Type of Business: 2018

Open Or Closed Book? When It's Good Sense to Tell the World You're Selling Your Business

If you are considering selling your small to medium sized business, you no doubt want to ensure you get your business marketed to the right people and as clearly as possible. Many businesses rely on total discretion and confidentiality when they go up for sale, in fear of losing a client base, a reputation or even stock market value. However, there are many instances where it would help your cause a great deal if it was well known that your business is up for sale. Let's look at some good examples of when it is most likely safe to make a big noise about your sale and ensure your business gets noticed on the marketplace.

The obvious industry is the food sector. If you run a search on the major business for sale portals, you'll instantly see that there is a whole minefield of cafés, diners, restaurants and take away outlets up for sale. These kinds of businesses change hands quite often and are a good business to sell because in most cases, they already have a footing in the local area, are known by the local residents and should already have a loyal customer base.

More importantly though is the fact that anyone becoming aware of this kind of business being sold will make very little negative impact. In fact, when a restaurant or café changes hands, it can have the opposite effect and create a new positive, fresh outlook for customers new and old. With so many on the marketplace, there is a lot to choose from so any potential suitor effectively has the upper hand because they have so many options available to them. This is why in a situation such as this, you need to make as much noise as you can. For every café up for sale in any town or city, you can count several others will be too. Businesses such as these change hands often because they require a very intense level of dedication from the owners. Some go into running a business such as this with a great deal of optimism and enthusiasm, only to find that its really hard work and too much to take on. Within a year or two, they've had enough and are ready to move on. Sound familiar?

If this is you, then you are not alone. Any business in the food industry is tough graft and like every other business in this sector that is up for sale, you need to ensure your marketing doesn't reflect this and that your business for sale appeals to these fresh, enthusiastic and energetic individuals. So if you have an advert online or are about to embark on advertising your business, try to spend some time getting your advert up to scratch.

Take some good quality photos of the premises. But make sure you clean the place first and make it look great. Remember, you're selling a dream! Also, take the time to get your figures in order, especially profit margins, turnover and any other information that will help really sell the dream to the next owner. If you want to sell your business in an already saturated industry sector, you need to make some serious effort. One big push will help you sell it faster. So don't put an advert online with only a few poultry lines of text. Really give the full details and take as many pictures as you can to give any interested parties a real feel for the place.

And finally, don't get greedy. Have your business valued correctly and put it on the market for what it's worth. If you need some advice on this area, read another of my articles that covers business valuations and how to price it correctly.

Selling a business is a tough task and it is time consuming. But if you want to get it sold, you need to put in the time and effort. If you are based in an area surrounded by other businesses, it might not be such a bad idea to tell your neighbours of your intensions. They may know someone who is looking to open a business such as yours. Your direct neighbours may even want to buy you out of your business so that they expand their business across your premises. The more people who know, the more opportunities that could arise. If you are certain that disclosing your intensions will have little impact on your business then tell the right people. Get on the search engines and start submitting adverts to the business for sale directories.

There are numerous examples of businesses that I have seen up for sale and quite clearly are happy to disclose the business name, location and price. Why? Because it sometimes pays to get it out there so that word can spread fast that an opportunity for someone else could be waiting around the corner. Example businesses include petrol stations, convenience stores, pubs and clubs, small boutique stores, shoe stores, take away and sandwich bars. Even tourism related businesses.

The One Question That Many Small Business Owners Fail to Honestly Ask

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are hard working with 70 to 80 hour workweeks. Yet sometimes these industrious, enterprising, individuals believe their sweat equity is equal if not exceeds actual dollars and cents. The reason for this gap between what is believed to be true and what is actually true is because there has not been a succession plan based upon an objective business valuation.

Recently I interviewed Mark Machnic who is not only a CPA, but holds additional credentials including CVA, CFFA, CFDP and CDFA and is the principal for Business & Matrimonial Valuation Services, LLC of Schererville, IN. Mark's expertise allowed me to ask him a series of questions specific to these two often ignored aspects of small business management:

Business valuation

Succession planning

Why is it so important to understand business valuation?

"Most people do not understand the true value of the business. From my experience, people think the business is worth the net income any given year. They fail to take into consideration the goodwill aspect of the business, past earnings, and projected future earnings. Also, the process of valuing a business involves comparing the subject company to its industry peers by utilizing various databases."

What part does business valuation play within succession planning?

"The business valuation can be used as a benchmark for succession planning. The projections made within the valuation can be used as a trigger mechanism for recruiting the most qualified employees and for helping train current employees for advancement into more responsible positions. The valuation can be used to set goals based on projections of future earnings."

What is the most consistent misunderstanding that business owners have respective to the value of their business?

"Most business owners do not take goodwill into account when valuing their businesses. They tend to focus on the tangible hard assets instead of some of the intangibles such as goodwill. They also focus on the current income of the company, not taking into consideration past earnings or the future outlook of the company."

Besides not knowing what their business is worth, what is the second most common mistake you observe with business owners and executives?

"From a valuation standpoint, business owners do not understand how to add value to their business. The goal of a business owner should be to build a successful business that will attract numerous potential buyers. They need to know how to increase the value of their businesses and also to "keep the house" in order at all times. A business owner never knows when someone will come in and make an offer."

Finally, what are some issues within the current economic environment that will require business valuations?

"Business owners or those in management roles may be looking to merge or sell during tough economic times. If the economy is causing a negative effect on a business, the owners look at their options. During tough economic times, the number of qualified buyers tends to decrease, making it more difficult to sell a business."

When you, as the small business owner, know the actual worth of your company, hire the best of the best (because your company can demonstrate that worth) and continually add value to your business, then you can be the Red Jacket in the sea of gray suits. Not knowing may place you with all those other failed businesses and you become one of the many and not one of the few to succeed.

Five Inconvenient Truths About UK Business Plans

I am a business advisor so I talk to a lot of business owners and it constantly astounds me how many do little or no planning. In the UK business plans are still not considered core tools for running a sound business. Without a plan, or at the very least an income, expenditure and cash flow forecast, it is very difficult to know how well your business is currently performing, let alone where it is headed.

Writing a business plan need not be a huge chore, there are plenty of good software programmes around, which usually include ready made business plans, to give you a head start. There are also plenty of professional business plan writers eager to assist. So why is it that the following five truths still prevail?

1. Many UK companies simply do not have a business plan

Not having a plan is like walking around in the dark without a torch. You may get where you are going but it will take longer and you will probably trip over several times on route.

I recently helped a business move from being loss making to making a good profit. All I had to do was forecast income and expenditure figures. It immediately became blindingly obvious that, unless my client put up his prices, he would continue to fail. A small price increase, against existing client accounts, soon sorted out his problem.

If he had an active, simple financial plan, which he could easily have put together using a good business planning software programme, he would not have got into difficulty in the first place and would have saved money by not needing my services.

2. Start-up businesses are often too optimistic in their income forecasts

We all tend to be over optimistic. There are plenty of high profile, high value projects that ended up with a price tag many time greater than the initial budget forecast - the building of the Channel Tunnel or the Millennium Dome (now the O2 Arena in Greenwich) are just two examples. Getting input from professional business plan writers is one way to deal with this problem.

Having an active plan also means that you can monitor actual performance against your plan and take action if you see that things are going off course.

3. Business owners do not know what is in their business plans

This can happen when professional business plan writers are brought in. The plan they create is fabulous, it secures the funds the business needs, but all too often the business owner never really understood what was in their plan, so it is of little ongoing use and their business risks going off track. If you hire in professional business plan writers ensure you understand what they have said about your business and that you know how to monitor your performance against your plan.

4. Start-up companies do a bad job of identifying their target markets

Perhaps one of the most tricky elements is identifying your target markets. It is not necessary to do lots of research but it is important to think deeply about what you know about the people who will buy your products and services. Who are they? How old are they? How wealthy are they? Where do they live? What do they like and dislike? Where and how to they currently buy similar services and products to those you will be providing?

If you have worked through the above questions and based your marketing strategy and sales forecasts on what you discovered, your plan will be stronger. If you also devise mechanisms for monitoring performance, based on the knowledge and assumptions behind your forecasts, you will have a much greater chance of improving your sales forecasts and marketing strategies, as your business develops.

5. Once UK business plans are written they just collect dust somewhere

Too many UK plans are filed on the 'don't bother to read this ever again' shelf. A business plan is a tool for managing your business performance. It needs to be kept up to date and used as a monitoring tool. If you took the wise decision of investing in good software to write your plan, you will have built in monitoring tools as part of the package. This makes it easy to monitor actual income, expenditure and cash flows against your plan, which is essential if you want to avoid unwelcome surprises or even failure.

In the current economic climate it is essential for all businesses to have plans and all UK business plans should be live documents. Time invested in developing your plan is only of value if you use your plan as a monitoring tool to help you manage your business. This is even more important in the current challenging economic climate.

Why You Need a Business Lawyer to Help You Start Your New Business

You've decided to start a new business. Congratulations! Where do you go from here? Do you hire a business lawyer or do you need an accountant? An accountant will certainly help you with your taxes when you are ready to do so. But how do you decide what kind of entity you should be? You've heard of limited liability companies, but you're not sure this works for your business. Everyone seems to have an S-corp. Is this what you need? What you really need is to find a good business lawyer. A good business lawyer will help you understand the myriad decisions you will need to make for your business and will help you to start off on the right track.

Depending on the type of business you have and the number of investors in your business, you will need to talk with a business lawyer about entity formation, copyright or trademarks, insurance and other ways to protect your personal assets. The money you invest in a good business lawyer at the beginning of your business, will save you significant money down the line. Here are a few ways a business lawyer can help you:

1. Entity Formation. In California, we like to advise our new business owners to form an LLC - a limited liability company (unless this is not available for your type of business, such as a licensed contractor). The main reason is simple: experience shows that most small businesses will not hold annual meetings and keep minutes. Failure to keep up corporate formalities as a corporation can have devastating effects. A creditor can "pierce the corporate veil" and a court could find you personally liable for the corporation's liabilities. With an LLC, the failure to have meetings and keep minutes is not considered a reason to pierce the corporate veil in an LLC. A good business attorney will talk with you about the type of entity right for your business and assist with setting up the company correctly.

2. Trademarks. If you work hard to come up with a name or design a logo, don't you want to protect it? By filing for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you can protect that name or logo. And a business lawyer will help you to understand the important of doing this first - rather than waiting until you have established your business. The worst thing you can do is spend a lot of money marketing your brand, just to find someone else has registered that name - or a similar name before you.

3. Contracts. Contracts for each small business is a must. Some people feel that they can download contracts from a website, but do you know who wrote the contract? Do you know who it was written for? What state law applies? It is not a good idea to start your business with a contract from the internet. Let a good business lawyer prepare the contract you need for your business. Intellectual Property. Is your business a media, design, or another type of creative business? If so, you will find it much easier to deal with trademarks and copyright protection registrations if you have a lawyer. Even if your attorney does not normally handle intellectual property, they will have referrals for you so you can find the right intellectual property specialist for your business. Normally, these will be people the lawyer has worked with before and can recommend based on prior experience.

4. Insurance. Insurance is required for a business, but it is not enough. You need to have a business entity to protect your home and personal assets. Hiring an attorney for your small business may not seem to be a requirement if you're not facing any legal battles. This is not true! You want an attorney who is familiar with you and your business, so if you do end up in a legal mess, they'll be able to smooth it out. Hopefully, before it ends up in court.

5. DBA. Some people use a DBA for their business name. This is good to have and a business attorney can help you with the filings required.

It is crucial for new business owners to hire a good business lawyer to assist them in setting up their business. You want your business to be successful, so be sure to start off with the advice of someone who understands what your business needs.

How To Start An Online Business and Some Online Business Ideas

With the state of the economy and thousands of people around the globe losing their jobs every day alternative sources of income are becoming more and more popular. The purpose of this article is to direct you to the right information that will teach you how to start an online business. Also I am going to leave you with some online business ideas as well as tell you things that you should avoid.

The internet is growing at a phenomenal rate every single day. There are over 700,000,000 people that have access to the internet daily. So with all the online businesses in existence we have only just scratched the surface of this incredibly fast growing behemoth. There will always be plenty of room for anyone that wants to learn how to start an online business. I hope this article helps inspire you to come up with some online business ideas of your own.

I have been on the internet marketing for approximately 2 years now and I am here to tell you that it gets more exciting every single day. I can hardly contain myself when I think about all that is going on with the internet and the changing economy. I know people become apprehensive and afraid when they think about the state of the future economy however I cannot help but be ecstatic. The reason for this overwhelming feeling of euphoria that I experience daily is not only a positive attitude which helps by the way, but the knowledge that the economy has always gone up and down usually in 7 year cycles give or take a few years. Also is my belief that where we are going is exciting and filled with unparalleled opportunity. Let me explain.

What we are going through I believe is what is called a paradigm shift. The world we live in has been and continues to become an information based society. The way we communicate is almost instantaneous in most cases due to technology and the internet. We can talk to people anywhere in the world in mere seconds with our computers and an internet connection.

That is the beauty in learning how to start an online business. Here are some of the benefits.

Unlimited Income Potential

Absentee Ownership

Freedom To Live Anywhere And Anyway You Want To (provided you have internet access)

Inexpensive Start Up Costs

Some Of The Best FREE Training Available If You Know Where To Look

You Control Your Time And Income

Easily Work From Home

Unlimited Supply Of Prospects

These are just a few of the benefits. There are many more of course as you will find out for yourself if you decide to head out on your own internet adventure. The possibilities are unlimited. You never know from day to day who you are going to meet. The world you experience on the internet is so much bigger than the world we go out into as a general rule. You can go anywhere in the world you choose in a moments notice. You will meet people all across this huge planet of ours. Below are some online business ideas designed to get you thinking about what you want to do and maybe come up with some ideas of your own.

Choose Your Niche

The first thing you need to do in your endeavor to learn how to start an online business is decide what your niche is going to be. There are 1,000's of things you could possibly do online. Affiliate marketing, network marketing or MLM (multilevel Marketing), eBay, ClickBank. ClickBank deals in all digital products such as e-books etc. You can sign up for an account and become an affiliate of the different products they promote. You could also create your own product. My personal niche is network marketing because I like the walk away income potential. The hottest things that sell on the internet are software and e-books.

Find The Proper Training And Support

The next thing you will need to do is find the right place to put your trust in for the correct training and support to help you learn how to start an online business. You can Google online marketing training. Just be very careful because I know this is hard to believe but there are those who just want to make money off you and do not care about your success. However there are many good marketers. Here are some things to watch out for

Wild crazy income claims: Make $12,248.56 in3 days etc.

No real product behind the promotion. Get details of the product and how it will be used

No congruent message. They use gimmicks to get you to click on their ad and when you get there what they are selling you is something totally different than what they lead you to believe.

No good iron clad guarantee. I know this is questionable however anyone serious business person should be willing to stand behind what they are selling 100%.

No testimonials. This too is something to watch for because there are those who get paid to give testimonials

The main thing to remember is that you have to do your due diligence to find that one individual that you feel comfortable with to train you. Go to a lot of sites and you will eventually see the ones that are good over and over again. See if their testimonials are verifiable. When you decide on one then stick with that one until you learn what you need to before going on to another otherwise you will end up with tons of e-books and courses that you download and none are used and you are even more confused than when you first started out. Keep everything you download saved to a file with that programs or the trainers name.

Another Thing To Remember is do not opt in to every offer you see that promises you to make a fortune online especially in an incredibly short period of time, not that that can't happen but that it is unlikely. Any business takes time, work and some investment. The internet is no different however you can start a business easier online than offline with a very small investment if you get the right training from the correct source and the rewards of owning an internet business as opposed to an offline business are phenomenal. You can start an online business and succeed. Like any other business it is a skill that can be learned. Realize that it will require some investment just like any other business also.

Do not make an investment in hosting for your website, when you are ready, or any other tool in learning how to start an online business that you are not sure you can keep. Once you start don't give up and just keep at it and I promise you will make money if you do what they tell you to do, but don't start opening 100's of e-mails from tons of offers you have opted into and get discouraged and not do what they ask you to do and then blame the teacher. Follow a system and you will be successful. Also support from your spouse is essential if you want to be successful in your efforts to learn how to start an online business.

I will have more articles that will further expound on what I have already written with more ideas and do's and don't's in your endeavor to start an online business.

What we are going through I believe is what is called a paradigm shift. Go to http://www.taketheleap.com/define.html for a fantastic explanation of a paradigm shift. The world we live in has been and continues to become an information based society. The way we communicate is almost instantaneous in most cases due to technology and the internet. We can talk to people anywhere in the world in mere seconds with our computers and an internet connection.

That is the beauty in learning how to start an online business. Here are some of the benefits.

Unlimited Income Potential

Absentee Ownership

Freedom To Live Anywhere And Anyway You Want To (provided you have internet access)

Inexpensive Start Up Costs

Some Of The Best FREE Training Available If You Know Where To Look

You Control Your Time And Income

Easily Work From Home

Unlimited Supply Of Prospects

Home Business Opportunity Lead: Best Way To Earn Money

Home Business Opportunity

Home businesses are one of the best things which can be done easily in this period of rescission. Nowadays we can easily see lots of people who are unemployed and searching for some relevant source where they could earn some money and become financially free. This small post is written in order to help all those people who are looking to start up their own business. I must introduce with this home business opportunity lead which is gaining attraction of lots of young peoples who are looking for jobs.

How To Get A Good Home Business Opportunity Lead

If you are going to start your own business then you must require a good business leads in order to get quick success. These home business opportunity lead are the mind source through which you can get a good start. Remember a good business lead is highly recommended for a good business in the starting.

Importance of these business leads

One of the main benefits of these business leads is that they offer you initial push which is required in order to establish your firm. Home business opportunity lead helps you to guide with the best possible solutions of your problem. The owner of the business must be a hard worker and must have patience in order to handle the complex situations as in successful business, starting hard work and investment matters allot.

I want to share my own experience with you all regarding the up and downfall of business as I saw several people quitting their home business just because of the lack in their skills, investment. Business is basically for the ones, who love to play with the risks and playing with these risks can be easily learned by home business opportunity lead but one thing must be kept in mind before listening to these business leads that whether they are original or fake, as you may find number of business leads working fake for their clients and charging high amount of money.

The best business leads can be judged by their experience or pre qualification on the work or field where you want their interest. They will offer you the best solutions and answers which can help you in increasing the growth and expansion of your business. They can act as your business partners for life time till you need their support. Thus, if you want to grow your business in a well planned and strategic way then the best way is to associate yourself with home business opportunity lead.

Success in any network marketing business is built with knowing the secrets to online marketing. The second step is learning time is a limited resource that must be protected at all times. Shelter your business from tire kickers using MyPhoneRoom online to build your downline struggle free.

Growing Your Business

Growth in a business is essential. How much growth, depends on your vision for your business....

Many business owners often confuse growth with expansion. Expansion is moving into new product lines, new services and new areas. Growth is increasing your capacity to continue with the products and services you have. Growth may require expansion, but expansion is not necessarily needed for growth.

Growth is necessary, at the very least, to ensure that your business maintains a healthy profit margin. Expenses typically rise each year and, as such, your business needs to grow, otherwise it will 'fade' away.

This is why having a business plan and regularly reviewing your businesses performance is so important! Understanding the businesses financial bottom line and how the target markets are evolving is paramount to ongoing business success and growth.

Be Honest With Yourself...

Sometimes, the largest obstacle any small business owner can have, is themselves. Far too often, we as business owners fall prey to own success and we ignore the change indicators in our market. A wise business owner will ensure that they can independently evaluate their business - a business mentor is great for this kind of oversight.

Be brutal in your assessment - really extrapolate the possible changes in your market and determine how you can refine your business strategies to capitalize on the changes.

In one of my 'previous business lives', I ran a retail franchise store. We were a very niche business and when we first opened the stores, we did really well. However, as the market evolved it became more of a consumer market (not niche) and our Franchise did not change it's strategies to take this into consideration. That franchise no longer exists - it was placed in receivership.

Growth Strategies

There are several strategies for growth that may be applied by a business owner.

Sell More Of The Same Thing

This is possibly one of the most popular strategies for business growth - do more of what you're already doing.

This could be a valid approach, particularly if the business or market is relatively young.

One of the biggest things to consider here, is whether there is 'room' to do more of the same thing. If your business delivers services, can your existing staffing levels handle more work and if not, can more people be employed quickly enough to deliver the work?

Does your market allow for enough growth in the sale of more of the same? Sometimes, the market is near saturation and selling more of the same thing is not going to provide enough growth for a business.

Consider moving into other target markets with the same product or service. Often this will require a rethink of Unique Selling Proposition, but it can reap big rewards.

If the business doesn't have sufficient person power to sell more, consider options like licensing and franchising to increase the reach. One very simple method to immediately add more sales people to the business is to offer an Affiliate or Referral program, where the business will pay a commission or referral fee to people who bring in new business.

Raise Prices

Raising the prices of your products and services may result in growth. This approach needs to be implemented carefully, and the results monitored regularly.

Raising prices will, generally, result in a higher profit per sale - and as such higher profit overall.

In some cases, raising prices will result in an increase in sales as well. This tends to occur when the price of a product or service is so low that it gives the perception of a low value / poor quality or appeals to a target market that is not willing to spend money. When the price is increased, the target audience feels that the quality is much better and will more readily invest. By increasing the price and increasing sales, growth occurs naturally.

I experienced exactly this in my retail store - we had priced a product at less than $10, which we thought was an 'irresistible price'. Unfortunately, our customers did not and the product was not moving. After overhearing several customers discuss that they believed something must be wrong with the product for it to be so cheap, we increased the price to $14.95 and sold out in a week! Perceived Value.

Diversify

Diversification is a valid and very smart business growth strategy. Add more products or services to your business portfolio.

Depending on your business plan, the products or services may be related to your existing product range or, it may be appropriate to start a new 'arm' to your business.

Diversification, as a business growth strategy, provides a major benefit as the risk of market downturns is spread over a wider base.

By adding more related products and services to its portfolio, a business can also capitalize on return business from existing customers.

In Conclusion

These are three very broad ways to grow your business - and which one(s) to use will depend on your business plan.

-- About The Author --

Charly Leetham is an Online Business Implementation Expert and Small Business Coach. Charly shares useful and free information for new small businesses to aid in their success. Charly has many years experience in managing business for employers and herself and shares her vast experience and insights with readers on her blog.

Charly Leetham has worked for over 20 years in the IT industry, and has extensive experience in hand on tech work, sales management, customer relationship management and contract management.

Charly also holds a Masters of Business Admin (MBA), specialising in Internet Marketing.

Understanding Internet Security Threats for Small Businesses

Small business makes up a huge part of the global economy. Based on a new survey of U.S. small businesses sponsored by Symantec and the National Cyber Security Alliance, sixty-seven percent (67%) of small businesses have become more dependent on the Internet last year and sixty-six (66%) are dependent on it for their day-to-day operations.

Business man

The Internet is a vast gateway that provides great potential for businesses. More small businesses today use networks and the Internet as vital business tools to find new customers, and serve existing customers more effectively.

Strategic Research Corporation reported that seventy (70%) percent of small firms that experienced a major data loss went out of business within a year. In a related survey by Insight UK, thirty-seven percent (37%) of respondents admitted that they backup their files only once a month. Some, unbelievably, never back up at all. Some of these small online businesses don't even install anti-virus software and anti-spyware in their computers.

Internet security threats can severely impair business operations, affecting profitability and customer satisfaction. Businesses lost huge amounts of money to cyber criminals and internet scams. Not only is the business compromised, but the safety of the customers as well. Many individuals been victims of identity theft and other Internet crimes. Internet security is a grave issue as danger lurks everywhere on the Internet and anyone online is susceptible.

Cyber criminals, attack tools and methods have evolved and these criminals are coming up with new ways to attack businesses all the time. They are using more sophisticated and dynamic methods of stealing information. "High-tech criminals that steal highly secure information, but even more novice users are capable of making an attack due to the tools available to them. These criminals do not focus on the size of your businesses, rather, the ease of getting past your defenses and stealing your information, which is of great value to them.

Small businesses are attractive to cyber criminals

Cyber criminals already control more than 100 million computers across the globe, and have have shifted their attention to small businesses and individuals. While large firms are ideal targets because of their large assets, small businesses are more vulnerable to attacks. Large firms have set security and contingency measures in place, but small businesses are at risk since cyber criminals know that they are the least protected.

A closer look reveals that most small businesses lack effective protection from attackers and other cyber criminals, sufficient cyber security policies and training. They often lack resources to hire internet security experts or purchase effective security software. Some rely on using cheap Internet security software or making use of freeware, or none at all, and doing so makes them easy targets. This lack of security investment creates an environment that is relatively low risk for criminals.

A firewall coupled with anti-virus software and spyware are not sufficient protection against the web threats and email threats of today. Other factors such as data loss due to hardware failures, proper backup procedures and disaster recovery, are also often overlooked.

In other cases, management views information security as a cost that can be cut during difficult financial times, only to create the potential to suffer significant losses in the long run. Brad Dinerman, founder of the National Information Security Group, states that, "When economic circumstances look dire, it is easy to turn security into a checklist item that keeps being pushed back. However the reality is that, in such situations, security should be a primary issue. The likelihood of threats affecting your organization will probably increase and the impact can be more detrimental."

Online technology, particularly social media, creates a myriad of challenges and problems for businesses. In small business marketing, promotion through social marketing, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ is becoming a huge trend. Online businesses realize the affordability and ease of use of these channels and are using them as promotional tools.

Unfortunately social networking, as well as other emerging technology such as smartphones and tablets, provide avenues of potential threats and attack. Social networking platforms provide cyber criminals with the ability to reach targets where smart phones and other devices play a large role. Businesses with employees who access corporate data using their smartphones and tablets need to have implemented security policies for these devices to avoid making them prone to social engineering attacks.

Ensuring the security of business networks while utilizing the benefits of social networks and mobile technology becomes a challenge for business owners.

Strengthening Internet Security

Security threats are continually evolving - as threats change, and new threats appear. The continuously increasing level of security threats makes it imperative for small businesses to increase their level of security knowledge and investment.

Fortunately, there are also a variety of ways to protect your business from Internet security threats. Investing in reliable security solutions combined with actual knowledge provides small business owners with a well-rounded approach to protecting their businesses and managing cyber risk.

Developing a security policy that can easily be updated and enforced is important. It is also vital to focus on network security prevention such as educating staff on safe web usage, choosing secure passwords, empowering your staff with the best practices and guidelines, keeping PC and network security up to date, and limiting exposure through content filtering.

Using Personal Finance Tips To Grow Your Small Business

Every business guru states that you should keep your personal finances separate from your business finances. And, we could not agree more.

However, separating your business life from your personal life should only be about monetary transactions. We all learn life lessons (knowledge) that not only work in our personal lives but can easily translate to our business lives as well.

Knowledge is power after all and if it can help get you get ahead in your business then it really does not matter where that knowledge originated from.

To that note, there are many personal finance tips that relate very well to managing the financial aspect of your business.

Let's review a few of them:

1) What You Need vs. What You Want:

You may want a Lamborghini but know that it is not a good vehicle for a small, growing family - it's not good on gas, has no room for groceries and cannot take the kids to soccer practice. It just does not make sense for you - even though you would really like to have it.

The same goes for our business. You may want that 50,000 square foot building or that $50,000 piece of equipment. But, if your business cannot use those items to generate more revenue then they cost - then those types of purchases just do not make sense for your business.

And, it is just not capital purchases either. Do your employees really need a foosball table in the break room? Or, does your business really need that $500 per month T-1 line when a simple $50 per month DLS line would work just fine.

Being in business is not about satisfying what you want but taking asset that you need and leveraging them to grow the business - by bring in more revenue then that revenue costs to get.

If you don't need it for your core business - then don't waste your scarce money on it!

2) Living Pay Check To Pay Check:

If you over spend in your personal life, you usually run out of money before that next pay check comes in.

What happens is as soon as you get your pay check, you immediately look for ways to spend it - most of the time for things that leave you little or nothing to show for it. Some even spend their pay before they get it in their hands. Sure you had a great time, but that money runs out and runs out quickly.

Then, about half way between pay checks, a week after your last pay period and a week before your next pay day - you have an opportunity to do something really amazing - something that would either improve your life or maybe even bring in more money for your personal use.

But, you have to decline because you have no money to take advantage of it and the opportunity will not wait for you to get your next check.

This is a great lesson for business. Far too many businesses spend their revenue before or immediately after they get it - regardless if that spending does anything to perpetuate the business.

Example: I worked with a brand new business owner who was helping doctors and other medical professionals collect payments from insurance companies. I took this business owner around to all the independent doctor offices I could find and helped him pitch his services. One of these contacts bit and gave him some business. The doctor provided him with about $10,000 worth of claims to collect on. Immediately, this business owner was able to get about 90% of those claims to pay from which he received a 10% commission.

Now, instead of taking that $900 and putting it into his business - to grow his business or setting some of it aside for new opportunities - he used those funds, for personal reasons like a new gym membership, took his friends out to dinner and purchased the latest cell phone with a very expensive plan, not for his business, but for his personal use only.

What happened is that this doctor, who was really impressed with this business owner's ability to collect, referred him to a college friend and colleague in a town about 85 miles away. However, this business owner had to decline the new business, not because he couldn't do it or because he was too busy, but because he did not have the cash to drive to the other town.

Not only did this mean that the business owner missed out on new business, but the referring doctor, feeling let down, did not give him any additional business after this incident.

3) More Money Will Improve Your Life:

In our personal lives, if we find ourselves short of cash, we tend to look for more money. Get a bank loan or maybe even a payday loan. While this may work temporarily, giving us more money to spend, if we don't change what we spend our money on, very quickly we end up right back in the same situation - short of cash and a life that is not improved but maybe worse off as we still have to pay for that new money.

In business, many entrepreneurs find that their expenses outweigh their revenue - especially if revenue is slipping. But, instead of looking at the business - what it is spending its money on or why it is losing or not growing revenue - the business owner thinks that just getting more money is the only answer.

Ten Ways to Strengthen Your Business Plan

The most important reason to write a business plan is create a roadmap for the entrepreneur or business owner. A plan can also be a valuable tool for communicating your business idea to others, for example, to secure financing or attract investors.

Whatever your reasons, any business plan will be stronger by following these basic guidelines.

1. Anticipate the questions readers will have and answer them in your business plan. They'll want to know about you, your business, and your industry. They'll be interested in your financial and employment history. They'll need to know that you understand your customer, and that you know how to makes sales and serve customers.

2. Forecast sales a bit lower than you think they will be. Smart business planners will intentionally err on the conservative side, showing viability with as few sales as possible.

3. Estimate expenses a little higher than you believe they might be. The brutal truth is that contingencies or expense buffers are all too often necessary and get spent once the business is in play.

4. Remove some of the guesswork from your sales projections by gathering items such as signed contracts, letters of intent or some other form of written confirmation that customers are willing to buy your products or services.

5. Provide a complete set of clear and realistic financial forecasts, and make sure you know them well enough to discuss them intelligently with your banker or investor. Demonstrate your understanding of how money flows in and out of your business, and convey your knowledge with sales projections, a cash flow forecast, and pro forma income statements and balance sheets.

6. Be frugal. In your business plan, show readers that you make wise buying decisions and that you are sourcing the best products and materials. If you can get by with an older truck, don't ask for financing for that shiny new one.

7. Be realistic and factual throughout your business plan. Nothing undermines your credibility quicker than inaccuracies. Where it makes sense to do so, state where the information comes from.

8. Communicate various ways that you know your business, including, understanding your customers, having a savvy approach to pricing, and knowing how to make the operation work efficiently.

9. Your business plan needs to communicate your knowledge of the industry you will operate in. What types of goods are sold? Who are your competitors? What competitive advantage will motivate customers to buy from you?

10. Somewhere in your plan you'll want to talk about your qualifications, and share information about any business-relevant assets such as your educational background or work experience.

Everything you do to create a business plan will increase or decrease your confidence in the business idea. As your confidence increases you move toward launching the business; if it decreases, you have more work to do.

Type of Business Could Surpass Your Current Income

I know all too well what it feels like to be underpaid and unappreciated. Many people feel this way every single day and maybe you do as well. You probably work 40 hours or more per week and your paycheck doesn't seem worth the effort. Being underpaid leads to a lack of job satisfaction and frustration. It makes you want to search for something better and quit your current job.

The problem for many people is that they get so desperate they end up finding another job that is no better than the one that they left. You may possibly earn a little more but you're still trading hours for dollars and may soon fall back into the same rut. If you have ever read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad then you know the author's stance on being an employee. In order to have more income beyond just getting by as well as time-freedom to do what you want is by being a business owner but not with just any type of business.

Now you may be thinking, "I can't run a business, I have no experience." However, there is one business that doesn't require you to have experience or a college degree. It doesn't require tons of money to start and you don't have to spend 40 hours a week running it. This business is called network marketing (also referred to as direct selling.) Network marketing levels the playing field for everyone. People from all walks of life have created residual income and time-freedom for themselves.

I know of actors, singers, teachers, doctors, and various other professionals who have become a part of a network marketing company because they enjoy helping people as a way to earn more income. The two best things about this industry is that you create residual income and time-freedom. Being an employee cannot offer that and neither can a traditional small business. You spend a bulk of your time doing both.

If you dedicate your time and effort into building your network marketing business, you have the ability to enjoy the income you make. You will not lose income if you decide to go on vacation or have to take a few sick days, etc. Keep in mind that there are tons of opportunities out there so it is important to find one that offers products and/or services that you enjoy using yourself.

Selling a Small Business As a Short Sale

Drowning in business debt!?! Even when a company's sales start increasing, debt can eat away at the profits...

More and more small business owners are finding that profits are going to servicing their debt and keeping their business operational. In such cases, an option is to sell the business through a short sale. Especially if a business owner is burnt-out, looking at shuttering the business and declaring bankruptcy.

Declaring bankruptcy is different as a small business owner. It's not just an anonymous bank or bureaucratic phone company that is owed money; it's often suppliers and vendors with whom there are long-term personal relationships. And often, friends and family have invested in the business or lent large sums of money to help keep the business afloat.

A short sale can provide creditors at least a portion of the funds owed to them, while alleviating the small business owner of having a bankruptcy tied to their name and credit. It can also save the jobs of the employees.

Special note for franchise owners - If the business is under a franchise agreement and the franchise payments are grossly in arrears, there is a chance the franchisor can take back the business, leaving the owner without a business and still holding all the debt. It is in the interest of the franchisor for the business to sell and bring in a new owner who will start paying royalties.

How it works -

An experienced and competent business broker will package the business based upon its net profit and assets. The debt and other non-operational expenses will be added back to the net profit and an industry appropriate multiple will be determined. If the business sells for less than what is owed, it is a Short Sale. If it sells for more than what is owed, the owner will receive whatever is left over after all the debt is paid.

In a normal sale, an escrow is used primarily to protect the buyer from successor liability - any debt attached to the business. In a short sale, the escrow process also aids the seller in settling the business's debt.

Once all the debt is established, the escrow officer will prepare a seller's estimated statement reflecting all secured and unsecured debt. Secured debt includes tax liabilities, private liens, judgments, etc. Unsecured debt includes private loans. If the sale price covers all the secured debt, the remaining funds are distributed pro rata to the unsecured creditors. If the sale price doesn't cover all the secured debt, remaining funds are distributed pro rata to the secured creditors.

All creditors will need to agree on the payout in order to close the deal. Since the alternative is usually bankruptcy for a small business owner, creditors would prefer to receive something rather than nothing. Thus, they generally will agree to the pro rata payout.

Although short sales are messier than regular business transfers, they are a win-win for the buyer, the seller and the creditors. The buyer gets a good deal on the business; the seller avoids bankruptcy and is alleviated of their debt while their creditors get something rather than nothing.

Small Business Ideas: How to Plan a Small Business

Thinking of starting a small business? Planning and growing a small business may seem daunting, but it can be a lot of fun. However, it does require some careful thinking and planning.

You need to learn what it takes to start from scratch and succeed. Weigh all the pros and cons before making any decision.

You are the person most capable of planning, building, and running your business.

First, ask yourself questions, to discover what dream is driving you. Learn how that will be expressed in the business you envision.

* What kind of business do you wish to start?

* What kind of service or products will you be offering?

* What needs expressed by your market, do they fulfill?

* Who will buy these services and products from you?

* How do you plan to finance this project? Do you know where financing can be found?

* How will people learn about your service and products?

* Where will your business be located?

Planning and Decision-Making

Considerable planning, important financial decisions, as well as legal steps, go into setting up a small business.

Financial Planning is vital during the overall business planning process. It includes:

* Financial planning and funding sources

* Pricing

* Record keeping

* Managing costs and expenses

* Cash flow forecasts and monitoring

* Analyzing sales results

* Contingency plans and financial reserves, including long-range financial planning

Operational Planning examines everyday production processes and management issues. Day-to-day business activities are also included.

* Acquiring suppliers.

* Employee hiring.

* Evaluating and choosing production methods.

* Product handling and delivery, etc.

* Choosing reliable, secure suppliers, who can provide raw materials and other quality supplies.

* Decisions about inventory and where to store it.

A legal Framework means the considering and adhering to all legal requirements, surrounding the setting up of a small business. It helps you evaluate the following:

* Types of business ownership

* Business-related legal requirements regarding safety, health, employment legislation, etc.

* Tax liabilities, including income tax, government insurance contributions, and VAT, etc.

Insurance includes numerous measures you have to take to secure your business.

Marketing: How a venture and its products and services, appear to the world.

* Marketing is all about identifying the needs of consumers, and satisfying those needs in a profitable manner. It is essential to identify the level of demand for your services, within the market you have decided to target.

Website: You need to build a website that tells your audience about your business, or helps you sell online. It needs to reflect your vision and commitment to quality.

Networking: The type of people you ought to know, and how you can meet them, so as to make your business succeed.

* Networking is becoming increasingly important for small businesses and is a key part of the marketing process.

* Take an inventory of all your contacts and relationships, seeking out those who can help your business.

Self-Development: Examining your skill set, and what more is needed for managing a successful business.

* Looking closely at your talents and current skill set, to determine what you still have to learn.

* Seeking ways to shorten the learning curve, with assistance from a mentor, a partner, or skilled employees.

* Online or local courses can also be of great benefit.

Future and Exit: In order to promise long-term success, you need to have a vision of how to expand your business into the future. Above all, you need an exit plan. Nothing continues forever, and you need to prepare to take leave of your business in a structure, controlled manner when the times comes.

Conclusion

Owning a business can be very satisfying and is certainly the biggest learning experience of your life. Careful planning, an understanding of the type of business you've chosen, as well as the target market it is supposed to serve, will increase your chances of long-term success.

Getting Started, or Growing a Business?

Or, if you can't find a job, create one by starting a small business. Others have done it and you can too.

A small business puts money in your pocket, and gives you confidence.

Things You Can Learn From Your Cat About Your Home Based Business

As I am sitting here and typing out this article I am watching my cat lay lazily on the couch and I occurred to me that you might just be able to learn a lot about a home based business from the furry friends of the world. So here it is...things you can learn about a home based business from watching your cat.

1. Ask for what you want

If my cats bowl is even close to being empty you better believe that they are going to let me know about it. They will walk on me if need be, meow, paw at me... whatever. They won't stop asking for what they want until they get it. Sometimes in life and in your business you're not getting what you want because you're not asking for it enough.

2. Just relax

There is a time to work insanely hard and then there is a time to relax. If you don't relax you're going to burn out. Especially because your home based business probably isn't the only thing you have going on in life. With work and kids and friends and taking care of your house and about a million other things there needs to be a time when you just relax and recharge so that the next day you can attack the business like crazy. If you don't relax every now and then you'll burn out and you won't be as successful. Take it from my cats... now THEY know how to relax.

3. Keep your eye on the ball

Have you ever seen a cat play with a laser pointer on the ground, or maybe a flashlight or anything. They are SO FOCUSED! Nothing can distract them from what they want and what they want it that shiny red light (seriously if you've never done this before it's a must! So funny!) Sometimes we need to be more focused with what we want from our home based businesses. We need to keep our eyes on the prize and never be satisfied until it's ours. Sometimes we tend to lose focus from what we really want from our business. We need to know what we want and go for it with full force.

Taking The Life Of Your Own Business

Are You Killing Your Own Business?

There are many acronyms in the business world - some that really make sense and some that make you scratch your head in wonder.

Well, it is time to add one more.

This new acronyms is "S.A.D." - This acronyms can help you determine if you or your business has risk indicators (risk factors) or characteristics that could lead to the demise of your venture.

In the end of all businesses, it is essentially the person running the company that will decide if it lives or dies. And, if it dies, when it should not have, it means you (the business owner) have committed business suicide - unnecessarily. So, are you or your business at risk of business suicide?

Let's look at these risk factors through the acronyms S.A.D:

S - Strategic Direction:

Is your business on the right path - a path that utilizes the business's assets and resources (from capital to people) in the best possible way?

Can you or anyone else take those same set of assets and deploy them in a better way and earn more in revenue/return from them?

Far too many businesses fail these days or don't even get out of the starting gate because they fail to plan properly or fail to change direction with their business when market conditions or changing customer preferences demand it.

Planning means understanding your customers' needs and providing a product or service for those needs while utilizing the least amount of assets - resources are scarce after all and you don't want to spread yours too thin on one segment or product line.

I have seen businesses that have say 50% demand yet they spend unnecessarily on 100% capacity. Its just waste. And, waste will kill your business.

A - Accounting:

Are you properly managing your business's cash flow to ensure that your business has the wherewithal to withstand a slow period or future recession?

Does your business have the working capital to meet future customer demand?

Is your business spending cash faster than it is collecting it?

Far too many businesses fail by growing themselves broke. They have the customers yet, either through miss-management or poor collections, they don't have the money ( working capital on hand) to service those customers. If your business can't meet customers' needs, your competitor will.

D - Discipline:

Are you, the business owner, doing the right things each and every day?

Daily items should include things like marketing (daily marketing) or actually listening to customers in anticipation of their needs and wants.

Or, are you taking away needed assets from the business - like drawing too large a salary, taking needed money from a cash starved business?

Know that there will be a time to plunder your own business - but, if it is growing and your plans are to grow it - this is not that time.

Far too many business owners get complacent and their business erodes over time. Or, they think that their business should pay them a huge salary from day one. While that would be nice, it is not reality.

These are indicators of businesses or business owners at risk of doing themselves in.

While not all businesses that show these risk factors will fail, it is highly likely that if your business or you, the owner, demonstrate these characteristics, you are on the path of business suicide - and that would be SAD.

How To Effectively Use Business Cards to Knowledge Network Your Small Business

I admit I'm guilty of collecting lots of business cards and failing to tap into the expertise and experience of the people I've just met. It seems the act of small business networking often boils down to exchanging business cards. And, that's where it begins and ends, card collecting, not business building via networking.

What's on the Card?

If gathering business cards for the purpose of sending someone an email, giving them a call, sending a text or doing some social networking is your goal, then all you're looking for is contact information. That may technically qualify as small business networking but it's not "knowledge networking".

To gain more business in today's marketplace, it takes more than gathering cards and making contact. It takes connecting. So, what you're looking for is more than information to insert into your contact management system. You're looking to learn something about the business and it's expertise and experience. Use the business card as a resource to do the research you'll need to effective network with the person you've just met.

Who Needs the Card?

Well, maybe you do to solve a problem you're experiencing in your own small business. Chances are you've exchanged business cards in the hope the person giving you the card needs your product or services in their business right now!

All in due time, but it may serve you better to learn enough about the business you now have a card for so you can pass it on to another small business owner who, in fact, has a problem they want to solve right now. Exchanging business cards at an event is the perfect starting point for building your own referral network.

Where is the Card?

The first challenge of an active business networker is location. Yes, where do you put the card so it doesn't end up as part of that pile of cards you've collected and never contacted and, certainly never passed on to someone else who could benefit from it to solve a problem they have.

As fast as it possible, you need to get the basic information and how it can help another small business in front of others. Doing that makes the information available to yourself and others. There's no reason you can't do some quick research and feel comfortable posting the core information to the appropriate social media network. By getting the business card, I don't mean the email address and cell phone number, in play everybody wins. Simply provide a quick comment about the person or business and the business area they provide expertise and experience in.

Card Problem Solved

The biggest problem many of us have with small business networking is not doing something with the business card we've collected and not gaining any new business as a result of the business card networking we've done.

The solution is found in networking the business expertise and experience embodied in the business card we've collected by passing it on to others. By doing so you eliminate the guilt of adding one more card to the pile on our desk without doing something with it.

Plus, let the person you exchanged your business card with know that you have passed it one and are actively networking them. The appreciation you gain from them over time will get you a lifetime of referrals as you expand your small business knowledge network.

Various End-Games for Businesses and Why You Should Know Yours

Knowing what your end-game is for your business will help you determine the business structure that is right for you now and in the future. The major variables that determine your best end-game include the size of your business, the amount of assets and liabilities, your desire to maintain control and your desire to liquidate ownership. Obviously, as a business owner, you want to limit the complications, the expenditures and the liabilities while maximizing your tax benefits. These goals exist when the business is created, but also extend to the "end-game" of your business. And just like selecting which business entity is best for you at the creation of your business, the end-game you choose for your business will affect the liability, the tax benefits and obligations, the expenditures and the complications.

The major end-game options are:

(1) Take your business public through an IPO (initial public offering).

(2) Sell the business in its entirety.

(3) Sell the assets from the business and dissolve the remaining entity.

"Going Public"

Taking your business from a private company to a public company through the process of an Initial Public Offering can help you raise exponentially more money to use in your company than other avenues. Access to more money provides the means to grow your business, or "cash out" your ownership. Raising money for a public company is much easier that raising money for a private company. And if you, as the owner, wish to liquidate more of your ownership, it is much easier to sell your ownership through selling shares in the stock market than to try to sell the entire company and/or assets.

However, the process of taking your business public is expensive and complicated. Also, not all types of business entities can become public without first merging with another entity that can become public. Further, after your business becomes public, your business will then be subject to transparency requirements from the Securities Exchange Commission. Most of these requirements involve reporting and filing your financial information publicly. Another consideration is the amount of control you wish to maintain in your business. When your business becomes public, there will be a board of directors that will make all the business decisions. It is possible to be on the board of directors, however, that is more limited than being the owner.

Selling the Entire Business

Another alternative end-game is simply to sell your business. Doing so transfers all the assets, liabilities, clients, etc. This is an easy and seamless process if your business is small with few assets. However, with a larger business that has many assets, the process may become time-consuming, complicated and costly to switch over the assets and liabilities. The liabilities the purchaser inherits include the potential lawsuits that may arise from the business's prior actions. In most cases, purchasers will prefer an asset purchases so that they don't have to acquire the selling liabilities. That issue will be one for the buyer and seller to negotiate.

Sell the Business Assets and Dissolve the Remaining Entity

Selling the business assets and dissolving the remaining entity is another option. Depending on the amount of assets once again, this process may be easy or it could be complicated. However, as mentioned previously, purchasers sometimes prefer this because they are essentially purchasing the business without inheriting any of the liability.

Learn How To Recover From Business Insolvency

Business insolvency numbers has hit record high in February 2012. According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or ASIC, 1,123 businesses entered administration in February compared to 518 businesses in administration last January 2012. Furthermore, 449 businesses had to undergo court wind-ups in February 2012 compared to 79 businesses the previous month.

Insolvency is a difficult situation for any business. Insolvency is generally described as a company's inability to pay its debts and other liabilities. An insolvent business has insufficient funds to pay its creditors despite liquidation through selling all assets and is unable to generate new funds through capital markets. Insolvency is caused by many factors including an ineffective business model, capital market values, competing technologies and poor cash flow management.

If your business is facing insolvency, it is crucial to take immediate action if the business is to survive. Directors must be wary of trading while insolvent as they will be held liable for insolvent trading in which civil or criminal penalties may apply. In this article, we provide some guidelines on how you can save your business from insolvency and continue operating legally.

Manage your cash flow

Cash flow management can be especially difficult when the business is already in financial distress. However, proper cash flow management is crucial if you are to recover from insolvency. To drive your cash flow, follow up on late payments of your customers and implement a shorter credit term for future contracts. Implement penalties for late payments to put some pressure on your customers to pay on time. It can also help to delegate a staff member to focus on follow-up and collection of payments.

In managing your cash flow, it is also important to manage the competing priorities for payment. Priority for payments will be payroll, suppliers as you need them to keep your business operating, then followed by ATO payment plan and others creditor's payment plans.

Consider business restructuring

A business restructure is when a company reorganises its ownership, legal structure, assets and debts, business model, cost structure and ways of doing business. A restructure can be a positive way to respond to insolvency as it allows the business to generate new revenue, making the new company more effective and efficient while keeping the core business intact.

If you see business restructuring as a viable means to recover from insolvency, discuss your requirements with a business turnaround specialist or insolvency specialist as they can help you establish restructuring strategies to meet target operating profits and target cost structure. They can also assist in the implementation and monitoring of the agreed business restructuring strategies.

Seek professional help

Insolvency does not always lead to bankruptcy as some businesses are able to recover and successfully increase their profitability. However, this is not always the case for many businesses facing insolvency as seen in the record number of 449 businesses winding up in February 2012. If your business is at risk of insolvency, do not hesitate to get the help of a professional business turnaround specialist as they can give you the assistance you need to save your business. A turnaround specialist is an expert in negotiating with debtors, debt and cash flow management, business restructuring and business recovery and can help you avoid the pitfalls that other insolvent businesses has fallen into.