March 11, 2009

Expanding Your Partnership Through Buying A Rival Business

Here comes the BUT! You need to be careful, for bigger business does not always mean better business. While there is no restriction to the size of a bootstrapping business - see Shawn Hessingers report on “How big can a bootstrapper be?” - it never the less can be a risky strategy to grow through acquisitions. Below I give some basic pointers for your consideration:

1. Businesses come with staff and all the associated problems - so make sure the culture fits; Photo ID Cards will help you get to know your new staff and improve site security.

2. Target group should be the same as yours, i.e. serve the same customer base, so you get more turnover for both businesses;

3. Synergies - find them and make sure they work for you - by sharing resources you can lower the cost-structure in both businesses;

4. Distance - make sure you can quickly be in both businesses, so keep it close;

5. Level of debt in the new business - make sure you can cope with it easily, don’t risk your existing business.

There are several other points to consider, so good and trusted advice is absolutely essential. I guess here you will have to resolve if you are a gambler (bad) or just a risk taker (good). Since you made to this point I shall hope you are a sensible entrepreneurial risk-taker.
One way to expand your small business is to buy another business and merge the two together. When the going gets tough, i.e. a recession - many of the non-bootstrapping businesses will be for sale or in trouble. This is the time for you to sharpen your bootstrapping pencil and think about current opportunities that present themselves.

If you do not know what to look for, here are some useful tips:
1. Customers complain about your competitor;
2. Employees from your competitor apply for a job with your business;
3. Competitors loosing the plot, i.e. unrealistically low prices;
4. Court judgements against a competitor or disgruntled suppliers;
5. Partners and directors resigning or leaving the business.

Always be aware of potential pitfalls, especially if you have not done this sort of thing before. Get your accountant to help you evaluate the competitor first, and then make a move.

When hiring people, what are you looking for? Knowledge about your industry, high IQ, numerous years experience? All of these personal traits are important, but not as important as EQ - emotional intelligence - which means people who have prerequisite and can suggest solutions and ideas on a services and product level, but also on a more emotional and beneficial level. It is, as with everything else in life, we like dealing with friendly and warm people.

So when you interview people, ask about faults, ask about being told off for getting something wrong, ask how they felt when someone else got told off at work? Listen to their answers, if they have no faults, if they never make oversights, or think others are just not good enough, than they are obviously of the opinion that they are perfect.

For high quality Photo ID Cards at competitive prices click link.

Never employ perfect people, they are flawed or inhuman, and nobody will want to deal with them, including you!

Read free info to what is forex - welcome to your own knowledge base.

Filed under business coaching by Executive Coaching