Over at MoreBusiness.com I was reading an article about “Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying a Business“. What I liked about this was the simplicity. It was right to the point, it was an easy to read list, and clearly defined where it was going.
When reading business articles, so many of the articles lose the point of where they are going. I feel the most useful articles are the ones that make valid points, keep it simple, and don’t go on and on with unnecessary information.
While it lists the benefits of buying a business such as an existing customer base, and disadvantages such as an image problem that may be hard to change, it then wraps it up with important pointers such as doing your research and the reason for the sale.
It’s well written pieces that give you the information you need in small digestible bites that I feel are the most relevant. Kudos to MoreBusiness.com for doing it right.
Check out MoreBusiness.com today and bookmark it; it’s a site you’ll return to on more than one occasion.
Have you considered starting your own business? Are you in the beginning phases of deciding what would be involved in starting a business? One of the most important steps in starting a business is having a path and goal of how you are going to get there. If you’re looking for someone to finance you, it’s essential. A business plan is your map of details of your projected business. It’s fine and well to think you want to open a store and sell clothing, but without a business plan, you’re missing out on big details that will be vitally important in getting you financed.
A business plan looks at not only a description of the business, but also the financial aspect, the marketing side of the business, as well as management issues. Where is your competition? How many employees do you anticipate needing to pay? What kind of insurance will be required?
When looking at your plan, this is a good place to see where something may have been left out, or may make you look at things more realistically. Will you need licensing? How long will it take you to break even? Will you file as a limited liability corporation?
When applying for financing, you also have to show you are a good credit risk. You’ll be bringing in your own proof of income from the last few years, as well as a business plan.
With the right planning, you’ll be on your way to a well thought out business that has a purpose and a goal.
One place to add to your list of bookmarks is the Small Business Administration. This is a must visit site when you are in business, or thinking of starting a business. They have multiple resources for people to access. In their marketing section you have access to publications such as:
Creative Selling
Marketing for Small Business
Research
Advertising….
and more.
The publications are available both in text format and PDF.
If you’re looking for more business resources, check out the government for information. Yes, I said the government. They offer a full list of resources that are just waiting for you to check them out. You can also then check out Business.gov for just about anything you can think of. Do you need a workplace poster? You can sort through their list. Are you looking for statistics for a report? Try going here. If it’s franchising you’re interested in, you can check this out.
Don’t overlook the government sites when you’re looking for information!
Often when you are looking for a specific form or piece of information that you need, you can find it online just by doing a simple search. It can save you valuable time to bookmark these sites for future reference, or print out information and file it for a later date.
Here are some sites that offer business forms, resources and tools:
CCH Business Owners Toolkit offers forms and samples of almost every type you can imagine for a small business.
Small Business Administration has a section on forms and useful information.
Entrepreneur.com offers you forms that will save you time and offer many different topics from leasing to franchises to accounting and more.
SmartBiz.com offers you a full page of forms on various topics for the small business.
The IRS has a bunch of forms and publications for the small business owner.
When writing a business letter, there are certain things that you’ll want to remember. Business letters should have a professional tone, rather than a friendly, personal tone you use in a letter to a friend.
Fist you must figure out who to direct the letter to. A letter that is directed to a particular person by name is much nicer than using “to whom it may concern”.
You should write a business letter in block text, meaning don’t intend the paragraphs.
The letter should clearly state its purpose, and not become too wordy. If you are requesting something, or have ideas to express, they should follow in the second paragragh after you’re explained your purpose of the letter.
Thank the person for their time and use a proper closing. Closings should be signed with a proper closing, rather than one that is again too personal.
A business letter should include your signature, so leave space over your typed name.
If you’d like to see a business letter layout, here are two examples.
Example 1
Example 2
