Starbucks Target Market and Management

Originally when Starbucks began they targeted the young college students, with slightly higher than average income levels. After this initial target market Starbucks has since realized that they could target specific neighborhoods and social classes. Different customers are more willing to pay for luxury good now more than ever. With that in mind, through Starbucks aggressive expansion techniques they have begun targeting almost every demographic.

"McDonald's is planning to capitalize on the public's willingness to pay $4 for a cup of coffee by hiring baristas and dropping espresso machines in 14,000 of their fast-food outlets. Meanwhile, Starbucks, with business lagging, is fighting back with an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy, by offering heated breakfast sandwiches and adding drive-through windows to some of their locations." (Tancer, 2008)

As McDonalds and other chains realize the money in luxury coffee more companies will begin to enter the marketplace. One the other side of the spectrum you have the small local coffee bars that were around before Starbucks took over the marketplace. These smaller coffee shops have their core customers who will not give their business to anyone else. These smaller coffee shops can offer specialized products and services or serving to the local markets needs. However Starbucks has a much larger buying power then the local smaller coffee shops giving them a competitive advantage. Coming back to our original quote, we believe that McDonalds has a customer base that is extremely large that now has the option to get their coffee where they get their breakfast already. McDonalds also has an extremely large bargaining power and runs each franchise with impeccable automation. McDonalds cup of coffee costs a lot less money than Starbucks and tastes the same in a lot of cases. One of Starbucks biggest competitors is the economy; Starbucks provides a luxury good that will be a good that people cut out when they want to save money. This has been witnessed with the recent closing of over a hundred Starbucks stores.

Tancer, B. (2008, January 10). Brewing Battle:Starbucks vs. McDonalds.

Steak Books Cookie Recipe

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

What You Should Do During Due Diligence Period For Commercial Properties?

After your offer is accepted, your purchase contract will specify that you have somewhere between 15-30 days due diligence period to investigate about the property. Per the results of your search, you will decide either to

Cancel the purchase and get your full refund of your deposit. It's important to know that during this due diligence period you can cancel the transaction for any reasons and are not required to justify your reason with the seller.
Continue on with the transaction.

Many consumer laws designed to protect residential buyers do not apply to commercial properties or apartments with more than 4 units. In addition, many sellers are investors like you and do not have ultimate knowledge about the properties as they may not live close by. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the property is essential to avoid significant and/or potential surprises after closing. You should not attempt to buy a commercial property yourself without help from an experienced commercial real estate broker. A little mistake could potentially become a big problem moneywise due to size of the transaction. Once the due diligence period expires, you can only cancel the transaction if the loan if not approved. While your real estate broker will assist you with the following tasks, you may want to know the whole process to make sure you understand what is going on.

Book & Records: Normally within 5-10 days the seller will provide you various financial documents. Your goal is to verify that the property generates the net operating income (NOI or income after all expenses paid) shown in the property listings or brochures to justify for the price you paid. If the NOI is less than what you expect, it is a ground to demand a price reduction.

1. Income and expenses: this includes rent, reimbursements from tenants from the last 2-3 years. The documents should be either operating statements from the property manager or schedule E's or equivalence, e.g. form 8825s from the seller.

Ideally the income should go up from year to year due to rent increases. If the income fluctuates from year to year, then it's an indication the property is not stable and that you need to understand the reasons.
You also want to know if the tenants pay rent on time or not. During the recession, many tenants actually pay less than what is stated in the leases so make sure you get the copies of 12 most-recent rent checks.
Regarding expenses, they should include property taxes, insurance, utilities (drinking water & electricity), irrigation (water for the lawn), repairs, parking lot sweeping, garbage, snow removal (if applicable), security camera expenses (if applicable), landscaping and property management fees. If the seller provides the Schedule E's, you should exclude the following expenses: amortization (closing costs), mortgage interest, depreciation, collection expenses, travel expenses, leasing fees as these are not reimbursable by the tenants. Note: in California, property taxes will be automatically re-assessed based on the purchase price. They could be a much higher if the purchase price is much higher than the current assessed value. This is critical on a property with a gross lease as expenses will go up after closing. In many states, e.g. North Carolina, Illinois properties are re-assessed for property taxes purposes every few years and are not necessarily based on the purchase price as in California.

2. Leases: commercial leases are typically 20-40 pages long. You should go through the lease and find out:

Who the tenant is. If the tenant is a private and small corporation, make sure there is a personal guaranty in the lease. Otherwise, you can only go after the corporation, not the owners of the corporation if it defaults the lease. Public companies have different policies about how they handle leases. Fox example Walgreens and Starbucks always put corporate names on the leases and thus the leases are guaranteed by the corporations. Kragen which is owned by O'Reilly Auto Parts is the tenant on the lease. DaVita, on the other hand, puts one of its several dozen subsidiaries on the leases and so technically, the leases are guaranteed by its subsidiaries and not DaVita. CVS puts its name on the leases. However, it created a LLC (Limited Liability Company) for each Eckerds location it acquired. And so the leases for former Eckerds drugstores legally do not have corporate guaranty from CVS. A property with a lease from a public company with S&P rating of A+ does not make it a bullet proof investment. Many leases to Washington Mutual Bank, once with high S&P rating were later voided after it was seized by the FDIC.
The base rent, and rent bumps if any. Check to see if the rent in the leases matches with the rent in the marketing brochure. In commercial leases, the rent often goes up 2% annually for 10% every 5 years. Some leases have CPI-based (Consumer Price Index) rent bumps. A lease with annual rent bump means the tenant needs the landlord more than the landlord needs the tenant. And thus it is an indication the property is more desirable.
Lease terms: when the lease begins and ends. As a rule of thumb, it is desirable to have lease expiration dates for different leases spread out to different years. The cash flow is more stable in such properties.
The tenant's deposits as the seller should transfer the deposit to you at close of escrow. Otherwise you may be liable to the tenants for the amount later on.
Who pays for property taxes as these are big ticket expenses? For NNN leases, tenants are responsible for property taxes. State of Florida has no state income taxes but has rent taxes. Normally tenants are responsible for rent taxes on the NNN leases. Otherwise you have to deduct these taxes when you calculate NOI.
Who pays for property fire insurance? For NNN leases, tenants are responsible for property fire insurance. This insurance is different from business liability insurance which the tenant should be required to carry to cover for liabilities coverage inside the tenant's unit.
What expenses the tenant is responsible for. You also want to find out who pays for property management fees and the repairs of the roof (often the trouble spot in commercial properties), external walls (subject to graffiti's in lower income areas) and structure as many leases, e.g. CVS, Family Dollar may not cover some of these expenses. Many leases also have cap on how much the expenses can go up from one year to the next. If the expenses exceed the cap, the landlord has to pay for the difference. And thus it may lower the NOI.
Any unusual provisions in the leases, e.g. early termination clause, or options to purchase in 15 years at a pre-determined, i.e. low price or lease assignment to anyone without landlord's consent. Leases from local realtor associations tend to be more straightforward with special provisions written in the last paragraph. Unusual provisions are harder to find in custom leases. This author once reviewed an 80-page lease from a single-tenant property with 5 years left on a 20 years term and found several big surprises: a) the tenant owns the building which is not stated even in the listing, b) if the building is damaged in the last few years of the lease, the tenant may collect the insurance proceeds and is not obligated to rebuild the property! The buyers later canceled the transaction because they could not buy insurance for the building which is owned by the tenant.

3. Tenant's financial information: on single-tenant properties, sometimes you may receive tenant's P&L statements (Profit & Loss) which show income and expenses of the business; and Balance Sheet which shows assets, liabilities and net worth. You should have these documents reviewed by a CPA to give you an opinion about current financial strength of the tenant. Here are a few basic things you should know:

It's possible that the P&L's may show little profit in a highly profitable business. This is because the profit could be distributed as compensation or salary to the principals. You should also back out any depreciation from the P&L's.
If the P&L's show lots of profit in a sale and lease back transaction (tenant sells the real estate to you and signs a long term lease after closing), make sure it's still profitable after paying rent and all the expenses.
In the balance sheet, look for the goodwill value which is the value of tenant's business name. Some tenants assign a huge number for its goodwill, e.g. Disney puts $2 Billion for the value of name the killer whale Shamu, and may have negative net worth if this number is taken out from its book.

Site Inspection: This may be the first time you visit the property as it may be located far away from your home. You could either visit by yourself or make an appointment with the current property manager to show you around. In this site visit, you should meet and evaluate potential property managers for the property. It is very common that the seller does not want potential buyers to talk to existing tenants and let them know that the property is for sale. Here are a few things to consider:

Bring a portable GPS with you or rent a car with a GPS to make sure you don't get lost in your visit.
Take plenty of pictures of the property for your records to review later on.
Count the number of parking spaces. As a rule of thumb, commercial properties should have at least 4 parking spaces per 1000 square feet (SF). Ideally, you want to have 6 or more per 1000 SF. If it is a single-tenant fast food restaurant, it needs 10-15 spaces per 1000 SF.
Check for the visibility of the property from the road. Tenants prefer properties or units that are visible from the road so customers can easily find their businesses.
Check for ease of ingress and egress. See if it is easy to drive in the property, to make right turn and left turn.
Stop by the property at different times to see how the tenants are doing.
Drive around the neighborhood to see if it is clean and well kept. If you see lots of trash flying, and graffiti in the surrounding neighborhood, chances are that your property will have the same problem.

Property Inspection: There are 2 main inspection reports for commercial properties:

1. Property Inspection Report: your broker should order a property inspection report from a local property inspection company. This report will assess the condition of the property including the description of the building, site drainage and paving, structural components, roof composition, parking lot and landscaping, cursory inspection of electrical systems, plumbing systems, heat/ventilation/AC systems, fire protection, and compliance to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The report also provides a rough estimate to correct critical deficiencies. You should take time to read this property inspection report, talk to the property inspector if needed and let your advisor know if you want the seller to repair anything, preferably at seller's costs. As a rule of thumb, you would like all deficiencies related to health and safety, e.g. emergency exit light not working or exposed electrical wiring to be taken care of before close of escrow. The language in some of these inspection reports may sound very scary as property inspection companies try to limit their exposure to liabilities for not warning the buyers about some of the deficiencies.

2. Phase I or Environment Assessment Report. This report will tell you if the soil is contaminated or not. It also provides a list of contaminated sites within ½ miles from the property. The report could be several hundred pages long. You should at least read the summary which is 1-2 pages long to see if there are any recommendations and anything unusual. Normally there are 2 possibilities:

There is no evidence of contamination so there is nothing to worry about;
There is evidence of possible soil contamination, e.g. underground tank. The inspection may recommend a more expensive Phase II Report. This involves testing the water and soil to measure the level of contamination if any. If the level exceeds a certain governmental standards, the lender will most likely decline the loan.

Title: By providing a title commitment or title insurance policy, the title company insures that the property has free and clear title. When reviewing this document, please check the following:

Interest in the land: this should be either "fee", "fee simple" or "fee simple absolute". This is the highest form of interest in the land. If you are buying a property without this kind of interest, you better know what you are doing. Otherwise, you get much less than you think.
Title to the property: this is the legal owner. If the name of the seller in the purchase contract does not match the name on the title then you are buying the property from someone who is not the legal owner.

1. Title Requirements: the title policy has a set of requirements under Schedule B, Section 1. The following is a list of typical requirements:

Payment of the current loans and liens on the property
Deed from seller to buyer
Deed of trust from the buyer for the benefit of the new lender
A current survey of the property
Payment of property taxes and assessments

2. Title Exceptions: the title insurance also has a set of exceptions under Schedule B, Section 2. Basically, the title company says the title is free and clear except these items. All of these exceptions go with the land. Some of the exceptions are very common to most properties, for example:

Easements to power company, water company, phone company, and sewage authority so basic services can be provided to the property.
Property taxes that are not due and payable.

Others are unique to the property which you absolutely need to understand and approve these exceptions. Otherwise you will be in for surprises after closing.

Ingress & egress easement: this is just an easement to allow vehicular access to and from adjacent properties.
Cross parking easement: this easement allows customers to park anywhere among several lots.
Mineral deed: when you see this document, it normally means the land does not include mineral, or oil and gas underneath. This is common for new properties in Dallas metro.
Operation and Easement Agreement: this is normally a thick document that governs the operation of a big commercial development project involved several property owners and buildings. It has details about common area maintenance, parking lot easement, and even restriction about what kind of business can be opened in the center, e.g. no adult book store. Whenever you see this in the exception, you need to clearly understand it.
Memorandum of lease: this is a summary of the lease of a main tenant in the center. It may also contain restrictions, e.g. a memorandum of lease from McDonald may say that it has the exclusive right to sell hamburgers in the center. And so if you own another building in the shopping center, you can only lease it to Pizza Hut, but not Burger King, or Jack in the Box.

Property Survey: the survey shows the lot size, the property boundary, building footprint, layout of all parking spaces, and easement areas. On the corner, it should have the name and the signature of the surveyor. If you don't see the name of the surveyor, then it's probably the site plan drawn by the architect. You should review the notes on the survey see if there is anything unusual, e.g. the roof of the building or the fences may encroach the adjacent property.

Financing: by the end of due diligence period, you should receive a Letters of Intent (LOI) from several commercial lenders stating

How much loan you can borrow
Interest rate
Loan terms
Loan fees

While the LOI's are not final loan approval, they give you a rough idea if you have enough money to close the transaction and what your cash flow will be. This in turn helps you decide if it makes investment sense to move forward.

Once you complete all the above steps, you should have enough information to make a decision to move forward or cancel the transaction.

Cooking Network Foods

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Are Debt Settlement Companies a Scam? The Shocking Truth Exposed

This is one of my favourite all time question. For years the Canadian media has been picking up random information on debt settlement companies from our American cousins. While there are tens of thousands of success stories, most of the published stories on debt settlement tend to be negative.

There's an old saying about not believing everything that you read. I've learned first hand over the years that this is true. Here are a couple of examples why:

At the start of 2009 a newspaper called The Toronto Star did a story on me and my company. It was featured on the front page of the business section and was in a positive light. The story generated some good exposure for Total Debt Freedom Inc. and for debt settlement in general. However, some facts I presented to the reporter were taken out of context or maybe he choose to stretch the truth a little to make for a more appealing read. For example, I mentioned that debt can get away from just about anyone and one of our clients was a former Olympian. The final story read that that individual was an Olympic Gold Medalist which wasn't true. Many reporters tend to be freelance so they are paid to sell a good story; so as a result, it seems stories can and do get hyped up sometimes.

A few months later a negative example appeared on the evening newscast. CTV which is a major Canadian newscast put out a three minute televised story on their "Consumer Alert" segment by reporter and financial writer Pat Foran. He talked about how debt settlement was potentially a scam, and how Marissa Ruiz (the victim) was very disappointed and that consumers should be wary. The story was packaged and presented as Canadian issue, and made viewers believe that Canadians were getting scammed left, right and center. When I researched the names in the story further, it turned out Ruiz was California resident and used an American debt settlement company that had a horrible BBB rating. The incident appeared to be that of one rotten apple in the US debt settlement industry. Apparently the reporter borrowed the story from another press release he found, and packaged it as his own. Why did Pat Foran forget to mention these facts in his broadcast?

The story then wrapped up and interestingly handed off to a company called "Credit Canada" which is a non-profit credit counselling agency in Toronto. After I reviewed the broadcast and made some notes, I emailed Pat Foran and CTV about their televised slam of debt settlement in Canada. I literally corrected 7 very significant points that were not factual. My email was virtually ignored. From a legal perspective there is no remedy available because of free speech; the media seems very immune.

Needless to say, my feelings about the media are somewhat mixed now.

Bankruptcy trustee's and credit counsellors have all had their say about debt settlement and why they think it's a scam. Let's look at their arguments.

Trustee's tend to argue that all debt settlement fees are collected up front before any work is done and no form of debt relief is ever given to the consumer. That's not true; in fact settlement fees are collected monthly throughout a 36 month program. And most settlement companies like ours offer a service guarantee that returns any money paid that a settlement was never finalized on. If the client has enrolled for a 36 month plan then the fees are taken monthly and most clients experience their first settlement by around month 5-8. So how is a debt settlement company getting paid in full up front? We actually get paid as settlements are arranged.

A friend of mine is a trustee in Bankruptcy, and a really wonderful guy, what I learned from him is that close to 100% of people going through bankruptcy or a consumer proposal (a form of bankruptcy) are in some state of default with the trustee. What that means is, they haven't met a major term of the requirements to be discharged from the debt, and apparently a large portion of those people never do.

Guess what else I learned? The trustee actually gets paid before the debtor is ever discharged from what they owe. Isn't that a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black? The trustee is in fact a court appointed agent to the creditors, so even though you pay the trustee to get you debt free, he is actually looking after the creditor's best interest first. Not yours.

Here's an interesting fact about debt settlement and our company I shared with my trustee friend: 70-80% of the people that enrol will complete the program. The look of shock and awe on his face was priceless when I told him that. He thought the completion rate of people seeking debt settlement would be significantly less then his plans.

Non-profit Credit Counsellors are another all time favourite of mine; they are in bed with the banks, media, politicians and other non-profit companies.

My understanding of credit counselling is that more then 60% of all people enrolled will drop out of their debt relief program before it's completed.

The first thing to understand is that "non-profit" does not mean free, every business needs to earn money to keep its doors open and pay take care of rent and payroll. All that really needs to happen to maintain a non-profit status from the government is that the company needs to meet certain requirements and can't show a profit at the end of the year. That seems pretty simple and easy to do; all the principals of the company would need to do at the end of the year is bonus out any profits to themselves.

Credit counsellors have somehow managed to get a lot of positive, free and unexplained media exposure that debt settlement doesn't get because of their non-profit status.

The other day when a local politician appeared on the news to discuss new credit card legislation in Canada; somehow a spokeswoman from non-profit credit counselling, again Credit Canada, was right there beside him. I wonder why I wasn't invited to speak as a specialist on the new credit card legislation. I mean the non-profit "specialist" who appeared wasn't even able to calculate simple math in her head, let alone contribute any real dialogue to the discussion.

On several provincial government websites that talk about debt relief options, they all seem to defer to non-profit credit counselling as the answer to all debt problems. This politician and host on TV did the same thing.

Some creditors will actually tell a financially distressed debtor to go and use a non-profit credit counselling company if they are having money issues. Here's a big question. Why would a creditor only refer the debtor to non-profit credit counselling? You don't need to look very far for the answer; credit counselling is really a kinder and gentler collection agency for the banks.

This relationship between credit counselling and banks has been criticized for years. Credit counsellors get more money back to the creditors over a longer period of time, plus many get what's called a "fair share" payment from the banks. So your creditors are actually paying the credit counsellors to collect the debt.

Don't let the "non-profit" banner fool you, credit counselling is working more for the creditors, then it is for you. Did you know that if you owed $25,000 in credit card debt, it would probably cost you about $29,000 in total over 5 years with credit counselling? With debt settlement your total cost would be around $15,000 over 3 years

The Internet and media is a prime example of unregulated free speech, so it's easy for anyone to post opinions, spread rumours, tell lies, create controversy or even build entire Web sites devoted to whatever topic is desired, usually without any consequence. Unfortunately, this means the Internet and media is a perfect medium of negative "information" about countless number of companies, organizations, and individuals. Even respected, successful, high-profile companies like Toyota, McDonald's and Wal-Mart are targets for negative communications.

Is the information factual? That's something you have to decide, but before you do, be sure you have all the facts and are certain about the accuracy and credibility of the source of any information found on the Internet and media.

It begs the question: Why are the other debt relief programs like bankruptcy and credit counselling feeling so threatened by the growth of the debt settlement industry? Are we really that much better of a debt relief option to their programs? I guess so.

The Food Revolution Cookie Recipe

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

The Weight Watcher's Guide to Point System Weight Loss - A Review

With so many diets available, Weight Watchers is able to develop a system that supports their members and it goes by the name of Point System weight loss. Most people find the Point System weight loss very effective in giving them support and encouragement during their difficult journey to lose weight, which contributed to more attention and support from the patrons of Weight Watchers.

From Weight Watchers

Jean Nidetch founded Weight Watchers in the 60's. The company started out as a discussion group on the best methods for losing weight. Further developments led the company to offer different varieties of services and products for dieting to assist in weight loss and weight maintenance up to the present day.

Point system

It is also Weight Watchers who came up with the Point System weight loss formula to aid their participants in their battle against weight gain and obesity. The entire program is based on this system that was created by the company based on different factors including the fat content of food, the amount of food that is being served, the nutritional content of the food, its amount of carbohydrates, and more.

What participants do

Their supporters believe that this system is what gave way to the success of Weight Watchers. The participants of the Point System weight loss get a particular number of points everyday while they are creating their own diet that is based on the company's calculator. They also have a diary where they are keeping a record of points coming from the foods that they are eating.

The numbers

The Point System weight loss works by assigning particular points on different types of foods. For example, a chocolate shake has 8.5 points while the Big Mac from McDonald's has 14 points. The members are able to determine the number of points from each food from their calculator that is provided to them by Weight Watchers.

The formula

The new members of Weight Watchers are given the formula to assist them in calculating the points of the foods that they are going to eat. To be able to determine the number of points on the food, you need to get the following data: the number of calories, the amount of fat (in grams), and the amount of dietary fiber (in grams). The result of the equation is always an integer, and the fractional values are always rounded off to the closest point.

The use of nutritional labels

You can acquire the necessary data to be able to compute the formula coming from the nutritional labels of the foods that you are eating. However, if a nutritional label is not available (i.e. you are dining at a fast food or at a restaurant), there is a handy paperback book that can be bought where you can see a list of different foods available in those restaurants, even the generic ones.

An effective tool for weight loss

The Weight Watchers Point System weight loss has proven itself to be a very effective tool for members throughout the years. However, for those living busy lives who do not have time to calculate everything that they are eating, Weight Watchers provides them with other eating programs called "The Flex Plan" and "The Core Plan". The first one still utilizes the Point System weight loss while the latter is not requiring you to calculate for points.

Eat anything you want

Those who are showing continuing support to the Weight Watcher Point System weight loss are rewarded with results based on the claims of the program. Furthermore, there are no food restrictions, which means that you can eat anything you want, including fast food. However, your personal choices for food and your commitment to weight loss contribute to the success of the entire program.

Make the right choices

The Point System is not free, but the participants of the program believe that the end results are worth the cost of the entire program. The program provides different kinds of support systems for their members to ensure that they are making the right choices that can aid them in successful weight loss. Meetings provide more encouragement, support, and camaraderie, as well as ideas for recipes.

Gradual yet healthy weight loss

Just like any other weight loss program claiming to be effective for long-term weight loss, the Weight Watchers Point System cannot provide you with any results overnight. Commitment and discipline is needed in your part, since it is also designed to last for as long as you live to maintain your weight. All you need to do is to follow the point system depending on your weight, size, the amount of your regular physical activity, and your age.

Cookie Recipe

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

The Secret of McDonald's Colors

I know a lot of people have a hard time with colors, I am just going to explain exactly WHY McDonald's colors have worked so well for them.

Okay, here we go.

Yellow = Sun, Life, Energy, Friendly, Innovative etc. . .
Red = Is a color that stimulates the adrenaline glands in the brain. they chose red for this specific purpose. There are other reasons they chose the red, BUT the major one is the chemicals it creates in the brain.

Now ask yourself this, WHO does Mcdonald's market to? Apes? Dogs? Adults? Children? They have built their empire on directing ads at kids. In fact, those little toys they hand out have done well for them. Enough about that though.

What colors do children respond to? PRIMARY COLORS. So there we have the red. PLUS, adults respond to red as well. (The adult is the action taker) Who has the money to pay for little Johnny's lunch? So of course, they need to focus on mom or dad in the process. RED is a call to action, AND it also stimulates the appetite.

Now the yellow. Why yellow? Yellow represents MANY things, it all depends on the message being sent, the product and the actual yellow itself. In this case, the message is FRIENDLY. At least one of them anyway. Are they friendly in Mcdonalds? Yes, they are. See my point?

Now let's move onto the clown. He just screams out so many messages.

Red hair. Red stripes and red shoes. Knowing that red can represent energy, exciting and courageous, well you see what I am getting at. The color red was chosen for the clown very carefully. Now what does Ronald do? I want to really make my point here. HE HAS LOTS of energy. He is also very excited, AND he portrays joy. (Yellow can also represent joy) Do you see what I am getting at?

Now why would he wear yellow? In this case it is because he is friendly, and whose friend is he? The children's. . .

Yellow can also mean caution, and red can be related to sex or war. It does not matter. It is the message that you want to send and how it relates to your product. This is an example of a company that chose their colors very carefully so that they could send a message, and it has worked out well for them. Colors are processed on a subliminal level.

Hope you enjoyed that. Just please keep in mind that the colors you choose for your site send a message. You can increase your sales by sending out the correct color message.

Let me ask you a question, the pretty flower gets the bee, right? Use the wrong colors on your site, or just go and borrow someone else's colors because you like them and the results will show. Now, I know a lot of people are making sales with poor color schemes. The point is, if your color scheme is well thought out and chosen correctly, YOU WILL MAKE MORE SALES. I have seen this over and over. The prospect will hang around longer if the colors are attractive and send the correct message.

Don't forget. The color is the message. For anyone who does not believe in all this, look at the packaging in the stores, look at the colors BIG companies use. Screw your colors up, or use the wrong ones in the wrong place. . . and.. well you get the point.

Baking Cookie Food Recipes DVD

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Book Review - McDonald's Behind the Golden Arches

The book,"McDonald's Behind the Golden Arches", by John Love is an intriguing book on how Ray Kroc took an existing restaurant and created a franchise system that is emulated and duplicated around the world. McDonald's epitomizes success and familiarity. On my personal travels around the world, my wife and I have found McDonald's to be similar (almost exact) in France, Philippines, etc.

This book gives a detailed account on the success pattern of the McDonald's franchise. The secret behind its immense success is Ray Kroc. Who was Ray Kroc? Where did he get the name of McDonald's? What did he do differently to make this restaurant chain succeed? These and many other questions are explained in the book.

McDonald's was a single hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, California. It had a simple menu of burgers, fries, sodas, and milkshakes. Its operational functions were simple. Its marketing functions was non-existent- just word of mouth. It was owned and operated by the McDonald brothers (hence the name). Ray was a milkshake salesman who was fascinated that this restaurant ordered many milkshake machines from the company he worked for. When he went and observed the operations at McDonald's, he wanted to create more of these restaurants. The book depicts that the McDonald brothers were happy with the local operation and did not want to expand.

Ray Kroc was fascinated with the simple operation at McDonald's. The simplicity of its menu and uniformity of its workers and other operations made it a possible duplicatable process. Then, Ray Kroc made a deal with the McDonald brothers to expand the restaurant beyond its local restaurant. He opened the first new McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illiinois in 1955. How was Ray able to raise the capital and money for this new restaurant? This is where the story gets interesting. He expanded upon the concept of franchising. Though he gave opportunities to other people through franchising, he still had control on whether they could get more franchises. He wanted to make sure that they duplicated the simple menu, kept high cleanliness standards, did not add or take away from the menu, etc. Ray Kroc demanded and expected duplication and cleanliness.

There are many interesting stories on who and how they became franchisees. Ray Kroc wanted franchisees who were profit motivated. One interesting story was a franchisee named George Bell. He wanted to add to the menu which Ray Kroc was against. Instead, he opened his own franchise named Taco Bell. Ray Kroc did not break even until many years after creating more and more franchises.

This is a book about determination, perseverance, and duplication. It is not about hamburgers rather its about the people and the system of McDonald's.

Caramel Recipe Books Food Recipes DVD Culinary Institute Books

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Ever Wonder How Many People Eat Fast Food?

When sitting in your car in the drive-through lane, waiting for your order to come out the window, have you ever stopped to think exactly how many people eat fast food? How many restaurants do you pass on your way home? With the variety and convenience, restaurant franchising is a guaranteed and lucrative investment.

Did you know that in 2007 McDonald's had 390,000 employees? They also made over 22 million dollars that year. With 31,000 restaurants in almost 120 countries, no wonder they say "Billions served"!

Franchising is a nearly 125 billion dollar a year industry. While requiring a lot of hard work, the payoff can be outstanding. This is because of exactly how many people eat on the run.

So, how many people eat fast food? Over 50,000,000 people daily in the U.S. alone. That's a lot of burgers and fries! When you have to manage work, school, and soccer practice, eating out is more convenient than cooking at home. It's also an inexpensive way to feed the whole family. Plus, the choices are mind blowing!

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN- For the chicken lovers in the family

MCDONALD'S, BURGER KING- For those who prefer burgers and fries

PIZZA HUT- For the Italian side

TACO BELL- When you're feeling a little south of the border

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There is a fast food restaurant for just about any taste, so even the pickiest eaters can find somewhere even they can enjoy a fast, convenient meal. Americans will spend over 110 billion dollars this year on fast food, that's over a quarter of all Americans. Most of them have even worked in FF industry at some point in their lives.

Some people dispute the benefits of eating at FF-franchises, they say it is unhealthy, high calorie, and fat filled. But there are some good points to eating out as well. If you're looking for a more healthy place to grab dinner, there are some restaurants that serve low-fat and sugar-free meals. Don't be put off by claims made by nay-sayers. You can find everything you're looking for in one easy, convenient, and inexpensive restaurant. And with so many to choose from, you're guaranteed to find what you want, close to home.

A person looking to invest in a business opportunity should really consider restaurant franchising. With more and more people dining in restaurants, and restaurant franchises popping up all over the world, this is an industry that shows no signs of slowing down.

With food for every taste and budget the speed, convenience, and options of meal planning are as simple as a short drive to your favorite restaurant. Based on how many people eat out, franchising is one of the most lucrative business ventures available. Remember, franchising is the best kept secret of the 21st Century!

Meat Recipes Books

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Walmart Store Locator

Walmart Store Locator: Convenience at your Fingertips

Walmart is an American public multinational corporation previously branded as Wal-Mart. As one of the largest discount departmental stores and warehouse stores in America, Walmart is frequented by consumers in America and all over the world. According to Forbes Global 2000, Walmart was also the world's largest public company by revenue in 2000. Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, Walmart has come a long way today. It has achieved great success and it currently has 8,500 stores in 15 different countries, with 55 different names.

We are all familiar with Walmart's tag phrase, 'Save money, live better,' and many of us love shopping at Walmart because of the affordable prices. However, we might not be familiar with the different locations of Walmart stores. There will certainly be times during our travels when we need a household product urgently. What do we do then? How do we locate the nearest Walmart store in situations like that?

In order to search for a store, you can call 1-800-WAL-MART (1-800-925-6278). This is an easy Walmart store locator method you can use in order to find your nearest Walmart store. Besides that, you can also easily locate a store using a function on the Walmart website at Walmart.com. All you need to do is click on the 'store finder' tab, and you will be led to a search page. You will be prompted to key in the city, state, and zip code of the store you are looking for in the respective spaces.

The Walmart store locator has a special filter which allows you to select services you need at your Walmart store. This is a brilliant idea. Services you can select include pharmacy, vision center, medical clinics, tire and lube services, garden center, photo center, McDonald's, and more. On the Walmart finder webpage, you are also allowed the flexibility to search for Walmart stores within a distance determined by you, and you can also pick the type of store you are looking for, be it a Walmart supercenter or a neighbourhood market.

For example, if you are only willing to travel 2km on foot to a Wal-mart which sells breakfast, you can tick 'McDonald's,' and then key in '2km.' The finder will locate stores that fall under that category and list them out for you. This Walmart locator function is very convenient as it allows you to determine the exact services you need at the store you are looking for. When you eventually make a trip to the store, you can be assured that you will find what you want.

The Food Revolution

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook Review

The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook by Lyle McDonald has become quite popular on the internet so I decided to do a little review on it and put in my 2 cents. As the title reads "Rapid Fat Loss Handbook" you guessed right if you thought the book was about losing weight quick.

The book is pretty much about crash dieting your way to weight and fat loss. This can be very unhealthy, from both a physiological and psychological point of view and I'm glad Lyle warns his readers of that at the beginning of the book. If it weren't for the fact that he continuously warns against crash dieting as a long term fat loss plan throughout the book I would've thought the book to be dangerously misleading.

His goal with this book is to teach his readers how to crash diet in a way that doesn't negatively affect the health of the dieter.I like the fact that he discusses the difference between weight loss vs fat loss as it seems that everybody's hung up on losing weight without realizing that weight lost doesn't always translate into fat lost. Depending on how that weight is lost it can consist of lost fat, water, or muscle tissue. And neither of the latter lead to a more attractive look.

The theory behind the book is based on a "protein-sparing modified fast" recommended by surgeons to patients who needed to lose weight quickly before surgery. Surprisingly the handbook has sound advice on how to follow such a crash diet safely. He advices against heavy exercise until you go back to eating normally, and if you hadn't been working out to begin with he advices you not to start a workout routine until after the completion of the diet. These crash diets can be very stressful on the body and because of that strenuous work of any kind is contraindicated.

On multiple occasions he reminds the reader that a crash diet is to be done exactly as the book describes and that one shouldn't under any circumstances stay on a crash diet for long periods of time due to the negative health implications of doing so. Something I found respectable was that he discussed the "bounce back" or "yo-yo" effect that these crash diets can have. Most authors of "crash diet" type books don't normally do this.

So It seems that many people gain the weight back soon after going off these kinds of diets. In the book Lyle discusses ways to transition back into a more normal eating style while still keeping the lost fat and weight off.

All in all I think it's a good read but when it comes down to it. The best fat loss program is one that is sustainable for the long term and one that actually empowers you to feel not only good about your body but to feel good on the inside as well. The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook is not that program.

Having said that it's a good read and for those select few that need this type of resource(athletes that need to make weight, ladies wanting to lose weight before a wedding) and are willing to do it right this is a good book.

I must say though proceed with caution. Most people are interested in the quick fix at the expense of their health. People that don't exercise moderation and don't follow Lyle's guidelines in the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook could end up in some sticky waters as far as their health is concerned.

Caramel Recipe Books

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Sample Resignation Letters - Make Your Exit Professional

Leaving an employer is a stressful situation whether you have been employed for a few days or many years. Whether the experience has been positive or negative, when it comes time to leave you must do it professionally.

Writing a resignation letter could be one of the hardest letters you'll ever write. Many people leave a job with hostilities and hard feelings. Studies have shown that leaving a job can be almost as stressful as the breakup of a marriage. All this can lead to an emotionally charged feelings that we must be careful not to transfer to the written resignation letter.

Professional sample resignation letters all have one thing in common. They are written in a business-like manner and format. There is no need to go into too many details. Don't fall into the temptation to express negative feelings. Keep it brief and professional.

A good sample resignation letter would include a salutation to the specific person you will be given your resignation letter. It should also include the date the letter was written. Other details would include the date you will be leaving your position, and a brief explanation of your reasons for leaving. Try to keep it positive.

If you have been a good employee, a well written resignation letter could help you in getting future favorable recommendations when potential employers contact them about your past history as an employee.

The best sample resignation letters include a brief paragraph about the things you will take away from this job that will allow you to be a asset to your next employer. This gives a compliment to your boss that lets him know you have learned from your experiences under his leadership.

Whether your experiences with your employer have been positive or negative, you should remember that it will allow you to be a better employee at your next position. The positives you take away will give you experiences to make you an asset to your next employer. The negative experiences also give you the background to learn that these ideas and experiences are not something you will carry-over in your next job.

Before drafting your resignation letter you may want to do search sample resignation letters online for ideas and templates to make your resignation letter as professional as possible. In the long term a professional exit from any job will go a long way in having a positive impact on all future endeavors.

Culinary for Health

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Name Tag Design - 5 Easy Tips for An Effective Layout

Tip #1 - Select crisp clear fonts--that go well together.

While the font you choose for staff names vs. company names should complement one another, using different fonts will draw your customer's eye to both. Clean lines, not clever squiggles, are the way to go to make your content visible, and readable.

Considering ALL CAPS? Resist temptation. There are other, and softer, ways of getting your customers' attention.

Tip #2 - Play around with bold, standard, and italic formats.

Formatting typefaces and font size go a long way towards customizing the look and feel of your name tags. Typically, staff/employee names tend to be bold, with their titles printed just underneath in either standard or italic format. The key here--using the right, and right amount, of contrast to highlight the information you want your customers to see.

Tip #3 - Versatility is your ally in laying out your name tag.

Most often, a company name and logo is placed at the top of a name tag, with names and titles appearing just underneath. A classic layout that gives a clean presentation of your company identity.

However, there are options aplenty. If you'd prefer, put your company logo on the left or the right of your name tags to give it a different emphasis.

Tip #4 - Pick a size to complement your content.

No one likes crowds, not even name tags. Consider how much space your content needs, then customize your name tags' heights and widths. By including enough "white space," you'll give your name tags a readable effect--that's pleasing to the eye.

Tip #5 - Use color for emphasis, or to impress your company's image.

Think of any of the big brands, and you'll likely see them in full color--McDonald's, BP gas, Target, etc. Likewise, name tags can incorporate a wide range of colors. If your logo is particularly colorful, using a white background to your name tags will make it stand out without clutter.

It's good to have choices. Used together, your design and layout choices give you name tags that keenly and uniquely demonstrates who your company is, and what your company is about.

Baking Cookie

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Top 5 Best Kids Karaoke Songs - Children Songs

While singing for an audience, the most important thing to do is select a song that the majority of an audience will most likely enjoy. It is thus good to decide the song based on the turnout of audience. It should not be difficult to determine the taste and likes of the crowd if most of them are your own friends - you have know them for long and you all perhaps have similar tastes. But if the members of the audience are mostly strangers or perhaps kids, you really should do a research on what they enjoy the most. You can read this article to learn the Top 5 Best Kids Karaoke Songs - Children Songs that many kids respond well to.

Kids may seem an easy target in the beginning but only when one ponders, one will know the difficulty in it. One needs to choose a song that will entertain them but at the same time one has to ensure that the song being sung does not create any negative impact. Many good Kid Karaoke songs are available, that are based on Christmas, fantasy and other "kids" concepts. Some five best kids' songs are the following. There are also many children's rhymes available in karaoke.

When there is a children's party, you can always rely on classic children's songs like "Old McDonald Had a Farm", "When You are Happy and you know it clap your hands" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to give them some fun and entertainment. These are some of the most frequently downloaded karaoke tracks are among the Top 5 Best Kids Karaoke Songs - Children Songs.

There are also other songs based on television shows such as Dora-the explorer, Blues Clues and so on. Christmas songs such as "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" by Joanie Bartels and "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth", made famous by Spike Jones are found on the top 5 too. "Pure Imagination" by Gene Wilder and "We are off to see the Wizard" are fantasy songs that are bound to get the attention of the kids.

Songs for children are also based on animals such as this one - "I Wanna Be like You (the monkey song)" from the Jungle Book. These are some Top 5 Best Kids Karaoke Songs - Children Songs that you can sing to the children in an animated way and make them enthusiastic!

Caramel Recipe Books The Food Revolution

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

How To Mack On Girls

So you want to learn how to mack on girls do you? Understood... Macking on girls is one of the most rewarding pastimes for a man of any age. And here's the kicker, most guys can't mack worth a damn. So when you learn these mackin' skills you'll be like a king amongst men!

First things first, you may be asking yourself "Isn't learning how to mack on girls the same as learning how to be a pick-up artist of "PUA"? Well Let me tell ya, there's a huge difference...

You see, pick up artists focus on how to meet girls and get them attracted. Macks on the other hand focus on themselves.

Macks focus on being the man 24-7 because they know that once they have truly ascended to the throne of Mackdom the women will be there waiting for them! So hopefully you are starting to see that being a mack is FAR superior than any sort of pick-up artist game that you could ever learn...

Now that we have that straightened out, how does one become a mack and start macking on chicks? Well, to get you started here are the 3 laws of macking that you must adhere to at all times:

1) Live Large You cannot be a true mack if you are content working at McDonald's hamburger restaurant and living with your mom. Now if you are just starting out in this and you actually do live at home and work in the fast food industry, don't worry. We all have to start somewhere. But, you can't be content doing this, you need to have dreams and work towards those dreams every single day. This means building the lifestyle of a mack, making real money, being independent, and doing all the fun stuff like traveling the world that most people only dream about.

2) Stop Worrying About What Others Think Most people are hyper sensitive to what others think of them and let their fear of being judged by others control them. they dress a certain way to fit in, get a certain job that their parents approve of and generally lead a boring life with boring girlfriends. Macks on the other hand rise above these approval seeking, insecure behaviors. This can be a hard rule to follow because such behaviors will become ingrained over time. But if you want to become a true mack you must overcome them.

3) Realize Your Value As A Man You may have noticed that although this article in entitled How To Mack On Girls, I have written very little on the subject of interacting with women. The reason is, as I stated, being a mack is much more about focusing on yourself and getting yourself where you want to be in your own life. when it comes to women, the first thing a mack needs to do is realize his own value and take pride in it. Most men put attractive women on pedestal and do all this dumb stuff to try to get a girl to like them. Macks on the other hand put themselves on the pedestal and treat attractive women as equals for this is the only true way to be attractive to a high quality woman.

Pay attention, This next part is extremely important!:

Food Recipes DVD Culinary Institute Books

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Advantages and Disadvantages of Fast Food

In this modern world people are used to having fast foods more than the foods that are home made. The reason behind this interest is that fast food saves time and the effort that is needed for cooking a meal at home. The fast food system is well suited to the fast paced life of a very busy working individual today. But the most important factor to be kept in mind while having fast food is the disadvantages it has. Though fast food is very suitable to meet our appetite needs in this busy life which is an advantage, they also have a large number of disadvantages that is solely related to the health of the individual. Some of the most important advantages as well as disadvantages of fast food are discussed in this article.

Advantages
The large number of outlets of this restaurants that are working all over the world greatly shows the popularity behind the system of it. A hard working professional who is away from his home or homeland will have to depend on such fast food restaurants and franchisees like KFC Bangalore home delivery. This is a big necessity of man. The biggest advantage that shall be pointed out by the people favoring it is nothing but the time saved. Today people consider getting a readymade meal is better than everything in this world. Even though the benefits and advantages of fresh food are known by all at the end of the day returning home all tired, then there is nothing great than getting a pizza or burger for our hunger. Other than spending time for cooking a meal in the kitchen, most of the people find it difficult tom collect the ingredients needed for day to day cooking. Going for a shopping for this purpose is considered as a tiresome job. Time required to get the raw materials ready by washing, peeling and cutting them is considered a big waste. If a person leads a lonely life then buying something to eat from the restaurant is surely cheaper than preparing each day at home. Online pizza ordering and such related facilities greatly add to the popularity of fast foods.

Disadvantages
The biggest and the well-known disadvantage of it is the adverse effect it may cause to our health. It is a reality and popular fact that fast food is very much unhealthy than the food that is freshly prepared at home. The reason behind this is that it contains larger amounts of salt, oil and fat contents thus increasing our calorie intake. It is an important reason for the problem of obesity. This also has led to many fatal diseases in many. The cardiovascular diseases are the most important among them. There are many outlets of the famous fast food restaurants that greatly consider the comforts of customers. As a leading step to this customer satisfaction they offer home delivery like the McDonald's home delivery Bangalore.

Caramel Recipe Books

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Halloween - Why Do We Dress Up in Costumes?

Why DO people dress up for Halloween? We've heard the history of All Hallow's Eve, and like many holidays, we don't pay much attention to the history and meaning behind the dates. We do, however, honor traditions. Halloween is filled with strong traditions and many, particularly children and the young at heart, anticipate it with excitement.

Halloween is spooky. Spooky is thrilling and fun. Halloween means more treats, in the form of candy, than tricks. But the tricks can be wonderfully fun too. Certainly part of the trick of Halloween is dressing up in costumes and being unrecognizable. Have you ever had to guess who a gorilla or scarecrow really is at a party? And guessed wrong the first couple of attempts? Costumes are part and parcel to the fun spookiness. Add a haunted house or party with eerie sounds, lights plunging into darkness and bumping into weird fuzzy things, and the tradition of Halloween is fully recognized.

I love the wonderful variety of costumes these days. People can dress up in countless ways. They can select styles that are funny, scary, sweet, daring and representative of famous people, historical times. Consumers can purchase ready-made outfits or flex their imagination and skills to create their own. One of the best parts about costume selection is that people get to express themselves in really fun ways.

How will you be expressing yourself this year?

Baking Cookie

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

10 Business Challenges Every Entrepreneur Must Face When Building a Business From Scratch

Are you an entrepreneur? If you are, then I believe you will familiar with the pattern or business challenges faced when starting and building a business from scratch. If you are not an entrepreneur but you dream of becoming one someday, then I think you will find this article worthwhile.

Why am I writing on such a topic? I decided to write on the "10 business challenges every entrepreneur must face when building a business from scratch" to give entrepreneurs a glimpse of what to expect when they set out to start a new business venture. I am not writing to show my writing skills. Moreover, I am not a professional writer; I am an entrepreneur and investor to the core. I simply write to share my knowledge on building a business with anyone who is willing to learn.

This article is not meant to discourage or scare you from going into business. Instead, I wrote this article to prepare and highlight you on the business challenges to expect and how to handle them. Just as the popular saying goes:

"He that is prepared has half won the battle."

Below are 10 Business Challenges Every Entrepreneur Must Face When Building a Business from Scratch:

1. Developing the Vision and Idea:

This is usually the first challenge faced by every entrepreneur. Finding the right business opportunity or creatively developing an idea is certainly not an easy task. I call "Envisioning the idea" the first true task of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you must develop the ability to see what others cannot see. While others see problems, you must see opportunities.

But seeing opportunities is just the first task. The main challenge is going to be your ability to forge that opportunity into a business idea. I see this as a business challenge because the process of transforming opportunities into business plans is like trying to turn lead into gold. I call it the process of "Creating Value out Of Nothing." If you are not an entrepreneur, you might not be familiar with the process. The process of:

- Identifying a problem
- Seeing an opportunity in the problem
- Coming up with a solution
- Developing your opportunity into a business idea
- Integrating your solution into the business plan

Another way "developing the vision and idea" will be a business challenge is that an entrepreneur must sometimes assume the role of a sorcerer. Let me explain in detail. While others dwell in the past and present, an entrepreneur must envision and forecast the future. An entrepreneur must always be ahead of his time or else he might lose his relevance. He must have the ability to bring into present what is yet to be. Let me give you some practical illustrations:

In the late 70s and early 80s, while IBM saw increase in demand for their mainframe computers, Steve Jobs envisioned a personal computer in every home and Bill Gates envisioned the need for easy to use software for personal computers.

While everyone saw humans flying as an impossibility, the Wright brothers envisioned a flying machine.

Back in those days when cars were custom made and exclusively for the rich, Henry Ford envisioned affordable cars for the masses.

I believe with these few examples, my point is clear. Developing the vision and idea is the first true task of an entrepreneur.

2. Raising Capital:

After developing your idea, the next challenge you are going to face is the challenge of raising capital. As an entrepreneur, you are the only one who knows the idea to the core. You are the only one who knows the story of the future. Trying to convince investors about something that doesn't exist is definitely a challenge.

There is more to raising capital than just simply asking for money. Most investors want to invest in already established businesses with minimal risk. When building a business from scratch, raising capital will definitely be a business challenge you must face.

To overcome this challenge, you must develop the ability to sell your idea and vision to potential investors. When I say "sell your ideas", I mean improving your communication skill and your manner of presentation. In the game of raising capital, you must have a good story backed by a strong business plan. If you are interested in learning how to successfully raise capital, you can check other articles I have written.

3. Assembling a Team:

The third challenge you must face in the course of developing a business is assembling the right team. When I talk about a team, I am not talking about regular employees. I am talking about a "round table strategic business team" that will meet regularly to brainstorm on ways to grow your business.

As an entrepreneur, you are bound to have strengths and weaknesses. That is the more reason you need to assemble a strong team that will cover up for your weaknesses. A team is a necessity in your quest to build a business. Now finding a business team is just the first hurdle, transferring your passion and vision to your team is the real piece of cake.

You must strive to make sure your team sees the future you see. They must believe in your possibilities and must also be passionate about making that possibility a reality. If they can't grasp your vision, if they can't see they future with you, then they are not worthy being your team.

Your strategic business team should comprise your banker, financial advisor, accountant, attorney or legal adviser and any other specialist that will be of tremendous impact to your business. A question on your mind might be "how am I going to pay this team? My answer is I don't know. You will have to figure it out yourself or better still, you can consider bringing them on board as partners.

If you are still at loss with the thought of assembling a business team, then I will recommend you either take some time in learning how to build a business team or you can visit strategicbusinessteam.com to get some advice.

4. Finding the Right Location:

You might feel that finding a good location is a piece of cake but I bet you that finding a good location at the right price is definitely not easy. I don't have much to write on this but I feel it is worthwhile I bring it to your notice so you can prepare for it. The following are features you must consider before choosing a location. These features are subject to change with respect to the industry of your business:

- Suitable price
- Easy access to raw materials
- Good road network.
- Basic amenities and infrastructures
- Adequate Power supply
- Easy access to cheap labour
- Nearness to high traffic roads
- Moderate state and federal tax
- Favorable Government fiscal and monetary policy
- Favorable federal and state laws.
- Current economic policy and political situation.

5. Finding the Right Employees:

Most writers crank up the process of finding good employees as an easy task. They define finding an employee as simply presenting the job description and the right employee will surface. But I think it's more than that.

Those who are really business owners know how difficult it is to find a hardworking, trustworthy employee. Most employees want to work less and get paid more. Finding a good employee who will be passionate about delivering his or her services is quite difficult.

Employees are your representatives to your customers and the outside world. They are a reflection of your business culture and ethics. If an employee of yours is bad or rude to your customers, it is going to portray a bad image of your company. So you must be careful when hiring employees. Remember the golden rule of business; "Hire slow and fire fast."

6. Finding Good Customers:

The sixth business challenge you will face is the challenge of finding good customers. Note the keyword "good customers." When in the process of building a business from scratch, you will come to find out that there are good customers and bad customers.

You must really be on guard for bad customers. Good customers are really hard to find. A good customer will be loyal to your company and will be willing to forgive you if you make a mistake and apologize. A good customer will try to do the right thing that will benefit both himself and the company mutually.

A bad customer will always look for loopholes in the company's policy to exploit and make some few gains. Bad customers will always try to exploit the company's goodwill and look for ways to rip off the company. Bad customers are responsible for bad debts.

Good customers build your business and bad customers will always try to liquidate your business. Just as you fire employees, you must also be prepared to fire bad customers without hesitation. In the game of trying to find a new customer, always remember the customer that sued McDonald's to court claiming the coffee was too hot.

7. Overcoming Competition:

Competition is the next challenge you will face. Most individuals see competition as a plague but I see competition as a good challenge. I see competition as a benchmark for creativity, the main engine for innovation and quality products at great prices. Without competition, there will be no innovation and without innovation, the world will be stagnant.

I see competition as a welcomed challenge and I want you to do the same. Competition keeps us on our toes and drives us to constantly improve our products and services. But you must be warned. Competition can make your business lose its relevance in the eye of your customers so you must always be on guard. At this point, I leave you with a quote:

"If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete." - Robert Kiyosaki

8. Unforeseen Challenges and Expenses:

Just as a sailor prepares for unexpected storm, just as a pilot is always on the watch for unpredictable bad weather and thunderstorms, so must an entrepreneur be prepared for what ever comes. Unexpected challenges can come in the form of:

- Unexpected law suits
- Inconsistent government policy
- Not being able to make payroll
- Unpaid bills and taxes
- Unexpected resignation of staff from sensitive office
- Bad debts from customers
- Loss of market share
- Dwindling working capital
- Inadequate stock or inventory

These challenges, if not handled properly can ruin your plan to build a successful business from scratch. Another challenge you must expect is an unforeseen increase in business expenses. If not handled properly, it might result in constant negative cash flow and eventually, the business failure.

9. Keeping Up With Industrial Changes and Trends:

Change in trends is really a business challenge you must be prepared for. Trends have made and broken lot of businesses. I know a lot of profitable businesses that have been wiped out by slight industrial changes and trends. A typical example is the Dot com trend, where many industrial based businesses were wiped out by new web based dot com companies.

When the Dot com era began, business owners were left with only two options. Either they join the dot com train or they get crushed by the dot com train.

Seasoned entrepreneurs know that trend is always a friend and are always willing to swiftly adjust their business with the current trend. Keeping your eyes open to spot trends is really a challenge but the big task will be your ability to quickly use the trend to your advantage.

10. Exiting the Business:

"In the world of business and investing, your exit is more important than your entry. A good thumb of rule is this; exit before you enter." - Robert Kiyosaki

When building a business from scratch, you are going to face the business challenge of determining your exit strategy. Just as the quote above states, you have to plan your exit strategy before you even start the business. Most entrepreneurs run their business without any plans to exit and even if they have an exit strategy, they find it difficult to implement it.

Before starting a business, it is advisable to always plan your exit. There are benchmarks you can use to determine your exit from the business. Most smart entrepreneurs will use this benchmark as a target and once this specific target is reached, they exit the business. Examples of such benchmarks are:

- Annual sales
- Annual Turnover
- Asset Base
- Market Saturation
- Customer base or number of users. This is more applicable to dot com companies.

Now when it comes to exiting the business, there are three exit strategies you can apply. The exit strategies are:

Turning over the business to professional managers: When your business reaches a certain stage of maturity, you can exit by turning it over to professional managers. In this case, the business still belongs to you but you are not involved with its day to day affairs. You will have to give up administrative role to assume the role of a watchdog. When you exit in this manner, you will have more free time to look into other projects or retire.

Selling the business privately: In this case, you are exiting the business by selling it to a private investor. In the business world, it is called M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). After the sale and transfer of assets is complete, you have nothing to do with the business again.

Taking the company public: The unique thing about this type of exit strategy is that while you are selling your business (in form of shares) to public investors, you still own and control the business.

Please before you apply any of these exit strategy, I will advise you consult with your attorney or legal adviser. But ultimately, it's up to you to decide the exit strategy you want to apply. Always remember "your exit is more important than your entry."

At this stage, I thank you for reading and taking your time to learn. Till I come your way again, remain blessed.

The Food Revolution

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo

Foreign Franchising

As McDonald's and Subway of the U.S. are experiencing wild popularity in the overseas market, foreign franchises like Pollo Campero and Jollibee are getting popular in the U.S. There is a great scope of foreign franchises in the country, as people want to try something new and adventurous.

Want to Deal with a Foreign Franchise?

If you are a daring business owner and want to be leader in the U.S. market as a foreign franchisee, you could have a great future ahead. You just need to keep certain points in mind like:
Investigate the franchise you are planning to buy.
Get the permission from master licensee.
Get all information clarified through the Uniform Franchise Information Circular.
Select the location and area where the product will be accepted well.

If you are interested in having a franchise in a foreign country, then you need to be very cautious and plan ahead. You need to know a few things like:
What are the cultural values of the country?
What is the expected rate of return on investment?
What kinds of facilities will be provided by the franchiser?
How can you establish yourself in that country?
Do you have enough capabilities to run that kind of franchise?
Do have enough funds to run the business? If not, how will you arrange that?
What kind of competitive advantage will your business have over its competitors?

After analyzing the answers of these questions critically, if you feel that you have good prospects in this business, you should get the expert advice of your lawyer. This will help you know the legal obligations involved in the franchise business.

To know about real operations of the business, you can spend a day with an existing franchisee at the workplace. Moreover, to overcome the linguistic barriers, you can seek help from a business advisor or a translator. Nothing works better than word of mouth for relationships and referrals when you are operating in an overseas market.

There are tremendous opportunities in the overseas market. But, it is not that easy to operate there because cultures, rules and formalities differ from country to country. So, conduct rigorous research into each and every aspect of the country in which you want to operate. When you are satisfied about the survival of your business, sign the deal and become a foreign franchisee.

In every country, legal consultants and business advisors make the immigrant businessmen aware of the rules, regulations, and system of the country. You can look for their professional advice. You can also get information through e-mails and websites.

Cookie Recipe

Continuar leyendo

Ocultar articulo