Tools and Resources to Grow Your Empire!
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Article by, Brent Virkus of Find the Capital and TRiTON Capital Advisory Last week we wrote about the Top Ten Worst Business Decisions Ever. The response from our followers was incredible. This week I thought I would highlight the Top 5 Best Business Decisions Ever. According to Forbes Magazine they are as follows: Business leaders make thousands of decisions each year, and sometimes, a single decision can have a powerful far reaching impact. In the book,The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, Verne Harnish explores those “black swan” decisions that brought great success at companies like Zappos, Intel, Tata, Toyota and many others. Below is Harnish’s personal list of the greatest business decisions of all time. #5 Greatest Decision—General Electric. Jack Welch’s decision to fully fund a first-in-class training center at Crotonville, led to the development of hundreds of great leaders who practiced the “GE Way”. #4 Greatest Decision—Samsung. Their decision to launch a sabbatical program that sends top talent all around the world continues to be the secret behind Samsung’s success as a global brand. #3 Greatest Decision—Wal-Mart. Sam Walton’s decision to hold Saturday morning, all-employee meetings led to a culture of rapid information and decision making, which in turn created one of the biggest companies in the world. #2 Greatest Decision—Apple. The board’s decision to bring back Steve Jobs, after firing him a decade earlier, led to amazing product innovation and to the creation of one of the most valuable companies in the world. #1 Greatest Decision—Ford. Henry Ford’s decision to double the wages of his workers enabled him to attract the talent he needed, and helped insure a class of worker who could afford the very products they were building. Let us know what do you think are the greatest business decisions in history… “How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day or Less!“ Watch this FREE Presentation to Discover A Simply Business Plan “Short-Cut”…. ...
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Article by, Brent Virkus of Find the Capital and TRiTON Capital Advisory Now that the economy seems to be getting better, we are getting a lot of questions from our clients about SBA financing for their small business and real estate investments. In this article, we thought we would give you a quick rundown on exactly what an SBA loan is and how it works. Whether you’re looking to expand your business, purchase or refurbish equipment, take on new real estate or refinance an existing mortgage or agreement, a small business administration (SBA) loan can achieve modified financing in order to help your company grow. An SBA loan has been the answer to many cash-flow issues that otherwise successful businesses have had. This business loan is guaranteed in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration and can offer certain small business-specific benefits which are not available with other types of loans. These loans can be used for a wide range of purposes and are often utilized in order to support owner-occupied commercial property, maintain or purchase new equipment, as working capital, for furniture or fixtures, with leasehold improvements, for debt refinancing and for start-up capital. Types of SBA Loans: SBA 7(a) Who is Eligible: SBA provides loans to businesses — not individuals — so the requirements of eligibility are based on aspects of the business, not the owners. As such, the key factors of eligibility are based on what the business does to receive its income, the character of its ownership and where the business operates. SBA generally does not specify what businesses are eligible. Rather, the agency outlines what businesses are not eligible. However, there are some universally applicable requirements. To be eligible for assistance, businesses must: Operate for profit Be small, as defined by SBA Be engaged in, or propose to do business in, the United States or its possessions Have reasonable invested equity Use alternative financial resources, including personal assets, before seeking financial assistance Be able to demonstrate a need for the loan proceeds Use the funds for a sound business purpose Not be delinquent on any existing debt obligations to the U.S. government Ineligible Businesses A business must be engaged in an activity SBA determines as acceptable for financial assistance from a federal provider. The following list of businesses types are not eligible for assistance because of the activities they conduct: Financial businesses primarily engaged in the business of lending, such as banks, finance companies, payday lenders, some leasing companies and factors (pawn shops, although engaged in lending, may qualify in some circumstances) Businesses owned by developers and landlords that do not actively use or occupy the assets acquired or improved with the loan proceeds (except when the property is leased to the business at zero profit for the property’s owners) Life insurance companies Businesses located in a foreign country (businesses in the U.S. owned by aliens may qualify) Businesses engaged in pyramid sale distribution plans, where a participant’s primary incentive is based on the sales made by an ever-increasing number of participants Businesses deriving more than one-third of gross annual revenue from legal gambling activities Businesses engaged in any illegal activity Private clubs and businesses that limit the number of memberships for reasons other than capacity Government-owned entities Businesses principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling...
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Article by, Staff Writer There’s no doubt that the creation of Netflix was one of the best business decisions of the last 15 years. The concept has earned the subscription-based movie and television show rental service more than 23 million subscribers, making it one of the most successful dot-com ventures since the emergence of the Internet. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s above the occasional blunder. Netflix’s decision to separate its DVD shipping business from its streaming business, forming the new delivery service Qwikster, has upset many of its customers. The move has resulted in tens of thousands of complaints, a major decline in subscriptions and a stock plunge — obvious causes for concern for CEO Reed Hastings. As he attempts to clean up the public relations mess, he can take solace in the fact that it won’t register as the worst business decision ever made. The following rank as the most costly and regrettable of all time, and will continue to be mocked for years to...
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Article by, Brent Virkus of Find the Capital and TRiTON Capital Advisory The art of negotiation. Some people are good at it and some people could be better… One of the most influential people in helping me grow several successful businesses was Harvey Mackay a nationally syndicated columnist and author of the New York Times #1 bestseller “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He’s a master of common sense business tactics. In this article, I’m going to highlight Harvey’s 15 Keys to Negotiation Success. I hope it helps take your business to the next level! Here we go… Never cut a deal with someone who has to “go back and get the boss’ approval.” That gives the other side two bites of the apple to your one. They can take any deal you are willing to make and renegotiate it. If you can’t say yes, it’s no. Just because a deal can be done, doesn’t mean it should be done. No one ever went broke saying “no” too often. Just because it may look nonnegotiable, doesn’t mean it is. Take that beautifully printed “standard contract” you’ve just been handed. Many a smart negotiator has been able to name a term and gets away with it by making it appear to be chiseled in granite, when they will deal if their bluff is called. Do your homework before you deal. Learn as much as you can about the other side. Instincts are no match for information. Rehearse. Practice. Get someone to play the other side. Then switch roles. Instincts are no match for preparation. Beware the late dealer. Feigning indifference or casually disregarding timetables is often just a negotiator’s way of trying to make you believe he/she doesn’t care if you make the deal or not. Be nice, but if you can’t be nice, go away and let someone else do the deal. You’ll blow it. A deal can always be made when both parties see their own benefit in making it. A dream is a bargain no matter what you pay for it. Set the scene. Tell the tale. Generate excitement. Help the other side visualize the benefits, and they’ll sell themselves. Don’t discuss your business where it can be overheard by others. Almost as many deals have gone down in elevators as elevators have gone down. Watch the game films. Top players in any game, including negotiating, debrief themselves immediately after every major session. They always keep a book on themselves and the other side. No one is going to show you their hole card. You have to figure out what they really want. Clue: Since the given reason is never the real reason, you can eliminate the given reason. Always let the other side talk first. Their first offer could surprise you and be better than you ever...
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Article by, Brent Virkus of Find the Capital and President and CEO of TRiTON Capital Advisory Look we all know raising joint venture equity is not easy. This is actually a good thing. Because if it were easy, everyone would raise capital and start a business, buy commercial real estate as an investment, etc. Competition would be ferocious. For this article, I’m going to focus on raising joint venture equity for your business. So to better help you with this process I’ve put together the 7 things you must know to raise joint venture equity today. First…and Most Importantly Have “Thick Skin” When raising joint venture capital, be prepared for a lot of “no’s.” Using my Google example, even when Google was ready for venture capital, the majority of venture capitalist said “no.” When an joint venture capital says “no,” it doesn’t necessarily mean that your venture is not a good one. It simply means that the venture is not a good investment fit for them. You must have “thick skin” and be able to bounce back from lots of “no’s” and persevere. When failing over and over again to create the light bulb, Thomas Edison famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Have the same mentality with investors. That is, think, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 100 investors that aren’t a good fit.” Second…Make Sure you do a Business Plan and Keep it Current One of the most important things to show in your business plan is what you’ve accomplished in your business to date. And ideally, every month you are accomplishing more. So, be sure to update your plan with this progress. Third…Always be a Master Marketer of your Deal In raising money, the best company doesn’t always win. Rather, the guy that knows how to best market his opportunity wins. That is, the entrepreneurs that are best able to market their companies to lenders and investors are the ones who raise the money. Fourth…Understand That Funding Doesn’t Take Place All At Once No matter how great your project or idea is, you are probably not going to get a $20 million check right away. Rather, you will typically raise several “rounds” of capital. You start with a smaller round or amount of funding. Then, as your business grows, you are eligible for larger rounds of funding. This is because your business proves itself over time and your valuation rises as you grow. This enables you to you to raise larger sums of money. Fifth…Choose the Proper Source(s) of Capital Funding Choosing the right source of funding is the key to Find the Capital’s success at raising joint venture equity. Some forms of funding are much easier to raise than others. And based on your stage of development, different forms of funding are more relevant. To be specific, the funding sources available to a pre-revenue startup are very different than the sources available to a 3-year old company generating $1 million in annual revenues. For example: Google initially failed when it tried to raise money from venture capitalists. The key is to go after the right sources of funding at the right time. Sixth…Build your Joint Venture Capital Source Relationships Early The...
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Article by, Brent Virkus of Find the Capital Indexed Annuities have become very popular as of late. Why is this? Well to help Find the Capital’s follows better understand this type of investment, Lisa Virkus Founder and CEO of Find the Capital conducted a short interview with industry leading Financial Advisor, Cleat Lindsey about Indexed Annuities and his Four Keys to Investing in them. In summary Indexed Annuities have become popular due the people still being leery about the stock market and the fact the banks simply are not paying interest of any significance. Basically an Indexed Annuity protects the investor from downside risk and allows them to “participate” in the potential upside of the stock market. Lindsey’s Four Keys to Investing in Indexed Annuities are as follows: First…Understand the CAP Rate or the Floor The floor refers to the minimum guaranteed amount credited to the account. At the time of this writing (see Update date at the bottom of this page), this rate is almost always between 0% – 2%. The cap rate is the annual maximum percentage increase allowed. For example, if the chosen market index increases 35%, and the contract has a 10% cap, the increase will be limited to 10%. Some contracts do not have a cap rate (these tend to have a lower participation rate, such as 30% to 50% compared with 75% to 100% for a plan with a cap rate). The cap varies depending on the length of your term — fixed-indexed annuities with longer commitment periods (surrender periods) tend to have a higher cap rate, whereas annuities with shorter surrenders periods tend to have a lower cap rate. NOTE: The cap may reset annually and is subject to change at each renewal. Second…Be aware of the Bailout Rate An Indexed Annuity bailout provision is a clause in the contract of your annuity that allows you to withdraw your money without any penalties based on predetermined conditions. Some annuity contracts include a medical bailout provision for nursing home expenses or if you become terminally ill. Once your annuity expires, on the maturity date you have the option to either renew or surrender the annuity. If you surrender at this time, you do not pay charges. Choosing to renew may reinstate all charges. Some annuities have a charge so that your beneficiaries will not receive the full amount. Should the current interest rate drop, there may not be a surrender charge; this is referred to as a bailout option. This interest rate drop bailout feature becomes a waiver of penalties. Third…Know your Surrender Charge The surrender charge on an Indexed Annuity is a charge levied against an investor for the early withdrawal of funds from an insurance or annuity contract, or for the cancellation of the agreement. Surrender fees act as an economic incentive for investors to maintain their contract, and they allow the insurance company to have reasonable expectations for the frequency of early withdrawals. Fourth…What is the Worst Case Scenerio If the stock market does not go up, what is the worst case return the Indexed Annuity is going to pay you? About Cleat Lindsey Cleat Lindsey is an industry leading Financial Consultant and Partner with Scripter and Associates. From Cleat… “I chose to be an “Independent” Financial Consultant (clearing through LPL Financial*) rather than joining one of...
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Article by, Brent Virkus – Senior Managing Director of Find the Capital You’re at an industry event mulling over which cheese will go best with which crackers at the buffet. The person next to you introduces himself. You introduce yourself. Then he says: “So tell me, what do you do?” The challenge is to communicate the key elements of your value. When we work with our clients to teach them how to sell, we tend to focus on helping them learn the right things to do. However, even those on the right track can get derailed by common mistakes. It’s often just as helpful to know what not to do as it is to know what to do. Here, then, are the most common mistakes we see people making when trying to answer the question, “What do you do?” and ideas for how to avoid them. Mistake #1: Talking, but not saying anything “Our solutions help Fortune 500 and mid-size companies succeed. Our unique blend of people, process, and technology allows us to build and deliver value over-and-above our competitors. One unique thing about us is…” Even if it’s well-practiced and smoothly delivered, a cliché that doesn’t communicate anything is still a cliché that doesn’t communicate anything. Make sure you avoid sounding like a buzzword bingo robot and focus on adding value to the conversation. Building rapport is a major component of a successful sales conversation. Starting off with a cliché, however, won’t help build rapport – it’s more off-putting than endearing. Mistake #2: Going on too long at first “I read my first book on tax shelters in junior high school and was hooked. Immediately, I got a job at a tax accounting firm and started doing research in international tax. After junior high, I got another job at an accounting firm and got my first introduction to nonprofit auditing. Let me tell you about some of the projects I worked on in high school and their results…” In any sales process you have to do three things if you want to communicate your full value: resonate, differentiate, and substantiate. Indeed, you have to resonate on two levels, differentiate on two levels, and substantiate on four. If you’ve done your homework, you know key points you can communicate in each category. But, too often, folks go too deeply too quickly and ramble on for too long. You can’t get it all in at once. (Well, you can, it’s just not helpful, so don’t try it.) Mistake #3: Clever…silly “We’re the smiley-faced accounting firm.” “We’re the leading-with-integrity technology company.” “We put the hospitality in hospital.” Silly preambles don’t typically add much, but they can take away. Some people open with their best Don Draper tag line. People that start off too clever often come across as not serious enough. Instead, start with basics: who you are, what you do, and who you do it for. Then continue the conversation from there. Mistake #4: Too detailed “We are a law firm and we focus on admiralty law, alternative dispute resolution, antitrust, bankruptcy, appellate litigation, complex litigation, debt financing, environmental law, foreign corrupt practices, government relations, ice cream patent and trademark, koala bear adoption, llama surrogate pregnancy litigation…” The larger the company, the more complex and varied the offerings tend to...
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Article by, Morgan Housel Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) was once the poster child of what happens when excitement about a company detaches from reality. The headlines “Amazon founder named TIME magazine’s Person of the Year,” and “Analysts Fear Amazon Is Going Bankrupt” appeared within 14 months of each other around the year 2000. Short of fraud, there little precedent for this in business history. But 13 years later, Amazon is thriving. It is dominating, in fact, including in lines of business having little to do with its original undertaking of selling books. Shares now trade for three times what they did at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Thank Amazon’s quirky CEO, Jeff Bezos, for this success. He created a culture that’s not only different from, but often totally at odds with, how most business leaders think. He’s also quite quotable. Here are 20 smart things Bezos has said over the years. 1. “All businesses need to be young forever. If your customer base ages with you, you’re Woolworth’s.” 2. “There are two kinds of companies: Those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second.” 3. “Your margin is my opportunity.” 4. “If you only do things where you know the answer in advance, your company goes away.” 5. “We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.” 6. “I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ And that is a very interesting question; it’s a very common one. I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’ And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two — because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. … [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection. It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, ‘Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,’ [or] ‘I love Amazon; I just wish you’d deliver a little more slowly.’ Impossible. And so the effort we put into those things, spinning those things up, we know the energy we put into it today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now. When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.” 7. “If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.” 8. “Any business plan won’t survive its first encounter with reality. The reality will always be different. It will never be the plan.” 9. “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.” 10. “We’ve done price elasticity studies, and the...
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Article by, Motley Fool Staff The fall of Lehman Brothers five years ago triggered a financial calamity that will never be forgotten by investors. We may have been bloodied initially by the turmoil, but we eventually emerged wiser about investing, in the end. Looking back at that tumultuous time, we asked our top investors to share their most valuable lesson from the financial crisis. Seth Jayson: I learned, or rather, relearned, that things are only obvious in hindsight. Unfortunately, most investors cannot cope with this basic truth and will forever misunderstand recent market history and their place in it. It’s far too easy to look back at the credit spigot, the outright scam that masqueraded as a credit default industry, and the eventual unraveling and say, “I told you so!” Some smart observers had been telling us so for years before everything fell apart (and didn’t make a nickel investing because their timing was wrong). More difficult is looking back at the dark days at the bottom of the market and remembering that “only an idiot” was putting money to work then. If you were buying stocks and you didn’t feel like an idiot, you weren’t paying attention, because the financial press was telling you the worst was yet to come. And during the entire climb back, we’ve been told incessantly that the next leg down is just ahead. Luckily, the simplest investing policy is also the easiest to execute, even in those nausea-inducing times: Invest a little bit every month, regardless of market climate, into the best companies you can find. This served me well personally, and served us well at Hidden Gems, too. Morgan Housel: You asked for one, but I’m going to give you five. I think they’re all important: Cash gives you options. Debt takes options away. This is a simple way to think about the two, but it really captures what they do to your finances. It’s much easier to say “I’ll be greedy when others are fearful” than it is to actually do it. Almost everyone I know — including myself — should have bought more aggressively when stocks crashed. “Risk” in the stock market means different things to different people. The 2008-2009 crash was the biggest gift of opportunity investors may ever receive. Go back to early 2007. The majority of experts thought we’d avoid a recession. A few on the fringe foresaw trouble. An even smaller amount thought it would be bad. No one got the details right. Amazingly, this performance did nothing to dent the profession of forecasters. This should be remembered when listening to pundits. We went through the worst economic crisis in 80 years and it took just four years for stocks to return to all-time highs. This, too, should be remembered when the next big recession hits. David Gardner (as told to Chelsea Gustafson): First, an introduction for those unfamiliar: Motley Fool CAPS is our community stock-picking intelligence database. For more than seven years now, every 15 minutes our community’s pick performance — millions of picks — are ranked and updated. Fully transparent, free, and accessible, CAPS thus provides a fishbowl view of the stock-picking activity of our community, based on a meritocratic system where what you do counts more than what you say. CAPS has been helping investors pick winners and avoid losers since its invention by...
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Article by, The Entrust Group When starting a business, you likely want to explore as many avenues for start-up capital as possible. Banks have tightened their loan policies lately, making that avenue a challenge, and while there are some grants available for small businesses, chances are that the majority of your funds will come from interested investors. Investors can come in many packages, but we’re here to introduce you to the wealth of opportunity presented by self-directed IRA investors. Who are Self-Directed IRA Investors? Self-directed IRA investors are just like any other investors, except that they are using retirement funds to make their investments. Investing with a retirement account brings certain benefits to IRA investors that aren’t available to the standard investor, such as tax-deferred or tax-free earnings. The standard IRA or 401(k) investor will not be able to invest in a start up business because most banks and financial firms to do not offer a platform for these types of investments. Self-directed IRAs, by definition, allow for alternative investments, such as private equity or real estate, so it is investors that self-directed their retirement funds that will be looking for investment opportunities with entrepreneurs. Can Self-Directed IRA Investors Help Grow Your Business? The simple answer is; yes. Because self-directed IRA investors have the ability to invest in private companies, many are looking for the opportunity to grow their funds alongside a small business. Especially with the tech boom of recent years, it seems everyone wants to be part of the next big start-up. Similarly, you may already know someone who wants to invest in your business, but has been unable to because of a lack of funds. Chances are these people don’t realize there is a huge opportunity available to them by using a portion of their nest egg. With self-directed IRAs, your neighbor or your cousin could be your next big investor! (Note: certain family members and others close to the IRA owner may be considered disqualified for investment purposes. Please refer to section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code for details about disqualified persons) About the author: The Entrust Group is a third party administrator of self-directed savings accounts, including IRAs, HSAs, and ESAs. The Entrust Group does not recommend or endorse any investments/investment opportunities, nor give investment/financial advice. The company offers investor education to create empowered investors through the Entrust Learning Center. Learn more here, or contact one of their IRA...
