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YouveGotFunds: A Unique, New Funding Option

2014-01-17T11:23:00.002-08:00

Crowdfunding has been in the news ever since its inception a few years ago. This concept of allowing regular consumers to contribute to funding a start up has thrilled millions of inventors, entertainers and entrepreneurs. Yet, for many reasons it hasn't turned out to be the simple solution many had hoped.

The biggest obstacle, of course, is having the right idea and knowing how to prepare it to go to market. Not all inventors or entrepreneurs understand how to start or run a business. So it is no surprise that many crowdfunding applications are rejected.

Of those accepted, there is another huge hurdle to cross. Estimating a funding figure can been tricky. It needs to be high enough to achieve projected goals and low enough to make sure it is attained. Because up until the advent of YouveGotFunds.com, all donations are returned if the financial goal is not reached. Time is wasted and unnecessary disappointment experienced.

YouveGotFunds.com was launched to solve the genuine demands of the start-up marketplace and has made the process much more user-friendly.

An example: An off-Broadway producer was trying to raise funds through Kickstarter, a much-known crowdfunding site, and was only able to raise $10,000 versus the $1 million goal. None of the donations were allowed to be kept and a couple months wasted.

That same producer went over to YouveGotFunds.com and was helped with developing achievable goals, marketing plans and is well on her way to achieving her funding and vision.

The founders of this unique, new crowdfunding vehicle are a husband and wife team, David and Ellen Sperling, who bring more than just a good idea to the world of online funding options.

Faleris: What in your background inspired you to open a crowdfunding site?

Sperling: As previous business owners servicing other small businesses and entrepreneurs -- we were well aware of how many business owners have difficulty getting capital. Not all businesses are ready for or have the opportunity to meet with Venture Capitalists. When we were doing our research on different start-ups, we became intrigued with crowdfunding and how it could be a great option for people looking to raise funds.

Faleris: Are you doing it in the same way as Kickstarter and the others?

Sperling: We are a rewards-based crowdfunding site which is the same as Kickstarter -- but we are different and offer more advantages for YouveGotFunds participants.

Faleris: What makes your program different?

Sperling: We believe in the Keep it All philosophy. With Kickstarter and most others, if you don't reach your funding goal, then you walk away with nothing or have to pay additional fees. Not only is that a waste of time (which is precious when you are starting out) -- it can make a dent in your credibility. So we have changed that.

At YouveGotFunds, participants get to keep all that they raise even if it falls short of the goal (minus our 5% fee and incurred PayPal fees). We want every YouveGotFunds client to be a winner so they get to keep what they raise -- not only will this money help them through the first phase of their project, initiative or business -- but it is much easier to generate funds offline when you have demonstrated its appeal online through crowdfunding donations.

Along with marketing efforts planned by the participants, YouveGotFunds will also promote projects using a publicist for some -- and strong social media outreach for most others. We also offer additional Start-up Services through our Fund Connection.

Faleris: What are you doing to market the service?

Sperling: Since launching and having received very positive feedback for our business model differences -- we have gained lots of word-of-mouth. We have a large presence on the Internet and though social media. Between our speaking events, blog, e-newsletter, publicity program, and networking events -- YouveGotFunds is getting lots of buzz and quite a few new clients from referrals.

Faleris: What is your advice for those wanting to start a Crowdfunding campaign?

Sperling: It's important that prior to starting a Crowdfunding campaign, participants take time to plan a smart strategy. Write a business plan, build networks, determine how to tell the story through pictures and videos and decide on a realistic financial goal.

Faleris: Husband and wife teams can be precarious. Have you worked together before?

Sperling: We have previously worked together on a number of retail outlets. We like working as a team since we share the same goals. Ellen focuses on the social media marketing and the website content development. David handles daily operations. Both of us deal with customers and networking.

Faleris: Have you ever had to get funding for a business? What is your experience in funding?

Sperling: Like many other small businesses -- we have been overwhelmed by red tape and bureaucracy. While we have had lots of time to establish ourselves -- the process is so cumbersome that often by the time you complete the paperwork -- it has drained you of your initial passion. And, it is because we understand this first-hand, we are so thrilled to be part of this new trend of raising money. People can now share their ideas with "the world" and "the world" can embrace these ideas, products, and programs and support them directly.

Faleris: What are you projecting for the next year? The next 5 years?

Sperling: As crowdfunding continues to grow by leaps and bounds, we anticipate an increased market share, as well as higher profits. Within the next 5 years, we expect to reinvest a percentage of the proceeds to keep our marketing efforts current and our website up-to-date. We want to see YouveGotFunds be a virtual community hub where people can come to build their business, present their creative ideas, get feedback and funding.

Faleris: Anything else you'd like to comment on regarding your business or the industry?

Sperling: At YouveGotFunds -- participants aren't just another project but real people with great ideas. And we put our money where our mouth is by making sure all the money that is raised (even if it falls short of goal) is kept by the participant (minus fees). We also try to enhance the fundraising success by offering a hands-on approach to marketing and awareness-building. YouveGotFunds.com is more than a platform -- we are a true crowdfunding partner.

Crowdfunding is a growing concept that is future-bound. We're happy to see this next step by YouveGotFunds.com in helping new business owners bring their new goods and services to the market. It's good for the economy and good for consumers.

If you've got a strong idea and business plan, you may be well on your way to success.

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3 Reasons Why Indecisiveness Is Worse Than a Wrong Call

2014-01-17T11:19:00.003-08:00

Some people agonize for days, weeks, months - even years coming on one side or the other of an important decision. For some, even mundane choices like what restaurant to go to for dinner or what brand of an item to get from a choice of five similar items can be dilapidating and painful to make. Consider this three facts about indecisiveness and hopefully, just hopefully, you will allow yourself the opportunity to indulge in some quick-er decision making for a welcome change!

Whining, Whirling and Wallowing.

When you start to realize your friends or family are not crazy about being around you much, think hard, you might be burning them out with your constant wallowing in the same old item over and over and over - again. It is cute once or twice heck you might be indulged one more time - but that is it! stop it already.

When you never can make a decision in a timely manner it starts to be a burden to people who have to listen to your constant churning. Avoidance sets in as a tool provided by nature to protect oneself from those who will kill you by their self-made anxieties. The reality is; even after the twenty-seventh time of tossing and turning the day decision is finally made it has no better odds of succeeding than it did on day one.

The viability of any decision or choice made on the first day or the nth day is at best 50% successful and the rest failure. The question becomes; where will your decision fall when you finally make it? That depends on three factors: execution, perseverance(tenacity) and time. Notice the last factor will negatively impact you if you dither even if you end up with the right choice in the end.

Indecisiveness is a Time Robber Number One!

The old adage 'time is money' will never be fully retired from the English language because it turns out - it actually is true. America is a good example full of people who literally made a fortune or changed lives because they did not wait to get evidence of the viability of their decisions. Most successful business leaders (in fact, great leaders in general) could all be described by one word - gutsy.

Steve Jobs had no experience in engineering, no college education to boast of, no prior business tract record, no family name or riches to go by but he had plenty of what some might call "reckless" decision making also known as just-jump-in. Now he is a household name based largely on guts. Now, do I mean we have to be stupid in making important decisions in our lives? Of course not! but what has that to do with waiting time and time again for a choice that you have to inevitably make anyway? Carefully consider your options as best as you can and make your choice and let time work to your advantage. Better spent your worrying time in making sure you execute your decision well. At least you will have controlled two of the factors that will boost the chances of your final outcome into the successful percentile!

Regression and Regrets.

Nothing in life is a sure bet but indecisiveness is guarantor of regrets. It pains when someone runs with an idea that you perhaps first had and makes a huge success out it. You think of ways you could have done it perhaps better if you had done it but its now out of your hands and the best you could hope for is the second person to ever do it!
The downside to regrets based on missed opportunity is you become even more regressed. Life in the end, even for the most successful, is sum total of all decisions made. Some decisions will fail no matter how well intended they may be but others will succeed. The differentiator becomes the ratio of your successful decisions made to the unsuccessful ones.

Always remember the success of your final choice has less to do with how many times it was turned over and over but has much to do with execution, tenacity and time. Should I really repeat this again? I will spare you the agony.

Conclusion

Do you struggle with making decisions in a timely manner? Are you anxious when making decisions and does this article make sense to you? If you wish to share your own experience and thoughts, email me or your circle of friends let me know how we can expand this conversation. It would be great to have one less anxious citizen of the world freed from the fear of the unknown "wrong decision."

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Why Successful People Welcome Mistakes

2014-01-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

In this article I am going to discuss why having failures and making mistakes could mean the difference between your ongoing success and needing to quit.

One of the personality traits of highly successful people and entrepreneurs is that it doesn't matter how many times someone says no to them they will continue to try until they get the yes they are looking for.

If you think back to the time when you were a child or if you have children yourself then as a parent you often spend a lot of your time saying no. This is not because you are being mean but that you care enough about your children to stop them doing something that is dangerous or something that will be damaging to them.

As an adult it can be harder to hear someone say no when you truly believe that something you want to do would actually be beneficial.

Often when it comes to business and you have a particular idea or you to implement something, someone say no is exactly what you need to hear.

It enables you to take that step back and look at things more rationally and objectively. It might be that your idea is a good one but the way in which you want go about implementing it needs rethinking.

Making mistakes and having failures are a great way to learn how to do things better and how to be more effective. Understanding this enables you to welcome any setback that may come your way and rather than look at it as a failure, instead look at it as an opportunity to do something better.

In reality this is very difficult to do because when you have put everything into something and you hit a brick wall at the end, it can be very demoralising. It is at times like these that you need someone you can go to talk to about your ideas, what went wrong and what you might be able to do to turn it into something worthwhile.

Successful business people have coaches, mentors or just very good friends that they know they can trust and talk things through with. Choosing who will be your mentor is something that you need to take time over. That person must have your respect and trust and you need to know that they will provide you with honest feedback and be able to back up their thoughts.

Perhaps this is an ideal time to look back over the previous year and look at the areas where you made mistakes or perhaps things didn't work out as planned. Take a look at those areas and see what lessons you have learned from them. If you haven't learned anything then it is important that you spend time and learn something that you can implement and change in your business this coming year.

One thing to bear in mind is that sometimes the failure is purely down to nothing more than the time just wasn't right. Something that you wanted to do last year that didn't work could well prove valuable in a few years time. Your business should always be changing and moving forward.

By the way do you want to a sustainable income online? If so then download my brand new free eBook on how to maximize your profits by creating your own high quality products quickly: Super Fast Product Creation

Or visit My Blog for more step by step help.

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Business Management Advice From Famous Entrepreneurs

2014-01-17T11:18:00.002-08:00

Small business management is not for the faint of heart. When the inevitable struggles, scuffles and setbacks of starting a business get you down, remember that the greatest entrepreneurs of the last century have been where you stand, learned some hard lessons and succeeded. Refer back to this article as needed for advice to put you back on the road toward your business goals.

Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

Tired of working in a male-dominated culture, Mary Kay grabbed $5,000 out of her savings account, hired a handful of independent beauty consultants and opened a tiny store in Dallas in 1963. Today, the late Mary Kay's business is flourishing world-wide, with hundreds of thousands of beauty consultants and revenue in the billions. There are two tactics that Mary Kay started early on that were instrumental to her success, both involving how she managed people.

First, she started with a strong business plan based on her Christian faith and guided her employees and consultants to prioritize God, family and work, in that order. This business plan was the crux of her leadership philosophy throughout her career and was a consistency her consultants could count on. Second, she created a lucrative incentive program for her consultants that included her famous pink Cadillacs for top sellers. Mary Kay is frequently listed in surveys as a top business to work for.

P.T. Barnum

He has been called a scam artist, a showman and a promoter of hoaxes. But there is one thing this founder of the traveling show that eventually became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus will never be called and that's a poor salesman. Barnum understood that sales only worked when you could identify your prospect's needs or wants and then satisfy them. If his sales pitch was rejected, he simply modified his pitch to help his prospect solve an issue they were having and tried again. He knew that it wasn't just about getting the sale; he aimed to make each customer feel so good about their purchase and themselves that they came back for more.

Barnum also knew how vital risk-taking is to the growth of a business. He took chances in business, tried new sales tactics and wasn't afraid to fail. He once famously had a large, advertisement-wearing elephant grazing in his front yard, so that passing trains could clearly see it. His policy of giving customers a good value for their money was what he used to back-up all his wacky sales tactics.

Richard Branson

If there's one thing Richard Branson knows, it's branding. The Virgin group brand he started building in the 70s as a mail-order record retailer is now an international power house that includes an airline, music stores, mobile phones, hotels, nonprofit organizations and so much more.

While Branson has his hands in many honey pots, each Virgin company follows the corporate philosophy that he developed when he started out more than 40 years ago. His brand values include sustainability, wellness, equality of people and embracement of change. Branson never waivers from these core values and they are felt in every aspect of his brand. Having a brand that provides value to the consumer and keeping that brand consistent is important to retaining customers as your business grows. As you move forward, never forget where you started.

Warren Buffet

One of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffet's shrewd investments have amassed him a fortune worth more than $60 billion. Buffet is not afraid to go against the grain and take a chance on investments that others might overlook. Throughout his life, he has eschewed the safe bets that the average investor went after and took a chance at becoming above average by listening to what he calls his "inner scorecard" and trusting his own judgment.

However, his risks have always been very calculated. Buffet believes in close monitoring of expenses and limiting the amount of money you borrow or charge to credit cards. He also advocates spelling out all aspects of a deal, in writing, before getting started. This is when your bargaining leverage is the strongest and you won't find yourself surprised later on.

Walt Disney

The man who famously said "if you can dream it, you can do it," certainly lived those words. The Disney brand, for him, was the pursuit of a dream, created out of his own imagination. It was a creative outlet but, because he believed in it so greatly, it was a business success.

Because Disney's brand was so infused with his own heart and soul, customers over the decades have developed strong and lasting emotional ties to the Disney brand. Disney knew the responsibility he had to his audience and put a premium on their happiness and satisfaction. He had a relationship with his customers and it paid off in big dividends for his business.

Disney literally did what he loved and the money followed.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates owes his success to two things: 1). His innate ability to read the market and forecast its needs and 2). His unabashed geekiness. What you can take away from his example is this: Follow your passion because there is a reason it was given to you.

Years before Microsoft was founded, Gates was a teenager obsessed with computers. He attempted to take the well-trodden path of so many others, half-heartedly attending Harvard, but his love of writing computer software wouldn't leave him alone and the entrepreneurial opportunities just kept presenting themselves. Everyone has a talent. This was Gates'. The only difference between him and everyone else is that he was willing to give everything in him to make his dream a reality. He took big risks and saw big rewards.

Business failures, lawsuits, threatening market shifts, accusations of monopoly and fallouts with business partners couldn't squelch Gates' passion for what he does. If something is gnawing at you day and night, don't ignore it. Almost everything can be successful with enough determination and a ton of hard work.

William Randolph Hearst

Perhaps one of the most hated entrepreneurs of the last century, there is no doubt that Hearst was a man of perseverance and resilience. While his tactics of unethical practices, questionable personal and political decisions and reputation of terrible treatment toward his associates would put a modern entrepreneur on the fast track toward business failure, one can learn quite a bit from the resilience he showed throughout his career.

Faced with one business or personal failure after the next, Hearst got back up, dusted himself off and jumped right into his next business pursuit. While he may not have had much faith in the world around him, Hearst believed in himself and that is vital to business success.

Steve Jobs

There are many things entrepreneurs can learn from the man who created the Apple dynasty but one of the biggest can be understood in this quote from Jobs: "It's not the customer's job to know what they want." Apple created loyal customers because he understood Apple's audience, knew what that audience needed and provided solutions to those needs. It's that simple.

Learn about your audience. What are their hopes, dreams, goals, problems, failures, insecurities and issues? Find out what they need from you, design a great product or provide a great service that gives them what they need. Then do this over and over again.

Another thing Jobs understood was the importance of hiring the best team possible. In fact, he believed that hiring a talented team is your most important job as a business leader. As a small business start-up, you are in a great position when you start hiring to create a dynamic team of the best professionals possible. They are the future of your business.

Estee Lauder

From the time she was a counter girl at Saks Fifth Avenue, selling her perfumes and cosmetics, until her death as a millionaire at the age of 97, Lauder's personal sales technique earned her a loyal following that is as rich as her skin creams.

As an entrepreneur, you are selling yourself as much as your product. Listening to your consumer and providing them a service from which they can really, truly benefit is the key to creating loyal customers. Estee Lauder's approach was that she wanted to make women feel beautiful and happy, not make a sale. With that approach she built her cosmetics empire.

Mark Zuckerberg

Disney once said "we don't make films to make more money; we make money in order to make more films." Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, had the same sentiments when he said "we don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services." If you build a great product, and do what you love, they will come. It's a value shared by nearly all great entrepreneurs.

Through a lot of personal and professional turmoil, one of the world's youngest billionaires stays focused on his company and continuously strives for improvement. If you keep your head in the game, success will follow.

Are you a San Diego entrepreneur or business owner looking to take your business to the next level? Contact me at kim@kimberlyjonesliteraryartist.com to see how my marketing writing expertise can help.

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Should The U.S. Be Worried About The Globalization Of Accounting?

2014-01-17T11:17:00.002-08:00

The globalization of accounting can be very beneficial but also very dangerous for many people. It will make an overall understanding and certain system for everyone to follow on a global scale, that way every one should be reporting the same way. But it's dangerous because if everyone is adapting to the new IFRS then GAAP may be no more and the USA has always followed the rules of GAAP, religiously.

One of the great social processes in the history of humanity is the globalization. Globalization has become apart of everyday life in our age, almost everything and anything is seeming to become globalized. This may be because it is easier for everyone to follow one unique system rather than have several different types which is hard to compare one to the other. The roots of the globalization are in the illuminists works like David Ricardo and Adam Smith ":The reaches of the nations" going forward through the Karl Marx opera until our ages. Why appear as very present the globalization in our ages is because it has become an economical need for our society, especially for the companies which want to go international or work international. The accounting receive, due to this fact, an order from the companies which needed to go on other markets for capital to supply an international accounting system which will allowed all the external users to relay on the financial statements presented by this system. This process of globalization in general and the imposing of an international accounting system on the other side are emphasizing some considerations related to the need on going global on one side and to the obvious cultural differences between the countries from other side.

Accounting standard-setters around the world generally believe that it is in the public interest to develop and maintain a universal set of high-quality standards for financial accounting and reporting. As Graham Ward, President of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), states, "We firmly believe that it is in the public interest to have a single set of international standards, of the highest quality, set in the public interest by an international expert body which transparently consults with, and recognizes the legitimate interests of, the international community." The key assumption is that universal acceptance of a single set of high-quality standards would make the world's capital markets more efficient by enhancing the consistency and comparability of financial statements. Greater efficiency in the world's capital markets would in turn lower the costs of capital for businesses, and lower capital costs would encourage economic growth on a global scale.

Historically, U.S. GAAP has been regarded as being the highest-quality set of financial accounting and reporting standards in the world. But its acceptance is far from universal, and its standards have been slow to evolve and improve as the business world has become increasingly complex and globalized. Consequently, it became possible for alternative standards to emerge and assume a level of importance that is likely to surpass that traditionally accorded to U.S. GAAP.

Specifically, compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards IFRS' promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is now, or is scheduled to be required of publicly-traded companies in most countries. While there are many similarities between international standards and U.S. GAAP, significant differences do exist, and today, U.S. standards are not automatically presumed to be "better." This situation has affected the process by which both U.S. and international standards are developed and maintained, and has already resulted in changes to both U.S. and international standards.

According to IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie, "IFRS' are now used by 100 countries throughout the world. Within the next five years we expect the accounting standards of major economies such as those of Japan, Canada, China and India to converge with IFRS' while at the same time the differences between international standards and U.S. GAAP are being eliminated."

Some may think outsourcing to different countries as the same thing as globalization. Where some industries seem to be taking-off and thriving in the outsourcing age, some industries are feeling the reverse effects and are even considering coming back to the United States. Industries such as IT, software, and telecommunications will continue to thrive off of cheap internet in these developing countries, whereas the manufacturing industry need to thrive off things such as natural resources but will continue to struggle due to the high energy costs. Not to mention, shipping their finished products from one side of the globe to another is not a cheap task. With the process of globalization, outsourcing has become a global spectacle that is here to stay. Recognizing this reality, governments should take measures to prevent needless outsourcing of certain jobs to prevent developed countries employees to have their jobs "stolen" by creating a sophisticated infrastructure designed to help new industries and offset any jobs lost. Outsourcing could mean the loss of jobs for many people which could affect their living style and family dramatically. Everyone needs to prepare to adapt to these globalization processes.

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Outsourced Accounting Services Save You Money - 3 Reasons Why

2014-01-17T11:16:00.002-08:00

Think about it, in a digital age where people are willing to work for cents on the dollar, do you really think that hiring a full-time accountant is actually going to save you money in the long run? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Not only will you be paying them an hourly wage to complete services but you are also going to be paying them when they are not working. Not every hour of the working day is productive. By outsourcing you accounting needs, you only pay for what you get. These days, finding accounting services online is as a dragon dictation and a click of a mouse. Here are 3 reasons why you should definitely consider outsourcing your financial accounting needs.

Reason # 1. Productivity

You are only paying for what you get. They only work when you need them to and you aren't going to waste money by paying them for doing nothing. Most accounting companies online have a pay structure where you pay per document, submission, or worked number of hours. It all depends on what your company needs.

Reason # 2. Go Paperless

Going paperless not only, helps your business by saving space and time by not having to file documents. Also, less paper usage helps to ensure a green friendly environment. Companies that go paperless and practice green-like activities increase their company's philanthropy. Having a great business reputation is always a plus. Plus, the amount of money you will save on paper can be into the thousands per year.

Reason # 3. Ease of Use

Most of these companies have their own software, where you can either, scan in paper documents or submit documents through an up-loader on their website. Some allow you to scan all your documents in at once and they will sort them out for you. Also, there are scanners for sale that will let you insert any kind of document and allows you to scan both sides of that document at once. Any business that happens to have a professional scanner will be the ones to benefit the most. Just throw you documents in the tray and press start.

Outsourcing your accounting needs saves your business money, money that you can invest in other things that are more important like marketing or franchising. Find a trustworthy company that has references and have been in business for a while. Don't just jump on the first low ball offer you hear and make sure and check out their web reputation.

Erick Carlson is a contributor to the website of one of the most professional and trustworthy accountants online that offers Outsourced Accounting Services.

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To Find The Right CPA For Your Business, Ask The Right Questions

2014-01-17T11:14:00.001-08:00

Small- and medium-sized businesses often turn to CPAs at tax time so that they aren't hit with unexpected interest and penalties from incorrectly filed income and business taxes. Unfortunately, many of these same businesses fail to use certified public accountants in other ways that can help them save money and better prepare their businesses for the future. If you're considering working with a professional accounting firm, be sure to ask the right questions in order to find out which CPA firm is right for your company.

Do You Have Referrals From Other Businesses Like Mine?

Most CPA firms have several industries they're very familiar with. Ask for referrals from these businesses and from companies similar to yours in particular. If you handle light manufacturing and global distribution, talking to someone who does similar work will give you an idea of how the accounting firm handles other clients with issues that you're probably familiar with. If the only referral available is from a street vendor, you may want to look for a better fit.

How Flexible Is Your CPA Firm?

Can they send someone to your facility to learn its inner workings and any financial issues that need to be addressed? Meeting with them at their offices is fine in most circumstances, but seeing how you operate on-site and up close can give them a firmer grasp on what it is you do, what it costs you and ways they can minimize tax liability while improving your profits. Can someone who is familiar with your industry respond quickly if there is an unexpected development?

Are Your CPAs Current In All Areas Of Business Accounting?

The best firms in the city aren't necessarily the largest or the smallest. The best gauge of whether or not they can represent you and prepare your reporting and taxation paperwork is whether or not their accountants continue their education year after year. Tax laws change every year and CPAs have to keep up. Graduating from college with a degree should be only the beginning; ongoing education, whether online or at a university, gives employees valuable tools and resources so that your bookkeeping isn't operating behind the times. If certified public accountants aren't continually learning and expanding their knowledge base, they may make mistakes that can cost you thousands of dollars in penalties and fines. Ask what value added services they can provide beyond those quarterly taxes. Can they perform an internal audit? Educate your managers and bookkeepers on better record-keeping checks and balances?

Who Will Handle My Company's Account?

The size of a CPA firm isn't as important as how they handle each individual client. While a small firm will give you excellent, personalized service, it may not have the same access to resources as a larger one, but you could lose the personal touch if you have to deal with a different representative every time you work with them. The best CPA firms will assign your company a specific contact person who will be your liaison, and you will be able to work with the same certified public accountant every time. This will build trust, help you relax and ask your questions, and give you personal attention and support tailored to your unique business needs.

A combination of personal service, superior support, continuing education and personal service is the hallmark of an outstanding CPA firm. Until you find all of these features under one roof, you won't be getting the financial representation you deserve. So ask the right questions to get the right fit.

Dugan & Lopatka is the leading Elk Grove CPA firm for small to medium size businesses, handling everything from quarterly taxes to advance financial planning in order to improve each client's bottom line now and in the future. For a free consultation, visit www.duganlopatka.com.

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Merger Acquisition Excel Templates

2010-04-19T18:29:00.001-07:00

Free Excel Spreadsheets

Top Five Capital Budgeting Analysis (xls) - Basic program for doing capital budgeting analysis with inclusion of opportunity costs, working capital requirements, etc. - Aswath Damodaran
Rating Calculation (xls) - Estimates a rating and cost of debt based on the coverage of debt by an organization - Aswath Damodaran
LBO Valuation (xls) - Analyzes the value of equity in a leverage buyout (LBO) - Aswath Damodaran
Synergy (xls) - Estimates the value of synergy in a merger and acquisition - Aswath Damodaran
Valuation Models (xls) - Rough calculation for choosing the correct valuation model - Aswath Damodaran
Risk Premium (xls) - Calculates the implied risk premium in a market. (uses macro's) - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 3 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with three stages of growth, high growth initially, decline in growth, and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
Time Value (xls) - Introduction to time value concepts, such as present value, internal rate of return, etc.
Lease or Buy a Car (xls) - Basic spreadsheet for deciding to buy or lease a car.
Top Five NPV & IRR (xls) - Explains Internal Rate of Return, compares projects, etc.
Real Rates (xls) - Demonstrates inflation and real rates of return.
Template (xls) - Template spreadsheet for project evaluation & capital budgeting.
Top Five Free Cash Flow (xls) - Cash flow worksheets - subsidized and unsubsidized.
Capital Structure (xls) - Spreadsheet for calculating optimal capital structures using different percents of debt.
WACC (xls) - Calculation of Weighted Average Cost of Capital using beta's for equity.
Statements (xls) - Generate a set of financial statements using two input sheets - operational data and financial data.
Bond Valuation (zip) - Calculates the value or price of a 25 year bond with semi-annual interest payments.
Buyout (zip) - Analyzes the effects of combining two companies.
Cash Flow Valuation (zip) - Walks through a valuation of cash flows under three models- capital cash flows, equity cash flows, and free cash flows.
Financial Projections (zip) - Spreadsheet model for generating projected financials along with valuation based on WACC.
Leverage (zip) - Shows the effects on Net Income from using debt (leverage).
Ratio Calculator (zip) - Calculates a standard set of ratios based on input of financial data.
Stock Value (zip) - Calculates expected return on stock and value based on no growth, growth, and variable growth.
CFROI (xls) - Simplified Cash Flow Return on Investment Model.
Financial Charting (zip) - Add on tool for Excel 97, consists of 6 files.
Risk Analysis (exe) - Analysis and simulation add on for excel, self extracting exe file.
Black Scholes Option Pricing (zip) - Excel add on for the pricing of options.
Cash Flow Matrix - Basic cash flow model.
Business Financial Analysis Template for start-up businesses from Small Business Technology Center
Forex (zip) - Foreign market exchange simulation for Excel
Hamlin (zip) - Financial function add-on's for Excel
Tanly (zip) - Suite of technical analysis models for Excel
Financial History Pivot Table - Microsoft Financials
Income Statement What If Analysis
Breakeven Analysis (zip) - Pricing and breakeven analysis for optimal pricing - Biz Pep.
SLG Ratio Master (exe) - Excel workbook for creating 25 key performance ratios.
DCF - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Discounted Cash Flow Analysis from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
History - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Historical Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Proforma - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Pro-forma Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Business Valuation Model (zip) - Set of tabbed worksheets for generating forecast / valuation outputs. Includes instruction sheet. Bizpep
LBO Model - Excel model for leveraged buy-outs
Comparable Companies - Excel valuation model comparing companies
Combination Model - Excel valuation model for combining companies
Top Five Balanced Scorecard - Set of templates for building a balanced scorecard.
Cash Model - Template for calculating projected financials from CFO Connection
Techniques of Financial Analysis - Workbook of 11 templates (breakeven, valuation, forecasting, etc.) from ModernSoft
Ratio Reminder (zip) - Simple worksheet of comparative financials and corresponding ratios from Agilicor
Risk Analysis IT - Template for assessing risk of Information Technology - Audit Net
Risk Analysis DW - Template for assessing risk of Data Warehousing - Audit Net
Top Five Excel Workbook 1-2 - Set of worksheets for evaluating financial performance and forecasting - Supplemental Material for Short Course 1 and 2 on this website.
Rule Maker Essentials - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering financial data - The Motley Fool
Rule Maker Ranker - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering comparable data - The Motley Fool
IPO Timeline - Excel program for Initial Public Offerings (must enable macros)
Assessment Templates - Set of templates for assessing an organization based on the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Model.
Cash Gap in Days - Spreadsheet for calculating number of days required for short-term financing.
Cash Flow Template - Simple cash flow model with explanations of each cash flow component - Arkansas Small Business Development Center.
Six Solver Workbook (zip) - Set of various spreadsheets for solving different business problems (inventory ordering, labor scheduling, working capital, etc.).
Free Cash Flow Valuation - Basic Spreadsheet Valuation Model
Finance Examples - Seven examples in Business Finance - Solver
Capital Budgeting Workbook - Several examples of capital budgeting analysis, including the use of Solver to select optimal projects.
Present Value Tables (rtf) - Set of present value tables written in rich text format, compatible with most word processors. Includes examples of how to use present value tables.
Investment Valuation Model (zip) - Valuation model of companies (must enable macros) - Excel Business Tools
Cash Flow Sensitivity (xlt) - Sensitivity analysis spreadsheet - Small Business Store
What If Analysis - Set of templates for sensitivity analysis using financial inputs.
Risk Return Optimization - Optimal project selection (must enable macro's) - Metin Kilic
CI - Basics #1 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
CI - Basics #2 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
External Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Internal Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Formal Scorecard - Formal Balanced Scorecard Spreadsheet Model (3.65 MB / must enable macros) - Madison Area Quality Improvement Network.
Project Plan - Project Scheduling Template currently setup for a Balanced Scorecard Project.
Gantt Chart - Gantt chart for project management with work plan - Jim Chapman's Web Site
E O Q Model - Simple Inventory Models for calculating Economic Order Quantity.
Inventory Simulation Control Model - Formal model for simulating inventory shortages, delivery times, costs, backorders, and optimal inventory levels - John McClain
Financial Projections Model - A comprehensive financial model for forecasting a complete set of financials with breakeven and valuation tabs developed by Frank Moyes and Stephen Lawrence at Leeds School of Business.
Option Trading Workbook - Educational toolkit for using Excel for Options - Option Trading Tips
Financial Model - A nice clean financial model driven by different calculators (such as Company, Market, Subscribers, etc.) developed by Bill Snow.
Forecasting Model - Step by step financial model for forecasting financials created by Sam Gui
Economic Evaluation - Step by step workbook for evaluating the economics of a system investment - Automated Concepts

Note: Most of the spreadsheets on this web page are from different sources. Where possible, a link has been provided back to the source. If you have questions, please contact the source. Only four spreadsheets were created by Matt H. Evans (No's 48, 54, 58, 64). If you need other spreadsheets not listed above, then please refer to the many links listed below for additional help.
Top Five - Five most popular files downloaded from this web page।

(http://www.exinfm.com/free_spreadsheets.html)

Preparing for a Career in Law

2010-01-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

If you are pointing toward a career as a lawyer, you have a fairly long road ahead of you, including four years of college and three of law school.

It's never too early to start preparing for your career. Lawyers need to be able to think logically and analytically, construct arguments, and communicate effectively. Trial lawyers especially need excellent public speaking skills. You can begin acquiring these competencies in high school by studying English for analysis and communication, math for develping logic, and theatre for public speaking.

Law schools won't ask for your high school grades, but they will scrutinize your college transcripts. It's crucial to have a high college GPA. Classes in English, debate, history, civics, government, and literature can help you prepare for a career in law.

The LSAT is the standardized test law schools use to evaluate law school applicants. It tests you on logical and analytical thinking, reading comprehension and writing ability. You'll take it during or after your last year in college.

Once you've seen your LSAT scores, you'll need to apply to at least 4-6 law schools approved by the ABA. It's not a bad idea to apply to one or two "dream" schools, a few schools where your grades and LSAT scores make you a realistic to strong candidate, and at least one (probably two) "safety" schools.

While in law school, most students spend some time working in the field to help them develop professional contacts and decide which specialty area(s) are of the greatest interest to them.

The state Bar exam, which measures a candidate's knowledge of state and federal law, is the last step to becoming a lawyer. Once you pass, you're officially licensed as a lawyer in your state.

There's no quick and easy way to become a lawyer. But, there are good reasons why so many people complete the rigorous path to a career in law. In addition to relatively high earnings, lawyers enjoy the opportunity to practice in many specialties (criminal, civil, international, and copyright law, for example), to work in business, or to serve in govenment and political posts.

Daniel Z. Kane invites you to visit his websites on online colleges and online degrees.

What Is In Your Toolbox For Success Online?

2009-10-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

One way successful online businesses do business is through the enlistment and help of other websites to promote their products through affiliate programs. Your marketing success is all about creating a strategy, building a plan, and executing it consistently.

Strategies are best explained as the direction the marketing effort will take over a certain period of time, while tactics are the steps or decisions made in order to follow the strategies established. Strategies and how to implement them are ever increasing and changing.

In line with an ever evolving business strategy, you must continue to look at technology to see how you can support your operations, understand your business better and empower your people to do what they need to do.

Your plan will follow your consumers. They want to be kept updated with information regarding your company and any special events or outstanding promotions which might be on offer.

Remember consumers making purchases online are increasing everyday as more are discovering the advantages to shopping on the Internet. Consumers are becoming more aware and are making smarter choices based upon knowledge acquired from the Web on products and services.

Big businesses have recognized this trend and increased their profits. One way businesses do this is through developing web sites to provide their consumers and business partners with information and e-commerce. Information may be in the form of "how-to" articles, general information, product reviews, tips, and reports.

Businesses must be creative and tenacious in creating integrated marketing strategies with mobile marketing endeavors. I recommend you do the same.

Similar to big business, successful internet marketers always improve upon themselves and develop themselves. Successful internet marketing is attained from within. Internet marketing success is not something you can find "out there" through an opportunity, sponsor, or up line.

Successful internet marketing has many aspects and includes persistence, consistent promotion, and patience, but a positive attitude is equally critical to achieving successful results. Successful internet marketing is about building relationships and forming a solid foundation in which to build a profitable business for you and your family.

Bottom line, success doesn't come from acquiring, achieving, or advancing. Success does not always equal making money. Success doesn't come down to just one thing. Success comes to those who plan for success and allocate their time to productive uses and ever expanding their tool box. Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. Success is a combination of things and having the right idea at the right time.

About the Author

Sean Burton is an excelling marketer who is showing many that online success is not a myth but a reality. Just doing the basics is not enough you have to take action, the right action in order to succeed. http://www.rightchange4u.com/success-online/

Reverse Mergers & Shell Corporations

2009-10-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Reverse Mergers, Private Placements and Raising Money

What is a Reverse Merger?
The definition of a reverse merger is when a public shell corporation mergers with an operating private business.
A reverse merger occurs when a shell corporation acquires a private business, and changes its name to the private company. Shell corporations usually have no assets of any significance nor any employees. Reverse mergers are not as good as an IPO because you cannot raise money unless the company does a private placement. Business do private placement to raise money.

We do not advocate reverse mergers.

Most investment banks don't like reverse mergers. The best way to raise money is to do a private placement and raise some seed capital and then do an IPO an initial public offering.

There are a many places to find capital for a business instead of a reverse merger. Capital sources include loans, lines of credit, factoring, seed capital and venture. Please see our website which has information on shell corporations, raising capital, going public and more.

Why are they called public shell corporations? They are called shell corporations
because the only thing left from the old company is the corporate shell structure.

The benefits of a reverse merger in comparison to Initial Public Offering (IPO) include the following: a company will usually receive a higher valuation, it is suppose to be quicker and their will be less dilution of ownership. However it is just as easy to do a registration statement and do a self filing or direct public offering. It is superior to doing a reverse merger with a public shell corporation. This is because public shell corporations are ripe with past problems.

A reverse merger with a reporting public shell company that has a symbol maybe a little quicker but they are expensive. There can be undisclosed liabilities that one of the many reasons we do not recommend a reverse merger and suggest people avoid them and take their company public directly.

About the Author

Frank Roberson is corporate financial consultant specializing in public company information and shell corporations. Please visit Mr. Roberson's website for further resources about taking companies public.

The simple Myth of Multitasking

2009-10-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Recently a study by the University of Michigan revealed that the brain is not truly capable of performing many tasks at once. While it may seem like you can talk on your cell phone and drive at the same time, the authors of the study discovered the brain is actually switching from task to task. The brain puts one task down, so to speak, and takes a moment to pick up another one.

This job switching takes time. The study noted that the several tenths of a second it can take your brain to switch from one thing to another can add up to dangerous time. Take the aforementioned driving with the cell phone. During the time your brain is focused on the call, the car is still moving without it actually being under your control. That half second is enough time for an accident to occur.

The City of Austin's public safety task force recently approved a resolution that could lead to a requirement for motorist to use hands-free devices. This is a first step in a potentially long process toward a ban on text messaging in particular. Seven states--Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and West Virginia--all have a requirement for motorists to use hands-free devices.

The research on the effectiveness of banning text messaging for drivers is inconclusive at this point. It is difficult to provide exact statistics on wrecks related to cell phone use because drivers are reluctant to admit it. A recent article in the Austin-American Statesman cited a study in North Carolina by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that found teen drivers actually used cell phones more after a ban on them was enacted.

It is human nature to ignore inconvenient rules like banning cell phone use in the car. It is also human nature to think we can do it all. It is not just driving while talking on the cell phone or texting that puts multitasking into overdrive. A typical evening can find any parent simultaneously making dinner, unloading the dishwasher, helping with homework and thinking about the big presentation at work the next day. According to the Michigan study, the synapses in the prefrontal cortex, or executive mental control center, are sizzling under the demands.

The busy lives people weave together are not seamless. The study found that executive control involves two distinct stages called goal shifting and rule activation. So it's like the brain is saying, "I want to do this now instead of that, and I need to turn off the rules for one and turn on the rules for the other."

These stages help people unconsciously switch between tasks. For simple, familiar tasks, this is a relatively quick and seamless event. But there are days the threads of the many tasks get tangled and snarled as the brain tries to achieve more complicated goals. The more complex the commands are, the longer it takes the brain to switch from task to task.

However, more often than not, the brain is putting down one thread and picking up the next with great skill. The fragmented days lived in ten minute snippets of time are a remarkable testament to the power of the brain. You just might want to think twice before picking up the cell phone next time you're in the car.

About the Author

Jill works with inside real estate. They operate sites about San Antonio real estate and El Paso real estate. They also have a site covering the Dallas real estate market.

Building your Sales Team

2009-10-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

You may have a brilliant product, best price, great online and offline visibility but you may not necessarily have the best sales report that you can boast about. Normally companies consider the above mentioned factors to be the crucial factors that help a company to do well however, they have been proved wrong repeatedly through their poor performance. If all these factors do not bring success, then what is the deciding factor on our sales? Most obviously, it is the effectiveness of your sales team. Often it is the sales team that makes or breaks a company success. If you have not been paying attention to building a strong sales team so far, then it is highly crucial that you start paying attention to building an effective sales team.

If you want an effective sales team then it is vital that each member of the team is highly effective. By selecting top performers we can make sure of having an effective sales team. How do we identify the top performers? We can use effective tools such as SPQ Gold. It is one of the best tools available in the market, which is capable of measuring the ability of your sales people to initiate contact and to introduce themselves to the prospective buyers. It will also help us find out their ability to manage their visibility levels in a highly competitive market. Every sales person has to fight the temptations of call reluctance and most people succumb to the temptation and employ over 12 avoidance behaviors making themselves to be unfit for the job. SPQ Gold will help us identify candidates who are more likely to exhibit such unhealthy traits and find candidates with healthy traits who can work well even under pressure.

SPQ Gold is the only tool available in the market to assess sales call reluctance. Using the tool, you can hire a strong sales team that will perform well despite all odds against them. Sales profiles are not easy profiles; it requires a high level of resilience to work under pressure and under heavy competition. They should be able to work as a team and not have their own goals and agendas. They should be able to fit in to the new environment fast and come up with their own new strategies handing the new market. Of course, there is no substitute to hard work; but their hard work should be done diligently. Above all, they should be highly optimistic people despite the gloomy financial environment.

When you use SPQ Gold sales assessment you will be able to identify both strong traits as well as the weak traits of the candidate helping you to pick the best sales team. You will also know the kind of training that should be given to your sales team. One of the advantages of SPQ Gold sales assessment is that the tests can be run online. In addition, you cannot find another effective method that is as cost-effective as SPQ Gold.

About the Author

Richard Bonn is the owner of Awesome Web Marketing. For more information on Richard please visit http://www.buildsalesteams.com

For more information you can visit http://www.buildsalesteams.com

SPQ Gold and Sales Call Reluctance are registered trademarks of Behavioral Sciences Research Press.

Getting Great Results When Things Aren't Really That Great

2009-10-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Transition - it's the word of the times, isn't it? Right now, as so many organizations go through significant change, the phrase "business as usual" seems like an oxymoron. "Usual? There's nothing usual about the way I'm doing business in this economy," you might point out.

Your organization might be going through a merger, expanding or decreasing its employee base, or just operating in a difficult economy. Whatever the transition, the scenario affects your organization's business processes, sales, and employees. As a professional keynote speaker, what's interesting to me is that when times are tough, when there's an issue with the economy, some businesses do really well and some do not - and these are businesses in the same industry! For many, the economy is like pizza: When it's good, it's really good, and even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Differentiators

What I see making a big difference are attitude and belief. If you're walking around thinking things are tough, that's the mind-set you have. What you focus your attention on is what your life looks like. It's the vibe people get from you. It's going to be the way you present things. Looking at life through loser-colored glasses can undercut your chances to succeed.

So can you just believe your way to a rosier picture? It's not really about thinking positive thoughts and then just watching and waiting as good things come your way. That's a simple way to state the premise of Rhonda Byrne's successful book The Secret, but I have to say I'm not buying it. In fact, I think The Secret is definably not the secret. It makes perfect sense that any book telling you that belief without action will create success is definitely going to be a best-seller. While I think it's important to have a belief system, there's more to success than that.

Most companies - and most people - who succeed when times are tough make sure they get more focused on the needs of the customer in the moment. To succeed, we can't be stuck in the long-term needs we've identified over the years. That's probably not where the customer's head is right now. You've got to sharpen your focus on what's really important to customers here and now. If your customer's treading water (which is nothing more than controlled drowning), throw him a life preserver. You can teach him to swim later. Once you're past the crisis, there's always time to get customers back on track with what you know will benefit them long-term.

Act in the moment

Attitude and belief can help you through a tough time, but not by flat-out ignoring difficult circumstances or willing them to magically disappear. You have to first recognize that tough times are temporary and then work quickly to address the needs that arise during difficult conditions. So don't let the media tell you what your life looks like; remember that good news does not sell newspapers. Have you ever noticed that really depressing news stories are often followed by Prozac commercials?

You can't just will a sluggish economy to pick up instantly, but you can believe that it will bounce back over time - it always does. With that attitude, it makes sense to take action to meet people's most pressing needs until things bounce back and you can return to "business as usual."

Suppose you work for a company that's going through changes and you're afraid your division is about to be cut or your job is in jeopardy. That's when you have to figure out what your boss really, truly needs â€¦ besides a vacation. You might have to forget for a moment how brilliant you are and how all your grand ideas can push the company in fabulous new directions. Instead, you need to ask: What's a big deal right now? You stand to benefit greatly by turning your focus to the company's immediate needs. If you're doing work that's really important to your employer here and now, then when the chopping block comes down your boss will be looking in the other direction. It's like if you and co-worker are being chased by a bear - you don't have to outrun the bear, just your co-worker.

Critical and even negative thinking can have great strategic benefit, allowing you to spot trouble on the horizon. But when you insist on looking at life through loser lenses, it prevents you from seeing the effort you need to make.

People and companies that are really successful during times of transition often hav

About the Author

Garrison Wynn is a nationally known motivational keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is the CEO and founder of Wynn Solutions, specializing in The Truth about Success.

e to work a little harder, investing more thought, more time, and even more money to do as well as they did before. But even though they expend more resources to perform as well as last year, they're not losing ground in a company-wide shake-up or industry-wide slump. Odds are, they're still moving forward. When business picks up again, they will have cemented their usefulness to employers and customers and can resume a better version of "business as usual."

Managing People the Right Way

2009-10-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Whether you're the manager of two people at a manufacturing plant or 50 people with a Wall Street address, the rules of good management are the same. One of the most important items in Management 101 to address is:

• People work with you, not for you.

When introducing a team member in your department, kindly introduce them as: "I'd like to introduce you to Joanne. She works with me in Quality Control." This will leave a lasting impression on people above your title as they quickly realize you're a dedicated team player, recognizing the value of the great people who work with you. Additionally, it will give "Joanne" a boost, knowing that she is valuable to you and the company and promotes her feelings of self worth. No one is a "subordinate" of yours…leave that for the military!

Another critical tip which many management people forget is:

• Share your knowledge and background experiences with everyone who works with you.

Too many managers simply assign work for the people entrusted to them. Think of where you started…not at the top, I'll bet! Give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are just as intelligent and worthy as you. More times than not, taking the time to share the whole picture of the project and where everyone fits into it will obtain the final results sooner and make you look like a bigger person. Failure to honor their questions, instead keeping everything "close to the vest", only shows a manager's insecurity. Unless you're associated with the FBI or CIA, there is no reason not to share your knowledge. Your staff will succeed and gain much under your direction, and it will filter through the grapevine that you're a fantastic person to work with which, of course, will tell upper management that you're ready for the next step up.

About the Author

Nan grew up fishing, camping, hunting, sailing, water & snow skiing, and horseback riding while spending the last 35 years in the financial world as a self-employed Portfolio Analyst. Visit her products of fun stuff like tents, boats, electronic chess sets, jumping stilts, electronic handheld games, etc. at http://www.SeriousFunStuff.com .

Listening Like a Leader

2009-10-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Our studies of the most effective people in corporate America show that the top 2 percent are effective not because they executed best practices well. They did not make the most phone calls or have the best processes. They simply understood the truth about trust:

People do business with people they like.
They like people they trust.
They trust people who have a detectable level of compassion and competence.

Does it take time to build trust? The truth is that you have known people for five years who still don't trust you, and you've known some for five minutes who do. Our research shows that trust is usually created by showing a detectable level of concern. When people truly believe you are concerned for them, they tend to think you possess good judgment. After all, if you care about them, you must know what you are doing.

So what is the fastest and most effective way to show people that you care and you're competent?

Make sure they feel heard, which is more than just listening. I call it listening like a leader.

You are not a leader unless you have followers; a leader without followers is called a failure. Regardless of your skills, if your staff doesn't feel heard and doesn't trust you, they will always do the minimum. They will watch the clock and be ready to leave at 4:45 every afternoon. They will do just enough each day to avoid getting fired, and they will hope the idea you came up with without their input fails. That's right”you can spend your life delegating to people who want your projects to fail. How smart is that?

OK, you have to listen; I am sure you already know that. The issue is, how well do people really listen? Most studies show that 75 percent of the world's population does not listen well.

Here is an insight that you won't find in many books, leadership speaker keynotes or training programs. As a whole, we don't listen very well and it's not our fault! That's right, I am sure you are used to hearing and reading that all of our communication problems are of our making. However, most experts agree that from birth to 5 years of age, we learn more than we will for the rest of our lives.

Even if you earn 15 doctorate degrees in your lifetime, you still acquired most of your knowledge in early childhood. In those formative years, if a child does not feel heard by the adults in its life, it does not possess good listening skills. The bottom line is that it's hard to listen when no one ever listened to you.

Listening is not hereditary.
It's an acquired skill.

Are we going to blame the parents? No! It's difficult to listen to young children when we are trying to look out for their welfare. When my stepdaughter was five, she asked me if Dracula drives a taxi cab. I said, Well¦, I guess if it's a night job. Uh, wait a minute! What kind of question is that?

She also asked me if she could have a tattoo”not a fake, stick-on tattoo from an ice cream parlor vending machine, but a real one. I said, No, because you're in kindergarten”and I'm taking the TV out of your room just for asking that question.

People are more likely to follow your example than to follow your advice. We create better listeners by being better listeners.

Unfortunately, we don't have much evidence of people returning from communication-training programs as better listeners. It doesn't take a lot of research to figure out that poor listeners get very little from seminars on listening.

So we don't listen and it prevents us from being effective leaders. If we can't do much to improve our listening skills, we have to focus on what we can do in the condition we are in.

The key, then, is to focus on making sure people feel heard. And the first step requires recognizing and recovering from distractions.

One day, as I listened to an employee talk about his wants and needs, my mind started to wander. There he was, sharing his core issues, and I'm thinking to myself, â€œLook at the size of this guy's head! It was hard to focus. Once I was trying to listen to a prospect on a sales call when I noticed he had red hair, blonde eyebrows and a black mustache. I remember thinking, â€œIt's Mr. Potato Face! Something has to be a stick-on; that's not all him.

After we recover from our own distractions, we have to deal with the real issues at hand. The first of these issues is what I refer to as â€œthe pitch in your head. It can be anything from a preconceived idea that a manager has about an employee, to a practiced presentation that you are dying to spew on your unsuspecting sales victims (prospects, I mean).

Sure, you ask a question just as you were taught to do in your sales or management training programâ€”you know, a question like â€œBased on what criteria are your decisions made? As they talk and you diligently pretend to listen, the pitch in your head starts to play; and when the prospect says something that strikes a chord in you, triggering how much you know, your pitch finds the pause it was looking for and off you go.

â€œI know exactly what you are talking about because I have had many people just like you with this exact same situation. As a matter of fact, it was this time last year and they even looked a lot like you.

You then project your opinion, experience or spiel onto the person as a solution to his or her problem.

Instead of feeling heard, the person feels quickly judged, and communication does not take place. It was dead before the spew was finished.

The problem with this scenario is that you rob people of their uniqueness. When you tell them you know exactly what the problem is, they tend to want to show you how unique they are. You actually create your own resistance and prevent your skills and even your empathy from making their mark.

When people are talking, you are thinking about you or about what you can do to help them help you. It's a natural thing for us to do, and it forces us to pitch hard and focus on convincing rather than on gaining agreement.

So what do the most effective people do differently?

They make sure the people they are dealing with feel heard and can retain their uniqueness. If you make people feel important, you will be important to them!

But an even bigger realization comes from all of this.

When you focus on how people feel about what they are saying, you increase the level of true concern you have for others. You actually start to become the person you thought you were pretending to be: a true leader!

About the Author

Garrison Wynn is an author, motivational speaker and trainer providing business solutions for success.

What every business needs to know about the Red Flag Rules: Protect your business from potential liability

2009-09-26T20:12:00.001-07:00

By Hallie Hawkins JD and CITRMS

www.fileandgo.net

Are you a business owner? Are you on a Board of a company? Are you the in charge of Human Resources at a company? Has your company complied with the Red Flag FACTA rules?

Are you even aware of what they are? Are you aware if the company does not comply, there is potential liability?

The deadline to comply with the Red Flag Rules that were issued by the Federal Trade Commission is approaching once again. This requires "creditors" and "financial institutions" to develop written plans to prevent and detect identity theft. The new deadline is November 1, 2009.

One of the reasons for the delay has been the issue of which companies must comply. Initially, it seemed to affect a narrow group of businesses. Upon further interpretation, the need to comply has been broadened.

The Red Flag Rules certainly apply to financial institutions and they also apply to any “creditor.” Because of the confusion, the FTC has now provided a list of business entities that it BELIEVES the Red Flag Rules apply to. It is as follows:

• Doctors, dentists, and other health care providers;
• Accountants and lawyers;
• Utilities;
• Telecommunications companies;
• Debt collectors;
• Retailers; and
• Employee benefit plans sponsoring flexible spending account arrangements when the arrangement utilizes a debit card.

A company is not off the hook if they do not fit into that list. The actual determination will be based in part upon the risk of identity theft among the accounts the entity holds.

The formal obligation to comply with the Red Flag Rules applies to entities with covered accounts. The analysis of what a covered account is not necessary. The reality is that each company must look at how they actually function and the size and complexity of the business to determine what type of program should be put into place. Is there a reasonably foreseeable risk from identity theft in the way that the business in run? A company that determines there is a high risk of identity theft of customer information should have a comprehensive program. If it is determined that here is low risk, and then a simple written plan will do. If your company already has general identity theft and fraud prevention policies in place review them and incorporate the Red Flag Rules into existing policy.

It is not as difficult as it seems.

1. Identify the Red Flags issues that arise in the daily running of the business. This includes administration staff to outside sales. The general areas of concern are;

• Alerts, notifications or warnings from a consumer reporting agency;
• Suspicious documents;
• Suspicious personal identifying information;
• Unusual use of, or suspicious activity related to, the covered account; and
• Notice from customers, victims of identity theft, law enforcement authorities, or other persons regarding possible identity theft.

2. Detail specific procedures that can be used to DETECT those red flags on a daily operating basis, including education of managers and employees.

3. Detail specific procedure to prevent and stop any potential theft of critical informational including what should be done if critical information is stolen or lost.

4. Create a WRITTEN plan and update it yearly. Keep your staff- including newly hired staff- educated. They are the first line of defense. An upper level manager should be directly responsible for this area of policy.

The Federal Trade Commission Website has great resources including a way to walk through the analysis on line at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/business.shtm

Every company should do this. Protect your company from potential liability.

Merger Acquisition Excel Templates

2009-08-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

Free Excel Spreadsheets

Top Five Capital Budgeting Analysis (xls) - Basic program for doing capital budgeting analysis with inclusion of opportunity costs, working capital requirements, etc. - Aswath Damodaran
Rating Calculation (xls) - Estimates a rating and cost of debt based on the coverage of debt by an organization - Aswath Damodaran
LBO Valuation (xls) - Analyzes the value of equity in a leverage buyout (LBO) - Aswath Damodaran
Synergy (xls) - Estimates the value of synergy in a merger and acquisition - Aswath Damodaran
Valuation Models (xls) - Rough calculation for choosing the correct valuation model - Aswath Damodaran
Risk Premium (xls) - Calculates the implied risk premium in a market. (uses macro's) - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 3 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with three stages of growth, high growth initially, decline in growth, and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
Time Value (xls) - Introduction to time value concepts, such as present value, internal rate of return, etc.
Lease or Buy a Car (xls) - Basic spreadsheet for deciding to buy or lease a car.
Top Five NPV & IRR (xls) - Explains Internal Rate of Return, compares projects, etc.
Real Rates (xls) - Demonstrates inflation and real rates of return.
Template (xls) - Template spreadsheet for project evaluation & capital budgeting.
Top Five Free Cash Flow (xls) - Cash flow worksheets - subsidized and unsubsidized.
Capital Structure (xls) - Spreadsheet for calculating optimal capital structures using different percents of debt.
WACC (xls) - Calculation of Weighted Average Cost of Capital using beta's for equity.
Statements (xls) - Generate a set of financial statements using two input sheets - operational data and financial data.
Bond Valuation (zip) - Calculates the value or price of a 25 year bond with semi-annual interest payments.
Buyout (zip) - Analyzes the effects of combining two companies.
Cash Flow Valuation (zip) - Walks through a valuation of cash flows under three models- capital cash flows, equity cash flows, and free cash flows.
Financial Projections (zip) - Spreadsheet model for generating projected financials along with valuation based on WACC.
Leverage (zip) - Shows the effects on Net Income from using debt (leverage).
Ratio Calculator (zip) - Calculates a standard set of ratios based on input of financial data.
Stock Value (zip) - Calculates expected return on stock and value based on no growth, growth, and variable growth.
CFROI (xls) - Simplified Cash Flow Return on Investment Model.
Financial Charting (zip) - Add on tool for Excel 97, consists of 6 files.
Risk Analysis (exe) - Analysis and simulation add on for excel, self extracting exe file.
Black Scholes Option Pricing (zip) - Excel add on for the pricing of options.
Cash Flow Matrix - Basic cash flow model.
Business Financial Analysis Template for start-up businesses from Small Business Technology Center
Forex (zip) - Foreign market exchange simulation for Excel
Hamlin (zip) - Financial function add-on's for Excel
Tanly (zip) - Suite of technical analysis models for Excel
Financial History Pivot Table - Microsoft Financials
Income Statement What If Analysis
Breakeven Analysis (zip) - Pricing and breakeven analysis for optimal pricing - Biz Pep.
SLG Ratio Master (exe) - Excel workbook for creating 25 key performance ratios.
DCF - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Discounted Cash Flow Analysis from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
History - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Historical Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Proforma - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Pro-forma Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Business Valuation Model (zip) - Set of tabbed worksheets for generating forecast / valuation outputs. Includes instruction sheet. Bizpep
LBO Model - Excel model for leveraged buy-outs
Comparable Companies - Excel valuation model comparing companies
Combination Model - Excel valuation model for combining companies
Top Five Balanced Scorecard - Set of templates for building a balanced scorecard.
Cash Model - Template for calculating projected financials from CFO Connection
Techniques of Financial Analysis - Workbook of 11 templates (breakeven, valuation, forecasting, etc.) from ModernSoft
Ratio Reminder (zip) - Simple worksheet of comparative financials and corresponding ratios from Agilicor
Risk Analysis IT - Template for assessing risk of Information Technology - Audit Net
Risk Analysis DW - Template for assessing risk of Data Warehousing - Audit Net
Top Five Excel Workbook 1-2 - Set of worksheets for evaluating financial performance and forecasting - Supplemental Material for Short Course 1 and 2 on this website.
Rule Maker Essentials - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering financial data - The Motley Fool
Rule Maker Ranker - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering comparable data - The Motley Fool
IPO Timeline - Excel program for Initial Public Offerings (must enable macros)
Assessment Templates - Set of templates for assessing an organization based on the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Model.
Cash Gap in Days - Spreadsheet for calculating number of days required for short-term financing.
Cash Flow Template - Simple cash flow model with explanations of each cash flow component - Arkansas Small Business Development Center.
Six Solver Workbook (zip) - Set of various spreadsheets for solving different business problems (inventory ordering, labor scheduling, working capital, etc.).
Free Cash Flow Valuation - Basic Spreadsheet Valuation Model
Finance Examples - Seven examples in Business Finance - Solver
Capital Budgeting Workbook - Several examples of capital budgeting analysis, including the use of Solver to select optimal projects.
Present Value Tables (rtf) - Set of present value tables written in rich text format, compatible with most word processors. Includes examples of how to use present value tables.
Investment Valuation Model (zip) - Valuation model of companies (must enable macros) - Excel Business Tools
Cash Flow Sensitivity (xlt) - Sensitivity analysis spreadsheet - Small Business Store
What If Analysis - Set of templates for sensitivity analysis using financial inputs.
Risk Return Optimization - Optimal project selection (must enable macro's) - Metin Kilic
CI - Basics #1 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
CI - Basics #2 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
External Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Internal Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Formal Scorecard - Formal Balanced Scorecard Spreadsheet Model (3.65 MB / must enable macros) - Madison Area Quality Improvement Network.
Project Plan - Project Scheduling Template currently setup for a Balanced Scorecard Project.
Gantt Chart - Gantt chart for project management with work plan - Jim Chapman's Web Site
E O Q Model - Simple Inventory Models for calculating Economic Order Quantity.
Inventory Simulation Control Model - Formal model for simulating inventory shortages, delivery times, costs, backorders, and optimal inventory levels - John McClain
Financial Projections Model - A comprehensive financial model for forecasting a complete set of financials with breakeven and valuation tabs developed by Frank Moyes and Stephen Lawrence at Leeds School of Business.
Option Trading Workbook - Educational toolkit for using Excel for Options - Option Trading Tips
Financial Model - A nice clean financial model driven by different calculators (such as Company, Market, Subscribers, etc.) developed by Bill Snow.
Forecasting Model - Step by step financial model for forecasting financials created by Sam Gui
Economic Evaluation - Step by step workbook for evaluating the economics of a system investment - Automated Concepts

(http://www.exinfm.com/free_spreadsheets.html)

The greatest opportunity in Merger History is RIGHT NOW?

2008-11-18T14:52:00.001-08:00

Private equity groups coming out of the wood works, Investment bankers out of business, credit no longer available, and stock prices massively depressed and undervalued. All of these factors combined have created the world’s most amazing climate for a private or public company to merge with a larger public company.

Right now our firm Private Equity Consultants is working with a company valued at 150 million, and the public company that they are considering merging with has had their stock price depressed from $70/share to $6 dollars a share during our bear market. Realistically in the next 5 years we believe that the long term value of the company is $40 a share. Since the private company (our client) has to be paid fair value in today’s stock price, in order for a stock swap transaction not to trigger a taxable event, thus creating a incredible upside for our client. Our client stands to gain about 8 times the current value of the company netting the owners of the company roughly a 800% increase in value for their company because they were smart enough to exit the business during this bear market. This transaction could turn our client’s $150 mill company value into $1.2 Billion in the next 3-5 years. We view this as an amazing value play, and a heck of a retirement plan.

This type of opportunity exists all over our current market. Any company that merges with a larger public company stands to make a lot of money over the next Bull Run, as long as that company has the prospect of making it firmly through our current bear/ recession filled market.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvaluez.com

Do I need an appraisal to Sell my company?

2008-09-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

Do I really need an business appraisal in order to sell my company or is that just a service that you are selling me? This question is tough even for ME (someone who deals in business sale transactions on a daily basis). I meet with business owners everyday, and everyone who is looking at the prospect of selling their company always asks, the appraisal question, do I need one, or should I pay for one. I will answer the question very simply, if you are going to sell your car you want to have all the records or registration "right", value from kelly blue book, and maintenance records in order to make buyers feel like they are paying a fair price for your car. Fortunately we can all get on KBB.com and find out what our car is worth on the market today.

Valuing a company is a little more complex, than just getting on the Internet and spitting out a value, we need to pay an appraiser between $5k and $25k depending on the size of the business to do a in depth analysis, recast of the financials and give back up data on every reason why the business is worth what it is worth. This shows the buyer that they should pay what we are asking and not haggle with you on price but only on terms of the sale. I think that the appraisal is a great supporting document that will cut out a lot of negotiation and help your deal close quicker.

As you contemplate the whether "to pay or not to pay" for a business appraisal always remember that with the powerful combination of a business intermediary and the right supporting documentation you will get 30-50% more for your business when it finally closes than if you try to sell your company yourself with out the appraisal.

Contact me if you need a appraisal or a brokers opinion of value BPO.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvaluez.com

Sitting on the Fence in this economy (BAD IDEA)

2008-09-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Every morning I turn on my TV and see what they are saying on CNBC about the economy. I usually love watching it and gather insights each time I view it. However over the past few months I am getting sick and tired of how the media is displaying the current economic situation, yes I agree we should take action on the things that need reform and regulation, but come on the more that we give in to what the media is feeding us the more we perpetuate the perceived economic crisis.

This also applies to sellers of businesses, I have noticed a lot people that are interested in selling their company are sitting on the fence "we are waiting to see what this economy will do, once it stabilizes then we will sell" Bad idea, their are more buyers than ever out there right now looking to buy good companies. More buyers means higher price for their business, when equity growth in an economy dries up people go back to what made them wealthy in the first place, CASH FLOW. Good steady cash flow is what investors want right now, equity growth is no longer on their mind if they can get 15-20% on the bottom line of a solid company, and will pay a great price for that cash flow.

If you own a business and have considered selling please call me for a free analysis, I am tuned into the market and I know what is going on now, and I am apart of deal that are actually happening NOW, and the deals have not stopped and sellers are still getting great prices for their businesses. Remember in a down economy all the small competition goes away, and mid-size businesses gain all those customers. So contrary to what you think should happen well positioned mid size companies can still grow in this economy.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvlauez.com

Selling Your Insurance Agency or Book of Business

2008-09-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have been approached with this question so many times I am losing count. How much is my insurance practice or book of business worth? To answer this question I will draw upon my experience as a intermediary and bring to light some of the things to avoid when selling your insurance agency, or book of business.

In the first Insurance agency deal I was ever apart of I had a buyer that was looking for a small independent broker. I found one that was doing $232,000 a year in commissions, and the asking price was $585,000 or 2.52 times annual commissions. I knew from my searches that it was difficult to find independent insurance agencies for sale so I encouraged the buyers to make a offer quickly. The seller really liked my buyer and accepted and offer for $550,000 or 2.3 times commissions. Because most books of business sell for 2 times commissions this deal was a little higher priced than most but I still think my buyer got a fair deal, based on his needs and the sellers willingness to carry some of the loan.

Steps to selling your agency or book of business:

1. Get your book of business evaluated by a professional business intermediary
2. Establish a asking price for selling your insurance agency
3. Sign a listing agreement with a qualified business intermediary
4. Shop your deal for multiple offers
5. Accept a offer and begin the negotiation process
6. Negotiate the deal and provide buyer Due diligence documents
7. Finalize negotiations and close the deal

Even though I have outlined the steps to selling your book of business, I don't recommend you go it alone, this can be like representing yourself in a court case, although you may know all the facts better than anyone, you may be emotionally attached to your business and that makes it dangerous for you to go it alone. Call me we will evaluate your book for free, and also help you structure a deal that will get you maximum benefit when you sell it.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvaluez.com