Small Business Blog

Archive for May, 2010

A degree in Business Management with an emphasis on Marketing will equip you with the relevant business knowledge, management skills and marketing techniques that are essential ingredients for success in helping you achieve your personal, academic and professional career aspirations.

The aim of the Business Management in Marketing Degree Program is to provide students with a broad-based curriculum that consists of a wide range of contemporary business and marketing-specific courses designed to help students develop a thorough understanding of the standards and techniques that bind the global business environment. You will also gain the practical exposure and experience needed to influence others to accomplish the tasks and challenges you face together on a daily basis.
Study Business Management in Marketing Degree Online

You can study Business Management in Marketing at the Associate, Bachelor, Masters and Certificate Level where your course work will explore the specialist functions of management. These include Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Production and Business Information Systems. Other topics covered are Economics, Quality Operations, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Data Analysis, International Marketing, Professional Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Company Law, Statistics, and Psychology, Ethics and Entrepreneurship.

The program utilizes various forms of teaching methods to disseminate the information to students such as seminars, a series of formal lectures, small tutorial groups, and problem solving workshops as well as computer-based simulations and state-of-the-art learning techniques. Students will gain additional hands-on exposure through a number of internship activities.

By adopting a relevant, rigorous and balanced approach, the courses covered throughout the program will provide you with a solid background in all the relevant tools and techniques needed to progress successfully in today’s modern business world. The program also prepares you to:

* devise, implement and manage complex marketing strategies
* develop information-based analytical decision-making skills and transform these research data into effective marketing programs
* develop proficiency in the technology tools relevant to the business environment and the application of these tools to enhance efficiency
* understand how new products are developed and branded

Careers with an Online Business Management in Marketing Degree

Depending on the level of qualification pursued, students who earn a Business Management in Marketing Degree can enjoy a host of rewarding and exciting career opportunities available within the marketing profession as well as other fields. Marketing majors can pursue middle to senior leadership positions in industrial marketing, education, health, sales, consulting and financial services. Other courses include web-based businesses, public relations, food services, advertising, government agencies, charities or political campaigns.
Marketing majors also have the option of beginning a career path as an entrepreneur, as the marketing skills you mastered in the classroom will help to model your business ideas into successful business ventures.
Average Salary with a Business Management in Marketing Degree

The average salary for graduates with a Business Management in Marketing Degree will vary significantly with the level of qualification, experience, skills, type of company and size, benefits, type of industry and location. Graduates with a Bachelor of Science (BS) Business Management in Marketing Degree working as a Marketing Coordinator or an Account Manager can earn anywhere between $38,320 and $49,691 per year, while a Marketing Researcher or Regional Sales Manager can expect a yearly salary hovering around $55,000 and $60,882.
Schools that offer an Online Business Management in Marketing Degree

Ferris State University

Leeds Trinity & All Schools University

Newcastle University
What are the pros and cons of earning an Online Business Management in Marketing Degree?
Pros

Flexibility: Most online programs schedule their online courses to accommodate the busy schedules of today’s working adults by offering day, night and weekend classes allowing them to study at their own pace depending on their learning capabilities.

Accreditation: With the rising popularity of distance learning, most organizations now recognize and accept degrees earned online, as most employees require online institutions to go through the same accreditation process as traditional on-campus institutions.
Cons

Hardware Intensive

Poor Accreditation

Lack of practical work experience as some online institutions do not provide internships

For more details kindly visit:
http://aboutonlinedegrees.org/blog/business-mgt-marketing/

The motive to find the value of a business might range from buying/selling business decisions, raising capital through borrowings, planning strategic mergers and acquisition plans etc.

The below article throws light on some of the major issues faced during business valuation and tips on how to deal with such issues.

Issue 1: How to select the right business evaluator?

Ask this simple question “Am I qualified and experienced to evaluate my own business?”

If it is an unchartered territory seek business professionals listed below who usually offers such services:

1.CPAs offer business valuation services. The knowledge gained from handling various accounting, finance and tax work allows an experienced CPA to gain knowledge that is well suited for valuing a business
2.Financial experts/consultants (Non-CPA) can also lend their expertise, but their background and experience needs to be investigated carefully before hiring them.
3.Business Brokers are an obvious choice to value the businesses for sale as they have many years specialization in buying business and selling business which involves business valuation
4.Commercial Real Estate Brokers/Agents are good at appraising real estate, but lack skills and experience to properly value intangible assets like goodwill.

Issue 2: What are the most commonly followed business valuation techniques?

There are many methods to find the value of business but the most popular methods adopted by professional and experienced business brokers are the following:

Letter of Opinion:
The Letter of Opinion is a restricted use valuation intended for small companies with sales less than $250,000. The basis of this valuation is a market comparison with like companies within an industry. 

Value Analysis:
The Value Analysis is a discretionary cash flow, since most Main Street businesses are bought and sold on a multiple of annual cash flow.

Formal Business Valuation:
It involves financial analysis, review of the Balance sheet with support documents containing reviews of companies historical and project earnings.

M&A Valuation:
The Mergers and Acquisitions Valuation is a comprehensive business valuation for transactional purposes and is developed in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

IRS Revenue Ruling 59-60:
A USPAP governed valuation developed for litigation focusing on US Court Reviews, Cited Court Precedents, and in-depth analysis and research of minority and marketability discounts.

Issue 3: What are the preparatory information and documents required for business valuation?
Following is a checklist of documents and information that professional business advisors ask prior business valuation:

Financial Statements:
These includes balance sheets, income statements, statement of changes in financial position, stockholder’s equity or partner’s capital holdings statements for last 5 fiscal years, list of subsidiaries, list of equipments, depreciation schedule, aged accounts receivable or payment, prepaid expenses, inventory list, leases (if any), existing contracts with employees, suppliers, franchise agreements, customer agreements, royalty agreements, equipment lease or rentals, loan agreements, labor contract, employee benefit plan, compensation schedule for owners, insurances in force, budgets of projects, if available.

Company Documents:
These includes, articles of incorporation (if any), by-laws, any amendments to either, corporate minutes, partnerships, articles of partnerships (with any amendments) along with list of existing buy/sell agreements, options to purchase stock or partnership interest , or rights of first refusal.

Other Information:
Also keep ready details of company history, changes in ownership and /or bona-fide offers received. Also describe the position as compared to competitors or any other factor making the business unique, relevant marketing literature like brochures, advertisements, list of location where company operates, details in terms of size, and whether it is fully owned or leased. List of states in which the company is licensed to do business, list of current customers, suppliers, major accounts. Resumes of, or list of, key personnel, with age, position, compensation, length of service, education and prior experience. List of memberships with Trade associations or would be eligible for membership. List of any patent, copyright, trademark, and other intangible asset along with correspondence with regulatory agencies for issues related to business.

Issue 4: How is the business valuation undertaken?

Adopting a right business valuation process ensures the sale of business will bring in a better sale price compared to arbitrary valuation of business.

Step 1: The Broker meets with the client to determine what type of valuation is required. 
Step 2: During the meeting, the Broker will assist in the completion of the Company Profile information needed for the type of valuation selected. 
Step 3: Once the Company Profile has been completed the package of information is mailed, faxed, or emailed to third party Valuation Analyst. 
Step 4:  The Valuation Analyst will review the documents and begin the valuation.
Step 5: A completed Company Profile is then generated, and all questions that arise are answered.
Step 6:  The Analyst will issue a preliminary review of the valuation. It assures that all details have been considered and allows for any adjustments based on new information or further clarifications. 
Step 7: Once the review with the business broker has been conducted, the Analyst will finalize, print, and send the final valuation report. 
Step 8: The Broker will receive hard copies and an electronic copy (if requested) of the final report. This report is sent to the business seller/owner. 

A planned business valuation involves lot of procedures and systematic planning to ensure the right value is found out to help sell business.

No two people will have exactly the same skills, aims, ambitions or financial resources, so it is impossible to provide a single solution for everyone. However, this article presents the key issues that need to be thought about, and will assist you in thinking it through in depth before embarking on your search for the right opportunity.

What are your skills?

All of us have skills in one area or another, and obviously your particular skills need to be taken into account when deciding on a business to buy. At the most simplistic, if you have worked in a certain type of business for someone else, say a hairdresser’s or confectioner’s for example, you probably have most of the skills needed to run a similar business yourself. If, on the other hand, you have worked in a job that has not provided you with particular skills relevant to running a small business, you will need to consider businesses that do not require skills only acquired after years of training. Consider what skills you would have the capability and aptitude to acquire quickly.

What skills and aptitudes are required?

Some businesses require only generalised skills, and others more specialised ones. It is impossible to give a comprehensive list, but here are some examples to illustrate the point. Running a small sandwich bar or ‘greasy spoon’ is very much like running an overgrown family kitchen. That’s not to say that it is easy, but learning to scale-up what you already do at home would be relatively straightforward. On the other hand, running and la carte restaurant is a totally different ball game. If you have been a chef, then fine. However, if you will have to rely on employing a chef, then you are taking a huge risk. What happens if the chef leaves overnight without warning? It would take years, if ever, for you to be able to step in and take over the kitchen at short notice.

Running a small convenience store is generally straightforward, but like the a la carte restaurant, you could not consider buying a specialist butcher’s shop unless you are trained.

Slightly less obvious is accounting requirements. A retail business, where the customer pays at the point of sale, is fairly easy to run with a simple cash book. However, if you are running a business-to-business trade, where your customers expect trade credit, then you are going to need to run ledgers with your customers’ accounts, send out statements and follow up by phone, letter and in person to chase late payment.

If it is the type of business where it is necessary to submit detailed quotations, is your English good, your maths OK and are your fingers quick on the keyboard?

In summary, when you consider types of businesses, think about how you will need to be spending your day, and whether you can manage or learn all the tasks you will have to undertake. Possibly your partner will be able to cover your weak areas.

What are the physical demands?

One factor which is easily overlooked is the physical demands that many businesses place on their owners/operators. If you have been working in an office, sitting at a desk all your working life, when you run a shop standing on your feet all day you may find that you have terrible back pains.

In the pub, when you had planned that your husband would be responsible for changing the beer barrels, if a regular is waiting for a bitter and hubby is at the bank, you are going to have to do it yourself.

All retail and restaurant/cafe type businesses, as well as many others, involve a considerable amount of physical work. Man or woman, you need to consider whether you are ready for this and whether you are going to be able to cope with the physical demands that may be involved over a sustained period.

How much risk is involved?

All businesses involve a certain degree of risk. However, some businesses are more inherently risky than others. You need to decide:

• What risks can you handle, given your aptitudes and skills?

• How much risk are you willing to take?

For the purposes of this discussion, risks can be broadly categorised as external risks and internal risks.

External risks

External risks refer to risks external to the business itself. These risks are largely outside your control once you have bought the business, and can include all or some of the following;

Location

Some businesses are very sensitive to location (hotels or general retail, for example). You can obviously check what you think of the location before you buy, but there can always be environmental changes after you have bought the business that you could not have anticipated, and which fundamentally affect the business. Your hotel, which was nicely situated on a busy road, is now in a back street due to the new bypass. The handy public car park next to your convenience store has been sold to big supermarket. It could be even simpler – the council decides to put double yellow lines in front of your parade of shops,

Technology

Changes and enhancements to existing technology could affect your business. Many small garages are unable to service some of the latest cars which have sophisticated computer and electronic systems.

New gizmos may appear and reduce the demand for your services. Digital cameras are increasingly reducing the demand for photograph development and printing, for example.

Competition

Apart from the increasing trend towards out-of-town major outlets, maybe someone will just decide to open up in competition just down the road.

Fashion

Some things just simply fade.

Customer loyalty

Sometimes customer loyalty is lost when a business changes hands.

Internal risks

Internal risks are essentially within your control, provided you have the aptitude and attention to detail to exercise it. Such risks could include:

Stock

Do you have the intuition to stock the right items, the hot sellers, or might you end up with shelves of unwanted items?

Financial control

Sometimes staff can think up the most ingenious ways of slipping cash out of the till or stock into their handbags. You need to consider which are the risks involved in the type of business you are considering, and which of these risks, given your circumstances, you are prepared to take.

Remember – if you are to be a businessperson you have to be prepared to take some risk. Why not? It could be that you are actually taking more risk by being an employee. Hundreds of people are losing jobs through no fault of their own every day of the week!

How much will the business cost?

To take the extreme, if you have a maximum of $10,000 in ready funds to invest, it is hardly worth looking at nursing homes or hotels, for example. On the other hand, a leasehold flower shop may be a realistic possibility.

Trade publications

Most businesses have trade publications. Find out which are the best ones for the types of businesses you are thinking about buying. Read a few issues. They are generally a good source of information, not only for commentary on the major concerns currently affecting that business sector, but will also contain advertisements for specialists in stocktaking, financing and so on.

Talk to business owners

It is a good idea to talk to business owners in the sectors you are targeting for their thoughts. Do not be shy about this; most business people are only too happy to talk about their business to prospective owners, as long as you make it clear that you are not about to open up nearby and put them out of business, of course! However, most business transfer agents (agents who act for owners wishing to sell their business, accountants, bank managers or solicitors can give you contacts if you prefer.

Having read this article, sit down and consider all the issues. This should give you the ideas and questions to put to them, and, as the conversation develops, the least you will gain will be confirmation that your expectations are correct. But, more likely, you will learn a lot of new aspects to running that type of business that you would have never thought about on your own.

Ask them what key factors there are to making the business successful or not. All businesses, without exception, have a few key factors that you have to get right for the business to, do well. For example, some of the key factors in the success of Pizza Hut are:

• Consistent product quality and price.

• Speed of service.

• Easy parking.

• Clean environment.

This sounds obvious, but a considerable degree of skill goes into ensuring that your pizza and chips are exactly the same whichever restaurant you go to. However, it is the knowledge that you can be assured of this that encourages you to go to Pizza Hut time and again, so it is vital for them to get this right. Other examples are:

• Pubs: (Keeping the beer in good condition; Keeping sticky fingers out of the till.)

• Convenience stores: ( Keeping the food fresh and presentation good.)

• Flower shops: (Avoiding undue wastage.)

The key factors in your particular business could concern presentation to the public or more internal factors, like financial control or avoiding undue stock losses, for example. By speaking with existing owners you should gain a good feel for what these critical factors are, and be able to assess whether you have the ability or willingness to make sure that you get them right.

Consultancies

Businesses such as insurance brokers, advertising agencies, graphic designers, IT consultants are often built up through personal relationships that go back over a long time. The same applies to hairdressers. As such there is often a real risk that once the current business owner leaves, a significant number of clients will decide it might be a good time to look around at alternatives.

In many such businesses there is a similar risk in relation to key employees. Instances where employees leave, either to start on their own or to join a competitor, and take clients with them, are commonplace. Practices such as graphic designers or advertising agencies, for example, where the employee works very closely with the clients and has an in-depth knowledge of their likes and dislikes, are particularly vulnerable in this respect. Often if you lose the employee you lose the client, even if the employee doesn’t take the client with him, because it was solely for the skill or imagination of that employee that the client used this firm.

If you are thinking of buying a business of this nature, you will need to consider these risks very carefully and, if necessary, consider ways in which you can reduce them. You may need to contract the vendor to stay on in an advisory capacity for a period after take-over, and/or incentives key employees. You could also consider negotiating to defer part of the purchase price, making it only payable if sales meet projected targets over, say, the first two years after takeover.

It is never possible to eliminate the risks entirely and for that reason these types of business rarely sell for high prices unless they are large practices where the risks are widely spread over a large client base and workforce.

Unless you are experienced, you should obtain specialist advice about valuing such businesses and negotiating contractual terms. The relevant professional institute should be able to offer help in this respect.

For you who like to have a good time when visiting Paris, there are some ways you can try. For you who like sightseeing, I have an offering for you.

You can discover the original sightseeing tour of paris day tour with Les Cars Rouges in Open Top Double Decker Bus. They welcome tourist from all around the world. If you want to have cocktail party after sightseeing tour, don’t forget to see Bleu Seine offering.

You and your friends (20 to 250 people) can enjoy dinner and lunch on a cruise with diner bateau paris. If you like to try delicious food from French, please check famous restaurant étoilé paris first before you make your decision.

More and more people are setting up home businesses these days. Some of them may have been laid off from work. Others may have found difficulty finding employment. Still others may have chosen to change careers midstream after finding their true passion and deciding to make a living out of it.

Setting up a home business gives you much more freedom than regular employment. You are now your own boss. It gives you more time with your family and for yourself. It eliminates the stresses of the workplace and the fatigue of commuting to and from work. This redounds to better physiological, psychological and emotional health and greater productivity. It is also a good way to start going into business because of the lower start up costs. You save a lot on overhead expenses by having your office in your own home.

Despite the low start up costs of a home business, it is not a free ride. You will definitely still need some additional capital as you go along. The good news is that you can start very small and, because of this, you need not approach those intimidating banks and financial institutions for small business loans. After all, it is common knowledge that not only is the process of applying for small business loans lengthy and complicated, but approval is also mostly withheld anyway.

What you should do is approach a merchant service, instead, and apply for credit card services. What has this got to do with your need for small business loans? A lot. Through the same merchant service from whom you get your credit card services, you can get cash advances that are just like small business loans, albeit with lower ceilings. That would not be a problem given your smaller capital needs.

But what are credit card services? Is this the same as applying for a credit card? No. It is actually the other end of the equation. Credit card services allow you to accept payments through credit or debit cards in person, through the internet, by phone and by fax. The merchant service provides you with terminal equipment for physically swiping the cards and the software and high speed IP solutions necessary for all kinds of transactions.

Having credit card services is actually necessary for practically any home business that is involved with sales. The ability to accept debit and credit card payments will boost your income. Having multiple payment options, such as person-to-person, online, phone and fax payments, will further attract more customers.

Most merchant services require only a short minimum period to determine your business’ capability to generate credit card and debit card sales. Your average monthly income through your credit card services will be the basis for the amount of cash advances you will be allowed to make. You will not be required to put up any collateral at all. It is like getting pre-approved small business loans. But there’s more good news. You need not scrimp and save to muster enough cash for loan repayment every month. All you need to do is attend to your business and its profitability. As your credit and debit card payments roll in every month, a certain percentage is automatically paid to the merchant service for your loan. You need not worry about it since you will always be able to afford your payments. Your customers will ensure that.

As your business grows and your sales multiply, you may qualify for bigger and bigger cash advances that you can use to further expand your home business. And you’re on your way to the big time.

If you’re an executive or business owner who has decided to send one or more of your strongest leaders to business management training in Vancouver, you can be assured that you’ve made the right decision.  By giving your top people a chance to excel and learn, you’ve ensured that your departments are likely to run more efficiently and profitably than ever.  And that will translate to happier customers, a stronger corporate culture and other positive results.

Because you’re making an investment in business management training in Vancouver, you want to ensure that you get the biggest return.  Thus, it’s critical to implement the five steps below to maximize the benefits related to the outcomes of business management training.

1.  Ask Questions about Your Employees’ Business Management Training in Vancouver

Don’t be satisfied to simply send an employee to business management training and then assume that changes are happening.  Ask him or her to periodically tell you about what he or she has learned and how it has made a difference in his or her management style and/or processes.  This type of tête-à-tête doesn’t have to be in a formal setting.  Schedule a coffee meeting or lunch once a month.  Just remember to be open to what you are hearing… and don’t be surprised if you learn something new, too.

2.  Provide Time for Your Employee to Implement What He or She Learns

Too often, businesses that send their people to management training expect results overnight.  This is completely unrealistic and will only serve to frustrate attendees.  Typically, it takes more than a month for companies to see major changes, especially changes in sales and marketing.  Have patience and look first for smaller changes which may be less obvious but are nonetheless important.

3.  Provide Opportunities for Your Manager to Make Changes within Their Departments and/or Teams

Nothing is more frustrating for an attendee of a management training program than to come back to the office and discover that his or her employer will not allow changes to be made.  If you’re sending your employee to training, be aware that you’ll need to be open to revising the way the company has approached business.

4.  Offer to Help the Employee Work with His/Her Newfound Tools

If you’ve been through business management training yourself, you may be in an excellent position to mentor a new business management attendee.  Often, managers are unable to figure out where or how to start applying their newfound tools and knowledge.  You can play an extremely important role in helping him or her bring new information and ideas to life.

5.  Have the Employee Train Others

There’s nothing wrong with putting a graduate of business management training in Vancouver in charge of mentoring other up-and-coming employees.  Although he or she should not be expected to be a formal training coach, he or she can nonetheless provide assistance and guidance to workers with leadership potential.

Never forget that the more emphasis you put on and time you put into your employees’ business management training experiences, the more your company will get out of the process.

For more information on sales management coaching programs in the Vancouver area, visit www.dynamicachievement.com.