those CDFI's who turn around and lend to the business owner once they vet them and look at their credit scores, and their business plan, and all that, that we mentioned. You can start at eight percent, it opens the door, it gets them to meet their financial needs for the capital upfront and off they go. So, we're very excited about that CDFI program called Veteran Entrepreneur Lending Program. $20 million dollars over those five CDFI's, and it's just started and we're very excited about it.
Gregg Stebben: You know what's interesting Jeff is as I've been listening to you—and I did not serve in the military, I am not a veteran—I've learned so much by listening to you. And I was really excited to talk to you because I realized folks who have not served and our not veterans have so much to learn from this conversation. And one of the things I started thinking as I've been listening to you here is, there are probably some real advantages to being in the military and then getting out and starting a business, but there are probably some disadvantages.
And one of the disadvantages I thought of as you've been talking is, if I go the traditional entrepreneurial route, which I think for many people is you go to college and maybe you're studying business maybe you're not, but you're networking with other potential entrepreneurs in the community perhaps or you're just focused on a very specialized thing because you have a college major. Then maybe you go on to get a master's degree and a PhD. You've been building this whole network around you that's going to support you in your business. That's not necessarily true I would think for a veteran, so that could be a disadvantage that they're not in the same environment. And do you think programs like this BofA program or are there other programs from like the SBA that help support veterans to eliminate that disadvantage and turn it into an advantage?
Jeff Cathey: Yeah, no I hear you Gregg. And the sequence just comes in different orders. And so, I agree with you. There's a very hierarchal way and build the triangle like you said on one side. The other side is go over there and defend your countrymen and do what you're asked to do from a military for deployed perspective and so forth. And you're sort of losing ground along the way when you come back.
And that's why it's so exciting to see these veteran entrepreneur programs that have been established mostly at the land grant colleges like University of Florida, Oklahoma State University, University of Southern Calthe Marshall School of Businessand at Syracuse University at IVMF, and even here locally where I am at Hillsborough Community College they have Operation Startup. Not a set aside, but just a veteran entrepreneur program. Even Stanford has Ignite.
There's 1.1 million veterans on college campuses executing the GI Bill and most of these courses ... and I've been to the one out in LA and up in Gainesville and Stillwater, Oklahoma and most of these. There's about 80-90 veteran entrepreneurs either current existing ownership, have a business fledgling in their first or second year, or brand new. And those usually go eight or nine months or so, and they'll come in for a week and get to know the instructors, the expectations and so forth, and have some academics there. And then they'll go back to their hometowns through some online academics and some mentorship along the way, and some checkpoints and so forth. And they'll come back and graduate. So, it's good. There's a buzz around it. There's strength in numbers. Popping out of that is going to be sort of the evening out of those sort of two different paths to owning your own business.
Kate Delaney: So, Jeff I can imagine you just talked about some of the programs that are there, can you share with us some stories from some of the vets, some of the entrepreneurs and small business owners that you've worked with in your position with Bank of America?
Jeff Cathey: You know Kate, I’d say most of those that I know that are running organizations, and I'd equate them to a small business, they're leading non-profits. And these are sort of millennial led non-profits that Bank of America's associated with such as Student Veterans of America, such as America's Warrior Partnership, or Team Red, White, and Blue, or Mission Continues, or Team Rubicon. And these are young men and women as executive directors of these organizations that essentially are doing the same thing. Even a non-profit, you've gotta generate revenue, you've gotta fundraise, you've gotta control expenses, and staffing, and travel, and everything else, and you have to lead a team. And that's exactly what they're doing. And so, we have great partnerships, long lasting partnerships sustained with all of those non-profits, and some of the smaller veteran owned businesses.
We went out to People Fundwhose one of those five CDFI's that we spoke about. They're in Texas, they're in Austin, Texas. And we went out and met Gary Lindner and he runs them. And we looked at all their books, met some of their veteran entrepreneurs. Looked at how they vet who they're going to lend to. We looked at their loss rates. We looked at their sustained efforts to support these veterans as they start up their business, because it's more than just veteran entrepreneur leadership program I talked about. It's more than just writing a check and the $20 million dollars to those five CDFI's. It's lending, and learning, and technical assistance. And so, that is a huddle up, that's support network, that is we've all go the same target, but there's going to be some off ramps, there's going to be some unexpected barriers and so forth. But this is the learning part of it through Syracuse University, and IVMF the Institute of Veteran and Military Families, their V-Wise, their women veterans programs. There are ways and technical assistance for those business plans, and control of money, and expenses, and so forth to make this a go. So it's not “here's your check good luck, see you later.”
Gregg Stebben: Well that makes perfect sense. And in fact, Jeff when I was getting ready for this interview and just Googled the phrase military veteran entrepreneurs and veteran entrepreneurs, that's when I began to discover that there's this whole world that includes networking, and programs like you've described for learning in addition to access to capital and things like that.
We're talking with Jeff Cathey, he's the Senior Military Affairs Executive for Bank of America, and a former Navy captain. I want to ask you Jeff, we're talking here about veterans starting businesses or continuing to run businesses and getting the kind of support that can help them continue to be successful. I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for people who are listening who are family or friends of a veteran and they know that their family member or their friend has always talked about or dreamed of starting a business, but maybe just needs a little bit of a push. Are there things those of us who are family or friends can do to support that veteran to enable them to take the first step?
Jeff Cathey: I think so, Gregg. I think beside lending them a few dollars is to really get them into the community and even the SCORE. The senior former executives that are out there in most markets around the country that lend their expertise, so they have come and gone in their business entrepreneurship and been successful, and they know what the minefields are, and they know what the success metrics are. These are companies big and small. If you look back at current or recent executives, CEO's of large companies like Lockheed Martin, and FedEx, and Proctor and Gamble—Proctor and Gamble's Bob McDonald is a West Point graduate who was most recent secretary of the VA. And so, these are good leaders. Bank of America was run by a Marine, Hugh McColl, General Motors same thing. And so, they all somewhere in there whether they served like I did for 29 years or they came in and did an honorable service for four years and then left, and struck out on their own.
As I said, everybody's wanting to support the troops and more than just writing a check. So, if you get in the local area, what is it that community ... and these are where communities can be led by all of us as collaborators and integrators through the economic development part of a local community, or the Chambers of Commerce and other ways to do this, and figure out where the belly button is to push it to collaborate, because it's just really a bit of an opening of a door just like our CDFI program. Just open that door, get it going, and it's going to flush out in the right direction. And it's really just the socialization, sort of a networking, the exchange of ideas, the engagement. As I said, these veterans and these former servicemen, they're going to come and they're going to contribute. They're going to show up early, they're going to wrap it up, they're going to work on a weekend, they're going to figure it out until it goes. And just a little bit of a push from those in the know, this is an economic stimulator, this is a very good and a righteous way to help veterans reintegrate into the community and not be so isolated.
Kate Delaney: I can only image what it's going to look like in 10 years, so exciting. Jeff Cathey, Senior Military Affairs Executive for Bank of America, former Navy captain. Thanks so much for joining us.
Jeff Cathey: Kate, thank you very much. Gregg, likewise.
Narrator: Thanks for listening to “the Heartbeat of Main Str”et" with ForbesBooks at forbesbooks.comand Bank of America at bankofamerica.com.
Introducing Small Talk with Bank of America Merchant Services. Small business owners have a lot to handle these days. Corner stores compete against eCommerce giants, point-of-sale systems have jumped to the cloud and your customers want...
Introducing Small Talk with Bank of America Merchant Services.
Small business owners have a lot to handle these days. Corner stores compete against eCommerce giants, point-of-sale systems have jumped to the cloud and your customers want quicker and easier ways to shop.
The challenges can be intimidating, but as the realities of owning a small business change, the fact remains that we’re still here to help you navigate it all.
We invite you to jump into the August and October editions of Small Talk in which we spotlight some of the most important trends and opportunities facing small businesses today.
- Get help cracking down on cyber criminals
- What to do when Mother Nature strikes.
- Purchase disputes and how to avoid them.
- Promotional Ideas Calendar
- Clover POS software plan comparison
- Tips to help your business prepare for the holiday season
- The 2018 Small Business Payments Spotlight
- Answers to 1099-K tax form questions
Last night I went out to dinner with my family, and the restaurant we visited was unusually packed. When I asked the waitress what was up, she said that the restaurant was giving out a free dinner to all veterans this month in honor of both their...
Last night I went out to dinner with my family, and the restaurant we visited was unusually packed. When I asked the waitress what was up, she said that the restaurant was giving out a free dinner to all veterans this month in honor of both their service and the upcoming Veteran’s Day holiday on November 11.
We were happy to wait.
It reminded me of a great story I heard a few years ago about a sergeant named Robbie Doughty. Doughty was 32 when he lost both legs in a bomb blast in Iraq. USA TODAY did a story about the sergeant and soon after he received a phone call from Michael Ilitch, the owner of the Little Caesars Pizza chain (and the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings.) Ilitch just wanted to thank Doughty for his service, but the call ended with Ilitch offering Doughty his own Little Caesars Pizza franchise. Today, Doughty is a successful entrepreneur in his hometown in Kentucky.
Related: See how Bank of America shows its support and commitment to veterans and their families
It’s not surprising that entrepreneurship resonated with Doughty. Indeed, if you think about it, there are many reasons why veterans make great entrepreneurs, and why almost 10% of all small businesses are veteran-owned:
- Vets understand the idea of teamwork and uniting behind a bigger mission
- They not only take direction well, they are also well-versed in leadership
- Creatively solving the problem is what they do
Given this, and the fact there are so many veterans since 9/11, I am happy to report there are a lot of great programs designed to help veterans start and grow their own businesses.
The Small Business Administration: The SBA has a lot of resources for the veteran small business entrepreneur. For example, the SBA has a program called Operation Boots to Business. The program’s goal is to provide business training to military service personnel who are in transition to civilian life.
Another great SBA program is the Veterans Business Outreach Center. The VBOC is a “one-stop-shop for transitioning service members, veterans and military spouses looking to start, purchase, or grow a business. Located nationwide, VBOCs provide transition assistance programs such as training, counseling and mentoring, and resource referrals.”
The Veterans Administration, Veteran Entrepreneur Portal: Part of the Department of Veterans Affairs, this site offers a plethora of programs to help veteran entrepreneurs, everything from starting to financing to growing a business.
The National Veteran Owned Business Association: NaVOBA is a private, non-profit association that acts as a gathering place and resource for veteran small business owners.
The V-Wise IGNITE Program: IGNITE is operated by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF) and the SBA. Designed especially for female veterans, IGNITE is a one-day entrepreneurship training event offered in cities across the country.
The program is open to women veterans, active duty service women, and women military spouses/life-partners interested in small business ownership. The program features nationally acclaimed speakers, expert instructors, local and military friendly business resource providers, and successful veteran women and military spouse entrepreneurs.
On this Veteran’s Day, it is great to see that “thank you for your service” is not just a phrase, but is being backed up by so many great organizations looking to help veterans transition into small business ownership.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SMALL BUSINESS EXPERT STEVE STRAUSS
About Steve Strauss
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Steve Strauss is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Steve Strauss. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2017 Bank of America Corporation
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