by EGBI Tech Team | Mar 23, 2017 | Business Tips
By Al Lopez, EGBI Executive Director
Start-ups and small growing businesses face a common problem: how to manage cash flow so that all the expenses get paid on time. By managing your expenses carefully, you can improve your opportunity to grow slowly and surely. Here are a few tips on how to do that:
Tip #1: Create a realistic budget
It’s not just enough to come up with a budget – you also have to come up with a realistic budget. And in order to do that, you need to have a good understanding of all aspects of your business. Take sales, for example. If you know when you are booking key sales, and when these customers are going to pay, you are going to have much more visibility into the overall profitability and the when that profitability will come. If you know that you can expect an amount in revenue a month, then you can start thinking in terms of affordable dollars in expenses.
At a minimum, you should have visibility into the sales for your upcoming three months. Preferably, you should be able to project out 12 months in advance. This is particularly important because every business naturally has ups and downs in sales over the year – such as during the holiday selling season – and those ups and downs need to be planned for.
Tip #2: Develop a solid business plan
Once you have a budget in place, you need to make sure you have a business that supports it or change the one you have to match your new budget expectations. Start to think about what percentage of your profits you will need to invest back into the business. Maybe you have to buy new inventory or maybe you need a new piece of equipment. Or maybe you are planning a new marketing approach to promote your product or service.
A business plan helps you to understand how these costs fit into the bigger picture and keep you from spending on things that aren’t part of your plan. Too many businesses live week to week, month-to-month, or quarter-to-quarter, and are never able to put together a solid business plan for moving forward. Expenses tend to grow with nothing to show for it. A business plan helps to keep you focused, and helps you manage your expenses more wisely.
Tip #3: Plan for unexpected expenses
The business world is full of uncertainty, and that’s why most small business consultants advise companies to have enough cash on hand to handle any unexpected emergencies. In the same way as you might create a “rainy day fund” for your family budget, you’d also want to make sure that you have enough cash to cover adverse market changes or unexpected events for your business.
There are various ways to protect against risk, of course, without simply having to save a bunch of cash. You don’t want to tie up too much cash, because you’ll need that for working capital. But you should have business insurance to protect your inventory. Or, if you operate a food truck business, you might think about ways to limit your downside if anything happens to these valuable assets.
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At some point, all of the cost savings, bootstrapping and careful financial management will really pay off. You’ll have extra funds to handle unexpected emergencies, and you’ll also have plenty of funds to re-invest in the success of your growing small business.
by EGBI Tech Team | Feb 7, 2017 | Success Stories
For the month of February, we are highlighting two of our clients APSCO (Alva Property Services Companies) and It’s Cleaning Time!
Last year, both of them were selected for the FastForward Progam, a small business growth initiative powered by the City of Austin and the University of Texas at Austin’s IC2 Institute. We are proud to share that out of the 13 businesses that were accepted and completed the program, two of them were EGBI clients.
APSCO provides property maintenance and general contracting services to individuals and companies in the Greater Austin Area needing services fitting any of their business units:
*Pro Lawn Cut – Landscape maintenance and installation services
*Pro Maid Clean – Cleaning and janitorial services
*Pro Handy Home – Remodeling and general contracting services
It’s Cleaning Time! LLC is a residential cleaning service company serving the Austin and surrounding areas since 2003. They also offer some commercial cleaning services: janitorial cleaning for small offices and after construction cleaning.
We look forward to continue encouraging our clients to apply for future FastFoward Program opportunities, as we believe this program provides great exposure and valuable training for our small business community.
You can find APSCO and It’s Cleaning Time! contact information along with all of our graduates who are in business by visiting our web directory.
by EGBI Tech Team | Feb 7, 2017 | Success Stories
With the beginning of the New Year, you might be thinking about getting more organized and decluttering your home or your office. If that is the case, we have the perfect ally for you: Smiley’s Junk Removal & Recycling.
Spencer Costley is the Owner of Smiley’s Junk Removal and Recycling, who has been serving the community for over five years. They were ranked one of the Top Junk Removal Companies in Austin in 2016 by Expertise.com.
If you have any junk laying around, a garage full of stuff filling up the space, any trash or unwanted items that need to be removed, Smiley’s Junk Removal and Recycling can assist you. They serve both residential and business locations… always with a smile!
Not only that, but Spencer will try to save and recycle your items in various creative ways.
Spencer graduated from the EGBI entrepreneurial program in 2011, he continues to attend workshops, participates in our BizCoaching groups, is actively involved with EGBI and is one of our most loyal clients when we need volunteers.
“The EGBI classes give me an outlet to bounce my ideas off of and experts that will answer any questions that I have about my business, and to me that is priceless… I’ve grown quite a bit since taking the class; I have more clients that I serve now on a regular basis. I’m their go-to person when they need junk that needs to be removed, and that’s a great feeling.”
Smiley’s Junk Removal and Recycling is insured under the State of Texas. Please consider using Smiley’s if you are in the process of decluttering your home or office. Click here to visit their website and support them by following them on social media!
You can find Smiley’s contact information along with all of our graduates who are in business by visiting our web directory.
by EGBI Tech Team | Feb 7, 2017 | Success Stories
As we approach the holiday season, please consider Selina’s Manq’a for your catering needs. Selina’s Manq’a creates an exquisite and elegant experience, taking into consideration even the smallest detail, and always adjusting to your budget.
Selina’s Manq’a shares the Peruvian heritage of sisters Selina and Patricia Ortiz, who with dedication, devotion and professionalism introduce the best of Peruvian and international cuisine.
With an interest in starting a business, Selina enrolled in EGBI’s Curso Empresarial in 2012. She realized that in order to be successful, she needed to take the challenge very seriously. She learned the requirements to starting her own business and went on to work on herself.
Following her dreams, she enrolled in the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu of Culinary Arts in Austin, where she graduated with honors. She began her career with Mi Peru Catering in 2012, preparing her favorite Peruvian foods.
She came back to EGBI to take some of the entrepreneurial classes again. With broader culinary experience, she decided to include international cuisine into her menu, which led to the relaunch of her business, naming it Selina’s Manq’a (meaning Selina’s Food in the the Quechua language). With a new name and logo, she recently launched her website and is working on growing her blog and social media presence.
EGBI has provided Selina with education, motivation, resources, exposure and constant support. Selina and her sister regularly attend EGBI workshops, and Selina is currently participating in EGBI’s BizCoaching program. Selina is also very involved in the community and participates in other organizations’ programs for small businesses.
EGBI is proud to say that Selina has provided her catering services for many EGBI events, and her food is always fantastic.
Please visit her site www.selinasmanqa.com and keep her in mind next time you need catering services.
You can find Selina’s contact information along with all of our graduates who are in business by visiting our web directory.
by EGBI Tech Team | Jan 25, 2017 | Business Tips
Por Al Lopez, Director Ejecutivo de EGBI
Traduccion: Veronica Trevisan, Wester
Para los propietarios de pequeñas empresas y emprendedores, una de las claves para el éxito es mantenerse enfocado. Eso puede sonar obvio, pero muy a menudo, los propietarios de pequeñas empresas tienen tantas ideas nuevas y oportunidades al comienzo del negocio que pierden su intención original u objetivo del plan de negocios. Con esto en mente, detallo aquí tres maneras de permanecer súper enfocados durante sus primeros 12 meses como nuevo dueño de negocio:
TIP #1: Empiece de manera pequeña y lentamente
Si, todo es más grande en Texas, pero eso no significa que su negocio va a convertirse en un gigante de la noche a la mañana. De hecho, no hay tal cosa como un “éxito nocturno” en los negocios. El camino hacia el éxito futuro está lleno de muchos mini-pasos a lo largo del camino.
Una de las razones principales para empezar de a poco y lento es porque el crecimiento requiere capital, y eso es algo que la mayoría de los nuevos dueños de negocios no tienen. Es por eso que usted escuchará en inglés acerca de “startups bootstrapping” que en la traducción al español sería algo así como “emprendedores con autoarranque” ya que, en su camino hacia el éxito, estos emprendedores son muy cuidadosos del dinero que están gastando antes de hacer sus primeras ventas. Si usted permanece enfocado, podrá controlar cuánto efectivo está gastando.
Una manera de “arrancar” su nueva empresa es considerar un ambiente de trabajo en equipo. En lugar de derrochar por un costoso contrato de arrendamiento de 12 meses, a menudo se puede alquilar un espacio de trabajo cotidiano sobre una base de mes a mes. Además, como bono adicional, usted puede interactuar con otros empresarios de características similares en un ambiente que tenga la particularidad de una incubadora de negocios.
TIP #2: Escriba su plan de negocios.
Una manera de mantenerse enfocado es poniendo su plan de negocios por escrito. La mayoría de los planes de negocios incluyen discusión de temas como: oportunidad de mercado, finanzas y operaciones y estrategia de marketing. Al pensar cuidadosamente qué nicho de mercado va a buscar, cómo va a financiar sus operaciones en curso y cómo va a llegar a su consumidor específico, estará en una posición mucho mejor para evaluar nuevas ofertas y oportunidades a medida que surgen.
Por ejemplo, digamos que usted es una empresaria latina que le gustaría abrir un negocio de salón de uñas en el centro de Austin. Su plan de negocios incluiría detalles sobre qué parte del mercado de salón de uñas está tratando de alcanzar, información sobre los precios y algunos detalles como puede ser llegar a las mujeres dentro de ciertos barrios de Austin (por ejemplo, a través de medios sociales, anuncios impresos, campañas publicitarias). Entonces, cuando alguien le propone una nueva idea, usted será capaz de ver cómo se ajusta a su propia visión para el negocio.
TIP #3: Escriba una declaración de la misión d la empresa
Muy a menudo, los dueños de pequeñas empresas arriban con un gran concepto del negocio, pero no tienen la manera de comunicar qué hace que ese negocio sea especial para otras personas. Una forma de hacerlo es elaborando una declaración de la misión empresarial para poder compartirla con otros integrantes de la misma como son los empleados, socios, vendedores e inversores. Las declaraciones de misión más eficaces y emocionantes son aquellas que explican cómo usted planea cambiar el mundo con su nuevo negocio.
Tal vez usted está pensando en abrir una tienda de ropa para las mujeres. Su declaración de misión podría incluir una descripción de algún mercado que esta insuficientemente atendido y al que usted está llegando (por ejemplo, “madres solteras que quieren ropa de moda para el lugar de trabajo, pero a bajo costo “) o alguna descripción de lo que hace que su producto sea diferente de los otros productos, por ejemplo “100% ropa local 100% y con materiales naturales”). Entonces, cuando reciba una nueva oferta u oportunidad, podrá ver qué tan bien encaja esa oportunidad con su visión u objetivo único para su empresa.
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Ser propietario de una pequeña empresa es un reto ya lo suficientemente grande como para ser atrapado además en un montón de nuevas ideas rápidamente. Empiece pequeño, trace su plan de negocios y prepare una declaración de misión. Al hacerlo, usted preparará su nuevo negocio para el éxito futuro.
