Financing for small business

In my recent Council for Small Business meeting, we took at look at the hottest topics impacting small businesses this month. As usual, the topic of finance came up repeatedly. Banks simply aren't lending like they should. Some banks and organizations like the SBA are leveraging stimulus funds to make it easier to access capital. Venture capitalists and angel investors are also looking for entrepreneurs and startups with solid business plans. This uplifting article tells of how six small businesses owners financed their dreams through various sources.

If your bank isn't lending to you, consider microlending programs, family members, personal credit lines, and grants in addition to venture capitalists and angel investors. A word of advice: don't use your HELOC for any purchases not related to improving or maintaining your home. If you need assistance identifying the right financing sources, your local SBA, SCORE office, or chamber of commerce can provide you with counselors and financial expertise.

I will post the notes from our meeting on the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce's LinkedIn group later this month. If you are a chamber member, please join this group to get the details of the discussion and to learn about next month's exciting program and opportunity exchange.

If you need resources for your small business, drop me an email. I can point you to some of the right resources you need to get your business off the ground and keep it moving forward.

Extreme Office Makeover promises one lucky winner a $35,000+ fresh start

TsuluWerks is offering nearly $10,000 worth of services for the Extreme Office Makeover. One lucky small business or organization will win over a total of $35,000 worth of products and services from: Microsoft, JWCS, Dex, BizXchange, FastSigns Seattle, TsuluWerks, X-BAR, Innovatively Organized, ISOutsource, Queen Anne Upholstery, FedEx and more!

The prize includes a Business and Marketing Strategy Session with TsuluWerks. This consultation, valued at $9,950, includes a SWOT analysis, business strategy tools, positioning, and competitive analysis. You will walk away with the tools you need to create a solid brand, start your marketing plan, and drive all areas of your organization.

All qualified organizations that enter will receive a FREE Technology Assessment from a Microsoft Partner. Apply before 5:00 pm Pacific on April 24th at www.seattlechamber.com/makeover. No purchase is necessary, and you do not need to be a Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce member to win. Complete rules and qualification requirements can be found at the link listed above.

Wall Street versus Main Street: Really?

Over and over, the media reports are comparing the financial industry bailout with the auto industry crisis. Union leaders and media are saying that it's an unfair bias that is belittling blue collar jobs. Is the Federal bailout policy really a smack down between Wall Street and Main Street?

1. The financial industry can survive without the manufacturing sector. Like it or not, the financial industry does not need the manufacturing sector to be a viable industry. Unfortunately, no industry, big business, small business, or consumer can live without a credit-backed monetary system. Money itself is nothing more than a great credit-backed ponzi scheme designed by the federal government (okay, that was a bit harsh, but money is an instrument of debt, where bank notes, or the digital equivalent, are exchanged for a good or service. There's a lot of work that goes into fluffing up the value of those bank notes). Without money, few industries would survive. Niall Ferguson outlines how the financial sector works really nicely in his book, The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World.


2. The American auto industry is an important part of the industrial age of America. Unfortunately, we're no longer an industrial economy. Our economy is changing, and it's up to business leaders to see that and encourage the development of industries to match the new global information age that we're in. When the economy shifted from agrarian to industrial in the mid-nineteenth century, the American farmer didn't die out. The agricultural industry became a smaller and smaller part of our economy. We have been going through a similar transition since the 1980's - perhaps even the 1950's, when the number of white collar workers first outnumbered blue collar workers. In the information age, more manufacturing jobs are not the answer. Like the flight of folks from the countryside to industrial centers in the 1800's, we will see a movement of workers from the manufacturing sector to service industries as the information age continues to evolve into the next economic model that is more environmentally and culturally aware. The auto industry will just become a smaller part of our economy.


3. Bankruptcy doesn't mean the end of the American auto industry. I'm not a fan of bankruptcy. Like all systems designed to protect and foster growth, many businesses and individuals abuse it to get out of their obligations. It does, however, provide an opportunity to restructure and protect the most important systems within an organization that would otherwise fail. Former industry leader Delta Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007 with a stronger balance sheet, revised cost structure, and lower debt. The result was a fresh start from an airline industry giant that did not keep sucking at the federal teat. In the end, Delta is still flying and my dad and his former co-workers are still receiving their pensions. Bankruptcy would force the auto industry to get creative or die.

The decline of the auto industry in American life marks the end of an important era. We cannot cling, however, to lifestyles and dreams of an era that no longer supports the realities of a changing world. The auto industry lagged behind the shifting economy during the past few decades and has lost the brand loyalty and support of an American people with more choices and an eye to a global future. China is the hottest market for all automotive brands right now. Our world is changing. It's time that the auto industry caught up, without constant taxpayer assistance.

New Service for Small and Growing Organizations

I have long been passionate about helping my clients with advisory and business services that they can immediately put into action. Now, those services have a name: ConsulCoaching™.

ConsulCoaching is more revealing than consulting. And unlike coaching, my clients get practical deliverables, like strategic roadmaps and marketing plans, to help them move their businesses forward.

Therese Beale, President of Beale Communications Planning, says that after ten years as an entrepreneur "I'm excited about the new directions that are emerging for my company as a result [of ConsulCoaching]. It's refreshing to fall in love with my business all over again!"

If you've hit a snag with your business growth, want to get your fledgling business off the ground, or just want to fall in love with your business all over again, visit the ConsulCoaching web page to learn more. Or give me a call at 206-782-4040.

Strategy is not just for big businesses

In a recent presentation of Dollars + Sense, a participant commented that setting strategy and key performance indicators (KPIs) was for large businesses. According to the participant, small mom and pop shops are too small to worry about effective business analysis. Not true, I say. The smaller your business is, the more critical your need for good measurements and an effective strategy. Unlike larger organizations, you don't have much wiggle room to make repeated mistakes. KPIs and a solid strategy will help keep you on track and quickly reveal when things are taking a turn for the worst. Regardless of tour size, you need solid measurements and a well defined strategy. That's how the larger organizations get and stay big.

Keeping It Simple

My sister has a foster child who is in his mid teens. They have worked out an allowance system: he has a set allowance, yet certain chores have to be completed in order for him to receive his full allowance. For each chore that is not completed, a portion of the allowance is deducted. My sister and her husband aren't forcing him to do his chores: the hope is that he will be self directed to do what he is supposed to do in order to get his full allowance.

To date, the child has never received his full allowance. Some weeks, he doesn't receive any allowance. He does just enough to get what he wants at the time and lets the remaining funds go untapped. He doesn't yet see the value in doing the extra work needed to acquire the additional funds.

It might sound odd, but small businesses are like that, too. If they don't see the full value in responding to your call to action, signing up for your trial offer, or participating in your survey, they won't. If the process is too complex and the payoff too little, participation will be low. To motivate small businesses to participate in your offering, the offer must be short, clear, compelling, easy, and possess clear payoffs. Otherwise, they could be leaving valuable information and resources on the table -- and never truly realize the full benefits of what you have to offer.

Growth-focused Events for Small Businesses

This morning, James Dimon, Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, presented at the US Chamber of Commerce, providing the nation with an optimistic, yet realistic state of our economy. Overall, there are opportunities for growth for all businesses. If you're a small business or nonprofit organization, I have a few upcoming events in the next few weeks that can help you leverage your strengths and take advantage of market opportunities:

1. I will be the luncheon keynote presenter at the 2009 Women in Business Conference at the Bellevue Hilton on March 12th. The topic, Wrangling New Profits from Existing Assets, will be an interactive and timely conversationfor growing small business clients. For more information, check out www.bellevuechamber.org.
2. Next week, two opportunities to catch the FREE webinar Dollars + Sense: Business Strategies for Marketing that Sells will be available on March 18th and March 19th. You won't even need to leave your office to participate. The option to call in is also available for phone-only participation. Visit www.tsuluwerks.com/events for more details and to register.
3. On March 19, I will be at the Bellevue Entrepreneur Center, presenting Dollars and Sense: Business Strategies for Marketing that Sells as part of their brown bag luncheon series. For more information and to register, contact Kim Fredericks at 425.213.1211 or visit www.bellevuechamber.org.
4. March 23rd marks the Crave SHOP Symposium/09 in Seattle. The organizers are extending a special for my network, since I will be participating in a panel presentation entitled Marketing Masters: Offline, Online, and Viral Strategies that Work. To receive 50% off your registration, select this link.

Other event topics will be presented in April, including Shameless Self Promotion for New Businesses. I hope that you can join us for one or more of these events!