Pros and Cons of Multi-unit Operations

May 25, 2010


Many of the business owners who expand from a single unit to multi-unit operations fail and even end in a worse situation than before. It’s human nature to think of a simple math – if you are making $100K from one unit; you should be able to make $200K from two, right? They may go even further thinking that the outcome should be more than $200K when you include all the synergy you can derive from multiple units.
Even though there is some truth in this argument the reality is operating a multi-unit business is hard work. You need to think long and hard before expanding and consider the pros and cons of multi-unit operations before making a decision. Below I have tried to highlight some of the key points to consider in terms of the benefits and pitfalls.
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Filed Under: Management, Operations, Sales Tagged With: , ,

Does Your Business have Social Media Strategy?

May 24, 2010


If you don’t have a strategy to deal with Internet and social media you might be in a danger of losing lot of business. Just look at this article in Detroit Free Press past Saturday. To summarize the article – a student from Western Michigan University claims his car was illegally towed from his apartment complex by the tow truck company. He created a Facebook page to fight with the towing company and attracted 11,000 “fans” on the page; who joined him in the revolt saying they too had similar complaints against this company. The result was that that towing company lost half of its commercial accounts.
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Filed Under: Customers, Marketing, Sales, Strategy, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Do NOT Hire a Close Friend to Work in Your Business

May 20, 2010


Here is an advice for all small business owners – DO NOT HIRE FRIEND OR RELATIVE TO WORK IN YOUR BUSINESS, if at all possible. I know it sounds harsh and may be even counter-intuitive. After all, in small business you need someone who you can trust with your money and who else would be better suited than a close friend or a relative who you know very well and can trust.

I am not arguing with the benefits of having a trusted friend or relative in the business who can watch for your good. However, you have to weigh this against the downsides that come with it. From what we have seen and experienced the downsides exceed the benefits; which calls for avoiding the situation, if possible.

So what are the problems and issues that come along with the hiring of a close friend or a relative in your business? Wall Street has good examples of the problems here. Here is my list based on my experience and that of some of our business colleagues:
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Filed Under: Employees, Management Tagged With: ,

How to Make Partnership Work

May 19, 2010


Statistics show that more than half of partnerships usually end up in failure. This is a reason enough to discourage many would be partners from getting into business with partners. However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Given sufficient precautions the partnerships can not only avoid failure; but can thrive.

There are a number of successful partnerships at a larger scale that have worked well. For example, the triumvirate at the helm of Google – Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt has grown the company’s sales to more than $23 billion in 2009. So what makes a partnership successful and how can you use it in your situation? Below we have identified several traits of successful partnership from our own experience and that of others.
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Filed Under: Buyers, Management, Operations Tagged With: , ,

5 Reasons to Establish Partnership

May 17, 2010


The failure rate of businesses with partnership is much higher than those managed without partnership. So why would anyone want to get in the partnership? Despite what statistics shows there are some valid reasons why you should consider establishing partnership. As I mentioned in my previous blog there are pros and cons of partnerships. As long as you take steps to make it work you can get what you want out of partnership.
Here are 5 reasons why you should consider getting into partnership. In some cases there may be multiple scenarios depending on the situation and number of partners involved.
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Filed Under: Buyers, Finance, Management Tagged With: , ,

Pros and Cons of Partnership

May 13, 2010


Many people would love going in the business with a partner for variety of reasons. At the same time you will find equal number of others who hate the idea of working with a partner and losing independence. What is it about the partnership that brings different reactions from different sets of people? In this article we will highlight the pros and cons of being in a partnership.

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Filed Under: Management, Operations Tagged With: , ,

How can you beat large business with deep pockets?

May 12, 2010

Customer Service
It is not only possible to fight with large business; but to win big in this battle. Are you the owner of small business that is fighting for customers and sales with the big, national chains? How do you win the battle when you know you are outnumbered in every way? I just found out how one such business is doing one customer at a time.
I was at the auto mechanic shop the other day to fix the coolant leakage on my old car. The service I received there made me think what it takes to make a first-time customer come back for the rest of his life. Let me explain…
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Filed Under: Customers, Strategy Tagged With: , , ,

Is this a good time to buy a business?

May 11, 2010

This question keeps coming up in many conversations with existing business owners and prospective ones. In almost all situations I encounter two diverging opinions. In one camp you have those who say the economy is so bad; consumers are spending very little money, banks are not lending and many other issues facing small businesses today. In the opposing camp there are those who say this is the best time to start a business because you have many businesses for sale at good price, your business will be ready to take advantage when things start looking up and so on.

These conversations remind me of a story of two shoes salesmen who are sent to an African village to explore business opportunities for shoes. One salesman goes to the village and finds that nobody is wearing any shoes. She sends a message to the headquarters – stop this project. No one here wears any shoes. The other salesman goes to the village and finds the same situation. However, she sends an urgent message to the headquarters saying – crank up the production in full force. No one here wears any shoes. As you can see the opportunity is in eye of a beholder!!!

Many of the well-known businesses of today were started in bad times.
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Filed Under: Buyers, Strategy Tagged With: ,

Welcome to Angel Business Advisors Blog

May 10, 2010

Angel Business Advisors
It was more than a year ago when I sold my small business to focus on family and personal life. The journey for me had started 5 years before that and it was a heck of a ride. I saw many ups and downs – challenges, opportunities, excitement, frustration all wrapped in one package. I know most of you are thinking – “Are you talking about you or me.”

Since the time I sold my business I have been inching to go back those exciting days  – something that would give back to the small business community I dearly love and share my experience and knowledge with those who may still be enjoying the ride or thinking about jumping on board.

And so I am jumping back in the small business world with this blog along with my consulting / advising business. This blog is about small business – be it in the form of a franchise or stand alone operation. I plan to cover a variety of topics that are on top of the mind for all business owners. These include; but not limited to, financing, purchasing, marketing, operations, customer service, employee relations, and overall management of small business. In short, this blog is targeted to the Chief Everything Officer of a small business – YOU!!  If you are an existing business owner or thinking about starting a business you will benefit from this blog.

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Filed Under: Management Tagged With: