Quality of New Businesses

This recession has brought some excellent business ideas out of the rafters. I'm friends with a lot of people who work in the area of small business - advisors, mentors, bankers, credit union staff, people who train and work with entrepreneurs every other day. They are all having similar experiences lately - businesses are coming out of the woodwork, and they're good.

I shouldn't sound so surprised, but let's think about it. Recession hits, many lose their jobs, people panic and think "I'll create myself a job." I was concerned that many would start businesses to keep the wolf from the door, without experience or know-how and end up risking what savings their family had left.

It is inspiring to see so many excellent businesses beginning. People are realising that they have had an idea niggling at the back of their mind for so long but never done anything about it because "they never got around to it." Substitute the words "lazy" and "too comfortable" as you see fit.

Now that we have more time on our hands because we cannot afford as many holidays, gym memberships, nights out and costly activities; now that the we know the wolf is prowling around out there but we have a choice as to whether we invite him in, we are thinking.

Innovation is a big push at government level - anyone who watched last Monday's Aftershock on RTÉ1 will have seen and heard a lot of talk around this, and the knowledge economy, or the smart economy. There's tons of it about. More importantly, start-up's are more cautious. Previously thrown to the wind when credit flowed freely, now entrepreneurs are starting to listen to their guts and 6th senses to make sure they don't risk the redundancy package on something that just won't work.

Cleverer, sharper, less reckless, more efficient and more cost effective start-up businesses are sprouting up all over Ireland. Quesions like "who will buy this? what will they pay for it?" are getting answered before investment takes place - previously there was an attitude of If You Build It They Will Come.

This is partly to do with the fact that investment itself is scarce. Delighted to see that Simply Zesty got €500k investment today, on their 1st birthday no less. That's some present! Imagine the competition for that cash. Fair play to them.

Business Angels have never been busier - or more in demand. When margins are tight, what little profits we generate don't need to shoot off into the bank accounts of venture capitalists. Angels are where the demand is...

Moral of the post... Green shoots of hope springing up all over the place.

Show me the Money - Credit Review

There has been talk on the ground for some time about how the banks HAVE TO lend to the SME sector to try and survive the recession and all the gloom it brings.

Banks involved in NAMA are going to have to play ball with SME's, and Enterprise Ireland have set up a website full of information about making the system work for you.

The "Credit Review Office" as it is called was launched this month, without too much fanfare I'm sorry to say.

Essentially it's there as a support service for those who have been refused credit by banks involved in NAMA.

Some text from their site:
"The Credit Review Office has been established to conduct this review process and will accept applications from SMEs, sole traders and small and medium-sized farm enterprises that have had their application for credit refused or reduced or have had credit facilities withdrawn, and feel that the bank’s decision is unjustified. The Credit Review Office will, on application from the borrower, carry out an independent and impartial review of the bank’s decision."

Best of luck to anyone who needs this service and anyone who gives it a go. Let us know how it works out.

Business Banking in Ireland

I'm getting some great questions lately and an old one came up quite recently. It was: Which bank should I set up with as I start my new business?

There is no one bank I could heartily recommend over another - mainly because I am not familiar enough with all the running charges in every type of business - retail, B2B, online, international - all businesses need different services from a bank so there is no one answer for everything.

What I can tell you is that where one bank has smaller charges, they will probably charge more in other areas, so it will take a small exercise to get a proper balance on what bank is best for your business specifically.

If you have been working in a similar business to the type you are setting up, have a look through old statements, making a note of every single charge there. If you can't tap into something like that, then really focus on the operational side of your business and think of every possible area you might need to use the services of a bank. For example if you are setting up an online shop then you will need to talk to the bank plus someone like Elavon plus someone like Realex to get everything up and running. Apart from making all three of their systems integrate with your own system. Sigh!

In simple terms, do up a spreadsheet and mark down what your needs will be, then pick up the phone and call the commercial department in three or four banks to see what they charge. Some of them will no doubt tell you that they will charge you zero on various items for the first two years - take down what the costs will be in year three for your comparison.

I suspect you will find they are all on a par by the time you weigh everything up. Ulster Bank and the Bank of Ireland have been fighting hard for Start-Up business in recent years, so they will be quite competitive in the short term - that is why I advise you to check the associated costs in year three! The same goes for the saving element. If a bank is quoting you a great interest rate, check for how long they are willing to offer it, and what are the penalties for dipping into savings if needs be.

The other important factor of course is the relationship you have with your bank. You need to be able to trust your bank manager and not be afraid to call them when something goes wrong. If you have developed a good relationship with AIB for example but would like to move to another bank, make sure they have a personal touch in the bank you are moving to, so that you can call them for advice as quickly as you can call them to flag any upcoming issues such as repayments on loans.

The final thing I'll say to you is - haggle! Banks desperately need to make money at the moment so they won't be giving their services away for free - but then, you wouldn't either, so why should they? At the same time, they are hungry for business so don't be afraid to play one off the other and get them down as far as possible on their charges.

Good luck!

Seedcorn Time for 2009

Can't believe it's rolled around again but there you go, time flies.



The InterTrade Ireland Seedcorn Competition is open for the summer - application deadline is not until September 25th but if you want to be in the running for some of the €360,000 that is up for grabs you should start working on your application - business plan, cashflows etc. yesterday! If you need help getting the application ready I'd say your local County/City Enterprise Board would be delighted to help... It's always good to let a pair of trustworthy fresh eyes take a glance over a business plan and give you some pointers on where to improve. With this "economic situation" I would imagine the competition will be teeming with entries.

Good luck to everybody entering, may the best businesses shine through!

InterTrade Ireland Info

Application Bits

Prize Details etc

The Banks

This is just a quick post because I'm swamped! Sorry I have been neglecting this blog lately, it's the silliest time to be letting posts lapse, just when the number of people enquiring about starting a business is on the up and up.

I just wanted to express something very, very important.

The Banks Are Not Saying No

I could just strangle the media. Scaremongering to sell papers, because it's a recession, they need to keep their jobs and so they need to keep selling papers/ad-space online. There are a few voices of reason out there but the majority of news bulletins that the masses listen to/read/watch are all very negative, doom and gloom. As a result, many people are not approaching the bank for a simple overdraft facility to get them up and running, or even a small business loan to get a new premises kitted out. Why? Because - well, what's the point? They'll just say no. Try it. Please. It will be worth it. They are still open - especially for businesses.

I have heard from a lot of positive people who are excited to be finally started that business they were always thinking about (recession = little push they needed), that the banks are saying yes, within reason. If you are not asking for a massive business loan, Branch Managers have the authority to approve applications. That means it doesn't have to go to Credit Committee up in The Big Smoke. I'm talking about something less than €30k here. Statistics (I know, I know) say that on average it costs just under €25k to start a business. When you think about ALL the businesses you could start - from window cleaning to high tech software design - a €25k average is pretty great. If you have even a small redundancy package, approach your bank with a clear, concise business plan and see what they say. What's the worst that could happen? If they say no, you're in exactly the same place as you were before you went in, no big swing. If they say yes...

Good odds. I'd give it a whirl.

So who to go to?

It is vital that if you are thinking about starting a new business, you think about the finances. Approach your bank, the one you already have an existing relationship with. Business is ALL about contacts and relationships, so rather than start an uphill battle with a whole new person/institution - give your old reliable a try.

That said, if they high-ball you with interest rates, fees & charges, go elsewhere. Don't be afraid to shop around and go back to you existing bank, letting them know that you will swap your allegiance to suit your new pinched purse strings.

On a serious note...

If they do say no: ask them why. Don't waste your visit. They might have a very good reason for not supporting you to start a business that they are pretty sure will fail. Nobody wants to see any more of that! If they don't want to risk their money - why should you? Are there things they're not telling you? Why not ask? Perhaps - for example - let's say you want to open a certain type of shop on the corner of a certain street in your village or suburb. The bank says no. Don't take it personally!! Please don't walk away taking nothing from the meeting. Ask, why? What do they know that you don't know? The truth might be that there has been a long string of businesses who tried to start a retail unit there, but they kept failing, time after time, no matter what the product/service. Perhaps it has terrible parking, so there is a low footfall. Perhaps they know of three other similar businesses about to start down the road, and they know that the local market cannot sustain another one?

What I'm trying to say in a rambly way...was...keep all your doors open, talk to all your contacts, learn as much as you can from everyone that just might come in useful... And remember - the BANKS ARE NOT CLOSED!!! Go for it.

This was meant to be a quick one...sheesh!

New Year and a New Beat

There's a scurry of activity on the entrepreneurial front so far this year, and us only a week in. I'm delighted to see it. Lots of people working away on business plans; I was getting emails over the Christmas asking me for cashflow projection templates and information on available grant aid from various sources. Lots of people gearing up for the new year, planning their attacks on the recession! I love it.

As predicted, not many of the businesses are ground-breaking and mad. This is not the time for risk taking. OK, some people are thinking about starting luxury businesses which I have to question, and gently ask a few tough questions about proving a demand for the service/product before they invest 90% of their redundancy package in a frills-filled start-up. I'm not a damp squib, I'm a realist. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I say idly by and didn't make a few realistic suggestions here and there.

However the majority of people dropping by and asking questions are planning to start normal businesses, assured that the recession will create a bubble of opportunity for high quality value for money service offerings. And I couldn't agree more. I've said it before - this period of time will bring out a desire for quality, stuff that will last and give the best value for money. So it turns out that Frugal Ireland has been hiding behind Tiger Affluence all along - who knew?! The crappy half-arsed low-quality rip-off merchants will fall away, out of the marketplace and the quality businesses will remain. Hurrah.

Over the entire course of the Christmas period I only met one retailer who was rude, and didn't have the phrase "customer service" in his dictionary. He was a dic in fact. But his business partner made up for it by being utterly lovely and helpful. So that's just one person who took a sale for granted. The rest of the country has been realising that the customer is back to being king - and values their revenue enormously. Hurrah for the consumer.

So if you are thinking about starting a business and wondering what to get just right - remember the simple things. Service at a decent price, with a smile. That's it.

Simplicity I tell you. All the best ideas are so simple and straightforward. The trick is not to overcomplicate things. Good luck!

What the Banks really really want

Firstly apologies for the lack of juicy blog posts of late, life has been pretty hectic!

But I return bearing gifts... I have been spending a lot of time talking with bank representatives and other lenders, so I picked some brains and found out exactly what they're looking for, when someone approaches them for a small business loan.

They are echoing general consensus I'm afraid - it's all down to the planning. And I quote one person from one of the Big Two banks, "it's the most critical part" of any application.

Two things are graded when you go near a bank for a small business loan:
1) The composition of your business plan
2) Your commitment to the project in cash/savings/time/other investment (e.g. angel source)

The key to an excellent business plan according to the banks is writing it yourself! Everyone I have spoken to cannot emphasise this highly enough. The number of people coming into them for small business loans with a business plan under their arm is increasing. The percentage of this group who cannot defend anything in said plan because they have not even memorised the contents, is also on the rise. This is a common mistake! If you don't understand your own cashflow projections or the demand in your local/national/international market, then they are unlikely to support you with finance. These are just not times of risk, banks & building societies will not take any unnecessary risk at all.

You not only have to be able to defend your plan and discuss all areas within it, but you have to make sure that you and it are realistic. For example if you want to start a business in any sort of luxury product or service, you have to be extra convincing, since lots of people are pulling in the belts just now. It was in the paper only the other day that the number of returns coming into Revenue are on the increase - people are looking for spare cash everywhere - Med1 returns, Rent relief - they're all flooding into the revenue commissioners.

So just to give you the definitive list from a bank on what they consider the core of a business plan:
- History of the firm (you/your business to date)
- Overview of the business (you, your market)
- Threats (within your industry)
- Company Structure (assigning responsibilities to the management team)
- Overview of your Competitors
- Any investment highlights (angels, family donations, your own savings)
- A list of upcoming business opportunities
- Financial Overview (cashflow projections are OK for pre-start up businesses but accurate historical financial accounts are imperative for existing businesses - there is no point in approaching a bank or building society otherwise)

Hope that keeps you going for a while, I'm going into another hectic few weeks...

PS I've blogged once or twice on business planning and market research before... here and here. More can be found down in Labels. Good luck!