Eagle s Smart Business Guide. 7 Keys to Explosive Growth

Transcription

1 Eagle s Smart Business Guide 7 Keys to Explosive Growth

2 SMALL BUSINESSES DON T DIE, THEY COMMIT SUICIDE In a strong economy, nearly all businesses enjoy greater prosperity. Disposable income is high, unemployment is low and consumer confidence prompts people to pump their money back into the economy through the purchase of essential and nonessential goods and services. The impact of a strong economy on a small business is two-fold: as business increases, so does the need for a small business to keep pace with demand by hiring additional employees, expanding retail space or adding new product lines. While this may be viewed as a positive, the downside is that if the economy starts to falter, many small businesses find themselves overextended, which can result in mass layoffs and business failures. During an economic slowdown, many small businesses face a number of challenges. Consumers become concerned about their job stability and, in turn, are more likely to be cautious with expenditures, which leads to decreased revenue for small business owners. A slow profit stream can make it difficult for a small business to repay creditors, which can negatively impact its long-term viability. A business facing financial struggles is far less likely to qualify for loans for capital expenditures and operations, which limits growth opportunities. Many small businesses also are forced to downsize their workforce during a slow economy. This limits their ability to serve customers and contributes to the unemployment rate, which further slows the economy. Small businesses have an advantage over large businesses when it comes to adapting to economic swings. Small businesses typically have a smaller decision-making base in terms of leadership. Whereas a large company may need to call numerous stockholder meetings to discuss changes in business strategy and direction, a small business is much more nimble in the decision-making process. Typically, a small business can make faster decisions to change course, increase or decrease workforce or product offerings or significantly change the company image to adapt to a changing economy. Those changes often include invoice factoring. 2

3 KEY 1 HAVE A VISION Have a vision and mission statement. It tells your story 24/7. Mission Statement The mission statement has to fit with the vision for the company and should reflect the many strategies you have developed to achieve your vision goal. Here are a few questions to ask: What is it that you provide to customers? Not just the products or services, but what need do you fulfill? Why do people buy your product or service rather than other similar products? What makes you stand out? Who are your customers? What is it that differentiates them from others that do not buy your products? There may be several different types of customers with different needs that you fulfill. How do you provide your products and services? What are the true measures of your success? Vision Statement The vision statement is an important tool to provide guidance for your business and to your employees; it should inspire, it should instill purpose and value in what the company plans to do, and it should motivate. Ask yourself these questions: -What is the ultimate goal of your business? -What are you trying to achieve? -What should it stand for? -What should it be known for? -What are your values and how are they conveyed to your customers? 3

4 KEY 2 PREPARATION Preparation- There is a reason the Boy Scouts use the motto, Be Prepared and it extends well beyond merit badges and camping. Prepare yourself and your business by doing things like writing a business plan and creating your business policies. Too many people don t think ahead to things like how they will deal with late payments. The result is often living on pennies and nickels when you have dollars owed to you. There is a down side to preparation though. There are many businesses that never get off the ground because someone spent way too much time on the preparation. It s like anything in life, it requires balance. Balance your preparation with action. 4

5 KEY PARTNERSHIP Surround yourself with supportive people. It is much easier to stay committed to something if you have a good circle of people on your side, whether they are investors, friends, family, or even customers. Remember that most people that are critical of your business likely work for someone else and may not have your energy or enthusiasm or motives to start a business. People tend to inject their own fear onto others. Don t let it slow your intentions down. Don t be afraid to ask for help. Most people get into business thinking they can do it all themselves. This is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Starting a business is a huge undertaking and it s normal to require help. Doing it on your own might seem like it would be more rewarding, but not if it takes too much time to make it successful. Chose a financial partner that cares about your success, whose core values include helping you succeed. Don t be afraid to go the nontraditional route. Non traditional resources such as invoice factoring as your account receivables department is an excellent option. 5

6 KEY 4 KNOW YOUR MARKET Understand who is best suited for your product or service When you develop a product or service, you need to specify exactly in your mind the following: What pain or problem does your product or service resolve? Is this a consumer or business product or service? Who will actually benefit from the product or service? (Entire businesses, groups within businesses, or individuals). Sex, Age, Culture, Race of consumer. Who in the business will make the buying decision? Who is the actual consumer buyer? Ex: Do men buy this for women versus them buying for themselves? What industries can best utilize this product or service? Do you have experience in certain industries with the products/ services or existing customers to draw on for testimonials? Can only certain industries benefit from the product or service? 6

7 KEY 5 DETERMINATION Determination: Some of the most amazing success stories come from people who began their businesses out of desperation. Don t believe it s a coincidence. The desperation these people experienced gave them a level of determination that many of us don t have. When running your own business you have to be able to push yourself even when things look bleak. It can take a long time to get that first client, or enough clients, to consider your business a success. You must have the determination to follow it through. 7

8 SMALL BUSINESS FACTS Small business is the engine that drives the American economy. Entrepreneurs with a dream combined with a desire to be self-sufficient create new companies every day, striving to be successful while making their personal dreams and goals a reality. Although small businesses may be small, their impact on the economy is huge. They, not huge corporations, form the majority of exporters to other countries and they are the employers of more than 50% of all workers in the private sector. Impressive data on the power of small businesses in the United States should not be emphasized to the point that other data is ignored. For example, 90% of all start-ups fail within 5 years. When almost 700,000 business open in a given year, statistics suggest that almost 600,000 will close while bankruptcies number in the tens of thousands. Small businesses typically employ fewer than 500 people and offer exceptional opportunities to all Americans. Without them and the risks they take, the nation and the economy would be vastly different than it is today ,200 New Businesses 595,600 Business Closures 43,546 Bankruptcies When polled a few reason given thoughts on why they fail: Inability of management to reach decisions and act on them, bad relations with customers/suppliers, illness of key personnel, bad budgeting, over borrowing, using too much credit, reluctance or inability to seek professional assistance, under pricing goods sold. 8

9 7 THINGS THAT MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES MORE THAN MONEY Be generous with praise. Everyone wants it and it s one of the easiest things to give. Plus, praise from the CEO goes a lot farther than you might think. Get rid of the managers. Allowing people to work together as a team, on an equal level with their co-workers, will often produce better projects faster. People will come in early, stay late, and devote more of their energy to solving problems. Make your ideas theirs. People hate being told what to do. Instead of telling people what you want done; ask them in a way that will make them feel like they came up with the idea. I d like you to do it this way turns into Do you think it s a good idea if we do it this way? Be kind when you criticize or correct. No one, and I mean no one, wants to be called out in a crowd when they did something wrong. If you re looking for a de-motivator, this is it. Try mentoring one or one or in a small group setting to get people to improve, learn from their mistakes, and fix them. Give recognition and small rewards. These two things come in many forms: Give a shout out to someone in a company meeting for what she has accomplished. Try things like dinner, trophies, spa services, and plaques. Throw company parties. Doing things as a group can go a long way. Have a company picnic. Organize birthday parties. Don t just wait until the holidays to do a company activity; organize events throughout the year to remind your staff that you re all in it together. Share the rewards and the pain. When your company does well, celebrate. This is the best time to let everyone know that you re thankful for their hard work. Go out of your way to show how far you will go when people help your company succeed. If there are disappointments, share those too. If you expect high performance, your team deserves to know where the company stands. Be honest and transparent. 9

10 KEY 6 COMMITMENT Commitment to values this is your core. If you work with commitment to your values, you will work your hardest. Commitment to goals successful people set goals, but setting goals is nothing if you don t stick with them. Commitment to action every single day you need to commit an action towards your goals. Commitment to continuous improvement it s about being your best and maintaining integrity and pride. Commitment to excellence remember the rhyme from school? Good, better, best, never let it rest til your good is better and your better best. Commitment to your business always ask yourself Is this the best thing for the company? Commitment to your promises did we mention integrity earlier? Let s say it again. Integrity. Commitment to your team the people who work for you need to know that you stand behind them, that way you can get... Commitment from your team dedication from the people you work with and who work for you will give you the power you need to drive results. Commitment to your customers commitment to your customers is like commitment to your business because without your customers, you have no business. 10

11 KEY 7 FLEXIBILTY Be flexible. The best business are the ones that are adaptable to a changing marketplace. Make sure your goals and methods can easily be changed if conditions call for it. Most of all, you must be willing to change. Don t forcibly squeeze yourself into a one-size-fits-all hat when there may be other options if you keep your eyes open. Stay persistent. The flexibility mentioned previously is important, but so is a level of persistence. Don t be so quick to bail on a method if it doesn t produce immediate results. Some marketing techniques, such as search optimization, can take months before seeing the fruits of your labor. It s not just a matter of figuring out how to get search results on Google, it can take months of creating back links to the website before gaining real authority. Stick with these types of techniques until you are positive it will never be of benefit to your vision. 11

12 BEST PRACTICE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA Begin with the End in Mind If business goals aren't dictating your social media activities, then you're wasting your time, effort and money. There are only three ways social media can help your business: Increase brand awareness by growing your reach Build customer loyalty by engaging more and providing support Increase sales by getting more people to purchase more frequently Be a Publisher First You're creating content every time you publish a social media update, newsletter, presentation and blog post. So if you want to succeed in online marketing, then you need to be publisher first. All of the traffic-generating tactics like SEO (search engine optimization) and social media only fuel and optimize that content. Understand What Motivates Your Audience Nobody cares about your business. People only care about themselves! Don't create content around you, your product, company or industry. Focus on how your product will help them. Enable Other People to Share Your Story If you're afraid of what people are going to say, then maybe you should focus on straightening that out first. Because social media can't save your brand. Marketing fuels demand. It can get traffic to your website and build trust. But it can't cover-up flaws or convince people to buy. Only your product or service can do that. 12

13 FACTORING 101 Web Definitions of INVOICE FACTORING: The sale of your invoices for immediate cash. The process of purchasing commercial accounts receivable (invoices) from a business at a discount. The selling of a company s accounts receivables to a third party, in order to obtain funding. Web Definition of NON-RECOURSE INVOICE FACTORING: Factoring where the funding source purchases receivables and assumes full credit risk for non-payment by a customer Our Definition of FACTORING: Help businesses grow by offering a TRUE Non-Recourse factoring program along with an Accounts Receivable Management Service, to offer a combination of quick cash flow and back office assistance unmatched in our industry. CLIENT VS. CUSTOMER CLIENT: The business that sells their invoice (s) to Eagle. 13

14 WHAT EAGLE OFFERS Unlimited Free Credit Checks True Non-Recourse Factoring Program Non debt incurred program A Real Old Fashioned Customer Service Representative A Team Not individual agents No voic Not required to factor ALL customers No Nickel & Diming No: start-up fee, monthly fee, or minimum amounts required. No Term Contract - No: 6 month contract 2 year contract, etc) Same Day Funding Advance rates between 80% - 90% Rebates settled weekly Online accounting reports (AR) updated daily (customer list, gross purchases and receipts/purchases, aging) Account monitoring (customer service based collections department) In House legal counsel Example of NON-RECOURSE Funding If Eagle approves a customer, XYZ Logistics purchases (funds) an invoice for XYZ Logistics, and XYZ Logistics fails to pay (Out of business, bankruptcy, disappears etc), Eagle will not turn back to the Client for payment. 14

15 WHO IS EAGLE? For more than a decade, Eagle has helped growing businesses fill new orders, meet new demand and serve new customers with accounts receivable funding - an alternative to traditional bank loans or lines of credit. Traditional financing is limited to business assets and if you re just getting started or trying to grow an existing business, that may not be enough. Accounts receivable funding is based on the value of your work and the financial standing of your customer. That means businesses like yours get all the cash flow they need to grow strong. Eagle Capital takes pride in being a straightforward financial partner to our clients. We do business responsibly, with fiscally conservative principles, because our company is our family legacy. We re very proud of what we built in our hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. We know you feel the same about your business, no matter the size. That s why, now and tomorrow, Eagle is here. So you can be out there. Eagle Capital Corporation 2605 Old Belden Circle Tupelo, MS P.O. Box 4215 Tupelo, MS Watch This Movie to Boost Your Bottom Line $$ T T F customersevice@eaglecapitalcorp.com CALL. ASK. We love questions! 15