Do Your Own Business Valuation – Part 1: Introduction to Business Valuation
As a business owner, you know more about your business than any one, but there is one thing you are not too sure about – how much it is worth. This is the first in a series of articles designed to help you learn about business valuation and, if you choose, do your own business valuation.
Defining Value
Before we begin discussing business valuation it is important to define what value is. When asked, most people will struggle to define it then end up using an example like a one dollar bill is worth more than a quarter. Value is difficult to define without comparing at least two items. The comparisons must be well defined to have any meaning. For example a rare quarter may be worth more than a common dollar bill. The first step in any valuation is to accurately and completely define the property that is being valued.
Value is also subjective. Someone who needs a quarter to plug a parking meter in order to avoid a parking ticket would gladly pay a dollar or more for a quarter. Similarly, one business may have a number of values. A strategic buyer that can plug the customers of the business into its existing system may perceive more value than a person who is going to run the business day-to-day. The second step in valuation is defining for whom the property is being valued.
What is a Business Valuation?
A business valuation is simply an estimate of what a business is worth based its hypothetical sale. It may also be called a business appraisal and has some similarities with real estate appraisals. A big difference is that much of business value is in the form of intangible assets, or goodwill. Valuing intangible assets involves a process of using various accepted valuation approaches and methods. The goal is to determine a value that can be explained and justified to others.
Wildblue Satellite Internet Same Internet, Just Faster
Hopefully the information to follow can save you some trouble and help you decide if satellite Internet and WildBlue is right for you.
WildBlue began testing satellite Internet service for residences in June 2005. Since then the Colorado based company has grown to more than 400,000 subscribers. During the summer of 2005 WildBlue signed agreements with two national companies, RS&I and DSI Systems, to recruit, manage and train a nationwide for of dealers. The target demographic for the service is rural America throughout the 48-contigous states. Seeking customers who have no access to either cable or DSL providers.
WildBlue has gained increasingly more customers and popularity through superior performance in terms upload, download, reliability and price. WildBlue’s technological advantage over its competitors is due to the use of Ka band satellite technology rather than the more established Ku band used everyone else. This technology allows WildBlue to cover service areas with spot beams rather than a single large beam. This allows them to maintain high quality of service and reduce costs, which they in turn pass on to their customers, hence the popularity.
WildBlue currently uses three satellites, Anik-F2, WildBlue-1, and AMC-15. With the recent announcement of ViaSat, the leading satellite hardware manufacturer and WildBlue’s merger, the plans for a fourth satellite ViaSat-1, to launch early in 2011, will change the landscape of the satellite Internet industry dramatically. The new satellite will enable WildBlue to offer speeds in a range of 2-Megabits per second, up to 8-Megabits per second. This will rival speeds offered by cable providers and make WildBlue a solution for all customers, not just dialup users.
Currently though, there are some things to consider if you are new to the satellite Internet game. Things such as satellite latency, which can cause great frustration to anyone trying to play live online interactive games, videoconference or use VOIP applications like Vonage or Magic Jack. For customers just trying to browse, email, upload and download, you won’t even notice the half-second delay.
The equipment is a little more than DSL; dialup and cable customers are used too, but will be very familiar to Satellite TV customers. The service will require a satellite dish to be either mounted to your physical property or a pole. The rest is simple, a modem connected to your computer through a USB port, no software to download and off you go into the WildBlue yonder. DSL and dialup users will appreciate this; the service is always on, fast and requires no phone line.
Before you get too carried away there is also a Fair Access Policy to be aware of. FAP as it is know, simply put, is a protection for all customers. Each user is allotted a certain amount of bandwidth on a rolling 30-day period, go over the threshold and you will be slowed to dialup like speeds until your account regains some bandwidth. It is important to note that WildBlue is rather generous with this level and only 4% of its end users are ever affected. There are Google gadgets to help you monitor your use if you are a user who downloads numerous large files or uses streaming media frequently. WildBlue also alerts you with an email when you reach 80% of your threshold.
Jam Sports Marketing Helps Businesses Create a Buzz About Their Brands
Jam Sports Marketing is a Texas based company and they offer low cost marketing solutions for businesses that want to reach potential target market of students. The marketing solutions offered by Jam Sports Marketing offer a profitable solution to the marketing needs of the business owners as they can advertise their products and services at a very low cost per unit to students, faculty and parents who attend school and college sports events. Jam Sports Marketing, TX reaches out to over 100 universities and 600 schools all over United States and they offer premium quality sports products to these institutions at no cost for their sports events. The sports products carry the logos and advertisements of the business that sponsors the products.
Jam Sports Marketing offers t-shirts, caps, footballs, basketballs, megaphones and banners with business logos and advertisements to schools for creating a buzz about the event among the students. When students take these sports products home with them, the business gets an additional advertising boost. According to research, more than 86% of promotional items stay in homes for over 6 months and 34% are kept in homes for more than 1 year. With this kind of advertising opportunity, businesses can reach massive potential customers at a fraction of cost of traditional advertising.
The company offers expert design services to create unique logos and slogans and they give the school department a range of logos to choose from. The designs created by Jam Sports Marketing TX do not contain trademarked items and if the schools want custom designs, these have to be cleared for trademark and license by the department.
Jam Sports Marketing: Explore Immense Potential For Promotional Sports Products
Jam Sports Marketing is a Texas based company and they offer a great business opportunity for local and national businesses. As the cost of modern advertising rises, businesses need to find alternative advertising methods that are effective but also easy on the pocket of the business owners. For small business owners it is even more essential that they find the advertising opportunities to make an impact on their consumer base. Jam Sports Marketing provides the potential of promotional sports products local and national merchants. The company supplies promotional sports products to over 100 universities and 600 schools all over United States. The premium quality sports products are provided to schools at no cost as these carry the advertisements and logos of the businesses that sponsor the the products.
Through the efforts of Jam Sports Marketing, business and school departments can be in a mutually beneficial relationship. The business gets to promote their products and the schools can save the money they would have used to buy the sports products. Schools can get t-shirts, caps, footballs, basketballs, megaphones and banners that can help them in organizing the sports event and also create excitement about the sports event among the students. These sports products can also be given to the students for taking home which can give an additional advertising boost to the products and name of a company. Research has shown that 86% of promotional items are kept in homes over 6 months and 34% over 1 year. Such an immense advertising potential at such a low prices is the perfect opportunity for any businessman looking to spread the area of his business.
Home Improvement – Reinvent Yourself by Renovation Your Home
Gone are the days when home renovation took place only when it needed repairs for the leaking roofs and cracking walls.
Home now is considered as a reflection of ones style and taste. For the inmates of the home; whether to have cane furniture or plush leather sofas is more of a connecting to self than just what happens to be in trend.
With the advent in age, home renovation is an enjoyable and a rewarding undertaking. One can incorporate suitable home appliances, safety appliances, modular knock down furniture, pet products and many others.
Here are some tips for making home renovation a fun activity:
Add a ting of life:
Buy a pet. Puppies and kittens are a good pet option. You can ease all your office stress by just being with them at home. But if you are looking for a pet that does not demand much of your time then fish or a parrot is a good bet for you. No matter what you choose you can easily find suitable pet products over the net and add life to your home.
Lit it well
A well lit home keeps inmates from unnecessary eye strain. At the same time if home is excessively bright it causes unease to its occupants. It is advisable to have energy efficient lamps and lanterns in the corners of the room; this makes the room look spacious. A wide range of designer lamps and lanterns are available to suit everyone’s style and taste.
Fun corner
Book a place in your home for activities that the inmates enjoy the most. This could be a mini-library, yoga room, gaming corner or any activity that de-stresses. Decorate your home with suitable home accessory to make it ‘home sweet home’.
Be The Star Attraction at Every Outing
You don’t need to be of a particular age to enjoy magic tricks. It is a form of entertainment that transcends all age. You don’t have to be a David Blaine in order to wow your audiences. All you need is a few supplies and a little bit of practice and you are set to have a good time. Any magician will tell you that magic tricks are a work of illusion, therefore, every trick will need a lot of practice. Here are some beginner’s tricks that can help get you started. You can start with jumping paper clips.
You will need a currency note and two paper clips. Fold the currency note into an S shape. It should look so from the top. Attach a paper clip each to the top and bottom loops of the S. Slowly pull out the ends of the currency note. You will see the two clips move towards the center. Once they come together, they will link together and fall off. Another interesting magic trick is the levitating ring. For this you will need a pencil, a finger ring, some transparent sticky tape and a bit of black thread.
With some of the clear tape, stick a bit of the black thread to the top of the pencil. Do this on the metal part that holds the eraser. Hold the pencil in your hand and run the bottom part of the thread down through your shirt button hole or through your belt buckle. You can even loop it around a button. Make sure that the thread length is taut enough when you lift your hand a bit away from your body.