Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Business or Buy a New One? |  |
- Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Business or Buy a New One?
- YouTube Announces Live Streaming Video for All Users
- Zoho CRM: Low-Cost Customer Relationship Management Software
- The Selfie: Should You Use It In Your Business?
- 8 Ways to Profit From the Post-Holiday Retail Rush
| Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Business or Buy a New One? Posted: 26 Dec 2013 04:00 PM PST
A few years ago in the depths of the recession, the idea of being able to sell your business might have provoked rueful laughs from small business owners. Today, however, the outlook is improving and if you're considering selling or hoping to expand by buying a business. Now could be the time to make your move. The BizBuySell Insight Report for the third quarter of 2013 shows small business owners' finances are improving and, as a result, more of them are willing to buy. This is the third straight quarter in a row that business sales have improved significantly, jumping by 41.7 percent compared to the third quarter of 2012. A total of 1,685 transactions closed, up from 1,189 during the same period in 2012. What's Behind the Rise in Small Business Sales?An Improving Overall EconomySmall businesses' performance is improving, meaning interested buyers are more able to afford a purchase and the businesses that are for sale are more desirable. Personal wealth is recovering, too, so interested business buyers have more money to work with. In addition, financing has become easier to come by than during the worst days of the recession, creating more options for buyers. An Aging DemographicThere’s an increase of business owners who are ready to sell and more confident that they can do so. During the recession, many Baby Boomers who wanted to sell their companies and retire were forced to delay taking action. Some put their plans on hold because they hoped to get a higher price after the economy recovered. Others did so because the recession frightened many potential buyers away from small business ownership. Now, however, small business owners are feeling confident of their abilities both to sell their companies and to get a good price for them. In BizBuySell’s recent Buyer and Seller Confidence Survey, 70 percent of current small business sellers say they expect they'll be able to sell their business within one year of listing it. Leading the WayIf you own a restaurant or retail business, or if you hope to buy one, now is an especially good time to make your move. These industries led the way in growth of business sales, with restaurant transactions up a whopping 109.4 percent in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, and retail transactions up 60.9 percent. Restaurant and retail transactions combined accounted for 54 percent of all small business sales in the third quarter of 2013, compared to 43 percent a year ago. Lower cash flow multiples for restaurants, and higher year-over-year revenues for restaurant businesses, could be behind the growth in sales of businesses in these categories. The average sales price of restaurants as a multiple of cash flow in the third quarter of 2013 was 1.83, below that of small businesses in general. This means restaurant buyers are getting more cash flow per dollar spent. In retail, the average median revenue for retail businesses reached $520,000 in the third quarter of 2013, up from $423,015 a year prior. But restaurants aren't the only businesses whose sales are improving. Median revenues for all businesses grew 8.9 percent in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the prior year, from $385,327 to $420,000. As their sales and cash flow improve, small business owners are able to ask higher prices and buyers are ready and able to pay. The median asking price for businesses sold in the third quarter of 2013 was $199,000 and the median sale price was $180,000, both up slightly from the second quarter of 2013. This is the fifth straight quarter of growth for both asking and sale prices. And while the economy is still somewhat of a wild card going into 2014, overall it appears the outlook is positive. If you're considering selling your business, now is the time to meet with your attorney, accountant and any other key advisors to make sure you're doing all you can to build value in your business, that documentation is in place of your ownership of any processes or proprietary information and that all your financials are in order. If you're interested in buying a business, you also need to get your financials in order and take steps to explore your financing options. So you're ready to act when you find the perfect deal. As BizBuySell puts it:
This means the time could be right for you to achieve your dream – whether that’s to sell your business and retire, or grow your company. For Sale Photo via Shutterstock The post Is Now a Good Time to Sell Your Business or Buy a New One? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| YouTube Announces Live Streaming Video for All Users Posted: 26 Dec 2013 01:30 PM PST
A feature up until now only available to a select group of YouTube users is now available to all. That feature is streaming video. And it is being touted as an important means of creating engagement on your YouTube channel and collecting subscribers. In a recent post on the official YouTube Creators blog, Google product manager Satyajeet Salgar and Google software engineer Tim James explain:
You verify an account by providing a phone number where YouTube, or its parent company Google, can contact you and verify your identity. You are in good standing when your account doesn’t have any community violations. Being in good standing also means you haven’t been flagged for copyrite violation or been blocked worldwide for any other content issues. To determine whether your YouTube channel has been enabled for live streaming yet, check your “account feature” page. Or you can check your “Video Manager” section on YouTube to see whether “Live Events” has been added as an option. Follow the video below for quick and easy directions to set up a streaming video event from RPM Network. Live events have been appearing on YouTube since 2011. But before this most recent update, only YouTube users with at least 100 subscribers could use streaming video. The feature might be used to create or broadcast a live Webinar, presentation or any other live event. YouTube says live streaming video is a way to build subscriptions on your channel. The site provides an overview of how to organize and get the most out of your live streaming events. You can also stream a Google Hangout on YouTube by simply scheduling a Hangout on Air in the Google Plus community. The event will automatically be streamed on YouTube, the company says. There seem to be many possible uses for live streaming video on YouTube. The question will be whether small businesses find it helpful in their efforts. Image: YouTube The post YouTube Announces Live Streaming Video for All Users appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Zoho CRM: Low-Cost Customer Relationship Management Software Posted: 26 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST
If you want to grow your small business, you need technology. If you want to give your customers what they want by customizing their experience, you need customer relationship management (CRM) software to help you. CRM software helps you run marketing campaigns, manage leads, offer support services, and in some cases, manage inventory to keep on top of the market. Zoho CRM offers a low-cost and effective option for the small business owner. I just spent a couple of weeks importing contacts into Zoho CRM for a client of mine, so it is fresh in my mind. It isn’t that he really needed someone to do the tech part, he was simply too busy, so I volunteered to help and then produced this Zoho CRM review. So let’s jump in and get started. Zoho CRM ReviewThe screenshot below shows the activity types you can add on a contact and also on specific accounts (in orange).
Zoho CRM doesn't look fancy when you use it, but it offers the same services you could pay up to 4x as much for with other software. You can track your sales, connect with your customers, and integrate your CRM account with other apps to expand it into a customized business solution. It even allows you to sync your account with Google Apps. What I Like:
What I'd Like to See:
Zoho offers a free 15-day trial so you can test its paid plans. There are three levels of service available:
The Free level is a basic package that allows three users to access it (pretty good deal, I think). The Professional level is $12 per user per month and includes a workflow management and inventory management. The Enterprise level adds security controls, data storage and duplication and more customization options for $25 per user per month. Overall, Zoho is a great value for the price. The post Zoho CRM: Low-Cost Customer Relationship Management Software appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| The Selfie: Should You Use It In Your Business? Posted: 26 Dec 2013 08:00 AM PST
What Exactly is a Selfie?A selfie is nothing more than a self-portrait photograph that you share via social media. Of course, the selfie isn’t new. The black and white photograph above is a selfie of Grand Duchess Anastasia of the Russian Romanovs (yeah, that Anastasia) from 1914. Apparently 100 years ago girls were just as into themselves as they are today. They simply didn’t have Facebook or Instagram to share their selfies on. But it wasn’t as easy to shoot selfies back then. You had to aim a camera in the mirror to shoot a selfie in those days. Today, with ubiquitous camera phones and front-facing cameras on laptops and tablets, it’s incredibly easy to take a selfie. It’s become a cultural phenomenon and a form of entertainment. There have even been a number of quick-to-arrive and quick-to-go fads when it comes to posing for selfies. ”Duck face” is the term used to describe people who pucker their lips for their selfies (usually young women trying to look like Angelina Jolie). But for those keeping track, there’s also the sparrow face (wide eyes, lifted brows); the frog face (tongue out); and the trout face (open trout-like mouth) – among others. And then you have the weird penchant for taking selfies at funerals — something that Jason Feifer, a Fast Company editor, chronicled at Selfies at Funerals, a Tumblr site he set up. The fad prompted this hilarious headline at the Huffington Post, ”Funeral Selfies Are The Latest Evidence Apocalypse Can’t Come Soon Enough.” And finally, you have three heads of government taking a selfie at a memorial service for the deceased Nelson Mandela:
Some speculated that First Lady Michelle Obama was angry due to her husband laughing with the blonde Danish Prime Minister. I think the answer is simpler. Mrs. Obama, with her dignified demeanor, just had a better sense of decorum. She didn’t look angry to me — just like she hoped nobody would notice she was with those other three! She was mindful of the time and place. As a business owner, when it comes to selfies, it’s also about being mindful of the time and place, and how others will react to your selfie. Should You Use The Selfie in Business?I’m going to go with “No” on this 90% of the time for small businesses. Let’s face it: most selfies are horrendous — the kind of picture only a teenager’s friends can appreciate. If you have a traditional small business and are thinking a duck-face selfie of you as the owner will somehow bring profitable attention to your business, well … it probably won’t. However, there are exceptions. Sometimes selfies can be good. So let’s take a look at some times when selfies makes sense and can help your business:
What if you’re not an entertainer or personality, but run some other kind of traditional small business? There’s still room for selfies. Here are some ways other types of small businesses can leverage selfies:
For more ideas, see 25 tips on using Instagram – Instagram is ground zero for selfies. The point is, keep your customers top of mind as to what you think they would want to see or find interesting. If use of a selfie would be welcome by them, or benefit them, or cause them to think better of your business interests, then by all means go for it. As marketing firm Hero Farm says, make sure your use of selfies “goes beyond feeding egos.” And always remember to be mindful of the time and place when sharing selfies. Images: Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook The post The Selfie: Should You Use It In Your Business? appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| 8 Ways to Profit From the Post-Holiday Retail Rush Posted: 26 Dec 2013 05:00 AM PST
If you own a retail business and think you can relax after the holiday rush, think again. With cash a perennial gift and gift cards gaining in popularity, you're likely to have just as many people hitting your store after Christmas seeking to spend their gift money as you did before the holidays looking for the perfect presents. Then there are the customers looking to return that not-so-perfect gift and treat themselves to something they really like. How can you make the most of the busy post-holiday season and keep your sanity (and profits)? How to Profit From the Post-Holiday Retail RushBe prepared Employees may be pining for time off after the holiday rush, but make sure you've scheduled adequate staff to handle shoppers and returns. Consider offering employees comp time later in January, or some other type of reward, in return for taking the least desirable shifts. Make it fun Post-holiday shopping can get crazy but without the festive feeling of holiday gift-buying, sometimes tempers can flare. Keep the mood in your store light with music. Offer refreshments to soothe thirsty and hungry shoppers. If you can, redecorate with fresh décor that will put people in a happy mood, so they aren't looking at holly and tinsel and feeling sad that the holidays are over. Speed up wait times To make the return process easier on everyone, consider setting up separate point-of-sale stations for returns or exchanges and for purchases. Nothing gets shoppers grumpier than getting in line behind someone who dumps out a whole bag of products without a receipt when they're only waiting to buy one thing. Engage and upsell When customers return a purchase, always do your best to turn a return into an exchange. Your salespeople should never just accept a return, but always ask in a friendly way if the customer would like to exchange the product instead. Offer different options such as pointing out similar items in different colors or noting the special sales you have going on that could help the person get more value for their money compared to just returning the item. Get mobile If you use mobile point-of-sale technology such as card readers with smartphones or tablets, you have more options. For instance, salespeople could take returns at any point in the store, or could walk customers over to show them other items they might want to exchange their return for and then ring it up on the mobile device. Discount, but don't go crazy Customers spending gift money or gift cards are often freer with their purchases than usual because it feels like "free money." Yes, you may need to discount some items (and it's a great way to get rid of seasonal merchandise for the New Year), but dial it back from the deals you may have offered during the holiday shopping season. It's OK to be selfish With customers feeling the need to reward themselves after getting through the holidays, now is the time for your marketing messages to encourage them to be selfish. "Reward yourself," "Treat yourself," "Give yourself the gift you really wanted"—all of these tactics are effective for customers who have a little bit of money to burn. Reach out Get customers into your store by reaching out via email marketing and social media. Reward customers who purchased from you over the holidays by sending them emails with special limited-time offers. Hold a contest on social media asking customers to post pictures of the best gift they got. Basically, do everything you can to remind customers you're here and engage them with your store. Shopping Bags image via Shutterstock The post 8 Ways to Profit From the Post-Holiday Retail Rush appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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