Running a business in a saturated market if no easy feat – in fact, it’s downright tough. With more and more businesses popping up daily, entrepreneurs are facing the challenge of not only making their product or service available, but rather, making them more valuable than anyone else’s.

With this in mind, small business owners have taken to the web to build the value of their business.

Here’s what they’re doing to effectively build the value of their small business – consider doing the same for your own business!

1. Branding

Creating a recognizable profile for your company and yourself is important when building value online. Whether you run a website, a blog, a collection of social profiles, or all of the above, it’s important to create an image for your business so people will recognize it across the web.

Branding your business online is about consistency. Help your visitors recognize your profiles, blogs, and website visually by adding a simple picture of yourself – not your business logo. The first step in tapping the social sphere as a business entity is creating transparency – in other words, you need to introduce yourself and let your visitors know who you are. By spending time branding yourself first as an authoritative person in your niche, visitors are more likely to stick around and trust you.

Once you’ve successfully branded yourself online as an authoritative source, you can then proceed to brand your product or service.

This step is all about consistency and persistence. To brand your product of service, create an image and let people know it exists – in other words, remind your visitors it’s available where ever possible without spamming them.

One of the best ways to remind your visitors that you have something to sell is to post a banner in your own sidebar, header, and in the footer of your blog posts. Remember, this game is all about reminding your visitor – the more you remind them, the more likely they’re going to buy.

Why?

Because they trust you … don’t they? Wait, how do you build trust online so that you can brand yourself as an authoritative voice?

2. Building Trust

The practice of building trust with your visitors is similar to building credit – it takes time and it requires a record of good history.

To start building trust with your visitors, you need brand yourself as a transparent source of information – that is, someone interested in providing information … for free. Even if you’re helming a business and need to focus on making money to stay alive, you need to position yourself as a source of information and help that visitors can depend on. If you don’t then visitors will happily click away from your site and visit someone else’s – and there are plenty to choose from.

Becoming transparent is simple – just be you. Avoid hiding behind company logos, mystery profile pictures, and other tactics designed to shield your identity from your customers – you don’t want people to think you’re shady. Reveal yourself and give people a reason why they should trust you – it should be clear, to the point, and fast.

Giving your visitors a reason to trust you can happen in as little to one to three steps – if you’re new, chances are it will take a bit longer.

First, create something of value your visitors can use. For example, if you have a blog, create a post that your targeted visitors will find helpful. The goal at this point is to attract your future customers, hook them with helpful content, and lead them to one of two places … which leads us to the second step:

Second, provide your visitor with an impressive “about” page. Whether you’re working from a blog, a social profile, or traditional website, you need to create that “about page” so that your visitors can read more about you once you’ve impressed them with your post (the about page is one of the most popular pages visited on a site). Tell the visitor who you are, what your experience is, and what you’re doing.

It’s completely up to you whether to take the modest approach – some find it effective, others find it effective to blatantly spell out why they’re at the top of their game. Perhaps a balance of both would serve your goals best. Visitors want to be in the hands of a pro, yet too much arrogance or confidence could result in a backfire and you’ll lose the customer.

Usually at this point you will have either gained or lost a new reader, but sometimes readers will stick around undecided, which brings us to the third step … which is more of an ongoing step:

Third, continue to help your visitors with helpful information (such as blog posts, guest posts, eBooks, reports, and more). This step depends entirely on your performance either as a social media personality, blogger, or other web publisher. Your activity and production will determine whether or not your readership grows, shrinks, or flatlines, so it’s crucial to stay on top of it at all times.

Blogging and social activity can be very rewarding, but it requires dedication of time and effort. This brings us to the final method I’d like to explore …

3. Building Useful Content

With the boom of social activity online, including networking, bookmarking, commerce, and more, there’s no question that every business owner online is a hyphenate – that is, you’re a business owner – web publisher.

By publishing blog posts, submitting to article directories, updating your status, and uploading photos or videos, you’re a web publisher. How much you do is entirely up to you – there is no secrete formula or mixture that leads to success … it’s all about experimenting what works and what doesn’t. If you’re selling cameras of developing photographs, you might find more results joining photo sharing sites than video sharing sites. Likewise, you might find that your crowd prefers to follow you short updates than your drawn out blog posts.

Regardless of platform, the point is that business owners should to take advantage of the web by providing useful content for their visitors, followers, and customers.

What type of content?

Helpful, of course! Write an article that solves someone’s problem, provides a possible solution, or other helpful resource. The idea behind producing content is to feed the conversation online and help visitors in the process – those visitors will turn into your customers depending on how well you present yourself as an authoritative voice in your niche.

If you position yourself and your business as a helpful resource, you increase the chance of turning your visitors into customers – especially when you reach out and provide help with your social profiles.

Building value for your business online isn’t all that complex; it just takes time and effort, which for most business owners, isn’t an option. If you have the time and ability to create content, it’s highly recommended. Every piece of content you publish is like an active banner – the more you publish, the more likely you’ll be able to attract some visitors. That said, creating content is also an exceptional way to connect with your customer – it enables you to open a discussion with them, hear their feedback, and even track them as customers. It also happens to be one of the ways small businesses can win customers from the conglomerate giants … connection. For more on this, check out The Power of the Business Owner’s Connection with the Customer.

Brand yourself and your business, build trust with your readers through transparent presentation, and provide helpful content – just a few ways to build value for your business online.

Christopher writes about building more value, finding more customers, and making more money online at the Dapeem blog.

Gaining an understanding of strategy and its objectives is essential not only for business, but in everyday life. I teach this topic to my accounting and finance students and thought it would make a good blog post.

Competitive strategy is really about being different and selecting a different set of activities capable of delivering a unique mix of value to customers. In the process of selecting a different set of activities it boils down to the choices you make to change the rules in your favor so you create a competitive position that eliminates the competition.

Choices to change the rules should include setting the right goals. A sound strategy might be to achieve superior profitability by not becoming too big or growing too fast. It might involve becoming a technology leader. Strategy needs to have continuity and is something that can’t be constantly reinvented. It boils down the basic value you are trying to deliver to customers. It is important to maintain a strategy that is consistent in the face of a multitude of changes.

A good strategy will ensure that its components will drives competitive advantage and sustainability. There should be a simple consistency between each functional activity and the overall strategy. This will occur when activities are reinforcing and there is an optimization of effort. A good competitive strategy will grow out of the entire system of activities.

Essentially there are five steps in developing strategy which are presented as follows:
1. Formulating a strategic vision of the organization’s future business composition and the direction on where the entity is headed.
2. Setting objectives.
3. Crafting a strategy to achieve the desired outcomes.
4. Implementing and executing the selected strategy efficiently and effectively.
5. Evaluating organizational performance and making appropriate corrective adjustments wherever necessary.
These five primary tasks become a continuous loop whereby you are observing, orienting, deciding, and acting on necessary adjustments as needed. In the current economic environment, organizations need to be agile and quick in making these decisions.

Good strategy can involve a variety of approaches. This might include a variety of cost approaches ranging from low cost/low price, differentiation, to a specific market niche. Other approaches include responses to changing market conditions, moves to secure a competitive advantage, geographic market coverage, and vertical integration. In addition strategic approaches include financial approaches, human resources, R. & D., marketing, manufacturing, and collaborative partnerships and alliances. The development of the strategy will certainly consider some of these options.

In addition to various approaches, there are some fundamental components of strategy. Foremost, it will be essential to decide what product or service attributes offer the best chance to win a competitive edge. The next step is to develop the skills, expertise, and competitive capabilities that will set the business apart from rivals. Your choice of strategic components should insulate the business as much as possible from the effects of competition.

Attempt to evaluate your firm or company as to whether it is either conventional or reactive. Another way of looking at the evaluation is to determine whether your firm is distinctive and far-sighted. One way of assessing this is evaluating which issues absorb management’s time and attention. How does management’s point of view regarding the future measure up against the competition? Are you better at improving operational efficiency or at creating new businesses? Is the company’s agenda determined by actions of competitors or is it set based on your own unique vision of the future? Within the organization, what is the balance between anxiety and hope?

Finally, it is essential to assess the quality of your strategic market leadership in terms of the customers being serviced today in contrast to those you expect to service in the future. This same question can be directed to your current competitors and who you expect to compete against in the future. Where are your profits earned today and versus where they will be earned in the future? Effective strategy is dependent on resolving the key questions of what drives your business today in contrast to what will provide the competitive advantage in the future. In too many instances, organizations fail to address these issues and follow the course of plodding from day to day with not real thought of the future.

How valuable are CPAs to their clients? What do clients want their CPAs to do for them? These questions have puzzled me and frustrated me for some time. After giving this some thought I reached the conclusion that clients don’t receive value and CPAs don’t provide the value they are capable of delivering.Creating value lies in the pursuit and development of value propositions. Value propositions aren’t defined in the tax code or in generally accepted accounting principles, yet it is the secret to greater profitability which is created by providing needed and necessary services. Clients want more than taxes and accounting from CPAs. They want and need help with their businesses, especially when economic conditions are tough. This means defining customer value in terms of what services CPAs provide and how they do business with their clients. Here is where you can link price together with reliability, dependability, and convenience of the service provided.

Far too many CPAs provide a service, but miss out on providing and building client value. This occurs because they haven’t taken the time to develop the knowledge and understanding as to what clients really need. You need to ask the key questions of clients so you know what they expect of you and how they think you could help them address their challenges and opportunities. This most likely means the ability to provide them with management consulting in strategic and operational areas.

Developing a basket of services which provide value will allow you to value bill. This begins with understanding clients needs and translates into increased profitability for you relative to the hours expended. You now have a choice on what you charge because the client is receiving greater value from the services you provide.

You might end up servicing fewer clients and receiving greater revenue. Providing added value services to clients you truly want to work with ends up being a win/win situation. You can develop some ideas relative to the types of services by reviewing the list of services I offer both to clients and as resources to CPAs.

Employing a value proposition strategy to your practice is an effective way to re-engineer what you are doing by giving clients the services they need and want. Providing added value to clients puts you in the driver’s seat and lets you value bill in contrast to just being paid for the hours you charged to an engagement. It also creates a better overall client experience since it enhances the flow of communication and avoids difficulties and problems which can occur.

You can now start charging the maximum amount that a client is willing to pay which results in greater revenue and a more productive work environment. You will have happier clients since they now perceive they are receiving the value they wanted and are willing to pay for it. Your practice should grow because happy clients talk and this should translate into increased work. This is truly a way of working smarter and not harder.

Value stream costing is a process of identifying and establishing costs for all the process steps required to provide value to the customer. It is a function of determining how much value is created by each process step. The mapping technique can be as simple as tracking all the steps associated with customer value using paper and pencil. Value stream mapping is a key element of lean thinking as in an effort to focus on and provide customer value. The mapping step is an effort to identify waste by walking through all of the process steps. It also attempts to determine how much value and cost is associated with each process step.

Activities that create form, features, and function of value to the customer are considered to be value added. All other steps are considered to be non-value added. These are the steps we would attempt to eliminate from the process or at least minimize the effort in order to reduce costs. The mapping and costing analysis should start at the customer and work all the way back through the business to its initiation.

Understanding value stream activities is a pretty easy process. From a practical stand point, costing the various value streams backwards from the customer to their source is more revealing than what is provided by traditional cost accounting systems. Activity based analysis and costing is a tool that can be used to help in analyzing value stream activities. The techniques used by this methodology can often be helpful in identifying activities and tasks. Also, the Pareto concept of 20/80 can be effectively applied to value stream mapping and costing since improving 20 percent of the processes will usually generate 80 per¬cent of the potential cost reductions and improvement in cycle time. Value stream mapping should be applied and evaluated through the eyes of the customer. Those value stream activities that provide the greatest profit impact should be addressed on a priority basis.

While this won’t make you an expert in conducting and applying value stream analysis and costing, it will provide an understanding of the basic concepts and how they are used. It is a great tool that is used in conjunction with lean accounting and lean work flow.

• Consider a part-time job or contract projects for extra money.
• Sell things you don’t need. Everyone has something they don’t need that can be converted into cash.
• Consider earning extra money from your hobbies and don’t give up your day job.
• Clip coupons and look for sales, but avoid buying things you really don’t need.
• If you need to rent a car try to select an in town agency versus at the airport. You will find a big difference in the rates.
• Some stock market advice is to stick with high quality corporate bonds to preserve your equity and avoid risk.

I’m sure you can think of some ways to conserve and save that we haven’t listed. In my recent blog post on Strategies for Recession Survival we offered some thoughts on how businesses can deal with the recession. No one has escaped the recession and how you response and deal with these challenges will define your future. There were many points that individuals can use to manage their finances and lives through these tough times. Of all the points, I think the most critical is to continuously plan and set objectives.

Setting objectives in the face of uncertainty is not an easy task. I was thinking about this and recalled a technique from one of my training programs that could be helpful. Fighter pilots use a technique which is called the OODA Loop developed by John Boyd. This is a concept used when things are happening fast and you need to react accordingly. It is a process of observe, orient, decide, and act. It strikes me that this sort of approach is what is needed to survive the uncertainties of these difficult times. The OODA Loop could make the difference between success and failure.

The first thing to realize is that risk will evolve from either internal or external sources with the potential to affect strategy. Risk represents the possibility that some event will occur. Management’s job is to assess all the risks associated with implementing strategy and achieving the organization’s objectives. It boils down to considering the impact of all the underlying events that might have some impact. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is a framework for aligning risk appetite and strategy. Based on application of the framework, managing risk becomes a process of enhancing our risk management decisions. It is about reducing operational surprises and losses through a process of identifying and managing the entire multiple and cross-enterprise risks. It is more than avoiding losses; it is a process of seizing opportunities and looking for ways to improve the deployment of capital.

It is very closely linked to internal control in that is a process that is created and managed by people. It is, or should be, applied in a strategy setting and across the enterprise. It will only provide reasonable assurance and is geared to the achievement of objectives. When we say that risk management is applied in setting strategy is that it sets strategies and then considers risks relative to alternative strategies. It evaluates alternatives and helps decide on a course of action.

Risk management is applied across the entire enterprise and should consider the entire scope of activities at all levels of the organization. You need to consider special projects and new initiatives. Don’t apply the concept too narrowly because taking a portfolio of risks may override the occurrence of a single isolated event. Your assessment should consider both quantitative and qualitative factors in reaching judgments. Also, it is useful to group risks into categories so they can be effectively managed.

Now that we’ve got you started on the road to understanding risk management we will next take up risk appetite in our next post.

Clients that wish to make contributions to charities can take advantage of low interest rates and depressed asset values to create and fund a charitable lead trust. This technique works much the same as a GRAT, but provides a stream of payments to a charity rather than back to the grantor during the initial term of the trust. A charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) is an irrevocable trust that gives a designated charity (this can be a family foundation or a public charity) the “lead” interest consisting of a stream of payments for a term of years or for an individual’s life and thereafter passes the remainder interest to (can continue as a trust for the benefit of) remainder beneficiaries – usually the donor’s children.There are special rules on the use of CLAT’s for GST tax purposes which make this tool less attractive for estate planning on passing wealth to grandchildren. Because of this drawback it is best that donors designate their children (or trusts for their benefit) as the remainder beneficiaries of any CLAT.

The charitable beneficiary receives an annuity from the trust for the term of the CLAT, after which the remainder flows to the grantor’s children. Similar to a GRAT, the value of the gift to the remainder beneficiaries is established by referencing the 7520 rate. Any return in excess of this assumed interest factor results in a tax-free gift to the remainder beneficiaries.

Another variation and an alternative to a CLAT is establishing a GRAT and then making annual gifts to charity of the amounts received back from the GRAT in the form of an annuity payment. This allows the grantor to retain complete control over amounts given to charity as well as selecting the charitable recipients in each year. It also provides the grantor with an annual income tax deduction for the amount of the contributions.

The techniques we have been discussing is appropriate for people with estates large enough to incur an estate tax imposed at death. The current exemption from federal estate tax is $3.5 million. While this was scheduled to phase out in 2010, it is likely that the Obama administration will continue the exemption at this level. I don’t know how long interest rates will remain at these levels but it represents a great chance to pass on wealth to children at a significantly reduced cost of federal estate tax.

These are unique tools for high wealth individuals to preserve the value of their estates. I hope you enjoyed these series and can benefit from them.

Because values and security prices have dropped to all time lows combined with record low interest rates means it’s a good time to lock in the value of your estate for estate tax purposes. It could preserve future cash flow by reducing inheritance taxes on the transfer of estate assets to your beneficiaries.There are a number of strategies you can use to take advantage of depressed market values to remove future appreciation on assets in your taxable estate and pass that appreciation to beneficiaries with no gift tax. One of the best tools to accomplish this is utilization of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRAT). This strategy is accomplished by the donor placing property that is likely to appreciate over its current value into a trust combined with the grantor’s right to receive a fixed annuity with remaining trust assets passing to the grantor’s children or other beneficiaries. This can be an outright transfer or includable into a continuing trust.

The neat component of this strategy is that the grantor’s retained annuity is designed so that its present value determined by IRS rules is equal to the current value of the contributed assets. The effect of this action is that the present value of the remainder gift to beneficiaries is zero ($0).

The IRS assumes that assets contributed to a GRAT will appreciate at a fixed interest rate which is called the “7520 rate.” For GRATS funded in January 2009 the 7520 rate will be 2.4%. Accordingly, to the extent that appreciation of GRAT asset exceeds 2.4%, it will pass to the remainder beneficiaries with no transfer tax consequences. Therefore, the GRAT program effectively freezes the value of assets for estate tax purposes at current low prices and values.

There could be some drawbacks in that some portion of the annuity payments will have to be made in kind, thus requiring revaluation of the trust assets on an annual basis. Another drawback is that this strategy isn’t well suited for passing wealth to grandchildren and other more remote descendents.

There are other strategies we can utilize which will be discussed in future blog posts. The GRAT strategy is a no lose situation. All you need if for one GRAT trust to work and you’re ahead because if other GRAT trusts don’t work you still haven’t lost anything.

We’ll share other estate and gifting strategies in subsequent blog posts.

My wife and I decided to move to Montrose, Colorado as our final step toward retirement. After realizing that I was flunking retirement, it was important to develop a working life style that would fit and also provide a vehicle to deliver years of experience to individuals, business owners and CPAs. Thus, the new web site became a reality. The web site was built at the same time we were building our new residence.One of my objectives was to provide other CPAs with the benefit of my consulting experience and training. Accordingly, the web site was developed to offer a variety of resources that would enable CPAs to deliver a wider range of business advisory services and support to their clients.

Most Montrose CPAs haven’t realized that I live in their community and that they have access to a wide variety of CPA resources. Since I believe in a team effort, these professionals can directly access my capability without any fear of losing clients. I only wish to provide support and help others in the community. Besides, I need a little time for golf and fly fishing.

Owner managed businesses in Montrose and throughout the western slope of Colorado also have new resources available to them without having to leave the area. My expertise can help these businesses achieve greater bottom-line profitability. Another area where I can help family-owned businesses is with succession planning.

Since my wife and I developed a life plan approach to retirement planning, I decided to offer our methodology to others contemplating and planning for retirement. In addition to pure estate and tax planning, my approach is to provide guidance in a wide range of areas from budgeting, life style decisions, where to live, and how to achieve your retirement goals and objectives.

In this current economic environment, which will last for some time, individuals and businesses will need a different level of service and guidance to help them navigate these difficult times. CPAs are uniquely suited to provide this guidance. CPAs can no longer just prepare tax returns and financial statements. They will need to learn other skills such as strategy and operational management. It is interesting to view the proposed format of the Uniform CPA Exam to see the emphasis that will be placed on these areas. This is all about helping businesses become leaner and do more with less.

I am looking forward to providing my contribution to the re-education process. My wife and I also look forward to working together with our neighbors and contributing to the Montrose, Colorado community.

Well 2009 is here. Now we have a chance to put the trauma of 2008 behind us and move forward to new beginnings. I already have. My goals are set and I’m moving on to where my dreams are going to take me. 2008 was a pretty good year for us. First and foremost was creating the new look to my web site and this blog. That said, there’s even more to do now 2009 is under way.

My advice is always to be patient, focused, and disciplined because in the long run this type of thinking and action is what gets the job done. This motto combined with a habit of always set goals and objectives is crucial. Then you need to monitor your results and adjust as quickly as possible if things aren’t going the way you anticipated. It’s a process – and not a short one.

Some of the things we are pursuing for this New Year include actions in multiple areas. I want this blog and web site to be an authoritative resource for CPAs, family businesses, and retirees as they navigate the difficult journey ahead. My plans include new training programs, up to date information on the potential adoption of IFRS, solid support for building business value, and guidance for family-owned businesses seeking to develop succession and transition plans to a new future. Plus all the other material we have always provided.

A new mission will include retirees and those looking toward retirement. This will include a new book and lots of guidance on how to make the transition. I am flunking retirement, but have put ourselves into a place where I can play, work, and live like I always dreamed we would. I learned a lot in making our journey, so it’s time to share this knowledge and information with others. I hope you will enjoy and benefit from this initiative.

Well, Happy New Year and stay tuned as we move forward and enjoy! We’re looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.