Cynthia C. Cutright

Forging Through the Rough

The biggest entrepreneurial business lesson that I have learned from this recession is that the entrepreneur has to continue to work harder than the competition. Our hard work encompasses raising capital, marketing, sales, advertising, management, technology, and human resources if we are big enough to have employees. Of these areas of duty, raising capital has been challenging over the past two years and without capital we cannot carry out our remaining duties effectively.

The most efficient way to raise capital begins with documenting the successes you have achieved in your entrepreneurial venture(s). Update your business plan and gather your paper trail that documents the accomplishments of your business venture. This will show your lender your ability to execute your business strategy and accomplish your goals. Your accomplishments open a window into the future performance of your business and demonstrate how you are managing for success.

There are many factors to consider when deciding how to raise capital. You must consider where your business is now and where you see it going. Entrepreneurs have several sources for raising capital, such as:

• Sell your assets
• Borrow against your home
• Borrow against insurance policies
• SBA Lenders
• Asset base loans
• Term bank loans
• Private loans
• Royalty financing
• Angel investors
• Direct public offering

As an entrepreneur that is having difficulty keeping up with payments there are alternatives to paying your bills late. Talk to your vendors and creditors. Try to renegotiate the terms of your payment schedule. If your terms are currently net 30 days, and you negotiate for net 60 days, the extension of those payables for 30 days equals free cash. When negotiating for extended terms be honest and upfront about why you need the extended terms. Above all else, when negotiating terms only make a deal that you can effectively honor.

Dealing with uncertainty while trying to forge ahead in times of change can be rough. It can be alleviated by focusing on the process instead of the end result. Start by investing in your employees. What can you do to help them do their very best? A little extra encouragement? or maybe a lengthened lunch break? Let us not forget to be focused on our mission. Above I suggested updating your business plan which should have included your mission statement. If our businesses are built upon our mission and we are focused on it we can maintain our drive and forge through these tough times.

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Technorati Tags: angel investor,bank,capital,entrepreneur,financing,loans,SBA,start up,term

Will The World End In 2012? by Raymond C. Hundley, Ph.D.

Disclaimer: Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of Saint Patrick to read and review. Opinions expressed are mine and not those of Thomas Nelson.

Dr. Hundley strives to answer the question, Will the World End in 2012? by evaluating various popular predictions concerning the end of he world. He first covers the Mayan’s and the speculations as to why their calendar ends on December 12, 2012. Some believe it marks the end of the humankind and the world, while others believe it indicates a transition into a new life cycle. He also evaluates causes such as solar storms, and man made black holes; predictions of Nostradamus; the reversal of the magnetic poles; Planet X; the galactic alignment of the sun, earth, and other planets; the eruption of a super volcano; and religious predictions.

Dr. Hundley concludes his investigation by offering his take on how the world might end whether it be in 2012 or 2032. The final chapter outlines how to prepare for the end of world and/or the end of life for an individual. This outline is, of course, the plan of salvation. The book ends by issuing a warning that Jesus is coming again to take believers, Christians, home to dwell with him in heaven.

I found the book to be interesting and slightly entertaining. Being a Christian myself for 35 years I could not find among the predictions of the 2010 destruction any predictions for the rapture. As any believer that has read the word of God knows that Jesus said that neither he or man knows when the coming of the Lord will take place. Therefore I do not believe that the 2012 predictions will hold true.

Thomas Nelson (thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=140020285X&title=Will_the_World_End_in_2012&author=Raymond_Hundley)

Technorati Tags: 2012,world,end,salvation,mayan,nostradamus,prediction,prophecy,planet x

30 Days to a Better Blog (Day 2)

Image by jean-louis zimmermann via Flickr

This is day 2 in a series on how to better optimize your blog based on John Haydon's 31 Day Challenge To Optimize Your Blog With Social Media. We now need to break down the plan created on day 1 into specific goals. In doing so we will have a clearer view of what we need to do to get where we want to be, and how long it will take. We are going to use the acronym SMART for an understanding of how to set goals. SMART refers to goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed.

SMART Goal Setting criteria:

• Specific - Goals need to be specific, not loose so we recognize when we have achieved them.
• Measurable - Goals need to be measurable so we can see the target and hit the mark.
• Achievable - Goals need to be achievable and not out of reach.
• Realistic - Goals need to be realistic. Ask yourself if you have the ability and commitment to make the goal happen.
• Timely - Goals need to have a set time frame. Having a specific time frame for our goals gives us the motivation to begin working toward them and allows us to monitor our progress.

To get started we must establish our long term goals. This is what we want to accomplish in one years’ time. Then we establish short term goals (daily, weekly, monthly) that moves us toward the accomplishment of our long term goals.

My SMART Goals:

• Long term Goals
  • Year ( April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011 )
    • To make a connection with at least six new people via social media and help at least one of them achieve one of their goals.
• Short term Goals
  • Monthly
    • Create a backlog of four posts to be used if I'm hospitalized or the like again.
    • Update Twitter lists.
    • Update public profiles.
  • Weekly
    • Create and post at least two new blog posts a week.
    • Create one post to be used if I'm hospitalized or the like again.
    • Check LinkedIn Q&A on my homepage and answer Q's on topics I'm competent in.
    • Respond to my LinkedIn groups discussion on topics I'm interested in.
  • Daily
    • Engage in relevant conversation on Twitter for an hour twice a day.
    • Engage on Facebook for half an hour twice a day.
    • Send out "Happy Birthday" on Facebook.
    • Respond to all comments on my blog.
    • Visit and comment on sites of interest.
    Now it is your turn. Let me know what you come up with.

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Technorati Tags: blog,Goals,guidance,marketing plan,self improvement,smart goals,Social Media,vision

30 Days to a Better Blog

Image by zakgollop via Flickr

This begins the first in a series on how to better optimize your blog based on John Haydon’s 31 Day Challenge To Optimize Your Blog With Social Media. Your blog should be operated as a business, and all good businesses begin with and follow a plan. With this in mind we want to write a marketing plan of sorts for your blog. The plan should entail why you are or have created your blog and what it is you want to accomplish. This is where you will list your goals in a way that will be encouraging to you. The goals for your blog can be anything from driving traffic, to increasing subscriptions, to creating awareness.

Goals for my blog:

• Connect with like minded individuals via social networking.
• Inform said individuals on the topics of marketing and social media.
• Advance the knowledge and careers of said individuals and myself.

We also need to write a clear vision statement for your blog. You vision should complement and mesh with your goals.

Vision for my blog:

• Inspire readers to achieve their goals by providing avenues for knowledge gathering and educating.
  

One very important thing to keep in mind is that your goals and vision will develop and grow, therefore, your plan will change with them. Be sure to keep your plan updated so you can see and know where you are going and why. Another good idea is to print out your plan and post it in an obvious place as a reminder of what you want to achieve.

Now it is your turn. Let me know what you come up with.

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Technorati Tags: Goals,guidance,marketing plan,resolutions,self improvement,Social Media,vision

Saint Patrick, by Jonathan Rogers

Technorati Tags: Bible,christianity,God,love,Thomas Nelson

Disclaimer: Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of Saint Patrick to read and review. Opinions expressed are mine and not those of Thomas Nelson.

Saint Patrick offers a glimpse into the life, trials, and deeds of the man that Ireland has long considered one of their own. Patrick whose given name was Patricius, which means “highborn,” was the son of a Roman landowner, town councilor, and deacon of the Roman Catholic Church. However, by his own confession he did not come to know God until after his captivity by Irish marauders. He served as a slave in Ireland for seven years until escape which he claims was planned and foretold by God. After his escape and return to Britain he studied in the church and was eventually bestowed the title of Bishop. 

Prior to becoming Bishop, Patrick felt that he was being called by the Irish to minister unto them; therefore, he returned to the land of his captivity against the wishes of his family and church. There Patrick ministered to and baptized thousands of the Irish peoples. During his time in Ireland as a missionary and afterwards he claimed the Irish as his people.

In Saint Patrick, Rogers refers to Patrick’s works, The Confession and The Letter, as well as volumes written about Patrick to piece together his life as a child, a slave, and a missionary. Rogers also parallels the myths surrounding Patrick to his actual acts and deeds in a manner that makes his story inviting. Saint Patrick can easily be read in one sitting and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to know why the Irish and the church call him Saint.

Thomas Nelson (thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1595553053&title=Christian_Encounters_Series:_Saint_Patrick)

Reading Guide (thomasnelson.com/consumer/additionalinfo.asp?ISBN=1595553053&productid=27851&TopLevel_id=&type=readerguide&Christian-Encounters-Series:-Saint-Patrick_Reading_Guide)