Selling Your Business: When Is the Right Time?

Whatever your reason, finally deciding to sell your business is probably one of the hardest decisions to make.  Suffice it to say that letting go of something that you have worked so hard for is akin to letting go of a family member or loved one.  Nevertheless, it is still a decision that you may have to make.  If you have to sell your business, however, you have to bear in mind that timing is crucial to making a profit out of the sale.

Impeccable Timing

Just like in stocks, sell when you’re up.  This means, the right time to let go of your business and sell it to someone else is when your business is still showing profits, when prospects of growth are good and when your products are selling like hotcakes.  In addition, you must have a stable network of associates, suppliers, service providers and such – all of whom are vital in not only running your business properly but also in maintaining your position at the top.

Selling when you’re down and out only means that your last recourse to get out of debt is to foreclose and sell because you can no longer manage and run the business profitably.  Your prospects for good buyers will be slim when this happens since no one wants to take over a business that is unprofitable and whose brand identity may be associated with flop after flop.

While your business is booming, look at the others in your industry.  In fact, check the trending in your particular field.  Having a successful business does not mean that your competitors are enjoying the same good fate and that your industry is, for lack of a better term, on the up and up as well.  If your over-all industry situation does not look good, you might get a few buyers but you will not be earning as much as when everything is going great.

Sell to the Highest Bidder?

The great thing about selling a successful business in an industry full of promise and potential is that buyers will stop at nothing to get their hands on a goldmine.  While you may be tempted to sell to the highest bidder, this may not always work out in the end.

You have to remember that if the business you are selling is something that you believe in and love, selling to the highest bidder should not be your sole priority.  If you sell your business with only profit in mind, without taking into account the kind of people who will take over, you will be cheating yourself out of the fulfilment that your business could have given you.  In effect, you may also be cheating your employees, clients and suppliers with whom you have built long-standing relationships.

It would be much better if you sell your business to the highest bidder who is also the best candidate to take over.  Someone who will love the business as much as you, perhaps even more; someone who knows the ins and outs of the business; someone who’s not afraid of hard work; and someone who will absorb all of your employees, deal fairly with suppliers and take proper care of your clients the way you’ve always done.

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Outsource to Reduce Your Tax Liability

The business practice known as “outsourcing” was coined in the 1980s.  Outsourcing is a process involving the commission or transfer of a business process to an outside organisation capable of fulfilling that function.  Many types of business functions can and are being outsourced, such as accounting, customer support, human resources, information technology, real estate management, and customer support.

What is Outsourcing?

Outsourcing is an organisational decision usually requiring top-tier management approval.  The decision to divest is not a light one, as it involves the transfer of assets and people, which – depending on the laws of the country in which the outsourcing company is resident – can be assessed capital gains tax.

There are various reasons why companies outsource.  Some want their organisational effort to be focused on their so-called ‘core competencies’, and thus distribute ancillary tasks to an outsourcing entity.  Others are in a fiscal situation that requires them to transfer people and assets to offshore locations in order to avoid or minimise taxes that would be otherwise imposed on them.

Outsourcing is not exactly the same as off-shoring, however interchangeably the terms might be used.  When one outsources, he or she enters into a contract with a supplier or service provider, while off-shoring simply means the transfer of a function – which may or may not remain within the parent organisation – to an overseas location.  It is also different from subcontracting in that the supplier is not involved in a specific project only, but in the ongoing activities of the contracting firm.

Tax Benefits of Outsourcing

Businesses want to streamline their budget and reduce their tax liabilities.  By outsourcing certain tasks, they can operate under the aegis of the supplier and have minimal exposure in the supplier’s resident country.  This means that they will also have a minimal amount of the legal responsibility that accompanies such functions as the recruitment and termination of workers, property purchases, accounting functions such as payroll, and sometimes even incorporation.

Outsourcing is a way to reduce tax liabilities because with the expenses being incurred with the outsourcing process, the company can sometimes be assessed for a lower income tax.  In an era where companies do their utmost to streamline tax outlays and other expenditures to achieve the maximum possible efficiency, this can prove to be a winning edge in a very competitive arena.

Outsourcing can also save the contractor money because a lot of foreign outsourcing destinations offer tax incentives to entice companies to avail of the services of locally-based suppliers.  These can take the form of regional tax perks or income tax relief, and is a factor whose effect is usually taken into consideration early on in the outsourcing process.

Other Benefits

Outsourcing also offers other advantages apart from the reduction in tax liabilities.  It enables access to a larger labour pool whose talents may have been previously inaccessible had the contracting organisation chosen to keep the process in-house; the service provided is backed by a binding contract with legal redress; the provider can give higher-quality service than possible within the parent organisation; it reduces time-to-market; and if and when the outsourced function is no longer needed, the contract can be terminated and the services either given to another supplier or taken back into the company that outsourced it in the first place.

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Take control of your life – use your time effectively

Time Management is perhaps one of the most talked about subjects not just in the business world but in our social circles as well. 

The concept or the idea has been elevated to the point that it has become an abstract principle or an ideal – much like those taught in monasteries and temples of ancient religions such as the 7 gates to inner peace or the secrets of energy flow – always to be sought but never to be achieved. 

Some people will brag about how they are never late for appointments, but is this really the essence of time management? 

Some people will talk about the increased profits and revenues from their business and present this as a proof of their mastery of time management.  Is this all there is to it? 

Can you say that time is your ally when you come home late every night with barely enough time to eat, much more sleep?  Can you say that time management has truly been a big factor in your success when you’d give away your liver or one of your kidneys just so you can have a clone that could do what still remains to be done in what little time that you have?

What It Is and What It Is Not

Far from being an abstract idea or an ideal, time management is actually a practical method for managing our time.  It is composed of specific steps and sound principles that are easy to understand and follow. 

Of course, as with diet formulas and leadership programs, your biggest enemy in catalysing or inducing this change is yourself, particularly your discipline and perseverance. 

Contrary to popular belief, time management is not only about getting more things done.  In fact, as you read on, you will realise that you will have to let go of some of your most time-consuming tasks if you want to become an effective time manager. 

In my complimentary eCourse at www.secretstobettertimemanagement.com I share some proven time management techniques.  Over 7, brief on-line lessons, you’ll gain access to some of the best tips to help you to maximise your productivity, overcome procrastination and take charge of your life!  

Time management is getting more important things done efficiently.  It is not about working harder or logging in more hours at work; it is about maximising the potential value of time spent and investing in a time management system that will let you use time as efficiently as you can and thereby achieve optimum use of your time. 

In the same light, although time management starts with ourselves, it is not limited to what we do.  In fact, most of the fruits of time management will come only after efficiently cooperating and synergising with other people.  In this sense, to be effective in time management, you will also need to be effective in dealing with other people. 

Much like the way passive incomes grow from long-term monetary investments, so will passive work grow from long-term time investments in yourself, in things that you use and do, and in other people.

Lastly, time management is not and will never be a one-size-fits-all kind of program.  Something working well for other people is no assurance – no guarantee – that the same technique will work as effectively for you. 

It is not like a toy or a gadget that you need to assemble only once to ensure results.  Rather, it is a personalised process of change that differs from one person to another.  It requires continuous assessment, feedback and adaptation on your part to work.

If you need a helping hand to get you started, just visit www.secretstobettertimemanagement.com for 7 brief, daily on-line lessons that’ll take you less than 5 minutes per day to read.  Don’t wait – do it now!  

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3 Incredibly Simple, but Outrageously Powerful Keys To Guaranteeing Your Email Messages Are Read

By Jimmy D. Brown  

There’s nothing that comes close to its power in online marketing. 

In fact, many of the most critical elements of eBusiness are tied to it:  joint ventures, newsletter publishing, automated follow-up, article distribution, free reports, autoresponder messages and eCourses, networking… the list could go on and on. 

Of course, I am referring to EMAIL MARKETING.  It is impossible to be successful online without some form of marketing via email.   

Nothing else can boost your business like a good list and an understanding of how to use it. 

You can *literally* send a mailing in the morning and earn several thousand dollars by the end of the day with email marketing. 

What I want to share with you in today’s lesson is how to increase your email marketing leads, sales and profits.  So, let’s get at it… 

–> Develop an attention-grabbing subject line. 

Russell Crowe would have never won an Academy Award for Gladiator if no one had watched the movie.  Britney Spears wouldn’t have gone quadruple platinum with her latest CD if no one listened to her music. 

And you ain’t gonna earn a single penny in profits from your email marketing if folks don’t read the message you send. 

It’s one thing to send an email out to 50,000 prospects, it’s another thing to get any of them to read it. 

And whether or not you need to start writing your Oscar acceptance speech depends upon how well you craft the “subject” line of your email promotion message. 

There are three keys to writing subject lines that are so compelling that the recipient is practically forced to click and open your email. 

1. Personal. There is something both attention-grabbing and exciting about seeing your name in the subject line of an email. 

For one thing, we just love to see our own names.  Nothing grabs our attention quicker than something that is specifically about us or for us.  

And, for another, personalization *typically* means it isn’t SPAM.  While some spammers do have access to databases with our names, for the most part their lists are built by harvesting emails. 

So, when we see our name in the subject line, we immediately are drawn to it… 

“Jimmy, here is the information you requested”“Jimmy, I’d like to give you a free copy”“Jimmy, did you forget about this?” 

Almost every good autoresponder or email distribution system will have a “personalization” feature that will allow you to automatically insert your prospect’s name into your email messages when sending your mailings.  It works like this… 

A. Person joins your list through a subscription form, which captures their name and email address. 

B. You insert a predetermined code (like  ) that your autoresponder or mailing system provides you, into the email message. 

C. The system automatically converts that tag  into the actual recipient’s name before delivering the email. 

Voila – you’ve got personalized emails.  You can generally use these personalization features in both your SUBJECT line of the email and the BODY of the actual email message itself. 

An additional attention-grabbing feature to the ‘ol subject line is to TARGET your audience.   Of course, you will *always* want to send your emails to a targeted audience.  I.E. Don’t send your Wrestling email to a homemakers’ list. ) 

For example:  I recently sent a mailing out to a smaller list I have of folks who are interested in reprint rights to products.  I had made reprint rights available to my new product, and I wanted to let them know about the licenses.  Here are some sample subject lines that I might have used… 

“New reprint rights released today…”“Reprint rights are available…”“Sell this new product and keep every penny”  

You may receive 500 emails a day, but if you are interested in reprint rights (and you would be, or you wouldn’t be on that list) then this particular subject line is going to stand out when you download your emails. 

When you combine personalization AND targeted audience, then you have a very compelling subject line… 

“Jimmy, new reprint rights released today…”“Jimmy, reprint rights are available…”“Jimmy, sell this new product and keep every penny” 

That’s an email I’ll read every time. ) 

2. Powerful. Another key to writing an email subject line that entices the reader to take a look at your message is to use “power words.” 

A “power word” is a word that appeals to the senses.  It’s been shown over and over that we do not buy based on logic, but rather on emotion.  Email marketing works on that same premise.  

A few “power words” include:  Free, New, Exclusive, Amazing, Fast, Results, Guaranteed, Unlimited, Step-by-Step, Overnight, etc. 

Etc. means “and so on.”  Don’t put “etc.” in your subject line. That’s not a power word. ) 

“Power words” are strong motivators for reading further.  Why?  Because they trigger our emotions.  They create curiosity.  They are compelling.  

So, use them. 

— Sidebar —  

Since I’ve mentioned something you SHOULD include in your subject line, let me also mention something that you SHOULD NOT use.   

Avoid two things like you avoid an angry rattlesnake… hype and in-your-face symbols.  

Don’t make outlandish claims like “Earn $50,000 overnight.”  If it isn’t believable, then folks will simply delete your email without ever reading it. 

And for goodness sake, don’t use “in-your-face” symbols!!!!!!! No one reads *****URGENT******* or (((((Read Now))))) or @@@Newsflash@@@ 

Kind of gets the same response as that obnoxious alarm clock at five in the morning. 

In other words, it’s a turn off! ) 

— End of Sidebar —  

Another “type” of power words is a DEADLINE:  24 hours only, next 3 days, only 5 will be accepted, the first 10, etc. 

Power words, especially the word “FREE” are particularly effective in getting people to read your email.  Combine a power word with a deadline and you’ve got a winner. 

3. Promising.  The third key is to present a desirable result.  Your subject line must make a promise.  It must inform the reader, in that split-second that they view it, that there is something that awaits them if they read your email.  

And that something must be desirable.  It must be something that the reader does not want to miss out on.  It must appeal to the emotions and pull the reader to the edge of their seat like they were waiting for the climax of a really good movie. 

Your subject line should create expectation.  

Understand this:  folks don’t buy products because they want your product… they buy products because they want the result of your product.  We buy exercise equipment because we want to look good. We buy candy bars because we like the taste.  And we visit the dentist because we ate too many candy bars. ) 

We revolve around results.  We work because we want the paycheck.  We drive our vehicles because we want to get somewhere.  We play golf because we enjoy it.  We are a results-driven society. 

By creating an email subject line that promises results you create expectation.  Look at the difference between these two subject lines… 

“Free 7-day eCourse released today…”“Free 7-day eCourse you can obtain in 5 minutes…” 

Both have a power word.  Both are fairly interesting. But… 

…which one creates expectation?  The second one makes a promise… I can have it in 5 minutes! 

This is one of the biggest keys in email marketing, and yet is often overlooked. It amazes me how many ezine publishers, for example, have this subject line… 

“Bob’s Newsletter, Issue 212″ 

Whew, hold me back.  I can’t wait to read that. ) 

Sure, some folks will read it anyway — especially if you have a loyal readership who knows your stuff is first rate. 

But, I don’t care WHO you are, you will ALWAYS have better results with a subject line that creates expectation. 

You can apply these three keys, “Personal, Powerful and Promising” to any form of email marketing you use… autoresponders, newsletters, free reports, solo mailings, joint venture offers, virtually anything to do with email marketing. 

Get this right and it will be time to start working on the ‘ol Academy Awards acceptance speech for your Best Email Oscar. ) …………………….Ready to learn more from Jimmy D. Brown about getting your subscribers to open, read and act upon the messages you send them? Then grab your copy of Subject Line Secrets today >>  HERE  <<.  Not only will you find out which words trigger your readers to click on your emails, you will also get 20 proven templates you can start using right away.…………………….

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Auto-responder

The concept of the follow up autoresponder revolutionized Internet Marketing. Now, “Auto Message Setup” promises to bring the field an even greater degree of efficiency.

This recent innovation lets experienced marketers painlessly transfer marketing know-how to their entire downlines. A marketer can now provide each of his downline representatives with a follow up autoresponse system that is already packaged with the marketer’s pre-written messages.

The result? Just a few minutes of work on the part of an experienced marketer, and each of his reps is set up with the same tried and true marketing messages.

Case Study: Marketer Matt and the New Breed

For example, take a look at the case of a fictional network marketer named Matt M:

For years, Matt has been successfully marketing All Natural Pharmaceuticals using a follow up autoresponder. In fact, much of his success can be attributed to the set of seven messages e-mailed to all of his potential customers. Matt has carefully crafted those messages over the years, and they’re really great.

Recently, Matt has been trying to pass what he’s learned along to his downline representatives. He explains his marketing principles over the phone, and he knows that several of his reps pass his follow up messages around amongst themselves.

However, Matt finds that his pearls of wisdom rarely survive this ‘telling and retelling’ intact. He knows his reps aren’t getting anywhere near what they could out of his knowledge. He wishes there were a way to harness today’s technology, and put it to use for the greater good of his downline…

Enter Auto Message Setup

Using an Auto Message Setup system, Matt’s downline reps can order their own follow up autoresponse accounts that are already packaged with Matt’s pre-written messages. They can reap the fruits of Matt’s experience with ease.

Each rep will customize Matt’s messages for himself by logging in to his new follow up autoresponder account, and entering his own contact information.

Here is Matt’s original autoresponse message:

Hi LEAD NAME,Thanks for stopping by the All Natural Pharmaceuticals web site today! We hope you come back soon!Best Regards, Matt M.
matt@all-natural-pharma.com 918 Awl St.
Natural, PA 22314

Notice that the message greeting uses a variable, (LEAD NAME). The variable ensures that each of Matt’s leads will receive a message personalized with his or her own name. Notice, also, that Matt’s name and address are at the end of the message.

Case Study: Downline Dan and the New Breed

Dan is one of Matt’s downline representatives. He’s ordered his own follow up autoresponder through Matt. Since Matt is using Auto Message Setup, Dan’s account came pre-packaged with Matt’s marketing messages. Dan personalized those messages to himself by answering a few questions in his Online Control Panel. Now Dan is sending his own personalized version of Matt’s messages to his customers! All of the basic content is Matt’s, but Dan’s contact information is on the letters. Here is the autoresponse that Dan sends to his potential customers:

Hi, LEAD NAMEThanks for stopping by the All Natural Pharmaceuticals web site today! We hope you come back soon!Best Regards, Dan D.
dan@pharma-ceuticals.com 5 Farm Way
Sootuh, TN 88457

Notice that the contact name and address at the end of the e-mail are Dan’s, but that the greeting at the beginning of the message still includes the name of Dan’s lead.

Mission Accomplished

With Matt’s experience in hand, Dan is now marketing more successfully than ever before. And he isn’t the only one – Matt’s entire downline is now using his marketing messages! Matt’s commissions are growing exponentially.

Matt and Dan’s situation is not unique. Any network marketer with an established downline can take advantage of the opportunities available in an auto message setup system. There’s no better way to put more auto in your autoresponder.

Try this excellent auto-responder service – just click here to learn more

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Are Your IT Systems Secured?

The information needs of today’s society are greater than ever, and it hasn’t escaped the notice of hackers and other unscrupulous individuals.  Names, addresses, bank accounts, credit card numbers and entire identities are at risk in today’s world as more and more people are sending these electronically through the information superhighway.  This article will cover some of the usual weaknesses in a business’ IT system.

Vulnerable to Malware

There are about a quarter of a million pieces of known malware and almost 10,000 web pages are infected by hackers all over the world.  Even big and well-known websites of reputable companies are hit by malware every now and then.  A malware infection usually allows the hacker access to sensitive data, data that you might not want other people to see.  Even if the infection doesn’t allow direct access, it will nevertheless exploit other weaknesses in your system, and that’s just as bad.

Malware often find their way into a computer through emails or infected files spread via portable storage devices like flash drives.  The easiest way to counteract this would be to get antivirus/anti-spyware/anti-adware software on all the computers and terminals that have access to the secure areas of your system.  Many antivirus providers offer business packages which are usually more effective and cheaper than the standard edition.

Knowing the method of infiltration used by malware, you could also limit how they enter your system.  Some companies and organisations have already modified their email clients to accept only text – and not HTML – emails.  Doing so will greatly reduce the threat of malware carried by unknown emails because the malicious code is often hidden in a chunk of HTML or in an executable file.

Query Exploits

Many hackers have already found that using vulnerabilities found on the forms of websites can be just as effective as sending out malware attacks.  Hackers have found ways to exploit certain limitations of online forms, giving them names, passwords and, ultimately, access you don’t want them to have.

One of the most common exploits for online forms is unvalidated inputs.  Given a certain online form, such as one that asks for an address, a hacker could enter commands (such as ones in Javascript) that could give him/her access to secure data.  Another common and much easier one is using a buffer overflow, wherein the hacker inputs more information than the buffer could handle.  By overflowing the buffer, the hacker could gain access to the application server and, consequently, all the data that that server handles.

Exploits such as the ones above are best prevented with a watertight webpage design. Stay away from older languages like C++ and try exploring the possibilities with ones like .Net or Java.  The latter two are less vulnerable and are less likely to fall prey to an attack.  If forms or any other type of user input are included in your website design, make sure to include explicit limitations, such as x number of characters for the address or strictly numeric characters for the zip code field.

The most important thing to remember is that the security of your IT system is and should be an ongoing process and not a one-time event.  As technology becomes more developed and the hackers become more sophisticated, so should you and your system.

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