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Top Reasons Why Selling a Small Business is a Good Idea

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Selling a small business|Top Reasons Why Selling a Small Business is a Good IdeaIf you’ve ever considered selling a small business, look no further.

People sell businesses for a variety of reasons, but most of them revolve around getting away from something. While you may think that you’d only sell a business if you’re getting a lot of money, many people sell theirs because of personal issues.

Running a business is difficult, so you may find that it isn’t worth getting stressed out. You could also have a falling out with someone in the company, making it difficult to focus on what needs to be done. So how do you sell your business and justify it?
Read on to learn some of the top reasons why selling a small business is a good idea!

Avoid Potential Losses

One of the main reasons why people sell their small businesses is because they want to avoid losing revenue. A loss in revenue is bound to happen at some point in a company’s lifestyle, but it’s best to get out if the revenue is in a constant decline.

Several things can cause your business to start losing revenue. If there’s a shift in consumer interest for a certain product, your business may come out short. This is why it’s crucial to monitor consumer trends at all times to prevent this from happening.

Your business can also suffer if the economy declines. When an economy declines, people are more concerned with holding on to their money rather than spending it. In cases like this, revenue losses are inevitable.

While you can change your business up to try and keep the interest of customers, you could also sell it to avoid further losses. Understanding how to sell your business will make this process easier because you can get a lump sum of money instead of hoping your business turns around.

Seek New Business Partners

When starting a small business for the first time, it’s common to see an owner partner up with investors. Unfortunately, not all business partners are compatible, and disputes can make it hard for an owner to continue operating the business.

If you have business partners that are constantly disagreeing with your decisions, the best thing you can do may be to sell your business. While this is a drastic decision, you’ll have to do it unless you have the money to buy out your partners.

However, those partners don’t need to give up their share of the company if they don’t want to. Before selling the business, ask them if there’s something you can do to take over their shares. If they own large portions, it’ll be much harder to buy them out because they have a larger impact on the business.

Change Your Lifestyle

Running a business of any kind is tiring as it requires more time than a full-time job. When you own a business, you have to dedicate your lifestyle around it so that you can be prepared if your business needs something.

For example, if you own a retail store that runs out of stock for a popular item, you’ll need to decide what the appropriate action should be. If a plethora of customers are trying to purchase it, you’ll miss out on a lot of income if you’re not around to take action.
Should you decide that running a business takes up too much of your free time, you can sell it to help you change your lifestyle.

Instead of having to keep track of everything and work with business partners, you can start focusing on other things that mean more to you.

Health is something that many people have in mind when they answer the question, “Why should I sell my business?” While running a business comes with many benefits, it can also be deteriorating if you’re someone that wants to focus on your wellbeing.

Invest In Other Things

It’s best to expand your portfolio so that you don’t need to rely on one source of income. The best time to sell a business is when you decide that you’re ready to use that money towards other things. Many people don’t know what happens to cash when selling a business, but it goes directly into your bank account.

Selling your business will give you a plethora of cash that you can then use for things like stocks, real estate, and starting another business. Small businesses typically don’t cost too much to start, so you can most likely jump back into another one if you have an idea for something else.

If you do have an idea, it’s best to sit on it for a while until you figure out how you’re going to approach it. Should you decide to sell your business to help you fund another business, you’ll need to know how much the other business will require to start. From there, you can decide how much you want to sell the business for.

Consider Selling a Small Business Today

If any of the reasons in this article sound appealing, you should consider selling your business. You’ll get a lot more freedom to do other things and you can relieve yourself from stress relating to the business. All you’ll need to do is think about how you want to approach the sale.

Creating something like a “selling a business checklist” will help you put together a list of things to do when you’re ready to start selling a small business. You’ll need to think about how much you want for the business and what you plan to do with the money.
Check out our articles to learn more about running your own business!

5 Steps for Starting Your Own Manufacturing Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Manufacturing Business|5 Steps for Starting Your Own Manufacturing BusinessStarting a new manufacturing business can be a daunting prospect, but if you pull it off, there can be great rewards.

One of the most important things is that you don’t rush into it without being ready, and this means careful planning is needed. These five steps for starting a successful manufacturing business can help you on your way.

1. Planning

You can’t just go into business and hope things will fall into place, because they invariably won’t. Instead, you’ve got to plan your approach in as much detail as possible.

Some of the first things you need to think about are how you’re going to enter the market, where your competitive edge lies, and how you’re going to finance the venture. There are a lot of start-up costs associated with manufacturing, so you may have to come up with some innovative ways of financing your company.

2. Location

Where you locate your factory is going to play a big role in your business’s success.

Logistics play a huge part in manufacturing, and you’re going to want to minimize these costs as much as possible. One of the ways you can do this is by finding a factory in a location with excellent transport links.

Great transport links also make it easier for customers to get to you and your staff to get to and from work.

3. Personnel

When you’re starting a new venture, it’s vital you get the right people in to help you out. This is a critical time for your company, so you want to be able to rely on competent staff to help carry out your vision.

If you hire well and build a good, solid team, you start to breed a culture that will define your business for the years to come, but if you get your hiring wrong, it can lead to bad habits and poor-quality work.

The hiring process is crucial, and you need to be getting the right people in, something that has served this dowel pin manufacturer well.

4. Technology

You can only get the best out of people if you give them the right tools to do their job.

Investing in technology is expensive, but if you’re investing in the right technology, it’s going to make a huge difference to your efficiency and make your company more profitable.

It might mean a big upfront investment, but technology can make all the difference in your manufacturing business’s success.

5. Suppliers

We’re always talking about customers and rightly so: they’re the ones that help pay the bills. That said, suppliers play a big role as well.

If you can start to build good relationships with your suppliers right from the very start, they can stand you in good stead for many years. Your suppliers are one of the very first cogs in the entire manufacturing process, so it’s vital you can rely on them.

Really do your research and due diligence on suppliers and try to cultivate strong relationships.

How to choose a loan that is best for your business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article|Business Loan|How to choose a loan that is best for your businessWhen your business is in dire need of a financial injection, you might be tempted to apply for the loan in haste. People do that all the time not realizing the golden rule that “haste makes the waste”. By the time reality shakes them, it is often too late. They can’t do anything but bear with the scary consequences.

Smart businessmen take their time before stepping into this extreme decision. Because they know it can make or break their years of hard work. You should also take a leaf out of their book and choose the loan by carefully evaluating the following angles:

Be Crystal Clear About Why You Need a Loan

That’s the first and the most critical step at the same time. It is very important to have clarity about why exactly you need the loan because the choice of your loan will be based on that. Understand, there are different types of business loans for everything.

For example, account receivable loans might not be an ideal choice to tackle issues other than cash flow. Similarly, if you want to buy office equipment, you will have to stick to the loans which are modeled according to this very need. For acquisitions, refinancing or obtaining working capital, a credit union small business loan is a good option.

The takeaway message being, you should nail down the precise reason and purpose of the loan otherwise you will lose your way in the cobweb of multiple choices of lenders.

Consider the Duration of Getting a Loan

Well, some loans take more time in approval than the others. At times, businesses foresee the need for a loan and apply beforehand to avoid any delays. However, sometimes we are met by emergencies or it is simply not convenient for us to wait for weeks and need the loan in a matter of a few days. In such cases, fast loans swing into actions.
It is pertinent to mention here that if you have a good record of previous loans, you can save a few bucks on fast loans. However, generally speaking, these loans come up with easy and flexible process but they are comparatively more expensive.

For example, factoring is one of the main types of fast cash. But there are multiple factors will affect your invoice factoring rate such as your industry, size of invoices, creditworthiness and so on.

Estimate the Amount Needed

It is equally essential to know how much money you actually need. Many people apply for the loan just to get as much money as possible. This approach is sure to backfire in the long run.

Even if your documents are in good shape and you can easily be qualified for the bigger finance, still you should not transgress the amount you need. Because businesses have their ups and downs so why take a risk that does not make any sense?

That being said, you should also not apply for an amount so small that you become cash-strapped in the middle of a project. Therefore, be watchful while calculating the costs of your assignment. To be on the safe side, consult an expert who can estimate the right amount for you.

Shop Around

Once you are done with the above steps, it is time to seek a lender. The majority of the borrowers tend to settle for the nearby lender. Just because it saves them time and energy. That’s a non-starter. The best way is to shop around and compare rates.

Better still if you ask for suggestions from your friends. Being affiliated with a trustworthy lender comes up with a cushion.

The Last Verdict

It is important to qualify for a loan but it is even more important to get a suitable loan – the loan of your liking. There is no use of getting a loan that does not seem fit for your end goal. A bad choice of financing is more likely to haunt you in the big scheme of things.

Asking For Help For Your Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Advice|Asking For Help For Your BusinessUnless you’ve gone into business with a partner, friend or relative, then you’re going to be feeling like you’re a little bit alone in your new business. Rome wasn’t built in a day. However, you must ask for help whenever you need it, whether that’s hiring the right people for the work that you need to do within your business. Or whether that’s asking a relative to pick up the kids from school once or twice a week while you can get your work done. You do not want to burn out in your first year of business, so here are some ways in which you can get help, stay ahead of the game, and ensure the best results for you and your business.

Advice

This is likely going to be something that you would’ve thought of before you even start your business, you have no doubt completed your market research, spoken to people in your field, and maybe also completed courses and online training. But once you’ve started the business and you’ve begun to realise where your weaknesses, and strengths are. You can then begin to speak to people to find out about specific help that you can receive for yourself and your business. Don’t forget many people before you would have started businesses and come across all sorts of obstacles. So it makes sense to be able to draw from their advice and their experiences. Not everybody is going to want to help of course, but if you ask around speak to people in Facebook groups, go to networking events, and find people that are happy to help you along the way. You will find you’re in a much better position. No matter where you are in the world, there will always be somebody, either a friend or relative or an organisation that has been set up purely to help new businesses.

Home

You really don’t want to get the balance wrong between your home and work life when you set up your business. It can be easy to become submerged in everything that you need to do to reach your goals. But if you’re working too late or you’re not keeping up with the basic how’s work, then you may need to reassess what you’re doing and when. It doesn’t hurt to hire people to do certain things for you, such as cleaning, or making sure that your shopping is delivered on time. If you’re keeping everything running smoothly, how are you doing that is entirely up to you. There is no shame in asking for help from friends or family on occasion either.

Finance

Asking for a bank loan isn’t just about not having enough money or bad management. Having a cash injection at a certain point in building your business will ensure that you’re able to reach your goals quicker. If you talk to the bank and they give you a low-interest rate then as long as you aren’t paying a tremendous amount of interest, this can be an excellent business decision. It can feel like you’re asking for “help“ however, it is a business transaction like any other. It isn’t difficult, and you can even use websites that compare business loans, and give you all of the information that you need to make the best decision for you and your business. Marketing can cost a lot of money, especially at first, so people do put a large budget towards this, especially when hiring professional services such as a marketing consultant. Depending on your business type, you may even need to hire a consultant for the business side of things such as cannabis consulting nationwide, of course, this goes into your budget as anything else. And you must consider your finances carefully when making such decisions.

Staff

Various different businesses have different needs, but essentially most need a team of people, some companies only need one or two people, and some businesses need a large team even to get the necessary work done. This would have all been in your business plan to start with, but it is essential to make sure that you have the correct people in the correct places. Hiring staff isn’t necessarily asking for help but making sure you have the right people that can help you; it’s going to make your life a lot easier. Training the staff and making sure that they are comfortable and happy in their role will undoubtedly help you in the short and long term. A lot of staff members who feel appreciated and cared for will go over and above and also go out of their way to help you.

Outsourcing

Certain aspects of running a business, will be time-consuming and not always easy for you to get your head around it first, that’s not to say you can’t get them done however it’s still good to outsource certain aspects of the admin. To free you up to do more important things within the role. An accountant is usually the first thing that people choose to outsource, finding a great accountant can be a lifesaver, ask around and find out who people recommend in your local area, and see if they can provide you with excellent bespoke service too!
Other things people tend to outsource our social media management, web design, graphic design, marketing and unless your business is created based then most of the creative side of the company is headed up by someone else.

Once you overcome the initial fear of asking for help and realise it isn’t actually feeling it’s just making sure that you’re able to keep on top of everything, then you will find the help and support comes from various places. Do you want to help people yourself in the past and being able to return the favour is something that most people are keen to do, so let them have the chance to repay you, and don’t see accepting help as any sort of failure. The best business people have a great team of support and are thriving because of it.

Fund Your Dream Company! How to Get a Business Loan Without Fail

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |how to get a business loan|Fund Your Dream Company! How to Get a Business Loan Without FailNo matter what your reason is for starting your own business, you’ve got to figure out how to fund your business. Unless you’ve got a nice nest egg and are ready to part with it, you probably need to learn how to get a business loan.

Many small businesses take out business loans to get the capital they need to start up their business and even pay for day-to-day expenses. Don’t get overwhelmed with the thought of taking a loan out.

Continue reading this article to learn about getting a loan to help you get your business off the ground and flying.

The Simple Truth About How to Get a Business Loan

Getting small business loans or other types of loan for your business doesn’t have to be daunting. After you read these tips, you can go through the process without worrying.

You don’t want to apply for a loan before the lender will approve your request. The more requests you have on your credit, the more of a risk it makes you look like.

Determine Why Your Business Needs a Loan

Lenders aren’t going to take “because I want it” as a good reason for why they should lend you money.

Before you speak to a lender, you need to have a solid reason why you need this loan. The more specific you can get about the reason why you need the loan for your business, the more likely the loan officer will see your vision for your business.

How Much of a Loan Can You Afford?

You shouldn’t decide to take out a loan for as much as possible. Before applying for the loan, you should know how much of a loan you can afford.

If your business cash flow isn’t enough to cover the loan repayment, your business and you could come into some serious problems. You should check to see when loan repayments are expected.

Some companies require that you repay them every month and others even require that you repay them every two weeks. Make sure to check the terms so you know when your payments are going to be due as well.

Create a Solid Business Plan

When you were going through the reason that you needed the money for your business, you likely had to work on your business plan. The more solid your business plan is, the more comfortable a lender will be with loaning you the money.

Depending on what you need the loan for, the loan may have different terms. Write out what you foresee happening with your business. You shouldn’t leave out any important details or numbers that will back up your plans.

What Is the Current Financial Status of Your Business?

If your business is already in operation, it will be easier to get the loan. When your business is already in operation, you have some proof that you know how to do business.

Before applying for your loan make sure that your credit history is as spotless as possible. Lenders are likely to review your personal credit history and that of your business as well.

If you look at your credit report and see there are errors or old debts that haven’t been deleted, you need to request to have them taken care of right away. If you have derogatory items on your credit report it will either cause the lender to deny you or charge you a much higher interest rate.

Besides for your credit report and score, lenders are also going to look at your business cash flow. If you have a strong cash flow then lenders feel confident that you’ll have the means to pay the business loan back according to the agreed-upon terms.

If your credit history and cash flow aren’t enough to get the loan, you should look into what collateral you have to offer. If you have something that will secure the loan, the lender is more likely to trust you with their money. If you don’t pay the money back then they get whatever it is that you put up for collateral.

Look at Your Lender Options

Don’t let loyalty keep you broke. It is important that you look at multiple lenders and see what kind of rates they will offer you.

Even if you’ve done business with a certain bank for years, you might check with online banks and see if they have better rates. Since online bank’s overheads are lower, it is easier for them to offer lower interest rates to their customers.

Prepare All Necessary Paperwork

Putting all of your necessary paperwork together can take quite a while. Make sure you don’t miss any important forms or your loan may be delayed or denied.

If you’re getting a USDA or an SBA loan then you might need to fill out paperwork for the government as well as for the lender in question.

There may be some differences in the loan application process but generally, you’re going to need to include your business plan, financial statements and also your cash flow information.

You may need to provide further documentation if what you provide is deemed to be less than satisfactory.

Learn More About Business & Leadership

Now that you know how to get a business loan, you’re good to go and ready to launch and/or grow your business. Why stop learning now?

Bookmark your favorite parts of our blog so you can come back for more great reads later.