December Publisher’s Column

Time to Revisit What is Really Important in Your Life

As 2014 comes to a close and we reconsider our priorities and goals for our businesses and personal lives for the coming New Year, it may be time to revisit what is really important to us.

You began your business with the idea of offering something that is unique and beneficial to mankind.It was YOUR business and you built it from scratch for a reason.  Maybe it is time to remember what that reason was.  Is your plan working?  Are you getting closer to those goals and dreams or (seemingly) further away from them?  Are you working for your business or is it working for you!

For most of us in small business, we seem to work for the business and not the other way around.If you are like Barbara and me, it’s time for you to take some time off this month and ask yourself what is really, really important.  Then, have the wisdom and courage to build your life and business around that answer.

Start with your business plan.If it has been over a year (or more) since you reviewed that business plan…it’s time!  Will it move you forward this year?  If not, change it up accordingly.Research what your competitors are up to via their websites, social media, etc.Spend some time with some of your best clients over coffee, lunch, or dinner and ask how you could improve your business to help theirs.Put your goals and dreams on paper where you can be reminded everyday of what is most important to you and then don’t give up.  No one has ever shared with us in the magazine that success came easy to them and that they immediately achieved their goals and dreams.  Remember – “If there was a victory, there had to be a battle!” Just go for it!

This month’s cover honoree, Tony Noun, has worked extremely hard for what he has built for himself and his family.  Even though he has had setbacks that for some would have been devastating, Tony’s passion for helping others, determination to succeed, and indomitable spirit has helped him to rise like a phoenix from the ashes and become such a great success once again!   You will enjoy his story.

Before leaving this page, we also want to share with you our deepest thanks and appreciation of your support of our publication, talk show, and events this past year.  We truly look forward to serving you in the coming New Year!

May you have the happiest and most wonderful holiday and may your New Year be blessed!  Good fortune and great success to you all!!!

Happy Holidays!

Steve Levine

President/Executive Publisher

Small Business Today Magazine

Faster Government-Guaranteed Loans for Small Businesses

By Bruce Hurta

For small businesses that are in the market for an SBA 7(a) government-guaranteed loan, processing the loan request and funding the loan proceeds has become a much quicker process.  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) continues to focus on ways for participating lenders to deliver small business loans with more ease, efficiency, and speed.  In fact, the SBA loan underwriting process has evolved to its present state whereby it is more efficient than many banks’ conventional small business loan underwriting processes.  By uniformly evaluating loan requests through the use of SBA forms and procedures, participating SBA lenders, such as banks and credit unions, are able to quickly and efficiently serve their small business loan requests on a consistent basis for each lender.  Indeed, the federal government fiscal year that ended September 30, 2014 promises to be another vibrant year for SBA loan production throughout the United States.

Of great importance, for the efficiency of this program, is the PLP (Preferred Lender Program) for SBA 7(a) lenders.  With a minimum amount of time, satisfactory experience, and demonstrated proficiency with the SBA government-guaranteed loan program, an SBA lender may now earn the PLP designation so that they are given the authority by the U.S. Small Business Administration to approve SBA 7(a) loans on behalf of the SBA.  This program has created a group of highly experienced and proficient SBA lenders who no longer must wait for a second set of SBA processing and approval before funding the loan.  As long as the lender remains in good standing with the SBA and its PLP requirements, they can continue to process, close, and fund SBA loans using only their own authority.  One can draw the conclusion that working with a PLP lender assures the borrower maximum expertise in working with the SBA loan program and the quickest processing time available.

Why is the SBA PLP program important to small business owners?

Probably the most important reason is that small businesses are finding fewer and fewer community banks who specialize in small business lending.  As the banks are bought and consolidated into larger organizations, the business lending platform evolves into serving middle market and public companies.  The SBA government-guaranteed loan program has become the new loan of choice for many small business owners who could not find their usual community bank accommodation.  Additionally, SBA loans have lower down payments, longer repayment terms, and easier qualifying criteria than conventional bank loans. The partial government guaranty on the loan allows the lender to accommodate more risk in their small business credit decisions.

In Houston, the SBA District Office accommodates 32 counties in and around Houston.  The Houston office, like every other District SBA Office, maintains a list of SBA Preferred Lenders in that district along with the number and dollar volume of loans they have funded.  This list is a good resource for small businesses trying to identify the most active and qualified SBA lenders in their area.

SBA loans can be used for any legitimate business expenditure including but not limited to: 

·        small business real estate purchases

·        small business real estate new construction

·        consolidating existing business debts

·        business expansion, new equipment, or furnishings

·        business acquisitions

·        partner buyouts

·        working capital 

SBA 7(a) government-guaranteed loans are available up to $5 million per borrower.

You can learn more about SBA lending and small business finance on Bruce’s blog at brucehurta.wordpress.com.  For more information about SBA real estate loans for small businesses, contact Bruce Hurta, Business Lending Manager at Members Choice Credit Union at 281-384-2595 or by email at bhurta@mccu.com.

Your Sales Leads Ignore You!

4 Reasons Why Your Email Marketing is Useless

By Craig Klein, SalesNexus.com CEO

When your team spends hours to craft well-designed email marketing campaigns, you want the message to motivate sales leads to purchase.  It’s really sad to recognize that much of your email efforts are a total waste of time because the sales lead simply ignores what you have to say.

How can you build the coveted business relationship you desire if you are being ignored???

Here are the four most common reasons why you are being shut out that can be remedied or at least reduced:

1. Spam Filters

The business of monitoring email for spam is a growing industry.  According to eSecurity Planet, almost 100 billion spam emails are being sent each day.  In fact, we recognize the problem of spam filters so much that we dedicated an entire post to giving you tools for avoiding their damage to your email automation.

2. No Reason

Any time you talk about such things as your long track record of success, awards you have received, or the fabulous features of your product, you are really easy to ignore.

Buyers have a hard time seeing those factors as a reason to pay attention to your message.  Your sales leads are probably focused on their own problems.  They have absolutely no reason to pay attention to any of that blustery content.

Instead, know your ideal customer well enough to make your email about their issues and triggering events.  Offer them additional content – just a click away – that will help them solve the issues that keep them up at night.  Make them engage with you.  Measure the results.  See sales leads convert to sales closings.

2. Too Complex

Marketers used to say that it took three seconds for a buyer to decide whether to pay attention to your message.  Today, it is more like a millisecond.  With the plethora of content consumed in an average day, today’s consumers have become highly-skilled scanners.

To garner the attention of sales leads, you must be very intentional about making it simple for them.  Structure the content to make it scannable.  Mix in graphics, videos, tables, and bulleted lists.  Tell a story to make it personal.  Minimize statistics and features in your content.

3. You Don’t Ask For the Sale

While your email marketing is focused totally on the needs of the customer and not your company, you still need to ask.  The term used in direct marketing and copywriting is “call-to-action”. 

The most effective way to deepen a relationship with a sales lead is to offer valuable content that they can click to receive.  You want to make it very clear how to get the information without spending time to search for it.

Even if your email is about selling the clickable content, you still want to give the sales lead an easy way to simply purchase.  Make sure that your message includes a separate call-to-action in the email message itself.  Of course, a second call-to-action needs to be subtlety included in the content piece too.

With a powerful online CRM (Contact Relationship Manager) you can track which email messages are getting response.  Once you identify the ones that trigger action, you can adjust your campaigns to fit the proven method.  That is the beauty of having your email marketing and your CRM fully integrated and responsive to your recipients.

Craig Klein is the founder/CEO of SalesNexus.com which is a leading provider of CRM, email marketing, and lead generation solutions for business-2-business sales teams.

 5 Key Ways to Increase Your Small Business Chances of Winning Government Contracts

By Helen Callier, President of Bradlink, LLC

After achieving success to a certain degree in the local and state government markets, it is a natural progression for many small businesses to then select the Federal Market as a growth opportunity.  The Federal Market is the largest purchaser spending over $500 billion annually of goods and services where only one to two percent of all small businesses in the United States do business with. 

As your small business starts swimming in the Federal Market while continuing to grow on the local and state levels, know that there are key strategies required for success in winning contracts.  To assist in landing work in the Federal Market and continuing to grow on in the local and state government markets, below are five ways to increase your small business’s chances of landing a contract:

1. Get a Mentor

Using a mentor is a proven method and game changer in helping many small businesses achieve success.  Mentors can assist your small business in learning how to mitigate certain risks and obstacles ahead of time.  This alone not only save costs but eliminates surprises and headaches as well.  For the best experience, select a mentor that has been successful, especially in an area where your small business needs assistance and has similar business ethics.

2. Get Certified  

Although certification is not required to do business or secure contracts with certain government agencies, certification is a strong strategy to increase your chances and position your small business to land government contracts.   For example, on the Federal level, my technical services company received its Small Business Administration 8(a) Certification.  The SBA’s 8(a) program provides mentoring, counseling, and access to sole-source or set aside contracts.  Some other Federal Market Certifications include the Services Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOSB), small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Businesses Zones (HUBZones), and Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSB).  Go to www.sba.gov for additional information.

3. Focus 

The most successful small businesses in the government marketplace and especially in the Federal Market target two to three agencies that buy their particular products or services.  To better position your small business in achieving success, research several government agencies that could use your product or services and, once confirmed, begin your early game marketing efforts.

4. Market Your Small Business 

Industry data shows that 3% of the marketplace is always buying.  If you as the leader of your small business have decided to save costs by limiting your marketing budget then you run the risk of stunting the growth of your business.

Many government agencies on the local, state, and federal level hold matchmaking events with agency small business managers and contracting officers.  Participating in these events provides opportunities to introduce your small business’s offerings.  Also, it gains the edge on those small businesses that have chosen not to attend such as event or do not understand the importance of positioning one’s firm through marketing activities.  Go to www.osdbu.gov for upcoming Federal Matchmaking Events.

5. Identify Contracting Opportunities

 

Be proactive versus waiting passively for someone to call or email you regarding a contract opportunity.  After selecting the few agencies that use your products or services, the next step is to sign up on their website to receive notifications about upcoming contracting opportunities and, most importantly, to review agencies’ fiscal year budgets and allocations for projects.  Also, for Federal contracts, visit www.fbo.gov which lists all contracts out for bid and highlights information about future contracts via Sources Sought notifications.

In closing, small businesses are the cornerstone of the United States economy creating approximately 65% of our nation’s jobs.  When small businesses are successful in winning government contracts, the United States of America, your state, and community benefit.   Stay tuned for my follow-up article next month about teaming to grow your small business through government contracts.

Helen Callier is President of Bradlink, LLC, a technical services firm.  She is a radio show host, public speaker, and the best-selling author of “Your Money is in the Follow-up”.  For more information, call her at 281-312-9981 or visit her website at www.yourmoneyisinthefollowup.com.

PUBLISHER COLUMN

NOVEMBER 2014

“To those whom much is given, much is expected.”

November Greetings everyone!

One of the criteria that the Small Business Today Magazine’s Publisher’s Advisory Board must consider in the nomination and subsequent vote for a potential cover honoree is that the nominee must demonstrate their generosity. Our cover honorees must demonstrate their generosity in how they give back to the community, their industry, and their fellow man.

We at SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE have found that there is a direct link between one’s generosity and one’s success.  Whether that generosity is part of their business plan or is something that is done with little or no fanfare, they are blessed when they bless others.

I often think of the quote “For whom much is given, much is expected.”

In Rita Santamaria’s column this month, she shares, “For whom much is given, much is expected.  This Biblical statement means different things to different people.  JFK used it in his speeches as a guide to the American people for wealth sharing.  A leader of a company who has great people working for them shows their thankfulness of the associates and team members by being a generous boss and leader.  Generosity is a must for a happy work environment. Generosity does not mean only monetary generosity but also encompasses time, positive comments, help, training, and focused attention.”

The idea of “For whom much is given, much is expected” is that we are all held responsible for what we have.  If we are blessed with talents, wealth, creativity, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use them responsibly so that we glorify the Lord and benefit others. 

November is typically the month that we always seem to start thinking about our blessings and how bountiful our lives are.  It is only normal during this month that we think more about others.

Barbara, John, and I believe in blessing others and not expecting anything in return.

Regardless, we have been blessed in return and here are a few reasons why:

·        To have met and been able to share the stories of over 30 of Houston’s most successful entrepreneurs that serve as inspiration for our global readership.

·        To have been able have met so many people who want to be part of our mission to empower aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners.

·        To have had the opportunity at this year’s “Business Professionals of America” Conference to be major sponsors of their state conference and competition and to witness (as judges) the creativity and passion for entrepreneurship that many of today’s high school students have.

• To have been honored with many nominations for this year’s “Houston Minority Enterprise Development Week Media Recognition” for our support of minority owned businesses whether they are part of our business or just in our world.

This month’s cover honoree, Kathleen Maartens of Exhibit Network, is a prime example of someone with a caring heart and a successful business.  As busy as she is, she takes time out to teach ESL every Tuesday evening.  She and her husband Lenny treat their employees like family so much that they allow them to bring their babies to work.  They also have a multipurpose room that comes complete with a full bathroom and is furnished with bunk beds, big screen television, computer, videos, and toys.  Not only is it used as a hurricane evacuation room but it’s also a working overtime room and a sick kids’ room.  This way, the parents don’t have to worry when their children become ill and can still give them attention without having to miss work.

Please remember as you “give” this holiday season to those less fortunate than you that the hungry, the homeless, and the destitute are hungry, homeless, and destitute all year round and not just during the “Season of Giving.”

Have a wonderful and blessed holiday!

sbtmagazine.net