General

Anita Campbell of the Small Business Trends website and blog is having a birthday this week, and to celebrate, she’s giving away amazing gifts all week long.

Today’s give away is a chance to incorporate your business for free. Yes, that’s right…Free.

If you have been thinking of turning your sole proprietorship into a corporation, today you can do it for free, saving $150.

Go to MyCorporation.com. When you sign up to incorporate, use the code FREE149. The code is good through today, November 11, 2008.

Keep checking the smallbusinesstrends website for more great give aways during the week and don’t forget to wish Anita a happy birthday!

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

photo and cake by Pat Parmele

Tags: anita campbell, giveaway, small business trends
Posted on November 11th, 2008 | No Comments »

A certain je ne sais quoi which makes English such a creative and challenging language is its sponge-like ability to absorb and use words and phrases from other languages as if they’ve always been there.

We regularly use nouns from other languages to improve the image of the same items in our product or services offerings. Pomme de terre frites, (or simply pomme frites) appears on fancy menus instead of French fries. Grande and Vente make our cappuccinos and caffè Americanos taste far better (and cost more) than simple big cups of coffee.

Atelier (a workshop or studio) is a popular addition to the store names of artists, or specialty shops or boutiques (to use one French word to describe another French word wink).

We use abbreviations such as R.S.V.P. instead of spelling out répondez s’il vous plaît, when please respond is just as succinct and stalwart.

When applying for a job we’ll prepare a summary of our accomplishments and call it a résumé, unless it is a job in academia, in which case that summary might be called curriculum vitae.

Our business plan financials are often labeled pro forma (in advance, or as a matter of form).

Your physician’s protégé may give you a pro bono prognosis and prescribe a placebo and wish you prosit. Geshundheit!

Can you tell the difference between ad lib., au-h2o, ca., circ., ebit, e.g., et al., etc., i.e., ibid., lsmft, v., vs., viz, v.s. or v.v.? Can you spell out all these abbreviations?

It is so easy for us to read over, past or through these foreign words that are emigrating into English. Many times we simply make a guess on the meaning, based on the context of the sentence, because we are too busy, or too lazy, to look them up. But then many of us compound the error. We incorporate them into our own writing, still without knowing what we are actually saying.

So, what can you do? Obviously the first thing to do is use your dictionary. There is the old standby, the printed book (our Documentation team has six different editions from different publishers). There are plenty of online dictionaries as well. Google or Yahoo! search and you get a plethora of links. Bookmark your favorites and return to them often.

There are a couple free translators on the Internet as well, such as SDL Free Translation.com and Babel Fish, though they don’t translate Latin.

And, here are two good reference books I’ll recommend to you.

Latin for the Illiterati: Exorcizing the Ghosts of a Dead Language by Jon R Stone. Over 5,000 entries of Latin words and phrases that turn up regularly in modern English.

Oxford Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases edited by Jennifer Speake. Covers 8,000 words and phrases from over 40 languages.

Give your writing that certain indefinable quality (je ne sais quoi) of worldliness when you drop in phrases from other languages. No faux pas.

Steve Lange
Senior Editor
Palo Alto Software, Inc.
Manage your company email efficiently with Email Center Pro

Tags: business plan, business writing, english, foreign phrases, foreign words, french, latin
Posted on November 11th, 2008 | No Comments »

There has been a growth in the number of business advisers in the U.K. in recent years and it is likely that their skill and knowledge will be in heavy demand from small businesses looking to grow and prosper in these troubling economic times.

One entrepreneur, Vicky Carne is seeking to cater for the growing needs of these advisers with the launch of The Adviser’s Edge.

The Adviser’s Edge is a Web based suit of business tools that helps business advisers market, deliver and manage their services through an online interface. It includes an online contact manager, an email newsletter service, and access to relevant resources ranging from our own Business Plan Pro to online business support. It is yet another example in the growth of online applications designed to help small businesses and their advisers.

Click here for a 30 day free trial of The Adviser’s Edge.

Alan Gleeson
Managing Director
Palo Alto Software, Ltd U.K.

Posted on November 7th, 2008 | No Comments »

The Rice Business Plan Competition is now accepting applications for the 2009 competition, to be held April 16 - 18 in Houston, TX. Only 36 teams will have the opportunity to compete in this prestigious competition, and one lucky team will walk away with more than $675,000 in cash and prizes.

All interested teams must submit an Intent to Compete no later than February 13, 2009 to be eligible for the competition. Palo Alto Software is proud to once again sponsor the competition and provide all teams who submit an Intent to Compete by the February 13th deadline with a free download of Business Plan Pro Premier Academic Edition software.

If you meet the eligibility requirements and are interested in the opportunity, I would highly encourage you to submit an Intent to Compete. I attended the competition in 2007 and can honestly say it was an experience I will never forget. It is by far one of the best business plan competitions out there today.

Kristen Langham
Manager of Business Development
Palo Alto Software, Inc.

Tags: Business Plan Competitions, business plan pro, rice business plan competition, rice university
Posted on November 5th, 2008 | 4 Comments »

Entrepreneur.com submitted questions from various readers, small business people and entrepreneurs all over the country to the Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.

They’ve published the answers from the two Senators. (Entrepreneur.com does disclose that “Sen. Obama’s campaign responded, but Sen. McCain’s campaign did not. In order to keep a balanced perspective, our editors provided McCain’s responses based on information gathered from a variety of public domain sources.“)

Read all the questions and the responses at the Entrepreneur.com website: Ask the Candidates

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Tags: entrepreneuer, policy, politics, Small Business
Posted on October 29th, 2008 | No Comments »

Ok, so, if I am not referring to a special police unit what is SWOT and how can it help you run your business better? SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Every business should be doing a SWOT assessment every year to make sure that they understand the current market and to focus on the opportunities for the coming year and identify any particular threats which may be on the horizon. Threats and Opportunities are driven by the market and industry your business is in, whereas Strengths and Weaknesses are driven by your particular internal organization.

Recently we had a business owner ask us a question about SWOT:

How would/could I use the SWOT analysis tool to assist in my purchase negotiations. How does knowing your strengths and weaknesses, etc., help?

This is a great question as it sheds light on why all businesses need to know their SWOT and should review it annually. If you are suddenly in a position to sell your business for instance, as in the case above, knowing your SWOT can help you in negotiations in the following ways:

1. You can clearly outline the revenue opportunities for your business, by understanding the Opportunity portion of SWOT. Because the Opportunities are market driven they are simply there for the taking — if the business can recognize them, and put resources in the appropriate place. This is a great selling point for a business because opportunities should exist no matter who owns the business.
2. By understanding the Threats, you can mitigate certain questions/fears that a potential buyer might have. You can address certain threats and clearly lay out a plan to combat them. You come out looking like a smarter business owner, and give the impression that you are running a tight ship - something all potential buyers want to know.
3. By knowing your Strengths, you can emphasize them in your negotiations. Perhaps a strength is your history in the industry or the loyalty of your customers. Maybe a strength is the fact that your product and/or service has been the clear winner in the market. You want to clearly outline your strengths as they should help you get more $$ for your business if are trying to sell it.
4. Your Weaknesses will probably be downplayed during the process of selling your business. But knowing your weaknesses prepares you to address concerns the future buyer may have.

So now you know specifically why SWOT can help you if you are selling you business, but how can it help you run and grow your business? Think about this example:

John is a real estate agent trying to sell a house. In order to price the house, and figure out the right way to market the house, he starts listing the different pros and cons:

1. The house is in a great neighborhood. (Opportunity)
2. The house has no garage. (Weakness)
3. The house has an internal vacuum system. (Strength)
4. The house may be in an area with weak planning restrictions. This means the house across the street could get torn down and an apartment building could be put in its place. (Threat)
5. The house has a brand new kitchen. (Strength)
6. The house has a shady backyard. (Weakness in Oregon, Strength in Arizona)

You can see the mental process that John has gone through in order to market and sell this particular house. This is the same thing you want to do for your business. In order to understand the pros and cons, and position your products and services in the current marketplace you NEED to understand what market conditions you are up against (threats), or make your solution perfect for the customer (opportunities) and what your company brings to the table (strengths) and what your company is not very good at (weaknesses). By identifying your SWOT you can then build a strategy to either take advantage of (strengths and opportunities) or combat (threats and weaknesses). Your SWOT is usually the first step towards creating a strategic plan to market and sell your products and or services. And when business gets a little tougher, maybe due to a bad economy, knowing your SWOT will help you put your energy in the right place, while being aware of which factors may threaten or weaken your business.

Have more questions about SWOT? Read more here.

Sabrina Parsons aka MommyCEO 

Email Center Pro

Tags: backtofundamentals
Posted on October 27th, 2008 | No Comments »

Our good friend John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing and expert behind our new Marketing Plan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing software, is running a marketing seminar you don’t want to miss. Act today and get 25% off the Marketing Intensive Seminar.

Join John Jantsch in the beautiful Sonoma County region of California as he shows you how to create and implement a marketing plan to breathe fresh air into your business.

Spend two transformative days with John and the folks at E-Myth Worldwide Thursday, November 13th and Friday, November 14th to develop the marketing and lead generation systems that will take your business to the next level of success.

Register now for the Marketing Intensive Seminar and get 25% off the regular price. (This savings of over $373 can help offset your travel costs!) The seminar price includes a delightful Sonoma County winery dinner experience on November 13th.

Use special purchase code EBMK1108 by midnight Monday, October 27th, to receive your 25% discount. That’s $1,121.25 per person ($1,495 regular price).
Act now! http://www.e-myth.com/seminars/ducttapemarketing/

P.S. - Participants also receive a copy of Palo Alto Software’s new Marketing Plan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing software.

Sabrina Parsons aka MommyCEO

www.emailcenterpro.com 

Posted on October 24th, 2008 | No Comments »

Recently I’ve been evaluating what I’m spending on a regular basis, to find ways to be more efficient and hopefully reduce those costs. One expense is the cost of commuting to and from work. I commute just under 30 miles round trip from my home in the country to our office in town. Of the current options available where I live, the best decision for me, for now, is car-pooling.

My neighbor and I have been car-pooling for almost two years now (well before the recent spike in gas prices). Our schedule is twice a week; she drives on Mondays and I drive on Tuesdays. That means I’m only driving 16 days a month to work, instead of 20. That’s a 20% decrease in driving my car and in the amount of gas I have to buy (and less wear and tear on my vehicle).

Car-pooling twice a week has been a good choice for me. It’s also been an easy transition. I still have three days a week where I’m on my own schedule. I can stay in town to meet friends for dinner, work late, run errands, etc.

Until recently my neighbor and I each drove the same type of car — Jeep Cherokee. Hers was a 1998 with an automatic transmission, mine a 1993 with manual transmission (yes, I’m driving a 15-year-old vehicle; I love my Jeep!). Given the variation in driving habits, we each still hovered around 21 mpg for our commute (65% open road and 35% in town).

A couple of weeks ago Janet decided to buy a new car. I found a website, www.fueleconomy.gov, that offers comparisons on fuel efficiency, energy impact and carbon footprints for cars. I couldn’t resist. So I entered the specs for our vehicles, and the following is a snapshot of the side-by-side comparison:

Although car-pooling reduces my gas consumption by 20%, her new vehicle provides her with an additional reduction for fuel efficiency. Same amount of driving, same commute, but I’ll spend approximately $44 per month (over $500 a year) more for gas than she will. Darn.

So, do I run out and buy a newer, more fuel-efficient car? From the comparison above, it makes economic sense, and there are plenty of cars to choose from. But that leads to the other side of making a fuel-efficient decision — what it will cost my pocket book to buy that new car. Paying cash would deplete my reserves too much (not comfortable in this current economic situation). And I have never liked making car payments.

My Jeep has 149,000 miles (on an engine that historically can run over 200,000 miles). I drive an average of 10,000 miles per year. So I decided to research what can I do to help my vehicle be as efficient as possible. Check out the suggestions I found on the Autos.MSN website. The list is called the “Top 10 Green Car Upgrades.” I can do six out of 10. That’s a good plan for me, for now.

Tags: car-pooling, fuel efficiency
Posted on October 24th, 2008 | No Comments »

Words to avoid in finances and business

I’ve been investing toward my retirement for over 20 years, and my Dad’s favorite advice has been to avoid giving in to three emotions: fear, panic and greed. These  American Heritage Dictionary definitions, seem to align pretty close to what he’s been saying:

1. FEAR: (def.) To be uneasy or apprehensive about. Fear most often perpetuates from the unknown, or the perceived unknown.
2. PANIC: (def.) A sudden widespread alarm concerning finances, often resulting in a rush to sell. A sudden, frantic fear, often groundless.
3. GREED: (def.) An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves, especially of material wealth.

Dad loves to tell his story of the ‘dark’ day in October 1987 when the stock market took a serious tumble. In that one day, they lost more money than anyone who knew them at the time thought they would ever have. What did they do? They followed these fundamentals:

• Stay informed. They did their research before making any decision, and read the ‘fine print’ before signing.
• Trust their instincts. Researching ahead of time gave them the cerebral viewpoint, but they also had to feel comfortable with their decisions and their risk level.
• Plan for the unexpected. Maintaining a financial reserve meant they were better prepared to weather an emergency. It also gave them the added bonus of being able to pursue an opportunity or get a better deal, and not just with their investments.
• Take calculated risks. When things were going well, it would have been easy to think it always would, and, perhaps, unwisely extend their risk. But they stayed true to their risk level.

Two years later, in October of 1989, my parents took early retirement (at ages 59 and 57) with their original investment intact and growing.

Since then they divide their time between living in Oregon and Arizona. They have owned their home in Oregon for over 30 years. It sits on a hill with a spectacular view of the lake. They have a small house in Arizona that looks out over the seventh hole of a golf course. They paid cash for it when they bought it four years ago. They left recently for Arizona, driving their motor home (paid for) with their car hooked on the back (which they paid cash for when they bought it new).

Not bad for a retired truck driver and a bank teller.

So another perspective might be that the best-laid plans can only go so far, and the unexpected can be more than you planned for, as well as any number of life experiences. I agree; it’s happened to me.

If you’ve stayed with me this far, you might also be thinking, I still don’t see where one couple’s story has much to do with the financial impacts affecting businesses.

In my opinion, the difference between personal decisions or business decisions is just scale. Having, and following, fundamental financial principles can go a long way toward keeping those three emotions at bay. And we’ve been watching all of them recently at a national and global level, haven’t we?

If you’re in business, what are your financial fundamentals? If you’re not sure what the best fundamentals for your situation should be, one person whom I have admired, and yes, worked for, over the last 12 years is hosting a webinar on business planning as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 17-21). The webinar, also known as the “Plan-As-You-Go Planning; Going, not gone,” is being hosted by Tim Berry, author of the book The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, original creator of Business Plan Pro, and the founder of Palo Alto Software. I think you will find him to be an excellent resource.

Did I mention Tim’s webinar is free? It’s definitely something to consider.

Teri Epperly
Documentation Manager
Palo Alto Software

Posted on October 17th, 2008 | No Comments »

Today is Blog Action Day. Through out the day, thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue - poverty. The purpose? To raise awareness and initiate action on this very important topic.

In keeping with that theme, I’m going to re-introduce you to Kiva. We’ve mentioned this company before, [Steve Lange wrote on becoming an investor/lender through Kiva]  but such a great company with a goal to bring people out of poverty by helping them start or continue their business is a topic worthy of more than one blog post.

Kiva.org is a nonprofit organization that lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in a developing world, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. You can look through the list of pre-screened entrepreneurs on the kiva.org website and choose one to send your loan, which can be as little as $25.00. You’ll receive updates and eventually, as the business succeeds, have your loan repaid.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro lending website and has brought together worthwhile entrepreneurs with people willing and able to aid them in their struggle to make a business dream live.

Too often we hear about the businesses that need thousands and sometimes millions of dollars to start or continue operating, but with small micro loans, these companies are starting and growing successful businesses.

Kiva.org - Loans That Change Lives
Make a Small Loan, Make a Big Difference - Check out Kiva.org to Learn How!

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Tags: blog action day 08, business, kiva.org, lending, non profit, poverty
Posted on October 15th, 2008 | 1 Comment »