Where can I find information about buying a business in a specific industry?

As we all know the web has a lot of information but often it is hard to sort through the mass to get to the finer topics.

Every Friday, on internet radio, there is a 1 hour broadcast that deals with buying a business in a specific industry. This week's show (1pm cst, noon eastern) is about trucking companies. These shows feature industry specialists who can provide true insights into the good and bad to look for in a business.

Also, on the Entrepreneurial Insights website there is a menu of many previous shows and the industries they cover. You can replay those shows at your leisure.

Take a look.......and listen to Entrepreneurial Insights , you can visit and replay the broadcast anytime but the live broadcasts are Fridays at 1pm central.

The hard work of un-fooling yourself...........

As I've written before, during the 1st quarter of the new year I find myself trying to take extra time to plan and evaluate. Some of this is an natural reaction to reviewing the financials in preparation for filling taxes. Some of it is just my reaction to something I've heard or read somewhere.

During a recent walk I was thinking about something I read in a blog article by Michael Hyatt, by the way, if you are unfamiliar with him I recommend his blog. He writes a lot of good stuff about business and some interesting stuff about managing life. In one of his articles he hinted at something that I reformulated for my own use. What I'm talking about is trying to identify the business and personal habits, processes or practices that I automatically assume make sense but on closer investigation I'll find out the idea either was never a good idea or it's an idea who's time has passed.

Once I decided to take a look I couldn't believe how difficult it is to then decide which things to look at! I decided I'd look back at the prior week for some clues or direction. I had thought that the prior week was really pretty uneventful and not very interesting nor complex. But then I started breaking down the events and connecting the dots it got messy. I'm now convinced that many things are simple but few things are uncomplicated.

I then made the leap of logic that goes like this, "If I'm trying to figure out what I'm fooling myself about, then obviously I've already fooled myself and how will I recognize it?" Now what do I do?

It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought. Here's what I did. I went to someone in our office and asked the brilliantly insightful question, "What do we do that's dumb?" Much to my surprise (and a bit of disappointment) they didn't need to think about it at all, nearly before the words came out of my mouth the person had listed 3 things.... bang..bang..bang!

To shorten this post I won't bore you with the details but here are the results of looking into the 3 things identified for me:

Starting a Small Business - What's the most important question to ask?

There are many issues to deal with and questions to ask when thinking about starting a small business.

Should I incorporate? LLC? C Corp? S Corp?
What name should I use?
How do I get or set-up my website?
How do I find a CPA? Do I even need a CPA?
How do I get a license to do biz in my state?
What accounting? Quickbooks? Excel?

And the list goes on and on...
But the real most important question is this...................

If I start a small business, how do I get out of my small business?

What is your exit plan? Your goals, time frame, limitations?

If you will think through, with honesty, this question - How do I exit my business?  You will make a better decision about how you go into your business. Do you want to sell the business? If yes, then there are things you need to do when you set up your small business...Want an example?

If you want to sell your business don't name your business after yourself. Believe me, Wizards A/C and Heat Service is easier to sell, and at a higher price, than John Q. Smith, Inc.

Send me your start up questions that relate to your exit plan, I'll take a shot at getting you useful answers.

What is CRM and does my small business need it?

Hard as it is to imagine, there was a time not terribly long ago when a sales or service person for a small business would go out into the field without a PDA or Smart Phone—or any phone at all. The reason for the current ubiquity of the communication devices in small business is obvious: it makes customer service or the new term, Customer Relationship Management  (CRM), easier and more effective. The success of any small business is built around this engine and the latest innovation in the field of CRM is also the most powerful yet seen, primarily because it is among the simplest-to-implement of all emerging information technologies. We speak, of course, of Cloud-Based Solutions.

Until recently any information gathered by, say, a serviceman sent into the field would have to be relayed through a series of data channels, each administered by an individual working within his or her own cataloging system, until it eventually found its way to the appropriate sales rep who is ultimately responsible for the client's satisfaction and continuing patronage of the business. Meanwhile, the client is already calling the rep and asking about progress on the issue. And the rep has no idea there was an issue to begin with.