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For years, I have tried to answer this one question: What do small businesses that achieve sustained growth do differently from those that do not grow?

As a senior consultant for Inc. magazine, I speak to thousands of business owners each year. I’ve learned that there are no silver bullets or 17-point checklists that will lead to guaranteed growth. There are, however, seven specific areas in which growth companies concentrate their efforts.

1. Strong sense of purpose. Most leaders of companies that have achieved growth discover that it takes more than the promise of increasing financial reward to fuel their aspirations and ambitions. They find a higher calling than simply the pursuit of “more money.”

2. Outstanding market intelligence. This is an organization’s ability to first recognize, then adapt, to fundamental changes in the marketplace. Many times, small-business owners become too myopic, seeing only a limited view of the markets in which they compete. Growth leaders see the bigger picture.

3. Effective growth planning. This is the best predictor of whether or not a business will grow. To be effective, a plan for growth does not need to be overly formal or complicated. However, it does need to be written, well-communicated and regularly updated.

4. Customer-driven processes. These days, every company I talk to believes it is customer-driven, when actually very few really are. Take a look at all of the business processes from a customer’s perspective. Are they in place to make it easier for the company, or to help deliver on the promise of faster, cheaper and better for the customer?

5. The power of technology. Successful leaders don’t let the boom and bust of technology cycles give them the excuse to ignore that we live in an information age. If a company is in business, it is in the technology business.

6. The best and brightest people. Growth leaders recognize that they are only as good as the people with whom they work. The ability to hire, train and retain the best and the brightest people is often the difference between success and failure.

7. Seeing the future. Few organizations take the time to regularly consider the future. Growth leaders learn how to diligently monitor and interpret the macro forces of change affecting the world in which they live.

If the venture capitalists are interested in your company after completing their due diligence, they will offer a binding term sheet. It will reflect the draft term sheet that has already been agreed to but this one will be a legal contractual agreement. Then the real negotiations start.

There are different types of financing to consider: debt, equity, and mezzanine.

Debt financing is the most objective and is therefore the easiest to negotiate. If you have the assets to support the debt and the income to support the interest payments, the negotiation period will be very short.

Equity financing negotiating is more complicated and revolves around agreeing on valuation and percentage ownership. Discussions usually requires several days.

Mezzanine financing involves a mix of equity, debt, convertible debentures and preferred shares. Negotiating the technical aspects of each so that an agreement can be reached between the investor and your company can be time consuming.

Another dictating factor is the number and variety of financing offers that you receive. It is the intermediary’s role to help you bring more than one offer to the table and assist you in evaluating and negotiating which one is best suited to your company’s needs based on their previous experience.

Venture capital term sheets are time limited. You have to quickly make up your mind if you want to accept or reject the offer. The short time period is in place to prevent you from using one term sheet to solicit new offers from other venture capitalists.

When you begin talking about a small business networking upgrades, prospects and clients will often dwell on cost. They neglect to consider the soft costs of not properly investing in a network, such as lost employee productivity when imprudent corners are cut, downtime when fault-tolerance is an afterthought, and service costs from computer consultants when difficult-to-support or “dead-end” solutions are selected primarily because of their low price tag.

Addressing Client Objections

No matter how thorough your initial consultation, IT audit, site survey and network design reports, some client objections may pop up just before you get the client’s authorization to proceed with small business networking. One relatively minor concern might threaten to derail the entire sale, so you need to know how to overcome some of the biggest small business networking deal-closing obstacles.

Empowered with these strategies, you’ll be much less apt to get emotional, defensive, or just plain annoyed. You can then stay focused on keeping your eye on the ball and figuring out the best way to solve the prospect’s or future client’s problems – and of course, close the small business networking sale. Remember, your company isn’t in business to solve prospects’ problems; only those of paying clients.

Overcoming Apathy

If the decision-makers have an apathetic outlook toward the prospect of implementing small business networking, your decision-makers might take weeks, months, or perhaps even years before feeling a sense of urgency about your proposed network project. However, once you discover the roots of this apathy, you’ll have a better opportunity to push (or at least nudge) the approval process along.

The Bottom Line about Small Business Networking

Situations like catastrophic data loss, (though horrible tragedies for those affected) are great motivators for combating apathy. All of a sudden, the small business owner becomes extremely receptive to your suggestions about your proposed small business networking solution, which of course, features centralized security and data protection.

The poker boom right now shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who plays poker regularly. Such television shows like the World Poker Tour, which allowed television viewers to see each player’s hole cards, made the game much more interesting to watch. Ever since Chris Moneymaker (Yes, that’s his real name) broke out on the scene to win $3.5 million in the No Limit Holdem Main Event within the World Series of Poker through a $40 Internet Satellite, every average Joe watching had dreams of making it big in the game of no-limit texas holdem.

Like Chris Moneymaker, everyone has a chance at making it big, but be warned, as a small business idea playing is a tough lifestyle. Most professional poker players agree that playing poker for a living is not an enjoyable experience. You’ll have constant pressure trying to pay your bills, mortgage payments, car payments, and overall, the agony of maintaining your lavish lifestyle. Within the game of poker, you may experience some of the greatest enjoyments, but then again, if you’re not a well-rounded, experienced player, you will find yourself stressed out and disappointed. Playing poker will wear you down physically, emotionally, and mentally.

The fact is, the most famous poker professional’s today are being treated like rockstars – driving the hottest cars, live in the most luxurious mansions, and dine at exquisite restaurants. But, the majority of their income is made through sponsorships and business ventures. Notice all of these professional players are promoting online poker sites – or dozens of books written by a handful of poker pros. They are making millions of dollars off their small business savvy ideas, and they didn’t have to risk it all on poker. As a small business, using poker, particularly texas holdem, you can generate cashflow for yourself without gambling a single dime at a poker table.

Maybe you’re looking for a way to generate a few extra dollars on the weekends. Or maybe you’re looking for that idea that will generate you a six-figure salary. Either way, the amount of money you can create from these online and offline poker-business ventures is up to you. First of all, not only have I put these ideas into motion and created income for myself, I’ve interviewed and asked individuals who are making a living off the “business of poker” rather than “playing poker.”

There are only a handful of people who are playing poker as a small business. There’s no better time than now to take action and make a killing off the business of poker. Besides being a source of financial independence, playing poker as a home based business idea can be a lot of fun. Yes, this is in fact one of the main motivation to start small business around the poker table. End of part 1.

When starting or expanding a business, many owners wonder if they should form a business entity and, if so, which one they should use. There is a wide variety of information and “pitches” being made on the Internet regarding the benefits of certain entities versus others. When you cut through the flak, however, the primary reason for forming a business entity is to create protection from personal liability arising from your business activities.

It is well established that up to eighty percent of businesses will fail in their first two years. Many of these businesses, and probably yours, carry a high level of personal risk for their owners. If you are not using the correct entity for your particular business, you are going to be personally liable if the business fails. Do you want to expose your home, car and other assets? How about the assets owned by your spouse or their paycheck from a regular job? Selecting the correct entity for your business prevents such nightmares from occurring. More importantly, you can sleep at night knowing that the worst thing that can happen is losing your investment in the business, not your home.

Business Structures

There are a number of business structure options that exist in the modern corporate world. Following is a short explanation of the most common business structures.

Corporations

Corporations come in two basic forms, a “C” corporation and an “S” corporation. There are a variety of differences, but the central one is a tax issue. Briefly put, “C” corporations are taxed on their revenues and you are then taxed separately on any money you take out of the corporation. An “S” corporation “passes through” all taxes to the shareholders with the information being reported on your personal tax returns.

Regardless of the tax classification, a corporation is considered an independent entity from a legal standpoint. This independent status acts as a shield between the activities of the business and your personal assets. As a practical example, Kmart recently filed bankruptcy. The individual shareholders were not required to file bankruptcy and lost nothing more than their investment in the stock of the company. Forming and using a corporation for your business activities will have the same effect, to wit, your personal assets will not be wiped out if the business fails.

Limited Liability Company

A limited liability company, or “LLC” as it is better known, was a very popular entity choice in the early 1990s. LLCs are similar to corporations, but can be taxed as a partnership. In California, the LLC can have either one owner or two. Regardless of the number, these owners carry the legal title of “member.” The LLC provides a shield for your personal assets just like a corporation.

Partnerships

In my opinion, it is better to have died a small child then be in a partnership. Unfortunately, many business owners form partnerships and don’t even know it. This occurs when they go into business with another person. If no business entity is formed, the law considers the business to be a partnership and treats it accordingly.

Partnerships are dangerous for one primary reason: a partnership does not provide any protection from liability and, in many ways, invites personal liability. Under well-established law, most partnerships are classified as “general”. This simply means that all the partners are contributing to the administration and running of the partnership business. This classification can have grisly results.

In a general partnership, each partner is jointly liable for the debts of any other partner arising from the business. For instance, you and your partner go to a business dinner with a client. Your partner has a drink and then a few more. They then get into an accident on the way home. Each of the partners is liable for the damages claimed by the injured people. That means YOU! Even if you were not in the car, did not rent the car, never saw the car and don’t drink!

Partnerships are a recipe for disaster. Stay away from them whenever possible.

Limited Partnerships

Limited Partnerships ["LP"] are perhaps the most misunderstood business entity. A limited partnership is similar to a general partnership, but allows a number of the partners to limit their liability by being limited partners. It is critical to note that these limited partners are restricted to simply making a capital [cash, content, equipment] contribution to the partnership. They cannot be involved in actively running the business. If they are, they lose any protection from partnership debts. Many limited partnerships end disastrously. If you are married to the idea of pursuing a limited partnership, you must do so in combination with corporations. That particular strategy is well beyond the scope of this article, but feel free to contact me if you wish to pursue a limited partnership.

Business owners should protect themselves by forming entities for their business activities. The real issue is identifying the structure that is best for your particular situation.

Finding proper business financing is not easy at the best of times for most small and medium sized business owners and managers.

There are a number of reasons that collectively explain why the business financing market can be so difficult to understand and navigate.

But probably the single biggest reason is the lack of useful information about how the business financing market actually works.

Business financing information and education sources predominantly come in two forms: 1) institutional education material; 2) major bank advertising.

If you’ve ever read through a educational finance text book or taken a business finance course, you already know how difficult it can be to apply the theories, principles, and strategies to a small or medium sized business scale.

From a formal educational point of view, there is very little useful information provided as to how the market place works, how to plan for financing requirements, how to manage periods of growth, decline, transition, start up, etc.

Sure academic books and courses can go through all these areas in great detail, but is the information practical, real world, something you can relate to and apply yourself as a manager or owner of a small or medium sized business?

In most cases, the answer is a resounding NO.

Most finance text books speak to big business financing dynamics that are not easily transferable to small and medium sized business scenarios.

Outside of the formal education system, the next great source of business financing information is the information provided by the major banks, which they tend to make available to you by the boat load through there broad based marketing campaigns.

Unfortunately, the information by itself seldom helps you determine if a particular institution would be able to provide you with financing, or what would be required to qualify for a loan.

The massive brand advertising campaigns run by the major banks have told us for years that these institutions will take care of all our banking needs, and that basically all we have to do is show up on their door step and they’ll take care of the rest.

Depending on whose numbers you look at, in reality major banks provide less than 30% of the financing required by small and medium sized businesses and this number is on the decline.

So, when equipped with little or no useful information, the average business owner or manager for a small or medium sized business will first approach their existing bank for financing.

After all, you just need to show up at the door step of a major bank and they will take care of your needs, especially if you are a long time customer, right?

Despite the branded messages to the contrary, major banks tend to be very selective when providing business financing to small and medium sized businesses.

So, if your bank can’t provide you with the business financing you require, what is your alternative?

The good news is that business financing sources continue to grow in numbers as more and more lenders carve out a particular piece of the market to service.

In order to take advantage of these alternatives, you need to have a solid approach in place when seeking business financing.

Here’s a short list of things to consider

>>> Develop a thorough understanding of both your personal and business assets, income, and cash flow.

Regardless of financing model, these elements will always come into play to some degree.

A good practice to follow is to maintain a personal net worth statement and update it at least quarterly so that when you do need to access this information you don’t have to dig through stock certificates, pension statements, life insurance policies, etc., to come up with a current value for the assets you own and the debts you owe.

Your knowledge of your own business financials is also an indication of your ability to manage your business.

>>> Monitor and manage your personal and business credit.

Small and medium sized business financing is focused on both personal and business credit histories.

Regular reviews of both personal and business credit reports from the credit reporting agencies are important to avoid errors and credit practices that can severly damage your borrowing power.

>>> Develop your marketing position.

Yes, seeking business financing is a marketing exercise.

When applying for business financing, you are marketing your business to lending sources.

In order for them to seriously consider your application, they need to know what’s in it for them.

What will they make as a return?

What is the risk of you not paying the money back?

What are the business risks and how do you intend to manage them?

When will they get their money back?

How will you secure the loan, and so on.

>>> Research Lending Sources

Your goal when seeking business financing is to locate the amount of capital you require to accomplish a specific purpose from a financing source that meets your business needs.

Again, there are lots of business financing sources. But there is also lots of variation in the types of business applications each one can consider.

Broad based lenders reply on credit history and net worth. As you get more specific in terms of financing application and industry, lender applications become more narrow and can be harder to locate.

Financing consulants and business loan brokers can be an excellent source of information.

>>> Qualify The Lender

Before you make a formal application, find out if the lender has the programs and lending track record to meet your specific needs.

Too often, only the lender does any amount of qualification. Both sides should get comfortable with what each can offer the other before proceeding with a formal application process.

>>> Compare your options

Depending on the scenario, there can be several financing strategies that could work for your business.

Make sure you take the time to compare before making a decision. The extra time spent could save you considerable time and money in the long run.

>>> Start Today

Regardless of what your business financing needs are right now, you should regularly invest time in staying on top of your business’s financials and researching financing sources that fit your industry and potential future applications.

When the time comes to acquire additional capital, your proactive efforts can make all the difference in getting the capital you require, when you need it, for terms that are acceptable to your business.

Small business networking is absolutely critical to your business success. As a computer consultant you are in the professional services business. This industry is all about relationships and relationships are built through networking.

You will need to make small business networking your priority for the first few months of operations. This is a process that can’t be rushed. You’re not going to go to your first network event and get six clients who all need network upgrades next week. But if you do participate in a small business networking event there’s a good chance that you will come away five or six quality contacts.

Networking For Contacts

Aside from the potential client contacts you make, the beauty of small business networking is that the accountant you struck up a conversation with just happens to have a neighbor who’s brother is looking to network his company’s regional office. Or the dentist you were talking to has a similar business philosophy and would probably be a great client to do business with. These contacts are priceless

Once you make the contact you then have to spend time following up with meetings, proposals and sales calls. But this time is much better spent than chasing down one-shot clients. Though small business networking you make in-roads with people who are, or who can put you in touch with, the steady clients that will support your business long-term.

Don’t expect to walk out of every event with a handful of paying clients. Do expect, however, to generate a bunch of quality leads and referral sources. These referrals and leads are the crux of small business networking.

You need to have a bunch of different leads in your funnel and a lot of different contacts in your funnel at any given time. Some of these will be hotter at different stages and will be ready to move into paying client status at different stages and different dates. Small business networking keeps you in contact with these people throughout their buying phases.

The Bottom Line on Small Business Networking

Client contact and client referrals are what will lead you to long-term, steady clients – The kind of clients that will make your business a success. Getting out and attending small business networking events may appear to be unproductive socializing but the contacts you make will generate an enormous return on your invested time. Start your small business network today – you never know where it will take you.

Is your business short on help? Good help, that is? Did the best administrative assistant you ever had leave because her husband was relocated to Timbuktu? Now what? You’ve been through countless resumes and none of the candidates seem to measure up. Maybe you need extra help once in a while, just to keep your regular assistant’s head above water. Are you a small business owner who can’t afford, or don’t have enough work, for a full-time secretary?

Why not hire a virtual assistant or VA? Gaining in popularity among large and small businesses alike, VA’s can help bail you out of a rough spot on a temporary basis or even work long-term just like a regular employee.

In today’s soft economy and world of corporate scandals, failures, and layoffs, many a good employee has been ousted from his or her job. The ambitious ones are out there daily trying to find a new position. Trouble for them is the help wanted section of most newspapers has become extremely thin. Most people can’t go very long without some sort of income. So, the most ambitious and resourceful are making their way back into the working world any way they can. For many, this means starting a business of their own.

What does a person do when what they know is secretarial? What do they do when they need to feed their family and pay the mortgage? Many create their own business and several are opting to become virtual assistants.

What does a virtual assistant do?

In short, a VA can do just about anything a regular employee can do. You just won’t see his or her face every day. Many virtual assistants are Jack’s or Jill’s of all trades, some are more specialized, but here’s a list of some of the things a virtual can do:

• Bookkeeping

• Human resources

• Concierge services

• Collections

• Sales

• Marketing

• Travel arrangements

• Research

• Word processing

• Appointment setting

• Meeting arrangements

• Event planning

• Letter preparation

• Transcription

• Reports

• Proof reading

• Manuals

• Newsletters

• Flyers

• Mailings

• Data entry

• Data processing

• Document scanning

• E-mail processing

• Answering phone calls

• Procedure documentation

• Customer support

Virtual assistants are typically a very intelligent bunch as well. Many are college educated and even more have countless years of excellent business experience to draw upon. This comes in very handy when you’re looking for ideas.

How does a virtual assistant work?

Virtual assistants come in all shapes and sizes, just as any business does. Typically, however, VA’s work from home-based offices. They’re the savviest of the savvy when it comes to operating on a low budget and using technology to their advantage. Most are equipped with the latest software (and lots of it), multiple phone lines, Internet, e-mail, fax machine, cellular phone, copy machines, scanners, and a great attitude. Many even come with a cat or dog! He or she will use all of the latest technology to communicate with the client and get the work done as quickly as possible. And, possibly best of all, they only “clock in” when they’re on your project, not while they’re sitting at your desk, using your electricity, playing solitaire!

What’s all this going to cost?

All well and good, right? But aren’t virtual assistants more expensive than regular employees? Absolutely not! Actually, a virtual assistant is far more cost effective than a regular employee. You may pay more per hour than a regular employee, but leave out the FICA, state unemployment taxes, Social Security, health insurance, vacation time, sick time, 401(k), profit sharing, Christmas bonus, holiday pay, and other benefits you need to offer a regular employee, and a virtual assistant’s wage comes out far lower than that of a regular employee.

A virtual assistant can save money in other areas as well. How much does it cost you to maintain office footage, a computer, a phone line or two, a refrigerator, a microwave, a desk, electricity, heat, air conditioning, and parking for your regular employees? With a virtual, you don’t need any of those things either – he or she supplies his or her own.

The fee for a virtual assistant usually depends upon the area of the country where he or she is located and their area(s) of expertise. Virtual assistants charge between $15 and $75 per hour. But, you only pay for the time he or she actually spends working on your tasks. Some will ask that you pay for a “minimum guaranteed usage” each week or month. Many will also agree to work for varying hourly rates depending on the task. For example, if they’re to perform basic word processing, the fee might be $18 per hour, but if they’re expected to research the legalities of transforming your LLC into a Corporation, they may charge $45 per hour. Yet, others may agree to a flat fee based upon individual project requirements. Either way, you come out ahead.

Why should I trust someone I’ve never met?

VA’s are as concerned with your business success as they are with their own. In fact, their success depends on your success. So, a virtual assistant can become one of the best assistants and business partners you’ve ever had. Just like you, they are business owners and very interested in helping their clients.

Virtual versus temp or temp agency

Virtual assistants tend to work harder than the average person issued to you by a temporary agency. Keep in mind that the temp agency is charging you as much as 20% more than the worker is actually getting paid. This practice often leads to the use of unskilled or unacceptable laborers. Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to choose who works with you. You’ll also need to provide all of the temp’s supplies like paper, toner, pens, computer, electricity, etc, whereas, the VA comes with his or her own supplies.

How many times have you hired a temp who you spent time training, only to have her stick around for three weeks, then you had to train yet another temp? A virtual assistant, as we mentioned, is in this to succeed and help you succeed. You’ll have to train him or her too, but only once!

Oh, yes, and you still need to pay the temp while she sits there and waits for another assignment from you. Not with a virtual assistant. While she’s waiting for the next assignment from you, you can bet she’ll be working on something for another client.

Choosing a virtual assistant

Now that you’ve decided to hire a virtual assistant, how do you go about choosing one? There are several things you need to know before you start looking:

• What exactly do I need help with?

• What expertise does the VA need?

• How much do I have to spend?

• How quickly do I need this project done?

• How long will I need virtual assistance?

• How often will I need my VA to work?

• What hours should he or she be available?

• What days of the week?

• Is there any specific software he or she needs to have?

• Is what I need accomplished so specific that I’ll need to incorporate some training time?

• How will I pay him or her? Visa, MasterCard, Check, Paypal?

• How do I want to communicate with my VA? Phone, e-mail, snail mail, or a combination?

• Does my VA really need to be located in a particular time zone, country, part of the country, city?

• Any other particular qualities you’d like your virtual assistant to have?

Just as you would screen someone who would apply to work in your office, you’ll still need to spend a little time screening your virtual assistant. You’ll need to tell him or her what you need and want, and what is and isn’t acceptable. You’ll also need to negotiate pricing and terms with the virtual.

The best thing you can do to ensure you receive the help you need, is behave as though you’re choosing a new car. Push the buttons, turn on the stereo, kick the tires, and ask, ask, ask. Listen to what the potential VA has to offer you as well. He or she may even be able to do several other tasks, which you hadn’t counted on, or even offer some very sound business advice.

Who benefits by using a virtual assistant?

• Large corporations

• Small businesses

• Home based businesses

• Busy executives or managers

• Entrepreneurs

• Students

• Even individuals who just need a little extra help

What happens if I don’t like the VA I’ve hired, or s/he doesn’t work out?

Unless you’ve signed a contract guaranteeing a particular amount of time or pay, the answer is rather simple: you just don’t offer any more assignments.

If you do happen to have a bad experience with one virtual assistant, however, don’t let is sour you from finding another. Treat it as though you simply had a bad date. Bad dates do happen and some people just aren’t compatible. Get back out there and look for another VA that better suits your needs or personality.

A win-win for everyone

The use of virtual assistants truly is a win-win for everyone involved. For the employee-challenged business, VA’s dramatically increase your labor pool. And, for the cash-strapped entrepreneur, virtual assistants save money – lots of money. What’s more, it’s better for the environment to hire a virtual assistant. Just think of all the vehicle emissions you’ll be saving by having one or two workers telecommute. As for the VA, they typically enjoy a better quality of life, as they are also able to be home and raise their children in between working on your projects.

Do you feel like you have the “pedal to the metal,” spending all you can on advertising but still can’t get the growth of your business into the fast lane? The fact is, if your customers aren’t engaged, it may not matter how much you spend on advertising. Just like a car in neutral isn’t going anywhere (no matter how much gas you give it) until the transmission is engaged, your business isn’t going anywhere until your customers are engaged.

What does engage mean? Here are three definitions you might find in a dictionary:

1. To attract someone’s attention

2. To establish a meaningful contact

3. To move into position so as to come into operation

Combine the three of them and it provides a pretty good working definition for engaging your customers:

Attract your customers’ attention with the intent to establish a meaningful relationship and move them into position to help your business grow.

Without worrying too much right now about how to engage your customers (we’ll get to that) let me propose multiple levels of possible customer engagement as represented by this pyramid model.

At the base of the pyramid is your total available market. That is, all of the potential customers in the world. They have potential, but at least at this point no level of engagement with you or your company.

The next level derives its name from a term we have all used when asked by a sales man if we need help, “No, just looking.” The fact that we are looking means we are more engaged than the masses, but we’ve yet to make any great commitment.

Just beyond Just Looking is Just Buying. For most companies this is the height of their ambition. Get a sale, book the profit and move on to the next customer.

Above just buying is buying again. This is a level that in general assumes that the customer was pleased enough with their first purchase to be willing to come back and purchase again. I say in general, because it is possible that they have no other options and therefore they have no choice. For you as the business owner, this is a very good level. Serving a repeat customer costs less because you don’t have to pay to acquire them and they are less expensive to serve in most cases because they are already familiar with you and your operation. The more customers you can get to Buying Again , the more profitable you will be.

But there are customer engagement levels even higher than Buying Again. The first is Giving Feedback. This refers to customers that are willing to invest more of themselves in your company than just their money. They do this by making the effort to tell you how you can improve your offerings. In effect, they go beyond the typical definition of customers and become co-producers, helping to ensure that your offering is exactly what the market wants and needs. Two great things happen in the process: 1) As your offering improves so will your sales and, 2) As the customer invests their ideas in your company they will become even more loyal and move to the next level.

At the top of the pyramid is Telling Others. At this level your customers are so pleased with your offerings they can’t be stopped from telling others. They become co-promoters, a very powerful sales force willing to tell perfect strangers and best friends how wonderful your company is. As consumers in general become ever more jaded and less trusting of traditional advertising, the growth of your company will be largely dependent on how many of your customers become promoters.

Having described the model, let me hasten to add that I know it is oversimplified. Not all customers will move through each level. Some will become promoters without ever providing feedback. Some will provide feedback and then go away and never return. Despite its simplicity, I believe the model can be helpful in understanding the concept that customers can become much more valuable to a business than just the value of the purchases that they make. Consider the following:

This chart attempts to show in relative terms how much a business benefits financially from a customer at each level of possible engagement. At the far left, Just Looking, expenses associated with a customer typically exceed income from that customer. For example, you spend money on advertising and attract the attention of a customer willing to take a look. At that point you have paid out (for advertising) more money than you have brought in ($0 purchased by the customer).

For those customers that take the step and buy your offering, chances are you will cross over into positive returns. If the customer returns to buy again and again your profit from that customer will increase. Note that the slope of the line becomes steeper in the buying again phase. That is due to the fact that it is less expensive to sell to returning customers than it is acquire new customers. In fact for most businesses it costs five to ten times more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell more to current customers. The obvious difference is the acquisition cost associated with attracting new customers. The less obvious reason is that a regular customer already knows how your product or service works and doesn’t require as much “hand holding” throughout the process.

As the curve continues into the higher levels of engagement, Giving Feedback and Telling others, its slope becomes even steeper indicating that significantly higher returns are possible. Two reasons for this: 1) The additional costs required to move customers into these levels is relatively small and 2) The potential returns have a built in multiplier effect—that is, one customer’s actions can influence many other customers.

For example, feedback from one customer that helps you improve your offering not only benefits that one customer and brings them back again but benefits all your customers and increases the likelihood that they will return more often. Even more obvious, a customer who begins telling others about your business brings not only her purchases but the purchases of several new customers to your business.

In conclusion, engaged customers will help you improve your offering, they’ll actively promote your product, they will improve your bottom line, and, to a large extent, they will determine how fast your business will grow. As you consider the growth of your business, look not only at how many “Just Looking” customers you can bring in and move to “Just Buying,” but also consider how you can get your “Just Buying” customers fully engaged in your business.

You dream of owning a business and experiencing its many benefits – freedom, power, wealth, and fulfillment. But you don’t want to start a business on your own. There’s too much risk and uncertainty. Plus, you don’t know what you would want to do that could be successful.

Instead, you want to find an existing business or a proven business idea that you can operate successfully. But the million dollar question is: “Where do you find it?”

There are several methods of finding a business to buy, and each has its own benefits. Here are some options to consider:

Word of Mouth

This method of finding the perfect business to buy is very much chance-based and consists of someone telling you about, or you driving around and seeing, a business that is for sale. Due to its nature, you are exposed to a very limited number of businesses. And unless you are very lucky that one of the few discovered in this fashion is exactly what you want, this method is not very effective at finding the perfect business to buy.

Classified ads in the local newspaper

The old-fashioned method of finding a business to buy is to look in the classified ads in the local newspaper and see if any catch your eye. This is a very difficult way to find a business to buy for several reasons. One, the number of businesses-for-sale listed in the classifieds is very small compared to the overall universe of businesses that are for sale at any time. Two, classified ads typically present you with only three lines of cryptic text to give you background on the business. And three, classifieds do not have a search function so you have to spend a lot of time looking through all of the classifieds to find those businesses that interest you. While classifieds can serve a purpose in buying a business, they are not very efficient or effective.

Business Brokers

Business brokers are typically very professional and knowledgeable in the art of buying and selling a business. Plus they are skilled at helping sellers sell their business. But therein lies the rub – they are contractually obligated to help the seller sell the business. They are not obligated to you as the buyer. Therefore, brokers will usually look out for the seller’s best interests first, which means they will often only show you businesses that they represent. This severely limits your exposure to the number of businesses that are available for sale at any one time, which makes it an inefficient method of finding the perfect business to buy.

However, more common these days are Buyer Brokers. These business brokers represent you, the buyer, in your efforts to buy a business. This can be very effective because the broker knows how to navigate the process of buying a business. However, you often have to personally pay the broker to help you buy a business, which increases your costs. Therefore, it is often best to conduct a search for a business on your own, and then hire an attorney or experienced broker to guide you through the purchase process. But where do you search for businesses on your own?

Online marketplaces

Online marketplaces typically contain an exhaustive list of businesses that are for sale. Plus, it is easy to search these thousands of businesses instantly to find only the ones that meet your criteria. This makes online marketplaces the most effective, efficient and comprehensive method of finding the perfect business to buy.

There are many online marketplaces to choose from, but they are far from equal. Some have inadequate search functions, others are just interested in collecting listing fees from business sellers, and others do not offer the buyer tools to help make your search process easier. As a result, selecting a good business-for-sale marketplace is critical in your search for finding the perfect business to buy.

You want a site that allows you to search its listings for free, and has a strong search function to help you do it effectively. In addition, you want a site that allows you to save your searches and be alerted via email (“Email Alerts”) anytime new businesses are listed that meet your search criteria. This saves you the time and effort of continuously searching sites everyday looking for the right business. Instead, the site does the work for you and presents you with businesses that are of interest to you.

Finally, you want a site that puts its money where its mouth is, one that charges sellers based on performance and not on a pre-set monthly fee. These sites are dedicated to helping match business buyers with sellers while lowering the cost of selling a business. As a result, these sites are very effective for both buyers and sellers.

Resources

* Find the perfect business to buy or franchise to buy,

* To find a broker to help you buy or sell a business, visit BrokerSource

* Sell a business or franchise quickly and easily