If You want a Small Business Loan, You need a Business Plan.

Every business needs a plan, a road map on how to get from point A to point B. The only question is how detailed does it have to be? A business plan can be as simple as a goal plan for the next year but if you are wanting to apply for a business loan, very detailed.

Here are some questions to help you get started on your business plan:

1. Where do you want your business to be in 5 years? and How are You going to get there?
2. Why would you hire yourself? What makes you unique?
3. How do you promote your business to the marketplace? Past, Present & Future.
4. What experience do you have to show you'll be successful?
5. How many customers do you have now? why do they buy from you?

This is just a start. Your business plan needs to communicate to a loan officer that you know exactly what you want, you are capable of being successful and that the funds will increase your profits.

6. Why do you want the money?
7. What will you use the money for?
8. How is it going to increase profitability?
9. How are you going to attract more customers?
10. How is this going to benefit the economy or marketplace?

If you are applying for a business loan then you need to include financial statements. Ask your accountant to help you with balance sheets, past earnings, projected earnings, and statement of accounts. Make sure you include a present value of all assets - I would invest in a professional appraisal of all business assets. The money you spend getting a professional assessor to provide you with an Asset Value statement will go a long way in helping you secure the loan.

Where can you get a loan?

Your Bank will have a small business loans officer to help you.
The BDC or Business Development Bank of Canada
has lots of resources and will work with a small business owner
If you are in Alberta and a Women in Business the AWE has programs for you.
If you are in a Rural Area then Community Futures will be able to help you.
If you are on Employment Benefits then the Government has programs that can help.

The good news is there are lots of options so if you want a loan you have lots of different places to go. Just give yourself time, lots of time, to put together a good comprehensive business plan that shows what you want, how you will get there, and how the loan will increase your profits. Find a good accountant and a professional asset appraiser to help you, and use the services of the AWE the BDC and Community Futures organizations.

More advice on Business and Marketing Plans:
Creating a Marketing Plan

History of Household Brands Can be Disturbing.

Learning about the history of advertising has revealed some historical Facts about Famous Name Brand Products that are a little disturbing.

Most people know that Coke was developed as a medicine cure for Headaches and contained both Alcohol and leaves from the same plant that is harvested for it's drug properties - Cocaine.* The present concoction does not include these items because when the purpose of the drink transferred from being a medicine to a soft drink these items were removed. This change in market and usage occurred because the consumers demand for the soft drink version outstripped demand for a headache remedy. The makers of coke just adjusted to market demands. Coke isn't the only product to switch its use, the origins of other products we have around our house are very different from their present use.

Listerine was developed as a powerful surgical antiseptic, that may account for the original taste. It then was distilled and sold as floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. It wasn't until 1920 that it became a mouthwash for halitosis. At this time mouthwash wasn't in high demand but as the advertisers promised fresh breath for your betrothed sales went from $115 000 to $8 Million.** Listerine became a popular mouthwash because advertisers created a market for it by promising fresh breath for kissing. In this case the market adjusted to the product.

Many products we use today have been around a long long time, their products have changed over the years to meet consumer demand. The longevity of these companies is due to their flexibility and awareness of consumers demands. How flexible is your business? Can you alter your product or service to meet the demands of consumers? Flexibility is an important key to longevity and success you never know where your product will end up. However, I don't see myself rinsing my mouth with Mr. Clean in the future but you never know!

Can you think of other brand name items that changed their use to become a successful product?

*From the Book The Real Thing
** From the book Freakonomics

The history of Johnson & Johnson

Tax Time Means Lots of Receipts

It's time to get my tax return for 2008 into Revenue Canada. I am not a diligent detailed analytical logical person - which means I have a box of receipts to make sense of and send to my accountant's bookkeeper.

I can't be the only person dreading tax time. I was talking with one client today who has had issues with audits because of an accountant's creative bookkeeping. One thing I do know, a good accountant is an important advisor for all Small Businesses.

Do you have any tips to help small business owners during tax time or maybe for the year to make tax time easier?

Find an accountant in Canada

Women's Network - ScotiaBank - Commercial - Contest

What do these four things have in common? Scotiabank is running a commercial advertising their "Get a Second Opinion" campaign with a contest they are running. There are different versions of their get a second opinion on your investments commercials so what makes this one different?

They are bringing their advice to you in the form of tips and to make sure you pay attention they are offering an added incentive; a contest. To enter their contest you need to watch the Women's Network at a certain time and then log on to the Women's Network website to prove you heard the tip.

Unlike other commercials, the viewer has an incentive to pay attention, to hear what they have to say and then you have to take the next step to log on and give them your information. They've partnered with Women's Network to make it into an event, a game of sorts to engage the viewer in their message. The viewer is given a simple call to action message - log on to womensnetwork.ca and enter the financial investment tip heard while watching the commercials. The viewer must pay attention if they are interested in entering the contest.

With this type of commercial advertising Scotiabank ensures they collect viewers information, they can track the number of people responding to the commercial quickly and they are able to create excitement in a stressful financial investment time.

So how can you make sure people pay attention to your advertising message?

Increase Return on Your Advertising by Engaging the Propspect

Do you Track Advertising Results?

Can't Decide Where to Advertise your Business...

In a tight economy like the one we are experiencing many small business owners are cutting back on expenses, one expense they look to cut is advertising. Being more effective with your advertising dollars is smart, but if you don't know where to advertise or which media is most effective how can you be sure if you are making the right advertising decision?

Take a look at what the leaders in your industry are doing with their advertising dollars. What is your number one competitor doing? Where is the busiest company in your industry putting their advertising dollars? Make sure you are there too offering a choice to consumers.

Track your advertising, hire call tracking companies to help you figure out which ads are working best and which are not. Make sure you are funneling enough of your funds into the best media and cutting back on the media that isn't working. However, don't just guess when deciding on where to cut back, you may be loosing more business then you bargained for.