5 Tips to Use LinkedIn More Effectively

By Kim Eberhardt, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Hennessey Capital

The most recent statistics indicate that LinkedIn has 100 million users. Are you one of them? LinkedIn offers incredible power to connect and grow your business, if you utilize it effectively.  This tool is used all over the world to connect business professionals at all levels in a multitude of industries – with high-tech, financing and manufacturing industries leading the pack in users. There are over 44 million users in the United States alone and executives from all Fortune 500 companies are on LinkedIn.  Needless to say, with such an impressive rate of adoption among U.S. business professionals, you could be missing out on valuable opportunities by not engaging clients, prospects and referral sources through LinkedIn. So, if you haven’t created a LinkedIn profile or you are not utilizing it to its fullest potential, here are a few tips to do so:
1. Complete your profile – This is the easiest step to execute. A complete profile will help your search engine results. See for yourself – if you have a complete LinkedIn profile, Google your own name and LinkedIn is likely to be one the top search results and most likely appears before your own company’s web page. This is the power of LinkedIn. LinkedIn even makes it easy for you by offering a status bar that indicates the percentage of your profile completion – your goal should be to get to 100 percent. To do so, you must have a photo, list your current position, past positions (at least two), education, profile summary, specialties and recommendations (at least three).

2. Solicit recommendations – As stated in the first tip, recommendations are one of the necessary elements to creating a complete profile. More importantly, recommendations lend credibility to you, your work and highlight personal characteristics that differentiate you as an individual. In essence, recommendations lend credence to your resume and accomplishments. To solicit recommendations, you can simply click the “ask for recommendations” link within your profile. If you are uncomfortable soliciting recommendations directly, make a point to provide a recommendation for someone else. The law of reciprocity suggests that person will want to do the same for you.

3. Add connections – This is the fun part! You can use LinkedIn to connect with people from your past and current professional world such as clients, referral sources, vendors, prospects, etc. A best practice to consider is dedicating 10 minutes on LinkedIn after attending a networking event to stay in touch with the new contacts you made at the event. LinkedIn makes connecting even easier by offering suggestions as to whom you may want to link up with in the “People You May Know” section. Adding connections not only creates value for you personally, but adds value to the rest of the individuals in your network. The larger your network, the more connections you can help others make as well. If you are new to LinkedIn, start by connecting with people you know, and then connect with people they know. Before you know it, you will have a network that reaches across a variety of industries and geographic areas. When you do send an invitation to connect via LinkedIn, make sure to personalize it. Simply adding the person’s name and a reference to how you know each other or why you want to connect will increase the likelihood of an accepted invitation.

4. Share an update – You can share an update by typing into the empty box next to your photo when you login in to LinkedIn that reads “share an update.” This is similar to a “status update” on Facebook. The idea is to share information with all of your connections. Appropriate update topics include information regarding a project you are working on, great news about your company or your client’s business and interesting links to relevant business or industry articles. If you use Twitter, you can also link your Twitter account to LinkedIn, and your Tweets will appear automatically as your status update on LinkedIn. Using the update feature on LinkedIn allows you to stay top of mind with your connections (when you share an update, it appears in the “update” field when your connections login to LinkedIn) but also offers the opportunity to position yourself as a thought leader in your respective industry. Regularly sharing interesting and compelling content via the “share an update” tool will reinforce your expertise and knowledge within your professional field.

5. Join Groups – There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn that range from non-profit and trade organizations to industry and geographically specific groups. Your competitors are most likely participating, so why aren’t you? As an example, there are 643 CPA-related groups alone. LinkedIn groups provide the opportunity for a deeper level of engagement, conversation and forum to share your expertise with the members of the group. Group participation will also help you stay abreast to industry trends and critical issues that may impact your business. Many groups also allow you to display the group on your profile, further enhancing your profile.

Once you have followed these tips and start to engage in LinkedIn, the important thing to do is keep it up. You don’t want all of your hard work to go to waste! Try to allocate 15 minutes a day to make connections, contribute to group discussions, update your profile with any new relevant education or expertise and respond to messages and connection requests. As with all social media tools, you will find that the more time and effort you put into cultivating your network, the more beneficial the tool will be come.

Moving from Prototype to Production

By Mike Semanco, President, Hennessey Capital

 

In our world of lending money to small and midsized companies for working capital purposes, we get calls all the time about how to commercialize a concept or product.  Most of the time, these conversations are very difficult.  Entrepreneur’s are passionate about their product and know it inside and out.  The challenge comes in the form of addressing the following unknowns:

1) is there a market?
2) how is the initial launch funded?
3) how do you scale the business if the product takes off?
 

Setting the stage to address the above questions was a recent dinner conversation with a budding entrepreneur.  She developed a clothing product for both kids and adults to use in the winter months.  Even though there are similar products in the market, hers has a few twists which makes it very unique.  I proceed to ask the questions stated above and hear the following. 

1) Of course there is a market, I gave it to friends and family to try out and they loved it. I think it could be a big hit in the retail market.

2) I hear commercials all the time from banks that they will lend money to small businesses so I will ask my bank for the money.

3)  I have no idea.

Interesting answers.  We proceed with dinner and I put on my coaching hat and do my best.

A market test with family and friends is a good start but if you truly want to build a business and not just a hobby, don’t think small.  First, have you determined if the product can be patented in order to protect your idea before you begin approaching specialty retailers and distributors?  As for financing the initial launch, I am sure sweat equity was poured into making the first few hundred products.  Since the business has been no sales outside of friends and family, the first round of financing will come from the entrepreneur’s savings account, possibly from family members or friends of friends who believe in the idea enough to take the risk.  Banks like to lend money to companies with a track record, typically 2 years or more and a history of some earnings.  Lenders who specialize in purchase order financing and receivable financing may be able to help but they will require the business to have sales or a purchase order from a reputable buyer. 

What happens if the product does take off?  Has the business owner considered which suppliers to approach for raw material as well as manufacturing, packaging and distribution sources? 

The process of moving from prototype to production can be a daunting task.  A task that an entrepreneur should not take on alone.  Remember the business plan that was written a few years back when you thought it was not needed.  Time to dust it off and use it as a framework to tackle the next stage in your business.  Your CPA, attorney, friends and fellow business owners should be leveraged to help you think through the details of moving from prototype to production.  This is an exciting time in an entrepreneur’s life but it can also be one of the most stressful.     

Sports & Business: What We Can Learn from Our Favorite Team

By Toby Dahm, Senior Vice President, Hennessey Capital

 

This past Saturday, I held my breath, along with hundreds of thousands of other Michigan State football fans, as Penn State went for an onside kick with just over a minute left in the game.  The ball took a favorable bounce for the Spartans and found itself in the arms of a Michigan State lineman.  The outcome of the game was now certain….and Michigan State was assured of a share of the Big Ten Championship.

 

Many of us follow sports passionately, and experience the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat with our beloved teams.  Although the spotlight is usually reserved for the players, as businesspeople, we share a lot in common with our heroes when it comes to the competition that we face in our respective businesses.

 

I want to focus on 5 commonalities between sports and business:

 

First, goals are imperative.  In the four seasons that Mark Dantonio has led the Spartan football team, they have had their eyes on one goal, winning the Big Ten Championship, which they achieved this past Saturday.  This was their long term goal, however they needed to set and achieve many short term goals to get there.  In sports, it is relatively easy to stay focused on these critical short term goals due to the assistance of the scoreboard as well as the reaction of the fans.  Having goals is equally important in the business world, although there is usually far less clarity and urgency in achieving them.  In order to be successful, all businesses must have clearly defined goals and frequently measure their progress in meeting them.  Frequent communication will ensure that everyone is focused on the goals and will enhance the urgency to achieve them.

 

Second, it is critical to have talented players in all positions.  In sports, opponents constantly look for weaknesses that they can exploit.  In the same way, businesses must seek to build a talented and balanced team.  It is important to understand the culture of the business and to evaluate potential hires in the context of that culture.  Will they add to the camaraderie of the team or create dissention?  It is also important to balance offense (sales and marketing) with defense (operations).  Being weak or unbalanced in either area creates a vulnerability that will be exploited by competitors.

 

The third commonality is teamwork.  Teamwork is the enabler that ultimately determines success or failure.  Why did Jim McMahon spend thousands of dollars on steak dinners for his offensive linemen?  It’s because he recognized that his success (and survival) depended on how well they blocked.  In our companies, it is critical that the desire to achieve our goals is shared throughout the organization.  The key to success is instilling a sense of belonging to everyone in the company.  If I feel that the job I perform is important and is valued by my co-workers (teammates), my effort will be much stronger than if I feel that I am toiling without purpose or anonymously.

 

Fourth is training.  In order to be great, we must constantly strive to improve.  Football teams pour over film of their games in an effort to improve in each game.  They also work vigorously in practice to make their strategy come alive through skill and execution.  In the same way, we must continuously evaluate both our individual and organizational performance and seek improvement.  Instead of game film, the tools of business are performance metrics such as sales growth, efficiency, productivity, customer satisfaction, as well as less tangible but equally important measurement of company culture and reputation.  If we are not focused on improving our performance, we will quickly find that we back slide and lose ground to our competitors.

 

Lastly, planning brings the above four aspects together.  Michigan State was able to pull off “come from behind’ victories over Notre Dame and Northwestern University using trick plays, due to their planning.  They knew the tendencies of their opponents would leave them susceptible to these trick plays, and also knew that they had people that could execute them under pressure.  Knowing your strengths and competitive advantage in your marketplace will enable you to exploit the tendencies or weaknesses of your competition and gain market share which, in business, is winning the game.

 

While at first glance it may not appear that we have much in common with the highly skilled and trained athletes that we cheer, there is much that we can take away from sports that will help us to win in the business world.

 

Effective Networking: Do’s & Don’ts

By Mike Semanco, President, Hennessey Capital

The key is just showing up.  This rings true in daily life events as well as networking.  Networking can be stressful to some and to others it is like riding a bike.  The problem is if you do not show up, you may miss meeting a great new contact, developing a new relationship or having a chance at a new opportunity at some point in the future.  There have been numerous times where it would have been easy to skip a scheduled event.  But once you are there and strike up a conversation with people in the room, the reason for attending becomes very clear.

The attitude and strategy I bring to a networking event is to figure out how I can help others succeed.  If you have the mindset of helping others, you take a genuine interest in listening to the conversation and it takes you out of “sales mode”.  Making a sale during a networking event should be the last thing on your mind. Creating relationships with like-minded people and those you enjoy speaking with is first and foremost.  People do business with people they like and trust.  Building a relationship is the first step to developing trust with someone. 

So once you convinced yourself to attend an event, use the following do’s and don’ts to make it time well spent.

Do’s

• Show up- you never know who you will meet.
• Have a goal on how many new people you want to meet.   
• Smile at everyone, make contact and say hello- remember first impression.
• Listen with genuine interest and offer to help.
• Address the person by name- helps you remember their name in the future.
• Ask for a business card and ask if the person would like yours.
• Develop a concise message if you are asked to explain your business.
• Follow up after the event to say thanks or schedule a follow up meeting to continue the discussion and build the relationship.

Don’ts

• Don’t attend with the expectation of landing a new opportunity.
• Use it as bar night.  Manage alcohol consumption or do not drink at all.
• Don’t be afraid to start a conversation and try not to start with “So what do you do”?
• Focus on quantity of contacts, focus on quality.
• Don’t dominate the conversation. Remember to ask questions.

Utilizing an Advisory Board to Guide Your Business

By Mike Semanco, President, Hennessey Capital

The importance of an advisory board to an entrepreneur and business owner is invaluable.  Entrepreneurs thrive on developing ideas, products and strategies on their own terms and at their own pace.  The “charge ahead”, “get it done” mentality is second nature to this group of individuals.  Entrepreneurs come in many shapes and sizes- sole practitioner, division managers or even CEO.   Whatever the title or responsibility, surrounding yourself with a group of professionals you can rely on for sound advice and direction will only improve your chances of success and keep you sane.

An advisory board is different than a board of directors or managers, who hold fiduciary responsibilities of the business.  Advisory boards can take many forms ranging from formal CEO roundtables and annual retreats to informal gatherings over coffee, lunch, or golf.  Having a sounding board to share ideas and challenges help entrepreneurs feel they are not tackling the world alone.  You can have a great internal management team or partner but there are times when outside influence is needed.  A different perspective from a trusted advisor who has encountered the same issue helps you see the challenge or opportunity in a new light.

Advisory board members can consist of professional advisors (your CPA, attorney, banker or consultant), friends or associates who may or may not own their own business, or even a current staff member.  The key is to surround yourself with people who have diverse backgrounds, are willing to challenge the status quo and who you like to be around. Start by selecting two or three contacts you feel could be strategic to your business and can fill the gaps you determine are needed.  Meet with them and discuss your plans and ask them of their interest to meet on a regular basis.  This could be once a month, quarterly or as needed depending on how critical your needs. 

Daily business decisions are not easy so having a group you can turn to for renewed perspectives and friendly banter is refreshing.

PO Financing- the ideal financing tool for the right situation

By Mike Semanco, President, Hennessey Capital

For many entrepreneurs, landing that large purchase order is just what the doctor ordered.  You worked hard to win the client, outlasted the competition and are in a position to build on your success.   The team celebrates until someone asks, “Do we have the cash to purchase the large amount of supplies needed to deliver the project?” 

Growth can be a major drain on a company’s cash and a major reason why we stress the importance of cash forecasting. 

Although purchase orders are covered in the Uniform Commercial Code as an asset of a business, it is not an asset that is easily financed, unlike accounts receivable, inventory, equipment or real estate.

Purchase order financing is offered by very few finance companies and is usually best suited for distributors.  Manufacturers and service providers are not ideal candidates for PO financing due to the concern of performance risk.  PO Financing for distributors allows for the securing of goods by way of letter of credit (promise to pay once certain stipulations are met), so that the distributor can increase its buying power with suppliers.   In the case of a distributor, they are not responsible for manufacturing the product so performance risk lies with the supplier.  PO financing will be structured so that the supplier will not receive payment unless they produce the proper product as defined in the PO, which eliminates the issue of performance risk and thus satisfies the PO funding source.

PO financing carries more risk to a lender than traditional A/R financing thus the cost is more than traditional A/R financing.  Due to the increased cost, companies must make sure they have sufficient margin in the order.  PO financing is typically used in conjunction with an A/R line of credit or factoring facility so that once the product is received by the end user, invoices can be financed and the cash can be used to repay the PO funding source.  This opens up the PO finance facility to be used for new orders. 

Purchase order financing is not ideal for every business but in the case of a distribution model where product needs to be purchased and sold to large entities or retailers, it could be a great tool to secure the cash needed for new growth.

10 Tips for Selecting the Right Factor

When entrepreneurs need working capital for their business, a quick way to obtain cash is by leveraging your accounts receivable. Factoring companies are a great source for this type of financing. Although factoring is a pretty vanilla process, the company providing the factoring can come in many flavors. A referral from a trusted source, banker, CPA or attorney, is a good start to finding the right company. 

 

Below is a checklist of things to consider when seeking a factoring partner.                                 

1. Relationship, partnership- easy to work with, straightforward process, easily accessible.
2. Do they have capital to lend or is their credit constrained?
3. Do they have resources that can complement their financing if needed- leasing, real estate lenders, consultants, etc? It’s important to be connected to other resources and entities that can help grow your business.
4. Factoring should be flexible, so watch for monthly minimums.
5. Fully understand your costs.  Ask about exit fees, service fees and documentation fees.
6. Local flavor and relationship.  Not always a necessity especially if references check out.
7. Industry expertise beyond factoring.
8. Ability to transition from factoring to line of credit without switching entities.
9. Relationships with banks are key for future introductions.
10. Community relationship.  Are they making a difference in your area?

Creating Strategic Partnerships to Build Your Business

By Joe Romeo, Senior Business Development Rep., Hennessey Capital

 

Creating partnerships can help build your business and connect you to new people and markets. The right strategic alliances can strengthen the breadth of your company through association with other related industry specialists.

 

This brands your company as more well-rounded to your client base and builds deeper bonds and support from your business partners while growing stronger inter-relationships.  These bonds can last for years, paying dividends along the way.

 

Often these partnerships become valuable referral connections for your existing clients and result in the most valuable return you can get from any client as you help them in “other areas” outside the scope of your expertise. Customers recognize and appreciate your assistance has no direct self-serving interest.

 

To get started, it’s important to find partner companies that operate in your prospects’ circle.  There are two essential components for your best alliance partnerships:  the actual companies and the individuals representing those companies.

 

The right company is any non-competing company that is well respected and interacts with key decision-makers, influencers, and your prospect customers.   It is particularly beneficial to reach out to  trusted advisors, including bankers, CPAs, lawyers and business consultants whom your prospects look to for guidance.

 

Other good candidates might be third party connections like state, local and federal agencies or associations who help businesses find the resources they need.

 

The best fit for any business will be a partner with similar values and like cultures.  The business can be at the opposite end of the product or service spectrum, but should operate with the same primary principles to yield the quickest results and easiest collaborations.

 

Equally important is the right ambassador, who should be a “rain-maker,” not a resource waster.  The individual should be an effective executive who works on the right things, is efficient, capable and “connected.” 

 

Approach:  Work to develop relationships in a complementary, collaborative manner.  This requires that you put the partner’s interests ahead of your own.  A valuable adage is “you can best get what you need by giving others what they want.”

 

In this stage, seek to understand the partner’s business and learn where they fit in/complement to your company. It is also critical to be cognizant of their key objectives. This will add value to your relationship and lead to a mutually beneficial partnership.

 

Keep in mind that everyone’s favorite station is WII-FM (What’s In It For Me) and build your approach accordingly. 

 

Team with partners in joint presentations, white papers, event exhibits or other such marketing channels to maximize your exposure and partnership opportunities. Your affiliation with key companies will increase your own company’s visibility and help you gain traction and the benefits of associating with recognized, expert partners.  This will lead to great network connections and the ROI will be measurable.  

 

BENEFIT:

Some of your partners will turn into future clients or you may need their services some day and enjoy the preferred customer treatment.

 

More traditional returns include the warm introductions you will get as your alliance partners act as trusted advisors for their clients and you are favored with the pole position as the result.

 

The ability to share ideas and get a diverse viewpoint or opinion can be an extremely valuable benefit from your strategic partners.  If you look at CEO business coaching you will see that they purposely intermix CEOs from different businesses for this very benefit.  Often a creative perspective or the view from some distant, unrelated business field will lead to a different outcome. 

 

Invest loyally with partners  before you look to make any withdrawals. This is an ongoing process, not a one-time commitment. Maintain your investment and stay on your partner’s radar. 

 

A useful resource is www.networlding.com and Melissa Giovagnoli

 

Branding/Rebranding Your Business

By Mark S. Lee, President. Lee Group, MI LLC

What will it cost you and your company if you don’t consistently communicate your value and brand?

The concept of branding has been trendy for a long time. With all the buzz, it’s important to understand exactly what this means to you, your company and everybody your company “touches.” Many people associate a brand with a logo, tagline, colors, and web design. While that’s part of your brand image, it’s clearly not the whole story. A brand represents the impression that you leave with customers, prospects and business partners. It infiltrates every contact point and requires every employee who influences stakeholders’ perceptions to be fully engaged and committed to delivering on your brand promise.

Are you confident that you’re communicating your value and therefore, your brand, effectively to your customers and prospects? Much of business failure can be traced to the way companies communicate - or fail to communicate – effectively with their stakeholders, including customers, prospects, partners, employees and anybody else who has an interest in your business. Whether you’re planning a new business, have just launched it, or have been running it for a while, it’s critical to avoid the most common pitfalls companies make communicating their value, brand and solution. In this article, we discuss branding as a tool and provide tips for you to brand your company as well as why you should consider branding yourself.

Consistently Communicate Your Brand.

Every company and individual has a brand (this isn’t just for the 100 pound gorillas of the business world). Do you know your company’s brand? This is the message that you are communicating on a regular basis to customers and prospects…it’s the impression you leave with every customer and potential customer…..even if it’s not the statement that you want to make. Your brand is communicated through every customer touchpoint - from phone to the internet and via email, direct mail, advertising and every other opportunity you have to reach out to your target market(s). Your brand is communicated by every employee in your firm from the CEO and sales team right down to your department directors and shop floor managers. Your brand is what sets you apart from others in your industry and makes you unique.

A brand can only succeed and achieve its goal of supporting growth if it satisfies three key criteria. If any of these factors fail, you risk major malfunctions to your business and bottom line:

1. Leaves a positive impression
2. Is aligned with your customers‟ needs and
3. Is delivered consistently, as promised.

Why Do People Buy A ‘Brand’ Any Way?

There are many reasons for buying a brand including the fact that the brand identity:

• Fulfills a short or long term need
• Has an emotional connection
• Has a perceived Price/Quality relationship
• Is “hot”—meaning the brand is en vogue
• Represents who you are or want to be aligned with

Let’s look at an example of how a brand has succeeded in achieving these goals. FedEx is a world leader in package delivery. Their brand and philosophy are simple—when it absolutely has to there overnight, FedEx will do it. Every employee knows and understands this. But beyond understanding this, they believe in the brand mission and understand their role in making this happen. Every employee, regardless of their position, knows the brand‟s philosophy and works to deliver on its promise. This is the only way a company can live its brand.

There are several questions you need to ask yourself to ensure you’re delivering a brand value that will generate profit, including:

1. Is the message you are conveying consistent?
2. Is this the message you want to be heard and experienced?
3. Do your customers understand how you differentiate yourself from like organizations?
4. Do they experience your brand in the manner that you want them to?
5.  Does reality align with your promise?
6. Finally, is your brand what your customers seek and truly value the most?

Components of a Successful Brand

In the past, companies would develop a product and then promote it. As a global economy, businesses continue to evolve and become more dynamic and competitive. Organizations must redefine their value and sometimes their business model in order to succeed. This redefining leads to the creation or reinvention of their brand

How do you create a unique brand? This must begin with the development of a baseline to understand your strengths/weaknesses as well as opportunities/challenges in the market place. It requires an open mindset if you‟re branding your company.  Ask the following questions:

• What is the unique valuemy company offers?
• How do others perceive this, now?
• Does this perception need to change?
• Why would I purchase my company‟s brand?

Next, you must evaluate your company‟s brand to ensure the following components exist:

• Vision: Where do I see my company going? What is my ultimate direction?
• Positioning statement: How will it be positioned in the marketplace?
• Value Proposition: What makes my company unique? What service or need does my company fulfill?
• Competitive Advantage: What makes it unique from the competition? Are I just- as-good or better than the competition?
• Leveraged Strengths: Based on an internal assessment, do we really understand our strengths and weaknesses? If so, how can I leverage these strengths?
• Communication Plan: What and how do I communicate our plan to others? What is my communication strategy?

We finish by sharing key strategies that will help you create and reinforce your company brand:

1. Focus on the Needs of Your Target Market: Understanding your target market will allow you to develop a brand position. As a business owner, how confident are you that you truly know what your customers need, want or expect from your company? Many business decisions are based on a gut instinct of what you believe customers want and not necessarily because you asked them directly. You must ask existing customers as well as former and potential customers to ensure their concerns and expectations align with the value you provide. This will translate into your brand position.
2. Recognize And Act When Outside Factors Impact Your Brand Perception. Customers do not reside in an isolated world. Recognize how external factors (i.e., recession or
   Business Owner‟s Guide to Rebranding Page 4 of 5
   varying industry regulations) might impact their decisions and their ability and interest in conducting business with you. If you recognize these and address them this will strengthen customer loyalty. Many businesses in the recession have lowered their prices to address customer challenges. As long as they did not forgo their customer value, this makes a solid impression upon customers who will stick around long after the recession has passed.
3. Carefully Review All Communication. Is your message consistent in all of your communication? This includes everything from written documents, presentations, advertising, your website, brochures and direct mail to email, sales presentations, phone calls, etc… Every employee must communicate the same brand value at every level of the organization. One employee who isn‟t consistent with delivering your value can truly cause harm to your image and your bottom line.
4. Develop a Solid Elevator Pitch: Given that an adult’s attention span is 15-30 seconds, do you have a pitch that highlights your brand in that short window? What are the key points you need to convey about the VALUE you provide (not necessarily the products and services)? It’s critical that your pitch is concise, AND compelling. The pitch objective is simple–to develop a message that ensures the other person wants to continue the dialogue.
5. Present your Company Passionately. This is your business-your baby, in many ways. Therefore, it‟s personal but you must be able to step outside of the company and honestly ask yourself, “Why would I do business with me?” It‟s a simple question, but the answer may not be so easy to address. Once you‟ve identified the answer, make sure you convey this in words as well as in your body language. A sincere passion for the value you provide will go a long way in business.
6. Take Risks to Meet Customer Needs. In this dynamic, ever-changing market, you need to evolve with the times. Have you or your company remained stagnant? What worked in the past may not be as effective today. Reviewing and tweaking your business model as well as your personal skill set will be paramount to future success. It‟s dangerous to simply stand still and not make changes nor address changes in the market. We know that risk-taking is a scary proposition but it is the key to growth and to maximize your brand value.

Branding is essential and doing this right will make the difference between success and failure for your organization.

How To Get Chummy With Your Banker

“How To Get Chummy With Your Banker” from Inc. sheds light on an issue that many small business owners are grappling with - maintaining a good relationship with their banker in a tumultuous economic environment. From our perspective, the most important aspect of the relationship is communication. That means sharing  both the good and bad news, on both sides of the equation - the banker and the business owner.  If you build a relationship with your banker and treat them as a trusted advisor, assuming they are the type who wants to help, it will be easier to communicate the bad news and work through challenges.  The banker also has the advantage of working with many different companies and industries and can share insight which may be able to help a businesses specific situation. The lesson? Maintaining an open and honest relationship with your banker will allow him or her to provide you support and solutions during difficult times and be proactive in identifying ways to help you grow when times are better.  The banker/entrepreneur relationship is like any other - one based on trust and integrity will prove to be more successful.

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