Accepting a loan from the most respectable source of business financing–namely a commercial bank–is a mistake for some entrepreneurs, argues the author, who recounts the tale of her company’s demise subsequent to her signing a bank loan with overly stringent terms. She includes four pointers that can help you flag loans likely to go bad.
Entrepreneurs hoping to preserve wealth may want to avoid selling big stakes in their businesses to raise capital. The founder of a major mutual-funds company built his net worth by selling preferred, rather than common, stock.
Niche businesses either start with specific offerings for a discreet audience or carve out specialities within a broader base. Either way, entrepreneurs who operate niche companies must understand themselves, their goals, and their customers, in order to deliver marketing campaigns that are simple and effective.
Niche companies needn’t be intimidated by their large corporate competitors because even the biggest companies must be adept at marketing differently to discreet audiences, writes the author, who founded the country’s leading black-owned media concern. The solution is to stick to your specialty, maintain excitement with new ideas, and commit resources to expanding the brand.
In today’s extremely tight labor market, small-company employers must approach hiring just as they approach selling. To lure able and enthusiastic candidates, the author writes, a CEO should consider such steps as contacting reluctant candidates personally, offering equity compensation to augment salaries, and sending welcoming gifts like fruit baskets. Of particular note is a discussion of factors the author says “count” in the sales-whoops!-the hiring process.
If you think hiring is tough in today’s tight labor market, you should figure that retaining people is even tougher. To keep employees, small-company owners must provide more than just competitive compensation packages, the author writes. What really makes the difference is a CEO’s ability to communicate an organizational vision and to recognize the people who translate that vision into revenue and profit.
Entrepreneurs will find a host of business-building resources at nearby colleges and universities, among them books, brains and bodies, writes the author. Scour the libraries for printed materials, tap faculty for consulting jobs, and marshall students for research and staffing needs, he advises. In summing up, he offers valuable tips for getting acquainted and making the best use of campus resources.
Three dogs, two guys, and one 59-cent biscuit cutter add up to powerful national public relations: A high-brow bakery for dogs becomes the toast of prestigious publications and broadcast outlets (The Wall Street Journal, the cover of Forbes, People magazine and The Oprah Winfrey Show). In this engaging article, its co-founder serves up tips that are as tough as the business is winsome for your doing the same. Among the suggestions: massage that rookie from the local weekly.
Foreign markets enable entrepreneurs to increase revenue and expand markets, according to the author, who took her software company into Europe after only three years.
Doing business in the rough-and-tumble arena of underdeveloped countries involves adhering to global business basics, such as researching markets thoroughly, while coping with surprises, writes a veteran international entrepreneur who first took his company overseas three decades ago. In entering the “emerging markets,” entrepreneurs need to keep close tabs on how (and if) they will be paid, as well as on local managers overly eager to make sales.