How to set realistic goals in a Small Business
Irrespective of the size and nature of business, goals are very important for any organization as without them it cannot even survive in the long run. As small businesses have limited resources available to them, it is more important for them. Though most people think that goal setting is quite difficult, but in reality it is not so. Phil Thow suggests that if a few simple steps are followed, both long term and short term goals can be set in a realistic manner.
First step is writing down on paper what is intended to be achieved even though they may appear unrealistic as later on these unrealistic ones may be evaluated and adjusted to make them achievable.
Next step is to express the goals set in the first step in quantitative terms (like 10% increase in production, selling 5,000 units of a product etc) as these can be used as yardstick for mid-term and term-end evaluation of progress made in achieving them. To take your business to a specific direction, goals expressed in quantitative terms are better motivating factor than any general expression like increase sales during current year.
According to Phil Thow, the next step is to balance your goals against your resources. This means that you are to select only those goals for the present which are attainable using the recourses available at the moment and leave those which are not.
Now, it is the time to break down the long run goals into short term goals so that attainment of these smaller parts one after another will ultimately lead to accomplishment of the long term ones.
Next step is to assign time frames to each of these goals. This step will help you to judge whether satisfactory progress is being made towards timely attainment of your goals and after completion of one time period, goals meant for the next time period can be taken up for accomplishment.
The final step suggested by Phil Thow is assigning priorities to the goals to determine which of the goals are to be taken prior to others. Achievement of some goals may be a pre-requisite of some other goals or it may be the case that some goals are to be attained early to meet some legal or statutory requirement. Whenever a certain goal is achieved, you will have a sense of satisfaction that motivates you to perform better to attain the next ones and this way, finally the business will develop significantly within a short period of time.
Attitude of a Business Man
Attitude is a very important thing for every individual. Attitude plays a vital role in growth of every individual.
The topic we are going to discuss here is about the positive attitude for a business man and about Phil Thow.
Media plays a vital for every business in the world. The economy of a business increases when the media says something positive about the organization and its achievements. On the other side the economy of a business is drastically affected when the media says about the same organization in the negative manner. Phil Thow says for the improvement and success in any business positive attitude is very important. It should overcome the negative impact of the organization.
Let us consider a simple example. There are two selling shops near your home.
When you enter into first shop and when you notice that the employees are not treating you well and chatting among themselves about the negative impacts of the particular shop and criticizing the owner of the shop and passing comments that the shop is cheating its customers with high cost and poor quality. After hearing this you return back and entered into the next shop.
Soon after you enter into the second shop and notice that the place was very tidy and the materials are arranged neatly. All the employees invited you and treated in a good manner in order to promote their goods. They are speaking to you in a smiling way and intimated about the offers of a particular product. And the manager also viewed the employees and explained the positive things about the shops. Now you are totally convinced with this shop. You are now totally convinced and decided to purchase there.
Phil Thow says that it was the difference between the two shops. The positive attitude towards the customers lead their business run successfully in the second shop whereas the negative approach and behavior of the employees in the first shop made to loose their customers.
Likewise when Marketing executive approaches to a business man with positive attitude and discuss about the tips to improve the business and grow well. Whereas the marketing executive with negative attitude and says about the negative impacts of starting a business and implementing new ideas which would lead to loss in the business. Which marketing executive’s idea will the business man prefer? Definitely the first ones idea only.
What should be the attitude of a business man?
The attitude of a business man helps in gaining new customers or loosing the existing customers.
With a Positive attitude a business man raise his business and promote his products. All the employees working under him will be happy and they also will try to be positive in their way of approach in developing the organization.
With a Negative attitude a business man looses his existing customers and has less chance of gaining new customers. The employees are also unhappy with him.
However depending on the Market value and its growth, the business man should focus on the company’s growth in right way in order to maximize the profit.
The attitude is a small thing that makes a huge difference. A business man should always try to focus on the positive side rather than focusing on the negative side and its impacts.
Beware of negative impacts and try to avoid them being optimistic. Try to learn the employees and train them to be positive.
Setting up goals and achieving it is very important. Focus on little things and always try to improve the performance of the business.
Boston Consultancy Group Matrix – Stars
According to Philip Thow, Stars are units with a high market share in an industry that is rapidly developing. Starts are anticipated to turn out to be the next cash cows. Supporting the business unit's lead in the market, it might be necessary to outlay extra cash, however such expenditure is not a waste if it means that the unit will stay keep its leadership in the market. When growth declines, stars turn out to be cash cows if they have been able to keep up their leadership. Alternatively, they shift from a short – lived
Phil Thow states that cash cows or dogs are the expected destination of all business units when a certain industry matures and its development slows. Most business units follow a natural sequence. First they start as question marks, eventually they become stars. Then when the growth of the market starts to regress, the business unit turns into a cash cow. At the last phase of the sequence, the cash cow eventually becomes a dog.
The objective of establishing this ranking system was aid corporate analysts make decisions on which business units are worth investing in, and how much should be invested. Phil Thow uses this to help him decide which units should be sold.
One of the purposes of this analysis was to give managers a viewpoint that will allow them to make strategies confidently regarding the use of the funds produced by cash cows to subsidize stars and potentially, the question marks.
Boston Consultancy Group Matrix – Product Life Cycle
In 1970, the BCG stated that only a diverse business with a stable group of investments can utilize its strong points to really make the most on its growth opportunities. Phil Thow states that the attributes of a stable group of investments are the following:
Stars whose large share and towering growth guarantees the future;
cash cows that generate funds for the future as well;
question marks that can be changed into stars with the addition of more investments
STUDY ON PRODUCT LIFE – CYCLE
Product life cycle management is the series of approaches employed by management while a product undergoes its product life cycle. Phillip Thow believes that eventually, the circumstance in which a product is sold alters and must be administrated as it undergoes a series of stages.
According to Phil Thow, the product life cycle involves a number of stages, a number of professional fields and necessitates a number of skills, tools and courses. Product Life Cycle or the PLC is related with the life of a product in the market in connection with business/commercial costs and sales procedures; On the other hand, product life cycle management or the PLM is related with administrating descriptions and attributes of a product in the course of its growth and functional life, primarily from a business/engineering viewpoint.
Business Credit Cards Online - Phillip Thow
Installment Loans Raise Credit Scores
Having a collection of different credit card types such as revolving accounts and installment accounts are effective ways to boost your credit scores. Credit cards and lines of credit are example of forms of revolving accounts while auto loans, Seattle home Mortgages and personal loans are examples of installment accounts.
Once you have had a good credit record for at least a year, a good next move is going to the bank and getting an installment loan. Make sure that the installment loan takes only a few months so you won’t pay a large sum on the interest. This will help establish your credit line.
When using revolving accounts, they should be used recurrently however make sure that you don’t charge more than what you can afford to pay. Acquiring credit scores require the use of credit within six months. One of your accounts should be regularly updated at least once every six months.
As you use your cards, your report is automatically updated. The creditor is more likely to have interest in you because you generate profit for him. If you don’t use it for a long term, the creditor will have to remove your privilege to make credits completely.
There are just some guidelines that you have to remember regarding credits:
- Pay your credit bill every month
Paying your credit in full every month is much better than making installment payments which will require you to pay interest. The best way to make sure that you are able to accomplish this is to have self – discipline. Do not charge 30% beyond the card limit the lender has allotted for you. This also goes for your other bills too.
- When you can’t have a regular credit card, do for a secured credit card
It is not very easy to get a regular credit card, so try going for a secured one. You will have to set down money with a creditor. The amount you set down is equal to maximum amount you can charge on credit.
Get real protection. Do not trust the creditor immediately. Evaluate the person completely before you give your trust, after all, crimes related to abuse of credit card users are not new today. People who know so much of the system can easily get victims. Some of them give very high interest rates and terrible application and annual fees.
Your credit union is the most recommended place to get a secured card. Information on where you can get secure cards is posted on several different websites you can check online anytime.
Here are some guidelines when choosing your secured card:
- Make sure that you won’t be charged for application and annual fee is minimal.
- It should convert into a regular card after a period of 12 to 18 months of responsible and prompt payments
- Secured card should be link to the three credit bureaus. This is very important to make sure that all your credit activities are reflected in your credit history which is kept by the credit bureaus.
Joint Accounts and Loans
If you want a fast way of creating a credit card history, you have two options:
- You can ride on another person’s credit record by asking that person to add you as a credit card joint holder
Risks: Joint account is risky for you and the account holder. You will share every progress or delay connected to this account and all activities will be reflected in both of your credit reports. This implies that if the account holder fails to pay his obligations, then this will also appear in your credit report. However, if he is a responsible payer, then it will also say the same about you. As a joint holder, you share the responsibility of paying off the debts and it will be impossible for you to get rid of this responsibility. This could be an obstacle in your goal of establishing a good credit history.
- Letting someone co – sign a loan
Advantage: If you are not qualified to get a loan, you have more chances of getting one when someone is willing to co – sign for you. The loan will appear in your credit report and if you are a responsible payer, this will surely raise your credit scores.
Risks: Since the other person signed the documents with you, this means that he shares the responsibility concerning the payment of the loaned amount. If you fail to pay, the co – signer’s credit report will also be negatively affected.
Considering all the disadvantages of asking help from other people on building your credit history, it is more advisable to do it on your own.
This process of joint account and loans puts you to more risky situations that you would rather avoid. Credit – repair companies are earning a lot of money from people who have become victims of the system. Despite the complaints of lenders, companies in charge of keeping tract of the scores are ignoring them.
Fundamental of credit scoring:
There are two important factors which give the greatest impacts on your scores. First is, how prompt you are in paying your bills. Second, how much you use your credit.
Giving the payments of your bills on time is very important so try to avoid any late payments. Try to think of ways on how to avoid forgetting due dates. Even if you failed to pay your dues only for once, your credit scores will definitely dwindle. Unfortunately, it takes a long seven years before this becomes information loses its significance.
To do this, you have to control the amount you charge on your credit card. Make sure you don’t use more than 30% of the credit limits. This will not only raise your credit scores, but it will also help you avoid having other debt problems.
A more effective way of increasing your credit scores is by paying your dues completely every month. Although maintaining balance is allowable, don’t get ideas that it will give you more credit scores. In addition to that, if you leave a balance on your credit card, you also have to deal with the interest.
By using business credit cards online, you save time and build credit says Phil Thow. Just exactly as you use internet shopping for your personal life, you should utilize the same internet shopping for your business. Shopping online for your Nevada Corporation is fast, convenient and economical. It’s also a money saver! No driving from store to store, no using gasoline or putting mileage on the company car. And many online vendors offer discounts and special prices and reduced or free shipping for shopping online. Phillip Thow says by doing your business’s shopping online, you save yourself time, money and can in turn spend it more wisely on what counts: your business.
Getting rid of wasted time and money is a huge advantage to using business credit cards online. Phil Thow says you’d be amazed if you were to figure out how much time you actually spend doing your business shopping in stores. Doing your business shopping online cuts that time and spending dramatically. Saving that time allows you to spend more on the more important things: customer service, training, and building your Nevada LLC. Everything you could every need for your business can be found on the internet; Phillip Thow says utilize it and save your business time and money!
If you are fearing identity theft through online purchases, Phillip Thow says that with today’s technology, encoding and superior safety features used by online vendors, it is a mistaken fear. Vendors don’t want to risk being responsible for stolen identities, so they take all precautions necessary to protect both the customer and themselves. Phil Thow says that in the unlikely event that you do fall victim to identity theft or credit card fraud, the creditors have systems and procedures in place to reimbursing that money and for investigating those crimes without involving you or affecting your business.
Phillip Thow says that the savings on online items can be dramatic. Online vendors have little overhead and can offer you great products at lower prices than you’d find in-store. They pass the savings on to you and your business! By using your business credit cards online now you are saving yourself both time and money says Phil Thow.
Business Credit Cards – How to Build Business Credit- Phil thow
Whether you are growing an existing business or starting a new business, business credit cares are essential for credit repair. Business credit cards are crucial when it comes to building your business credit. By using your smaller business credit cards, you are building a solid foundation for business credit that larger lenders and banks will later on take into consideration when determining whether to borrow your business money and how much to borrow your business. Besides, business credit cards are quite simple to get, so you might as well start there.
Using business credit cards starts the business credit building process. Just like with personal credit, when you pay your business credit card bills on time, this is a positive thing that the creditor in turn then reports to the business credit reporting agencies. One other positive thing to having business credit cards is that it allows you to keep you business finances separate from your personal finances. This is of extreme importance. It not only saves a headache, it saves you time because there is no time spent figuring out what is personal expense and what is business expense. You can now take that precious saved time and put it into running your business and making a profit!
Business credit cards also make purchasing fast and seamless. Phil Thow added, there is so much time wasted on shopping in-store when you could buy online with your business credit card and never leave your desk. In addition to saving time, you save money. More often than not, online suppliers offer reduced or discounted prices to online shoppers. And remember, with all of the technology and safeguards today, your funds and identity are safer than ever. And while it is more unlikely every day, if for some reason your information is stolen or copied, your business credit card company will refund you what has been stolen.
Use them in an emergency! Whether an unexpected business bill comes up due or you have to fork out extra funds one month to purchase a large ticket item in order to operate your business, having a business credit card offers you that ability to cover those emergency expenses until you have the cash flow to cover them. This too is important in making sure that your new business survives says Phillip Thow.
Investment Cash Flows - Phillip Thow
What are investment cash flows? They are the cash flows received by your business from your business’s contributions in capital, investments, or acquisitions. Advanced internet marketing business professional Phillip Thow says it’s imperative to remember that investment cash flows can mean those received OR expended.
Phil Thow also reminds us that investment cash flows related to other investments works the same way. Perhaps an investment is sold and your business takes the money as revenue. According to business expert Phillip Thow, these flows are an integral part of a company’s cash flow statement as it can show where the company is headed in the future; financially.
These investment cash flows from purchases are not the same in that it takes additional into account the cash flows that may exist on the purchases balance sheet. Furthermore, it can take into account the liabilities, says Phillip Thow. An ideal scenario in a purchase would be if the cash flows are positive and help to improve your company’s bottom line. The purchase of a company with negative cash flow is seen as bad. Something Phillip Thow suggests business owners to be careful of when researching viability of a company’s worth.
In researching a company, what that business is doing outside its business model is just as important as what they are doing inside. Some businesses are great at their business, but horrible at outside investments. Phillip Thow suggests this is the core of how strong a LLC Nevada really is.
Chapter 13 on bankruptcy simplified
When it comes to learning more about bankruptcy attorney Naperville Illinois, one should know more about Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In starting to understanding Chapter 13 further, one has to be able to define it briefly. After which one could learn how it can be advantageous to the financial problems and who could be eligible to file for Chapter 13 on bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 defined
Simply put, Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a person who earns income on a regular basis to pay back his debts either wholly or partially. A payment plan is created enabling the debtor to pay back the creditor in installments in 3 or 5 years.
Bankruptcy's leverage
In spite of the bad impression that the word bankruptcy usually gets, there are in fact some advantages in filing for Chapter 13. One is it avoids the foreclosure of the debtor's home and it gives a more lenient payment scheme especially in terms of payment period.
Chapter 13 also allows the scheduled payment of debts to be rescheduled buying the debtor more time to be able to pay back the debt.
For instances where a third party or co-signer is involved in the loaning of money, such individuals will be protected under Chapter 13 and will not be held liable anymore for the amount borrowed.
Lastly, debtors may no longer have direct contact with the creditors and instead have a chapter 13 trustee to take charge of the distribution of payments.
Who can file for Chapter 13?
The pre-requisites in filing for Chapter 13 are fairly easy to comply with. The nature of business or employment is not an issue and even those who are self-employed or those who handle their own business may be eligible for Chapter 13. What is required is that the person has unsecured debts that are less than $336,900 and secured debts of less than $1, 010,650.
One has to undergo group or individual credit counseling from a recognized credit counseling agency within 180 days after filing otherwise eligibility will be denied in filing for Chapter 13.
Understand the gist of Chicago bankruptcy attorneys and Chapter 13 is useful information in these financially difficult times. For more information, online sites are readily available for financial and legal counseling.
|
