Business Information

I got this question today in the bplans.com ask the expert area, and it’s one that I get often enough, so I decided to post my answer on this blog.

Question: Are there funds available for a minority women owned business?

Answer:

These things change fast, so make sure to update yourself on whatever I answer today. And I’m going to just plain ignore the ambiguity between minority owned, women owned, and minority women owned, which can mean different things to different people.

The good news is that yes, there are some special funding advantages for minority owned businesses, and women-owned businesses, and minority-women-owned business, regardless of how you mess with those definitions.

The bad news is that the idea of “funds available” is generally way less than what a lot of people think. There are some companies that sell lists of funding sources and their advertisements sound like it’s easy, that there is a lot of money available. Sometimes it sounds like you just have to know how to fill in a form, and they send you money. And, just as you were thinking, it is a lot harder than that. And there is a lot less money available than what those list sellers would like you to believe.

Your chances improve the more your business addresses long-term social interests like green technology, or underdeveloped economic areas, or health and welfare, education, and so on. And your chances fall the more you’re just doing business selling something that large charities and government agencies don’t care about, like used cars or hair and nail services, or fried foods.

I think the best place to start looking is with the information made available by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) at it’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership. The SBA also has a special program for “socially disadvantaged groups” [prepare yourself, because the language of some of this is pretty awkward] including “Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, Asia Pacific American, or Subcontinent Asian American,” or anybody else who can “provide evidence as to how they have been discriminated against.” And there’s a program for businesses that are in “historically underutilized business zones (HUBZones).” Those last two share the same SBA information page.

I also recommend contacting your nearest Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDCs are funded by the SBA, state money, and local colleges. They tend to offer a lot of information at surprisingly economic prices. You can try the bplans.com page for a map with contact information.

Some of the better banks and better Chambers of Commerce also have some information for you. The SBA is a good first stop, and the SBDCs are great, but what you’re dealing with here is a mixed bag of different levels of funding, organizations, and goals. This is definitely not one stop shopping.

Expect a lot more help to be available as low-interest loans, or guaranteed loans, instead of outright grants. Grants are more common for high-level technology or medical breakthroughs than for minority or women ownership, and those that are available will often be very competitive, with only a few of the applicants actually getting awards.

Another thing to be careful with in this area is the problem of grant writing. There’s no question that grants are awarded to the grant applications that seem best, and that professional grant writing is sometimes a good idea. On the other hand, professional grant writing can be very expensive, with no guarantee of results. It’s very much a problem of buyer beware.

Tim Berry
President
Palo Alto Software

Tags: grants, minority ownership, women grants, women ownership
Posted on June 30th, 2008 | No Comments »

One of Palo Alto Software’s most popular websites is www.bplans.com website, on that free resource website you can find hundreds of articles on a wide array of business planning information from starting your business to incorporation and buying a business.

We also have a page full of extremely helpful business calculators.

One of our most popular calculators is the Cash Flow Calculator.

Many startups and small businesses fail despite being nominally profitable. When it is time to pay the bills, cash is king. This handy calculator helps you see the effect of sales, inventory, credit terms, and other variables on your company’s cash flow.

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Tags: bplans.com, business tool, calculator, Cash Flow, free
Posted on June 24th, 2008 | No Comments »

If you struggle with picking yourself up and moving forward after a bad event, the book Bounce by Barry Moltz might be just the book for you. Moltz states:

…this is a book about developing bounce, a kind of true business confidence that brings its own special brand of resiliency…a book about accepting failure as a normal part of the process…when we possess bounce, we are able to move forward from any event - good or bad - to the next place where a decision can be made…above all bounce gets us ready for adventure.

I was expecting a book focused primarily on how to bounce back when you have a business failure, but instead it offered a much more global view. I especially liked that I was able to relate not only on a business level but also on a personal level. Filled with mini stories and examples of how different people have handled adversity and come out stronger, Bounce is a great combination of a business book and a motivational book, but it isn’t traditionally dry or sappy. Moltz has a very relaxed writing style, and one that I think many people can relate to and enjoy while reading this book.

Kristen Langham
Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Posted on June 12th, 2008 | No Comments »

The negative relationship between property investment and entrepreneurship is not immediately obvious. However, the recent property booms in Ireland and the U.K. (amongst others) helps to demonstrate this relationship. In recent years, both countries have experienced phenomenal growth in house prices. That is, until everything came grinding to a halt at the end of last year. [1]

The net effect of this boom has been one where the incentive to become truly entrepreneurial was significantly reduced – why try and create a new product or service if there was a guaranteed high return from property development? Similarly, from an investment point of view, why consider any other investment opportunity if there was a perceived guaranteed high return from property development?

In Ireland, the short-term results of the boom were a huge increase in people ‘getting into property’ and in the U.K. every second TV show on Channel 4 seemed to focus on property, e.g. Location Location Location, Property Ladder, A Place in the Sun and Grand Designs. Now all manner of problems are coming home to roost as the market collapses and the scale of consumer debt is becoming obvious. [2]

The Irish Government was happy to continue to fuel the boom, rezoning land for development, and cosying up to property developers [3], given how the huge property related taxes were contributing to their coffers. As David McWilliams, a leading Irish economist points out, a national focus on property is damaging as a ‘country which experiences a property boom turns in on itself. The reason for this is very simple, property cannot be traded. Bricks and mortar are tied to the land and the land is fixed and can’t be exported. Therefore, the discipline of international competition is lost.’

I would go further than this, it also destroys enterprise – there have been countless examples of successful businesses in Ireland shutting down because there is a greater return to be had from selling the property for redevelopment than continuing the business as a going concern. [4]

As someone passionate about entrepreneurship however, I take the view that every cloud has a silver lining, and that the property collapse could prove to be an excellent stimulus for entrepreneurship.

As Michael O’Leary, M.D of low cost European airline Ryanair recently claimed, “I love recessions,” he says. “Recessions are much more fun. Good times are a pain in the bum. Good times, any idiot can make money. In recessions, the good get up off their backsides and start doing the kind of sensible things that they should do all of the time. It’s good for business”. [5]

Now that ‘property development’ is no longer a safe bet, and the Irish and U.K Governments realise that the boom is over, it is likely that entrepreneurship, in its purist form, should take off once again. Those who stretched themselves with high mortgages will face stark options: sell up at a loss, or try to make ends meet. For some, second jobbing will be their only option and this will also help to fuel the passions of entrepreneurship in people. It is also hoped that the respective Governments will play their role, after all their taxation policies and planning policies have helped to fuel the boom in the first place.

Alan Gleeson
Palo Alto Software

[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7445864.stm

[2] http://www.grant-thornton.co.uk/press_room/amount_of_uk_consumer_debt_exc.aspx

[3] http://www.independent.ie/national-news/bertie-makes-his-own-pitch-for-the-banished-galway-races-tent-1393773.html

[4] http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0523/mcnamarab.html

[5] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7438315.stm

Tags: business plan, entrepreneurship, Ireland
Posted on June 12th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

The recent launch of the Zilok website in the U.K. (May 2008) reaffirmed to me that the way we have been consuming for many years in Western Society is changing. The raison d’être for Zilok goes something like this:

“Why own a ladder or a drill when you only need to use it once a year and you can rent one from a neighbour for a very low cost?”

I think of my parents’ generation, and a combination of increased disposable income (relative to their parents), significant marketing and the growth of retail parks meant that most of their generation have garages full of items that rarely see the light of day. However, our world is changing. In recent years there has also been an increase in single-person households, as well as a growth in apartments and flats with less square footage for storage than the houses of our parents. It’s not simply a case of why buy a ladder to use once a year but also a case of if I buy it, where do I store it?

The notion of community has also changed and urban dwellers are more likely to access an online community than knock next door to borrow something.

The Internet has also served to reduce transaction costs across the board. It is now easier to search for a wide range of (long tail and /or obscure) products and services from a PC. The days of driving around calling into different stores are well gone. On the supplier side it has removed the need for providers to have a physical presence in the various markets that they serve, or to carry a lot of stock in these stores.

Finally there is a greater environmental awareness amongst consumers and an increasing amount of purchase decisions now include a weighting for the environmental impact of their purchases. Websites such as The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard seek to promote sustainable production and indeed consumption –again seeking to promote shared ownership, product reuse and seeking to educate people about the impacts of their purchase decisions.

As a result of these changes, there is a raft of emerging offerings that blur the lines between products and services as we have traditionally known them. The message for entrepreneurs is that environmental changes and changes in consumer behaviour create business opportunities. The next ‘big idea’ is more likely to be a simple tweak to an existing product or service rather than a ‘mad professor idea’ concocted in a garden shed! Read More..

Alan Gleeson

Palo Alto Software (U.K.)

Posted on May 30th, 2008 | No Comments »

Yesterday I attended an Advisory Committee Meeting for the local Business Development Center office (also known to many as the SBDC office), and although I have been working with them for the last 20 months, I gained a deeper appreciation and respect for what they do day in and day out.

In the last 9 months, the Lane Community College Business Development Center has helped spawn over 10 new businesses, create 218 new jobs, and retain 91 jobs in Lane County. They did all of this while juggling budget cuts and employee lay-offs in a slowing Oregon economy. I was impressed. And these numbers might be low (due to variances in reporting, varying definitions of “new business”, etc) which is even more impressive. I just wonder if those in the community truly realize what their Business Development Center (BDC) can offer them.

Clearly, with numbers like the above, many entrepreneurs take advantage of the resources the BDC provides, but just think of how many more new businesses or jobs we could have in Lane County if more people took advantage of their services and resources. I won’t do the BDC justice with listing all the resources and services they offer, but with free counseling services, workshops and training on business planning, financial plans, marketing, etc, and an abundant library of books, software and brochures, how can a local business, especially an early-stage entrepreneur or a start-up, not utilize the BDC?

I would highly recommend that any entrepreneur who is looking for advice, assistance, resources and success check out what his/her local BDC office has to offer. Take advantage of what you may not even know is right in your backyard!

Kristen Langham
Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Posted on May 9th, 2008 | No Comments »

Sanjay Anandaram at The Starup Journey has a great article on why a business plan is so important.

A plan is a guiding light. A plan is not something that is done once a year to develop a fancy report. And then forgotten. In fact, a plan is a very live document undergoing constant change and revision.

The always interesting Liz Fuller at Business and Blogging has a great story about a business that recognized it was in trouble financially and reached out to the community to help keep the doors open. The owner of the business reached out through their business blog and found the help they desperately needed.

Katie’s story is a heartwarming example of the power of community and connection that can be built through blogging. Customers genuinely want to help your business and will reach out if they know you are in need.

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Posted on May 5th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

I recently read John Jantsch’s post, Coach vs. Consultant, and one of his statements caught my attention:

“Whatever you call it, there is no doubt that having a trusted adviser, one that calls BS when it needs calling, is one of the most valuable assets an entrepreneur can obtain.”

It is interesting to read the comments John received and the different ways people define a coach vs. a consultant (vs. a mentor or a navigator). Regardless of the differing definitions, no one seemed to comment on or disagree with the statement above.

I have been meaning to blog about consulting services for the last few weeks, and after reading John’s post, I figured now was a good time. When people think of Palo Alto Software, they generally associate us with Business Plan Pro. They generally do not associate us with, or possibly even know about, the various other products and resources we offer. There is a lot more to us than what meets the eye; for example, we offer consulting and coaching (or mentoring or navigation) services through our Plan Consultants network. This group of people can be a great resource to use while starting your business, and it seems like a logical fit when purchasing and using business-planning software as well.

So regardless of what type of coach, consultant, mentor or navigator you want or need, if you are a budding entrepreneur, take John’s advice and obtain one of these trusted advisors.

Kristen Langham
Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Posted on May 2nd, 2008 | No Comments »

I just returned from attending Tim Berry’s BA 410: New Business Planning class at the University of Oregon. My reasoning for attending his class was two-fold. One: I manage our Academic Channel and instructors often ask me if and how our software can be used in the classroom. I generally reply with something like, “The best example I can give is to check out how Tim Berry incorporates it into his class at U of O by visiting www.ba410.com“. Therefore, I thought it would be beneficial for me to see it with my own eyes. And two: I am in marketing and the topic of today’s class was marketing, so I thought I could possibly learn something new.

When I arrived, I learned the agenda had changed slightly, as a guest speaker was scheduled for the second hour. So not only did I get to see Tim in action in an academic setting and expand my knowledge, I also got to hear a very cool story about a successful, growing start-up here in Eugene, OR. Mama Rose’s Naturals is an herbal skin care product company that started when one woman’s child got sick and she experimented with herbal mixtures to try and bring relief to her daughter. I won’t go into all the details, but check out her site for yourself. You don’t often hear the behind the scenes stories, so this was a nice treat. And I think the students in Tim’s class thoroughly enjoyed it while also learning some valuable lessons from a real life entrepreneur.

I plan to attend a few more of Tim’s classes as well as co-lead one while Tim is out of town. I am excited to learn more about how Tim incorporates Business Plan Pro into his class and be able to better share that knowledge with my customers as well as continue to see how Tim’s students grow and change during the course of the class. This is fun - I am sort of back in college - but I am able to sit back, relax and take it all in without worrying about homework or my final grade!

Kristen Langham
Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Posted on April 16th, 2008 | No Comments »

Teaching with Business Plan Pro business planning-software? Kristen Langham asked me about it last week, via email, while I was off to Houston for the Rice University 2008 Business Plan Competition (more about that on my blog).

For 11 years now, I’ve been using Business Plan Pro as part of my undergrad class in starting a business. I teach the class every Spring quarter, at the University of Oregon.  Here’s some of the things I’ve learned:

1. I’ve created downloadable Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files describing each of the assignments I give and made them available for download at my class website at www.ba410.com.
2. I assume, and I hope, that you’ll find them easy enough to read, understand, and use. I ask my students to create explanations of the problem and solution, a market analysis, sales forecast, expense budget (which includes personnel plan), startup costs, and an executive summary.  The instructions sheets are all included in the downloadable assignments.
3. In one of my more popular classes, I challenge the class to do the numbers of a business plan in a single class. Then we do it together, with Business Plan Pro projected. We agree on a hypothetical business (usually a book store or coffee house) and create, within a single hour, a sales forecast, cost of sales, personnel, expenses, startup costs, and cash flow and balance sheet. I do that by not paying too much attention to fine tuning the numbers, just getting some quick estimates. We see together how the numbers interact. Here’s how that goes in more detail:
   • I use the Forecaster function to set a one-row sales forecast, and then set a percentage value down below, also in the sales forecast table, for cost of sales.
   • I then jump to income statement and set some expenses, typically rent, utilities, and something big for marketing.
   • Then I go to the Personnel Plan table and set up salaries, quickly, for a few people. I am summarizing, so quite often I’ll just use a single row to represent salaries.
   • I’ll go to the Startup Costs table and estimate some startup expenses and startup assets. I try to make the number significant, because I’ll use it to make a point about cash flow.
   • I pop briefly back to the Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss to show progress, then go over to cash flow. I use the Cash Flow table first. If I’ve done my numbers right, it will show that this hypothetical company makes a profit but lacks working capital.
   • Then we talk about startup financing, and cash flow, and how much working capital is required. We make some assumptions and fill in the startup funding table.
   • Then I show them that Cash Flow is better now, with the chart.
   • Finally, we look at the Balance Sheet, and then the ratios, which are both completed automatically at that point.

   And all of this should take about an hour of class time, if I do it right.

4. I use a template that I created with Business Plan Pro for a simple 10-point business plan, focusing on the slides I like my students to use when they finish the class with a presentation. You can click this link to download and save the .zip file that contains the template. The template’s named "Startup Plan Template.pdtx" and it works with Business Plan Pro version 11. Use the Business Plan Pro help to install it as a template, using the template manager. There are also downloadable instructions included with the first assignment.
5. My favorite business plan to use as an example is the sample plan for Metolius Graphics, because it contains a serious flaw. It’s a graphic design company selling to businesses, whose plan setup didn’t include sales on credit, and therefore doesn’t have accounts receivable. I use it to show them why they shouldn’t trust sample plans, and how a company can be profitable but run out of cash. The most visual part of that demo is to go back to plan setup, change the setting to say "yes" to the sales on credit question in the setup. This of course fouls up the cash flow, which is the whole point of the exercise.
6. I do use the projector every other class or so to go over the numbers routines, like the sales forecast, and later on the cash flow, because it’s so much better to show my students how these things work. Demystifying is really ideal.
7. I warm them ahead of time that computer problems and software problems aren’t reasons for not turning in assignments. I tell them not to wait until the last minute to print, and to back up their work often, and to keep copies on a portable USB/thumb drive it they have to. I’m not sure they follow my advice, but it makes it harder for them to excuse themselves from assignments for that kind of a problem, since I’ve already warned them against it.

All of this is on my mind today because Kristen asked me last week, and today I have my second class in the 19-class schedule for this Spring Quarter. This is now the 11th year in a row I’ve taught this class. It’s the only class I teach, but it’s still hard, takes a lot of time, and is thoroughly enjoyable. I wouldn’t miss it.

– Tim Berry
President
Palo Alto Software

Posted on April 7th, 2008 | No Comments »