Business Coaching

Are we headed for a lost decade in the United States? In the 1990s Japan experienced a massive recession which led to their “Lost Decade” a time in which Japanese economic expansion came to an almost complete halt.

Now, as the United States experiences economic growing pains, we are faced with the possibility that it could happen in this country.

But, while we’ve been mired in a painfully slow recovery from a major recession, some statistics show things are getting incrementally better, if you know where to look for them.

One area that is a positive is the change in the number of small-business bankruptcy filings from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the fourth quarter of 2010. According to Equifax, over that time, bankruptcies dropped by 18 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008 through the fourth quarter of 2009, which was the height of the recession.

Of course, when we take these numbers in a vacuum, they don’t tell us much but if we look at them in the context of the economy we can see some interesting things. First, weak businesses that weren’t prepared for the economic winter are no longer around and, secondly, the small businesses that remain are doing a better job of leveraging their resources so they should be stronger in the long run.

Let’s focus specifically on the first point: Businesses that weren’t strong enough have collapsed and their owners have filed for bankruptcy.

Sure, some well-run small businesses met their respective ends as well, but an economic recession brings problems and challenges to the surface so they can’t be ignored like they can during strong economic times.

Poorly run businesses are most likely to suffer in this scenario because they don’t have the resources or managerial talent to withstand it. Companies that have strong plans and talented leadership in place are not as vulnerable to those extreme economic circumstances.

Quite simply, economic downturns mean real trouble for poorly run businesses, but it also offers terrific opportunities for well run businesses. A well run business has the ability to change on the fly and adapt to difficult times. And, maybe most importantly, a well-run business is in position to reap the benefits of the struggles our economy has experienced.

A recession weeds out poorly run businesses, but even poorly run businesses have their share of customers, who need to buy from someone. If you’ve been competing with one of those businesses, you have a new group of customers you may be able to bring to your business.

If strong businesses can take advantage of this scenario to grow, we may be able to avoid our own “Lost Decade” but only time will tell.

Happy New Year!

Now that we’re in year 2011, maybe you’ve made some New Year’s resolutions. Hopefully you’ve made some for your business so your business can be the best it can be this year.

If you’re a small business, consider making a resolution to start thinking like a big business.

Crazy? Not so much.

People often separate small business from big business. As they should — there are legitimate differences between big corporations and small Mom-and-Pop, homegrown shops.

But what people don’t realize is small businesses are really just big businesses in training. Think about it — they each have common goals, and the biggest one is the goal of succeeding.

Big businesses tend to have an easier time targeting markets and generating leads because they have a more well-known brand presence. Sometimes small businesses need to think like big businesses…and other times, they need to think smaller to really focus on their target markets and generate the most leads from the most possible places.

What are ways small businesses can think like big businesses? A free coaching session can help you discover some ways that might have been overlooked.

This could make a difference for your business this year!

Credit card companies will use professional cards as a way to increase their profit margins.

Credit card companies are looking for a way to recoup some of the losses they’ve experienced following the implementation of the new credit card law this March and they’ve been using professional cards as a way to increase their profit margins.

This puts small business owners in a difficult position. Traditional credit lines have been frozen for some time, leaving business owners scrambling for capital to fund their ventures. Credit cards seem like an attractive option to turn to, but there are risks.

Many small business owners don’t realize that the new credit card laws which went into affect earlier this year only deal with personal credit cards, not professional credit cards. This can be a major problem for small businesses that don’t understand how the loophole in the law affects them.

For example, The Ink From Chase card, one of several professional cards offered by the bank, is one professional card subject to the whim of issuers. The card agreement says Chase is free to implement a default rate of 29.99% if a customer is late by just one day on a payment.

Holders of Capital One’s Business Platinum Card, meanwhile, can see their low introductory interest rates spike if they are just three days late with payment twice in a 12-month period, far less than the 60-day notice for personal cards required under the Card Act.

These are just two examples of the practices card issuers can still use when dealing with professional cards, but there are many more out there. There are five major differences between personal and professional cards.

Under the new law credit card companies can apply any payments in excess of the minimum to balances with low interest rates, don’t have to allow 21 days after a statement is mailed before payment is due, can raise rates on existing balances if late payments are made to a different creditor, can charge big fees if cardholders exceed their limit and, maybe most importantly, card issuers can change agreements without giving advanced notice. All of these practices are now illegal in regard to personal cards.

What do you think of the credit card industry’s strategy in regard to professional credit cards? Is it good business or bad faith in this struggling economy?

Small businesses that use cash only mayconsider using credit cards due to new credit card laws.

With the new financial bill signed earlier this summer taking affect, small merchants in cash only business may be considering using credit cards for the first time. But are the new laws enough for businesses to change their way of doing business and accept plastic?

Under the new law, merchants can now legally set $10 minimums on credit-card purchases, and offer discounts and promotions for cash purchases.  These new rules can certainly help small businesses that currently don’t accept credit cards, but there are many aspects of the law that have yet to take effect, including the most important to most small businesses, swipe fees.

Over the next eight months, the Federal Reserve will issue new standards for swipe fees for debit cards. These new standards are meant to ensure that fees are proportional to the costs of the transaction. Credit-card fees, however, would remain unregulated, meaning the credit card companies can keep gouging business owners.

Many small business owners pay ridiculous fees on credit cards under the current system. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores the convenience store industry paid $7.4 billion in credit-card fees in 2009 while making $4.8 billion in profits from cards.

Obviously those numbers seem out of whack and there should be a way of changing the system so small businesses can make more of a profit from their sales than credit card companies do. It just seems that the new law, although a step in the right direction, doesn’t go far enough.

How does you business handle credit cards? Will you accept credit cards more regularly with the new laws enacted? What do you think of the government’s attempt to legislate the credit card industry?

J.Crew has evolved from flannel to fashionable with the help of brand management.

Remember when J.Crew menswear was mostly about flannel?

Men, you have Frank Muytjens, head of men’s design for J.Crew, to thank for the transformation in the preppy retailer’s menswear selections in recent years.

Muytjens told Bloomberg BusinessWeek that he listened to what J.Crew’s male customers wanted and responded to current trends. While retail has struggled during the U.S. recession, it seems that menswear could be a big opportunity for sales; at least for J.Crew — besides the growth the menswear division has seen, J.Crew made $44.7 million in this year’s first quarter, up from $20.4 million in 2009′s first quarter.

Collaboration also helps broaden J.Crew’s appeal — Ray Ban, Levi’s and Sperry are just some of the 40 partnerships J.Crew has.

Sometimes just listening to what your customer wants can have a great effect…that can be great for your business.

Instead of flannel, plaid, and more flannel, J.Crew’s menswear has evolved to two suit silhouettes, the Ludlow and Aldrige, sperry top-siders and stylish ankle boots.

What can listening to your customer do? Can it get you more business?

This past year has been rough on small businesses.

Recently, it seemed like economically, things might be looking up for small business…but we may have spoken too soon.

It’s no secret that times are tough for small businesses but the semi- annual mid-year economic report from the National Small Business Association released at the end of July show just how difficult this year has been.

The report, which surveyed 400 small business owners in varying fields found that only 11% have hired workers in the past year, 25% have cut jobs and 41% say they are unable to secure adequate financing.

These numbers are obviously not very promising for our economy when it comes to job creation. It takes a 5% increase in GDP to create enough jobs to lower unemployment by just one percentage point.

“Given the direct correlation between access to capital and job growth, unless small-business owners are able to secure financing, we will continue to see high unemployment,” Todd McCracken, President of the NSBA said.

Other numbers were equally bleak. Almost three quarters of respondents said economic uncertainty was their top concern, up from 64% in December. Almost half, 44% don’t expect any growth opportunities in the coming year and 45% believe the economy is worse now than it was a year ago. Just 59% of those who responded felt confident about the future of their business, down from 61% in December.

But all was not bad — only 25% predicted decreases in revenue for the next 12 months, down from 31% in December. There were also more businesses reporting higher revenue since the last survey in December, 26% this month, compared with 22% at the end of last year.

To view the National Small Business Association survey, click here: http://nsba.biz/

Do you see these numbers reflected in your business? Are things turning for the better or are we headed for a double-dip recession? Tell us what you think.

Business owner Les Kreider, owner of Kreider Canvas Service, heard about ActionCOACH through a relative. Once deciding to hire a business coach, Kreider knew he had made a great decision. Find out why — watch the above video!

Customer polling done by Sam’s Club revealed that nearly 15% had been turned down for business loans recently. Since the bulk of Sam’s Club’s clientele are small businesses looking to save money, Sam’s Club knew that it could be just a matter of time until they saw their profits dwindling.

How could they change the downward trending? WalMart Inc., Sam’s Club’s parent company, decided that the best way to deal with this problem was to come to a common solution, one that could help both Sam’s Club and its customers, while creating a new level of customer loyalty. That solution is loaning capital to customers.

Sam’s Club will focus its loans on small businesses owned primarily by women, minorities and veterans. They will make loans of anywhere from $5000 to $25,000 to those small businesses. The term of the loans will be 10 years and there will be no penalty for early payment. The loans will be made through an outside lender and Sam’s Club will actually make $50 per loan.

Aside from the small stipend made on each loan, the benefits to Sam’s Club could be enormous. Creating renewed loyalty throughout its customer base while also improving its own bottom line are just two benefits for them, but your small business could benefit as well.

For businesses in need of capital or struggling to close the cash gap this could be a huge advance because of the dearth of traditional lending these days. If you already have a Sam’s Club account, you will probably be much more likely to be able to get a loan in their system because they already know you and your business.

For many years small businesses have struggled to compete against big business.  Today thanks to a more enlightened view of business, major corporations are looking for ways to help small businesses.

Sam’s Club has come up with a vision that they hope will ensure their customers today become customers for life. Think this strategy will work?

If you think franchising can only leverage and optimize revenue and profit for you, think again. It can also help boost jobs in the U.S., according to an article by Jane Applegate, the president and CEO of The Applegate Group.

Applegate tells the story of Jeff Haas, who bought a CertaPro painting franchise last year. The former Chrysler exec who resigned instead of waiting to be downsized, bought the franchise by tapping into his retirement savings at a time when the stock market was hammering his portfolio.

Rather than go it alone, he agreed to let the former owner stay on to work as an outside sales rep. It was a good move for both of them: the former owner now focuses on bringing in new business, while Haas manages the day-to-day operations and supervises the painting crews. Haas has 30 employees, including his wife, Gwen, handles customer service, sets up appointments and offers interior decorating and color consultations.

All in all, buying a franchise turned out to be a good thing for the Haases, and while it does take dedication, a successful franchise can ultimately help the economy, because it’s creating new jobs.

People who buy franchises are among those creating new American jobs—about 36,000 this year, according to the International Franchise Association. The trade association, which represents about 1,250 franchise companies and 10,000 individual franchises, recently reported that new job growth this year contrasts with the loss of 400,000 franchise jobs in 2009.

Read the full article here. Do you agree that franchising might be a good way to increase job growth in a still-shaky economy?