Business Lifestyle

Have you started selling your products, maybe online, through smaller markets?  If you have, you may have reached the point where you want to grow, expand, build your business!

When you’re first starting out with your endeavor it can be hard to get financing through traditional methods, which can be frustrating and disheartening.  Don’t let that kill your dreams.

Alternative financing options is a very viable option to explore to help you build your business.  Get your products moving, while you focus on your business Liquid Capital can focus on the hassle of collections.

Success requires growth, and growth requires funding.  That’s where we come in!

For more information and exciting growth opportunities contact Liquid Capital today!

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at Liquid Capital, contact them today to see how they can help you grow your business http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/

Have you ever had a line up of customers out the door clamouring for your products and services?  Happy to wait until their turn?  Even better, did they continue to stand in line even when the product they came in for was sold out?

I ask because of a recent personal experience of mine that I wanted to share with you that struck me as a great success story on customer experience.

I was on my way for a week long camping trip with family and friends when we stopped at a small meat shop in the middle of nowhere, in Hedley BC.  Doug’s Homestead is a hundred kilometres from anywhere, on a lone road with a brief scattering of buildings here and there.  From the outside it looks like nothing, no reason to stop, no reason to even pay attention to the small building.

We did stop, because the friend I was with had stopped the year before for their amazing beef jerky.  We walked into the store, just barely making it into the door.  Peering around the many people standing in front of the counter we soon realized the beef jerky case was completely empty, not even a crumb remained.  You`d think we would have simply turned and walked out the door we had just come in from.

Not the case.  In fact, no sooner had I made the disappointing discovery we would not be chewing on fantastic beef jerky then my attention was completely captured by what was happening before me.  The lady behind the counter was serving up their homemade pepperoni, having customers guess the price based on the weight of one piece of the pepperoni they had chosen.  The customer would yell out their guess, the whole room waited with baited breathe, and the server shouted out the price.  An answering shout would go out from the crowd based on how close the guess was.

The people in the store were having fun and as I stood in line, I had the chance to look around me to see the other tasty offerings.  I ended up buying 6 sticks of garlic pepperoni, homemade chocolate chip cookies and some candies for the kids when all I really came for was beef jerky.

When we finally reached the cashier we asked about the beef jerky.  The lady behind the till replied `We open at 9, it`s sold out by 9:30“.

So how can a tiny little store, in the middle of nowhere, be filled to the rafters with customers, sell out a product every day half an hour after opening and be so successful that word of mouth spreads so effectively?  I came in for one thing and left with an entirely different purchase, and was happy to spend my money there.  I left satisfied and excited to come back next year on our yearly trek to the middle of nowhere.

THAT is what I call customer experience.  Not only get your customers into your door, but keep them there.  Have some method to interest them enough to give you the opportunity to sell your other products and services.  Have them leave with a smile on their face ready and willing to tell anyone who will listen about the incredible experience they just had.  Best of all, keep them coming back!

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at Liquid Capital, contact them today to see how they can help you grow your business http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/.

There are many ways you can grow your business and many strategies you can employ to create that growth.  Some strategies are:

• Growing your customer base or pounding the pavement to get more customers.  You can achieve this by actively working on referrals, cold-calling potential clients, networking, advertising in local papers, or trade publications.  You can create a website; work with a professional to expand your web presence.

• Grow your share of wallet  instead of working on increasing your customer base, work on your existing customer base and gaining more business from them

• Offer new products or services – by expanding the services you provide or the products you sell you can grow your business, both by obtaining new business and having an expanded offering for your existing customer base.

These are the just three of the many ways you can grow your business to the next level.

The challenge you may face with all of the above suggestions is that all three require cash flow to be able to achieve success.

It’s important to plan for cash flow for growth.  If you are just building your business or wanting to take your business to the next level chances are you don’t have a lot of extra money in the bank just waiting to spend on expansion.  Likely you are working hard to stay afloat with your finances.

A viable option may be to seek to finance your expansions.  Two ways you can do this are:

1. Traditional banks: usually requires you to have assets and great financial stability, with a good credit score.
2. Alternative financing: You can arrange short term or longer term financing options such as factoring, accounts receivable financing, etc.  This option is an option if you don’t have the necessary stringent requirements that the more traditional financing companies require.

Financing can put money into your pocket to make it possible to grow your business

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at Liquid Capital, contact them today to see how they can help you grow your business http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/.

In our last blog I talked about the benefits of networking and how “word of mouth” is a great way to get your services known.  Today I have even more benefits to networking for you to consider.

You sign up for your local networking opportunities to build your own business, which is good.  How about if you could make money simply by referring people when the opportunity presented itself? You could make the time spent networking for your own business work even more in your favour by with earnings by referral.

At Liquid Capital we have a referral program, that for any referral resulting in a sale earns a 10% commission.

So let’s talk about my story from last blog again for a moment.  I want to renew my mortgage, my friend, who actively networks, hands me some referrals for mortgage brokers.  I require the service anyway, but my friend has just made it easier for me.

Think about if this mortgage broker gave a commission for a successful sale based on the referral?

A hypothetical, if my scenario provided the same referral program Liquid Capital offers:

• I needed the service
• My friend provided the referral
• I went with the company referred and completed my sale
• A commission
• Win – Win!

Liquid Capital provides alternate financing options for businesses that cannot get traditional bank loans for whatever reason.  In the course of networking I am sure that this situation would occur frequently, particularly in the current economic climate we find ourselves in.

Interested in finding out more about Liquid Capital’s referral program?  Contact Tracey Carlson, at tcarlson@liquidcapitalcorp.com

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.

If you have just started out or are looking to refresh your sales leads a good way to generate these new leads is through networking.   While advertising is a good method to get the name of your business and what you do out there, networking can build a longer lasting effect.

Networking opens up a whole world of “word of mouth” marketing opportunities.  Just as an example of how effective it can be, recently I was talking to a friend about my upcoming mortgage renewal and before I could even finish the sentence “I have to do some research…” she handed me several names and numbers of mortgage brokers in our area.  She is a member of several networking groups, such as BNI, where she meets frequently with other local entrepreneurs and business contacts.  Mortgages are completely out of the realm of my friends consulting business yet she threw at least five names my way to get the best deal.

Think about those mortgage brokers.  Just by coming to those networking functions and talking to my friend (who likes to talk!) they benefitted with new sales leads.  In fact, they also received her mortgage renewal.  Just by stopping at her side, providing a card and passing along their business interests.

Another great place to look for networking opportunities are through your local board of trade, better business bureau or Chamber of Commerce.

There are also online communities, such as Linkedin that provide networking opportunities on a more global scale if you prefer online forums to in person meetings.

Networking generally costs little but time but the outcomes can generate business and long term business relationships.  This can benefit you professionally and personally.  The fantastic thing about word of mouth is that it spreads quickly, whether through existing clients, friends, family or business networking connections.  The trick is to make sure it is positive feedback and referrals coming your way, so make sure to make great first impressions (and second impressions, and third,…)

So check out your local business networking opportunities and start getting your name and what you have to offer out there to the masses!

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.

Having cash flow problems and not able to grow your business to where you’d like to see it go?  In a previous blog I spoke about different types of financing, including alternative methods.  In this blog I’d like to focus on factoring specifically.

Accounts receivable financing, or factoring is an effective way of both financing cash flow short term and outsourcing the administration of credit and collections for the invoices financed.

Factoring offers flexible underwriting without the restrictive requirements on personal credit scores, business history, with less time and hassle than traditional financing offers.

With factoring the alternative financing company actually purchases the invoice from you.  You don’t incur a debt and you keep control of your business.  The factoring company takes care of following up with customers and collections.

Factoring is adaptable to almost any industry; Liquid Capital has dealt with the following industries:

• Agriculture
• Apparel & Textile
• Chemicals & Plastics
• Computers, electronics and technology
• Construction
• Consulting
• Cosmetics
• Entertainment
• Energy
• Food & Beverage Distribution
• Furniture & Housewares
• Graphic Design Companies
• Healthcare Centers
• Import/Export
• Janitorial & building maintenance
• Landscaping
• Manufacturing
• Media & Communication
• Metals & Mining
• Modeling agencies
• Printing, Publishing Services & Paper Suppliers
• Professional services
• Medical Sales
• Security guard agencies
• Service Industry
• Software Industry
• Technology
• Telecommunications
• Transportation
• Staffing Companies & Temporary Personnel Agencies
• Wholesale Distribution

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.

If you have tried the more traditional methods of financing with no luck, there are alternative methods of financing that may work for you.  Some of these options include:

Alternative  financing:

• Friends and family – When starting out on a new business or expanding your business sometimes the first place people will look is to their friends and family as investors or loan providers.  This may or may not work for you.  A benefit of this is that you have available money quickly and at a low interest.  The downside of this type of financing is the possibility this could put strain on or damage a relationship.

• Personal credit cards/ unsecured lines of credit – This is an option if you require a smaller amount while you build your cash flow, the downside being that you must qualify personally for these or have an established credit card or line of credit for your business.

• Accounts receivable factoring – This is a great option if you have accounts receivable outstanding or have just received a large contract that you cannot fulfil without financing.  The factoring company actually purchases the invoice from you and once the invoice is paid receives a percentage of the total.  If you are short on funds but have the opportunity to grow your business this can be the perfect solution. A client of Liquid Capital states “Turning to Liquid Capital was the best business decision we have ever made. Within a month of our decision to factor, we were set up and running.”

Sometimes traditional financing is either not available or not the best option.  It’s important to consider alternative measures that will help you grow your business quickly and without hassles.  To learn more about factoring and to solve your cash flow issues visit http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.

Once you’ve decided to open a small business, there are a lot of things to arrange, one of the most important factors is the financing options available to you.  There are also times once you’ve started your business that you made have cash flow issues that require some sort of financing solutions. There are different ways of financing that can be considered.  Different types of financing include:

Traditional financing (From Articlesbase.com):

• Bank or Credit Union lending – this is the first place many business owners look, to their financial institutions that they already deal with for daily banking services.  These institutions may only lend money if you have assets or capital to “secure” a portion of the loan. The lending criteria for most banks are quite extensive and conservative.  If you don’t have great credit, assets and a stable, profitable business with a lot of capital this way may be harder to get, especially when you are starting out.

• Independent financing companies – these companies may have lower lending criteria but charge a larger interest

• Venture Capital/Equity financing companies – this is a viable option if you have equity in your home or business that you can lend against. They are largely capital based and expect high returns.

• Government grants/loans – Often the government has grants available when starting up new businesses, they have very good rates but are time consuming and limiting in their criteria.  There are also many hoops to jump through.

These options can work for you but are often heavily based on good credit standing, capital and assets and have many restrictions.  If you cannot get more traditional financing, there are alternative types of financing to consider.

See our next Blog post: Part 2: Alternative financing

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.

When considering whether to get a job, with an established company, steady pay cheque, stability and less uncertainty or to go out on your own and do something you’ve always dreamed of doing, the choice can be daunting.

On one hand stability can seem the better choice, the responsible choice.

On the other, there can be many benefits of being your own boss:

• Setting your own hours: When you are the boss, you can set the hours, have control of when you work and when you don’t.  So if you are having a great day you can put your nose to the grindstone and produce results.  On the contrary, if you’re not having such a good day you can decide not to work, or work less, when you’re the boss, it’s your prerogative.  Work when that creative energy strikes you and don’t when it isn’t. You don’t have to work to someone else’s schedule or demands, but your own

•  Motivation: When your success depends on what you do, motivation to succeed will be much greater than if you are working for someone else.  Although when you work for someone else, you want to be successful; when you work for yourself you have to be successful.  When it is your own bottom line and your own success on the line, motivation is imperative.

•  Creative control: When it’s your own business or if you’re self employed your company vision is your own.  You can go in whatever direction you want, with nobody telling you can or cannot do something.  It’s totally up to you. This can be a scary and thrilling prospect!

• The sky is the limit: When you’re your own boss, there is no ceiling, no salary you reach and then stop at.  You get what you put in and you have complete control over that.  You have no restraints holding you back; the challenge will always be there.  If you master one area of your business, you can create or learn a new area, go in another direction, expand, grow and keep moving.

The list above is only what I could think of, but there are many other advantages of being your own boss.

According to www.canadabusiness.ca – the following are benefits to being your own boss:

1. You can put your own ideas to work
2. You can decide what type of business you want
3. You make the decisions for your business
4. You can choose the location for your business
5. You have the potential to earn more
6. You have the freedom to work less
7. You can be involved in the total operation of your business
8. You can turn the business into a family asset

Now that you see the benefits of being your own boss, it’s a matter of either finding a business that has no cost associated with start up or finding ways to obtain a small business loan, small business financing or alternative financing.  Sometimes taking that risk results in great success.

I wish you great success in your business!

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.

In today’s fast paced, Lulu Lemon wearing, smart phone wielding, multi communication method society do dress codes really matter?  Surprisingly enough they can.  Many companies have relaxed their dress codes over the decades, from the traditional full suit and tie to today’s business environment, which tends to be more “business casual”.

An important factor in how important your workforce dress code rules are is how often they will be interacting face to face with customers.  If your business is a call centre where customers never see your employees then dress code is a little less important.  If you deal face to face with customers however, it is imperative to your success that you give the right impression to your customers.

Dress codes can vary to a simple “business casual” policy to an actual uniform approach.  Things to consider when considering a dress code:

• Uniformity – if your goal is to achieve uniformity in a group, this is the way to go.  For instance, if you run a restaurant, you may want your staff uniform to add elegance and ambiance to the atmosphere while making them easily identifiable to the customer.
• Image – Dress codes can express a positive image of your company, or align with your values, traditions and vision.  In professional environments it is important to maintain that professional image to clients, business partners and prospective future business.
• Demographics – It also depends on who your customers are when considering how important a dress code is for your business. If you work primarily with young people, the importance of dress is less important.  On the flip side, if you work with seniors, dress code becomes more important, as different generations have different expectations.
• Type of business – If you run a sport’s shop then yoga pants and running shoes are probably more appropriate than a suit and tie, because you’re trying to sell that active life style.  If you’re a financial consultant however, showing up to a client’s wearing yoga pants and running shoes isn’t going to make the right impression.  A more professional appearance is going to portray to the client that you’re a professional, not on your way to the gym.
• “Business casual” – If you don’t require uniformity and want your workforce to have choice, a good option is to adopt some sort of dress code guidelines, whether it is “business casual” or another list.  Typically in the guidelines should be either what appropriate attire to wear is or a list of clothing items that are not appropriate.  The only issue with the “business casual” approach is that it often left to interpretation and can cause some conflict within the work environment.  It’s important to have clear guidelines to avoid this.

Some may say that it isn’t what you wear that makes the person but how good you are at your job, which isn’t always reality.  When I walk into the bank and am served by someone smartly dressed I automatically have a better impression of them than if they were wearing a hoody and yoga pants and that’s even before they say a word.

When looking at implementing a dress code in your business, think about what it is you’re hoping to achieve.  If you’re a customer facing business it is imperative that you maintain that appropriate professional image in whatever business you are in.  Just like in anything else, first impressions are vital and cannot be redone.

This blog is brought to you by the Moss team at http://www.moss.liquidcapitalcorp.com/, check them out for all of your alternative financing needs.