Crowdfunding - An Alterantive Source of Capital

Over the last several years crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular option for both entrepreneurs and investors trying to raise capital—and public awareness—when launching or growing a small business.

Rather than approaching a single lender to make a significant loan to your business (which you will most likely need to personally guaranty), crowdfunding platforms give you a way to leverage your network of friends, family, social media connections, and the public at large to obtain significant capital in small increments.

It’s a collective online effort that can expand your professional network and introduce your business to potential customers. 

Crowdfunding for businesses presently comes in three primary forms:

·         Rewards-based crowdfunding (such as via Kickstarter and Indiegogo)

·         Equity crowdfunding (such as via CircleUp)

·         Peer-to-peer lending (such as via Lending Club)

With rewards-based crowdfunding, you are only promising your backers some sort of token incentive and the risks are more limited. Whereas with equity crowdfunding, you are giving up equity and the risks can be substantial. With peer-to-peer lending, the business is taking on debt that it is legally obligated to pay back.

Equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending are governed by a complicated web of federal and state securities laws, while rewards-based crowdfunding is generally exempt from those laws.

According to SCORE mentor and Houston entrepreneur Nick Tarte, rewards-based crowdfunding has rapidly become an accepted way to raise capital for small businesses.

“Traditionally, companies raised capital by issuing debt or equity,” says Tarte. “Rewards-based crowdfunding introduced a completely new alternative. The model has shown that the public is willing to contribute capital to worthy projects without any expectation of future profit, which is quite revolutionary.” But be sure to pick the right platform for your rewards-based campaign. Remember, crowdfunding is a form of marketing, and you want to be where your customers are.

Tarte advises to make sure you follow through on your promises. Watchdog groups and state and federal consumer protection bureaus have begun to shift their attention to deceptive crowdfunding campaigns.

Don’t forget about taxes. Proceeds raised from rewards-based crowdfunding campaigns are usually treated as taxable income to the business. For this reason, Tarte advises businesses to consult with their tax advisors before embarking on a crowdfunding campaign.

Nick Tarte will present the details of this increasingly popular but often misunderstood funding option at the SCORE workshop “Crowdfunding – An Alternative Source of Funding” on December 5. To learn more and register for this workshop, go to www.houston.score.org/localworkshops.

____________________________________________________________________________ SCORE is a nonprofit association whose volunteers help start and improve small businesses. Send questions or volunteer inquiries to scorehouston@gmail.com.

How to Leave Work at Work

Q: I’m burning out and it’s effecting my business. Any suggestions?

A: Running a small business can be the most exciting, challenging, and perhaps even exhilarating experience of one’s life. Amid all the headaches, deadlines, and responsibilities that only you can fulfill, there’s something satisfying about knowing that, at the end of the workday, you did a lot of good work.

That is assuming, of course, your workday ends at all.

Small business owners can and should take their enterprises seriously, leaving no detail to chance or simply assuming something will get done, especially when there’s a deadline involved.

But one can also be over-committed to a small business, to the point of obsession that can damage one’s physical and even mental health, family relationships, and the business itself. It’s one thing to burn the midnight oil when necessary. But done too often, the only thing that gets burned is you.

What an entrepreneur needs is balance—the ability to give 100 percent to the business, and then leave it to give 100 percent to his or her personal life. That’s not always easy to do, especially when you’re starting out or tackling a huge workload. But it can be done. And more importantly, it has to be done.

Here are some tips for leaving work at work—literally and figuratively:

Plan your workday. Make a weekly to-do list of administrative, routine, and project-specific tasks, and prioritize them accordingly on a day-to-day basis. Make sure there’s some flexibility for unexpected calls or emails. When you’ve done everything on your list, consider yourself done for the day.

Plan your away time. Set aside several evenings, weekends or brief “mini-vacations” for family or personal activities, and give them your full attention. Make this time sacred; stow the cellphone, and keep away from email. It’s OK to be responsive to customers, but not at their beck and call.

Share the load. Delegate responsibilities to employees, even when the workload is relatively normal. If you’re a one-person shop, identify qualified colleagues for outsourcing extra work. You may miss out on some revenue, but you won’t be compromising the quality you’ve promised your customers.

Cultivate an outside interest. Do something that’s fun—a hobby, sport, community activity, a favorite book or TV series. You’ll feel and think better and you’ll be refreshed to return to the work side of your life.

Firing worker requires honesty, documentation

October 4, 2015

Q: What do I need to know about how to go about firing an employee?

A: Among the many enjoyable aspects of running a small business, there are some less desirable responsibilities. Most owners probably would agree that having to fire an employee ranks among the most difficult.

Many things may justify termination - poor performance, abusive or disruptive behavior, excessive tardiness and absences, among others. While a warning, coaching or change in responsibilities may solve the problem, an owner can't always afford to take a wait-and-see approach. Employees who don't measure up to expectations can be a drain on the business's growth, reputation and working environment.

In most states including Texas, an employee may be fired at any time for any reason, or no reason at all, but there are limits. For example, federal law prohibits employees from being terminated for reasons of age, race, gender, religion or disability. It's also illegal to fire employees for complaining about illegal activities, health and safety violations, or discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Employees also have the right to take family or medical leave, military leave and time off to vote or serve jury duty.

Should you have legal grounds to fire an employee, be sure to document all the reasons and when they occurred, plus any disciplinary measures taken and the results (or lack of them). Along with justifying your action to the employee, this will help protect you against any subsequent claims that the firing was discriminatory.
 
Now for the tough part - actually firing the employee. You should do this in a private setting, with another person present to witness how the conversation unfolds. If you're concerned that the employee may become violent, it may be helpful to have security personnel close by.
 
Be open and honest with the employee, explaining from the outset the reason for the meeting, including measures taken to correct problems and their outcome. Give the employee some time to collect any personal belongings, but also make sure he or she is promptly escorted off the premises.
 
You are required by law to notify the employee about eligibility for unemployment insurance, and any benefits such as a continuation of health insurance, if applicable. This can be done at the meeting or in a follow-up letter.
 
The employee also may be entitled to receive accrued vacation pay or sick leave in the final paycheck, as well as commissions, bonuses and unfulfilled company expenses.

Overcoming shame and fear to succeed

Today's article will seek to identify the mental blocks to success faced by business people.As you will notice a lot is related to fear,shame and self esteem.These issues all arise from early childhood and come to haunt business people years later.The great news is there are solutions once you identify which block or blocks relate to you.

Block; Mental Blocks To Success; Underlying Unmet needs Under The Block= The valid need under Unmet need
1 “I believe it’s not possible” “That’s a pipe-dream I won’t bother” = Self-sabotage,self-esteem from past shame
2 “I think it’s too hard” “I don’t want to pay the price for the work” = Inadequacy due to self- esteem issues
3 “I can’t figure out how to do it" “I have to know how first” = Self-acceptance issues
4 “I am not receptive to help” “I don’t trust advice” = Fear issues from childhood
5 “I am not ready for the change" “I’d have to learn new things” = Loss of control arising from fear
6 “I don’t feel I deserve a better life”“This is all I deserve” = Self-sabotage,self-esteem from past shame
7“I feel guilty to live better than my parents” “Why should they be left behind?” = Co-dependency
8 “I am scared to see truth about myself” “What more will be revealed?” =Self-acceptance issues from past shame
9 “I believe that I don’t have enough time” “It’s beyond me” =Fear issues related to security needs
10 “I believe that I don’t have enough money” “It’s beyond me” =Fear issues related to security needs


Inspired By
Brene Brown work on shame and vulnerability on www.TED.com
Bess McCarty on Business Coaching for Network Marketers

Free Web Builders

There are plenty of resources that allow you to create you own website, blog, wiki, or social community without having to know any programming language.  These free website creation sites allow you to easily create a site, customize the design, add content, and have your own domain name.

If you don’t know where to start – start here! Start by having online presence and establishing your own branding.

If you aren’t ready yet or cannot afford to have your own domain and website, take a look at these web builders. This is not the best starting point, but it is still good. Downsides is that you don’t really own your content or don’t have really full control over your website until you get your own domain and hosting.

 Wix

They have separated themselves from the rest, since most of the free site builders only let you create html pages.  One of the most advanced solutions for people without any coding experience to build powerful and good looking site easily and fast.

Google Sites

Hey, its Google and they are letting you create a free site….so do it.  As usual, Google makes it extremely easy to build a free website with cool integration features like Google Docs, Google Calendar, and RSS.

Webs

Do it yourself - really.

Our simple drag and drop interface makes building beautiful free websites quick and simple.

Whether your website is for business or pleasure, our robust features will help you succeed online.

Jimdo

Jimdo is a new free website builder that is very clean and easy to use.  As you can see in the screen-shot you can create your own URL and add text, photos, and custom design.

 

Yola

whether you're a small business owner, a nonprofit, or just want to make a wedding site, a resume site, a portfolio site, or any kind of site at all, Yola help you get it done. Quickly. And easily.

Weebly

Building a website on Weebly is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. Drag & drop website builder makes it dead simple to create a powerful, professional website without any technical skills required. Over 6 million people and small businesses have joined Weebly to build their online presence.

Personalities and how it impacts your business and possible solutions

This article deals with four personalities, how it affects your business relationship with clients.There are also possible solutions to improve the particular personality and create a better business environment.
1. Fast and Task Oriented
This business person is dominant,loves results,wants to control and is quick to take action.
This impacts the client who sees the business person as impatient,impulsive and strong willed.The solution for the business person to let the customer feel they can make a decision,do background research earlier and slow their speed to match the client.
2. Fast and People Oriented
This business person is fun,likes recognition,persuades easily,magnetic and impulsive.This impacts the client who sees the business person as stubborn,careless with important details and bases their decisions on personal whims not reason or system.The solution for the business person to simplify and order their details;this can be by having fun presentations and slow their speed to match the client.
3. Slow and People Oriented
This business person is stable,cooperative,good listener and sympathetic.The client views them as one who does not like change,hides feelings and takes time to do something.The solution here is for the business person to improve on their creativity and increase their speed to match the client.
4. Slow and Task Oriented
This business person is meticulous,conscious,analytical,correct and quality oriented.The client views them as perfectionist,has an over reliance on rules, skeptic,pessimistic and not good with feelings.The solution here is for the business person to go easy on factual information,practice patience and respect for clients.

I can say that am a Slow and People Oriented Personality.Which is your personality?
Source:
Bess McCarty

Consider hiring lawyer to look over lease

September 20, 2015

Q: I have found space to lease for my new washateria, and the landlord has given me her standard lease contract. Should I just sign it?

A: Before you sign anything, make sure you understand and agree with all the terms of the contract.

"There is no such thing as a 'standard lease,' and landlords almost always negotiate," says Benjamin Miller, a Houston real estate attorney with Sponsel Miller Greenberg. "Don't lose sight of the fact that the 'Standard Form Lease' represents the landlord's wish list and, if not appropriately modified, may not serve your interests when issues arise."

A lease is much like any business agreement in that it sets out the parameters of a business relationship. You cannot easily break or change a commercial lease. It is a legally binding contract, and a good deal of money is usually at stake.

Hiccups in relationship

When everything goes as planned, most any lease will serve the parties well. The true test occurs when there are hiccups in the relationship. If the lease has not been drafted carefully, a hiccup can become a major problem without a clear solution.

There are, in general, three types of commercial leases. With a gross lease, the renter pays the landlord a fixed monthly rent. It is then up to the landlord to pay all the expenses of operating the building. In a triple net, or NNN, lease, the tenant not only pays base rent, but also part of the building's operating costs. These costs include property taxes, insurance and common area maintenance. Hybrid leases have features of both gross and triple net leases.

Triple net costs are shared according to the percentage of the tenant's square footage to the building's total square footage. So, Miller advises, "Pay attention to what is included in NNN costs and get the right to audit the landlord's cost records."

Maintain the areas

Common area maintenance is generally the amount of additional rent charged to the tenant to maintain the areas of the property shared by all the tenants and from which all tenants benefit. These include repairs, cleaning, janitorial and trash services, as well as personnel costs associated with the property. Most often, common area maintenance doesn't include capital improvements, tenant build-out expenses, legal fees, costs for services to other tenants, commissions to brokers, or costs arising from a landlord's negligence.

You should seriously consider having your lease contract reviewed by an experienced attorney.