Cards Cut

Business owners often contact us requesting an introductory meeting. They are contemplating the near to intermediate term exit from their business. The meetings generally have two major themes: 1. The beauty contest - they want to interview merger and acquisition firms or business brokers to evaluate their qualifications and process in comparison with other competitors and 2. Preparation for Sale - what should we be doing in anticipation of putting our company on the market?

One of the questions I ask on their first phone call is, “What is your Web Site address?” As a potential advisor, I want to go to their site and find out all I can about their business in preparation for the first meeting. If they respond that they do not yet have a Web Site, I already know what my top priority recommendation is in response to their questions on preparing their business for sale.

The spectacular growth of the Internet powerhouses Google, Yahoo, and Ebay should convince you that the Internet is dramatically changing the way America does business. Think about your own buying habits. It is so convenient to type in a few key words and have a world of choices presented on your computer screen. Try this simple exercise. Do a Google or Yahoo search of some key words or phrases that a potential customer of your business might use if they were searching for a vendor of your products or services. Does your web site come up? Click on some of the sites that come up on the first page of the search. Look at their Web Sites. Do you think they are getting additional business based on their search result success? Bet on it!

If you had asked me three years ago if I thought that a business owner would hire our firm based on finding us on the Internet, I would have said no. In the last quarter we have gotten two new engagements based on a client’s initial Internet search. It does not matter what type of business you run, you simply must have a Web presence. At the very least your company should have a Web Site consisting of “brochure ware”. That is very simple and inexpensive to implement. Brochure ware is simply taking your company’s collateral material and putting it up on a Web Site. If a buyer is evaluating several potential acquisitions, the absence of a Web Site will be perceived as a negative.

If you are able to integrate your Web Site into your customer service, ordering, order status, documentation, training, etc., (eCommerce) your investment could pay huge dividends when you sell your business. The new reality is that it is considerably more cost effective to conduct eCommerce than traditional commerce. The big payoff comes when potential buyers perceive your eCommerce initiative as scaleable. My translation of this over used term is that a large increase in sales can be accomplished with a small increase in fixed costs. Buyers pay for the potential you create in your business. Buyers make acquisitions to grow and if that growth can be accomplished with improving margins, your selling price will go up.

In real estate, the largest dollar for dollar return on investment for the home seller is their expenditure on landscaping. As a potential business seller, think of your investment in a Web presence in the same light.

Dave Kauppi is a business broker and President of MidMarket Capital. We help business owners with all aspects of Mergers and Acquisitions.

The Importance Of Hosting For Your Website.

Keeping a business website online for as much of the day and as many days of the year as possible is absolutely vital to the financial success of your business venture. Your website host is the company that is responsible for ensuring that your website remains stable and online for this time. Most hosts will give an estimated downtime or uptime for their service and this is measured as a percentage. For example, if a host declares they have a 99% uptime, this means that for every 100 hours that your site is hosted with them, it will be down for 1 hour.

The Downtime Of Your Host Directly Affects Your Business Performance.

1 hour may not sound like a lot of time in this context, but when you consider that 100 hours is only 4 days then your website will not be accessible for 1 hour in every 4 days. Not only will you lose the potential custom during this hour but any potential future business from the customers that eventually and inevitably look elsewhere. For this reason it is absolutely vital you get a web host that has as high an uptime as you can possibly find to protect your business and to protect your profit.

Other Areas You Should Consider.

Many companies may have similar reliability with their offering, and this means there are other areas you must concentrate on to determine the most appropriate web host for your needs. If you have a personal website then you may want to use a free host. Free hosts usually make no guarantee as to the reliability of their site and use advertising to supplement the lack of direct income made from your account. However, with a business website it is not advisable to use a free account. With paid accounts you receive many benefits, some are essential items while others are more luxuries that will inevitably make your website business run much smoother.

Contemplate Your Requirements.

You need to sit down with your site designer and discuss exactly what is required from your host. You should also consider whether you need responders, unlimited email addresses and many other factors. Only be considering all of these different factors will you be able to make a reasonable judgment on the hosting account you will eventually opt for. These factors will include whether you require FrontPage extensions, regular backups of your site, site analysis, email responders, form handling capability and many more different factors.

Look Around For The Best Deal.

Always shop around to ensure that you are getting as good a deal as you possibly can. Whether you are working on a shoestring budget or you do not consider the amount you spend to be that important, you should never pay more than is really necessary. Your best bet with hosting is to make sure you have more than you actually require, because this way should you need to expand the site or you require more options in the future you will already have them. You certainly need to select a host that allows for this level of expansion.

Rene Spronk is the webmaster of eHostInfo a web hosting directory providing details on a number of hosting companies and their plans.

One of the greatest inventions in Broadband Internet has to be the incredible service offered by Broadband Internet Satellite company Direct PC, which is part of the Direct TV Hughes Network. This allows you to get your Internet service via satellite. It is very high-speed although there is a half-second delay from the satellite for uploading which you need to get use to although it seems as fast as the fastest DCL line I have ever used.

The only draw back is in severe storms or rain clouds you can often lose the signal, however with any electronics it is not always too awfully wise to be using lots of electrical stuff during thunder and lightning storms you know? Last year I fried my modem trying to stay online during one of those superstorm thunder cells? Dah, we have all seen enough storm stories to figure out that is a losing proposition indeed.

However besides that one little problem of the Bad Weather Issues, I must say the service is good and the speed kicks everyone’s butt and well I am a happy camper with mine. Although I do not always use it having several other options, it is my first choice for Broadband Internet Service and it makes so much sense for so many reasons. Maybe you might like this in 2006?

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/