March 2010

Business Partner Decisions

by admin on March 31, 2010

“I chose the wrong person.”

“We didn’t share the same expectations.”

“It turned out that our ethics were very different.”

Just like marriages, business relationships can break apart for fundamental reasons.  Whether you’re in search of new business partners or you’re already hooked up, there are smart things you can do now to strengthen these relationships.

This article contains some important tips on how to protect your business from the risks of business partnerships.

What should I do?

By definition, a business partnership is an agreement to equally or unequally share the ownership, responsibilities, risks, and profits of a business.

The three primary causes of business partner relationship problems are unshared expectations, unshared goals, and poor communication.  To eliminate these threats, do the following:

Select business partners with ethics and values as close to yours as possible.  Ask what is most important in their lives.

Look for people who in their conduct with others exhibit a high level of mutual respect.  If you see behavior that troubles you, consider this an early warning sign that shouldn’t be ignored.

Ask prospective business partners about their vision for the business.  Write down the vision statement of each prospective business partner.

In business partners, seek to obtain skills that you don’t have and willingness to perform tasks that you don’t especially like.

Talk with others in the know to find out about the work habits of prospective partners.  Watch for signs of laziness or looming personal issues that will take the focus away from your business.

Define clearly the roles and responsibilities of each partner, including the time to be spent by each partner and the respective financial investment by each partner in the business.

Define clearly the work location of each partner.

Address the legal issues of your business partnership, including the liabilities of each partner, with competent legal counsel selected by you.

Make it clear how final decisions are to be made if partners disagree.

Decide who will manage the financial books of the company and who will audit them.

Establish and maintain predictable, regularly scheduled communication with all business partners.

Determine the terms under which a partner may sell or transfer ownership of his or her share of the business to others.

Do You Need Help?

For specific help with your business partner relationships, contact Sylvina Consulting at 503.244.8787.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/ask-an-expert-articles/business-partner-decisions-726644.html”

{ 0 comments }

Take heed my friends

by admin on March 30, 2010

Here is a very wise recommendation about business partnerships.

My advice is do not enter into a business partnership with anyone unless you have to. If you decide to do it anyway, make certain you get everything documented including your area of responsibilities.

{ 0 comments }

Starting an Internet Business

by admin on March 29, 2010

Have you thought of starting an Internet business, but just aren’t sure if it is for you. Starting an internet business is actually quite easy. The first step in starting and running an Internet business is to set aside the time you’ll need. The last thing you should do is cut into your sleep time to work on your Internet business. So, again, where are you going to find the time you need to spend building your Internet business.

 

There are many Internet business opportunities that exploit the novelty of the Web as a lure. If you think Internet Business is all about selling info products, think again. If you are searching for an internet business opportunity, it will not take you very long to become overwhelmed with the possible choices.

 

When searching for an internet business please be careful because many scams are lying out there. This is not intended to discourage you from starting up a home-based Internet business, but rather just to give you a heads up about the too-good-to-be-true, Internet business opportunity scams. But, the best way to avoid Internet business opportunity and other home-based business scams, is to strike out on your own.

 

One of the keys to success in an Internet business is to make it personal. Becoming successful in An Internet business means taking it seriously. As an Internet business owner you are always struggling to get traffic to your site to sell your products. Most Internet business entrepreneurs spend a majority of their time in front of a computer. Once you see some success on a small scale, you can start to roll some of your profits back into your internet business and scale things up.You can keep your day job until your internet business is making the money you want.

 

What you need to understand about starting your own Internet business is that to excel you will have to learn as much as you can about the different topics covered in Internet Marketing. Internet marketing is essential for the success of your internet business. There’s not a one size fits all because each Internet business has different needs and requirements. Building links to your Internet business is a crucial aspect of your marketing campaign. Social bookmarking is a very powerful strategy to help drive free traffic to your website, particularly when your Internet business is brand new or has been laying dormant for quite sometime.

A ready made Adsense site in a box is not an Internet business. And if you rely on Adsense as your major source of income, as so many Internet business owners do, then your business and financial security are at risk. But, for now, let me just say that there are alternatives to Adsense for earning advertising revenue with your Internet business.

You’re building your own Internet business now. Though you don’t ever see this in a sales letter, you will have to work if you want to build a real Internet business.Learning how to start an Internet Business doesn’t have to be complicated

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/starting-an-internet-business-872109.html”

{ 0 comments }

How To Cultivate The Trust Factor In Business

by admin on March 29, 2010

In today’s highly competitive economy, it is difficult to maintain a significant market advantage based on your professional skills alone. Developing trusting relationships with your clients is vital to your business success as well. No matter what business you are in, the most powerful value-added contribution you can make to any business relationship is the trust factor.

The trust factor is even more critical in today’s business climate with the level of trust in Corporate America continuing to be at an all-time low, and suspicion of “all things corporate” remaining on the rise. To make matters worse, large corporations and small businesses alike continue to use antiquated techniques, such as gizmos and gadgets, to try to win over new clients. When instead, they should be trying to address the heart of the matter by utilizing trust-building techniques that will most effectively resonate with consumers and new prospects.

Clients and prospects are in search of trust in their business relationships, but building trust and credibility does not happen overnight. To cultivate trust, it takes the risk of being open with clients and prospects. This enables them to perceive you as a real person—one with strengths and weaknesses that come into play as the relationship develops. When trust is reciprocal, you will find that your confidence in others is rewarded by their support and reinforcement of what you also stand for as a business entity.

What is Trust

What is trust? Trust can be defined as a firm belief in the honesty of another and the absence of suspicion regarding his motives or practices. The concept of trust in business dealings is simple: Build on an individual’s confidence in you and eliminate fear as an operating principle.

Letting Go of Fear

Let go of fear, which restricts your ability to relate to others. Letting go frees you of behavioral constraints that can immobilize your emotional and professional development. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being hurt, fear of the unknown—all these are roadblocks to developing and growing a trusting relationship with clients. Let go of your fear of losing an account or not having the right answers. Leave all your fears at the client or prospect’s doorstep.

Other critical steps in cultivating trust are knowing who you are and knowing your potential value to your clients. The relationship that forms because of this can have a tremendous impact on your sales. People don’t just buy from anyone. They buy from people they can trust. The rapport and credibility you can establish with the trust factor go a long way toward building a client’s confidence in your ability to meet his business needs.

Trust has both an active and a passive component in a business relationship. The active feeling of trust is confidence in the leadership, veracity, and reliability of the other party, based on a track record of performance.

The passive feeling of trust is the absence of worry or suspicion. This absence is sometimes unrecognized and frequently taken for granted in our most productive relationships.

Building Trust With Care

So how do you build trust with clients? First, you need to care about them. Obviously your clients care about your knowledge, expertise, and accomplishments. However, they care even more about the level of concern you have for them. Successful trust building hinges on four actions: engaging, listening, framing, and committing. The trust factor can be realized once we understand these components of trust and incorporate them in our daily lives.

Engaging clients and prospects occurs when you show genuine concern and interest in their business and its problems. Maintain good eye contact and body posture. Good eye contact signifies openness and honesty. And your body language and other forms of nonverbal communication speak volumes about your attitude toward them. By the same token, you want to be cognizant of your client’s or prospect’s eye contact and body language.

Listening with understanding and empathy is possible if you think client focus first.
Let the client tell his story. Put yourself in his shoes when you listen to his business concerns, purpose, vision, and desires. Show approval or understanding by nodding your head and smiling during the conversation. Separate the process of taking in information from the process of judging it. Just suspend your judgment and focus on the client.

Framing what the client or prospect has said is the third action in trust building. Make sure you have formed an accurate understanding of his problems and concerns. Confirm what you think you heard by asking open-ended questions such as “What do you mean by that?” or “Help me to understood the major production problems you are experiencing.” After you have clarified the problems, start to frame them in order of importance. By identifying the areas in which you can help the client, you offer him clarity in his own mind and continue to build his trust.

Committing is the final action for developing the trust factor. Communicate enthusiastically your plan of action for solving the client’s problems. Help the client see what it will take to achieve the end result. Presumably, what you have said up to this point has been important, but what you do now—how you commit—is even more important. Remember the old adage “Action speaks louder than words.” Show you want this client’s business long term. Complete assignments and projects on budget and on time. Then follow up with clients periodically to see how your partnership is faring.

In the final analysis, trust stems from keeping our word. If we say we will be there for our clients, then we should honor that commitment by being there. Trust results from putting the client’s best interest before our own, from being dependable, from being open and forthcoming with relevant information. It is impossible to overestimate the power of the trust factor in our professional lives. Truly, trust is the basis of all enduring, long-term business relationships.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/affiliate-programs-articles/how-to-cultivate-the-trust-factor-in-business-41129.html”

{ 0 comments }

Bill Bartmann’S Advice On Business Partnerships – Opportunity Or Failure?

by admin on March 27, 2010

If you are considering an opportunity to enter into a partnership, then you must realize that a partner will offer something of value to your business. Also know that a conflict with a partner can seriously impact your business.

A business partnership is like a marriage; you cannot just fire your partner, as you can an employee. Your partner has an ownership interest in your business. Severing a partnership is a legal action, like divorce, and it can be very expensive, even leading to bankruptcy.

You must make this decision wisely; be sure that you are entering into the partnership for the right reasons. A friend or family member does not make one a good choice for a business partner. They must bring something of value that you need to run the business, whether it be money, knowledge & skills in a specific area, or attributes essential to your success.

Another key rule to entering into a partnership is to never go into a 50/50 partnership. Someone has to be in charge. If there should be a disagreement on a business decision, where the authority is 50/50, you will have come to an impasse where you will experience in-action.

It is fine to agree to a 50/50 revenue split, but one side of the partnership must be at least 51% managerial. This must be decided on upfront and understood that one of you will make final decisions. The one who has the 51% managerial position will promise to ask, seek council and respect the opinion of their partner before making the final decision.

Another important document that needs to be included in your partnership agreement is a Buy/Sell Agreement with a separation clause describing how one will buy the other out if one should want to leave the partnership for any reason. Whether it be due to disagreement or just because one is moving on to do pursue something different, it is very important to have a separation agreement in place ahead of time.

A business partnership has a greater chance of being successful if it is properly set up with a complete partnership agreement in place. The agreement must delegate who is in charge, the economics of the business, and the separation clause.

Some of the biggest businesses today began as partnerships; partnerships can be successful. But, be careful and make good choices at the beginning. A partner must bring value to the business and you must enter the partnership for the right reasons.

Bill Bartmann has experienced business partnerships. He will share his experiences and everything he has learned with his online course, Billionaire Business Systems. Learn the steps to forming a business partnership and all essentials of business success at http://www.billionaireu.com

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/bill-bartmanns-advice-on-business-partnerships-opportunity-or-failure-798805.html”

{ 0 comments }

Creating a Business Partnership Agreement Contract

by admin on March 26, 2010

Verbal agreements tend to never work out. Putting the terms of the partnership in writing is the smartest thing you can do to protect your business. Spelling out the rights and responsibilities in a written partnership agreement will better equip you to settle conflicts if they arise. You’d be surprised how minor misunderstandings can erupt into full-blown fights. Also, when you don’t have a written agreement saying otherwise, your state’s laws will control many aspects of your business.

Having a partnership agreement helps your business in many different ways. It clearly defines each partner’s role and it will structure the relationship in a way that suits the business. In the agreement you can define how you and your partners will share profits or losses, what will happen if a partner leaves the business, and other guidelines you or your partners think are important.

One area all partnership agreements cover is the name of the partnership. You can either use your own last names, such as the famous business partnership Smith & Wesson, or use a made up name like North side Technicians. If you do choose to make up a name then you must make sure the name isn’t already in use then file a fictitious business name statement with your county clerk.

The second area most business partnership agreements cover is the contributions to the partnership. It’s important that you and your partners write out and agree to whose going to contribute cash, property, or services to the business. Also, agree to each partner’s ownership percentage. Partnerships who don’t outline these terms tend to fall apart when disagreements over who has to do what occur.

The third area most partnerships agreements cover is the allocation of profits, loses, and draws. This tends to be a critical area in determining the success of a business partnership. How will profits and losses be allocated? Will they be allocated based on each partner’s percentage of ownership in the business? How will profits be distributed and when? This is an area where each partner should pay particularly close attention to the terms their agreeing to.

Disclaimer: This article has been written for information and interest purposes only. The information contained within this article is the opinion of the author only, and should not be construed as legal advice or used to make legal decisions. Consult an attorney in your area if you’re seeking legal advice.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/national-state-local-articles/creating-a-business-partnership-agreement-contract-538739.html”

{ 0 comments }

How Can I Fix My Business Partnership?

by admin on March 25, 2010

I’ve found there are lots of people in a long standing business partnership who are not satisfied with the status of the relationship. They may feel stuck, frustrated, angry…or all of these. They know they’ve been silent far too long, but just don’t know what to do.

What can cause such a change in a relationship that started out with high hopes and good feelings?

Here are some of the situations I see most often. Do any of these apply to your partnership?

One partner feels like he’s carrying the bulk of the workload.

This may have happened because there wasn’t an agreement about who would do what. Job roles, responsibilities and accountability have not been discussed.

Expectations are not being met.

Expectations may be quite different for each partner. When expectations aren’t met, it’s a set up for negative feelings. It’s important that each partner knows what to expect from the others.

Partner has lost interest in the business or changed thinking.

Over time new attractions and options will continue to present themselves to all partners. When a partner becomes disenchanted with how the partnership is going, she is more likely to lose interest over time.

Can’t talk to each other.

Communication is so critical to maintaining a viable partnership. When partners get so busy doing their own thing that they can’t find time to sit down with the other(s), they will likely start to feel less engaged. An unresolved issue can also lead to partners being unable to talk about certain things.

It’s a wrong partnership.

Sometimes the partnership has been a bad match from the beginning, but it was maintained for a variety of reasons. When the primary reason for the partnership was based on personal needs more than on business needs, if those needs aren’t fulfilled, the partnership will flounder. Maybe one partner thinks and acts fast and the other wants to research things in great detail. These people may never be able to function well together. Basic behaviors and traits will not likely change even if the person tries.

Are any of these your concern? How do you open the subject of improving the relationship for the good of the company? NOTE: Even if you think it may be a wrong partnership, it’s worth making the effort to see if it’s salvageable.

Be proactive.

If you want things to change, it’s up to you to change them. Make the decision you’re going to break the status quo, but you’re going to do it strategically.

Be clear about what you want.

Start by thinking about what you want for yourself and the business. NOTE: Use the Partner Questionnaire to help you organize your thinking. You can ask your partner(s) to do the same and compare notes or you can determine what you think will work and present it to your partner for feedback.

Schedule time to talk business.

Once you have thought things through it’s time to schedule a time to talk business. Give your partner plenty of lead time and full disclosure about what the meeting is about. Let him get prepared for the meeting, but don’t let it be put off because he “doesn’t have time”.

Discuss actions you’re each willing to take.

Be prepared with actions you are willing to take. You can request or suggest actions from your partner, but leave the topic open for discussion and agreement.

Write a PLAN for agreed upon changes.

Once you reach agreement, set Goals for yourselves and the business. To keep things moving in the right direction it’s a good idea to schedule periodic meetings to iron out details. This is the perfect time to start the habit of regular planned communications.

Set a timeframe for evaluation.

Three months is a reasonable timeframe to see if the Plan is achieving the results you want. Schedule an actual time where you will sit down together to see what has been accomplished toward the Goals you set. If you see progress, you may want to give it another three months.

If your evaluation tells you there is no hope, it may be time to make that very difficult decision to end the relationship. If you can’t come to agreement or you’re clearly going in different directions, it’s probably time to part ways. Why waste any more time on a losing proposition?

Yes, it’s like breaking up a marriage. But sometimes it has to be. Rather than feeling defeated, congratulate yourself on gaining the freedom to move on to something better.

Take a good look at your partnership and decide if it’s time to take action. Start by downloading the Partner Questionnaire at www.primestrategies.com/partnerquestion, answering the questions yourself and then asking your partner(s) to do the same. Then plan to sit together and review your answers. It’s a great way to get the dialogue started.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/how-can-i-fix-my-business-partnership-284678.html”

{ 0 comments }

Business Start Up: Overcoming Your Fear

by admin on March 24, 2010

If you have been thinking about starting your own business for some time now, then you might be victim to a very common problem faced by many entrepreneurs. It is the fear of failure. When a person starts his/her own business, many questions go through his/her head. Will it work out properly? Will it be able to pay back the investments made while starting it? Will it last for at least some years so that some profit can be made out of it? Failure to answer any of these questions properly gives rise to fear in the mind. Here are some tips to clear this emotional blockade.

Use social networking sites: When in doubt, ask others. Follow this golden rule. Sign up with social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. These sites often have communities and forums dedicated to small business owners. Ask the experts how they started their dream ventures. Ask for tips on managing finance. When you find answers to your questions, your fears will automatically start fading away. Also, when you finally start your business, you can use these same sites to promote your business. For instance, if you are selling skin care products, dropping off a small advertisement at a women’s forum might boost your sales a bit. It’s worth a shot anyway.

Use Internet marketing: Before you even launch your business, start running a website on the Internet if you have the cash for it. If you don’t have cash to spare, don’t worry. Start a blog highlighting your business in blogging sites, such as, Blogspot, or WordPress. It’s easy to set up, and absolutely free. Create some pages or blog posts focusing on the type of products you will sell, or the services you will provide. When you finally start your business, you may find that some of your customers/clients already knew about your products/services through your site/blog. Nothing can be more satisfying than this.

Develop a website – When you finally manage to secure enough funds, do get a full fledged website to promote your business. This will cost some money, but can advertise your products/services to millions of people. These days, even a small home business should be promoted through a website. Remember, every sale counts.

These tips will help you to counter your fears that might crop up in your mind during that initial decision-making stage. Once you have conquered that fear and taken the plunge, achieving success will only be a matter of time.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/business-ideas-articles/business-start-up-overcoming-your-fear-704223.html”

{ 0 comments }

Rules of the Road for a Healthy Business Partnership

by admin on March 18, 2010

A business partnership demands the same care and attention needed to nurture and grow a successful marriage. As with a marriage, you are well advised to get to know who you’re setting up shop with before committing to the deal.
Partnerships are not appropriate for every business situation. The first rule of partnering – don’t partner unless there are good reasons to do so. A common misconception by newbies is that a partnership will lighten the workload and put them on easy street. Fact is, with more mouths to feed you might have to work even harder to meet any increased financial obligations.
In spite of the risks, here are a few good reasons why you might want to get into a partnership.
* To share the workload
* To attract someone with skills or knowledge you don’t already have
* To bring more money to the table
* To handle a job or business that is too large for you to manage alone
* To keep up with a rapidly growing business
* To keep a great person on your team by sharing responsibilities and profits
Here are nine rules of the road to keep in mind when initiating any business partnership:
1. Partner with people who have different skills than you, and clarify your respective roles.
2. Define your business vision together and as you grow, discuss and make any changes to that vision as a team.
3. Discuss your expectations of each other and the business, and particularly ensure the business can meet all partners’ financial, career and lifestyle requirements.
4. Assume nothing – communicate often, honestly and openly.
5. Before getting into business together, get to know potential partners well enough to know whether you have compatible values.
6. Research your potential partner’s work and financial history to get familiar with her track record. If a number of her previous engagements have ended in a cloud of law suits and conflict, you can be fairly certain that your planned partnership will too.
7. Negotiate and sign a partnership agreement – use the services of a lawyer to do this.
8. Prior to signing a partnership agreement, ensure that you and any potential partners can effectively resolve conflicts.
9. Be sure to include a shotgun or exit clause in your partnership agreement. Breakup of a partnership can cause disruption or even destroy a business. A shotgun clause can provide a process for a partner to exit in a way that is fair to all parties.
In summary, respect your business and all those involved by having a foolproof partnership agreement. Be honest and open with your partner, communicate often, keep your expectations realistic, and be loyal to each other. These things will go a long way toward building a successful and profitable business partnership.

Retrieved from “http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/rules-of-the-road-for-a-healthy-business-partnership-839064.html”

{ 0 comments }