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Archives
April 8, 2010
Why a Family Business Might Be Right For You... How I
(Almost) Made Another Million... Business Partnerships
Benefit from Individual Talents... Look to the Past for Info
Marketing Inspiration... and More.
Why a Family Business Might Be Right for You
By Adrian Newman, Founder of e-Wealth Daily
Recently, my father and I started a new corporation to rent
some condo properties. Since he's been out of the real estate
business, he's always felt the need to at least dip his toe in the "rental market pool" and I was always looking for good
investments.
And, of course, the side benefit is that we each only had to put
up half the money to purchase the condo.
If you're having trouble obtaining the proper financing you
need to start your own business, then maybe the answer is right
underneath your roof.
Family businesses can be very successful. And I'm not talking
about the kind you see on "The Sopranos," either. I'm talking
about small businesses that are built from the ground up by a
group of family members.
Getting financing for a business can be a difficult task for
many entrepreneurs. By turning your sole proprietorship into a
family business, you could get the money you need and find
success with people you respect and trust.
Before you approach your family members, you need to figure out if you can work with them. When you're determining who
might be best suited in your family to do business with, think
about who you feel would make a good partner. Someone you
are honest with, someone who is trustworthy and reliable,
and/or someone who knows the industry you're getting into
will be your best choice.
Approach your family member as if he or she were a lender. Be
professional and have your business plan ready. Be prepared to
discuss why your business idea will succeed and how you are
going to make it happen. Discuss the financial aspects of the
business and what you will need from them if they choose to
get involved.
Your relative might want to be a full partner, or perhaps just a
silent partner or investor. It is up to the both of you to
determine what partnership will work best. You will also need
to figure out if you want this person to work with you or if you
simply need them to invest their money in your business. If it's
the latter, then make their level of involvement clear.
Another benefit to having a family business is that you are in it
with people that you trust. A partnership will fail without trust
and honesty, so it's a huge benefit to know that you don't have
to watch every penny your family members are spending. If
you are suspicious of a business partner, even if they are
family, then it will destroy your business.
If you have found a family member who is interested in your
business, then make sure that you are upfront with all of the
risks involved with your particular business idea. If you
deceive the other person, you'll only end up starting out on the
wrong foot.
Make sure that your family members know exactly what they
are getting into. And, most importantly, make sure that you
draw the line between your business and your personal
relationships. If, for example, you and your sibling decide to
open a furniture store, then make sure that you aren't bickering
all the time as siblings often do.
Before you even ink the deal, take the time to discuss what
each of your responsibilities will be and where the line is
between family and business dealings. If you are putting your
sibling in charge of marketing, then you should trust him or her
to get it done.
A family business can be a great way to make money and enjoy
success with individuals you want to see succeed. Just make
sure that you choose the right family members and you that
approach this deal as you would any other -- with
professionalism and goodwill.
How I (Almost) Made Another Million
By Bill Hebden, the Reclusive Millionaire
Man. Had I known then what I know now, I'd be among the
information-marketing masters of the world by now. But, back
then, who knew?
It was 2001, I think. Everyone who was in the market to buy a
car started turning to the Internet for selections, options,
prices...all the stuff that gave everyone anxiety and anger in
showrooms. Then web sites like cars.com and a bunch of
others came on the scene.
It was great. No salesperson breathing down your neck. No
salesperson trying to open your wallet wider than you want.
You simply click on what you want. Then you'd always be
asked for your zip or postal code.
You enter the information requested and zap -- you're what
they call an "electronic lead." Car dealers with the vehicle you
want in or near your area get your contact information from the
web site. Car dealers pay for this information, mind you.
And then what happened? Well, most every car dealer in the
land subscribed to these web sites, but very few of the dealers
were able to close the sale from these sales leads. My friend,
who happens to be a new car dealer, figured it all out.
He's a smart guy, but all it took was common sense to see what
was going wrong. The real challenge was to see what could go
right. Hold that thought. We'll come back to it, I promise.
By now, I hope you're begging me to tell you what went wrong
with all those electronic car leads. Many blame the showroom
salespeople, but the real blame falls on the shoulders of the
dealers. They failed to see that this newfangled Internet-information-armed car customer was a different kind of buyer.
Internet car shoppers expected a hassle-free car-buying
experience, probably for the first time in their lives. But, when
the rubber hit the road (actually even before the test drive),
showroom salespeople gave these new "sophisticated" buyers
the same old song. They wouldn't reveal prices over the phone.
They continued to hold out that final number, as they continued
to sell you options you had never checked off.
It's no wonder those electronic leads were considered worthless
back then.
I told you that a friend of mine is a car dealer. Naturally, that's
where I buy my cars. And I guess it was back in 2001 that I
found myself in his office at his showroom. He's telling me the
whole Internet story and how he's actually closing sales off
electronic leads like crazy.
He told me the how's and why's and showed me the separate
operation he set up to handle the electronic leads exclusively. I
don't know what he was thinking. I know he was proud. I was
thinking marketing.
I asked my friend if it would matter to him if other car dealers
in other parts of the country learned his secrets. At first, he
minded. Then I told him, "What do you care? Besides, we can
make money marketing all this information you have." Then he
listened more carefully.
Without even realizing it, I was entering the information
marketing business. I had never heard of such a business. All I
knew was marketing -- and I saw a product I thought could be
marketed at a high price. Who knew this was called "information marketing?"
I wish I had. Now that I know about information marketing, I
look back to 2001 and see the mountains of mistakes I
made...the piles of opportunities I failed to recognize...and
what really kills me is when I envision what could have been.
What I did was create a company called C.A.R.S. This stood
for Cyber Auto Retailers Success. Anyway, I took what my
friend knew and we wrote this giant, fat book and sold it to car
dealers for $695.00 each. Then we put on one-day seminars in
major cities up and down the East Coast. Again, $695.00 per
dealer for the day.
We did all right. We had lots of fun. We had lots of partners,
too. One of the partners owned his own plane, so that was cool.
I actually had the controls flying from Philadelphia to
Pittsburgh.
But, today, I'd have structured that whole business much
differently. Today, I understand information marketing. You
should, too. In my new book, "GETTING YOUR FIRST
MILLION," I explain the million-dollar secrets of information
marketing. Check it out here:
http://www.lombardipublishing.com/ads/ym/index.asp
Business Partnerships Benefit from Individual Talents
By Michael Newman, Self-made Millionaire
There is no person or business that is perfect, and that's a fact.
Some people are better at selling, some people are better at
building. Some businesses have great marketing, others have a
great product. No matter who you are or what business you are
in, everything involving human beings has its strengths and its
weaknesses. When you form a partnership, it builds your
businesses productivity, because it allows all the parties
involved to focus on their strengths.
Here's an example of what I mean. Jeff and Scott both own
their own custom-fit golf club company. They are the industry
leaders in their area, accounting for more than 60% of the
market share in their area. Jeff, however, is the superior
builder, whereas Scott is the superior salesman. Scott can get
someone in a room and sell them anything he can think of, and
it comes naturally. Furthermore, because he's always selling,
he's got less and less time to effectively build all clubs that
have been ordered.
Jeff, on the other hand, is the best club builder around. It's his
sales, however, that need the work. You see, Jeff may not be
the smoothest salesman; he'll just give you the facts. He'll tell
you what you need, how it will help and how he can do it. He'll
take you from A to B in the most direct way, not the scenic
route. It's the sales, however, that take time from Jeff to build
his best clubs.
Becoming partners would help both of these men enjoy further
satisfaction in their lives and their wallets. Scott would be able
to stick to the selling and Jeff would be able to build the best
clubs without distraction. Not to mention their new company
would now control 60% of the market, with huge growth
potential.
For the most part, the partnership delegates tasks and
specializes in the work to make the business run much more
efficiently.
Along with being specialists in their field, most business
owners are also students of it. Meaning, they are constantly
looking for ways to improve their business and do things
differently or more efficiently. Having a business partner
provides an open road to such information.
Being able to bounce ideas off another professional about how
to do things may open a whole new set of possibilities neither
party may have thought of before. This is an intangible that you
won't have when you're making all the decisions yourself.
Acquiring insight from someone with an understanding of your
industry has the potential to produce all kinds of positive
outcomes.
Entering a partnership does not in any way defeat the purpose
of entrepreneurship. In fact, it has the ability to expand your
bottom line, maximize your skill set and open you up to ideas
on how to improve your operation.
Look to the Past for Info Marketing Inspiration
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert
Nostalgia is funny. You dig out your old jersey from high
school or find an old Super 8 film of a family outing. You are
reminded of fond times from your past. It's a great feeling that
puts you in a special mood, filled with sentimentality, taking
you back to a different time for the briefest of moments.
Well, it really can be as brief as you want. Some people have a
certain love for all things vintage. While most people are going
nuts over the newest electronic toy on the market, there are
those who feel more comfortable with items from generations
gone by. They might get teased by their friends, but vintage
aficionados take pride in their knowledge of their old loves and
can give you a description of them that no encyclopedia can
better.
"Vintage" items are just plain exotic. Somebody who had a true
love of these items can make them sound that much more
exotic. Like a historian at a museum, these people can go on
and on in the minutest detail about everything from
gramophones to those old "Levi's" work shirts. A really good
aficionado can make this type of information really interesting
and turn vintage info into stories worthy of any adventure
writer.
Obviously, this sort of knowledge can make for an info
marketer of unparalleled success. Where there's one lover of all
things vintage, there're loads more. Those people are always in
need of new information about costs, outlets, and new
discoveries for their favorite vintage items. It's a lucrative
arena of information and the right info marketer is always in
demand by like-minded people.
I suppose I could give you a huge list, but let's just get started
with a few popular vintage information topics and some ways
you can get started as a "vintage" info marketer:
--- Wines: Wines are often not really viewed as real vintage
items. This stuff is fermented grape liquid with alcohol that
you actually put into your body over a meal or the solitude of a
wine bar. But go to any liquor store, head to the back, and
you'll see all of the vintages stacked up, often in nice wooden
racks. Each has been brewed over a specific long time period
and each has a specific taste. Having traveled in South
America, I'd like to tell you I am something of a vintage wine-knowledge-type myself. But the truth is that I probably know a
lot less than I think I do. However, you might be an actual
sommelier or someone who has a real love of vintage wines
and knows how to taste them, what brands are available, etc.
Either way, this info is valuable coin to those of us who want to
know more. A regular info newsletter would be a great
reference for us and a valuable commodity for you.
--- Furniture: As I write this, I am reminded of a pub friend
who operates a vintage furniture shop underneath the main
shop drag near where I live. I have to say that I never thought
much about the history of harvest tables or what woods were
used to make pre-war washstands. But this guy is amazing -- he
knows the woods, the grains, how to restore old furniture
pieces, where to acquire the materials, etc. Does this sound like
you? If so, consider that there is a portion of the public who are
not into modern furniture and who love the old, solid, heavy
wooden bureaus, tables and chairs of yesteryear. They don't
want plastic -- they want furniture that lasts. But they often
don't know where to turn and what is available at what price
for them. If you do, get going on some info products to let the
public know more.
--- Musical instruments: I envy those pop stars who have a lot
of coin and will only play instruments from a specific era. But
being a bit of a guitar fan back in my younger days, I could
understand the fetish feeling they have of holding an old "Harmony Rocket" electric or vintage "Gibson Dove" in their
hands. They really don't make instruments like that anymore,
as well as cellos, flutes, and even sitars. Even with a flimsy
economy, there are those folks who are willing to shell out for
a real old instrument to get the sounds they want. Know about
this topic? Great. Get some info out there, now!
--- Collectibles: As good as a place like IKEA is, you can't get
those old salt and pepper shakers, linoleum tiles, Western
paperbacks, and magazine racks there. There is something lost
in not having this household stuff that we associate with days
gone by. Yet people still yearn for these items in their home.
Where do you get them? How much do they cost? Are their
any special collectibles you can acquire? Again, this is all
valuable info that many people want to know about and it
requires a real vintage info marketer to provide it.
Like I said, people get ridiculed for living in the past. But
living in the past can have its benefits. An info marketer with
info on this stuff can get on the road to success for a love of all
things vintage.
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