business
Bill Henthorn asked:


There are several options for a person to consider when looking getting into the car wash business. Should the person buy an existing business? Should it be automatic-self service or one with a staff of washers? Should you consider a mobile business or a business with a fixed location? Should the business be a hand wash business or equipment oriented? All of these questions must be answered and the potential owner must come to grips with these options. The amount of money the person has available to put into the business will be a determining factor on what way would be the best way to go. A fixed location will cost more to do than a mobile business. Buying an existing business is usually more costly upfront than starting one from scratch, but in this case it would depend on which way the person chose. For example the mobile car wash would be far less expensive than a fixed location operation. The mobile business would have the cost of equipment and a truck. The fixed location would entail a building and the equipment for the bay or bays.

Starting either from scratch would cost a certain amount. Whether this would be more of less than buying an existing business would depend on the deal that could be made with the current owner. If the owner is motivated and trying to just get out of the business, then a better deal may be possible. The circumstances would dictate the answers to these questions.

Talking with business brokers and looking on the Internet could help in finding a person with a mobile business. The fixed property would probably be easier to find.

Another possibility would be to start with a mobile business and as the cash flow became more stable, look into getting or adding a fixed location car wash.

The Internet is a terrific way to find businesses/equipment for sale

A person thinking about starting one of these car wash associated businesses can easily find car washes for sale and brokers who represent them. The mobile businesses may be slightly harder to find, but they are available. The advantage of buying an existing business is almost always a better way to go than starting one from scratch. The immediate cash flow and clients is a huge plus to a new owner. This factor could be the difference between success and failure. An existing business is much easier to push past the break-even point and to a successful venture. A true start-up business has to gain clients and slowly build up cash flow. The question for the owner of this business is will it happen soon enough for the business to survive.

Talk with a broker about what is available and the terms they feel they can obtain from the current owner. If this is out of your reach financially, then a mobile hand wash could be the answer or using a small power washer to get the business off the ground and started. There are several options in this business that could lead to a successful new business. Getting clients will be the biggest problem facing the new owner of such a business, as there are few to none when the business is opened.

The Internet can be used to find equipment, which is new or used. This is another real advantage of using this tool to help a potential owner find what is needed. Just put in what you are looking for in the search box and you will be surprised at how many sources will show up.



Arranging financing of an existing business



The current owner is the obvious source of some financing of an existing business. The problem is the buyer will have to pay a higher price for the business than if it were being purchased for cash. Having your financing in place when making your offer for the business will save money on the purchase price.

The Internet is an excellent way to find business financing for your purchase. There are several firms that show up on the Net for this type of loans. These firms are in the business of doing this kind of lending and are much more understanding of the problems a new owner faces when buying a business. They are certainly worth contacting and discussing your situation.

Car Wash information and Car Wash business planning

There are great sources on the Net that will help the potential owner of any type of business. The Car Wash business is well covered and a buyer can get good information about running and owning this type of business. Having prior knowledge of what is needed to be successful in this business will help a potential buyer decide if this is the correct move for them to follow. A book that tells the facts is invaluable to the buyer of such a business. Getting an up close and personal look before the fact lets the buyer imagine what it would be like to own a car wash business. If they like what the see in their minds eye they can pursue the project.

Another way to get information is to speak with people in the business. They may be willing to talk if they are sure that you will not be in competition with them. They could lead you to brokers and companies that would be helpful in getting more information. The one question that you should try to get them to answer is would they do it again. Has it panned out like they thought it would before they got into it?

Any information from all sources will help you evaluate even better the advantages and disadvantages of going into such a business. This is true of any type of business that a person is considering.

The problem as always is one size does not fit all. One owners experience could be great and another could wish they never made the decision



Conclusions



This business, car washing, has so many options available to owners and potential buyers that need to be looked at and considered very carefully.

It is not like buying a restaurant or a plumbing company. Those businesses have limited variations such as location or the type special services they offer. This business has many different levels of financial commitment to buy or start. All of these options make this an interesting business to consider. People are very particular about their cars these days. Their car represents a substantial investment that needs care and ongoing maintenance. This means this business niche is likely to grow and be used by more people all of the time. A trend like that makes this business even more attractive to the potential owner.

Finding a business for sale and the needed money to make the purchase is fairly easy for a person that is used to using an Internet search engine. If you speak with someone in the business, they may be very helpful and even better they may be in the market to sell. If they are, the obvious question is why do they want to sell. In any event they could give you valuable insight into the business.



Emily
business
Gen Wright asked:


Business cards are often overlooked when it comes to creating a positive image for a business. This is common because many business owners have many important things to take care of. This is especially true for a new business. Also, business cards are often neglected because they are perceived as tiny and unimportant items.

So, are business cards really that important to warrant any attention from the business owners themselves? Let’s take at look at how business cards are used in the lives of busy business professionals.

Business cards are used whenever there is any intention to keep in contact with another person for business reasons. So we see business cards being handed out at business meetings, trade shows, career fairs, and so on. Usually, the exchange of business cards takes place between two strangers.

In other words, both parties know very little about each other. They have never done business with each other before, and the ways they will get to know more about the other party is through the hand shake and the business card. This is where the business card plays a very important role.

At that moment, the business card represents everything about the other person. It shares important information about the position of the person (Director, Sales Director, Marketing Executive) and lets everyone else know what he or she does for a living. Every bit of information that is shared through the business cards allow potential business partners (or customers) to form first impressions.

First impressions are very important because most people will decide whether to go ahead and continue fostering a business relationship simply based on the very first impression. So if your business cards give out the wrong signals, all chances of developing the relationship will be destroyed. In this aspect, you can imagine thousands or maybe even millions of pounds being lost due to undesirable first impressions.

To leave a favorable first impression, all you have to do is to pay more attention to the process of creating business cards. The process of designing and printing business cards goes something like this.

First, brain storming sessions may be held so as to harvest as many ideas as possible. After that, a few designs may be created as prototypes. If you like, you can send out sample copies to business associates to ask for their opinions. Decide on the best version, and then send out the design to your printer.

Because of the importance of business cards, it is wise to pick a business card printer that you can trust. That means picking a service provider with lots of experience in printing.

Professional business cards printers will be able to give you proper advice on the technical aspects of business card printing. For example, if details of the logo may be lost due to poor image source quality, they will notify you. Such strict quality control measures are necessary to ensure that business cards turn out exactly the way you want them to.

With high quality business cards, you never have to worry about creating the wrong first impression again.



Shary
business
Josh Bradley asked:


For many years people have been looking for a way to turn home offices, dens, and even kitchen tables into money making machines by starting their own work at home businesses. Now that the Internet has came into play it has only accelerated the want and desire of millions around the globe who are looking to cash in on the new Internet and Home Business revolution.

But how is your average person supposed to find work at home business success? Although many think that it’s as simple as putting up a website and away you go, the hundreds of thousands who have failed would tell you different. The truth is that finding the right work at home business can be an easy or a hard task depending on where you are looking. As for achieving success that comes after you establish your new business and turn on that invisible open sign in cyberspace.

Over the next few minutes I’m going to expose to you how a rookie was able to locate and start a work at home business as well as make it profitable in a short period of time. After reading this information you too should be able to locate, start, and build a home business that gives you serious long term results.

Introducing the “5″ simple steps to starting a profitable work at home business…

#1 – Discover Your Work At Home Business Options

Everyone can agree that there are thousands of ways to start a work at home business. Unfortunately most of these ways require a full-time commitment and a leap of faith. This usually eliminates 95% of the people who would like to make money from home but don’t have the time, money, or resources to make something like that fly.

Of course with the advent of the Internet we have been exposed to many new possibilities that do not require a full time commitment or a lot of money. Here are just a few examples of how people are making money from home these days:

Affiliate Marketing

Google Adsense

Private Label Products

Network Marketing

Niche Marketing

Direct Sales

Etc.

While all of these are viable options, I personally endorse network marketing for a few meaningful reasons. First off, it’s a residual income business meaning that if you do the work once you can get paid on it for years to come. Second, it’s a people helping people business and I’ve been able to meet some of the greatest people thanks to network marketing. Third, it’s an easy business that anyone can get started with regardless of past experience or current situation.

With that said please understand that all network marketing companies are not created equal and there are many out there that aren’t much more than fly-by-night operations posing as legitimate network marketing opportunities. If you choose to go network marketing stay away from “pre-launch” opportunities and companies that only offer an opportunity without a real product to back it up.

Whatever avenue you choose make sure it makes sense to you. Nobody has ever been successful with something they didn’t believe in so make sure the home business you pursue is something you are passionate about.

#2 – Uncover the finances involved with your new venture.

Every business will be a bit different in costs but one thing is universal. Your start up costs is not the only thing you need to factor in when looking at how you’re going to finance your new venture. Besides start up costs you are also going to have the costs of doing business and marketing / advertising costs.

Here is a breakdown of the different costs you need to account for:

Start up costs: Your start up costs is how much money it takes you to get the ball rolling with your new venture. Any type of work at home business is going to have some kind of upfront money needed to simply get the material in place to open up shop.

Costs of doing business: Your costs of doing business are going to be the money that is needed to keep your day to day operations functional. For most home businesses this is simply a phone line, an internet connection, office supplies, book keeping, monthly fees, and product inventory. Another reason I like network marketing is because it greatly reduces your costs of doing business.

Marketing / Advertising costs: For some reason this is the one cost that everyone forgets to factor into the equation. Here is the bottom line, without marketing or advertising nobody will be exposed to your business meaning it can’t grow. Some things in business will never change and this is one of them. However, the good thing about a home business is that if your smart (or have a smart mentor or coach) you can market your business without spending very much money.

Okay, so now that we established the three different business costs you can come up with a game plan on the finances your going to need to make your new business fly.

#3 – Use tools but don’t take the relationship factor out of your business.

Isn’t modern technology wonderful? We now have so many great tools at our disposal that cost us next to nothing. Unfortunately this modern technology has also been the downfall to many entrepreneurs who didn’t know how to use it correctly. While technology does make a home business owner’s life easier it is not a replacement for building relationships.

I’ve ran into hundreds of home business owners (not profitable ones) who hide behind the screen of their computer and wouldn’t come out to actively build their home business. They never wanted to talk to anyone, help anyone, or be publicly proud about what they were doing and who they were helping. Just imagine if you went down to the local tire shop and nobody wanted to answer your questions, give you recommendations, or guide you through the sales process. Do you think that tire shop would make any money or have any customers? Of course they wouldn’t!

The same rule applies for Internet / work at home businesses. You need to build relationships if you want to be successful.

#4 – Dedicate both time and resources to grow your budding venture.

Want to know the biggest obstacle home business owners face? It’s treating the business like a real business and not like a hobby. Of course this isn’t how it starts out to be but a few weeks after your business has been officially started is when some “hobby mentality” will try and creep in. Pretty soon your business is getting absolutely no attention and you are there wondering why it isn’t working.

The truth is that you will only get out of your business what you put in and if you are not actively doing things on a daily basis to grow your business than who is? Nobody! If nobody is doing any work then it’s only obvious that the business can’t become profitable.

I call this having a hobby mentality because most people treat their hobbies as something that is on the back of their mind and they get to it when time permits. If you attack your work at home business like this or you will not achieve success.

#5 – Always set goals and work towards them.

The final thing you must do to achieve work at home business profits is make sure that you are constantly setting goals and achieving those goals. Goals serve as your road map and keep you focused on the business at hand. Without goals you will find yourself drifting away from your home business and not staying on track to put profits in your pocket. You should have daily, monthly, and yearly goals.

Daily Goals: If you can set out to make a positive difference in your work at home business everyday than pretty much nothing can hold you back. Every night before you go to bed, get on your laptop or pull out a notebook and write down your goals for the next day. Daily goals should be simple but big enough to make a difference in your business.

Monthly Goals: Each month you should evaluate where you stand in your business. Make it a goal to be progressing every month. If you are doing this, not only will it keep your spirits high, but also assure you that you are on the right path. If for some reason you do experience a drop (that does happen) don’t get discouraged and let it motivate you to do even better the next month.

Yearly Goals: The great thing about a home business and network marketing is the fact that you can see results much faster than a traditional business model. While traditional business models usually require 5 years before a profit is reached, someone working a network marketing business hard could be a multi-millionaire by then.

The first yearly goal you want to make when you get started is that you will work your business for at least 12 straight months before you decide to press on or give up. Since most people quit before they get started (2 to 3 months), this goal will stop you from making the same mistake and actually give yourself a realistic chance to succeed.

In closing, I hope this short lesson serves as a guide to go out and find your own profitable work at home business. Don’t take shortcuts, steer clear of the “to good to be true” opportunities, and take personal responsibility to make yourself successful when you find the right home business.

Remember that there are only two factors that can make a home business a success or a failure, the business itself or the person working it. So get out there, find something that fits you and then make a promise to yourself that you will be the reason it succeeds.



Laura
business
Bill Thomas asked:


A business school in a box is definitely the quickest, easiest and most reliable way to learn how to start a home based business. If you want to access the very best small business knowledge center money can buy and successfully operate your home based small business, then you should avoid investing in traditional business schools.

Local trade and vocational institutions, community or regional colleges and universities and even secondary schools offer night time and other nontraditional forms of training classes for adults.

Think about it – many of these local programs were designed to help home based small business and craft business community. As an added benefit, those forums offer many options for satisfying one or more of the top priorities of entrepreneurs wishing to learn more about their industry and advance their careers. 

Even with all that support, the first thing you have to learn is how to start a home based business. Aspiring owners need more convenient forms of supplementary educational resources to help them develop their business domain knowledge. That’s where the business school in a box can serve you your needs.

A few top business schools are already providing or considering support for the home based business entrepreneur. We see online business school offerings gaining momentum with ever-increasing velocity.

A Boxed-Lunch of New Business Opportunity

The main drawback of most traditional business schools is that student entrepreneurs must physically attend classes, this requirement demands an unreasonable amount of time, money and effort from these struggling students. In response to these constraints many organizations now offer a “business school in a box”, a series of knowledge-based learning sessions, articles and lectures.

These programs give students ways to learn established standards and become well-versed in the various topics of business management, including accounting, finance and marketing.

Often, the business school in a box consists of packaged lessons or recorded lectures students can access online.  Business concepts, ideas and theories are usually taught in these serialized lesson modules. 

I think you will agree that this form of training is perfect for entrepreneurs searching for the optimal small business knowledge center solution – it can especially help out people who are trying to learn:



how to start a home based business;

how to manage a home based, small business;

how to find good home based business opportunities for moms and women.





 

What Comes On Your Plate?

You do realize that learning how to start a home based business or successfully operating your home based small business means working on your own without a boss or direct supervisor, don’t you?

In a word, the business school in a box format is a variation on the distance education theme, and as such, some lesson plans may not provide direct interaction with your instructor or fellow students.  This kind of learning occurs through the student’s own efforts and perseverance, so you will have to be someone who works well and effectively without supervision. 

Lessons are typically presented in small packages and feature home study along with assignments. Sometimes self-grading quizzes, learning simulations and projects may also be included.  Depending on the institution, some subjects provide live online classes, which may give students a chance to participate in lectures and discussions in real time.

Yummy Advantages of A Business School In A Box

There are several advantages to choosing to learn more about how to start a home based business and managing your home based small business, using nontraditional methods such as a business school in a box.  These include:

Convenience of Your Small Business Knowledge Center

A business school in a box is the equivalent of distance learning, a well-respected and established method of imparting knowledge.  Many of today’s universities, including top business schools, use this method in order to provide better services and reach more students.  Here’s an example, students in China can enroll in online business school courses being offered in USA colleges.

Since student entrepreneurs don’t need to be physically present on campus in order to participate, they can absorb lessons at their own pace and in the privacy of their homes.  This forum gives them the flexibility and relative freedom to develop their ideas for a home based business and devote serious attention on how to start a home based business that they might not achieve in a traditional classroom setting.

Lower Food Costs for Your Business Education

Generally, a business school in a box package can be less expensive than the best online business schools.  Most assignments and tasks assigned just require the use of available, virtually free technology, with minimal need to produce hard copies.  Because program’s materials can be accessed from the home helps students save on their travel, food and lodging expenses.

With its low cost of entry, learning how to start a home based business or acquiring the knowledge to grow your home based small business this format presents an attractive alternative to other educational options.

Access to all-you-can-eat business training and coaching resources

Some of the best business schools in a box programs use combinations of teaching techniques to optimize the learning experience for their students.  Other than passive lectures, for example, students can also take advantage of online classroom settings, discussion forums, chats and instant messaging in order to communicate with their instructors and classmates.

In today’s globally-focused, online-driven, socially networked economy, expanding your home based small business or getting the knowledge you need on how to start a home based business is easier, cheaper and more robust than ever before.

You will find there are more than enough educational options, regardless of whether you:



operate a home based business for moms and women;

have promising ideas for some part time home based businesses;

desire to make your efforts pay-off with a more profitable home based business. 



 

Copyright © 2008, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All Rights Reserved Worldwide.



Yolanda
business
bobinn asked:


Looking to develop a new business that does not require collecting Texas sales tax on products or services. Are there such business out there?

Kenneth
business
bjmarchini asked:


I am budgeting about 500-600 for the project and about 100 for the screen. I can afford a 2000 projector.

A ViewSonic PJ506D SVGA (800×600) 4:3/16:9 2000 lumens business projector is going for 500 with a mail free screen and mount offer.

An InFocus In72 WVGA (852×480) 900 lumens home theater projector is going for about the same refurbished with no extras.

I have read that I really should get a home theater projector rather than a business projector like the 506D, but the lumens scares me.

I am projecting on an 80″screen with blinds and curtains closed. no lights. still some ambient light.

Which will be better. I am going to use it the a really nice DVD player, Wii and Home theater PC. No interest in HD DVDs for atleast 3-4 years when I will prob upgrade this anyway.

Omar

business
Tom S asked:


How can the airline business get away with treating their customers so badly? The delays, the tons of junk fees, the lax maintenance issues, the awful ticket pricing systems, etc.

Many other businesses would go belly up if they treated their customers so badly. How can the airlines get away with treating those whose survival they depend on, so poorly.

Soulik