Want a Good Business Idea? Go With What You Know

"How do I come up with a good business idea?" I hear this question all the time. It's a great question, and I'm going to try and give you an answer that makes sense.

If you look at most of the great businesses or products of our day, you'll find that the idea champion almost always had a very close tie to the industry he or she entered into and ended up dominating. For instance, the guys at Skullcandy were snowboarders and skiers who loved listening to music. The founder of Lovesac used couches and chairs, and grew up when hacky sacks were popular. He thought it would be cool to make a giant hacky sack and sit on it like a chair, and the rest is history. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates? They new A LOT about computers before they came up with their greatest ideas. 

The reality is, your best ideas will concern things that you already have a lot of background and experience in. Are you passionate about clothing? You might come up with a new and innovative retail sales model. Love cars? Like to skateboard? Do you have small children? Are you the world's biggest hockey fan? There are opportunities around every corner.

I have a lot of experience and passion for energy exploration and production. Naturally, almost all of my ideas revolve around the oil industry. I also have gained a special affinity for the salon and spa industry. Why? Because my wife is a cosmetologist, and I now know more about styling, coloring, skin care and spa services than I ever thought possible (or ever really wanted to).  So, I could compete in energy, and I could probably play a helpful supporting role in a salon and spa venture, but would it be wise to jump into an industry that I know nothing about? Probably not.

Although there are the occasional flukes, and sometimes people stumble into an amazing idea by total coincidence, I'd rather not wait for serendipity to drop the next big thing on my doorstep. So, go with what you know and as time goes by, you'll develop an eye for opportunities.

— Reed Page

    Executive Vice President

    USU Entrepreneurship Club

Managing Your Business During These Difficult Economic Times

Implementation and management of a company in these challenging economic times is a major challenge entrepreneurs face today. According to the Small Business Administration's 23 million small businesses represent 54% of all sales in the United States offer small businesses 55% of all jobs in the United States. Despite these statistics, found a recent survey by Pepperdine University found that 46% of small business owners have tapped into personal ownership during the last six months in order to stay afloat, which. Directly to the lack of credit in relation to small business What company can survive in these tough financial times?
A. Small business owners must wear many hats, marketing specialist, speaker, human resource specialists, accountants, etc. .. However, in order to operate an efficient business, entrepreneurs must learn to delegate some important functions of their business so they can focus on their business. Take for example the account, one of the least pleasant task of small business owners, helping outsourcing this function, independent auditors can make your books for the whole year.
Second Adapting to the new economic reality, identify new products and services that can help your business cash flow. To do this, it is important to assess your bookkeeping and evaluate your company's finances. Where do you see to enjoy losing to money? Analyze your financial statements for your company a clear picture of your company to get health.


Third Identifying your business goals for the next 12 months, ask yourself: Where do I want financially in the next 12 months? What are my sales goals for the next year?
4th Once you have created specific business goals, trying to quantify with clear numbers, for example: Then you break your goals down into smaller monthly financial milestones and develop a realistic budget "I want to increase my sales by 10% next year.". Creating a budget can be extremely difficult, especially if you've never developed before, so. Seeking advice from your accountant or bookkeeper
5th Examine assess your real monthly business compared to the budgeted goals, what worked and what did not, and consider tweaking your budget keep a fluid document.
Management by numbers is perhaps one of the most powerful ways to ensure that your business is working as intended, even in these tough economic times.

Financing Your Business Without Debt

Many entrepreneurs complain that access to business financing have the biggest constraint to grow their businesses. It is a sign of our current economic situation, but the companies are turning away business opportunities because they do not have the financial means to pursue them. Many believe that would be a business loan or line of credit to solve their problems. However, it is very difficult to obtain business financing in the current context. Most institutions are reluctant to business customers, who can not, lend considerable assets, collateral size and solid financial statements. Few small businesses can meet these criteria, the debt financing is generally available only for conventional companies that are financially sound excellent. There is an alternative, although it allows you to finance your business, without the help of foreign funding.
Problems with cash flow is one of the main reasons why. Many companies face increasing problems For many, these problems start because they give their customers a maximum of 60 days to pay their bills. This common practice of forcing companies to use their own resources to pay to cover costs while waiting for customers. This can cause problems if the company begin short of cash or at the customer to take more time to pay. At least it will prevent growth. In the worst case, and if it is not managed properly, it can bring your business into bankruptcy. There are two ways to solve this problem without a business loan. One option is to give your customers an incentive to pay off. A common practice is to offer a 2% discount if they pay within 10 days. The problem with this strategy is that you always eventually thank you for your customers. The second alternative is the invoice factoring facility, a tool that can get you the quick payments from your creditworthy customers are used.

Factoring accelerates your customer payments with a financial intermediary, called a factoring company buys your invoices at a small discount and pays you in advance for them. This eliminates the problem of having to wait for payment from customers, and increase your cash flow. If properly managed, you can factoring as a platform to use to grow your business, without conventional debt. An important feature of factoring is that most transactions are structured as purchases of bills as business loans.
Costs of factoring company, commonly known as the discount varies and depends on the size of your bills, your sales and your creditworthiness based invoices. In fact, the credit quality of your invoices are the most important criteria for qualification. This allows small companies whose main asset is a solid list of clients, factoring to their advantage.

Diversify Your Business Finance

Introduction
The government has announced a new initiative to diversify business finance, which are led by industry experts in the UK from both the business and finance.
British companies still rely heavily on bank loans to finance their activities, although there are many alternative sources of funding available to them to meet today's evolving market.
The government wants to make sure the light of recent and ongoing reforms in the banking sector, the flow of capital for companies maintained. Other sources of funding will be critical to help companies provide the broadest economic growth in the UK economy needs.
The panel will seek to establish a framework for alternative sources of funding through collaboration with companies and business associations investors to coordinate the financial institutions and providers of alternative sources of financing and facilitating the availability of financing that businesses need.
Bank loans
Though it is an increase in new loans was included major banks this year, many companies still dissatisfied with levels of bank loans and how they were treated by their banks.

Criteria of the credit crisis, the non-renewal of overdraft facilities and poor communication from banks are cited achievement of common problems of the company as a result of their fundraising goals difficult.
Without the funding they need, the British company is struggling to survive and grow, and so the British economy the same. That is why the government, increasing not only the introduction of measures to encourage bank lending, but will also promote competition to the financial market as possible. A wide range of alternative sources of finance for UK businesses
Alternative funding
There is already a wide range of alternative sources of funding that are the company.
One of the biggest obstacles to the increased use of these funding sources is simply the general consciousness. New and emerging providers of other financial products do not have the infrastructure sector, which makes it an efficient and effective distribution of their products.
The other important factor is that many owners and managers of small and medium enterprises, which are the backbone of the UK economy, are not aware of the range of alternative funding available and where to find them.
New methods of communication are needed, and it is hoped that this will be one of the main objectives of the initiative of the government.
Invoice Finance
Invoice Finance is one of the most popular options in the portfolio of alternative finance and has grown considerably over the last fifteen years, from about 13,000 businesses to use the UK to more than 50,000 customers today.
This method is extremely flexible business financing cash advances against unpaid sales invoices. There are variations in the invoice finance family of products, invoice factoring and invoice discounting involves.
Credit institutions in the bill will advance up to 95% of a company's invoices unpaid sales and use the sales ledger safe under assignment of the bill and if the debt held by these students.
If the invoice is paid by the client company, the invoice finance company will pay the balance of the bill, which was not funded after the deduction of expenses. It has progressed normally a fee for the installation and an interest in the amount of resources.
One of the main benefits of invoice finance is that to increase the installation, as the company grows, so actually a very effective way to fund working capital.