Small Business Information


Franchise Buyers Lying On Forms


The Federal Trade Commission which governs the franchise industry thru the franchise rule, which enforces Franchise Disclosure laws seems to think that consumers need to be protected even when they lie. Often The FTC takes complaints from consumers who claim they had been ripped off or lied to from someone selling a Biz-OP or some corporation, which sells franchises.

Cleaning Grain Silos, Towers, Containers, and Combines


If you run a pressure washing company in a rural market you will need to learn how to wash agricultural industry equipment and infrastructure. In our company The Tractor Wash Guys, we We have several years of experience washing combines.

Politics, Environmental Rules, and Mobile Car Washes


During the California Recall Election, I was very interested. Without getting into the political scene at all; my entire company, The Car Wash Guys, and all our staff and franchisees were closely watching The California Recall and Election.

Why The Carwash Industry is Stagnant; What You Can Do to Change Your Field


Many years ago, I had warned the carwash industry of problems brewing in customer dissatisfaction as we continued to grow our car wash company into a National Franchise Chain. I warned of environmental controls, speed of wash, water usage, quality of labor, price points, car wash fundraisers, car damage, up selling and hot wax.

Make Your Business More Profitable


More sales and more profit. Isn't that what you want from your business? It's not hard to achieve if you follow these 4 simple tips.

Pressure Washing Business and Post Fire Cleanups


Many have not experienced a fire up close. One year about 15 years ago I almost lost my house as did our neighbors to a wild fire.

Franchise Companies Come and Go


Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry. This is good news for America, right? Well, yes and know.

432 Page Franchise Report by the FTC


The Federal Trade Commission is upgrading the franchise law and they have made a report. Recently I have been reviewing the FTC's franchise rule report page by page.

Competition in the Market Place and Over Disclosure Regulatory Burden


The Federal Trade Commission is assisting competitor to cheat and encouraging this unethical behavior thru their disclosure rule on franchisors. Competition in the market place is far more competitive and the stakes are high enough that Over Disclosure Regulatory Rules cause competition to take the advantage and cheat.

Franchising Industry Burdened in Over Regulation


There were only an estimated 1800 active franchisors in this country at the end of 2002, that number down from 6000 in a single decade. It is not hard from this effort to increase regulations to see why.

Over Disclosure Hurts Businesses


Many investors and business ethics professionals are calling for more transparency and regulators are calling for more disclosure. Yet in the franchising industry this can spell disaster indeed.

Electronic Franchise Disclosure and E-Signature Future for Investors


It has been discussed allowing Franchising companies to electronically disclose franchise documents to the public and prospective franchisees. If the Federal Trade Commission wants to make UFOC information available electronically through email to catch up with the newest technologies then it will get complaints and make up another rule saying no unsolicited UFOC maybe sent through email.

FTC Franchise Rule if Enacted will Trigger Hardship for Private Sector


The FTC Franchise Rule maybe changed, as the Federal trade Commission has put out a report to the franchising industry as to upgrade the rule. If enacted will it will trigger hardship for private sector and cost many trees their lives; Paperwork.

Cost Effective Franchise Regulations, Come again


The Franchise Group at the Federal Trade Commission in all their ego and glory has proclaimed that franchise disclosure laws are "Cost Effective." I hate to break it to the FTC, but your comments and court are completely naked.

Encouraging Your Customers to Pay On Time


Nothing can drive a business down faster than customers who don't pay their bills as agreed. When you sell to customers on credit you are making an agreement with them.

Top 10 Record Keeping Mistakes Business Owners Make (and How To Avoid Them)


If you interviewed business owners of failed businesses, a majority will tell you that they didn't understand or feel comfortable dealing with the "book work". Your ability to understand and perform day to day accounting tasks in your small business is a critical success factor.

Real World Accounting for Small Business Owners


If you're like me, you love accounting. It's so fascinating and such an ingenious system.

How to Avoid the Most Common Reasons for Small Business Failure


The life cycle of the typical small business is short and painful. It starts out with a dream and ends with a whimper.

Small Business CRM Is Here To Stay


If you ask most small business owners what priority CRM has in their short-term business plans, chances are you'll get more than one blank stare. The fact is that most small business owners don't even know what CRM is not to mention how significantly it can benefit their growing company.

Professional Car Care Businesses You Can Start


If you are in the professional car care business you may be looking to expand your business, for that no one can blame you. But which add on service makes the most sense? You will have to make an honest assessment of your current clientele and decide that for your self.

Detailing Business Options


So you want to get into the auto detailing business and are not sure what options are right for you? It is a difficult choice indeed and there are so many options. Let me tell you a few having been in the industry some 27-years, we have seen a lot of businesses come and go and we have seen what works.

Business Debt Collection Letter Writing Secrets


Debt collection letters--an overview"Debt collection letter" in the singular may be an oxymoron, since unfortunately, one is rarely enough. You should have a series of letters to send to deadbeat clients, each one becoming a little more insistent.

Small Businesses You Can Start in Automotive


There are many choices when thinking about a small business involving your favorite hobby, cars. What about a Mobile detailing franchise? Yes they too are available.

Reclaim Equipment Detailing Industry and NPDES, EPA, Storm Water Rules


It behooves every professional mobile auto detailer to stay up with the reclaim equipment necessary to comply with the NPDES, EPA and storm water rules. Every company has a responsibility to not pollute the water supplies.

Concrete Cleaning Discussed at World of Concrete Expo 03


If you are in the pressure washing business and are serious about what you clean on the ground floor, I suggest you attend the WOC. The WOC is the World of Concrete Expo in Las Vegas, which is held once per year.

Dont Wait - Sell The Future Now!


Just as you are about to say "good-bye" to your hair stylist, you get the question, "shall we make our next appointment?"Most businesses sell products or services that are cyclical in their "need" curve. In other words, the client has need of your product at regular intervals of time.

How to Find Success in the Import Export Business


Take advantage of world politics today and start your own import export business. Are you organized, efficient, and ready to make your future in an opportunity all your own? Import Export Business Opportunities are expanding and there is room for you!In the early nineteen eighties, one of the most popular things in Soviet Russia was American made blue jeans.

Setting Up as an Electronic Repair Authorized Service Center


If you plan to upgrade your workshop into an Authorized Service Center, this should guarantee plenty of work and a secure future. Setting up from scratch as an Authorized Service Center is not an easy job.

Pressure Washing Business; Steam Cleaner Fuel Maintenance


It is essential that you fully understand how the fuel system works on your hot water pressure washer or steam cleaner. If you mess it up it could catch on fire and if you are not right there to put it out, you could potentially lose your machine.

Boston Suburban areas a good choice to run a business


BioTechs even with the latest news had shed over 1000 jobs two years ago, as it was reported by The Financial Times, WSJ, and Bloomberg that only 17 of the nearly 1300 BioTech firms were actually profitable. In 2002 the number of jobs were in the 30,000 range in Biotech.

Boston Market; Mobile Auto Detailing


Boston itself covers 50 square miles of concrete and traffic, well city limits actually exactly 46 square miles, the entire metro area can be and is often over stated at 1100 square miles, but more realistically about 380 in our humble opinion. And you know some of that is water.

Comparing Boston Area for a mobile car wash business


The Boston suburbs seem to be rich with possible locations to wash cars and a mobile car wash would be well served in that market. The customers have good jobs, high paying salaries and indeed demand such personal car washing services.

Routine Maintenance of High Pressure Hot Water Motors


If you run a pressure washer business you need complete uptime on your equipment, break downs can be costly if your billing rates are $100 to $150.00 per hour.

Pressure Washer Companies and Steam Cleaner Maintenance


If you run a pressure washing business it is a must that you understand and take care of your equipment. It is your livelihood.

Mobile Car and Truck Washing Vehicle Placement


To maximum potential profits and dollars in a mobile washing business it pays to set up in your mind in advance the best and most strategic place to park, before stopping to wash. You will obviously want to park your rig in a location that allows you to do as many cars as possible without moving the vehicle.

Excuses Franchisees Make; When They Violate Exclusive Territory Agreements


One of the biggest excuses franchisees of home based and serviced based franchises make when violating their exclusive franchise agreement with their franchisor and fellow franchisees is: My Family Works There. As a franchisor, I cannot believe how many times neighboring franchisees steal each others clientele or work outside their exclusive franchise area.

Environmental Pressure Washing in Pennsylvania


If you run a mobile car wash, mobile fleet washing company, mobile auto detailing business or a Pressure Washing firm in Pennsylvania there are things you should know. Pennsylvania is serious about cleaning the environment.

Dispute Resolution; Competing With Other Franchisees


If you are in a franchise and have a territory dispute with another franchisee you need to prevent a lawsuit use dispute resolution techniques to resolve the dispute. Competing with other franchisees is a subject that franchisors would prefer not to need to talk about.

Cabinet Refacing Business Opportunities


With all the cabinet refacing business opportunities out there, you could have a home based business that grows in this expanding industry. You've wanted your own kitchen updated, or talked to friends and family who have put out thousands of dollars remodeling theirs.

Why Do Franchisors have Exclusive Territories


The reason we Franchisors call it an exclusive territory is because we will not sell that area again to another franchisee. That is your area to market and to conquer and to generally obtain as much market penetration as possible.


More Resources


Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors
I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice.
The Achilles Heel of Management Coaching
While heading home at day's end, you begin reflecting on a coaching meeting you had earlier that day with an employee, Chris. You hope that, this time, you finally succeeded in getting her to understand the importance of spending less time in disruptive socializing in the office and more time elevating her performance.
How to Sell Strategically
If you want to maximize your sales performance, take a strategic approach to selling. After all, wouldn't you agree that "the 80/20 rule" applies to customers, where approximately 20 percent of customers produce approximately 80 percent of sales?The starting point for strategic selling is figuring out a) which customers produce the bulk of your sales, and b) what they are buying.
5 Secrets to Managing Your Sales Manager Productively
Many people believe that the main reason for representatives leaving their organisation is that of money in that they leave for a bigger salary. In fact, the biggest reason why people leave organisations is that the role they are doing is no longer offering any challenge or excitement.
Is Sales Process & CRM Stopping Sales?
Standard metrics and KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are created usually between The Sales Director, The Financial Director and The Managing Director. These KPI's tell the sales teams what they should be doing.
14 Top Lead Generation Tactics
According to former Harvard Business School professor David Maister, typical marketing practices are not only inapplicable for professional service firms, but they may be dangerously wrong.Often professional service firm principals tell me they are frustrated with the quality of their marketing materials, they are concerned with their firm's low profile or they feel pressure because their efforts are not generating enough new client leads.
6 Steps to Avoid Losing Summer Sales
It's a fact - the online world dies down in the summer time. Kids are out of school, families are on vacation, there's fairs to attend to, and many are just spending too much time outside to be online.
A Fracas in the Franchise - Keep Your Customers by Keeping Your Workers
As a previous owner of a Franchise I know the importance of maintaining employee commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm in maximising customer satisfaction, generating positive customer perception and protecting your investment.Repeat business is the life-blood of any business worth its salt.
Is Your Sales Trust Factor High Enough to Win Against the Competition?
How high is your sales trust factor?Is it higher than the sales trust factor of your competition?It should be, if you want to increase your success in sales.Your trust factor represents the level of trust that buyers have in you as a seller.
Drop Discounts and Earn Top Dollar
Every dollar you discount is a dollar of pure profit you're giving away. Therefore, your efforts to remove discounts will be richly rewarded.
The Nine Warning Signs that You Need a Sales Video
Corporate videos are an important sales tool that can often be overlooked in marketing budgets.We look at the top nine tell-tale signs that indicate whether your company is in need of an innovative and effective way to promote itself.
How To Build A Worldwide Distributor Network
When your product is market ready and has a good bargain, it will be no value to you if you don't know who's going to buy it, or how you are going to tell the world about it. Your product will only sell if it has a good wide distribution network.
Getting Off The Advertising And Sales Rollercoaster
Seeing the results of advertising your business can be like watching a roller coaster. The day you run your ad you see a flurry of activity; your ph0ne starts ringing, your web site traffic increases and/ or potential clients visit your store.
10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays
Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don't have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder.
Sales & Marketing Plan Strategies
Design and Implementation of a new Sales & Marketing campaign must be carefully thought through from the beginning. What message do you want to send about your company, products, and services? What are the anticipated results? What is the execution strategy? What is the cost ratio versus expected return?These are just a few of the questions that run through our minds in the early stages of planning.
Pointless Targets
I recall a heated discussion with a sales director some time ago where I proposed that the long-term effect of setting activity targets for salespeople would eventually lead to failure. He vehemently made the point that he had systematically imposed activity targets on his sales force and that the result had been to treble average income per salesperson within 18 months.
3 Ways to Increase Your Sales
Last week I got a call from Jose, who was looking for help improving his ads. He'd been running the same ad in four local papers for two months and only gotten one response.
Increasing Business Through Distributors
You're a small company with a good product. You are confident that the product can sell, but you don't have the financial resources to hire a team of fifty salespeople to market and sell the product for you.
The Hardest Job Of A Trade Show
You've heard this before: There were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.
Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments
Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities.

More Small Business Information:

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