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Smart Small Business Risk Management Can Help You Sidestep ‘Big Traps’
As a small business owner, you know that running a small business is, well, risky business.
But Bob Gellman, managing director at the business consulting firm CBIZ Inc. who’s been giving business owners advice since the 1980s, says there are ways to minimize risks by taking a “long-term view.”
As a small business owner, you have a long list of potential risks to think about.
You worry about legal liability if ever there’s an accident at your place of business and about your books being in order in case the taxman comes knocking on your door. You worry about having enough insurance in case of a natural disaster or a theft or some other unexpected event.
A single mistake related to a legal, insurance or financial accounting issue could be costly and lead to a serious setback.
“A business owner spends a lot of time creating wealth,” Gellman tells NerdWallet. “They should have a system in place which they can rely on to protect the value they have created. The mantra is grow and protect.”
And you can protect what you’ve built if you keep in mind these three tips, which Gellman says are all about avoiding “big traps.”
1. Don’t get stuck with the wrong set of advisers
Bob Gellman
Your small business will surely use the services of these key professionals: an attorney, an accountant and an insurance broker. Whether you hire them as staff or use contractors, your choices are critical, Gellman says. That’s because the realm of “what you think is possible and not possible will be ruled” by the people you choose to take on those important responsibilities, he says.
Hiring for these positions means being sensitive to conflicts of interest, Gellman says.
“It’s all about conflicts of interest,” he says. “An independent advisor should have the client’s best interest at heart, which would include referring them to someone who may be more competent in a particular area. Asking an insurance salesperson to provide a financial plan is the classic example” of a potentially bad move.
When hiring an attorney, an accountant or an insurer, Gellman urges small business owners to “understand their competency and how they get paid.” “It helps to know that your advisor works with a team of other advisors who they can readily refer in to assist in plan development and execution,” he says.
2. Make sure your lawyer, accountant and insurer are in sync
So you’ve hired a lawyer, an accountant and an insurer. You meet or consult with each one of them regularly. But what if they don’t know what each is doing for your small business? They probably don’t even know one another.
That’s another common risk-management mistake, Gellman says. He recommends meeting with all three at least once a year, essentially to say, “Let’s get the issues out on the table and talk about them.”
This is a particularly serious problem for fast-growing companies with 50 to 100 employees, Gellman says. These small businesses usually have the money to pay for quality services, but they have “grown to the point that there’s so much going on.”
So they’re not able to leverage the professionals who are supposed to be working for them. Companies like these, he says, “are usually riding a rocket” but “have lots of issues all the time.”
3. Have a comprehensive plan, including an exit strategy
“Begin with the end in mind,” is one point Gellman stresses to small businesses. That means having an idea of the road ahead for your small business, including the role you plan to play in your company.
Are you in it for the long haul as the owner and as the boss? Or do you plan to unload some of the burden by bringing in a partner or other investors? Or do you plan to make an exit when your small business reaches a certain point, say, revenue of over $1 million?
Your game plan and objectives could change, of course. But having a “long-term view” will help you define your strategy and tactics in running the company.
And remember that your plan should take into account business cycles and trends in both the market where you’re competing and the economy in general. Gellman cites the example of a Los Angeles couple who found their plan to sell their housing construction firm and retire derailed by the housing crisis that started to hit in 2006.
They learned from that lesson as they continued running the business, while preparing for “their next window of opportunity,” Gellman says. To do this, these business owners “prepare a quarterly economic dashboard that portrays national, regional and local trends as well as internal business metrics.”
Bottom line, Gellman says, small business owners should always ask: “You want make you money and you want to keep it. What are the risks of you losing it?”
For more information about how to start and run a business, visit NerdWallet’s Small Business Guide. For free, personalized answers to questions about starting and financing your business, visit the Small Business section of NerdWallet’s Ask an Advisor page.
Benjamin Pimentel is a staff writer covering small business for NerdWallet. Follow him on Twitter @benpimentel, on Google+ and on LinkedIn.
Image via iStock.
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Protein for Pets Partners With CircleUp to Fund Hypergrowth
Protein for Pets co-founders Marco and Berenice Giannini are changing the way people shop for pet food. Their strategy is simple: Offer high-quality products at a good price, and provide an easier way for consumers to shop by organizing pet food according to protein and product type, instead of by brand.
So far, the strategy is working. Protein for Pets opened its first location in March 2014, and the company has already opened an additional nine retail stores throughout Southern California.
“We have a small-store format with low overhead, which is not only easier for the consumer to shop, but it also provides a fast return to the investment community,” says Marco Giannini, Pets for Protein’s CEO. Prior to starting Protein for Pets, Giannini founded a dog food and treat company called Dogswell in 2003. He sold Dogswell in 2008 but continued as CEO until leaving the company in 2013.
Giannini says that if Protein for Pets really wants to take hold of the competition, it will have to expand at an even faster pace. By the time the seventh store was built, he says he and Berenice, who is the company’s chief operating officer, had started to think about getting outside funding, which can be a time-consuming process.
After considering several other potential sources of financing, they chose CircleUp, an online platform that focuses on helping entrepreneurs raise capital from a network of accredited, or wealthy, investors.
“We went to CircleUp because it’s the next generation of funding — it’s like Facebook for funding,” Giannini says.
Marco Giannini, CEO of Protein for Pets, in one of the company’s 10 stores (so far).
An equity crowdfunding platform
CircleUp partners with early-stage consumer product and retail companies in such fields as personal care, apparel, retail chains and restaurants.
“We partner with those companies, and they join our community and our platform, to connect with and hopefully raise capital from a community of angel and private equity investors,” says Pat Robinson, business development manager at CircleUp.
The average company on CircleUp has a little over $1 million in annual revenue, and all have at least $500,000 in annual revenue, so they are a little bit later-stage than a start-up.
“They generally have a product on the shelves — or in Protein for Pets’ case, they have stores that are built and they’re selling products,” Robinson says. “So they want to raise more capital to produce and sell more products.”
Robinson says CircleUp’s application process can be completed online in less than five minutes. The company asks for “high-level” information, such as revenue in the past year, growth rates and gross margins.
From there, the company reviews each application and gives feedback within a day or two. Not every company gets accepted — in fact, CircleUp accepts only about 5% of all applicants, Robinson says. That’s why he says it’s important to really make your company stand out from others.
“Our best advice would be to have a product and a brand that really solves a problem and that is out there in the marketplace, and it’s differentiated,” Robinson says. “If you have something that’s sort of new and innovative that’s solving a problem for consumers…that’s going to translate into a growing business with growing sales and distribution opportunities.”
More potential investors, less time searching
The advantages of raising money at CircleUp include tapping into a wider network of potential investors who have experience in your business sector, Giannini says.
“It’s obviously very difficult if you’ve got your 10 wealthiest friends, and five of them say yes and the rest say maybe or no… where do you go from there?” says Giannini.
CircleUp “allows you get a lot more people and a lot more prospective investors in,” says Giannini. “I’m speaking with someone next week who’s from Cincinnati. Last week I had a conversation with someone from New York. I’ve had conversations with people from all over the place.”
CircleUp’s community of investors is also well versed in brands and consumer products and can offer strategic guidance and support, Robinson says.
“These are folks that want to be brand ambassadors and be supportive, ‘value-add’ investors along the way,” Robinson says. “We only focus on (consumer-oriented businesses), so the investors in our community come to us knowing that we’re only going to show them high-quality consumer investment opportunities that they can be excited about.”
Protein for Pets is still in the process of raising equity from CircleUp, and the company is trying to raise up to $3 million in equity or 30% of the company, Giannini says.
The funds will be used to open new stores (which only cost $50,000 to $60,000 each to build, as the company uses “really simply recycled materials”, according to Giannini), to build out the management team and support staff, and for marketing. The company plans on growing very fast, as it aims to open 10 stores a year for the next two to three years, and within five years, have 100 locations in total, Giannini says.
Tips for other entrepreneurs
Robinson says his best advice for businesses hoping to get accepted on CircleUp is to offer a product and a brand that really solve a problem and are already out there in the marketplace.
“If you have something that’s sort of new and innovative that’s solving a problem for consumers, most likely that’s going to translate into a growing business with growing sales and distribution opportunities,” he says.
Once accepted on the platform, Robinson says, it’s important to prove to investors not only that your product is great, but also that you’re offering a good investment opportunity.
“We always encourage entrepreneurs to engage and be proactive with investors, in the same way with selling their own product,” says Robinson.
Small-business owners and entrepreneurs seeking financing at any stage should have already proven their concept and have sales coming in the door, Giannini says.
“In order to get financing — whether it’s $100,000 or $10 million – you need to prove concept,” he says. “If you can prove the concept, you’ve got to open up your stores if it’s a store format, you’ve got to sell some consumer goods, you’ve got to ‘make a little, sell a little.’”
“If you’re selling a physical asset, it’s got to be something you can touch and feel,” Giannini says. “If you’re selling something that’s online, you’ve got to have the website up or the app up. You’ve got to have something investors can wrap their arms around.”
Giannini hopes to close this round of financing within the next couple of months.
“I think the more enthusiasm we provide and put themselves out there, people will come around and realize that we’re really doing something that can change the paradigm of pet shopping,” Giannini says.
For more information about how to start and run a business, visit NerdWallet’s Small Business Guide. For free, personalized answers to questions about starting and financing your business, visit the Small Business section of NerdWallet’s Ask an Advisor page.
Steve Nicastro is a staff writer covering personal finance for NerdWallet. Follow him on Twitter@StevenNicastro and on Google+.
Image of Marco Gianinni courtesy of Protein for Pets.
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8(a) Small Business Program May Be a Hassle, but the Payoff? Huge
Sometimes, certain entrepreneurs deserve an edge over the competition. That’s the theory behind a government leg-up program for disadvantaged small-business owners.
Those who may have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias can get help to compete in the marketplace with the SBA’s 8(a) business development program.
If accepted in the program, an entrepreneur is eligible for government sole-source contracts — meaning there are no other competitive bids — up to a ceiling of $4 million for goods and services and $6.5 million for manufacturing, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Businesses that are 8(a) certified can get help securing SBA-backed loans, join in business-education and guidance programs and partner with other business owners to bid on contracts, according to the administration.
To qualify, a small business must be owned and controlled at least 51% by “socially and economically disadvantaged” citizens, meaning they may have faced cultural bias or prejudice as a result of their race or ethnicity. The business must also “demonstrate the potential for success, and the owners must show good character,” according to the SBA. Here’s a full list of requirements.
NerdWallet recently spoke with three small-business owners who benefited from the SBA’s 8(a) program to get a better idea of what it has to offer, as well as advice for other small-business owners interested in the program.
‘The time will fly by quickly’
Lourdes Martin-Rosa, president of Government Business Solutions and an American Express Open advisor on government contracting
Martin-Rosa applied for the 8(a) program six years ago. Her business, Government Business Solutions, is a program management firm that works with the federal government, providing event management, advertising and marketing services, as well human-capital training. (Human capital, as Investopedia puts its, is the economic value of an employee’s skill set and can be invested in through education and training.)
She found the application process to be a bit time consuming but says the program has helped her business significantly.
“We received our 8(a) certification in January 2010,” Martin-Rosa says, “and the following years, we won three 8(a) sole-source contracts, totaling over $3 million in contract awards.”
Martin-Rosa had been doing business with the federal government for 15 years prior to pursuing the certification. “It helped our visibility,” she says, “but our experience and expertise in the government sector played a large role in these wins.”
There’s help for creating an acceptable submission, she adds. Representatives from Small Business Development Centers and Procurement Technical Assistance Centers are available, but Martin-Rosa says you still have to take the time to complete all the forms and gather all the information you’re required to submit.
“In addition to a variety of corporate documents, personal and business financials, you need to submit several SBA and IRS forms to an SBA 8(a) eligibility office before you are even considered as a program candidate,” she says, and this part of the application process may take up to a year to complete.
“The total timeframe for applications is averaging eight months to a year from the time of the first application submission to receiving the 8(a) SDB certification award letter,” she says.
Martin-Rosa has some advice for other small businesses thinking of pursuing 8(a) certification: “They should have experience in government contracting. Many small businesses make the mistake of obtaining an 8(a) certification to learn how to capture contracts in the government sector.”
Time in the 8(a) program is limited to nine years, she says, unless you are Alaskan or Native American. “The time will fly by quickly and likely will not be utilized efficiently if you are still learning the basics.”
‘It’s not a magic bullet’
Jeannette King, president and CEO of Strategic Resolution Experts Inc.
Strategic Resolution Experts work with customers to help them solve problems related to human capital, business processes and technology, says King, a Navy veteran who founded the company in 2007 in West Virginia. Over half of the company’s workforce is made up of veterans or spouses of veterans, according to King.
The application itself was lengthy — the first submission was 499 pages, and the supplemental submission was 501 pages along with financials, King says.
The application process is rigorous, according to Nikki Bowmar, public affairs specialist at the SBA, so the agency can perform its due diligence to prevent fraud.
King calls the program “a tool in your toolbox — it’s not a magic bullet, but like everything else worth having, you have to work to make it successful.”
“Having the 8(a) designation provides a foot in the door,” she says, “but you still must be able to back up your capabilities and prove you can perform.”
Strategic Resolution Experts also obtained an SBA-backed line of credit, King says, which allowed the company to bid on larger contracts and show customers and teaming partners that they had the ability to pay employees and vendors.
She says the best advice she can give to other small business owners is not to rush to get the designation.
“It takes a good five years to develop strong relationships and a solid reputation, which can be done by working with large partners, obtaining a General Services Administration schedule, and responding to requests for information and requests from small-business specialists,” King says. “Take that time to develop relationships, establish your corporate infrastructure and branding, and then apply.”
Be ‘ready to immediately pursue 8(a) business opportunities’
Crystal L. Kendrick, president of The Voice of Your Customer
Founded in 2007, The Voice of Your Customer is a marketing firm that assists clients seeking to penetrate niche markets, using surveys, focus groups, secret shopping and media campaigns, according to Kendrick.
The company applied for its 8(a) certification in 2009, and Kendrick says that although the application process was lengthy, she received a lot of support from local procurement and technical assistance centers and SBA offices.
“The staff at these organizations is very well versed in the process,” she says, “and their support is invaluable.”
Participating in the 8(a) program spurred The Voice of Your Customer to develop a sound business plan, identify target markets, set budget and annual operating plans, and establish strategic plans, Kendrick says.
“Once we were certified, we began to receive notices of set-aside contract opportunities that were not presented to us in the past,” she says. “These opportunities were very competitive for the size and scope of our business. In addition, because they were set aside for 8(a)-certified businesses, there were fewer competitors for each opportunity.”
Some final advice from Kendrick for other small-business owners seeking 8(a) certification.
“It is important that any small business that applies for the program is ready to immediately pursue 8(a) business opportunities, since the certification only lasts for nine years and a company can only have one 8(a) certification,” she says. “Firms must be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities, participate in networking activities and complete the required re-certification documents.”
Steve Nicastro is a staff writer covering personal finance for NerdWallet. Follow him on Twitter @StevenNicastro and on Google+.
Image via iStock. Portraits (from top) of Lourdes Martin-Rosa, Jeannette King and Crystal L. Kendrick courtesy of interviewees.
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Google Allows Restaurant Orders Directly From Search Results
Google a restaurant, place a delivery order. It’s that easy now.
Google announced Friday that users now will be able to place orders directly from search results when they look up a local restaurant.
“When you search for a nearby restaurant on your phone, you’ll see an option to ‘Place an order’ in the search results,” the company wrote in a Google+ post. “Just tap that, choose the delivery service, and you’ll be taken to their website to complete the order.”
The service debuted with six delivery companies: Seamless, Grubhub, Eat24, Delivery.com, BeyondMenu and MyPizza.com. Google says it plans to add others as well.
Placing delivery services front and center is the latest in a slew of Google search updates that aim to predict what users are doing and streamline the process. While clicking to visit a restaurant’s website, then ordering from there (or using an app like Seamless or Grubhub in the first place) may not seem like a particularly onerous task, Google reasons that shaving off a few seconds, or even fractions of seconds, from actions we perform over and over again eventually adds up to significant time saving.
Of course, placing orders via Google also gives the search giant data on the type of restaurants users like, making it easier for the company to target ads.
Doug Gross is a staff writer covering personal finance for NerdWallet. Follow him on Twitter @doug_gross and on Google+.
Image via iStock.
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Small Business Success Story: Raven + Lily Changes Lives With Able Lending
Kirsten Dickerson knew her company could change lives.
Marginalized women around the world — war and slavery refugees, the formerly homeless, the HIV positive — struggle to find stable income and avoid poverty. In 2011, Dickerson launched Raven + Lily, an ethical fashion and lifestyle brand, to produce beautiful goods and give secure jobs to these at-risk women.
It worked: Her B Corporation now employs over 1,000 at-risk women in eight countries, including Ethiopia, India and Cambodia. What Dickerson didn’t expect was the difficulty of being understood by banks and obtaining loans needed to fulfill her mission.
Dickerson’s team in Austin, Texas, designs clothes, jewelry, bags and other goods. They pay fair wages to the at-risk women, who bring their designs to life using local, eco-friendly materials.
“Our collections we sell are exclusive designs we design in-house in Austin, and they reflect the beauty and the culture of the women who make them, but they’re still modern and fashion forward,” Dickerson says.
After enjoying national success from her retail website and landing items in over 300 boutiques, she opened a flagship storefront in Austin. Last year, Dickerson took Raven + Lily through a small round of series A fundraising to gain investors without giving away significant ownership.
The next step for her was to get a loan while she proved that Raven + Lily could grow fast enough to meet the demand she knew was out there. Doing that would pave the way for a series B round at a higher valuation.
“I wanted to buy some time to prove how we were doing, and I needed additional income to help us meet growth needs and demands,” she says.
But she struggled to get approved for a loan from traditional banks — even local banks. “I found that local banks were moved by my story, but had too much red tape to support a company that was still at an early stage and functioning outside of the norm,” she says.
Banks didn’t fully understand her business model as a B Corporation or her fair-trade buying and ordering cycles.
A new loan option using crowdfunding
That’s when a mentor pointed Dickerson to Able Lending, an Austin-based business that began making loans to small businesses around six months ago. It was founded by Will Davis and Evan Baehr, who noticed that a lot of local small businesses that needed capital to grow were being turned down by traditional lenders.
“We have great friends that built apparel companies, restaurants, jewelry companies and services firms,” Baehr says. “They’re awesome businesses, and we’d be at dinner conversations with them — here we are talking about how we’re raising millions of dollars for our company, and they can’t get $100,000 to build out their new store or buy inventory.”
Baehr found that consolidation of the financial industry and a slow recovery from the recession made it difficult for many entrepreneurs to access loans. “We needed a company that built a different way to lend money to the people the banks deemed not creditworthy,” he says.
Raven + Lily’s storefront in Austin.
Baehr was inspired by the microfinance model and wanted to try something similar to Kiva, but for U.S. businesses and on a larger scale. They launched Able, and so far have funded $5 million of business.
Able provides loans between $25,000 and $250,000 to incorporated, cash-flow-positive businesses — currently only in Austin, but soon statewide and later nationwide. Borrowers apply online and must pass a credit check and financial review. If approved, Able makes an offer covering 75% of the total borrowed amount. Terms range from one to three years, and interest rates never top 16% and are negotiable.
Here’s where crowdfunding comes in: Borrowers recruit three to five “backers,” who pitch in the remaining 25% (they don’t have to split it evenly). Backers can charge the same interest rate as Able, or they can reduce it to as little as half of Able’s rate. Borrowers repay Able monthly, and they handle repaying the backers with interest.
Why require backers? Baehr says in microfinancing, business owners often come together for loans. Because they know and trust each other, they’re willing to share each other’s risks. “We can offer significantly lower interest rates by involving people that really know the business and business owner,” Baehr says.
Able originally thought most backers would be family, but they only make up 20%, he says. Many are customers wanting to invest in businesses they’re passionate about and engage with them in a different and important way. He says not a single borrower has failed to recruit their backers yet, and backers are usually in the same cities as the borrowers.
Able helps small businesses facing an all-too-common struggle, says Karlene Sinclair-Robinson, author of the best-selling book “Spank the Bank” and alternative financing expert for small businesses. She says banks offer some of the best rates, but there’s still a credit crunch causing them to turn away small businesses, even with excellent credit. “If they don’t have credit, collateral and cash flow — you need all three — they won’t get a bank loan,” she says.
She says alternative financing, such as crowdfunding and microlending, is helping fund the nation’s growing number of entrepreneurs. “You’ll continue to see more companies like Able come out, because when there’s a need that’s not being filled, we’ll come up with solutions,” she says.
Solving a business problem
Once Dickerson discovered Able, she says they took an immediate interest in Raven + Lily and became a true partner. “Our priority is so much employing these women that I want to be as profitable as possible. I didn’t have to explain myself until I was blue with Able; they got it,” she says.
A model wearing Raven + Lily’s clothing.
Able was inspired by Dickerson’s vision and saw opportunity. “Whereas the bankers saw risks, we saw thousands of customers that just love her company and what it’s achieving in the world, and those are exactly the kinds of companies we want to be able to support,” Baehr says.
Dickerson was approved for a $200,000 loan. Without it, she would have had to turn down orders. “Because I was able to get that loan, I was able to respond to the demand and prove the growth we were having,” she says.
A local advocate who served as an advisor for Raven + Lily since the beginning stepped up as the first backer and recruited the others herself.
Dickerson says the loan was the missing link to her success, and her business grew 189% from Q1 of 2014 to Q1 of 2015. “My valuation is so much higher right now than it was six months ago,” she says. “The loan really enabled me to wait this long instead of having to jump right into series B at the end of 2014. I’m now in my series B seeking to raise $1 million for this round.”
Is your company ideal for Able?
Baehr says most companies Able funds have been turned away by banks for loans. Others explored other online lenders first, but were turned off by high rates (one competitor’s average interest rate is 56%, whereas Able’s is just over 12%).
He says types of companies popular on social media, such as retailers, restaurants, food trucks and consumer packaged goods, often do well with Able since it’s easier to find backers (Able helped beloved Austin food truck Chi’Lantro go brick-and-mortar). The average business Able funds is 4 years old and makes over half a million dollars a year.
Able is ideal for companies that don’t plan to raise equity capital. “Our option is faster and less dilutive as a debt product versus selling equity,” Baehr says.
Since Able offers straightforward term loans for growth capital (as opposed to startup capital), Baehr says it’s ideal for anything from hiring new employees to building a second location to purchasing equipment and inventory. Able plans to offer more products in the future.
For more information about how to start and run a business, visit NerdWallet’s Small Business Guide. For free, personalized answers to questions about starting and financing your business, visit the Small Business section of NerdWallet’s Ask an Advisor page.
Emily Starbuck Crone is a staff writer covering personal finance for NerdWallet. Follow her on Twitter @emstarbuck and on Google+.
Images via Raven + Lily.
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