Having a successful business – what business owner can say they don’t want one? It’s not January anymore, but it’s still early enough in the year to prepare for a strong business year. We have a few key questions to ask yourself for having the successful business you desire.

As you review your business’ performance throughout the year – not just the last quarter but the entire year – how does it compare to the year before? Were your sales as strong? Was your cash flow healthy and consistent? Did you have the people and the resources you needed to meet your growth goals? Were they the right goals?

With that in mind, look at your projections for the coming year. If you’re expecting to continue on having a successful business and a better year than last year, good – but are you sure you can do the things you need to do to meet those expectations? Do you have the capital you need? Do you have the staffing? Do you have the equipment? If you don’t have any of the above, you might want to talk to us about a working capital loan to help bridge the gap.

What if you’re not projecting as good a year as last year? If that’s the case, you need to consider whether you can improve your marketing to drive more business. Also: Can you improve your cash flow – perhaps by working differently with customers or adjusting your billing terms? There are financing options available for businesses who struggle with cash flow, but the first thing you want to do is see if you can make adjustments to improve it.

Maybe there are also some additional adjustments you can make over the course of the new year that will put you in a stronger position come next year. Throughout the process, use your business plan as a guide. If you don’t already have one, we have tools that can help and utilize small business resources like the SBA and SCORE. A Quickbooks Pro Advisor can also help you to analyze your numbers.

Planning is crucial. Following it up with smart action is essential. The result should be smart growth that puts you in a better position to succeed now and in the future. Having a successful business every year, is possible.

Have a question about business planning or loans?  

Our business experts continue with providing step-by-step advice on how to get started with owning a business. This month we will go over developing the mission statement for your business.

Everybody has a mission in life. Have you thought about what yours is, especially for your business? Your mission statement is your ideal snapshot photograph of what your business will be. Ask yourself these age-old questions in relation to your business: who, what, why and how. Frame these answers as the snapshots that make up your business portrait, thus creating the identity of your business.

The mission statement should identify:
• Who is the target audience?
• Who runs the business?
• What is the business?
• What is the product?
• Why does the business exist?
• How does the business operate?

Some guidelines:
• Your mission statement should be concise — approximately 50 words or less.
• It should motivate you and your employees to action.
• It should motivate potential customers to want to patronize your business.
• It should clearly express your identity and call to action.
• It should answer the top three wishes or desires you have for your organization.

Don’t let creating a mission statement be Mission: Impossible. Follow these easy steps to create one, and you’ll be even closer to Mission: Accomplished.

We at First Financial want to help you achieve your dreams of owning your own business using safe and realistic steps to guide you.  Over the coming weeks, our business experts will provide step-by-step advice on how to get started.  We can’t promise it’ll be easy to get started—but we can promise that we’ll be here every step of the way to get you to your destination.

Step One:  Form an intimate relationship with your industry

It’s important when starting your own business that you’ve experienced it at the employee level.  When you take the time to involve yourself in the industry, you are able to determine if it will be something that suits you and this economy.  The fewer surprises, the better.  Plus the experience not only provides you with knowledge and preparation, but also with credibility, which can help you market your business and secure financing.

Tip:  Want to open a business in which you have no industry experience?  Don’t let that deter you! If it’s feasible, take a year to throw yourself into it.  In the long-term, proverbial “big picture.” You’ll benefit from taking that extra year (or two!) to immerse and educate yourself in what the industry involves.  Take notes along the way.  Ask questions of your supervisors and coworkers.  Create a journal of all that you do so you can use this information not only in starting your business, but in later years to assess how far you’ve come.

Step Two:  Create a concept and research, research, research!

Just as you can never have too much experience, you can never do too much research.  Use resources both on-line and locally to provide you with a well-rounded assessment of your industry in your area.  Check out your potential competition—their websites, pricing, products and how they market themselves.  Decide what you like and dislike about each of these categories, and even ask what your friends and family think about it!  These can help you decide how you want your company to be conveyed, and how it can set you apart from the rest.  Check out if there are any local groups that specialize in networking specifically for your potential industry.  Check out Chambers of Commerce in local towns where you can also meet up with industry professionals.  But don’t forget to hit the books as well!  What kind of literature can you find on your business venture?

For Monmouth and Ocean Counties, not only do you have First Financial as a resource, but you also have SCORE, Monmouth Ocean Small Business Development Center (MOSBDC), and others.  SCORE is a nonprofit association that provides advice and guidance to entrepreneurs.  While they are a national association, they have a chapter here at the Jersey Shore.  For more information on how they can help your business grow, go to www.score.org.  MOSBDC is a national network of universities and colleges that advise small businesses.  Locally, they have offices at Brookdale Community College and Ocean County College.  Their website is www.mosbdc.com.  These are only two examples of organizations that dedicate themselves to helping small business owners start and flourish.

Tip:  Don’t overwhelm yourself!  This sounds like a lot, so start off slow with 1 hour per day of research, and maybe 2-3 hours per week of networking and face-to-face research.  (Just 10 hours per week to become more learned for your business path?  Sounds like a deal!).

How to Start a Business the Right Way by Taking a Closer Look at Your Business

Have you considered (or decided) what you will do and how to do it?

Here are six points for starting a business the right way by taking a closer look at your business:

1. Write a brief mission statement in 30 words or less that explains your reason for establishing your business. Be direct and put on your “thinking cap!”

2. Develop Company Goals and Objectives: Goals are destinations – where do you want your business to be? Objectives are progress markers along the way to achieving your goals. For example, a goal might be to have a healthy, successful company that is a leader in customer service and that has a loyal customer following. Objectives might be annual sales targets and some specific measures of customer satisfaction.

3. Business Philosophy: What is important to you in business?

4. To whom will you market your products?

5. Describe your industry. Is it a growth industry? What changes do you foresee in the industry, short term and long term? How will your company be poised to take advantage of them?

6. Describe your most important company strengths and core competencies. What factors will make the company succeed? What do you think your major competitive strengths will be? What background experience, skills, and strengths do you personally bring to this new venture?

Simple Steps for Starting Your Business

Tip 1: Start Working on a Business Plan
Have you considered what your start up costs will be? 

This may sound a bit crazy, but starting a business NOW may be just right for you! Many extremely talented and experienced individuals have found themselves forced into early retirement or job loss due to corporate down-sizing, companies closing or corporate mergers.

Start working on a business plan – “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!”

The FIRST things to consider are your new business start-up costs. Don’t underestimate! Nearly everyone who has ever started a business has underestimated the costs, and then faced the danger of running with inadequate capital reserves. The key to avoid this situation is to adopt a rigorous approach to your research and planning. Here are five things to consider when planning a new business:

1. Expenses – Begin by estimating expenses. What will it cost you to get your business up and running? Pay attention to detail and develop categories for both tangible assets (equipment, inventory and services (remodeling, insurance). Research vendors and comparison shop.

2. Contingencies – Add a reserve and explain how you decided on the amount.

3. Working Capital – You can’t open with an “empty wallet.” You need a cash cushion to meet expenses while your business gets going!

4. Sources – Turn your attention to where funding will come from. Consider the amount that you will invest yourself, how much will be by investors or partners and how much will be from borrowing.

5. Collateral – If part of your plan supports a bank loan request, you will need to show what assets are offered as collateral and estimate their values.