3 red flags: Be smart with your lease if you may sell your business
One of our most popular guest expert articles is “Ready to Sign Your Lease, But Your Landlord Has Work To Do?” by Cliff Ennico. Readers check it out every day. Cliff offers some extremely good advice for business owners as they enter into a new phase of an existing business or the establishment of a new venture. However, for some business owners, there are other, more forward-looking, considerations. If you think that you may be putting your business up for sale within the period of your new lease, you need to take a wider view of the lease details and look at it from the perspective of a potential buyer. Here are some things to consider: Term. If you plan to sell, how likely is it that your buyer will want to keep your operations in all their current locations? For example, if a competitor or the owner of a related industry were to buy your business, that person might want to consolidate operations and close one or more of your current locations. An iron-clad, long-term lease would tend to put off that buyer, or at least exert downward pressure on the sale price. Transferability. Can your new lease be transferred to a new owner, and if it can, are there any other stumbling blocks related to this issue? For example, if you’ve been in the same location for a long time and have merely “renewed” your lease under its original terms, there may be some “baggage” in the lease that you’ll want to drop. For example, it’s not uncommon for new renters to be required to “personally guarantee” the lease. That could make you personally responsible for the lease after you sell the business. In a similar way, there may be language that gives the building landlord the right to approve the new owner or renegotiate the terms of the lease when it is transferred. These situations can cause significant problems during the sale that result in a price reduction, delay, or both. Responsibilities. If you have a long-term relationship with your landlord, you may have developed some casual understandings about “who does what” with regards to common expenses associated with the property. These don’t really “transfer” when you sell. Buyers will want responsibilities to be clearly defined, otherwise they are, in a sense, buying a “pig in a poke” and could find themselves responsible for unexpected expenses. When it’s time to renegotiate your lease, don’t get lazy and just pencil in a new rent and term. Look at it from the perspective of a new buyer and also from your position, should you decide to sell. If you have any inkling that you might put your business on the market, talk to an expert, such as a broker or lawyer familiar with business sales in your area or industry. A bad lease can weaken your position or even scuttle a...
read moreIs your state in the top 10 for online business friendliness?
Almost every week we see a new article with a headline like “10 best cities for startups” or “10 most business-friendly states.” Frontier Communications, the digital, long distance, cable TV, and Internet service provider, just released their “Top 10” list and it has a specific focus that makes it interesting: 10 Friendliest States for Online Business. To pay special attention to the attributes that make an area more promising to online businesses, Frontier weighed five factors: Technology. They considered the state’s average megabits-per-second (Mbps) speed, as well as public access to broadband internet and technical support. Demographics and Population. They looked at population totals, gender percentages, and median household incomes while conducting their research. Workforce and Education. What’s the percentage of those offering Bachelor’s and/or advanced degrees? What are the minimum wage and unemployment rates? Economic Climate. Factors here included the state corporate sales tax rates, corporate income tax rates, number of SBA loans given, and how many local businesses were launched and closed within a calendar year. Cost of Living. What’s the average home cost in each state? Are the real-estate taxes manageable? How burdensome would your energy bills be? Here’s their ranking: Virginia ranked highly for its technological capabilities and its high quality workforce, and the state already has a strong business friendly reputation. (More on that below.) Washington has many economic averages that are better than the nation as a whole, including income. It also has no corporate income tax. Low unemployment, home to many high-powered companies, and a hotbed for tech startups propel this state. Oregon ranked very highly for its technological capabilities and its commitment to internet access for all. It’s huge, a long-time hub for global businesses, is virtually unparalleled for technical capabilities, and has a strong economy. District of Columbia: Lots of foreign capital, an educated workforce, strong economy, and an “agreeable” cost of living. (I should probably also note here that D.C. isn’t a state.) Lots of Ivy League schools nearby and a very corporate tax friendly state. Working hard to provide great Internet access. Strong economy, excellent tech capabilities, and Red Wing (the city, not the hockey player) is trying to become a tech hub like Austin and Silicon Valley. Low unemployment, a well-educated workforce, and a commitment to improving its tech capabilities. When I see these top 10 lists, I’m often surprised by how much they can vary. In some ways, the criteria selected can be arbitrary. Take cost of living for example. We know that the cost of living in California, the District of Columbia, and parts of Virginia are sky high, yet they do quite well on this list. In fact, a high cost of living typically correlates to a well-educated and tech-savvy population, where wages are high. To shed more light on the conclusions of this list, I decided to cross reference it with Forbes’ 2016 list of best states for business. I think that any state listed on both the Frontier list and the Forbes list, must certainly have a lot going for it. So, here are the winners of double honors: First on Frontier, sixth on Forbes. Second on Frontier, ninth on Forbes Third on Frontier, first on Forbes (for the second year running, by the way). It’s also interesting to note that California...
read moreThis week in small business: Africa, online dating, walking, and the oncoming recession…
This week’s collection includes entrepreneurial encouragement from Africa, important SEO guidance, a strong case for clarity (and walking!), tapping into online dating strategies, and much more. Leadership, management, and productivity Annie Pilon succinctly outlines 10 little things you can do to tweak your small business for big business results. Do you have clarity? No, really, do you? Check out Ann Latham’s article on how disclarity is killing your productivity before you commit to an answer. Sara Gilbert delivers an essay on practical “steps” to success. Literally. She suggests walking! I appreciate contrarian views and that’s what Steve Dennis gives us when he makes the case that e-commerce isn’t retail’s biggest disruptor. Patrick Bet-David teaches the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and personal development and in this Entrepreneur video, he talks about 12 ways smart people fail at business. Liz Elting makes a strong case for creating women-friendly workplaces in her Forbes article. Marketing and sales Are your customers in love with you? Maybe you need to steal a few marketing strategies from the online dating industry, as detailed by Joshua Pompey. If you need a quick overview of the important pillars of SEO, Ankur Shah offers it in his ValueWalk article. And while we’re on the topic of SEO, you need to hear what Aleh Barysevich has to say about defending yourself against negative SEO. Brooke B. Sellas asks – and answers – the question, “Is the ‘be everywhere’ approach a smart online marketing strategy?” You don’t need big-name influencers to make millions online through influencer marketing, says Jonathan Long, the founder of Market Domination Media. Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation Do you want your next business venture to be online? If so, Parker Davis has five ideas to get you started. Wanna-be founders are always asking about grants. Deborah Sweeney offers advice in her article on the GoDaddy blog. In this episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, Kimberly Aya talks about how she got her rental cakes into 1,000 grocery stores. (Yes, I said rental cakes.) Stop following your passion when it’s a dead end, says Deep Patel, on his way to busting seven big success myths. I’m not Nigerian royalty looking for someone to help me claim millions of dollars, but I would like to steer you toward Victoria Onehi’s article detailing how many (40 percent!) Nigerian women are becoming entrepreneurs. And if you need more entrepreneurial encouragement, check out Kevin Kruse’s article on four real-world secrets to entrepreneurial success. Politics, government, and the economy Despite the gridlock in D.C., Jake Rennie says that Americans are still optimistic about the economy. But are they wrong? Conor Sen speculates on how the recovery will...
read moreUber failure and the primacy of company culture
One of my favorite Despair Demotivator posters is titled “Mistakes”and it pictures a sinking ship with the tagline: It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others. It’s not a new idea. In one of the oldest books in the Bible, Deuteronomy, it says, “You will become an occasion of horror, a proverb, and an object of ridicule to all the peoples to whom the Lord will drive you.” I’m wondering if that’s how Uber’s former CEO, Travis Kalanick, has been feeling lately. After a long series of startling public revelations about Kalanick’s bad, boorish, and sometimes contemptible personal behavior, the young gun had to resign in shame. He first tried the standard “leave of absence” ploy to buy himself some time and get positioned to retake the helm. However, it seems that investors wouldn’t stand for it and they soon pushed him out. Bad boy, bad culture I’m sharing this story because it illustrates a flip side of the “company culture” story we have often told on these pages. I’ve pointed you toward a variety of companies, praising their positive culture, and making the important point that culture starts at the top and has to be carefully cultivated. The culture at Uber has, apparently, been the opposite of positive. Currently it’s being categorized as Animal-House-Meets-Unicorn-Tech-Startup. The label most observers are giving its culture is “frat boy.” Kalanick famously ripped into an Uber driver like a spoiled brat and, of course, the video made its way onto the Internet. An internal memo from Kalanick outlining the do’s and don’ts governing inter-employee sex-capades on a company outing was also published on the social media. This kind of behavior from the top sets the tone for the rest of the team. The bottom line While a healthy culture can do a lot to position a company for success, a bad culture can set it up for failure and this is what investors were beginning to see. Writing for Tech Crunch, Connie Loizos details how Uber’s value on the secondary market is slipping. While investors have given it a $68 billion value (on paper), actual secondary market trades put it at $50 billion. Further, as Uber’s fortunes are sinking, things are looking much brighter for its main rival, Lyft. Loizos reports that the Avis of ride sharing recently received $600 million in new funding. Quick question: Do you think the leaders at Lyft have learned a few things as they’ve watched Uber self destruct? I think they have and I’ll fall off my soapbox if I ever hear of similar transgressions at Lyft. Universal lessons You should learn some things from Kalanick’s travails as well: Be cordial, friendly, supportive, and encouraging to employees, but don’t cross any line that would make your behavior unprofessional. There is no such thing as private correspondence today. Kalanick – and President Trump – have learned this the hard way. Be tough, but don’t be a jerk. Don’t abuse your position or think that you’re too big to fail (or be replaced). Fail on any of these and you can do severe damage to your company culture, and this damage will eventually bleed over into your potential for success. Don’t make yourself a living warning...
read moreEnhance your success: Take your dog to work.
Today is Take Your Dog to Work Day. The annual event was founded by Pet Sitters International to encourage employers to consider the benefits of pets in the workplace. Head over to their website and you’ll find a downloadable action pack that gives you a ton of background, great ways to convince people of the event’s worthiness and planning tips. There is a considerable amount of research that shows allowing dogs in the workplace reduces stress, enhances morale, increases productivity and ultimately profitability. ?Some studies show that it also creates more collaboration at work. It could also improve the health of your team. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites dozens of animal experts who report that pets can decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as increase opportunities for exercise and socialization. As one former Google employee noted that bringing his dog to work helped keep his energy up, brought joy to co-workers and helped him meet people he probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. Many small businesses are becoming pet-friendly work environments as a unique benefit they can offer to their employees. Small companies can’t compete with the big benefit packages larger companies offer, but there are a lot of animal lovers who would prefer being able to bring their furry companion to work to a big package of perks. So how to you make this work in your small business? Get Your Team on Board. First, you have to get buy-in from your staff. Check with your employees to make sure their aren’t serious allergies or people who are simply afraid of animals. Then you’ll need to establish guidelines for your pet-friendly program. Here are some things to consider. Types of Animals. You may not make the program available open to all types of animals. Do you really want someone bringing in their beloved pet Boa Constrictor? Make a list of what types of animals are allowed. Also, prohibit sick and dirty animals, and pets that aren’t socialized. Size may be an issue, as well as behavior. Dogs that are constantly barking may be a disturbance for your team. Establish Appropriate Areas. Not all workplaces are conducive to a pet-friendly environment. Establish parameters as to what areas of the office pets will be allowed. You may want to create pet-free zones — areas that are off-limits to pets. Small Dog Electronics in Vermont allows dogs in the warehouse area and corporate offices, but not in the retail store. Customers may not be appreciative of your furry staff Clean up. Pets should be house-broken but accidents happen. Make sure employees understand they must clean-up after their animals. Keep appropriate cleaning products on hand in your office. Trained or Contained. To keep dogs from getting out of control they should be trained to stay with their owner or they should have a travel bag the animal can rest in should the owner need to leave their work area without their pet. My dog has a little Sherpa travel bag he loves. Insurance Coverage. Check with your insurance agent to make sure your insurance coverage would protect you from liability should someone be injured by an animal in your workplace. Policing. Create a committee to police the program. Some companies have a three strikes you’re out rule. If...
read moreContent Marketing/SEO Success: Two Places to Gather Business Intelligence
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Microsoft Office for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. Ready! Fire! Aim! The order of those commands may seem patently silly, but frankly, they capture exactly what many small business owners do when they work with content marketing campaigns and search engine optimization (SEO). First we need to quickly explain that content marketing and SEO are, in many ways, “kissing cousins.” Good content marketing campaigns – especially those that involve posting articles to your website blog – will help improve your website’s position within search engine results pages (SERPs). But what’s required to make a “good” content marketing campaign? Good content? No. “Great” content, and creating great content starts well before you ever put one word down in whatever word processing software you use. Unfortunately, most small business owners I talk to believe that if they have a “good idea” for a blog, they just need to get to their computer, pour it out and post it. That’s “Ready! Fire!” There is no “aim” in that sequence. So the question becomes: How do you “aim” your content so that it is effective for content marketing and improving your website SEO? Answering this question moves us into an area of business intelligence. If you don’t approach content creation by first doing your homework and gathering accurate business intelligence, you’re simply rolling the dice on whether or not your content will do anything to improve your SERP or sales. There are two basic areas where you need to gather business intelligence when you’re about to create a content marketing/SEO piece, such as a blog article: * What attracts your prospects, and * What works for your competitors. You should have website history that tells you which content best attracts prospects and customers to your site. What pieces of content have logged the most views? Dig a little deeper when you answer this question. You might find that you have some content that isn’t at the very top of your list of popular articles yet, but it consistently brings in readers or viewers. When this happens, it means that the content is pulling in people without being supported by a crash social media promotional campaign. In other words, people are finding it organically. You may have discovered a “diamond in the rough.” If you create more content like this, promote it, and cross link it to the original content that you discovered, you may find that you’ve released the (organic website) Kraken! The principle here is simple: Find what works and do more of it! But this means that you need to spend a good amount of time looking through your website history before you ever start writing an article. If you invest this time, you should be able to come up with a list of promising article topics. For my second point above: What works for your closest competitors should also work for you. Your competitors may have found some keywords or topics that interest your prospects that you haven’t yet developed on your website. Buzzsumo SimilarWeb There are paid versions of these, but you can gather some good business intelligence on your competitors with their more limited free tools. Use them to discover the most popular articles in the...
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