Take Your Company Public: How to Make Investors Begging to Invest!

As the economy worsens and banks continue to crash and the US dollar is losing its place as the world currency American entrepreneurs need alternative funding solutions that cater to ongoing capital needs that take advantage of the international finance stage as opposed to domestic institutional lenders.

Many companies, for the first time, are considering going public as a viable option but where does one start on this trek? How much does it cost? What type of lawyer and consultants do I need? Who sells my stock? Etc.

The reality is, going public is fairly straight forward if you have a product or service that lends itself to an invest-able option to global financiers. The process of a start-up or small/medium size business going public usually begins with the basic business plan (50 to 100+ pages in length) and a Private Placement Memorandum (Regulation D Rule Exemptions 504, 505 or 506).

The company would then do an initial round of funding with accredited investors with a mini/maxi built into the offering circular that makes it possible to reach a simple benchmark that would allow the company to start using the investment cash for growth via public offering using OTCBB (over the counter bulletin boards); this is the quickest and cheapest way to go public being that 99.9% of companies don't have the liquidity and time in business to qualify for an IPO. There are several things that a company can do to make your capital raise a pleasure and not a nightmare. Start with a solid market maker that will commit to putting forth a dominating effort to sell your shares. The next thing you need to do is put a face and a voice to the company. Hire a publicist and pick an executive, usually the CEO or CFO, set up, daily interviews on radio and TV to promote the company and as you do this you will begin to see instant results. Another thing is to send out articles and press releases focusing on every single positive point, contract and strategic partners, feed that publicity machine. Branding is another powerful aspect to raising capital. Make your brand and image something that people see on online and in magazines. A solid publicist will do wonders for you. Get your press releases going on the wire to broker dealers and market makers and other stock promoters.

Fund raising has been complicated by unethical companies that are looking to create capitalization angles for themselves whether they are the business raising capital or the broker dealer buying and selling their stock. Done honestly, there is no reason a company with a viable business concept can't be successful in raising capital quickly and easily being sold on the public market.

About the Author:

Take Your Company Public, the easy way Call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183 PPM, OTCBB or IPO fund raising is easy with the right consultant.

Why Franchise is Popular, is it Right For You?

I have always talked of business franchise but do you know where the word franchise got it's name and what does it mean?

Franchises is a French word meaning “freedom from servitude.” It implies that the dream of being financially independent can come true. Just pay a fee and sign the papers and you become the proud owner of your very own business. Yes, you are the boss, you make the decisions, and you get the earnings. Someone else has done all the ground work, solved the anticipated problems, and is sharing their knowledge and experience with you.

However, thousands of franchisees have lost their life savings and their companies. The innocent purchaser realizes after-the-fact that he has no real choices about how the business will be run.

The rules and procedures that go with the “Name Brand” dictates every tiny aspect of how the business is to be run – color schemes, what is sold and who you buy it from, hours to be open, type of employees to hire and exactly how to train the employees. The innocent purchaser now has a new boss who is a hard task-master. This new boss comes in the form of detailed manuals that must be followed.

Do franchises ever provide true success? Of course they do! There are thousands of happy, successful franchise owners. However, if they are happy it is because they ‘did their homework’ before signing on the dotted line or putting money out. During the 1980s there were hundreds of fraudulent get- rich-quick franchise dreams available, which, because they weren’t all legitimate, gave franchises a bad name. By 1979 the Federal Trade Commission began requiring complete disclosure of all pertinent information pertaining to a franchise business.

Then the public began to have confidence once again in acquiring a dream business which could not fail. Observing McDonald stores opening up around the globe is proof that, even though the product isn’t the healthiest in the world, it still sells and people still head for the golden arches. And someone is making money!

How can one best analyze a potential franchise business? How can people know it’s right for them, even if the paperwork and finances appear intellectually perfect? After asking every conceivable question, and getting the answers that sound right, here’s the best way to really, really know if that business is for you. Go sit in an identical franchise business that is already in operation.

Sit there and watch and listen -- from early morning till they close at night. Learn all you can by watching every aspect. Do this for at least ten days straight. If, at the end of ten days you still ‘feel’ excited and ‘really like being there’ then that particular franchise just might be perfect for you.

If by the tenth day you are making excuses for not going that day,or begin showing up later and later, or just downright begrudge being there, then that is a good indication of how you might feel if you own it. If that’s the case, find a different franchise product to invest in.

Make Good Money Online Using Internet Marketing

Even as a middle-aged adult, I am fascinated by the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. It would be wonderful to find something like a goose that lays golden eggs. You just give it a warm place in the barn and feed it a little grain every day, and presto!, it provides you with an endless supply of riches. Just a little over two months ago, I stumbled upon just such a thing: marketing products through the internet. “Absurd!” you may say, or “What has this guy been smoking?” you may ask. But, consider the following factors before you pass judgment:

• You can set up your own internet marketing business in just a few hours for much less than $100 (yes, only two zeroes; this is not a typo).

• You can create and sell your own products for nothing more than the cost of your own time and the electricity it takes to run your computer; or you can create nothing yourself and sell other people’s products for unusually high commission rates.

• You can sell physical products if you wish, or you can sell information products, which require no physical inventory, no storage costs, no shipping costs, and involve absolutely no environmental impact (what about the electricity, you ask? Perhaps a valid question - but let’s face it- if you weren’t doing something useful with the few cents of electricity your marketing efforts consumed every day, you would still have your computer on while you are surfing the ‘net or playing video games, right?).

• You have light-speed access to a potential market of hundreds of millions of customers, but you don’t have to summon up the energy and wear out the shoe leather required to actually knock on hundreds of millions of doors.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about internet marketing is the existence of an enormous network of like minds out there in cyberspace who is willing and able to help you set up your own business, in many cases at no charge to you, through discussion forums, on-line courses and free or inexpensive software. The mysteries of domain registration, web hosting, e-mail autoresponders, e-book publishing, payment processing and web design are very simple to solve with a little work using easily accessible resources.

Internet marketing is the only business opportunity I know of today where a person can start with almost no capital and be up and running and collecting revenue within just a few days. Of course, there is no free lunch. You have to work at it (even Jack had to find grain to feed the goose . . .), but teachers are out there waiting for you if you take the time to look. You can find excellent resources at many Internet Marketing websites and blogs.

Getting the Right Domain Name

The Basics of Domain Name Registration

The first thing you have to do is come up with a good domain name...


Keywords:
Once you are comfortable with working online, you should buy a domain name for your site or sites. Domain name registration, if you do it right, is one of the key components of having your site rate high in the search engines. The right domain name is memorable, and can get your site to rank higher than other names. The wrong domain name won't do you any good at all.

The Basics of Domain Name Registration

The first thing you have to do is come up with a good domain name for registration. Don't even think about a one-word domain name; they're all gone at this point. Instead, come up with dual-word combos. If you're putting together a professional site, try your name before anything else.

Don't get fancy with spelling when selecting your domain name registration, or use 2s and 8s to represent their sounds. You can try the number 1; that sometimes works. You can also try the names of products you offer, or a description of your site content offerings: Romanceforgirls, popcornpalace, fluffykittens. Memorable is always better; short and memorable is best, but very difficult to accomplish.

Come up with a couple of dozen names that will do for your site, and test them on a registry. Don't buy a domain name for which the .com extension is gone, but you have access to the .net or .info. These domain names are not by any means as valuable as the .com. If you pick up the .com, though, and you expect the site to be lucrative or have a lot of competition, it's not a bad idea to pick up the other extensions as well. Domain name registration is NOT expensive, and if you register in bulk you can get an even better price.

The .UK Extension

This doesn't mean you should avoid anything but .com. If you have a business in the United Kingdom, you have access to the .uk domain name set, which UK customers are likely to look at before anything else for UK-specific businesses.

If you anticipate most of your business will come from British customers who are aware your business is in Britain, the .uk extension may be a better choice than the .com; and if your customers are unhappy with Internic's control of Internet domain registration or they are very pro-Britain, the .uk extension is certainly a better choice.

If you're fortunate enough to find both extensions for your domain open, and if you run a British company, it doesn't cost much to buy them both, and you definitely should.

It also gives your online presence an immediate “identity” geographically which can be crucial in building online relationships- where trust is a key component. By being a .UK domain, you are very likely to gain UK clients.

The .UK domains market is one of the fastest growing and lucrative registration areas on the internet.

Tips for Domain Name Registration

Have a website ready to plunk into your domain as soon as you buy it, and submit it immediately to the search engines. The search engines take time to index new sites and your domain name registration is only as valuable as the search engines make it.

You can also have more than one domain name pointing at a single site. If you've bought multiple extensions for your domain name (as in the previously-suggested .com /.uk combination), you can set up your site under one domain name and then direct traffic from the others to the main site. This is called web traffic forwarding and has been around for years. It may be as simple as parking your domain name on a server and putting a line of code on the page, or as complex as going through another website to use their online web forwarding services.

When you do register a domain and start building traffic to it, go out and renew for multiple years before your renewal is due. It is surprisingly easy to forget to register your domain name on time, and if someone else sneaks in and registers it, you've just lost a ton of work on that domain.

By making your domain name memorable, you will help other webmasters remember your site easily when building anchor texts in their links- a crucial component of SEO.

Final tip: don’t just think about price when looking for a domain registration company- also think about quality of service. While you shouldn’t be paying over the odds, it really is better to be safe than sorry and go with the more established registrars. Then you can have peace of mind that should any problems arise, you will be well looked after.

What to Look For in a New Franchise

Want to buy a franchise opportunity? Great idea! Here is a high-level overview on what to look for:

Operating History - A long history of success is the #1 thing to look for. If many other franchisees have been successful over the years, your chances are probably pretty good that you will be successful too.

Location, location, location - Investigate the territory rights. Make sure that your site selection is a good one. Don't settle for a second rate site.

Investigate - Don't believe everything you hear or read from the franchisor! Investigate. Lean on those experts around you such as an attorney or an accountant. Visit some existing franchisees(choose to visit ones that the franchisor does not recommend, not just the ones that they feed you).

Labor pool - If your franchise is labor intensive (example: restaurant), what is the depth and quality of the available labor pool? Any business needs a strong qualified workforce in order to succeed.

Initial training - Make sure that you and all key employees are adequately prepared. Grand opening support is a must.

Ongoing support - A critical component for success. Make sure that all levels of support are included, and get it in writing upfront! Don't rely on their statement, "Don't worry, we will take care of you".

Marketing programs - Franchise marketing is important. Make sure that any marketing dollars contributed to the franchisor are spent wisely.

Purchasing power - Can the franchisor pass on cost savings to you based on mass purchasing power?

Investment amount - While the upfront cost of the investment can seem expensive, in the long run it is probably not. A more significant expense can be the ongoing royalty and marketing fees.

Exit strategy - If the opportunity does not work, what is your exit strategy? Will the franchisor assist you in re-selling the franchise? Will they help market it for you? Many franchisors will actually provide a section on their web site for franchise re-sales. Beware if there are a lot of re-sales relative to the total number of franchises in existence.