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This Bulletin is for Canadian Business Owners and Operators to provide help and guidance for your business.

Small Business Insights


Small Business Consultants, Advisors , and Coaches
Serving the Canadian Market

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Volume V - April  2015

Blog Articles 

Current Offer

Web Plan and Web Content Development

If you are thinking about having a website developed or redone in the near future and need help with developing the requirements that will work for your business and need help with developing content, we are offering a Web Plan and Content Development Package 
 
10% discount until June 15, 2015.
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Contact Us:
Email:   info@rkfischer.com

Phone:    (289)278-1970

Company Update


Overview

It has been almost a year since our last newsletter and a lot has changed. The anti-spam legislation is now in effect. You are receiving this email because you are or have been a customer, a partner, have been on our email list from the past where you could have unsubscribed, or have added yourself to our email list / checked yes to subscribe on a form on our website. If circumstances have changed since that time, all of our newsletters have the ability to unsubscribe.

We have recently updated our website and added two other's that conform to Google's new mobility rules. If you as as business have not done that, we have supplied a blog article on the side to help you understand the new rules and how that might affect your traffic on Google.

Our Blog and Defined Consulting Engagements have moved and we have added a separate site to address any consulting associated with Your Financial Wellness.

Business Forum

We have launched a business forum on our website where anyone can ask questions about business in any area.  The only caveat is that our answers will be based on general business as we will not know your individual business, so we cannot make any guarantees that it will work for your specific business, industry, and demographic. Be the first to ask a question. There have been a lot of visitors to the page but no one has asked a question in last week or so since we launched it. This is there for you as a business owner, so be the first and ask us a question that you would like answered.
 


Is Technology Slowing You Down?

 

The Google Chrome Browser Dilemma 
 

This is not a subject that I would normally write about except as a business owner myself, I found myself spending an hour and a half on Tuesday morning panicking as Google Chrome updated overnight. In their infamous wisdom on their quest to dominate the universe they have begun their withdrawal of support for NPAPI (Netscape Plugin API) which is what most browsers use to support plugins. This started awhile back, but since it did not affect me, I ignored it until this morning when I found many of the applications I use online use Java. 

For those of you that ran into the Java problem in the last few days, there is a temporary workaround until September, when Google removes support for any plug-in using NPAPI. If like me, you live on Google Chrome and utilize a few Java applications, this will buy you a little time until you can find a new browser home.  

  • Under About Chrome, if Google just updated you to version 42, you will encounter this problem
     
  • You will need to go to the Java website (www.java.com) and download the latest version which today is Version 8, Update 45.
     
  • Install it and do not panic when it does not work or show up under your Chrome plug-ins.
     
  • At the browser enter chrome://flags/#enable-npapi and it will take you to a screen of flags
     
  • For the enable-npapi flag you will click Enable and at the bottom of the screen click Relaunch Now at the bottom
     
  • You should now see Java listed when you enter  chrome://plugins/ in your Chrome browser.
This will buy you a few months continuing to use Google Chrome for your online applications that use Java

Like many of you, I have gotten use to Chrome and live a good part of my day using it when connected to the Internet. I have embraced all of the Chrome extensions which allow me to use many of the online programs I use to save time in my day. Oracle's answer (who now owns Java) is to not use Chrome and go back to the dark ages of Internet Explorer or download Firefox. Though I love Chrome, I am not about to let Google hold me hostage any more than I let Microsoft when they believed they could, so I have downloaded Firefox to find they have implemented a way to import your bookmarks from Chrome.  This hopefully has helped a few of you that encountered a similar problem this week.
 

The Difference in a Feasibility Study and a Business Plan


Feasibility Study

A goal of a feasibility study is to determine whether a business or a project makes sense from an economic perspective.  A feasibility study will determine a break even analysis to determine how much revenue is required to meet your operating expenses. A feasibility study looks at the following:
  • Market Analysis
  • Operational and Organization Requirements
  • Financial Overview based on information above
  • 5 Year Proforma (forward looking) Financial Model and Statements (balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement)

Business Plan

A goal of a business plan to document each area of your business including your business goals and your future.  Every business should have a business plan that documents the elements of their current business and where they are going.  A business plan details your business and provides information on how you plan to obtain revenue and meet your goals going forward.  A business plan should document and verify how you plan to meet your financial plan.
  • Market Analysis and Penetration
  • Product and Services
  • Go To Market Strategy
  • Marketing To Support Revenue
  • Operations
  • Organizational and Management Structure (HR)
  • Financial Plan (historical 2-3 years + 3 years forward)
  • Financial Model 

Which One Do I Need for a Lender or Investor?

They type of plan you will need depends very much on the type of lender/investor, how much money you are asking for, and what business or personal assets you have to secure the loan. Most business owners assume they need a full business plan to get financing and in some cases, this is true, but in many instances a feasibility study would have sufficed. 

Though a business plan is a valuable document to have for any business and do not want to down play its importance, the level of business plan you need for a lender who requires one is a lot more intensive than what you require just for you. Before you invest in a full business plan to secure a lender or investor, you should ask the question. We have found several lenders of clients we have been working with lately only required a feasibility study. With a start-up company or venture there is no history, so everything is new and they are more interested whether based on market, the product or services you offer, and how you plan to get the sales makes sense. If you are an existing business and are just looking to add a new product, you most likely just need a feasibility study as well instead of a complete business plan. If you are looking to borrow 100's of thousands of dollars, a lender or investor will most likely want a complete business plan.

Ask your lender or investor before you start.
 

We Have Moved


Our New Office Address:  101 Dundas Street West
                                           Suite 204
                                           Whitby, Ontario L1N 2M2

We hope this bulletin provides you with content that you can use in your business.  We would love to hear from you as to what type of content you would like to see going forward.  We are interested in knowing what type of contact will help you as  a business owner.  To do so - contact us.

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