theentrepreneurialmother.com.au

HAPPY entrepreneurial MOTHERS DAY to YOU…

theEmother — Sun, 13 May 2012 05:00:14 +0000

Congratulations on another fabulous year!
(If it hasn’t been so fabulous, then lets talk.)

I love this time of year.

Daughter and I have our tradition now where we sit down and mindmap our goals/dreams for the coming 12 months.

Exhibit A (to the left) is last years offering. I can’t wait to dig into it and see what we “asked” for, and what we got! Then we do the same thing for the next year…

A most rewarding way to spend Mothers Day morning, for both of us

With Ecommerce being Hotter than Ever, be part of the (R)etail (R)evolution…

theEmother — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 03:42:32 +0000

Exactly as predicted by e-gurus 15 years ago, e-commerce is hotter than ever. Whether in mature markets, where consumer spending is shifting online, or in growth markets where rapid urbanization and increasing (mobile) internet penetration are unlocking new shopping habits, shoppers are ‘e-commercing’ it up.

Some obligatory stats:

US e-commerce sales will grow 62% by 2016, to USD 327 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).

European e-commerce sales will grow by 78% by 2016, to USD 230 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).

Brazilian e-commerce sales will grow 21.9% in 2012 to USD 18.7 billion (Source: eMarketer, January 2012).

Chinese e-commerce sales were CNY 780 billion (USD 124 billion) in 2011, an increase of 66% from 2010. E-commerce is expected to rise from 3% of consumption to 7% by 2015 (Source: IDC, March 2012).

India’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to USD 70 billion by 2020, from just USD 600 million in 2011 (Source: Technopak Advisors, February 2012).

Indonesian e-commerce sales are forecast to grow from USD 120 million in 2010 to USD 650 million by 2015 (Source: Frost & Sullivan, February 2012).

Now, consumers’ current ‘online’ experiences are of course fundamentally different to those during the early dotcom boom: e-commerce is no longer just about choice, price, convenience, reviews and ratings, but also about everything that consumers look for in any purchase: status, the right product and a compelling experience.

So, time to learn about and profit from the latest innovations that are transforming e-commerce, and ultimately, reshaping shopping behavior. Both on and offline. Click here to do so…

Source: www.trendwatching.com. One of the world’s leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.

‘Follow the Money’ Business Lessons from the Apollo Bay Music Festival…

theEmother — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:18:17 +0000

The Apollo Bay Music Festival seems to reinvent itself every year, and this year was no exception. Whilst I could spend time discussing the pros and cons of such a move, the 2 key “Follow the Money” lessons revealed to me were far more pedestrian than that. To explain…

1. A talented, young, dread-locked, guitar-playing busker was doing his thing in the main street. He had captured the attention of a few of the dawdlers, us included. As it happened, the crowd was slowly but surely building. It started to rain. He was under shelter, as were his listeners. All were morphing into a very nice little groove. And then he announced it was his last song, and stopped. Just like that.

The lesson:
When you have a captured audience, don’t stop playing.
If, how you make your money is what is thrown in your hat sitting out front, then don’t stop playing; at least not until the rain stops. Nobody was moving around, so its not like the replacement or the organisers were hot on the tail…

2. After experiencing a fabulous midnight musical collaboratory treat, the following day, the crowd were hungry to keep it alive and purchase their memento to take home. When I was in the Merchandise tent around 3pm, there seemed to be some confusion. The showbag, together with the CD, badge and sticker were not being sold as expressed the night before. Oh oohhh, how many had been asking and not being able to purchase?

The lesson:
Always ensure the money trail is locked and loaded before playing!
I know for many artists, “it’s not about the money man”. But you know what, at a festival like this one, it is. With this festival being one of the few that do NOT take a cut of the purchases, that’s more in the musicians pocket. To leave many sales flagging is just not kosher, and is certainly not smart business.

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, always follow the money to ensure that it is flowing into your pocket, where it should be, and not leaking into the ether…

The Unasked Question: How Do You Run a Company?

theEmother — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:04:08 +0000

“Just ask someone today this simple question: ‘How do you run a company?’ Invariably, you’ll be met with a blank stare. Because nobody ever asks that question. Because no one expects that there’s an answer. Yet it may be the most important question we need to answer if we want to grow our businesses and fix our economy.”

By Dick Cross for ChangeThis.com

Stop Selling and Start Storytelling…

theEmother — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 01:57:04 +0000

“After a lot of thought, it’s pretty apparent to me what the most valuable overall skill is for future CEOs and world changers—the ability to tell a story. We live in a world where we are sold to hundreds of times a day and have become ridiculously blind to those trying to sell us something. But we’re always up for a good story.

Storytelling is what made us love the advertisements in magazines that, as children, we would rip out and put on our walls and asleep under with inspired awe. Stories are the most powerful form of inspiration and persuasion in the world.”

By Jason L. Baptiste for ChangeThis.com

The 7 reasons why Business Owners sell the business…

theEmother — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:38:47 +0000

Recently, Business Brokerage Press released a study on reasons businesses were sold. They determined, based on the results of that study, that the reason an owner would sell a business had a direct effect on the probability of their business selling at all. Brian Mazar, CEO of American Fortune Mergers and Acquisitions, shares his comments (and issues a challenge) on the released information.

The study listed seven reasons a business owner would state to a potential buyer about why they were selling a business. These reasons (and there probability of sale) were:

retirement (30-35%)
health problems or a death (25-30%)
partnership/family problems or divorce (15-20%)
burn-out/other business investments (15-20%)
under-capitalization (10-15%)
insufficient profits (5-10%)
profit motivated (0-5%)

In every sale there are two perspectives a buyer considers. The first is their emotional involvement in the deal; how do they “feel” about the business. The second perspective is how successful they think the business will be once they own it. The key, according to Mazar, is to have them feel good about both perspectives. Read on…

Twelve Gentle Rules: How a Couple Can Live Together Peacefully When One of Them Is an Entrepreneur…

theEmother — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:48:42 +0000

“Clearly, when it comes to business-building, some degree of obsession is required—or soon the business won’t be around to obsess about. The problem arises when entrepreneurs try to simultaneously enjoy a thriving family life while they are growing a successful company. Business-building introduces the obvious pressures that arise when free time is scarce, but the financial risk and uncertainty also become sources of tension. Combined with the classic entrepreneurial personality—the tendency to need to be the boss, to make the decisions, and to go it solo—the entrepreneurial life can be difficult for spouses to endure. At the very least, this cocktail can introduce resentment and friction into the relationship.”

These 12 gentle rules go a long way in making the cocktail an enjoyable one… By Meg Cadoux Hirshberg for ChangeThis.com

Ten Must-Do’s When Selling Your Business via a Broker…

theEmother — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 05:47:20 +0000

Using this great article from the Boston Post (Ten Must-Do’s When Preparing to Sell Your House) as a base, I’ve adapted it to fit in regards to your Business…

1. Hire a trusted, experienced Broker. (Full disclosure: I am one.). A great broker is worth the commission, which, after all, is built into the market pricing. Good brokers know how to market and price a business, know the other agents, and should be able to offer valuable insider information.

Plan to interview three or four candidates. Don’t make decisions based purely on what listing price suggestions they give you. Hire a straight shooter. Ask to see references and the past 12 months of their sales. The market data will tell them and you where the business should be priced. Whoever you hire should be guiding you through the preparation process, including most of the below suggestions.

However, make no mistake. Even though you are the one that has initiated the contact and is looking to hire them, if they think they cannot sell your business, they won’t take it on. Seriously!

2. Insist on a professional marketing campaign, and budget money to pay for it. Look at their marketing materials for other businesses. Are the photos good enough to be in a newspaper or magazine? They should be pretty close to it. How good is the quality of the presentation materials? How well presented is the “story?”.

3. Does the broker actually know how to write decent marketing copy? Do they spend money on going above and beyond the norm? Are their materials clean and professional, or are they cheesy and fluffy? For example, are their head shots more prominent than photos of your Business?

4. Listen to your Broker when they give suggestions on how to ready your Business for the market, including bringing in an Exit Strategist (Full disclosure: I am one.). Try as hard as you can to look at your Business with objective eyes. Check other comparable businesses on the market in the price range. No doubt you will feel your Business is far superior than all of them. But you will be wrong. Try to look at them as a buyer with X amount of dollars to spend. Don’t justify a premium on your Business; instead try to figure out why as a Buyer you might look for reasons not to buy your Business versus the others. Make improvements and updates and/or adjust the price accordingly. Your Broker should certainly be tactful, but they should also be honest. You are hiring the Broker as an impartial set of eyes and a trusted adviser.

5. Once your Business is on the market, though, your Broker should be no longer impartial. Your Broker is there to get you the highest possible price, with the best conditions, in the shortest amount of time possible. Think of your Business now as a new product being launched. Your Broker is the marketing team and the head of sales. Their Broker colleagues are the sales force. Their job is to educate and motivate the sales force. If there is a buzz and if the Business is priced well, they will be in their cars and on the phones calling their clients and telling them about the Business as soon as possible.

6. Motivating Brokers is primarily a function of price. But you must put your best foot forward. Think what is the best bang for the buck and do some “renovation”. Maybe it is about painting. Paint hides age. Paint refreshes. Paint modernizes. Paint cleans. Or for a service Business, what is the equivalent of a paint job?

7. For the love of Pete: Wash the windows! or again, the equivalent

8. Do as much as possible to boost your appeal. At the very least, get all your paperwork in order, “shine” anything that can be shone, have everything ship-shape and to hand that a prospective buyer will probably want to look at.

9. Have an Exit Strategist do an “inspection”. But if you are not prepared to fix everything an Exit Strategist advises, you better be prepared to disclose the newly discovered flaws.

10. Tour your Business with your Broker, who should have already been on hundreds of inspections and should know enough to warn you about what may or may not be a potential problem from a buyers point of view.

If you have been lax in some areas, you should price the Business accordingly or prepare yourself to possibly have to re-negotiate when the Buyer uncovers issues. And your Broker should be able to help you judge how reasonable such requests are. Basically, if another buyer is likely to ask for the same thing, you should be prepared to take care of it or a cash adjustment.

Strategy for Personal Success is Just as Important as for Business…

theEmother — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:25:10 +0000

“Just as we need strategy for business success, we need to plan for successful lives. Without one, we allow all kinds of forces to push, pull, twist, and turn us into mental and emotional pretzels. Our inability to say ‘no’ pushes us into time-wasting activities; a lack of strategic direction allows us to be pulled down a career path we never wanted; good intentions to volunteer in the community are twisted into negative comments when we’re not able to meet the time commitments; and we’re emotionally turned around when the relationship we let wither finally ends.”

Strategy for Personal Success: Discovering Your Purpose By Rich Horwath for ChangeThis.com

Generating Repeat Business…

theEmother — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:16:53 +0000

When was the last time you spent any time with your Client List and really thought through the relationship you have with each and every one? Never is not the answer I’m looking for! Now would be a great time to start…

“For any enterprise to thrive, you cannot underestimate the importance of repeat business. The vast majority of senior executives believe that providing good customer service is sufficient to obtain return customers. However, focusing on the service interaction alone is not always enough to generate repeat business; it’s building an emotional connection that becomes the loyalty glue.”

Generating Repeat Business… By Richard Shapiro for ChangeThis.com