Franchise – Page 6

5 Myths that Hurt Potential Small Business Buyers

September 14, 2010

Many potential buyers of small business dream of one day owning a business where they can hire people to do all the hard work and they can sit back, relax and collect money. They think of owning a small business as some form of nirvana to escape from the drudgery of everyday corporate life. It’s only when they get into it that they realize how difficult it is to own and operate a small business.
In this post we aim to identify common myths about owning a small business along with the truth the owners can expect to face.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Buyers, Management Tagged With: Business-Start, Franchise

5 Qualities of a Good Business Broker

September 8, 2010

Majority of small business owners use a business broker when buying or selling their business. A business broker takes the headache out of buying or selling process and lets you focus on your primary tasks. A broker also presents you with more and targeted opportunities that you cannot otherwise find yourself. One of the most important considerations when choosing a broker is whether he/she can help you sell your business at the highest possible price in the shortest time or buy a business at the lowest possible price quickly.
However, not all business brokers are created equal. There are good business brokers and there are mediocre ones.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Buyers, Management Tagged With: Broker, Business-Start, Franchise

10 Questions to Ask Buyer Business Broker

August 18, 2010

We mentioned in the previous post that you need to watch for several pitfalls when hiring a business broker to search for a suitable business. Buying a business is time consuming and tiring process. You don’t want to waste your and broker’s time looking for business that is not suitable to you.
So how can you make sure you are hiring the “right” broker for your needs? Below we have listed 10 questions you can ask the broker before making decision to engage him/her.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: Best-Practices, Broker, Franchise

Effective Techniques for Working with Buyer Business Broker

August 17, 2010

Many small business buyers hire business brokers to find a suitable business that is available for sale. Hiring a business broker makes the search easier. A business broker can search for businesses from the large database of available businesses and filter the suitable ones based on your criteria. In some cases, they can also help with the buying process, including document preparation and negotiations – particularly useful when you are new to business.
However, working with business broker is not without pitfalls. Typically, a business broker represents the seller. They make money from the commission paid by the seller – similar to real estate agents. This may cause them to keep seller’s interest ahead of buyer when there is a conflict.
Below we have highlighted several tips you want to keep in mind when hiring a business broker.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: Best-Practices, Broker, Business-Start, Franchise

Financing Problems for Small Business Owners

July 23, 2010

I came across this absurd news from Wall Street Journal yesterday about how small business owners are having problems getting financing from banks. To summarize, WSJ mentioned that many small business owners are denied loan applications for starting new business or business expansion. In some cases the business already had committed orders from customers and only needed money to ramp up production or hiring to start the work.
However, in almost all cases their applications were denied on the basis that they did not have sufficient cash flow to cover the payment. In the past, the business owners used to put business assets such as account receivables, inventory, equipments, etc. as collateral to get the loan. The valuation on these assets has declined in the recent downturn and is not sufficient to cover the loan payment.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Buyers, Finance, Management Tagged With: Business-Start, Credit-Card, Franchise, Loan

Do you know how well your business is performing?

July 14, 2010

If you answer this question with “Oh! It’s OK” or “Just like everyone else”; without backing that up with the sales, cost or profit numbers your business may be heading for trouble.
Whenever we meet with our business colleagues and clients we ask this general question to get a sense of whether the business owner has a grip on his/her business. Many times the answers are what we mentioned earlier. We probe them further by asking follow-up questions such as “why do you say so?” or “how is it compared to others or last year?” and if they don’t have good numbers to explain, we know they need to work on getting a handle on their business.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Finance, Management, Operations Tagged With: Cost-Management, Franchise, Metrics, Profit

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.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Management, Operations, Sales Tagged With: Cost-Management, Franchise, Pros-and-Cons

How can you beat large business with deep pockets?

May 12, 2010

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…
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Customers, Strategy Tagged With: Best-Practices, Customer-Service, Franchise, How-to

Welcome to Angel Business Advisors Blog

May 10, 2010

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Management Tagged With: Franchise