It’s that time again…time for New Year’s resolutions. Every year seems to go by faster and faster, there seems to be no time to make plans for your business and take the time to improve your business. But, there is. There has to be. It’s too important to bypass. To celebrate 2009, the following is a list of 9 valuable New Year’s resolutions to help you grow or start a business.

1. Save money. Now, more than ever, it is important to manage your company’s finances. Find innovative ways to cut costs, but be careful not to cut out critical activities such as marketing and networking that keeps your business top-of-mind with customers. With today’s online communities, there are many ways to market effectively without spending too much money.

2. Embrace change. Face it – change has already begun. The economy is changing, we have a new President, and laws and regulations for small businesses are about to change. Do your research and understand these new laws and how it will affect your business to make the necessary changes you need in order to keep a positive cash flow.

3. Grow. Frankly, this should always be a resolution for business owners. If your business is in a struggling industry, figure out creative ways to introduce new opportunities. Whether it be launching a sub-division that performs well, or starting another company to supplement your current company, be open to ideas. During a recession can be the best time to start a new business because suppliers such as web design and credit card processing services might have cheaper rates. Take advantage of these opportunities and you can survive and grow during the tough year, while competitors fail.

4. Seek financial advice. Getting a line of credit or increasing your credit limit may be difficult this year so it is important to meet with a banker, CPA, accountant, or other financial advisors to discuss alternative options to help manage cash flow. Factoring and merchant cash advance are two alternative resources for companies that have been in business for a few years.

5. Listen to your partners, customers and employees. Listening. It’s what our grandparents taught us when we were young and we slowly forgot. However, when you listen - truly listen - to your partners’ and customers’ needs, your company can address any issues and work together to make a profit during economic slowdown. Your employees are actually smarter than you think and if you can listen to their ideas before you provide a response, you might land the next profitable product.

6. Build relationships before you need them. I can’t stress this one more. Our economy goes in cycles and will pick up so take this time, especially if it is slower for your business, and re-connect with professional social groups. Get online and not only join network sites such as LinkedIn, but participate.  There are also many specific professional networking sites you can join for your industry. For example, legal professionals can join EsqChat and JDSupra and woman business owners can become a member of Ladies Who Launch.  Just ensure you use these social networking sites effectively, not just as a way to plan happy hour.

7. Be brave – take risks. There is no question that 2009 is going to be a challenging year. It’s going to take courage to get through the year and it’s going to take risks. You must be able to evaluate risks and be brave enough to take them when necessary. Often times, risks turn out to be the best business growth facilitators.

8. Improve your technological skills. I know, I know, it’s tough to learn that stuff and it’s tough to change. But, too bad, you have to. From simple everyday tasks to entire corporations going paperless, technology is taking over. You must jump on the bandwagon if you want your business to improve. Learn software programs, PDA functions, video applications and more. Use online assistants and conferencing. By expanding your skill-set, or knowing the right places to look, you’ll save money and optimize time.

9. Get organized. Whether it takes remodeling your office, buying file cabinets, investing in management software, buying a PDA or smart phone, or something else, you should do what it takes to become organized. The most successful CEOs got there because of time management skills. If you don’t know how to answer the phone and type email at the same time, you’ll never manage 20,000 employees. When you are organized, you not only remember to attend meetings, but you’ll have the time to create an agenda so the meeting accomplishes your objectives and is on-time.

For more advice, or a customized road map to help start or grow your business, visit our StartMe Up program where we provide tips, guides and everything you need to grow your business in 2009.

Here are the 5 most important aspects of the business that investors want to read about in your business plan:

1) That The Company Has Focus

The company has clearly defined its business and can state it in a single strong sentence that says it all. Yes, your plan probably will have a more expansive description in its executive summary but you need to open your plan with that one simple declaration to show the clarity of your vision for the business.

2) That The Market Has Potential

The company has a large existing market for its products and services. If your company does not have significant growth potential then it is probably not going to be of interest to many equity investors. If you are shooting for debt based capital that may not matter most to them (market stability would be though so keep that in mind if your plan is geared towards raising debt based capital); but to an equity investor growth is of paramount importance and the size of the market signifies the opportunity potential.

3) That The Company Has Specific Solutions For Their Market

The company has identified what its customers most need and has created a value proposition for them to make it a simple “buy” decision. If there is nothing unique or distinct about your company’s products/services then you do not have a defensible position in your market. Defensibility of your market position is of key importance to investors and funding sources.

4) That Customer’s Show A Readiness & Willingness To Buy From The Company

In an ideal situation, the company’s customers have a recurring need for their products and/or services, with a reasonable sales-cycle and opportunities for premium up sell of additional products & services.

If you don’t have customers ready and willing to buy now … then that does not bode well for interest from most investors and funding sources. If your market is a long-term development type of proposition then your company will need to prove that it is truly a disruptive business model that will have people flock to it once it is functional. Its not so much “if you build it will they come” but rather “if you build it will they buy?”

5) That The Company’s Main Dynamics Are Strong

What are the main dynamics of a company? Simply put it is two components: a sellable product/service and a management team that can run the business well. Investors and funding sources want to know that the company has created unique solutions superior to their competition. And that the management team consists of smart people able to deliver products/services to their customers, control expenses and make a profit … repeatedly.

* * *

If you create your business plan to address the above; then you are ahead of what most people end up with in their business plan. Weaknesses (dilution) caused by putting too much of the wrong content and not enough of what mattes most, kills interest in a company’s plan. It’s the answers to these 5 important aspects that investors and funding sources find most interesting. How well you answer them will affect the outcome of your search for capital.

In my next post I will get into how to use these 5 as your guide for creating (or revising) your business plan to make it an optimal document that says what it should. Be sure to watch for:

How To Really Get Your Business Plan Read (by investors & funding sources)! Learn how to create the type of business plan that investors and funding sources will enjoy reading and will take action on.

Dennis Lowery
Adducent, Inc.

If you are reading this, chances are that you are looking to make a change. Perhaps you are looking for a business to start or perhaps to buy … something to create a better lifestyle, with more opportunity and more money for you.

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For many people it’s the money that drives them. But being passionate about making money can drive you to take on things or get into ventures with only the thought of the money driving your decision.

Is the money important? Absolutely!

Is how you make it important? Yes, if making your life more comfortable is also one of your goals!

This factors in because if you started or bought a business that is capital intensive and/or heavily regulated and competitive you could find out that the business became the worst high-pressure job you ever had.

You do want to choose an industry that is growing but any industry or market that is growing fast is probably also a highly competitive one (and may become increasingly so). Unless you have a lot of money behind you it is better to think tactically than strategically about entering such a market.

The same can be said for starting or buying a business that you are unsuited for.

If you are not a “people” person then you may not want to buy or start a business that calls for you to interact frequently with people. If you are not comfortable in a sales role then do not start or buy a business where your success is tied to your personal sales efforts. One thing to keep in mind here; as a business owner you are always going to have to perform some level of “salesmanship” for your business. So understand this going in so that you are prepared to accept that as part of owning your business.

I tell clients and people that I talk with about starting or buying a business to be methodical in how they approach either one. Don’t jump ship, leave your job and pin all your hopes on something (the business you plan to start or business you buy) trusting that all will be well. Sometimes they aren’t.

I’ve been successful in several businesses (from writing, publishing, manufacturing to business services) but have also had flops. That’s normal experience for someone who’s been an entrepreneur for 26 years. Often you learn more from your failures than you do the successes. Odd but true.

Here’s how to learn from those things that don’t work out and use them to find the right business for you:

1. Take the elements of the things you have tried in the past that you spent time and money in exploring as business opportunities but that did not work out (and do this also for your current job).
2. On a sheet of paper draw a line down the middle of it. On the left at the top of the page write “Bad” and on the right top write “Good”.
3. For each thing you have tried and your job, list out the bad and the good aspects of it; the bad will constitute the determinants of why it did not work out for you or why it did not make you happy or fill you with any passion. The good are the positive elements that helped offset the bad but did not carry enough weight to make it work for you.
4. Once you have done that look at what you’ve written. Take a new sheet of paper and transfer all the good things to that page. This becomes a profile of the things that were positive that you need to look for in a business or opportunity that may present the most attractive and suitable scenario for you.
5. Now with your “Good” profile in front of you, take the market or industry that interests you, think about how you can utilize those good aspects in a business of your own serving that specific market or industry. Make notes about the different businesses that you can start or buy that have those good aspects to them. Those should be your focus.
6. Once you’ve done that calculate what I call your Personal Economic Burden (all your monthly personal expenses that you need to pay to live: mortgage, rent, insurance, food, utilities, car payments, etc.). Total that up and add 20% to it (10% for miscellaneous and at least 10% for savings). Take that total amount multiply by 12 and divide by 365. That is the daily amount your business must generate for you to be “comfortable”. We’ll call that the “Comfort Number”. That’s not making you rich but if you achieve it; it will give you a solid foundation to build on so that you can make even more money.
7. When you have that daily number and with it in mind, review your notes from number 5 above and research to determine if you feel that business can generate what you need to meet your Comfort Number. If so, then that is a business you should focus on starting or in finding to buy.

Take some time to think things through – never jump blindly or go off on a path that you’re not reasonably sure is going to lead you to where you want to go. The above steps will help you.

Good luck and best fortune to you (and fortune favors the prepared)!

Dennis Lowery
Adducent, Inc.