February 29, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
Doing business in Russia can be a whole new experience even for a professional exporter who has done dozens of foreign deals before. Russia is where West meets East and it’s a place which was cut off from the rest of the trading world for decades, from the non-socialist part of it anyway.
So what do you expect when you have your first business meeting with a Russian partner?
Well, the first meeting is the first test of your professionalism, credibility and expertise. Make sure you have the other side of your business card translated into Russian, so your title shows the position you hold within your company. Come to the scheduled meeting on time. Although punctuality may not be a strong point of your Russian partner, you simply cannot offend them by turning up late.
Good speaking skills and a well-prepared presentation are important. Although some Russian business people speak English, it’s always best not to take chances and hire a professional Russian interpreter as well as get any documents you are going to discuss translated into Russian. Apart from helping you both with any communication problems, it also shows flexibility and willingness on your part to go that extra mile.
Negotiations can be tough. Russians don’t give concessions easily and expect the other part to make allowances first. You do not need to give in immediately as, like everywhere else, it’s a two-way process and you just have to go with the flow a bit. Russians rely on their intuition a lot. Sometimes they go with their fifth sense rather than be influenced by a fancy presentation. But there is no such thing as instant decisions, of course. Building up a working relationship can be a long process.
Any meeting may well end up with an invitation for a drink or a meal. Turning it down would be very rude. If you for some reason can’t drink at all, it would be good to give a credible reason, health problems, for instance. Invitations to dachas (summer houses) or banyas (bath houses) normally happen at an advanced stage of a business relationship and are a sign of trust and good friendship.
On a more general note, Russia is all about the people you know and who knows you. It’s vital to have good contacts as they can take you so far and remove a lot of barriers on the way. It’s beneficial to have contacts up the chain as they can put you in touch with a decision-maker you need to talk to, avoiding unnecessary talks to lots of people who are not authorised to make those decisions you are after.
Respect Russia and all Russian and it will pay back.
February 27, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
When starting a business, theres that one big wall that block your way, and thats your startup money. Without money to fund your business, there will be no business at all. So how and where can you get money? Read on to get some ideas on where you can find funding sources for your vending business:
Home Equity Loan
Most people immediately think of getting a standard business loan when thinking of financing a home business or business startup. While this may be appropriate, do not fail to consider using your home as a bank.
Small Business Administration Loan
Banks administer this loan and are more favorable to this type than a standard bank loan because they are only liable for 15% of what they loan (the government carries the other 85%). There are a number of types of documentation required with this loan, but it is certainly worth the trouble if you are willing to follow the process.
Standard Bank Financing
This financial source is probably the most difficult, yet not impossible with good credit and some net worth. Banks typically do not look favorably at vending machine loans and consider them risky because they are not considered a fixed asset.
Invest Your Tax Return Money
For a lot of people, April 15th is bonus time every year as they receive tax returns with earned income credit and deductions for kids. You can use this to slowly build your vending business. Its a great, safer way to build your business.
Family Loan
In some cases, a family member may be favorable to loaning you the money for starting your home-based business. While there may be relationship risks to this setup, it needs to be considered as an alternative to standard business financing. Some family members would rather invest in your business vision and draw a little interest rather than lending it to a bank at 2-3%.
Sell Items You Dont Need
If you badly need to create an income steam, opt for this least popular fund source. How about downsizing your car and investing the money in machines? Why not have a huge yard sale to raise $500-$1000? Why dont you downsize your home and invest your profits in the business? All of us have some money around us in our life that we could put to work.
Lease Purchasing
An option to getting into the vending business is to make an offer to buy an established vending route by lease-purchasing. You agree to lease the route from the seller with an option to buy at the end of the lease period. You invest your profits from the lease period into the purchase of the business or you can continue leasing for the cash flow you are receiving. Remember to get legal help in setting up any contractual agreement like this.
Owner Financing
Not that always easy to find but dont let it stop your from asking the seller of a vending route for it, especially if you have some money to put down.
February 26, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
Start up machine tools, machine shop, woodworking, wood machinery equipment business loans, capital, financing, leasing with credit problems is still available in these economic times.
This article is going to discuss what is machine tools, machine shop, woodworking, wood machinery equipment leasing/financing, what are its benefits, leasing plans and how it relates to the start up business.
Additionally, we will show you lending requirements below for start up loans
Leasing is a form of renting but with a buyout clause at the end of the lease to take title to whatever we are leasing. The requirements to get into the lease may be as low as first and last payment and as much as 25%. Each situation is different and this offers the start up and seasoned business a way to invest very little monies into the business. Additionally, all other monies can be used for operating expenses such as marketing and other key areas. Leasing is not a new form of financing but could be a lending solution to the start up business.
The benefits of leasing may result in off-balance sheet financing reporting, tax incentives and conserving cash flow and preserving lines of credit for working capital purposes. Many leasing requirements may only require the initial outlay of first and last rental payment. Most leases finance 100% of the cost of the equipment such as soft costs which include shipping, software, training and installation. Additionally, leasing lets you regularly upgrade your equipment, eliminating your utilization of old, outdated equipment and reducing repair options.
Some of the leasing plans available to the lessee are $1.00, 10% or 20% purchase options as well as Trac Leases and FMV lease buyouts. Additionally, some lenders offer seasonal payments, deferred payments for ninety days, declining payments and half payments for a specified time period. It is important that the lessee understands all these different lease plans available as well as the buyout clauses. The lessee has many options to consider in negotiating his lease. He must understand each lender’s requirements and see if it fits within the realm of the lessee’s requirements.
Some lenders will accept the start up business whereas others will not wanto lend to this group. They consider that their risk capital can be invested in other types of portfolios that can be better served. Many lenders require full documentation which includes a couple of years of personal income tax returns, a personal financial statement, and other underwriters requirements. However, in the past couple of years, there is a select group of lenders out there require an application only program. These lenders have their own computer scoring model and eliminate the necessary additional paperwork of other lenders.
These application only programs are usually restricted to the seasoned business, however there are a few out in the industry which will work with the start up business as well. The amounts of the application only program run as high as $150,000 for the seasoned business and $10,000 for the start up. Additionally, the lender will lease the qualified asset probably from 36-60 months and many won’t finance any equipment and commercial vehicles over ten years old.
It is important to understand the lease terms, the rate factor the lender is charging and the buyout clauses in the lease to take title. If you anticipate paying off the lease early, you should consult your lender to ascertain there is no prepayments for a early payoff. The last thing to understand that the lessee is going to guarantee the lease.
*************************************************
1) Recap of Start Up Business Loan, Financing Programs Up to $40,000**********Conventional Financing, Bad Credit
0-2 Years Time In Business, Story Book Lender, Credit is Run but isnt Credit Driven, High Cash balances help a lot for approval
For New Business Start-Ups: (terms 12-30 months) Up To $40,000
1. Completed Credit Application
2. Personal Credit Report from all Principals
3. Last Years Personal Tax Return
4. Evidence of an Alternate Source of Income*********
5. Personal Financial Statement on All Owners
6. Evidence of a Business Bank Account (this may not be open yet)
If a Business has been open for a few months, please retrieve bank statements
Lease Terms are Up To 36 Months10% Buyout Clause
2 ) Second Start up Lending Program.
If you have good credit for other start up financing, minimum credit score 650 or higher, the down payment for conventional financing may be any from 10 to 30% down. Industries include owner operators for semi, day cabs and dump trucks. Other industries such manufacturing, construction, medical, transportation may also be eligible. Paperwork requirements are basically the same as above.
3) If you dont qualify for the start up programs above, we have many off lease and repo financing programs that start as low as 550 for minimum credit scores, financing up to $100,000, Down payments as low as $1,000
Happy hunting for your machine tools, machine shop, woodworking, wood machinery equipment acquisition and its start up financing and business loan programs
February 26, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
Business benchmarking is the process wherein you determine which company is the best, the one that sets the standard and identify the standard. Basically, you compare your own processes and the metrics that you use with your competitors. However, benchmarking is not only about concentrating on your rivals. You will actually take a look at the wide industry itself and compare it with the other industries. That is certainly a difficult thing to do and being tasked to do so means that you have to take a look at a wide variety of dimensions including quality, time and price. When you benchmark, you will be able to do things better, quicker and much more cost effective. In this case, business benchmarking is a crucial process for organizations. Even though it is tricky and complex, you can simplify the whole procedure by means of benchmarking with balanced scorecard.
The balanced scorecard is known for being one of the most versatile business tools ever invented. You can measure the efficiency and the performance of the most important factors that affect and may affect the success of your business. Using key performance indicators, you can create performance based management and use that system to monitor the efficacy of various processes. The BSC takes on the customer, the internal processes, staff efficiency and growth and not only the financial capabilities of your company.
Now, how do you use benchmarking with balanced scorecard? The answer here is simple: you will need your company data and use them to compare against your toughest rivals in the industry. Thus, you will have to measure your products, services and practices that are similar with the top firms in the world. This will allow you to determine the reasons as to why those companies are seen as progressive and productive. Knowing such elements and details will also enable you to incorporate your present knowledge about how to run the company better.
Those enterprises that are considered at the top of their game know what they are doing. This is why you also have to know yours. In this case, you have to be fully aware about the standards so that you can compare yourself against them.
Benchmarking with balanced scorecard lets you compare and evaluate your business against the other firms so that you can improve the situation of your business. You can use the information that you have obtained to enhance not only on your profitability but also in attracting new customers, retaining them and in meeting their expectations. In addition, you can also help your staff acquire more knowledge and develop their skills in selling products or performing their jobs. In this case, you are able to manage your company better through the benchmarking with balanced scorecard.
One of the useful things about benchmarking with balanced scorecard is that this permits you to effectively reduce time and expenditures without sacrificing the quality of the project or the product. Lastly, this whole process can aid in making the right decisions. Exploiting the data obtained from the tool, you can determine the right choices and avoid errors in judgment.
February 26, 2016 / como / 0 Comments
An Internet Marketing program has two sides. One is the part devoted to individual customers. The other is the business to business component. E-commerce programs as well as advertising, sales support, customer service and public relations are all elements of an internet marketing program.
Similar companies compete against one another while being only a click of the mouse away. In other words, a buyer can locate numerous sellers offering similar merchandise, similar prices and similar offers in a very short time period. As more people and businesses become comfortable with the internet, the marketing landscape will continue to evolve quickly in the coming years.
Use of the internet has exploded during the last few years in both the consumer and business-to-business markets. Although the experts still debate the future of the internet, no one doubts it is having an impact on how business is taking place in the twenty ‘first century, even with all of the – – dot crashes – – of the late 1990s. Here are some facts about the internet that highlight its tremendous growth and presence in society:
– The most common products consumers’ research online and purchase off-line (at the store or outlet) are: automobiles, computer, hardware, travel, electronics, books, appliances, music, sporting goods and clothing.
– Over 25 percent of all business-to-business purchases are placed through some type of internet connection.
– The five top business-to-business e-commerce products are computers and electronics, motor vehicles, petrochemicals, utilities, papers and office products.
– In 2004, 10 percent of business-to-business advertising dollars were spent on the internet. The total amount spent was $8.7 billion.
– About 54 percent of the e-mail users have responded to an e-mail advertisement. Almost half purchased a product.
– Internet retail sales account for almost 2.5 percent of all retail sales.
Business-to-business marketers were among the first companies actually to make profits using the internet. In today’s marketplace, the web is becoming the communication tool of choice for many business-to-business companies. The internet provides opportunities for communication, customer service, sales support, collaboration and e-commerce.
Some companies use the internet for every aspect of their business including taking orders, inventory control, production scheduling, communications plans, sales programs, service departments and support programs. The change from traditional communication channels such as salespeople, telephone and – – snail mail – -to the internet and e-mail happened quickly in some companies and more slowly in others.
Now, convincing top management of the benefits of internet marketing is essential. There is still a lack of internet expertise in the business community. As a result, many companies are turning to marketing agencies for guidance.
To conclude, the influence of the internet on various businesses and industries has been clearly noted in today’s world. The presence of the internet and e-commerce is so sweeping that the various applications of web technology are now essential elements of a fully integrated marketing communications program.