The Risk of Failure

The risk of failure has probably been one of my biggest hurdles throughout my career. I have created successful programs and received recognition for them, but there is much more happening in my little brain than I let on. I have so many ideas all within the premise of my personal mission:

To leave a legacy which will enrich the lives of others in my community, to bring my community closer to prosperity, using my God-given talents and spiritual gifts – all to magnify the glory of God and edify his kingdom.

I wrote this mission in 2002 and still believe in it today. The "how" is what I have struggled with since that writing. I have put in time and learned so much since then... I know my calling is in entrepreneurship...


So back to my original topic - I have many ideas for what to do with my time in 2010, I just have to get out

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When You Give, You Receive

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 Tonight, I went to see the movie Invictus and was blown away by its storytelling, its overall message, and most of all Clint Eastwood! In case you do not know, Invictus is based on the true story of how former South African President Nelson Mandela used the game of Rugby to unite his nation after the fall of Apartheid. As I was watching the movie, I saw lessons that could be used in business and any other leadership role. Really, I just gathered lessons on how to be a better human being.


One lesson that I would like to share with you is about giving. This rugby team was struggling in the beginning of the movie. At one point, President Mandela ordered the team to do rugby clinics in the local neighborhoods - teaching others the game they were so passionate about. The team unwillingly participated but ultimately had a good time and began winning some games! I drew several nuggets from this storyline, but want to highlight one...

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Announcement: First Webinar of the New Year

On Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 1pm, YB Consulting will be hosting the webinar - Financial Planning for Your Small Business. This webinar is for those who do not understand business financial planning but want to learn how to create financial projections for their business.

This is sure to be a highly interactive webinar - the audience size is limited to ensure this!

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Review and Renew in 2010

Any current business owner should have gone through the goal-making process for your next fiscal year by now, especially if that begins in January. If you're a procrastinator like I can be, maybe you have not done this yet. Honestly going through a process of assessing the current state of your business, identifying any issues and needs, then planning for the next year is a vital process for company growth. I plan to have a solo company retreat on Sunday to really assess YB Consulting and all the other pieces of my career path to understand what I really want to do in 2010. If I do not do this, it will hurt my business and future plans which ultimately hurts my family -not an option.

If you think your company does not have goals, you are mistaken. There are a few basic goals that all businesses will choose from in their next fiscal year:

• Grow Revenue. Revenue growth can be accomplished through increasing current sales and/or adding a new product or service. It may require the addition of new resources but this could be a good thing.
  
• Reduce Expenses. Expense reduction can be a difficult task. It may involve reducing the products or services you offer, changing suppliers or even the quality of supplies, relocating your place of business to a cheaper venue, maybe even reducing your staff.
  
  
  

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Entrepreneur Evangelist

I have spent more than a few years advocating for, encouraging, and teaching small business ownership to people in my community. Over the last year, I have been doing this evangelism strongest with some of my closest friends, neighbors, and former classmates. The environment has been ripe with corporate downsizing and life awakenings. Given my background, they come to me for advice and I freely give it (literally).

Entrepreneurship is not only good for the business owner, but also his or her community. A commonly referenced 2004 study by Civic Economics, Inc showed that in Chicago, IL, $1 spent at a locally owned restaurant would yield 27% more back to the local economy than a chain restaurant. When it came to retail, the benefit was increased to 63% when comparing local to national chains, and 90% more for services (uhem). This is because the local firm is more likely to use local suppliers and spend profits locally as well whereas the national firm sends many expenses back to their out of state headquarters to pay for overhead and is likely supplied by out of state vendors. The benefit is called the "local multiplier effect".

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Business Trends in 2010

So you are interested in starting your own business but are unsure of where to start. Maybe you are not loyal to your current industry and want to start fresh. Or you know your industry has opportunities, just are unsure of what is best to pursue now. Well, Entrepreneur Magazine published a great list of the top business trends that are thriving in this economy. When you look at the list, it is in line with other top lists regarding the best jobs to pursue in this economy.





Trends include:

1. Taking advantage of industries that are currently in chaos. Finance, real estate, healthcare - these are all industries that have taken or will take a beating over the year. There are exposed vulnerabilities that smaller companies (i.e. start-ups and other entrepreneurs) could take advantage of if they plan strategically.
2. Green. This industry has been growing over the last couple of decades but may have finally received its due in this one. Rising energy prices and greater concerns about global warming drive the green industry to become more popular than before. Even if you open a practice specializing in helping businesses in this industry, you will likely have your pick of customers.
   

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Entrepreneurship in 2010

January is a time when many people decide to pursue new goals and include business ownership as a priority. Business support professionals will receive calls from more people who want to start their own business in January than in any other month of the year.  Entrepreneur is finally being recognized as another job function like doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc.


If you are not currently an entrepreneur but have been contemplating it for quite some time, NOW is still considered a good time to start a business! Why do I say now you might ask...

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Video of the Week: Startup BootCamp - Venture Capitalist Hemant Tenaja

Venture Capital Funding Today

There can not be a discussion on business financing without talking about venture capital or angel investing. These forms of business financing are widely known but hardly achieved. It is very difficult to get but still possible according to VCs Change Their Tune, an article written earlier this month by the Wall Street Journal. American Express' Open Forum released a great article on the state of venture capital today. The strongest advice from the article was:

1. know where funding is hot and where it is not
2. know your audience (venture capital firms that you are pitching to)
3. make sure your pitch is on point (practice, practice, practice)

To understand what industries or ideas are getting funded, you must stay in the know. A few resources that can help you do that include:

• National Venture Capital Association: Trade organization for venture capitalists. Provides a ton of information regarding the industry and everything involved.
  
• New York Times - DealBook: Provides current stories on venture capital deals and other large investments taking place on the national stage. This active blog not only provides great stories, but also provides tools for you to remain in the know using any forum you need.
• Twitter: A search on venture capital provides a host of conversations about this funding source. You can create a list of those you deem as experts or follow the list of someone you trust.
• Venture Capital at Alltop.com - Summarized list of venture capital blogging resources across the internet

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Video of the Week: Ten9Eight: Shoot For The Moon

Highlighted is a trailer for Ten9Eight: Shoot For The Moon - a documentary that follows several at-risk youth from across the country as they compete in a business plan competition as part of the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship Program. The film is not only about their opportunity to win $10,000 but also about their opportunity to be recognized for what they can contribute to the world.



I strongly believe entrepreneurship should be a part of our national high school curriculum. There is so much that having a foundation in entrepreneurship (as well as financial literacy) could do for American children.

The well-reviewed movie debuted this week and currently has limited showings. You can request a showing in your city or school via this webpage or purchase the DVD which will be available in January.

Let us know how you feel about the movie after you see it.

So you want a business grant?

Many new business owners look for grants to fund their businesses, especially because of a certain late night commercial or the National Grants Conference - a one day seminar they attended which told them about free grants they could pay $600 - $1,000 to get more information about.  Typically, grants are dedicated to non-profit firms that are touching a community of people. If you must look, great resources to find grants is through grants.gov and the Foundation Center. You can also do an online search on foundations and grants. Sorry to say, if you are a start-up business, you will likely be ineligible for a business grant. That said, there are plenty of resources for "free" money that businesses can work to pursue.

Business Plan/Venture Capital Competitions
Several business schools and organizations produce competitions throughout the year. Many are eligible for students only although student teams may have non-students on them. Entrepreneur.com and the New York Times each put together great summaries of many business plan competitions. Some listed do not require student status. There are others in which student status is not a requirement including:

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Make sure you are well funded

In the past, I had many clients that wanted to start or expand their businesses but struggled on the equity piece. Either they had little to no money or had too much debt to attract more money. Typically, bankers and investors want you to have at least 20% of what you say you need. This can be in the form of cash on hand, money already spent on the business, and assets you are personally contributing to the business.

On the rare occasion, I have seen business owners raise money without contributing personal cash. There are severe cautions when going that route including whether the owner will maintain control of the business. Usually I advise people with no financial contribution to hold on and save up. Or, if the need is great enough, consider pursuing venture capital financing where investors are more amenable to risk (although this type of equity financing is hard to come by).

When starting a new plan for your business, the greatest thing you can do is start off well funded. Equity financing is just another way to raise funds for this purpose. Equity investors come in different forms:

• yourself (always the best way)
  
• family and friends (can be murky - get everything in writing)
  
• local, regional, or national investment groups (easier to come by than you think)
  
  
  

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Video of the Week: Entrepreneurial Debt Panel Discussion

Although this video is a bit long, the information provided is quite extensive regarding various forms of debt that entrepreneurs can take on. This was a panel discussion that took place at Stanford Graduate School of Business on January 22, 2007 and included: Professor George Parker (Moderator, Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, GSB), Patrick Gordon (Leader Ventures), Jeanne Montague (Montague Partners), Greg Hittleman (CIT Small Business Lending Corporation).



I hope you can take some time to review this video if you are truly interested in taking on debt. Although CIT is currently declaring bankruptcy, the representative in the video provides a good breakdown of financing options offered by many traditional banks, particularly those that work with the Small Business Administration (SBA).

How has acquiring business debt supported your business?

Taking on Debt Can Be Good

As much as I advocate against being in debt, I have come to understand a such thing as "good debt" - a difficult term in today's economy but still necessary for some. You know, the debt that will help you get what you need to increase your value now and still help you maintain positive cash flow. For example - if you have $100,000 in the bank and need a new home, would you use the entire $100,000 to purchase a home outright (but have nothing left in savings)? OR, would you finance a portion of it at low interest rates, then use the rest of your cash to furnish the home and maintain some savings (remaining cash positive)?

In the same way, you should think about this when considering financing for your business. Why do you need financing and what will it do for your business over the long-term? Many owners use credit cards for financing as start-ups. As the linked article suggests, be very cautious in taking on this method of financing, especially now since credit card companies are preparing for new regulations and doing so by hurting consumers.

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Cash is King! - The Power of Positive Cash Flow

"Cash is king" is a common saying in the economic development sphere. When a business has cash available, it means the business is healthy and the owners/managers understand the importance of maintaining cash. If there is ever a bind, they can likely get out of it because there is cash on hand. Even if the business is not profitable, having cash indicates its healthy.

Positive cash flow is another factor in pursuing additional financing for your business. Having this will let a banker or investor know that they can put money into the deal and it will actually go towards building up the business instead of simply "paying off" old debts (even in the case of refinancing). Also shows that you know how to handle money and can be a good steward over it. Even when doing business projections, make sure you are cash flow positive!

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Video of the Week: Financial Statements Overview

While you get your personal finances in order, make sure your business finances (or projected finances) are in order. The best way to do this is to keep financial statements - profit and loss/income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Below is a great, short video on the basics of what these are and what they mean:




When pursuing financing, all of these statements are very important to have as they let others know how well you are doing financially and help make sense for why you need financing. If you are not already in business,

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First thing's first - what's in your wallet?

For a couple of years, I was responsible for counseling current and potential business owners on pursuing bank loans. The largest hurdle for many of them was not the business plan... it was personal finances. Many people came in with solid plans, great business ideas, but no way to acquire financing because of these top three issues:

1. They had no savings - a usual requirement of obtaining a bank loan or even an investment is that you have put money into the deal yourself (at least 20% of what you need).

2. Bad credit - since you are asking to borrow credit for your business, bankers have to consider your current personal credit standing to see how you can handle credit. Usually they will put more weight on the last 6 - 12 months with heavy consideration for how much credit you have, how much of that you are using, and how well you are handling it.

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Video of the Week: Shark Tank - Done

Financial matters can be one of the most brain bending aspects of business. Financial projections lead to financial analysis which may lead to the need for financing or investing. Love it or hate it, we have to deal with it as entrepreneurs. Throughout the month of November, you can look to Cardinal Rules as a resource to understand financial matters in business a little more. In the meantime, check out this clip - would you have gone back and forth on this negotiation?



Shark Tank was a recent addition to the ABC line-up of prime time shows and the talk of entrepreneurial circles far and wide. Although most full episodes are not online anymore (the last three episodes are available at ABC.com and Hulu.com), ABC has a pretty good episode guide that includes a summary of each pitch, the best part of the pitch, and the investors' reactions to the pitch for each episode. You can also check out audience comments and contribute your own.

What tips have you picked up from Shark Tank? Are there any other television shows, movies, or videos that you recommend for people interested in obtaining financing?

Connecting With Collaboration Tools

Collaboration tools for the web are really cool since they give the opportunity to have business meetings without actually being in the same room. I have been researching a web solution to start conducting webinars. I have conducted seminars on site before, I know this would be a great addition to what I already offer. Conducting webinars or teleseminars is a solid business opportunity since:

• Geography does not matter - just need computer and phone access 
• No need to reserve a room
• It can be ultra-convenient for participants since they don't have to travel, find parking, find a seat, and repeat that process all over again to gain valuable information that will make their lives easier

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Online Tools To Nurture Your Business Connections

There are many online tools for the beginning entrepreneur to use to warm up your business connections. I am learning about more every day since I am actively seeking ways to build this forum and help others understand how to best grow their firms in ways best for them. Currently I am using using Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and a few more tools I will mention below.  Most of these resources have free versions with the ability to upgrade and take advantage of more features.

One tool that I have used for a while is Survey Gizmo. I love the flexibility it has versus other survey sites I have used in the past. You can create and send out an unlimited amount of surveys (only receive 250 complete responses per month though). Also you can create reports, print them, and have continued access to them for an unlimited amount of time. This is good for staying connected to your current and potential customers.

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Business Planning Through the Eyes of a Toddler

This week, my 2 year old son received some new puzzles. He loves puzzles but has always just played with the pieces without really concentrating on putting them together. Well, with the new puzzles we worked with him to actually put the pieces together and complete the puzzles. We did not put any pieces together for him, just encouraged him to look at the box and make the patterns fit, or make sure pieces are joining in the right spots. Sometimes, he would get frustrated because he would try to put pieces together, one at a time, yet would have a hard time figuring out what was next. Finally, I saw him put a few pieces together here, a few pieces together there, and ultimately join the sections to create a complete puzzle.

This reminds me of when entrepreneurs attempt to write a business plan or simply start a business.

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October 2009: My Entrepreneurial Journey

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been looking at what to do to increase my income and still harness this drive I have around entrepreneurship. This blog has been very helpful with keeping me motivated to keep it moving (along with having these two babies). I know that I want to develop my business offline - pursuing more paying clients and output. To do that I have:

• attended a couple of business networking meetings as discussed in my blog post The 30 Sec Sell! and have been invited to more
• reached out to my network as suggested in the post Leveraging Your Rolodex... to seek business building opportunities
  
• submitted my first physical ad to run throughout the year in 2010

I am also building my presence online via the following methods:

• updating my website to attract new clients
• continuing to update this blog on a weekly basis, really to help me grow and share information with you as suggested in the post Seth Godin and Tom Peters on Blogging

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Video of the Week: Leveraging Your Rolodex...

So, I've been searching for a video to highlight in relation to this month's theme. As basic as the following piece of advice is, there are so many of us that do not follow it. Calling on your contacts seems so hard to do. Questions like "What do I say?" "Can they really help me?" "What will they think of me if I ask for help?"

Really, people enjoy providing help. Think about how you feel when someone asks you for help...

Entrepreneurship Guru Ingrid Vanderveldt provides a real life example of calling your contacts to pursue a business opportunity.



What she does not mention is the importance of actually contacting those people that you have been given the names of, then following up with those who provided the name(s) to let them know how the initial contact went. This can be challenging but very rewarding and likely worth it for you and your business.

Do not let fear hold you back from taking this advice! Remember, this blog is as much for me as it is for you... I'm preaching to myself...

What is a Cardinal Business?

So, you may be wondering "What is a Cardinal Business?". Well that's a great question! It represents the inspiration for this blog and was inspired by my new business, Cardinal Business Strategies, Inc. (launches early 2010).

A “Cardinal Business” is one owned by an individual(s) who is passionate about the line of business he/she is in and extremely driven to utilize his/her talents. His or her firm provides products or services essential to his/her respective marketplace.

So, in case you missed it, every month there will be a new business selected and highlighted on the blog. These are firms that represent the essence of a cardinal business. So far, two have been highlighted:

- XTreme Designs Web Solutions, St. Louis, MO

- M Portrait Photography, Raleigh, NC

And yes, this is a term I have coined :-). Ain't I creative...

Video of the Week: Seth Godin & Tom Peters on Blogging

I'm going to start posting videos once a week in relation to the topic at hand.

I chose this clip because I just saw it and totally agree with it... it puts into perspective why I should keep this up! It is related to the topic of relationships because blogging connects you with others. It establishes you as an expert in your subject matter and allows people to get to know and trust you. You just have to be consistent.

Check out the video, think about if you agree with the speakers, and let me know what you think.



Thanks to Janet of TheAbundantAllianceBlog for the inspiration!

The 30 Second Sell!

So today I attended a meeting of Chapel Hill Leads, a local business networking group that has a great base and longevity on the scene. I was a first-timer recommended by my long time insurance agent, Pam Herndon, who simply raved about it and how much participating has contributed to her business! While I was there, I also ran into my friend Sharon Hill, a networking queen and etiquette guru that would knock your socks off! Anyway, during the meeting, all attendees are given a "30 second commercial" to present to the entire group. This morning, there was a group of almost 90! Everyone gave their spiel and I learned a couple of things:

1. If you have a company slogan, this is the time to use it. The consistency of saying this will help people remember who you are, especially if you attend these meetings on a weekly basis like they encourage.
2. State your website. You want people to be able to find you if they can not catch up with you at the meeting.
3. State your ideal client or lead. When networking, a goal is to try to help other people as best you can. No one can help you if they don't know what you want.
4. In the most concise way, speak to what your service can do to help someone's hurts.
5. Give a tip that would help other's hurts. Make sure it is related to your product or service offering.
6. Refer to a member of the audience in your spiel (classic Toastmasters!). It helps make for a memorable spiel and shows you were paying attention.

These tips were all in the context of that particular type of meeting (you should have seen some of the "commercials" they had) but could really apply to any networking situation where you are introducing yourself to others in a limited time. I'll be sure to work on my 30 second commercial and will start attending this group's functions on a regular basis as I grow my businesses.

Create Your Own Community

Today I met with one of my favorite budding entrepreneurs, Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe'. Whenever we have a conversation we each get something out of it - inspiration - which is always good! I love talking to positive, driven entrepreneurs... its along the lines of the August Turak lecture, in which he encouraged surrounding yourself with a community of positive people in order for you to be more successful in your goals.

The theme of posts I will be doing for the month of October will be on building relationships such as through networking. With networking, you can create your own community of positive people which will help your business goals and other goals soar! One of the best methods of entrepreneur support, a community of like-minded people, can help anyone be successful in what they are trying to accomplish.

You can find a community of people with similar interests online and in person. A few online forums that I'm checking out include:

• Young Entrepreneurs - provides good reviews and resources for budding entrepreneurs
  
• Startup Nation - a group that proclaims "for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs"
  
• LinkedIn - there are several groups to connect with people with similar interests. Also, participating in the answers forums could help you identify others that are good to know.

More online networks for entrepreneurs can be found in the article "Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs"

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Recommendation: August Turak: Business Secrets of the Trappists

Last night, I went to a lecture by August Turak at Duke's Sanford School of Policy. It was co-sponsored by Leadership North Carolina and was so close to home, I had to attend even though I had no idea who August Turak was and was leary of the topic. August Turak is an entrepreneur who spent several years visiting with the monks at Mepkin Abbey in SC. This was such an inspirational speech, I recommend anyone who gets a chance to go hear Turak speak and be transformed! It was based off of Turak's 4 part article series in Forbes magazine, Business Secrets of the Trappists. He was transformed by his experience with them and now spreads the gospel through a business filter. 

My biggest takeaway from this speech was the importance of the "transformation of being" and how going through this process can help you reach your greatest potential. He applied this concept to organizations as well. The greatest way to get to this is by being connected to a community of people who also want to go through this process (and staying away from those who are negative and against it). Attending this session gave me confirmation for a route I'm considering with my new business.

Definitely attend seminars like this to get inspiration for your business. Especially if you live near colleges and universities, they always have free, public lectures given by very prominent speakers. Check out a few of the lecture schedules for business schools in the Triangle:

Duke's Fuqua Distinguished Speaker Series (also has video archives of previous speakers)
NCSU Wachovia Executive Lecture Series
UNC Kenan-Flagler Dean's Speaker Series & Weatherspoon Lecture (also has video archives of previous speakers)

I'm Telling You, It Works

I read a really great article at Black Enterprise's website about business owners using their combined resources for a bigger bang. The article, Implementing a Strategic Partnership, provides real world examples of what can happen when business owners join together, especially during these times, to grow individually and support their communities.

The Perks of Subcontracting

Last year, I attended a seminar about diversity in contracting. While there, I spoke with an executive of a prime contractor of the U.S. EPA. He stressed for me to share with clients that the best way to start work with the federal government is through subcontracting. It is how they got started and within a few years, they became a prime. Going this route, you learn about the major players, make the right contacts, and show that you do good work.

Subcontracting usually occurs with government and construction contracts but could really be referred to with any project (think "outsourcing"). Subcontracting to Snag Stimulus Dollars, an article from The Wall Street Journal, provides an excellent summary for what this can really do for a business.

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How to Create a Business Partnership

When you decide partnering or creating a strategic alliance is a way that you would like to expand your business, you should consider the following steps:

1) Determine the purpose
    Think about the specific goals and objectives for your company and whether an alliance with another business would support these in the time frame you require. Consider the following questions:

• Do you want to add on another product line?
• Do you want to enter another market with your current product line?
• Do you want to increase your current capacity?

Understanding the "why" for creating an alliance can drive you to the next step...

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Partnering For Success

In a former role, I witnessed many successful partnerships, both for-profit and non-profit. You can find stories of entrepreneurs making it big because of partnering like David Steward of World Wide Technology based in St. Louis, MO or even Bill Gates of Microsoft stating "Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning." The right partnership will provide great returns for each participating company and support quick ways to grow in capacity, experience, and revenue.

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Financing Your Dream

Today I had a discussion about financing small business start-ups. As I'm developing my own business, I'm struggling with how I'm going to afford to get it started, without totally skimping on professionalism. There are multiple ways to finance a business - venture capital, angel investment, business loans (conventional and unconventional), yet most common for small businesses (especially in start-up mode) are personal financing (including credit card debt) and/or investments from friends and family. I'm taking the personal financing route - mostly called "bootstrapping" (article courtesy of Entrepreneur Magazine).

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The Right Timing

Many people who have an interest in becoming an entrepreneur continue to put it off in hopes of "the right time." I was one of those people! Just as with marriage, parenthood, and other life-changing events, are we ever really ready to take that step?? I expected to start a business no less than 10 years from now. However at this point, I am in business start-up mode. I figured, this is what I believe to be my passion, why not dedicate my time to it - what do I really have to lose if I don't try?

Inc. Magazine published this motivational article in its October 2005 edition - 75 Reasons to Be Glad You're an American Entrepreneur Right Now. Anyone considering starting a small business at this time should take a good look at this article and realize strong lessons from it.

If any timing is right, now is the time!

Women Entrepreneurs

I have met some great woman business owners over the last couple of years in a vast variety of industries. From demolition and electrical contracting to child hair care and day care, women are doing great things and uniquely contributing their skills in interesting ways. One of my colleagues was actually contacted by an Asian economic development agency to be visited and interviewed by one of their employees - to get her perspective as a woman business owner. That was so cool!

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True Empowerment

From a post on one of my older blogs:

You may be able to look back at your family history and find someone who owned some sort of business - whether it was a retail store, a barber shop, a daycare, a real estate firm, etc. Better yet, how many people at your job do you know have some side gig or hobby that they are making money from? People who own their own businesses are truly in charge of their fate (versus working for a major corporation) and can make a real difference in their family's future with respect to how much they put into their business. For instance, look at the Waltons - I wonder if Sam truly thought Wal-Mart would get so big and leave such a legacy for his family.

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