World Business Web

Business in general, investing, finance and marketing on the web

  • Oct 28

    Myths related to business creation are beliefs or misconceptions that exist about what you can do or not an entrepreneur when starting their own business.

    Are beliefs or ideas that may negatively influence the entrepreneurs, forming a kind of mental barrier that can block your creativity, making them impossible to successfully develop their business ideas.

    Therefore, a primary task of entrepreneurs looking to develop their business ideas is to eradicate these myths.

    Let’s look at 4 of the principal of these myths about the creation of businesses or companies:

    You have to wait for this great business opportunity

    Many people expect to find some day the great business opportunity.

    They are waiting for this great opportunity or great business idea that allows them to make a full turn to the situation they’re in, and make them rich or at least achieve financial freedom.

    But the truth is that if we spent waiting for this great opportunity, it is likely that this will never occur.

    To get started on the way businesses do not need to wait for the “great” opportunity or business idea, simply start with the “good” business idea we have.

    The starting a business, does not mean that later we cannot improve, redesign or modify it, and ultimately, this business idea with which we began, to become the great business idea.

    Even as we work on our business, being “stuck” in the business world, we meet people or markets that give us ideas, and we become better able to identify business opportunities, and who knows, could find that “great” opportunity or business idea as we had expected.

    With this business very soon overtake the success

    Many people think that starting a new business or company you have in mind, quickly achieved success.

    They believe that their business or product will be unique and innovative, and will not have any competition.

    But the truth is that very few entrepreneurs achieve the success overnight.

    The road to business success is a journey full of difficulties and unforeseen events, which requires patience, hard work and dedication.

    Succeeding in business takes time, requires overcome difficulties, rising from the falls, and learns from mistakes.

    Even required in some cases re-engineer our business, and in others, close and re-create our business.

    If you meditate long enough I can find a good business idea

    Many people think that being in your office or locked in their homes, they can do to develop their imagination and creativity, and suddenly they think of a good business idea.

    This method may have good results, but the fact is that to find a good business idea, you have to go out.

    You have to visit the markets, competition, commercial centers and to observe directly to consumers.

    Observe and analyze their behavior, their preferences, tastes, habits, and try to identify their true needs met.

    And then, to find our business idea, ask: What business could create to meet these unmet needs? What business could indulge their preferences or tastes?, What existing businesses could reinvent?, What could we add or modify products already on the market?, what businesses could combine, and can have a good host?

    It takes a lot money to start a business

    Many people think they need to have a good capital, or a good investment to create or initiate a business plan to save even a few years of the money they receive for their jobs, to just get started with the creation of the company that both dream start.

    However, this seems to be just an excuse not to venture or risk the possibility of having their business.

    Well, to start a business or company, rather than money, it takes creativity.

    Creativity is needed to identify and create businesses that do not require much capital or investment, for example, Internet based business or home.

    Creativity with little capital to start business both want to create, for example, by conventions, looking for commercial loans, making Truques, renting instead of buying, or getting equipment or machinery at low cost.

    And creativity to get the funding we need, for example, designing a good business plan that allows us to support the request for a financial credit, or participate in contests on business ideas.

  • Oct 23

    Growing a business means increasing the number of customers or the amount of sales.

    To do this we can, for example, create new sales promotions, train staff, improve production processes, designing new products or redesign we already have, offer extra services, etc.

    But when it comes to growing a business, generally refers to a significant increase in customers or sales.

    And the main tools for achieving this are: partnering with other companies, serve new types of consumers, increase sales points, to venture into foreign markets, improve customer service and increase advertising.

    See below an explanation of each of these strategies:

    Partnering with other companies

    Partnering is to make alliances with other companies in order to provide benefits to both which, if not through an association could not be obtained.

    These partnerships might include, for example, in agreements to combine resources (e.g. financial, human, technological), combine functions (e.g., production processes, product distribution), information sharing (e.g., market knowledge) share distribution channels or outlets, or customers (for example, if two companies have different kinds of products, but similar types of customers, and this allows us to offer our products to their customers, and her products to ours), etc..

    The idea of partnering is finding businesses the same size as us, and with similar aspirations for growth that somehow, through an agreement, is capable of greater profitability for both, or a competitive advantage over other rival firms.

    Address new types of consumers

    Address new types of consumers means directing our products or services so that they are targeting different types of consumers who are already taking, but without neglecting the latter.

    For example, if our products or services are dedicated to people of a certain age range and a certain socioeconomic status, could also choose to target people in other age ranges and other socioeconomic levels.

    This may be necessary to create new goods or services, or simply adapt the products we already have, so they too can meet the needs or desires of other consumers.

    Increase sales points

    Increase sales points are to increase the places where we can offer or sell our products to final consumers.

    The idea of increasing sales points is to expand our market and reach consumers of the same type that we are treating, but are in locations that were not distributed our products.

    To increase the points of sales, we open new stores, stores, branches or franchises, we can make use of new brokers or dealers, or we can create new sales channels such as the creation of a website where we offer and sell our products.

    Seek external markets

    Export is a variation of the previous strategy, is to address new markets, but they are abroad.

    In order to export must seek to make contact with foreign intermediaries that want to distribute or sell our products, or look for customers who buy from us directly.

    The easiest way to achieve this is by creating our website and promoting our products on the Internet, another way to start exporting is participating in international fairs.

    But before that we must consider that the first requirement to export is to have a good quality product.

    Improve customer service

    Provide good customer service is the most efficient way to grow a business. Is to provide a good service, great staff, comply with treatment and promises to provide prompt attention, personalized service, etc.

    This involves training all our staff, especially one who has to interact constantly with the customer.

    Providing good customer service allows us to grow, because not only we get the client to buy or visit again, but that we also recommend our products or services to other consumers.

    Increase advertising

    Finally, another way to grow a business is increasing investment in advertising, for which you do not need to spend much money.

    To increase the publicity we can, for example, make use of flyers, posters, brochures, business cards, participate in fairs, set up a website and advertising on the Internet, giving gifts to the printed name of our company, etc.

    But always bearing in mind that the best advertising is word of mouth, which is to create or provide a product or service of high quality, to the point that allows us to always be recommended by our customers.

  • Oct 20

    For businesses that require a facility to serve the public, the choice of the location of the premises is one of the most important decisions you must take when creating a business.

    A good location could ensure success, while a bad location could mean the failure of the business.

    To correctly choose the location of the premises of a business, we must consider the following factors:

    Accessibility

    Is the location of the premises is a place easily accessible to the public eye, are there sufficient access roads so that our customers can visit on foot or using vehicles?

    Facility Location

    “The place would be easily locatable by the public that we want to visit from remote areas? Are there any known references to close and they can easily place ourselves?

    Visibility

    Is the location of the premises would allow our business has good visibility from the street or road to your ads or announcements can be viewed by pedestrians or persons in vehicles traveling through the area?

    Area Demographics

    Is the site located in an area with high population density? “And the surrounding area is populated enough to have a better chance of attracting a larger clientele?

    Influx of

    Is the site located in an area with good public attendance? Is located near busy shopping areas or areas with good traffic or consumer?

    Pleasant surroundings

    Is there a nice atmosphere around? Does the surrounding environment is complemented by the style that we will provide our business?

    Target Audience

    Does the site location is near where they live, frequent or transiting our target audience?

    Competition

    Does the local businesses located near competitors? Are there other similar businesses in the area or nearby?, Is there enough demand in the area to locate another business?

    Costs

    What is the cost of renting or buying local? Is located on premises located in a downtown or commercial area where the rental or purchase costs are high?

    Vendor Accessibility

    “The place is located close to our competitors? Does the local access roads sufficient to our suppliers to timely supply whenever required?

    Accessibility of staff

    Does the site location is near where you live our staff, is the location would allow easy access to it?

    Parking

    Does your local park or parking for vehicles our customers? Does it have sufficient parking to the number of customer visits on vehicles that we hope to have?

    Licensing and Regulation

    Is the area immediately surrounding the premises, is an area that would grant an operating license for the type of business that we create?, “There are no restrictions or regulations that could affect business performance?, Do not have any problems with the neighbors ?

    To choose the correct location of the premises of our business, we must take into account these factors, we go analyzing and answering the questions of each, and then, according to the weight or importance they give to each one (taking into account our objectives our investment, our target and other variables), determine if the premises we are looking at is right for our business.

  • Oct 18

    What the advantages presented by the real estate investor, so we know a bit more about its features and benefits and, above all, we can compare with other alternatives investment.

    Simple investment

    One of the advantages of investing in real estate is the limited technical knowledge required to invest in them, and the relative simplicity of making the management of investments, unlike, for example, investing in the stock market.

    Safe investment

    Investment in real estate usually is a safe investment because real estate is hard assets that depreciate (lose value) and, by contrast, tend to increase in value over time.

    High profitability

    Investment in real estate is often a profitable investment, to invest in real estate is possible to make money in the medium to long term, although usually to start investing in them is necessary to have a capital good (real estate investment is usually made by investors who previously have generated another source of income such as a business).

    Tax Advantages

    Another advantage of investing in real estate are the tax advantages they present, for example, the tax deduction for depreciation, and other benefits that exist in some countries such as the possibility of not having to pay taxes if the gain from the sale of a property is used to purchase a new property.

    Finally, we should also mention the disadvantages of investing in real estate, among the main ones are that you need to have a good capital to start investing in them, you need to have good knowledge of the market that allow a choose either a property (which will probably increase its value, there are subsequent purchasers or tenants), and lack of liquidity that have (not so easy to turn a property into cash).

  • Oct 16

    The following is a companion article to the article where to invest my money, enabling us to better compare some of the major investment alternatives on the market, taking into account criteria such as investment horizon, return, risk, capital requirements, degree of difficulty and degree of liquidity.

    It should be noted that the assessment given to each of the criteria of each alternative is a personal opinion and should only be taken as a reference, but not as an objective assessment far as advice. Before making an investment decision is advised to seek further information on these alternatives.

    Knowing the assessment assigned to each criterion will allow us to better evaluate each investment alternative, but to do this, we must also consider other criteria or personal factors, such as our ability to invest, our profitability goals, our risk tolerance our skills and knowledge and also our personal preferences or tastes.

    Create a business

    Creating a business is to start a business from scratch.

    * Investment horizon: the success by investing in building a business, usually occur only at medium or long term.
    * Value for money: build a business is usually a very profitable investment where they can earn much money.
    * Risk: Creating a business is often a profitable investment, but at high risk of getting poor results or losing money.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to invest in building a business is usually high, although there are profitable businesses that do not require further investment.
    * Degree of difficulty: to create and manage a business usually has a high degree of difficulty, as this requires having knowledge and skills in various business topics.
    * Degree of liquidity: creating a business has a low degree of liquidity, because once the money invested in building the business, it is difficult to convert into cash.

    Buying a business

    Buying a business is to buy a business that is already in operation (acquire a transfer).

    * Investment horizon: Unlike starting a business from scratch, buying a business has the advantage of being able to start trading immediately, have an established customer base, and having a recognized name, so its horizon investment tends to be short or medium term.
    * Value for money: as it happens by investing in building a business, invest in an operating business also tends to be a profitable investment.
    * Risk: buy a going concern is generally not at increased risk, provided that it has acquired a profitable business.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to invest in buying a business is usually high.
    * Degree of difficulty: purchase and manage a business usually has a high degree of difficulty, though less to start and manage a new business.
    * Degree of liquidity: buy a business has a low degree of liquidity, because once the money invested in buying the business, it is difficult to convert it into cash.

    Buying a franchise

    Acquiring a franchise is to obtain a license or grant the right to explore a trademark.

    * Investment horizon: like to buy an operating business, a franchise has the advantage of being able to start trading immediately, and to have a name or brand recognition, so that your investment horizon is usually short and medium term.
    * Value for money: as happens when you invest in buying a business, invest in acquiring a franchise is also often a profitable investment, especially if it is a recognized franchise.
    * Risk: buying a franchise does not usually have a higher risk, provided they have purchased a franchise recognized.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to invest in acquiring a franchise is usually high.
    * Degree of difficulty: acquire and manage a franchise usually has a high degree of difficulty, though less to start and manage a new business.
    * Degree of liquidity: a franchise has a low degree of liquidity, because once the money invested in the acquisition of the franchise, it is difficult to convert into cash.

    Debt

    Investing in debt securities is to invest in the purchase of securities or financial assets such as bonds, debentures, bills, notes.

    * Investment horizon, investing in debt securities investment is usually a medium or long term.
    * Value for money: invest in debt securities generally present a moderate cost.
    * Risk: the risk to acquire debt securities generally low.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in securities generally certainly not high.
    * Degree of difficulty: invest in debt securities typically have higher degree of difficulty, but require certain financial and market knowledge.
    * Degree of liquidity: some debt can be converted easily to cash, although for others, not true.

    Actions

    Investing in stocks is to invest in the stock issuing companies listed on the stock.

    * Investment horizon, investing in stock investing is usually a short, medium or long term.
    * Value for money: investing in shares is often a profitable investment, provided that appropriate decisions are taken.
    * Risk: the risk of investing in stocks is usually high, since the stock market tends to be a highly volatile market.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in stocks is usually moderate.
    * Degree of difficulty: invest in stocks usually has a high degree of difficulty, since it requires knowledge and experience that will allow one to make the right decisions.
    * Degree of liquidity: buy stocks with a high degree of liquidity since the shares can be easily converted into cash.

    Real estate

    Investing in real estate is to invest in the purchase of real estate or real estate such as houses, apartments, commercial premises, land, etc.

    * Investment horizon, investing in real estate is usually a long-term investment.
    * Value for money: invest in real estate is often a profitable investment, provided that the appropriate properties are acquired.
    * Risk: The risk of investing in real bins is usually minimal because of the difficult properties lose their value and, conversely, it tends to increase with time.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in real estate is usually high.
    * Degree of difficulty: investing in real estate does not usually present a higher degree of difficulty, as it is a simple investment that requires more expertise, but knowledge of the market.
    * Degree of liquidity, buying real estate has a low degree of liquidity, because the properties cannot be easily converted into cash.

    Currency

    Investing in currencies is to invest in the purchase of currencies such as dollars, euros, yen or pounds.

    * Investment horizon, investing in foreign investment is usually a short, medium or long term.
    * Value for money: investing in currencies is often a profitable investment, provided, however, has spent a good amount of money and made the right choices.
    * Risk: The risk of investing in currencies is usually high, because the currency market tends to be a highly speculative and volatile.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in currencies is minimal.
    * Degree of difficulty: investing in currencies usually has a high degree of difficulty, since it requires knowledge and experience that will allow one to make the right decisions.
    * Degree of liquidity: buy currencies with a high degree of liquidity, as currencies can be easily sold.

    Gold

    Investing in gold is to invest in the purchase of gold either directly (for example, to buy bullion or gold coins) or indirectly (for example, to purchase certificates of deposits of gold, or investing in mutual funds specializing in gold).

    * Investment horizon, investing in gold is usually a long-term investment.
    * Value for money: investing in gold can be a profitable investment, but, generally, in the long term.
    * Risk: the risk of investing in gold is usually negligible, since it is hardly an asset that depreciates and, conversely, its value tends to increase with time.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in gold is minimal.
    * Degree of difficulty: Investing in gold no greater degree of difficulty, as it is a simple investment.
    * Degree of liquidity: buy gold has a high degree of liquidity, as gold can be easily converted to cash.

    Mutual Funds

    Investing in mutual funds are to invest in an investment fund formed by the voluntary contributions of money from individuals and / or legal, which is met by a Fund Management Company, which in exchange for a commission, is responsible for managing and investing fund money in a diversified portfolio of financial instruments.

    * Investment horizon, investing in mutual funds investment is usually a medium or long term.
    * Value for money: investing in mutual funds can be a profitable investment, but, generally, in the long term.
    * Risk: the risk of investing in mutual funds tends to be minimal because investments by mutual funds are made by professional investors who invest in a diversified way, and besides, the funds are regulated and supervised by government agencies.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in mutual funds is minimal.
    * Degree of difficulty: investing in mutual funds no greater degree of difficulty, as it is a simple investment.
    * Degree of liquidity, investing in mutual funds with a high degree of liquidity because the money invested in a mutual fund can be easily converted to cash.

    Time deposits

    Invest in time deposits is to deposit money into an escrow account for a specified period in the bank.

    * Investment horizon, investing in time deposits is usually a long-term investment.
    * Value for money: invest in time deposits is a bad investment.
    * Risk: The risk of investing in term deposits is minimal time deposits are treated in safe investments and low risk.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in term deposits is usually minimal.
    * Degree of difficulty: to invest in time deposits no greater degree of difficulty.
    * Degree of liquidity, term deposits have a high degree of liquidity, since it can withdraw the money invested at any time, although in some cases it is necessary to pay a commission to perform it.

    Savings Accounts

    Investing in savings accounts are to deposit money in a savings account at the bank.

    * Investment horizon, investing in savings accounts is usually a long-term investment.
    * Value for money: investing in savings accounts is a bad investment.
    * Risk: the risk of investing in savings accounts is minimal savings accounts are treated in safe investments and low risk.
    * Capital requirement: the amount of investment required to start investing in savings accounts is usually minimal.
    * Degree of difficulty: investing in savings accounts no higher degree of difficulty.
    * Degree of liquidity, savings accounts have a high degree of liquidity, since it can withdraw the money invested at any time.