Archive for starting a business
Business Coaching: Starting A Business On An Empty Tank
Posted by: | CommentsBusiness coaching you when you’re on an empty tank is like trying to launch a plane the runway on a tank of gas. Creatvivity and lots of prayer As a lender who works with entrepreneurs and start-up companies, my motto with them is always “show me the money!” When a prospect opens up their wallet and pays money for your product or service, then you can say you have a valid business. Until you have real customers who are credit worthy, most lenders and investors won’t give you funding for your business dream because you haven’t proven it works. I recommend to every business owner I coach to do everything you can to leverage your assets to put your firm in a strong position before you attempt to secure financing from outside sources.
Before you get your first sale, you only have an idea which could work. You don’t have a business. Being turned down for financing can be a good thing for you. This may sound counter intuitive since rejection doesn’t make you feel very good, but it’s truly a great source of valid feedback. It often means you need to do more work to prove your business plan. I get financing clients who procrastinate about writing their business and marketing plan, but they want me to help them get hundreds of thousands of dollars for their dream. Would you invest in an entrepreneur who hasn’t written a comprehensive plan? You should try to see it from your lender’s or investor’s point of view.
Whether you’re looking for financing or to raise money from an investor, your goal should be to make sales as early as possible to generate real revenues for your new venture.
Recent sales are the evidence I want to see at Donald Hunter Financial. Contracts, invoices, purchase orders, all show a market for your products or services. And you want to have well established customers with a great track record for paying their bills
A huge benefit of bootstrapping your way to profitability is the more products or services you sell early on, the less outside money you need to raise to make further investments to position your company for growth while at the same time securing your intellectual property and branding your products and services.
Generating cash flow through an actual sale may be the only option for service companies or businesses with few assets to secure financing. Bootstrapping means you will need to give away much less equity in your company to investors.
A Warning to Bootstrappers
Before I go further, I have one caveat for you. Leveraging your existing assets is a great goal, but you don’t want to run out of money trying to do it all yourself. Once you run out of money, no serious lender or investor will work with you. I say this because most financing sources want you to have current funds available to invest at the time they decide to approve you for funding. The amount you’ve already invested doesn’t matter. So keep a balanced approach when going it all alone!
Benefits of a Bootstrapping Mindset
- It keeps you focused on revenue generation
- You keep control over your idea
- You get to reap more of the financial rewards
- You learn to manage your limited resources efficiently
Types of Businesses Where Bootstrapping Make Sense
- The business relies on your proven personal talents and skills
- The business doesn’t require large sums of capital to get started on a small scale
- You already have good industry contacts
Type of Businesses Where Bootstrapping Doesn’t Make Sense
- Lots of R&D is required
- You need expensive equipment to deliver your product or service
- A prototype costs lots of money to build
- You have no prior experience serving the market
- Your business requires economies of scale and scope
As a business coach, I help business owners and entrepreneurs figure out whether they can start-up without outside capital. I guide them through the process of analyzing their sales model from the perspective of rapid revenue generation. My goal is to help them to construct a business model focused on producing a few quick sales as soon as possible.
Bootstrapping Tips
- Spend your funds only on marketing and sales activities directed at a well defined target market.
- Make sure your target customer is credit worthy.
- Create the lowest cost prototype which is good enough to make a sale (E.G., paper design or video).
- Develop the product only when you get a purchase order in-hand.
- Don’t go out and rent office space and purchase unnecessary equipment
There are lots of alternative ways I can help you to fund your business growth. If you generate invoices or purchase orders, you‘ll have access to fast, flexible financing options through my Money Tree Cash Flow program. And most importantly, your credit isn’t an issue with these funding alternatives. Invoices or purchase orders from a credit worthy customer allow you to get cash to fund daily operations and to manufacture your product. You won’t need a loan or capital from an investor to fund your operating costs in the start-up phase! You can rely on factoring or purchase order finance for immediate cash, which is not a loan. Sign up for a complimentary finance consultation to speak to me about ways in which I can help you fund your business.
Bootstrapping Consulting
Are you a “bootstrapper”? What are your top three goals you need some help with right now to start up your business? I can help you develop ways to target your customers to focus on generating immediate sales to prove your business idea meets a true customer need.
You’ll then be in an excellent position to seek funding to expand your business at a much faster pace. Then, I can help you get quick cash for your invoices and purchase orders through my Money Tree Cash Flow program.
Call me today at (866) 323-9123 or sign-up for a complimentary session in my Bootstrap to Profitability Coaching Tune-Up program. I’ll help you develop your business strategy to take advantage of your bootstrapping opportunities straightaway.
Donald Hunter
Make Your Business More Robust When You Rent A CFO!
Posted by: | CommentsFinancial Planning for Start-Up success
Rent your very own CFO for critical business decisions
Would you ever think about building a house without hiring an architect? Then, why would you ever think of starting business without first hiring a business financial planner to help you with the start-up phases of your business? After reading this post, you’ll realize a financial planner is one of the best professionals to guide you through the start-up phase. It’s like renting your own Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
My definition of start-ups below includes ventures led by entrepreneurs or brand new business owners. It also includes ongoing businesses who want to launch a new division. For example, I help out-of-state or international businesses who want to start-up operations in California.
Let’s define the type of financial planner who would be right for this CFO advisory role. Financial gurus who focus on stocks and mutual funds would not be your first choice. A planner who focuses on personal financial issues wouldn’t be your second choice either. An agent who focuses on selling insurance products may only give you a partial solution. You need a financial planner who works exclusively with businesses. Your best choice in this case is a financial planner who thinks like a CFO.
I’m sure you’d agree that starting up a business can be frustrating and confusing to make sure you’ve done everything you need to do to increase your chances for success. The rest of this post shares with you some key business areas in which your CFO planner can help your company.
I’m often asked what types of financial planning services I offer business owners. I typically reply that I help business owners cover their “assets.” Literally, that’s what a financial planner will do for you. In a “nut shell”, I help you:
- Make sure you don’t give away more value in your company than is required!
- Determine if you will make a profit.
- Capitalize your new venture.
- Minimize your personal and business taxes.
- Minimize risks (liability) to your business and to you personally.
- Incentivize your employees and key advisors.
Often, there are other start-up areas where a business owner wants me to help them save time and money. I help clients with setting up all aspects of the new venture. Here are a few bulleted categories to help you get a sense of what you must do to launch a business in the various phases of starting up and then growing your business.
Start-Up Business Services:
- Sign up for your business license
- File for your fictitious business name statement
- Help you develop your logo, letterhead, and business cards
Start-Up Marketing Services
- Define your vision, mission, and purpose
- Determine your target market
- Create your 30 second elevator pitch
- Identify where you need to network for generating leads and referral relationships
- Design your sales model
- Write powerful sales scripts
- Create your marketing plan
Online Marketing Services
- Create your social media plan
- Define your blogging plan
- Design your multimedia plan: podcasting, videos, and presentations
- Develop your lead generation strategy
- Create your sales pages
- Drive traffic to your online properties
Business Planning Services
- Write your comprehensive business plan
- Develop your financial model
- Conduct competitive analysis
- Prepare your financing package
- Construct your investor capital presentation
Financial Planning Services
- Decide how much to pay key advisors, board members, and employees, including incentives
- Understand tax advantages of how you bring capital into your business
- Determine the best organizational structure for your business (S corp., LLC, partnership, LLP, or incorporation)
- Decide on types of liability and business continuance risks and insurance
- How to buyout a partner upon dissolution of the partnership or death
- Depreciation recapture
- Buying and selling business use property (1231)
- Buying and selling depreciable personal property (1245)
- Buying and selling depreciable real property (1250)
- Taking section 179 expense
- Choose appropriate depreciation schedules
- Set up and plan for retirement plans for owners and employees
- Transfer of ownership strategies upon death or at retirement
Organizational Development
- Create your organizational chart
- Role development to make clear what you expect the role to produce
- Recruit key advisors and board members to fill your organizational chart
- Leverage hiring assessments to understand personality types and how interviewees will fit the role and the team
- Prepare interview checklists to discover interviewees’ strengths, weaknesses, goals, and personality fit
- Create recruiting strategies to locate superior talent
- Mentor employees to maximize their performance
Have you considered all of the various financial planning options I’ve laid out for you above? It is critical for you to think through all of these options to ensure you maximize your profits and minimize your costs and risks.
I snuck in some marketing and sales options for you too because without a clear marketing plan, it doesn’t matter how well your financial plan has been designed.
Organizational goals are important to get right the first time, as you grow your company. This is why I included the list of must do’s for hiring and team development.
There are many other steps to consider when defining and launching a new start-up company or division of an existing company. Seek expert advice to help you through this process to maximize your investment dollars and valuable time.
Rent A CFO
Rent me to get help on a business challenge you are currently facing. For more information on what I can do right now to help your business, you can call me at (866) 323-9123 or sign-up for a complimentary CFO Coaching Tune-Up session with me.
I developed a comprehensive financing report for business owners and entrepreneurs who need loans or investor capital. You can download my Business Survival report to get an overview of your financing options.
Donald Hunter Financial
Would Unlimited Access to a Money Tree Improve Your Cash Flow?
Posted by: | CommentsIn last Thursday’s Turn Your Purchase Orders Into Real-Time Cash post, I laid out my Purchase Order Finance (POF) process for you. At the end of that real-time cash post, I introduced my MONEY TREE (MT) Program. Today, let’s take a look at how my MT can benefit your business.
Money Tree
Who said money doesn’t grow on trees? Money Tree is an asset-based lending program for factoring and purchase order finance. MT evaluates your business assets, your industry trends and ongoing business feasibility.
Once our financing criteria is met, you have unlimited access to quick cash advances for your invoices or purchase orders. This real-time cash program relies primarily on the credit worthiness of your customer who issues the Purchase Order.
MT enables you to fill orders or fund your payroll without waiting for your customers to pay your invoices or for you to deliver on your purchase orders. Direct payments are made to your suppliers (for raw materials) or Lines of Credit. Your domestic suppliers will receive direct payments or Letters of Credit will be posted straight to your international suppliers on your behalf.
You can use Money Tree to access unlimited cash as long as your customers and suppliers meet the requirements of MT. From this perspective, money truly does grow on trees! You can now take on large orders knowing you have unlimited real-time access to cash to deliver your product or service.
Industries Served BY MONEY TREE
- Manufacturing
- Apparel
- Distribution
- Staffing
- Transportation
- Energy
- Service
- Printing
- Technology and IT Services
- & more…
Money Tree is typically available to all industry segments, except for construction projects.
MONEY TREE transaction Types
- U.S. Supplier to U.S. Customer
- U.S. Supplier to Foreign Customer
- Foreign Supplier to U.S. Customer
- Foreign Supplier to Foreign Customer
Your Suppliers
To qualify for my Money Tree program, your suppliers must know your product and be able to produce it in time and to meet your customer’s stipulations. Your supplier must have a good business history and track record of producing and delivering goods.
Required MONEY TREE Documentation:
- Completed purchase order finance Application Form
- Your invoice to your customer
- Your supplier’s invoice to you
- Your purchase order to your supplier
- Your profit on the transaction – gross margins must be >than 18%
- Your business History
- Your most recent profit and loss (P&L) statement
- Your most up-to-date balance Sheet
- Your time frame to produce the finished goods or to deliver your service
- Credit information on your customer
- Your supplier Information
- Your supplier delivers finished Goods or unfinished Goods
How Money Tree Purchase Order Finance Works
Step1: Your Customer gives you a purchase order for goods.
Step 2: You give your supplier your company’s purchase order to fulfill your Customer’s purchase order. The gross margin between the two purchase orders should be a minimum of 18%.
Step 3: Your supplier ships goods to you (non finished goods) or to your customer (finished goods). Payments to your supplier is made directly by my MONEY TREE program immediately or based on your MT contract.
Step 4: If the goods (unfinished) were sent directly to you from your supplier, then you will finish making the product and you ship the finished goods to your customer.
Step 5: You send your invoice for your customer’s order to my MONEY TREE program for factoring.
Step 6: MT will then factor your invoice to your customer. Your advance will be issued after subtracting supplier payments, factoring and POF fees. When your customer pays your invoice, then MONEY TREE will collect advances paid to you and factoring fees. All remaining funds are forwarded to you.
POF Money Tree Examples
POF Example 1: U.S. Supplier to U.S. Customer
You are a clothing manufacturer. You have been in business for three years and your Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet looks good. You received a large order, but you’re maxed out on credit from your suppliers. Your sales price to your Customer is $100,000 and your total cost to produce your goods is $75,000. Your gross margin is 25%. MONEY TREE will purchase the goods for you from your supplier, give you 45 days to produce the goods, charge you a 5% purchase order fee ($5000, 5% of $100,000) and factor your receivables.
POF Example 2: Foreign Supplier to U.S. Customer
You are importing telescopes from Korea. You do not need to receive the goods, The telescopes will be shipped directly to your Customer, which is a large U.S. retailer. The cost of the goods is $500,000 and you will sell them to your Customer for $700,000. Your gross margins are 20% (after all your import costs). My MONEY TREE program will open a Letter of Credit to your supplier and will factor the receivables. When your Korean supplier ships the telescopes, then your Korean supplier will get paid. When the goods are landed in the U.S. and shipped to your U.S. Customer, MT will factor the receivable from your customer and pay the purchase order to your supplier from the MONEY TREE funds advanced to you.
POF Example 3: Foreign Supplier to Foreign Customer
You are an international seafood broker. You are buying seafood in Jakarta from a trustworthy supplier and selling it to a credit worthy Customer in Columbia. The gross margin on your deal is 18%. My MONEY TREE program will finance the full transaction by wiring funds to your supplier of seafood for $40,000 and collect payment from the Colombian Customer of $55,000, less our MT factoring fees, insurance and inspection fees.
Complimentary Money Tree Advisory Services
- Contact me right now at (866) 323-9123 or click this link to sign-up for a free finance consultation with me to discover how my Money Tree helps you get unlimited cash to improve your cash flow.
- Sign-up for my free financing report to discover more financing options to grow your own “money tree.”
Small Business Advocate Show: Black Entrepreneurs Must Breakthrough Barriers!
Posted by: | CommentsI am on the Small Business Advocate Radio Show today with Jim Blasingame and a female African American entrepreneur, Clara, at 5:30am California time. I’m usually not this perky so early in the morning! Matter of fact, I’m rarely awake at 4:30am!
Jim wanted to know from Clara and I whether we thought African Americans get the short end of the stick when it comes to political correctness, entrepreneurialism, and education. You’ll be surprised by my direct responses on the Small Business Advocate Show.
Below you’ll find my outline I prepared for you last night for Jim’s radio show. I came to the show this morning more motivated to talk about breakthrough solutions for entrepreneurialism for African Americans instead of a pure focus on racism.
The Donald’s Advice for Starting Your Business (my advice will work for anyone who wants to start a business)
- Good paying jobs won’t be coming back anytime soon
- Jobs are being outsourced faster than they’re being created
- Globalization is here to stay unless there’s some dramatic catastrophe such as a world war
- The best option right now for you if you’re unemployed and you’re over 40 is to start your own business
- The first question to ask is whether you are cut out for entrepreneurialism no matter your affiliation
- Most people are not cut out for entrepreneurialism no matter their origin
- You see higher rates of entrepreneurialism in groups who have no other choice such as immigrants to the United States
- African Americans may not have a choice right now other than entrepreneurialism given the jobless recovery
- Side-step racism (real or imagined) and breakthrough the “I don’t know you” paradigm
- We live in a global economy, so collaborate with all people with different origins to broaden your appeal and connections
- Don’t become even more isolated from the broader economy
- At work
- Socially
- I’m not saying there isn’t racism, but breakthrough it
- you’re different and they are too, so what
- My father made it as an entrepreneur even though he couldn’t read or write, but he understood business is about relationships; he spent time cultivating relationships and delivering with consistent service and rarely lost a customer in 25 years
- Education is the first step in entrepreneurialism and the basics are often free or low cost
- The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a good place to start
- The Small Business Development Center is excellent because it is hands on helping you start your business
- Your local colleges have programs in entrepreneurialism
- Collaborate with other entrepreneurs online and offline and learn to speak the language of an entrepreneur
- Use the Internet to access free, valuable information on starting and running a business
- Read motivational and business books and minimize TV time
- Hire a business coach if you can afford it
- Model other entrepreneurs like Magic Johnson, Donald Trump, Martha Steward, or anyone in your life who’s successful
- You don’t just start and run a business
- You develop skills such as accounting, advertising, finance, legal, marketing, sales, operations
- You learn to connect with target markets, manage employees, and influence people who you have no control over
- Innovation is the only sustainable way to stay in business whether it’s new products or clever marketing
- Entrepreneurs don’t think small
- This is a leadership game
- You must inspire others to get behind your vision
- It’s about developing trust relationships with the right people
- You must build a team of people who are committed to making your vision real and they must complement your abilities
- You must know more about your area of business than anyone else in your company, including your competition, markets you serve, technology, regulations, politics, what makes your customer tick
- So many problems in the world need someone like you to solve them. There’re no shortages of innovations people will pay for to increase security, save time, make them more safe, and so on.
- It’s difficult work for anyone to accomplish the things on my list no matter their affiliation, so get started now
- Don’t wait until you’re ready
- It’s a lifetime journey
- Start your entrepreneurial education right away
- Be realistic
- Don’t take no for an answer if you know it can be done
- Lead with your heart and soul!
- Get rid of things from your life which stop you from spending time on the entrepreneurial projects you are passionate about (family, friends, and bad associations)
- Change your associations to people who are successful in their lives
- Be a valuable resource to others – “Give and it shall be given to you…”
What do you think? Comment below and give me your perspectives on entrepreneurialism for African Americans in the United States. I’d love to hear about your personal stories.
I’ll be back on the Small Business Advocate radio show with Jim Blasingame soon to talk about other aspects of this topic for you.
For more information on starting your business, you can sign-up for a 30 minutes strategy session with me to discuss your desires, fears, frustrations, and goals.
To the right of this post, I have eBooks you can select for download. My eBooks include financing your business, investing in commercial real estate or buying or selling a business.
You can do me a favor. “Share” or “Tweet” this post below so more people connect with this message. I will create more business start-up resources for you as more people like yourself show interest in this topic.
Happy New Years Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Real Estate Investors!
Posted by: | CommentsWell, we’re starting off a new decade and leaving the single digit 2000s behind. I don’t know about you, but the last ten years definitely were up and down for me.
I’m thankful I ended 2009 on a strong note. I say this because I’m creating real value in my business for you which I will continue to build on for years to come.
This year, I plan to use a lot of videos in my business so you can see me and connect with the real me behind the messages at Donald Hunter™ Financial. I have degrees from two of the top universities in the world (MIT and Berkeley), but you’ll find I’m just an ordinary guy when it comes to being real about business and life…
I’ve really appreciated you visiting my blog at Donald Hunter™ Financial in 2009 and I’ll promise you there’s a lot more to come to help you be more successful in your business ventures in the following eight areas:
- Business finance
- Commercial property finance
- Real estate investing
- Business investing
- Financial planning
- Decision making strategies
- Risk management
- Marketing and sales
All of these eight business areas will be critical for everyone who wants to be prosperous in the years to come. I focus on these areas as the CEO of Donald Hunter™ Financial. We’re not going back to things the way they were in the “go go” days. It’s up to all of us to create the future based on the hand we’re dealt today if we want to be prosperous in the next decade…
I will launch several new business practices for you in 2010 to bring you my critical financial information to you to make you more successful:
- Private and group coaching programs
- Live speaking events
- Video marketing
- Podcasting
- Free investing webinar training
- Tools like training CDs and videos for business owners, entrepreneurs, and real estate investors
As you drill down into what makes your business “thrive and survive” in 2010, you can depend on Donald Hunter™ financial to help you with the most relevant and critical financial information to power your business economically.
One thing I hope we all learned in the last decade is financial matters shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s not just about getting a loan. It’s about being comprehensive in the financial decisions we make in our businesses and lives. I look forward to a prosperous 2010, helping all of you get more success in your businesses and lives!
Watch my first video where I’m learning how to use my Canon Powershot SD-960IS video Camera. I share a few things with you about your bright financial future for 2010.
A Message From The Donald
- Sign-up for a free strategy session with me.
- Get a copy of my “Business Survival” report.
- Come back for my free real estate investing eBook next week.
- Quickly share or Tweet my post below With your network.
- Take 30 seconds right now to vote below so I know what your top priority is.
- Your comments are always welcomed by the Donald Hunter financial community no matter where you’re located in the world.
Thanks and Happy New Years to you and a very prosperous 2010!
Leap Ahead of the Pack With the Incredible Thrive and Survive 2010 Report!
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s here and it’s HOT! Go now and grab your copy of my Business Survival Report. It’s pact with the latest financing information to put you ahead of the pack in 2010. Business owners who read this report will have a superior advantage over those who don’t.
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Central Valley Business Time (CVBT) Radio Show Interview
Posted by: | CommentsLast Tuesday, October 13, Donald was interviewed over Skype by Doug Caldwell from the CVBT about what he’s hearing and seeing from small business owners out there…. Doug asked which the better strategy is:
• Wait until we see clear signs that the recession is over to Start Funding again?
• Or should business owners consider funding now?
Donald lives and works in Silicon Valley and has two teen daughters. The oldest is a sophomore at BU in communications and is now in London for a semester and spending time traveling to cool places in Europe like Rome, Paris, and Prague.
Don’s youngest teen daughter is a senior at Los Altos High and she’s now figuring out what she wants to do for college next year… Donald Hunter spends a few minutes with Doug Caldwell of the CVBT sharing his thoughts on these questions and more…
Please click the player to listen to this great interview:
Call us at (866) 323-9123 to Start Funding Now.
Donald Hunter Business
Financing Expert
www.DonaldHunterFinancial.com
