Jim Business Facts

Archive for February, 2010

When one of my firm’s customers has their loan called by a Canadian chartered bank recently the firm was placed into the ’special loans ‘division of the bank. When a firm goes into special loans the bank has to make a decision whether to liquidate the firm or continue supporting the company financially, albeit on a more structured ( and probably smaller! basis . Many Canadian business owners may, or may not, be surprised that my customer, who was a large commercial bakery, was profitable and had a relatively clean balance sheet. So what was the problem – well the major issue was that the firm was ‘off covenant ‘on some of the key bank ratios that supported the loan.

We migrated this customer to an ‘Asset Based Lending ‘arrangement. This type of facility is, relatively speaking, new in Canada and had its origins primarily in the U.S. asset based financing industry. More and more firms are migrating to this type of financing facility. We believe it is growing popular because of several factors, primarily two in nature.

1. Many firms are in high growth mode and can’t support traditional bank based financing which is focused on a more ‘ steady as you go ‘ approach

2. The current economic downturn of 2008-2009 has significantly restricted bank and other facilities – customer look for alternatives – Asset based lending is a popular alternative

In general some fairly standard metrics are applied to what is financed, and that is all of your receivables, a significant amount of inventory, and the liquidation value of your equipment. We can’t stress that those are general comments with respect to how much is financed in each asset category.

Asset based financing rates in Canada range from 9% per annum to sometimes 2% per month; it really depends on the size of the facility and the overall credit quality of the Canadian firm.

So again, why gaining in popularity. Well we spoke of those bank covenants, and they don’t exist in our ABL facilities, we simply finance assets. Also, asset based lenders, the good ones, are very experienced in cyclical industries, they understand seasonality, and are usually exceptionally experienced in the different asset categories we spoke of.

There are different types of call centers; they are inbound, outbound, web enabled CRM, telemarketing and telephone call centers.

Inbound call centers handle calls coming from outside which is mostly a toll free number. They mainly focus on sales, desk queries, dealer location, primary service and support calls. They follow a uniform method with catalog order to answer their call. They render service required for all kinds of business. They try and solve the complaints or issues raised by customers while they are on the line. They react accordingly to the customer’s response.

They have a team of live operators, account manager and program manager offering the best call center services. They offer skilled and professional service agents, market testing and improved reporting capabilities, quick response to market needs and proper experience with the programs and etc. They even sell products and offer service for that concerned area. They pave way for the strong relationship with the customers.

Outbound uses the call center to make calls with a representative. It might be verification or service calls. They focus on direct marketing efforts. They call the customers systematically and link them to the marketing executives. The agents get the details like customer’s name, address, and other information in a script form. The clients are mostly satisfied with this process because it’s highly cost effective, huge development in the management and results in productive process.

Telemarketing call center means selling or marketing goods and services through telephone. They deal with developing and achieving professional telemarketing representatives. They do research on current market programs and sales of the product.

The brand of Panerai watches owes its origin to the region of Florence in Italy but later they started being produced in Switzerland. The watches manufactured by this brand are an amalgamation of technology supplied by the Swiss and design of Italian origin.
The design of Panerai watches takes care of three factors, convenience, reliability and adventurous spirit. Giovanni Panerai is the maker of these watches and started a family business producing watches under his name. He slowly began to increase the size of his company and started providing watches of great precision and quality to the Royal Navy of Italy. These watches are known to be highly water proof and easily usable underwater. The mechanical movement of a lot of designs of Panerai is provided by Rolex.
A Panerai watch provides a royal look and style to its wearer and raises the person in the eyes of his peers. The fact that Panerai was a supplier of time keeping devices to the Royal Navy speaks a lot about its high quality, accuracy and efficiency as a means of keeping time.
Panerai can boast of the support of none other than the legendary Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone who got a specialised watch made for himself for the shooting of a movie. The watch manufactured in accordance with his inputs even has his signature on it.
Panerai has operations worldwide and also provides a line of watches that consists of a specialised rubber strap with the brand’s lettering embossed on it. This sets it apart from a lot of other brands. The strap made of special rubber is very high on comfort and convenience.
Panerai replicas that are available online capture the spirit of the brand and also contain the lettering of the brand’s name on their straps. These Panerai replicas are exactly like the original Panerai watches in their design and style making it very hard to differentiate amongst them.

Once that wonderful idea you had over your cornflakes has developed into more than just a passing fancy; when it has grown from its origins as something you ran tentatively passed patient friends and family members into a fully formed business, then it is time to reach for the common sense.

So many great business ideas never grow into successful businesses purely because the obvious gets lost in the mix. There is a wealth of new business guidance available, so much clever, astute and thoughtful advice in fact that it can sometimes become a little overwhelming.

By the time you have purchased every recommended piece of software that crosses your Ts and dots every i, or worried about understanding the ins and outs of employment law (years before you’ll ever need to employ anyone), it can be easy to overlook the less glamorous, more commonsensical stuff.

Finding yourself a good accountant who is well suited to you and your business, for instance, is not something that should be left to the last minute; the right accountant, can be an invaluable source of information and certainly in your first year of business their advice can mean the difference between manageable and hefty tax bills. They can also be the gateway to a network of other indispensable professionals, from financial advisors to carpenters; the client bases of most practices give them a plethora of contacts, so don’t wait until your business has been running for a year or two before thinking about an accountant, get one on-board from the off-set.

No doubt at some time, back in the early days, you’ll have slaved over a business plan, most probably to present to your bank and/or potential investors in order to secure the finance to start your venture; although the temptation now to put this plan in a draw and never look at it again may be great, it is vital not to waste this important document; use the information it contains and review it regularly, keep it constantly updated; it will allow you to adjust and develop your business as it grows.