This week’s Entrepreneur University comes courtesy of Diarmuid Kieran. Diarmuid is the Webmaster for the franchise opportunity sites network. Diarmuid shares withs us the top factors franchisors consider when they are evaluating franchisees.

“When franchisers meet with potential franchisees, they will be looking for certain personal characteristics to judge whether they would be suitable to run a franchise or not.

It is very important that people wanting to be franchisees have enthusiasm for the company and are confident that they can help to continue its successful expansion. Therefore, a good understanding of what the franchiser does and how it operates is essential.

Even if the franchiser has not directly asked for a business plan, it is advisable to produce a document outlining how the business would go about raising its profile to attract customers and staff and some of the goals to achieve in the first few months and years.

Although an optimistic outlook is valuable, potential franchisees need to acknowledge that in the early stages it is unlikely that large profits or in some cases any profit will be made. Franchisers will want to know that their franchisees will not quit at the first signs of poor financial results.

They must also make it clear to the franchise company that they know they are chiefly responsible for the success or failure of their franchise.

Another key characteristic to have is being a good communicator, as a franchisee needs to deal with the franchiser, staff, suppliers and customers, otherwise it will be difficult to be successful.

Being able to effectively interact with people and explain things in a clear and straightforward manner will create loyalty, value and trust.

When talking to potential franchisees, franchisers will also be expecting a number of questions to be asked to demonstrate a great willingness to learn and seek help when needed, as opposed to believing you know how to run things with little assistance.

Each franchise company is different and so potential franchisees are advised to enquire about any unique practices and systems at the first meeting if they are not told about them initially.

Ideally, they need to show a balance between working on the development of the individual franchise and functioning as part of a team.

Ideas for improvement are welcome as long as franchisees are aware that they need to use the business systems and practices of the franchiser, which have enabled it to expand. They need to accept that decisions made on changes to each franchise are for the benefit of the whole franchise family.

In addition, it is important for potential franchisees to show that they will value their employees.

This is because a belief that employees deserve trust, a degree of responsibility and the chance to offer meaningful contributions to the business is very likely to make them more productive.”

This week’s Entrepreneur University is a special contribution that YE Founder Adam Toren lined up from Naomi Dunford. Naomi Dunford writes for IttyBiz, a blog for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other work-from-home types. Come by for marketing tips, small business advice, and the occasional very bad joke. Naomi shares with use her top ways to get a new business off the ground:

Starting a business is fun. Planning a business is not as fun. So how do you take your fresh idea and turn it into a viable business without sacrificing your enthusiasm in the process? Here are some ways to get started now.

Plan well, but plan quickly.

You know you need a business plan. (You do know that, don’t you?) You also know that business plans are long, scary, and mind-numbingly boring. They tend to take a lot of time, time which you might not have.

The most important part of your business plan is your SWOT analysis. This is where you identify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT analysis is your new best friend. Run one on your business, on yourself, on your business partners, and on your competition. Figure out what’s helping you and what’s hurting you. Do not fall into the trap of shoving your head into the sand and thinking you have no weaknesses. Think about this. Write it down.

Since this is for your own use and doesn’t have to be prettied up for a banker’s benefit, there’s no reason this should take more than a day.

Identify your Unique Selling Proposition.

Once you know your own strengths and your competitors’ weaknesses, you can figure out what makes you different from them. This is your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. It will be the driving force behind your marketing campaign.

What makes you unique does not have to be something earth-shattering. You don’t need to redesign the wheel. It could be as simple as actually listing your prices on your website, or offering 24 hour a day phone support. The only requirement is that it has to be something your customers actually care about. Pretty packaging on your plumbing parts is not a USP. Same-day delivery might be.

How are you going to market this thing?

You’ve identified your USP. Now you’re going to have to let people know about it. Sounds obvious? Apparently it isn’t. How many times have you been actively trying to spend your hard-earned money on a product or service, and all the companies looked the same? These companies are lazy marketers. They are telling you about all the fancy gizmos that every other competitor has, too.

You need to take your USP and beat your potential customers over the head with it. They should know why you’re different than The Other Guy before hiring you even crosses their minds. Do not make them think. Make your USP the most readily available piece of information to your customers. If you do that, the details of your marketing plan don’t matter as much. Since the thing that makes you better than your competition is now wildly obvious, whether you advertise in Text Link Ads or AdSense is just not a big deal.

Figure out your funding.

Unless your competition is Coca-Cola, the amount of money you have to start with is actually pretty unimportant. What is important is that you know how much you have, and that you allocate it wisely. Whether you have $500 or $5 million to start with, spend the most you can get away with on marketing. You need to get people to buy your product or service. Once they do, you can spend all the money you want on a new fax machine or 30-inch monitor or thicker stationery.

Start sooner rather than later.

There is a point, generally a lot earlier than most people think, when you have to stop thinking and start doing. It’s easy to sit back and ruminate on the absolute perfect way to launch your business. What’s hard is understanding that a not-bad business launched in a not-bad way makes a lot more money than an amazing business not launched at all because circumstances are not perfect. Make your service good, make it easy to buy from you, hang your shingle and prepare for a crazy ride.

Thank you to Marcel from getentrepreneurial.com for allowing us to use the article.

This week’s Entrepreneur University comes thanks to Anthony Mora. Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that focuses in the areas of media relations, image development and media training. Anthony shares with us his thoughts on how to be successful in a media interview:

Congratulations, you made it through the pre-interview, and the producer has booked you on the TV program. You have joined an elite group. This is what you’ve worked towards.

You’ve reviewed your wardrobe and dressed appropriately. If you’re discussing a product or a book, you’ve made sure that you’re taking along some extra samples (you have already sent copies to the producer). You’re about to walk out to your car, you’ve given yourself plenty of time (keep in mind - if you’re late, you’re dead), and you are ready to drive to the station and experience your first interview. Before you pull out of the driveway, be on the safe side, take a couple of minutes (you’ve given yourself plenty of time, right?) and review the following checklist.

1) Review the two or three primary points that you want to get across during the interview.

2) Make sure you’ve checked yourself in a mirror before you go on camera. Is your hair in place? Is your tie crooked? Is your lipstick smeared? Give yourself the basic once-over.

3) Remember, you don’t have to force the information; weave your points into the interview. If you spend your time forcing an issue, it will come out sounding strained and stilted.

4) Relax. You are there to have a conversation. Well, at least you want it to look like a conversation.

5) No slouching. Sit erect.

6) Focus on the interviewer. The camera and crew is part of the furniture as far as you’re concerned.

7) Start off with your most important information. Interviews can be very short. If you don’t lead with what’s important, you may have missed your chance.

8) Breathe. People have a tendency to hold their breath when nervous, which only creates more anxiety. Remember to breathe.

9) Smile. I’ve seen more media opportunities ruined by people who have refused to smile during their interviews. Looking grave does not make you appear more profound, it makes you look dull and somber.

10) Listen. Don’t anticipate questions. Don’t think that you know what the interviewer is asking. Wait until the question is asked and then respond.

11) If you get momentarily confused, or lose your train of thought, that’s okay. It happens to everyone. Take a deep breath and start again.

12) It’s alright to ask the interviewer to repeat a question. The last thing you want to do is give an answer to a question you don’t fully understand.

13) If the interviewer takes the conversation into an area you’re not comfortable with, or tries to manipulate you into answering questions that you don’t want to answer, remember you have control over the situation. Don’t be forced into saying something you don’t want to say. Be polite, and stay on course.

14) If a particular question throws you, or if you don’t want to answer a specific question, deflect it. Acknowledge that it was asked, and then return to an area that you’re comfortable addressing. You see and hear these types of responses every day around election time. An example of an appropriate response would be: “I certainly understand why you’d ask that question, but what’s really important is…,” now return to your agenda.

15) Don’t recite a laundry list of information and sacrifice a good interview. We’ve all had teachers who knew their subjects well, but bored the hell out of us. That may work in school, because there’s a captive audience, but you have no such luxury. You are there to interest as well as inform the audience.

16) Don’t be vague or use trade jargon. Speak in easy-to-understand language.

17) Show the audience what you’re talking about. Use a story or an account that illustrates a point, as opposed to just giving them vague ideas or theories.

18) Keep your information short, concise, and to the point. Keep it clear, short, and easy to understand.

19) When trying to make a particular point, be assertive but not pushy.

20) If having clients visit your store is pertinent to your business, mention your location. The viewers may love you, but if they can’t find you, you’re in trouble. Don’t simply blurt out your address, but weave your location into the conversation.

Bonus: Relax. Have fun. You’ve worked hard for this - enjoy it.

This week’s Entrepreneur University comes courtesy of Andy Marken. Andy has become a recognizable name on the blog having contributed two other posts: How To Do A Media Interview and How To Create A Sales Incentive Program. Andy is the brains behind Marken Communications, a full-service marketing and communications company. Andy’s advice this week is on whether you should start your or blog or not.

“Viral marketing, IM, SMS and blogging are just a few of the new avenues emerging for our globally constantly connected world. Rather than management seeing our avenues of reaching our various stakeholders as shrinking, the routes are actually being expanded. CEOs and senior managers have to understand what they are, the strengths and weaknesses of each and how you can leverage them best.

If not you could be the friend of Hawkeye’s in one of the M.A.S.H. shows who was critically wounded. He looked up and said, “I didn’t hear the one that hit me.”

The first three we mentioned are relatively easy to understand. If you aren’t familiar with them then go to google.com or yahoo.com, type them in and review widely available information.

The final avenue – blogging, weblogs or simply blogs – is more difficult to understand and not without its share of risks. It is also one that provides management what they need in today’s world – a fast, effective and economic means of carrying out two-way communications with a firm’s many audiences. Blogs also represent a long-term commitment to reaching out to educate, inform, influence and obtain inputs/feedback directly from your market.

It is also a concept and means of communications that won’t go away. It is a viral communications program that is going to become important to all organizations that are interested in growing.

If you don’t think you need to address the area it would be wise to find out how many blogs originate within your own organization. HP has more than 2,500. Microsoft has more than 3,000. IBM has more than 4,500. Proctor & Gamble…Coca-Cola…Pfizer…Dell…firms large and small have blogs being written by employees.

Weblog, Blog In its simplest terms a weblog can be an online (very public) diary.

It is a way for management to talk directly to customers, business partners and every stakeholder (including the board of directors). Blogs provide an opportunity for you to convince them that the positions, directions and actions that you are taking are in the best interest of all concerned.

For the first time, every head of an organization has the chance to interact on a daily basis with every segment of his or her community. The president/CEO has the unique opportunity to set the agenda, lead the commentary and shape opinions.

If it sounds too good to be true…it is!

Blogs are not one-way. They are two-way communications that can be observed by millions. Michael Dell has used the feedback very profitably – good and bad. He has used the information to hone Dell Computer’s products and processes. This immediate and open communications has enabled the company to gain the #1 position in the PC industry.

As with Dell’s and other corporate executive weblogs, the sites also provide a fast and direct means of conducting research of direct customer experience, company perception and review policy and programs in near real-time.

Granted, not all of the comments are favorable and many are downright negative but layers of managers don’t dilute the responses. As a result Dell management is able to evaluate the inputs and respond – internally and externally – as required.

Does Dell handle all of the feedback himself? Of course not! Nor does Microsoft’s Bill Gates, GE’s Jeff Immelt, AMD’s Hector Ruiz, Home Depot’s Robert Nardelli, the Dallas Mavericks’ Mark Cuban or the growing number of CEOs who maintain weblogs.

All of these executives monitor their blogs. They also have one or more members of their organization scanning, summarizing and focusing the information for the multitasking executive so he or she can respond and react accordingly.

While company/CEO blogs are not without their dangers, the alternative is that company blogs are being carried out by disgruntled employees (as was one highly covered Yahoo blog) or unhappy customers (there are hundreds of negative company/product sites on the web).

However, the CEO blog provides a blank canvas for management to state and explain their position, their actions. It also provides management with an opportunity to immediately and directly address issues and concerns. In some instances management can nullify the attack and in others they can turn detractors into supporters.

Blog vs e-newsletter While newsletters, especially print, have been used by companies for tens of years to get their messages to specific stakeholders – shareholders, employees, channel partners, market segments. They have been expensive, time consuming and …one way.

Even when we take advantage of the power, speed and ease of the Internet; an HTML newsletter suffers from the same shortcomings. In addition, once it is published and sent out you are never certain the newsletter will make it past the recipient’s spam filters. It is also less immediate than today’s growing blog community (Fig 1, 2).

Using one of the many blog templates your executive weblog site can be quickly established. Rather than broadcasting your message it can be fed to readers using today’s widely used RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format. The blog can be an extremely effective means of directly getting your corporate and product message to editors and reporters in the mainstream media (MSM), the community of citizen journalists as well as the growing number of individuals regularly read blogs.

RSS is a format for syndicating news and the content of news-like web sites. These include hundreds of major news sites such as Wired and Slashdot as well as thousands of business and personal weblogs. The blog can be made available to news aggregators at no cost and people interested in specific subjects to track the information and news.

There is more information than you want to know on the subject available on the web. But we have found the best source to educate yourself to be www.oreilly.com. The publisher offers a number of excellent books on the subject including Dan Gillmor’s, former influential columnist with the San Jose Mercury/New and author of We the Media. Dan recently left the SJ MN to practice what he preaches with his own grassroots journalism blog.

Weblogs are not something that should be begun without a long-term commitment. Unlike printed or e-newsletters that cross your desk or screen and can be dropped and forgotten, the blog remains…forever. The blog needs to be updated frequently – weekly, if not daily. There is nothing worse than visiting a blog or company web site that has news and information that hasn’t been updated…recently.

The Effective CEO, Business Blog The effective business-centric blog uses the combined tools of communications – computer, keyboard, focus, objectives, willingness to listen and something important to say. The executive blog has the unprecedented freedom of immediacy. The response can be developed, reviewed, massaged and posted in minutes rather than hours or days. The posting can be as long or as short as necessary to tell the story, make the point or counter incorrect information.

With full credit, we’d like to paraphrase some of the tips to an effective blog that have been presented by Seth Godin, a seasoned blogger and viral marketer — sethgodin.typepad.com

1. Blogs are ideal for CEOs because the focus is on a topic you are passionate about. The blog allows the executive to address business issues and concerns, explain them and expand on key industry/company points.

2. Use shorter, more frequent blog entries rather than long white papers or position statements. As you study blogs around the web you will see that the best and most popular sites are a short paragraph or two and sometimes only a sentence. The goal is to show you are knowledgeable about the subject and to make one specific point. Some of the best executive blogs only have a sentence or two with a link directing readers to a relevant article in a respected business, trade or consumer publication.

3. The best business blogs reflect the viewpoint and voice of the executive, not lawyer talk or PR bullet dodging. This can be a tightrope because you want to be as honest and forthright as possible but you also have to write with the understanding that you are creating a very public presence of your information.

4. The best CEO blogs are where the executive writes out two or three key points which are reviewed and massaged by a blog-savvy staff member. Make certain you use correct grammar, syntax and spelling.

5. Organize the content of the blog. A blog is an elegant, easy-to-use writing and communication tool. It should also be purposeful. Plan out the corporate and industry issues you plan to cover over time. Categorize your points with key words so the site can gain the widest and most visible search engine attention possible.

6. Post a new entry at least two to three times a week. Since each new entry is its own web page you will increase the chances that search engines will find the blog so you can broaden your reach with key audiences. Over time you will find that an effective blog entry can be done in 20 minutes or less. That certainly isn’t true when you are producing an enewsletter that can take days/weeks to develop and execute.

7. Include key contact information. Just as effective marketing web sites clearly display the contact information to make it easy for customers and the press, you want feedback and inputs from supporters and detractors so you clarify points or continue a meaningful and hopefully positive dialogue.

8. Godin emphasizes that executive blogs work best when they are based on:

• candor • urgency • timeliness • pithiness • controversy • utility Nothing expresses a company and product brand better than a CEO…especially a CEO who is smart, plugged in and can articulate issues that are important. It is not a place to simply plug your company, products or services. It is a place for executives to provide a voice and personality to an inanimate organization.

With the assistance and guidance of a knowledgeable and professional Internet and Web staff members, the executive can give voice to the company to discuss its position and place in the global community. He or she can articulate and explain business and industry activities.

Blogs are both derided and read by the mainstream media. More importantly they are increasingly being read by your business partners, stockholders, consumers and other stakeholders on a global basis. The corporate executive’s weblog provides a powerful strategic and tactical tool for expanding his or her influence and growing the company.”

Do you have your own blog? What’s the url and why did you start blogging?

This week’s Entrepreneur University comes courtesy of Omaro Ailoch. Omaro is a senior software engineer, an internet marketing expert, an entrepreneur and the founder of OC IT Services a highly skilled California based web development, design, and search engine optimization firm. Omaro shares his thoughts on how you can use LinkedIn to grow your business:

“When you consider that LinkedIn has nearly 10 million users hailing from over 150 industries around the world, it is surprising that B2B websites aren’t paying more attention. There are, though, several methods your website could be employing in order to improve your exposure within the business oriented social network, while also potentially improving your search engine visibility.

Invite, Invite, Invite

Your LinkedIn network not only consists of those connections that you personally invite. The connections of your connections, and their connections are also added to your network. It sounds confusing but you essentially get three tiers of connections for every person you invite. This means that you can gain an introduction to somebody through one of your existing connections.

In order to build your profile and greatly increase your connections list, you should invite everybody that is relevant to your business and your industry that you deal with. If you are a service provider, then you should politely invite clients to become one of your connections. As they add their own connections, these same people will be added to your own list and so on.

Make Your Profile Available To Search Engines

Your profile page on LinkedIn can be made visible to search engines. LinkedIn is viewed quite highly by the major search engines, particularly Google. When creating your profile, ensure that you create a public profile and opt for Full View. As such, include links to your websites, but also include the keywords most important to you.

By doing this, your LinkedIn profile will receive better search results so that people searching for your service, or those searching for the service you offer, will be more likely to see your profile page. Don’t forget to modify the link details to your pages, so that they use your most targeted keywords. This will also help to improve the performance of your own pages.

Use Advanced Search Tools

LinkedIn enables you to perform advanced searches within your trusted network. You can look for those connections that are starting a new venture or a new project, or anybody that might be looking for the type of service you offer. This provides you with the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself and promote your particular service.

Answer Questions

LinkedIn Answers is a service similar, in essence, to Google Answers or Yahoo Answers. Registered users can ask a question and other users have the option to answer that question. Regularly check the Answers service to see if there are any questions within your field of expertise. Give a genuine answer that provides valuable information and the member that asked the question is likely to view your profile. Because you answer questions in your own field of expertise this may mean a new connection and a new business contact.

Using LinkedIn To Improve Your Business Networking

LinkedIn is quite different to many of the social networking sites online. It is positively geared towards businesses and business members. As such, it enables you to build a powerful business network and the community does not frown upon the action of promoting yourself, as long as you do it properly and at the most appropriate times.”

How have you used LinkedIn for your business?

Having trouble selling your product or service? This week’s Entrepreneur University comes courtesy of Russ Lombardo, a nationally recognized Sales and CRM consultant, speaker, trainer, author and radio show host. Russ works with business owners, sales executives and professionals who want to increase their sales results by acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones. Russ shares his view on how anger can impact your sales:

“As an avid and competitive racquetball player, I get into some very heated matches with opponents from time to time. Racquetball is a very fast-paced and intense game and if you aren’t careful, your emotions can get carried away and override your ability to play smartly. How your opponent plays can have a direct affect on your emotional state. For instance, if he consistently gets in the way of your shot, you either have to take an alternate and less effective shot or call a hinder which results in a do over. If this continues throughout the game, it can get very frustrating.

When your opponent hinders you (i.e., blocks your shot and/or the ball), repeatedly calls debatable short serves, unnecessarily keeps bumping into you, yells loudly, or just behaves in a not-so-friendly and unmannerly way, it can easily result in your getting angry. Also, when your game is simply off and you keep making lousy shots, your frustration can lead to anger as well. When these things happen, your game can go right down the tubes. You begin thinking about your emotional state rather than focusing on your next shot, position or strategy. This very thing happened to me just recently when I was playing someone I would consider a discourteous player. I started getting angry and yelled at him and made equally impolite comments. Suddenly I realized something – I have very good selling skills but I’m not applying any of them to this game or my opponent. I wasn’t treating my opponent the way I would treat a customer, especially an unreasonable and a discourteous one.

I thought, “Hey, if my opponent was my customer, how would he feel about me?” The answer was simple; he would probably throw me out of his building. This was stupid. So I used this analogy to re-think how I was going to react to my opponent. Not only did I go on to win the game, but I felt better about myself. Most people have heard the expression about winning the battle but losing the war. It’s the same thing with this example. After cursing out my opponent or ridiculing his behavior in an unprofessional yet emotional way, I may have felt better at that moment (won the battle), but at the end of the day I would have lowered myself to his level and felt just as discourteous and unmannerly as my opponent (lost the war). In sales, the same scenario exists.

When you’re working with a prospect who is being unreasonable or who’s just being a plain jerk, how you react can make the difference between winning and losing the sale. Why people act this way is varied. Sometimes it’s just their personality and they don’t believe they are doing anything wrong. They’re just angry, grumpy and bad-tempered people by their very nature. Other times they may be testing you. They may want to see how far they can push you to gain control over their negotiating position. And other times it’s a matter of respect. Purchasers don’t always respect sales people, so they treat them accordingly. Unfortunately, some sales people don’t earn any respect and therefore deserve to be treated poorly.

When confronted with a situation that makes your blood boil, it’s important to act, not react. Sometimes you may have to walk away from a sale because the prospect is being too rude or even unreasonable. However, in cases where they are a serious prospect but just acting like a jerk, you need to handle your behavior properly. Here are some tips on what to do to prevent a battle from ensuing.

1. Remember your role. Don’t forget that you are a sales professional and not some hot-headed kid. Your role must include listener, solution-provider and partner. You’re there to understand the prospect’s problems and requirements so you can propose the right solution as a valued business partner. Focusing on this will help you keep a more even keel when confronted with emotional situations.

2. Pause before speaking. Count to ten, go to your happy place, or do whatever you have to do to give yourself a few seconds to think before speaking. When someone does or says something that angers you, you cannot afford to react without thinking. You’ll end up encouraging an argument or debate and behaving in an unprofessional manner. Take your time responding by first thinking about what was said, what he might have actually meant, your role (see previous point), and how to remove the emotion from what was said or done. This will help keep your temper from rising and allow you to respond more maturely and professionally.

3. The customer’s always right, sort of. I don’t believe that the customer is always right. I do believe that the customer is always right in his mind. This simple truth can help you keep things in perspective by realizing that, although the customer is being unreasonable or discourteous, he may believe that he is right in his mind. We all need to respect other people’s opinions, even if we don’t agree with them. If someone is behaving in a way that you don’t like or agree with, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are wrong in their mind. Likewise, your customer may feel the same way about you and your opinion. Keep things in perspective by remembering to respect other people’s opinions and feelings, however wrong they may seem.

4. Earn respect. We all want to be respected, but we also have to remember that we need to earn respect in order to be respected. You earn respect by acting as a professional, building trust with your customer and being a good listener. If you behave like the same kind of jerk as your customer, then you’ll be treated the same way. Take the high-road and earn respect, regardless of how you are treated. You may still not win the sale, but you’ll feel much better about yourself at the end of the day.

5. Be Patient. Selling takes patience. When someone is trying your patience by being nasty or rude, it makes selling even more challenging. Each action you take in the sales process requires a level of patience that people outside of sales may not fully appreciate. When a prospect is doing things that could make you angry, that makes it even more important to exercise patience. It’s tempting to say, “Hey! I don’t need this crap. Take it or leave it.” Obviously, you can’t actually say this. Instead you have to be patient and tolerant to get through these rough spots and pursue your goal.

6. Play the game. Realize that your prospect may just be testing you to see if he can frustrate you enough to give him more concessions than he is entitled. So play the game too. This is part of the negotiating phase and your ability to negotiate successfully will be fully tested with this type of prospect. You should always negotiate from a win-win position. However, your prospect may only care about himself or his company and may try for a win-lose scenario, where it’s he that wins at your expense. By understanding that this may be the case and being patient (see previous tip), you can play the game and reposition him for a win-win negotiation.

7. Different strokes. Everyone is different. That’s what makes the world such an interesting place. Different personality types make selling even more interesting, and I believe more fun. Your perspective on a situation, as well as how to handle it, may very well be different from your customer’s. Adapt to his style but, as mentioned previously, don’t resort to the same negative and unprofessional behavior. Simply remember that he thinks and behaves differently and that’s his style while remaining professional and courteous without showing anger.

In the heat of the moment it is very easy to lose one’s temper and show anger. In sales, as well as sports, this can prove to be fatal. Practice controlling your emotions and temper so that you maintain a professional and mannerly style in everything you do.

Good luck and good selling!”

It is time to get into the nuts and bolts of running a business. This week’s Entrepreneur University comes courtesy of Mark Gwilliam. Mark uses his international experience to coach small business owners on how to run successful businesses. Mark shares his advice on how to create a budget for your small business:

“There you are, running around in small circles with deadlines to meet and bills to pay. Can you really afford the time required to produce a detailed budget? Isn’t your time better spent generating revenue?

Yes and no. To paraphrase Alice and the Cheshire cat: “If you don’t know where you are going, you are sure to get somewhere if you only walk long enough”. The budget provides you and your investors with a numerical map that leads somewhere specific.

What is a budget?

A budget is a forecast of revenue, expenditure and profit. Most budgets are revised annually.

What does it achieve?

There are two (often overlapping) reasons for producing a budget. One is to persuade potential investors that your company is a good bet. The other one is to plan your business finances - how much money do you have and how do you plan to use it? How much revenue do you need to generate to achieve your target profit? Is your business plan viable or does it need adjusting? In retrospect, did the year pan out the way you planned, or did something go wrong?

How to approach a budget First, find out how your accounting software deals with budgets. It’s far more efficient to use the same package for accounting and budgeting. Next, meet your accountant to plan how to structure the budget. Arrive prepared, with a chart of accounts and a list of informed questions. Take copious notes.

Traditional budgets are very difficult for start-ups and firms with a short history, because there is little or no historic data. Revenue is particularly problematic, because no matter how carefully you have planned, it’s impossible to predict the future. There are two main approaches to budgeting:

The projections approach Here you enter projected costs and projected revenue, and calculate projected profits from these. This is reasonable and rational if the company has several years of relatively stable history to project from. If it’s a new company, such a budget is likely to become an exercise in denial and wishful thinking.

The required profits approach An alternative method is to enter projected expenses, and then calculate how much profit you require, and how much you think you can actually generate.

Eventually this should be enough to pay your salary and provide a return on your investment in the company. However, it might be realistic to plan for a loss in the first year or two, and only a small profit for a year or two thereafter.

Having settled on a number, you now add expenses to profit to come up with your required revenue.

Turn this number inside-out. Is it realistic? Is it achievable? Instead of guessing wildly how many widgets you may be able to sell, or how many hours you hope to bill, you can now soberly assess whether you will be able to reach your targets. Don’t have 10,000 billable hours in the year? Can’t afford enough machinery to make a million widgets? Go back and adjust the business plan.

Once the company is liquid, determine your salary based on what you would be earning if employed in a similar job, and your return on investment based on the interest you would receive if investing outside the business.

EXPENSES Fixed costs Fixed expenses remain the same regardless of sales volume. They include rent, loan repayments, and insurance.

Semi-variable costs These are costs with fixed and variable components, such as telephone, salaries and wages. The fixed component is the minimum cost of supplying goods or services, while the variable component changes depending on sales volumes.

Variable costs Variable costs increase or decrease in line with sales, and include costs of materials, distribution and commissions.

Start-up costs Initial costs must be factored in for a start-up.

REVENUE If you use the required profits method outlined above, you will have generated a total figure for required revenue. This is a goal rather than a prediction. You need to break it down to decide how many of what you need to sell, what you need to charge, and whether the targets are realistic. It has the added advantage of generating very clear monthly sales targets.

Once the business has been running for some years, revenue will be predicted in a more conventional way, based on past performance.

MONITORING THE BUDGET Once you have set up the budget, compare it to the actual figures every month, to look for differences and establish why they are there. Adjust expenditure or sales efforts as you go along, to bring the next group of numbers in line with the budget.”

Have you set a budget for your business?

For this week’s Entrepreneur University we turn to Cynthia Minnaar. Cynthia lives in South Africa and runs her own online home business. She is the proud owner of www.cyns-home-biz.com, the online home business site for online home based business start-up ideas, extra income opportunities, internet marketing training, affiliate marketing solutions and resources.

Cynthia shares with us how online entrepreneurs can get started on a shoestring budget:

“The secret to start making money online with your own internet home business is in the actual marketing of your business and there are many methods of internet marketing that are highly effective and will cost absolutely nothing if you give yourself time to learn the ropes and apply them.

In actual fact, the running costs of an internet home business can reduce every month as you learn how to market effectively at no cost at all.

If you are serious about building an online home business income from a real internet home business then at the outset you need to be sure that you select a reputable hosting company for your website. This is one area where it is not advisable to opt for free hosting.

Your aim is to drive targeted traffic to your website and if you are on a budget this just may take a little longer than someone who has spare dollars to purchase targeted leads. But, rest assured you will gain a great deal of knowledge as well as achieve huge personal success if you learn the methods that drive targeted traffic to your site at no or very little cost at all.

Here are some highly effective internet marketing methods that you can start working on immediately to drive targeted traffic to your home internet business website and start making money online.

Choosing Relevant Keywords

This is the foundation of your business and you need to establish what keywords or keyword phrases people will type into the search engines to locate your website. There are many free keyword selector tools available on the internet to help you with this, for example you could use the free version of Wordtracker or the Google keyword tool or the Overture keyword selector tool.

Search Engine Optimization

Once you have established what keywords you are going to use then you need to optimize your website for those keywords. You can also obtain free software on the internet to help you optimize your website, for example WebCEO can be downloaded free. Once you have completed optimizing your website, open a Google Webmasters account for free, create a sitemap and submit it to Google. Keep your sitemap current by submitting a new sitemap whenever you make changes to your website. Also submit your website to the search engines and it is advisable to submit to the major search engines manually.

Blog, Tag and Ping

Ideally you need to post on your blog at least once a day and be sure to hyperlink your keyword into the post so that it points back to your website in order to build back-links to your website that will help you rank higher in the search engine results. You need to aim to continually build back-links to your website. Be sure to tag your posts and then ping your blog to announce to the blogging community that you have just added a new post. There are many free pinging services available on the internet. Add your Blog RSS url to your My Yahoo account as well, which will ensure the indexing of the links on your blog posts.

Post in Forums

Forums are another free method of not only advertising your internet home business, but where you can also gain a tremendous amount of knowledge and assistance. Set up your signature with your keyword linked to your website and this will be free advertising for you as well as adding back-links to your site. Get involved and constructively post and contribute 3 to 5 times a day.

Article Marketing

This is a very highly effective method of gathering back-links to your site and securing high positions in the search engine results. If you write an article or two every week and distribute it to as many article directories as possible you will notice a massive change in your rankings weekly. Be sure to write articles based on the theme of your website and use the keywords you have selected and hyperlink the keyword to your url in the author resource box. You may at a later stage want to spend a portion of your budget to pay to have your articles distributed or purchase an Article Submitter.

Directories

Search the internet for seo friendly directories and start submitting your website to them, try and submit to 5 directories a day.

In Conclusion If you get involved in learning these free very effective methods of driving targeted traffic to your website, you will not only start making money online but you will automatically find that you start learning and getting involved in other marketing methods such as RSS, Social Bookmarking, etc., which will take your internet home business to the next level.”

For this week’s Entrepreneur University we turn to Virden J. Thornton. Virden is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a 23 year old firm specializing in sales, customer relations, personal coaching and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few.

Virden shares his thoughts on how to increase your closing rate:

“A closing question asks for a final decision. A trial-closing question is one that asks prospects for an opinion. Trial-closings should be non-threatening questions that ask how your prospective customer feels about what you have presented. Typical trial-closing questions can build in their directness as these examples illustrate:

• “How does this approach sound?”

• “Which of the two demonstrated packages do you like best?”

• “Do you see how this approach can save you money?”

• “What are your feelings about our guarantee program?”

• “Do you need additional information before making a decision these products and/or services?”

Ron Willingham, one of today’s top sales trainers has stated, “From the time you begin your demonstration to the point you feel a close is appropriate, your objective is to get opinions, reactions, feelings or feedback.” Without asking trial-closing questions you’ll never have enough information to effectively close a sale.

When a sales or service industry professional closes after a presentation, tying off a sale is made much easier when trial-closing questions are executed throughout the presentation phase of your discussion. For example:

“Paul, how do you feel about our program as it has been explained to you?”

- or 1 “Paul, can you see how the cost savings in our plan will more than offset the cost of installation?”

When you close on an appointment, tying off an appointment (sale) is made much easier when you use trial closings throughout the conversation. For example:

“Bob, with your busy schedule, would an afternoon or early morning meeting time be best for you?”

- or 1 “What this means to you, John, is that you can receive a free analysis on your present services with no obligation to purchase our services. Can you see how a 15, no more than 20 minute meeting might clarify some of your issues with your present vendor and give you the information you need to make a sound decision?”

As you receive a favorable response from your trial closings, it really makes it difficult for your prospects to give you an arbitrary “no,” when you later ask them to purchase your product or package of products that you have demonstrated. As you practice using trial-closing questions, you’ll watch your closing ratios and profitability dramatically improve.”

For this edition of Entrepreneur University I turned to productivity coach Lorraine Pirihi. Lorraine is the Productivity Queen and she helps entrepreneurs get more time, make more money, and have a life in your small business.Lorraine offers her 7 tips for how small business owners can achieve success:

“Running a small business requires many skills. However, to do this successfully you need to organize yourself first. Avoid procrastination - read the following and take action.

1. Successful Small Business Owners Look After Themselves First

Exercise regularly, eat healthily and be around positive people. Feed your mind by attending personal development courses. Read self-help and motivational books, listen to tapes. Stress management levels will be much more effective when you look after yourself.

Do the right thing by yourself and you’ll have heaps of energy, be motivated, have more balance in your life which in turn will help you be more productive and successful.

2. Successful Small Business Owners Clean out the Clutter Regularly

You will save yourself heaps of time, energy and money if you clear out your work and home environment…paperwork, books, old equipment etc. You’ll be able to find things, save money because you won’t have to buy what you already have hidden somewhere, plus you’ll be less stressed. Organize your office and your small business premises regularly…keep the clutter out. Eliminating clutter will help you to avoid procrastination. It’s too easy to avoid getting things done if you are overwhelmed with clutter.

3. Successful Small Business Owners Use the Right Tools

It’s no good having the latest whiz-bang computer when the desk that you sit at is too small to accommodate it, or the chair has poor back support, or the lighting is dull causing you eyestrain and fatigue. All these factors heavily influence how you work. Invest in a decent desk, purchase a desk lamp or change the light globes.

Don’t avoid the warning signs your body gives you. Take action now before you have eye, back or neck problems.

4. Successful Small Business Owners Use a Diary or Digital Organizer

With so much to organize in your small business, you need to record your appointments and things to do and goals somewhere. Preferably in a paper diary or digital organiser that you can take everywhere. This is the most effective way to get things done, plan your work and your life. Balance is extremely important. Top achievers are great at time management (even if they have to pay someone else to organize them).

5. Successful Small Business Owners Learn to say “No”

To dramatically improve your productivity and do more of the things you want, you have to be firm with others and let them know if you cannot, will not or are unavailable to fulfil their requests. If you constantly say “yes” to everyone else’s requests you will never have the time to do what you really want to.

Book yourself into a self-assertiveness course to learn these skills if you feel you need to.

6. Successful Small Business Owners Do What They Do Best and Delegate the Rest

See what tasks you can delegate tasks which would suit someone else’s talents. Many small business owners are spending heaps of time on mundane secretarial tasks which would take a person who is trained in that area a quarter of the time to undertake. Stress management is an important part of running your small business. Reduce the stress by delegating or outsourcing wherever you can.

Use a bookkeeper, personal assistant or virtual assistant. Always ask yourself, who else can I get to do this? Use your time management to focus on what you do best.

7. Successful Small Business Owners Only Have Meetings if Necessary

Make sure the meetings you organize in your small business are relevant and run effectively. Avoid procrastination - always make sure there is an outcome and all actions are followed through.

The Final Word By following these simple yet very effective time management tips for small business owners you will have more control over your work and your life. You’ll have more balance, experience less stress and be more proactive.

Avoid procrastination…take action today!”