Discover Your Marketing Perspectives

Do you believe that there is a right way and a wrong way to market your business? Is there a set of rules floating around somewhere that we must live by when we step into the role of marketing director for our company?

While some marketing guru’s have discovered that there are steps that are more, or less, effective than others, it’s important to evaluate your own belief system and be certain that your marketing represents YOU. But if your current marketing mindset is fearful and limiting, it's time to step into a new mindset and bring success to your door. There is a wealth of outstanding information out there for all of us, and you can combine this information with your own perspective to create an effective marketing model that resonates with you and represents your brand authentically.


Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to understand the value of what you offer, and to find the words to share your wonderful offerings with a larger audience.

• What is unique about my product or service?
• What is unique about ME and how does that enhance my product or service?
• How does it help others?
• How does it enhance the lives of my clients/customers?
• What are some of the things my clients have said about their experience with me or my company?
• Would my clients feel good about telling others about their experience?
• Is there something I can do to help those happy clients to easily spread the word of this experience?
• What can I do for my clients/customers to thank them for their business?
• Is there anything I can do to make my product of service more affordable for them on occasion?
• What are the most common words I hear others use to describe their experience of my product or service?
• How can I use those words to describe it to my future clients?
• If I don’t tell more people about my offerings what am I depriving them of?

If your marketing mindset is stopping you from growing your company, if you shudder when you hear the word, consider embracing a new mindset. Instead of marketing, use words and phrases like; sharing, spreading the word and helping others.

Enjoy growing your business; let us know how you’ve shaped a new perspective!

Tips for Business Owners on Retirement Planning

'I'll never retire' is a common refrain among ambitious entrepreneurs, but the fact is you are likely to decide to at some point. Here's a look at how to plan for that day.

Saving for retirement is tough. For one thing, there's no way to know exactly how much you'll need to save. All you can do is make your best guess based on your situation and goals.

Traditionally, financial planners and retirement calculators suggest you'll need 70 percent (or 80 percent or 100 percent) of your pre-retirement income to maintain your current lifestyle. This doesn't make much sense.

Say, for instance, you earn $80,000 a year but spend $70,000. If you based your retirement needs on your income (70 percent of $80,000 is $56,000), you'd fall short of supporting your current lifestyle. But if you earn $80,000 a year and spend only $35,000, basing your retirement goals on your income might lead you to save too much, meaning you could have used that money to enjoy life when you were younger.

68 percent Workers who report that they have saved for retirement

56 percent Workers who report that the total value of their savings and investments is less than $25,000

36 percent Workers who expect to retire after age 65

74 percent Workers who plan to work for pay in retirement

How Much Should You Save?
Instead of basing your retirement needs on your income, base them on your spending patterns. Your spending reflects your lifestyle; your income doesn't. But how much should you save?

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, 49 percent of retirees spend less in retirement than before (23 percent spend much less) and 37 percent spend about the same. Only13 percent spend more in retirement--and of those, 6 percent say their expenses are only "a little higher."

Sure, you will need a sizeable nest egg for retirement--especially if you plan to travel or play golf every day. But don't be snookered by the constant refrain that you need to save 70 percent of your pre-retirement income to retire well.

Retirement Calculators
There are hundreds of retirement calculators across the web, and each is a little different. No one calculator is necessarily better than any other, but these are especially handy:

• The T. Rowe Price calculator bases its results on your spending, not income.
• The Motley Fool has two useful calculators. One estimates your retirement expenses and the other lets you see if you're saving enough.
• Choose to Save's ballpark estimate tool can be used online or off. (But its numbers are based on income, not expenses.)
• FireCalc.com may seem overwhelming at first, but it'll give you an idea of how safe (or risky) your retirement plan is based on how it would have fared in every market condition since 1871.

Looking at the results from one calculator isn't very useful. But by comparing numbers from several, you'll get an idea of how much to save for the retirement you want. If you're lucky, you may even have enough to spend your mornings on the golf course.

Remember, as a business owner you own an asset, be sure to include the sale price of your business into your net worth and retirement plan. Have an exit strategy in place, and be sure to get a “Broker’s Opinion of Value” to ensure you have a grasp on the true value of your business when you are looking to retire and ready to sell.

What Can Investor/Entrepreneur Do to Attract and Execute a Successful Acquisition?

Critical Success Factors in Value Definition
Financial Discussion Points

I. Understanding the Financial Statements
A. Balance Sheet
B. Income Statement
C. Statement of Cash Flows
D. Footnotes to Financial Statements
II. Operating Plan-Financial Projections: 3-5 Year Vision
III. Systems—Accounting and Management Reporting
IV. Tax Compliance Issues
V. Review of Accounting Policies
VI. Stock Valuation Issues for Option, Warrants, Funding Rounds
VII. Tax Carryover Attributes
VIII. Integrations Steps and Processes

CLEAN IT UP!!!

Well it just happened…. I am always advising potential sellers to have their books cleaned up, their files in good order, etc. before putting their business on the market. I am representing the buyer and co-broking with another broker in another office. It started off wrong. The broker would not provide the Trailing 12 month financials. This is an easy thing to get if one is using QuickBooks. We made our offer contingent on getting those numbers, which showed us that the last 12 months were down 20%. We still moved forward…

When due diligence began, the files were a mess. The Seller gave the Buyer incomplete employee files and wasn’t sure where two of the employee files were…RED FLAG… The sub-contractor fees were $100,000 higher on the tax returns than were reported on the P &L’s… RED FLAG. The 1099s that were given were the red copies which are the ones that are suppose to be filed… Were they filed? RED FLAG. The
Tax return showed a combination of his wife’s business and his business. Now we also need the wife’s business financials so the tax returns make sense.

When the Buyer inspected the equipment and vehicles, only one vehicle was insured out of five total, and one quarter of the equipment needed to run the business was in need of repair, which will amount to over $10,000. There also was a new fee that has been imposed for the equipment that will add $850 per month in expenses.

In summary, this deal will never happen, and it didn’t have to be this way. If the broker had advised the Seller to get his ducks in a row prior to listing this business, it would sell. It is in a hot industry. The Buyer REALLY wanted it to work out, and even if the price is lowered considerably, now the Buyer really doesn’t trust anything that he is given due to the mess the business is in.

Before selling, get things in order. Look at your business as if you were a buyer. Would YOU buy it the way it is now?