In exchange for an investment from the Sharks, those entrepreneurs willing to enter the Shark Tank offer a percentage of their companies’ equity. The Shark Tank members are colorful personalities, and are often brutally tough during discussions and negotiations with the entrepreneurs.

In Season 3, the four Mastronardo brothers, owners of Nardo’s Naturals, presented their offer to the five Sharks, including billionaire Mark Cuban, owner and chairman of HDNet and outspoken owner of the 2010-2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion and branding expert Daymond John and venture capitalist Kevin O’Leary.

Read on for the story of how these brothers made it out of the Shark Tank alive — and are thriving.

Background: How Nardo’s Natural Came to Be

In 2008, D.J., the oldest Mastronardo brother (now 30), while working as a health and nutrition guru, and taping a “Healthy Cooking” segment in New Mexico, burned his hand. His mother, a certified wound care specialist, suggested that after the pain stopped, he put coconut oil on the burn to heal. D.J. was amazed at how well his hand healed in just a few days. He told his brothers, and they came up with an idea to create a skincare company using all-natural ingredients.  Since each Mastronardo brother offered a different skill set, they decided that, working together, they could create a successful skincare company.

Nardo’s Natural was officially launched in 2009. Two of the brothers, Kyle, 28, the operations / visionary guy, and Danny, 26, skilled in marketing, P.R. and design, worked full-time in the business.  D.J. provided health and nutrition insight, and youngest brother K.J., 24, with an accounting background, contributed financial expertise while working full-time at a corporate job to help provide funding for the start-up business.

The Products

The brothers began by creating all-natural and organic formulations in their kitchen. They made all of the products themselves, by hand, and did all the labeling, packing and shipping, as well.

Revenues from 2009 to 2011, however, were only $30,000, from online sales and local spa sales. Most of the brothers’ time and money was spent creating formulations without parabens and toxins, that provided a healthy alternative to daily skin care.

They offered a variety of skin care products, including moisturizers for the face and body, skin and body scrubs and cleansers, lip balms, a cream for pain relief, and even an organic bug repellent.

Getting on Shark Tank

In April, 2011, a friend sent the brothers a link to an episode of Shark Tank.  Despite their hard work, there was not much money coming in, and they realized that being on the show would be an amazing opportunity. That very night, Kyle sent an email submission to Shark Tank.

Nardo’s Natural made it through the first round, and for the next several months, the brothers went through an intense screening process along with tens of thousands of other Shark Tank hopefuls.  They had to make a video, complete surveys, get background checks, and provide extensive information, each time making it through another round.

Finally a producer from Shark Tank called in June, 2011, and a month later the brothers went to Los Angeles to tape a segment.

What Shark Tank is Like

“We were incredibly excited, but also nervous,” says Kyle.  “Here we were with this huge opportunity, and we were just a bunch of brothers negotiating with these big-time entrepreneurs.”

The taping process is similar to those of other reality shows. Many entrepreneurs were taped, but not all made it onto the televised show.

Actual negotiations with Nardo’s Natural and the Shark Tank panel took much longer, but the segment was cut. What was included during the televised show was some video footage of the brothers and their hometown, including a spa esthetician using their products, and the brothers, shirtless, at the beach.

However, “there were some really critical things that viewers didn’t see,” Danny points out.

Mainly, the reaction of the Sharks to Nardo’s Natural products.  “Every Shark had our products in their hands, and they were trying them out,” says Danny.  “Barbara Corcoran really loved the vanilla body lotion. And in addition to other factors, she tends to invest in products that she personally likes and connects with.”

That kind of reaction may have helped viewers understand why Barbara Corcoran invested in a company with only $30,000 in sales, with the male Sharks shaking their heads at the numbers.

Just for the record, Corcoran is laughing all the way to the bank.  According to Danny, she has the best track record of all the Sharks, with her Shark investments profiting the most in the group. “She also tends to invest in very small businesses and helps them grow nationally, and our business fits that profile.”

Whether you get a deal or not, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be on the televised show. Luckily, the Nardo brothers not only made a deal with Barbara Corcoran, they also made it into the March 9, 2012 televised Shark Tank show.

What Happened After the Deal

“We weren’t allowed to let anyone not directly involved in our business or in our business activities know about our deal, until the show aired,” says Danny.

So what happened between July, 2011, and the show’s airing in March, 2012?

The short answer:  plenty.

First on the list was to set up a legal agreement with Corcoran as part of the due diligence process.  During the show, the brothers had originally offered a 12% equity stake in their business in exchange for an investment of $75,000.  Corcoran asked for a 50% equity stake in exchange for a $75,000 investment, which the brothers agreed to.

However, when the brothers met with Corcoran after the show, they let her know that all of the brothers would be working full-time in the business, which led Corcoran to “sweeten the deal a bit,” notes Danny.

Once an agreement was reached, Corcoran offered her advice and contacts, as well as the expertise of her team.  Due to the large number of businesses she invests in, Barbara has a team that provides expertise to her companies, in the areas of design, marketing, operations, and more.

Product Recommendations and Changes

“Barbara’s team was incredibly helpful.  They would do everything from showing us pictures of competitors’ products, to putting our products on a table across the room to determine what stood out about them,” offers Danny.

Barbara and her team’s input (and Barbara’s funding) led the Nardo brothers to change their labels, bottles, even cut down their product line, to focus on core products.

One suggestion was to make the “Fourever Young” kit the Nardo’s Natural flagship product.  The kit contains four items that can be used in a complete skincare regimen:  a face cleanser, mask, moisturizer and lip balm.

And instead of the brothers bottling the products by hand, Barbara’s team recommended finding a company that could do this on a larger scale. Wanting to “keep it local,” the brothers found a company in their area that they contract with to hand-pour their products.

And while the TV show included Barbara’s comment that she “hated the name Nardo’s Natural,” the name stayed.  “Barbara never brought it up again,” says Danny.

Sales Strategies

As all of us in business know, nothing happens until you make a sale.

“Barbara is amazing,” says Kyle.  “Not only does she have a top-notch personal network that she worked on our behalf, and a great new business development team, but she also connected us with the other Shark Tank businesses she invested in, to get some sales activities going.”

“We speak to Barbara often, and also communicate via email,” notes Danny.  “The other day she sent us a note asking us to send a bunch of our products to her contact at Disney, as they are interested in checking them out.”

She also gives some advice that is out-of-the-box, such as her suggestion that the brothers do a calendar.  At first they joked about it, then realized it was a “pretty cool branding idea.” The calendar featuring the four young, good-looking brothers is selling well on their Website.

What are some of the larger deals pending? “Barbara is working to get our products on QVC,” says Danny.  And since the brothers are near the headquarters of HSN in Tampa, they are also pitching their products to HSN.

The brothers are also talking with top retailers and distributors.

The Power of Shark Tank Exposure

While much has happened in the months between the show’s taping and its airing, the actual show airing on March 9, 2012, had an amazing effect on the business.

Says Danny, “The exposure was monumental.”

And not just the exposure. In a 24-hour period after the show aired, Nardos Natural got 1.1 million Website hits, more than it had gotten in the company’s entire time in business prior to that. Hundreds of orders came in during the show, and their Merchant Account briefly shut down their credit card processing function on their Website, suspecting fraud.

After fixing that glitch, the orders kept coming in, as did congratulatory emails, questions, and more.

Advice for Shark Tank Hopefuls

Since the show aired, the Nardo brothers have been inundated with questions from Shark Tank hopefuls. Here are some tips:

• Show your personality.  For example, when asked to submit a video, the brothers showed their funny sides, including joking and real-life bloopers.  “We didn’t make it slick and professional,” says Kyle.  “We wanted to show them what we were really like, and each of our different personalities.”
• Fill out forms precisely and follow directions perfectly.  “We made sure we filled out information exactly as it was asked, and submitted items in the exact timeframe,” says Kyle.  “We didn’t want them to have a reason to cut us.”
• Just do it!  Apply to be on Shark Tank!

What’s Next

The brothers will continue to work even more closely together.

Though they are Philadelphia natives, three of the brothers moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, after Danny graduated from the University of Tampa. K.J., the youngest, moved to St. Petersburg recently to work full-time in the business.

And there’s another exciting venture on the horizon. “Now that we’re all here, we will be working on a pilot for our own reality show,” says Danny.

Is it hard working so closely with family members? “Sure, there are challenges, but the four of us are close.  We really love each other, and always work things out,” notes Kyle.

So with all of these activities, what are the sales projections for the company?

“In the next two years, we’re on track to make $4.8 million in sales,” says Kyle.

Thanks to Shark Tank, the brothers have pending deals with shopping networks and retailers, a calendar, a reality show and more – all while working and living near the beach in Florida. Truly the American dream for the four Mastronardo brothers from Philadelphia.  And one that many of us hope to achieve.

Shark Tank Photo via Shutterstock

The post Nardo’s Natural Survived and Thrived from Appearing on TV’s Shark Tank appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Here are my three favorite insider tips:

Create a grammatically correct, professional looking home page with no spelling errors: When pitching the media, you must include a website where people can buy your products, and usually that website is yours. If the media has any interest in your pitch, they will generally take a look at your website to make sure it looks acceptable.  Acceptable means that the site, and mainly the home page, looks clean and polished and has no spelling and grammar errors.

Fact:  More than one media contact has told me that a website being pitched is not professional enough for them to consider sending their readers to it.

Provide clear, colorful, photographs:  As the media needs to see a visual of your product, your media pitches will also include a link to the products you are pitching, preferably on your website. The photo that the media contact sees should be clear and include all color options (color is important and often is a deciding factor when laying out products on a magazine page). This picture is the first, and sometimes the only, time (if samples aren’t requested) that the media will see a visual of your product.  Many editorial coverage decisions are made on that first impression.  Spend the money to get professional photos taken.

Delete mention of national media coverage of the product you are pitching on your press page:  While it’s exciting to you to list your national media coverage, the media isn’t so excited.  They want to be the first to cover products.  If someone else has done that already, it’s an instant turnoff.

These three tips will lead to media worthy, publicity friendly website . Here’s to more great publicity!

Media Photo via Shutterstock

The post Insider Tips on Creating a Publicity Friendly Retail Website appeared first on Small Business Trends.

And employees aren’t the only ones who are favorably affected by holiday business gifts. One in three people surveyed said receiving a gift from someone they do business with made them more likely to do business with that company in the future!

Here are seven business gifts sure to please everyone on your list — just click through the slideshow.  Best of all, each product is made and/or sold by a small business — because small business owners have to support each other, right?

Personalized Mouse Pads by DesignHergals

With Personalized Mouse Pads ($10.95 or less when purchased in bulk) by designhergals, your business associates will think of you every time they use their computer.

You can customize the mouse pad with a personalized image and message. There are no setup fees and turnaround time can be as quick as the next day.

To see the other 6 gift ideas, click through the page numbers below . . .

The post 7 Great Gifts for Everyone on Your Business Gift List appeared first on Small Business Trends.

In fact, the book is just as valuable to small business owners who are looking to make their businesses better, and don’t want to sell.

Bo Burlingham, in his Foreword of Built to Sell, by John Warrillow, says it best:

“The point is that the best businesses are sellable, and smart businesspeople believe that you should build a company to be sold even if you have no intention of cashing out or stepping back anytime soon.”

In 2008, Warrillow received an offer he couldn’t refuse, and sold his business, which was built using the principles of this book.  Today, Warrillow and his wife and kids live the good life in Provence, France, thanks to the sale of that business.

This book is actually the second edition, updated with an Implementation Guide, and published in April, 2011 by Portfolio / Penguin.  The original version, published in 2010, is written in parable form, and is well-loved by many, including the Small Business Trends Book Review team, and you can read the original review, by Book Review Editor, Ivana Taylor.

I had received a review copy from John Warillow and couldn’t wait to tell you about it.  But  I didn’t want to regurgitate the information from the original book review (and it’s terrific, and I recommend checking it out), so I spoke to Warrillow, and asked him about some specific parts of the book that really called to me.  Here are some highlights from the interview:

Question:  What is the number one reason small business owners tell you that they buy your book?

John Warrillow:  I hear most often that it’s because they want to grow their businesses.  They’ve often reached a ceiling on their earnings.  Maybe it’s $200,000.  Maybe it’s $700,000.  Whatever it is, they want to understand how to make their businesses scalable.

Question: Making a business scalable seems to be an important concept in your book.  Can you describe what you mean by that?

John Warrillow:  A scalable business has to meet the three criteria I detail in the book:  1) a service or product that is “teachable to employees,” so that the owner isn’t always the one doing the work; 2) a service or product that is valuable to your customers, and is not a commodity; and 3) a service or product that is “repeatable,” meaning customers need to return again and again to buy.

Question: It’s clear how some products are scalable, such as razors.  In your book, the main character, Alex, creates a scalable business out of logo design, which many people consider a “non-scalable” business, since it’s a professional service.  Is this just an outlier, or can service businesses really create “scalable products?”

John Warrillow:   Here are two examples.  I know of an attorney, who, instead of offering her services on an hourly basis, like the vast majority of attorneys, offers them in a product package, such as $5,000 for a no-contest divorce, and $1,200 for a new business incorporation.  Another example is Hassle Free Home Services, Inc., created by Jim Vagonis. It offers customers a single point of contact for all of their home care needs, by paying a flat fee for one year, in a renewable annual contract.

Question: What’s the most common question you get about your book?

John Warrillow:   It’s “why can’t I offer scalable products or services and still do custom work?”

Question: Ah, the old, why do I have to have a niche, why can’t I offer everything argument…

John Warrillow:  Yes, and it’s the concept I’m most passionate about.  That’s one of the reasons I wrote the implementation guide.  In it I describe trying to do just that at one point in my market research business, and failing miserably.  I also reiterate throughout the book that the key to success in transitioning to offering only a scalable service or product is to always charge upfront, so you have positive cash flow.  You may have some bumpy times, but after a year or so your business will generally grow steadily.

Question: You also make a point about describing your clients as customers, not clients, in a scalable business.   Can you explain that a bit more?

John Warrillow:  The term “client” implies a consultative, personal relationship.  It’s not the kind of thing that can be scalable.  If your company has clients, it implies that each client has a one-to-one relationship with someone at your company, often the owner. If your company has customers, the entire team works with them.

As always, I have to thank John Warrillow for writing a great book, one of my favorite business books of all time.  The second edition is even better with the addition of the Implementation Guide.  Run, don’t walk to get this book.  Your business will thank you.

The post “Built to Sell” – Even Better If You Don’t Want to Sell appeared first on Small Business Trends.

I thought about that conversation a few days later when I was at Barnes & Noble and noticed, “The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea” by Bob Burg and John David Mann (Penguin Portfolio, 2007).  As I flipped through the pages, the book addressed that very  issue — “quid pro quo” relative to business.  The ideas in the book seemed interesting, and I was pleased to receive a review copy.

A quick read, The Go-Giver —  like some of my favorite books — uses a story, or parable, to illustrate the points of the book.  It offers the story of a “go-getter,” a salesman named Joe, who decides to contact a “heavy hitter” to help him win an account.

What Joe gets, instead, from the “heavy hitter” and his friends, are lessons in “go-giving.”

The story itself is readable and provocative,  offering anecdotes and information leading to the “Five Laws of Stratospheric  Success.”  The details of the story are necessary to understanding each law; that’s why I don’t think I’m going to ruin the livelihoods of the authors by presenting the Five Laws here:

1. The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
2. The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
3. The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
4. The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
5. The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

Even if you’re like me, and consider yourself an enlightened person, this book offers ideas that take your business and your life to the next level.

I’ve already used the concepts in this book.  Here are a few examples:

• I recently referred a strategic partner to a competitor, even though I already had a relationship with this person and she wanted to do business with me.  I knew the competitor would be a better fit for what she needed.
• Instead of charging a new client for some necessary services, I decided to offer them at no charge, as value-added services. It immediately set the tone for the client and me to start out our relationship on a strong footing.
• I offered a job lead to someone without any desire or expectation for him to help me with something (I do this anyway, but it is a concept from the book).

Give or Get: Give this book, and get it for your own bookshelf. You’ll get thanks from the people you give it to, and you’ll refer to it often.

The post Go Givers vs. Go Getters: Review of The Go Giver appeared first on Small Business Trends.

That’s why I was excited to receive a review copy of, “KaChing:  How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays,” by well-known entrepreneur and author, Joel Comm (Wiley, 2010).

Since I already make a portion of my revenues from my online businesses, I consider myself at least intermediate in my knowledge of online marketing and how to create online revenue streams. I wasn’t sure if I’d really learn anything from this book, but I figured I’d at least enjoy it.

Online Business Tips

I like how Comm set up the structure of the book.  He starts by giving an overview, then explains the importance of niches (this concept can never be hammered home enough, in my un-humble opinion), before stating the primary ways to make money online.

He also shares his seven keys to online success, and gives examples:

1. You Have to Dream
2. You Have to Believe
3. You Have to Prepare
4. You Have to Act
5. You Have to Relate
6. You Have to Use Models
7. You Have to Grow

Ways to Make Money Online

Comm shares with the reader the primary ways to make money online: blogging and other online content, information products, affiliate programs, membership sites and coaching programs.

Case studies and specific examples, as well as resources to make the process easier, help explain the sometimes tricky world of online business.

And if you’re someone who enjoys a book that contains how-to information, you won’t be disappointed.  Comm is not only a strategist, but he created a well-known iPhone app. In this book he explains  a concept such as using Google AdSense ads to make money online, as well as some of the coding techniques to make it more effective.

The verdict: If you are a beginner, you’ll definitely learn some great ways, as well as important models, to make money online.  If you are already making money online, you’ll probably gain a few useful nuggets to help you achieve even more success.

The post The Sweet Sound of Online Sales: Review of KaChing appeared first on Small Business Trends.

The book arrived in a box wrapped in funky zebra wrapping paper, with a personal note from Chris.  As someone who does P.R. for a living, and who has reviewed many books, this really stood out.  Give this woman a bonus!

Anyway, I eagerly started reading this book, and found some terrific nuggets.  Then I started reading more and thought it was really targeted at larger companies than mine, so I put it aside.

As luck would have it, I had a business issue to deal with, and a solution within Selling to Zebras rang a bell.  So I decided to pick it up again.  Here’s what I learned:

1)      Second chances are important, (in books and in life – including a somewhat exaggerated but mostly true story of how I hated my husband when I first met him.)

2)      There’s some really good stuff in this book that I can use right now to help me with my challenge.

On to my business challenge and how I solved it. . .

First, you’ll need to understand what a Zebra is, in the context of this book.

A Zebra, according to the authors, is the prospect that is perfect for your company – and not just from a product or solution perspective. It is a prospect that you know you can win based on identifiable, objective characteristics – and Zebras are the only prospects a salesperson should pursue.

Why did the authors choose a Zebra to symbolize the perfect prospect? The authors say it’s because a Zebra’s stripes tell you exactly what kind of animal you’re looking at – you can’t mistake a Zebra for any other animal, so you know for sure when you have one.

In the book the idea of a company’s Zebra is explained in story form.  The head of a sales team is in danger of losing his job (and possibly the jobs of his salespeople) due to dismal sales.  By learning about the Zebra process, he is able to turn things around.

One of the most compelling aspects of the book is the creation of the Push-Button Zebra, a  spreadsheet  you can use to identify the worthiness of your prospects.

The book gives examples of the different attributes that can be considered for your own Push-Button Zebra spreadsheet.  In the book you are also given access to a free template to create your own Push-Button Zebra.

My Push-Button Zebra

Now I can explain my business challenge.

I was recently contacted by a prospect to do P.R.  He had a great product that I was interested in representing, but he was getting proposals from several P.R. companies, and I had an uneasy feeling about this. I needed to make a decision about whether or not I was going to do a proposal for this company.

Then I remembered a similar situation in the book, where the head of sales was given a “prospect” by his boss, and based on the Push-Button Zebra, the head of sales realized this was not a good prospect, and didn’t want to waste anyone’s time putting a proposal together.

Since I hate doing proposals, I didn’t want to do one unless I absolutely had to.  So instead I decided to use the more objective Push-Button Zebra process to aid in this decision.

I spent some time determine the aspects of my best Zebras.  Here were the attributes I included in my spreadsheet:

1)      Price as a Deciding Factor – ranging from “price is the only criteria”, to “seeing the value of my company”

2)      How Did They Found Me? - ranging from an “Internet search” to a “personal referral”

3)      Access to Decision-Maker – ranging from “no contact”, to “Decision Maker is primary contact”

4)      Funding – ranging from “uncertain” to “budget criteria established”

5)      ROI – ranging from “not quantifiable” to “proven ROI with similar clients”

6)      Previous P.R. experience – ranging from “never used a P.R. firm” to “used a P.R. firm and value the benefits of P.R.”

7)      Time-Frame – ranging from “wants immediate results” to “interested in a long-term business relationship”

There are seven attributes with a maximum score of four, so the highest score that can be achieved is a 28.  Zebras are in the 20-28 range.  My prospect scored a 12, which was close to a high risk prospect. Based on this decision, and my gut, I decided not to pursue the prospect.

Finding Your Stripes

I’ll be using this spreadsheet to determine whether or not to move forward with other prospects, and I urge any of you who are responsible for sales, to do the same.

The post Find Your Zebra: Watch Your Sales Skyrocket appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Hsieh offers his thoughts in his new book, “Delivering Happiness:  A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose,” (Hachette Book Group), 2010.

The “Delivering Happiness” team sent me an advance copy of the book to review, and as a shoe-a-holic and Zappos fan,  I eagerly devoured it.

A Billionaire’s Background

If you’re interested in how Hsieh became a young billionaire, you won’t be disappointed. Hsieh spends a good amount of time detailing (in his best attempt to be self-deprecating) his childhood entrepreneurial spirit and ventures, his education at Harvard, and the business he co-founded, LinkExchange, and sold to Microsoft for $265 million.

After making a boatload of money, Hsieh and some of his former employees started a venture capital fund. Soon after launching the venture capital fund, Hsieh was contacted by Nick Swinmurn, who had just started ShoeSite.com, which would later become Zappos.

Lessons from Poker

Around the same time, Hsieh started playing a lot of poker. In one of the more “how-to” parts of the book, Hsieh offers a list of the lessons he learned from playing poker that could also be applied to business.  Here are a few of the gems:

• Table selection is the most important decision you can make
• The guy who wins the most hands is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run
• Make sure your bankroll is large enough for the game you’re playing and the risks you’re taking
• Figure out the game when the stakes aren’t high
• Differentiate yourself.  Do the opposite of what the rest of the table is doing

As Hsieh explains how he began investing in and getting more involved in the operation of Zappos, we learn how each of these poker lessons was put to use.

Nuts and Bolts

Here are some other lessons/themes from the book:

• Friends are important in creating a happy, successful business and life
• Zappos went through some dire financial times, and several times it was on the brink of shutting down due to lack of funding; at one point Hsieh had to liquidate most of his assets to get needed dollars
• Do not screw over Zappos – they will name you by name (hello, outsourced fulfillment center that didn’t do a great job); but if they love you, they’ll promote the heck out of you (UPS)
• How the company decided to brand through customer service and how it transformed the company
• Why the company is headquartered in Las Vegas
• The Zappos hiring and training program – examples and details
• If you focus on the “Wow” experience, eventually the press will pick up on it

Hsieh also describes the process of being acquired by Amazon, and detailed the employee questions and experience during that time.

Finding Happiness

The book ends with the explanation of the Zappos current vision and purpose:  Delivering Happiness to the world. Hsieh hopes that he has inspired the reader to make “your customers, employees or yourself” happier.

Now, who can argue with that?

The post Review of Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Well, not having enough money to pay your bills, or getting threatened by legal actions are also frightening.  But since I’m reviewing “The One Page Business Plan for Women in Business,” I’ll stick with the first example.

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first.  If we’re not approaching someone for financing, do we really need a business plan?

The short answer is yes. Every business should have one.  And I would say, as would the authors of this book, that for most businesses, the one page business plan is sufficient.

I was sent this book by one of the authors, Tamara Monosoff, who has written several other great books for women business owners.  This time she teamed up with “One Page Business Plan” expert Jim Horan to create a book specifically for women in business.

And I like it.  I really, really like it.

Now, I’m not exactly a slouch in the business department, and I have a finance degree and an MBA, but I don’t like creating business plans. However, I figured that creating a business plan that’s only one page wouldn’t kill me.  So I decided to use the book to create a business plan for myself.

Fill-in-the-Blanks

As a fan of fill-in-the-blank stuff, I really liked the idea of a one-page template containing the five areas that needed to be filled in on the plan: Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies and Action Plans.

The best part was the CD in the back of the book that contained already filled-in examples from all types of companies, and a blank plan that you could fill out yourself.  The CD also contained useful budgeting and sales forecasting worksheets.

Workbook

This book is also a workbook, with questions and space designed to help you figure out the elusive Mission and Vision statements, as well as the Objectives, Strategies and Action Plans.

Examples from Women Business Owners

Throughout the book, there are examples and advice from Women Business Owners in a variety of industries.  This really helped make the reader (me) connect with the book, as I am also a Woman Business Owner.

Any Drawbacks?

Of course.  Is anything perfect?  I had a colleague, Lauren A. Cohen, Esq., president of e-Council Inc., review the book, since she writes many business plans. She really liked the book and thought it would be useful for many business owners.  The only caveat, she said:  “If a business is looking to raise capital, or license or franchise their business, a more detailed business plan would be necessary.” This makes sense.

The Bottom Line

The book and CD were useful in helping me create a one-page business plan that will help me focus on growing my business.  And I didn’t go crazy in the process.  That, to me, is the beauty of this book.

The post Making Business Plans Easy appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Step 1:  Have A Great Product, Service or Business

Most small businesses think that what they sell is great.

The Key: To get publicity, you need to provide what the media thinks is great.

Here are some examples of what makes products interesting to the media:

• A truly new product (just launched in the last few months or about to be launched)
• Unique, breakthrough product
• Works well, tastes great, etc. (In most cases the media will test out your product if they are interested in featuring it in a story)
• Colorful packaging / visually appealing – especially important for visual media
• Product ties into trends – organic/green, political, etc.
• Priced right – less than key price points ($100, $50, $25, $10) or priced high if truly a luxury item

Here are some examples of what makes services and businesses interesting to the media:

• New service, company or book (just launched in the last few months or about to be launched)
• Unique, breakthrough service, concept or business
• Provides ways to save money
• Offers something for free
• High rate of revenue and employee growth
• Ties into trends

Step 2:  Approach The Right Media Contact With A Great Pitch

You should only approach media that cover your type of product or business.  This means that you’ll need to read, listen to or view these media outlets prior to pitching them.

Once you determine that your business or product is a good fit for their editorial coverage, you need to find the right contact.  You can do this in several ways:

• Call up the media outlet and ask who the person is who covers your area
• Look at the print masthead or producer credits
• Search online
• Buy a list – you can find these online

Then you need to pitch the contact. Include why your product or service is a great fit for that media outlet, as well as a product or service description.  Don’t forget to include your contact information.

You can pitch via phone or email.  Here, you can see a sample pitch for a product or service business.

Step 3: Follow Up

This is the part that trips up most do-it-yourself publicists and even P.R. folks.  Once the media has expressed interest in your product or service, you must be persistent in contacting them.

Often you’ll need to follow-up with them several times, via the phone or email, until you have gotten media coverage.

By following these steps, your chances of getting publicity are greatly increased.  And once you get publicity, you’ll see more buzz, more sales and more credibility for your business.

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