Category: Entrepreneurs

Article Contributed by Ray Haiber
Having a tough time finding a job? Unfortunately that’s not surprising news due to the fact that this current recession has already to near double digit unemployment rates in some regions. Many of the hardest hit industries such as financial services and home construction face the prospect of an extended or permanent contraction that will force many workers to seek new careers as positions in those industries become eliminated or harder to replace.
One viable alternative that has always been available to workers who either want to leave the restrictions of the corporate world, or can‘t find a job in their industry because of tough economic times is to “buy a job”. How do you do that? By either finding and purchasing an existing small business, or starting a franchise.
Buy An Existing Business:
Business Brokerage Industry statistics indicate that your odds of success increase dramatically when you buy an established business as compared to launching a start up. This is particularly true in challenging economic times, and if the target business has been established for over 5 years and has a proven track record that can be validated via a thorough due diligence process.
What Type of Business?
Your basic goals should be to find a business that you will enjoy working in and growing, compliments some of your existing skill sets, and will also provide enough net income for you to make a comfortable living. Ideally the business should also generate enough income to allow you to cover any debt service you may have incurred if you financed a portion of the purchase price.
How To Find a Business: What’s the best way to find existing businesses for sale? The most efficient way to begin your search is via the Internet. There are quite a few online “Business For Sale” directories like bizbuysell.com that offer a large searchable database of existing small businesses broken down by categories like states and industries. When you see a business that strikes your interest you can then contact the owner or the Business Broker who represents the listing for more information. In most case you will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement and provide some basic financial qualifications before receiving a detailed business summary.
Another way to find an established business is to employ the services of a professional business broker in your local area. Many Business Brokers have access to listings that might not normally appear on a local MLS system, are kept in house, or have knowledge about new listings coming available soon that may fit your investment parameters. A good Broker can also show and help you indentify potential business matches that you may have not even considered. And in most cases Business Brokers working with buyers are paid on a commission basis with the fee paid by the Seller so you have no out of packet expenses. You can find a Business Broker in your local area by visiting: http://www.findabusinessbroker.com
Buy A Franchise
Another viable option to replace a lost job is to start a franchise business. The biggest advantage of buying a franchise opportunity is that it’s a lot less risky than starting a new business from scratch. Most established franchise concepts are proven business models that have a verifiable track record of success that generally can be easily validated during your investigation of the offering. Franchisers can also provide comprehensive training and support before and after you open your location. And keep in mind that one of the main reasons for the success of franchising as a business model is that Franchisers have a vested economic interest in your success in the form of royalty and other fees.
Find A Franchise
As with existing small businesses, the fastest and most convenient way to begin the process of finding a franchise is with an Internet connection. There are now dozens of franchise directories on line today that offer comprehensive listings of franchises available for sale, including information about investment levels, training, availability, and how to contact the franchise company for more details. These directories are also a good source for free information about the general process of buying a franchise business. You may want to visit A couple different directories such as franchiseopportunites.com, franchiseforsale.com, and azfranchises.com because not all of then will carry the same franchise opportunity listings.
Final Note: Always thoroughly investigate any franchise or business opportunity, obtain all appropriate disclosure documents available, and seek expert consultation prior to making any investment decisions.
About Author:
Ray Haiber has 10 years experience as a professional Arizona Business Broker and franchise sales consultant. View and research franchise opportunities for sale across the USA here.

Article Contributed by Avinash Patil
The world needs entrepreneurs more than at any other time in the last century and an online business guru has come up with a way for would-be business owners to test whether they are likely to be a success or failure.
Guy Kingston, a serial entrepreneur who successfully started one of the first private enterprise businesses in post-communist Russia, says the motivation behind starting a business is often the key to success.
Mr Kingston, whose Mind Your Own Business podcast provides free help and advice to business owners said: “Every entrepreneur is driven by their dream of what they want to achieve through business. By asking themselves a few simple questions they can work out what their motivation is and from that you can pretty well work out whether they are likely to be a success or not.
“Many people are really dreamers, who like the idea of running a business but can’t cope with reality. The ones who will succeed are schemers, who will do everything they can to ensure success.”
Mr Kingston, whose website www.myobpod.com features free written, audio and video advice for entrepreneurs with no sponsors attached, sets out the following check-list for would-be entrepreneurs to test out whether they are a dreamer or a schemer.
See which statement applies to your thoughts then see whether this is a dream or a scheme.
“I want to build a business so that I can employ lots of people and be a big boss.”
Guy’s verdict: Dreamer: “if empire building is your main motivation you will probably fail.Costs need to be kept tight in a growing business and the regulatory environment surrounding employing people makes them very expensive. Operate with as few people as possible and the empire will grow.”
“I’m really confident in my idea and my ability to make it work, but there’s more to it than that.”
Guy’s verdict. Schemer: “Positive thinking alone is not enough. Whereas you won’t succeed without it, it is not sufficient alone.”
“Running my own business will mean I will be able to have greater flexibility and time for myself and my family”
Guy’s verdict: Dreamer: “You have more time if you are employed by someone else. Of course you have to get the balance right but don’t see being an entrepreneur as a passport to more spare time.”
“I know I have skills that my employer doesn’t appreciate and I want to sell them direct to people”
Guy’s verdict: Schemer “Often the core of a good business comes from an individual’s talents. Just make sure that it is more than your nearest and dearest who think you are good.”
“I have certain abilities but if my business is really going to take off I’ll need to pick quite a few other people’s brains to bridge the gap.”
Guy’s verdict: Schemer: “The best entrepreneurs beg, steal and borrow ideas from everyone and then adjust them to their own situation. They also recognise early on that they aren’t good at everything.”
“I have inherited some money and I think the best way to use it is to buy a business that I can run.”
Guy’s verdict: dreamer “Buying a business is about a lot more than just having the money. Many successful businesses have disappeared very quickly once under new ownership.”
“My partner / best friend and I get on so well that we would be awesome in business together and we are going to come up with something between us that we can do together”
Guy’s verdict: dreamer “Running a business together puts a great strain on any relationship. Although it works well for many people there has to be more to substantiate going into business together than the fact you are great buddies or soul mates!”
“I want a mentor who’s been round the block a few times.”
Guy’s verdict. Schemer: “Just as you wouldn’t want a brain surgeon who’s never done brain surgery before, you don’t want a business advisor who hasn’t run a business of their own. Experience trumps qualifications and theories any day.”
“Everyone likes the items I produce as part of my hobby so I am going to pack in my job and do it commercially.”
Guy’s verdict. Dreamer: “Hobbies rarely turn into good viable businesses. Before making the leap it is important to check out every aspect of the business model.”
“Business is fairly simple. You just buy things in and then sell them at a cheaper price. That is the basis of my plan for trading”
Guy’s verdict. Dreamer: “This is someone who needs to do a lot more planning on things like stock levels and what the market will stand before venturing into being an entrepreneur.”

Article contributed by Karen S Sieczka
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all. –Edward de Bono
As entrepreneurs, we have all failed at one time or another. An idea doesn’t pan out, a deal falls through, we get rejected by an important client, things don’t turn out as expected. We feel disappointed and sometimes we even feel hurt. Often, we want to throw in the towel. When this happens, we need to remember failure is an important part of the process of building success.
Failures can become turnarounds. Lee Iacocca brought the failing Chrysler company back from the brink of extinction in the 1980’s. Harry Truman failed miserably in many business ventures before becoming president of the United States. If these two had given up when things were tough, their names would be lost to history.
You probably know who James Dyson is. He is the guy who invented the extremely successful and popular bagless vacuum. It took him over 5,000 tries to get his design right but he used each failure to make improvements and move closer to his desired end result. We wouldn’t even recognize his name if he had thrown in the towel after the 10th failure or even the 4,999th failure!
Everyone knows who Colonel Sanders is. He concocted the secret herb and spice recipe that made the most famous fried chicken on the planet. He was rejected over 1,000 times before someone thought his recipe was finger licking good.
Look at the Wright brothers. How many times did they have to regroup before their airplane left the ground? Look at Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They didn’t wait for the perfect search algorithm. They started the company and then refined the process as they went along.
Thomas Edison was known for the incandescent light bulb and first recording of music on a wax cylinder. He and his colleagues tried thousands of experiments, some miserable failures, some partial failures, some successes, but each attempt, each process brought something to the table, and sparked an idea or brought them closer to a solution for another puzzle.
Read biographies of famous people. Even among the most successful, most have felt the sting of miserable failures at one time or another. How did they react and move toward success? Focus on how they learned from the mistakes and moved onward and upward. How can you apply these lessons to your own life, career, and circumstances? Ponder this: do you accept defeat when something goes wrong or do you regroup and try again? How persistent are you?
You have to accept failures are part of the success experience. Mistakes often become the next great innovation. Vulcanized rubber was a mistake. Microwave oven technology was created by accident. Penicillin was the result of a failed experiment.
To be successful, you must reconcile with the possibility of failure. Being successful involves taking risks, and the possibility of failure, ridicule, disapproval, and disappointment. Be courageous. Everyone makes some mistakes. You may never figure out all the outcomes before you plunge into a project. So what? Do it anyway! If it fails, learn from it and try again!
Karen S. Sieczka is a training consultant and founder of Growing Great Ideas.com. Her latest training program is Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing Creativity at Work. The program generates ideas, enthusiasm, and teamwork and can be customized to address particular organizational issues or challenges. This article was excerpted from the Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing Creativity at Work book, now available at LULU.com for download or print version.