Category Archives: entrepreneur

Internet Marketing For Dummies- By a Dummy (Business Broker/Business Owner)

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I am a business broker that works with business owners with the process of buying and selling businesses.  My profession of being a business broker is my own business. I have also owned another business of 20 years.  I am a business broker that has been trying to figure out this “Internet thing” for quite some time.  I think I am figuring out that I will never figure it out.

Internet Marketing Industry

It seems that there are a lot of Internet marketing experts and this industry appears to

Internet Marketing

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still be somewhat at the early stages of a rapidly growing industry.  As a business broker and business owner, I feel a compelling need to try to “figure this Internet thing out’.  Maybe I know more about trying to maximize the Internet than some, but the question of asking a business owner (that is not in the Internet marketing business) if they understand Internet marketing is akin  to asking someone if they are a golfer.  The average golfer may have a handicap of 20-25, Some golfers shoot at professional levels- 0 handicap, some people have never golfed, some have golfed once or a few times, some golf a lot but are still a 30 handicap (the higher the handicap the worse the score).

I am about a 12 handicap.  For Internet marketing maybe I am about a 12 handicap too I dont know.  I may know  more than some, but know there are a lot more that know a lot more than me.   My job involves many discussions with business owners regarding the state of their business as it relates to a potential sale of their business or a possibly buying another business. The  questions I have as a business broker are also questions shared by the plumbing contractor, the print shop owner, the restaurant owner, the card shop owner and the small business owners scattered throughout the world.

10 Internet Marketing Observations From a Business Owner / Business Broker:

  1. The Internet today is so different than it was 10 years ago.  Ten years ago, so many businesses didn’t have websites.  Those that did had these fancy Home pages with lots of “neat stuff”. And the site just sat there.  Now-a-days it is known that a lot of that neat stuff gets in the way of search engines.    A few years ago it seemed if you didn’t show up on google – you didn’t show up, and then came, Myspace, Facebook, Titter, etc. .  I am convinced the internet 10 years from now will greatly different than it is now.  Trying to figure out where it is going is the challenge.
  2. To me , I see the value in Social Media marketing is that it decreases my reliance on Google.  With Social Media customer have another way to find you.  You don’t need to show up on page one of google to be found.  I may be wrong with this line of thinking but this is my perspective.
  3. It feels like everyhting I learned yesterday, is almost outdated tomorrow
  4. I see the question asked so often online- Is anybody making any money on Twitter.  Twitter is growing at 1,000,000 new users per minute 🙂 doesn’t it just make business sense that some are making profit on Titter- I am not yet,  are you?
  5. Is internet marketing another strong way to reach customers, market
    Internet Marketing Business

    Photo (c) vistaphuket.com

    and advertise, or is it so much more.  As a business owner we know we need to advertise and market.  In the past and present we use the Yellow pages, direct mail, radio, maybe TV, trade shows, telemarket, direct sales.  Is it proper to view internet marketing as a very strong means of marketing and advertising or view it as so much more.  I tend to think to view it as so much more.

  6. Is it true that if you can drive mad traffic to your website you could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo?.
  7. Is blogging better than tweeting, is Facebook better than Twitter.  Do I need to post videos to Youtube?  How important is SEO, incoming links, adding more friends, social media buttons/widgets?
  8. Is email marketing dieing, improving, necessary, changing, or being somewhat replaced by social media?
  9. How do I do all that I should be doing on the Internet, without having to bear the cost of “sub contracting” that task out and still run my business.
  10. How will we be accessing the Internet down the road and how does that affect my approach.  It seems a few short years ago accessing the Internet with ones cell phone was a novelty at best.

I am just a business owner who’s profession as a business broker requires significant marketing efforts.  How do you find a business owner that is looking to sell a business.  This is a very confidential event.   How do you find a business buyer that is looking to buy a landscape company, a Towing company or a  Computer Repair shop?  My approach is of to try different things.

I Tweet the businesses I have for sale- I get some follow up questions, I blog about my business experiences- it has driven”some traffic” to my site, I am on Facebook- but pretty weak, I am on Linked-In and a few other social/business sites.  I personally feel value in writing a blog as it allows me control to provide SEO optimized current content to my site.

I certainly am not in a position to provide well grounded advise on this subject but my major point is- Are you a business owner confused about what you should be doing on the internet? – You are not alone.

Are Todays Job Seekers Tomorrows Business Buyers

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In Business Acquisition and Sales  the “pool” of  most future business buyers are currently employed by someone else right now.  The same applies for future Entrepreneurs.   But what about those currently unemployed?

The job market seems to have an abundance of very qualified people chasing a very limited number of jobs.  The number of those unemployed in the US seems like a fairly difficult number to track, but with unemployment in the 9-10% range-depending how you measure or guesstimate  it seems that you have well  over 10,000,000 (ten million) people unemployed here in the United States. Is owning your own business by either starting a business or buying a business a viable option for those unemployed.

Is Buying A Business The Future For You?

Is buying a business or starting a new business the right career path to all of those seeking to “re-find” a career or just get off the ranks of the unemployed.  Buying a business or starting a business is not for everyone, but it can be a very viable option for many.  There are the both mindset obstacles to overcome,  and finacial battles to be won before one can make the transition  from employee or currently unemployed to one that owns and operates their own business.

I personally think overcoming the mindset of  “can I do this?” may be the bigger of the 2 obstacles. To over use a saying- “Thinking outside the box”. Personally I feel there seems to be so many that are “trapped” inside the box, that  thinking outside the box in this situation can be a life changing situation.  I believe that many of those so many qualified individuals that are currently unemployed will consider “going out on their own” and enter the world of entrepreneur by either starting or buying a business.

For example- I am working with a business owner of a small computer service store, assisting him in selling his business.  He is very anxious to sell his store as he has plans to move out of state to be near a friend and join him in a business venture there.  He recently reduced his price to $65k due to his increased interest in moving on.

Buying A Business

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He runs a viable one man business, works about 40 hour  weeks, and his business is up over 2009 numbers.  His “Owner benefit” is approximately $70,000.  So are you buying a job that pays you $70,000 a year?  Are you buying a career?  Are you buying the ability to control your career? It can be a nice situation for the right person.

Sending off resumes, searching the job board, going on job interviews can almost turn into a routine that may seem to have no end.- Is it a comfort zone, is it doing everything you can do to find your next career.  I suggest spending a few minutes  looking on a website such as mine Florida Businesses For Sale , or maybe some other larger business for sale websites like www.bizbuysell.com or globalbx.com, or possibly look on Flippa.com to see what sort of businesses for sale are out there, or possibly a website, or e commerce site may be available, what are the cost,  and is it even a possibility based on ones current situation.  I think one should at least allow the concept of buying a business or starting a business to come into the equation.  Certainly owning or running a business is not for everyone, but is it for you?

5   Reasons not to consider starting your own business or buying a business.  – Or maybe you should…

  1. Money is needed to buy a business or start a business–    but do you have any realistic feel of how much it would take.
  2. Ive never bought a business before or started a business before – talk to most all businesses owners that have owned their business for 10+ years and they will also say the same thing.
  3. The economy is doing so bad now, its just the wrong time to try a new venture.- There are many business owners that have and are delaying the sale of their business.  A “pent up” demand is being create.  The workings of supply and demand show that as supply increase prices reduce.And of course also  the choices are more abundant.
  4. Some people are just more prepared to buy a business or start a business.  This is true, but are you one of those “some people”.  When you talk to long time business owners you learn that all the uncertainty that you may have while making this major decision is completely normal.
  5. My Job Searching is  really going well- I think that is great, my decision to “be my own boss” 20 years ago was about controlling my own destiny,  perhaps there are different ways to do that.

My profession involves a lot of time talking with business owner regarding their short and long term business plans.  Many current business owners feel they need to get their financials/ and Sales  back up to a level commensurate to the value they seek from the sale of their business. This is creating somewhat of a pent up supply   I also speak to many potential business buyers and understand that everyone’s situation is so different. Available money, family, location, other personal matters all go into the evaluation.  Part of my long term planning of my business broker activities does assume that many of todays unemployed will be tomorrows business buyers.

We Suck Less

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Currently I am a Business Broker in Florida working with business owners in the process of buying and selling businesses.  Back in 1985 I was working for (a Texas based Technology company ). We were bidding on a very large multi-million dollar computer based project for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Part of the bidding process involved all us potential vendors travelling via buses throughout the Los Angeles area viewing a dozen of the 700+ schools that would potentially buy and use our systems.

The Importance Of Smart Marketing

While driving thru the various areas of LA I had seen white billboards with 3 words on them WE SUCK LESS. I saw this billboard in several different parts of the city. After repeatedly seeing that same sign in the various communities, I asked a local contact regarding the purpose of that billboard, or rather what it meant. I was told that it was a marketing campaign of a local radio station. The premise was – We’re not the best, We’re not number one, We’re not perfect, But We Suck Less than our competitors, and therefore customers/listeners should tend our way. “Were not perfect, we may not be very good, but we suck less than your other options”…

We Suck Less

As we continued the 2 day journey throughout the city, that concept really struck a nerve. It really wasn’t a premise or concept that was even remotely familiar to me. This approach, while just in jest… I think, just hit me as so unusual, that I found myself sharing this story many times over the last 25+ years. Ironically I have also crossed paths with various businesses and business situations over the years that prompted me to recall this ” business concept”.

Is this concept completely hypothetical, or does it truly exist? Has anyone else seen this in action in certain business environments? As a business broker I get to see the inner workings of many companies and mostly I witness hard working well meaning business owners.  But, is it possible that this could be an approach of a business, or just the result of many years of apathy, poor management, or some other larger problem?

Set The Bar High

I really really think we all our wired to “set the bar very high”, we strive to be very good, we want to be the best, some seek perfection even knowing its not possible but keeping it as a goal nonetheless. But to non- chalantly say, “I just have to suck less than the next guy” and as a result of that approach my business will advance to me is somewhat mind numbing.

I recognize faults and imperfections occur in my own business practices. I’ve always felt that it is important that I remain my own toughest critic. As a business broker that helps business owners sell businesses and individuals buy businesses communication is very important. Promptly returning emails and phone calls to me is an essential, and is just mandated.

Treating business relationships with respect, honesty and effort is important to me. Is it easy for someone to fall into the trap that since my colleagues/competitors don’t return emails/phones calls for 4-5 days or never then, if I wait 2-3 days to return a call or email, that makes me better than my competitors. Is this possibly the mindset of some in business? Can one be satisfied with the approach of just not being as bad as the others?- I don’t know. As a business broker and professional, I do know I may see this play out in other businesses, but certainly not mine.

But I do know Striving to “Suck Less”, to me just sucks. I really don’t know if it is a conscious business concept by some, but I do believe I have seen some resemblance of this approach. I also know that I find myself 25 years later sharing this story again.

Can a Goat Herder Teach Banks How to Loan to Small Business

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Small businesses and entrepreneurs need to be able to get loans from banks to grow and or expand their businesses.  Entrepreneurs and small businesses go to banks to get loans to make capital improvements, large  purchases,   buy a business, and generally expand their business.  Basically small business have financing needs that go beyond the immediate cash flow generated by their business.

Imagine driving to the bank in your new Lexus, dressed accordingy, meeting with a bank loan officer and discussing your 5 years old business, your college degree, ok credit score, net worth of $500k and your business generating $50k a year in cash flow and asking to borrow $10,000.  Do you think you will get that loan?

Change Of Perspective For Business Owners

Now-  For a moment pretend that you are a poor goatherder walking to town to get a loan , you don’t have any money to open a savings account with, you don’t have any normal collateral to secure a loan with,  you don’t have a credit record as you have never been formally employed and you’ve never taken out a loan before.  Also consider that  you might even be unable to complete the necessary paperwork as you are illiterate.  You earn about $1/day,  and you want a loan of $250 to buy more goats to grow your business.  Do you think you will get the loan? – Due to Micro financing the  the goatherder may get the loan before the Lexus college graduate.

Many of us Entrepreneurs and Small businessmen/women donate time and or money to various causes or needs.  I have been involved with Kiva since 2007.  Kiva provides microfinance  to Third World Entrepreneurs to help them grow their business.  Kiva was founded by 2 former 20 something year olds that were former employees of TIVO and PAYPAL.

Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor.  As the financial services of microfinance usually involve small amounts of money – small loans, small savings etc. – the term “microfinance” helps to differentiate these services from those which formal banks provide. Why are they small? Someone who doesn’t have a lot of money isn’t likely to want to take out a $5,000 loan, or be able to open a savings account with an opening balance of $1,000. Hence – “micro”.

Microfinance

These are small loans, multiple lenders will “pool” their loans to come up with a lump sum to provide to the Entrepreneur.  Again most of the Entrepreneurs I have loaned money to over the last 4 years earn less than $1/day.  When an entrepreneur pays off a loan, I reloan those moneys to another. So far I have loaned to 18 different entrepreneurs and repayment of loans have been 100%. Sinces 2005 Kiva as a group has loaned almost $150,000,000 to  almost 400,000 Entrepreneurs  and repayment has been 98.27%.

Why can this organization have such success in getting loans repaid from those with so little and banks in our “developed nations” loaning to those with abundant resources have problems so significant that these banks need a “bailout” from their govenment and ultimately taxpayers.  Is it the conventional  bank that is doing something wrong?  Are they loaning to the wrong people on a consistent basis?. How much of the blame falls on those that are requesting the loan?

Getting A Loan For Your Business

Currently how many good entrepreneurs and small business are not able to get loans as a result of mistakes made by conventional banks in the past.   It seems to me that banks tend to over respond to problems.     Obviously if you are a lender and  want to have no loans default and you loan no money- you can achieve your goal.

As a business broker I see the need for lending to allow buyers to finance the acquisition of  buying a business.  I also see income statements and balances sheets of reasonable small businesses that are using credit cards to help finance their businesses. It is hard for me to understand how our economy is benefitting by having small business owners take these “whatever is necessary” financing steps when traditional prudent lending to small businesses could truly be our fastest way to our economic recovery.

The banks reduce/tighten their lending, the need for small business financing continues, higher interest is being paid thru credit card financing, non-conventional means, and when does that higher expense cause employee reductions.    Small business could divert money from high interest payments to investments and  improvements that actually improve their business and create jobs.

Why can the goat herder get a loan and the Print Shop owner not?   Or maybe if I were a banker I could ask why does the goat herder pay off his loans and the Lexus driving College Graduate Default?  I understand there is a lot more that goes on between the comparison of a conventional bank and micro finance- but maybe conventional banks could  learn something from Micro finance groups such as Kiva.

Business Ethics – Overrated or Underrated?

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Ethical behavior, quality character, honesty, moral integrity – how does one in business view these human attributes?  I tend to view them as a given with the people I interact in both the business world and in my personal life as well.  I expect the best from people yet keep my eyes open for behavior that contradicts my expectations.

I am a business broker based in Florida.  In the profession of helping those buy and sell businesses.  In my profession, as with most all professions you have what some consider good business brokers, bad business brokers, and OK business brokers.  Most all industries have the good, the bad, and the average.  Is it ethical practices which help define the good, bad or OK?

Business Ethics Among Your Clients

I recently experienced a business activity that made me take special note of a business clients actions. Basically, we had a verbal understanding and agreement regarding a business relationship we would enter into contractually.  While driving to meet with client to sign the documents that outlined our agreement my client was approached by others.

The client and I had no written agreement between us. The  client could potentially go in another direction which could cost me a fair amount of money. I had left at 5:00 am to drive 6 hours to meet client and about 1/2 hour before I got to our meeting he called me to tell me of this other situation.

After listening to what he had on his mind, I was somewhat pleased when he  then asked me how long before I could get there and we could sign our papers and I could represent him with this prospective buyer of his business.  He told me he felt he needed the assistance of my representation, yet he could of handled the situation so much differently.  Before this exchange I viewed this potential client as a good, honest, straight forward individual. His actions reinforced to me the value of dealing with a person of good character.

I have shared this story with several of my friends that are business owners and their response was fairly common.  They too also greatly value dealing with a person of good character.   But that fact that those around me hold business relationships with those of good character in such high regard, makes me realize good character from others is a valuable yet somewhat  limited commodity.

Business Ethics

Photo (c) reputationalcompliance.com

A few weeks back my teenage son and I were talking of the Tiger Woods situation regarding his many documented affairs. We both are active golfers and had admired Tiger Woods golf skills over the last 10+ years.

Golf is an interesting game and it has been said that one can learn more about a person in one round of golf than you can in multiple office based meetings. I asked my son that if Tiger Woods had “cheated” on his wife and family, do you think he may have cheated on golf.  My son said, “No,”  I said, “Why?”  He said that he thinks Tiger Woods views golf so importantly that he wouldn’t cheat on golf. So I asked him the obvious, “So you think he views cheating on golf to be worst than cheating on your wife and family and that is where he draws the line?” My teenage son said, “Yes.”

Ethics Of Financial Gain?

I have been associated with several different organizations, associations, and trade groups.  I still get a little surprised  that many of these such groups feel compelled to teach ethics.  I am in the profession of being a business broker and I work with individuals and businesses in the process of buying and selling businesses.  I consider the fact that I will treat my clients and customers in an honest, ethical, and moral manner as a given, yet when I witness others that “consistently take the high road” I take special notice. I have been a member of the business community for several decades and recognize that most all of us are on a quest to increase financial gain.  Where does ethical behaviour fit in that mix?

  • Do you feel business ethics can be taught and learned by all in the business world?
  • Is business ethics much different than normal ethics one utilizes in the everyday game of life?
  • Can ethics be taught to a 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 year old? Or is it ingrained in you before you enter the workforce?
  • Is it ok to treat someone unethically and then pass it off as “Its just business” ?  To this I say No and have always felt that.  I have never really understood “Its just business.”
  • I have never understood “I had to cheat you out of $X,  but it was just business”, ” I know I treated you wrong, but it was just business” – what does that really mean?
  • Does proper ethical behavior really require actual thought or is it more of an involuntary response that just occurs like breathing and blinking?

Is dealing with a person and expecting honest ethical behavior a given and glossed over to allow “more important business issues to be discussed”,  or is it the important issue that all else revolves around?