By Debbie Gregory.

Ever since World War II, military veterans have consistently created and innovated businesses in America. Veterans are generally quite good at looking at the world, figuring out what is missing from it, and learning to create those solutions. Veterans are responsible for brands such as FedEX, Nike, and GoDaddy. New technology companies such as Sybase, Skybox Imaging, Ustream, RedOwl, Rhumbix and RideScout have also been created and are run by veterans.

Some remarkable veterans who saw needs and created the frameworks, movements, networks, and methodologies that changed the way people think and currently do business:

1.) Angel Investor – Will Bunker

In 1990 Will, a former Marine, built one of the largest dating sites in existence, which later became Match.com. Recently he co-founded GrowthX to fund startups and the GrowthX Academy to help people learn the skills to be better salespeople, growth marketers, and UX designers.

2.) Athos – Don Faul, CEO

Don, a former Marine, is a current leader in smart performance apparel that monitors your biosignals. Prior to his involvement with Athos he led Facebook’s online operations, and was COO of Pinterest.

3.) CrossLead – David Silverman, Founder and CEO

David was a Navy Seal and createad CrossLead to help companies leverage real-time data to better understand their networks and build better teams of people.

4.) Esurance – Chuck Wallace, Co-Founder

Wallace, a former Airman, was a key player on the teams that created Automatic, Ustream.TV, and USell.   He then came up with a new way to sell insurance and started Esurance, which quickly became one of the fastest growing insurance companies in the US.

5.) Lean Startup Movement – Steve Blank, Creator

Blank is a former Air Force mechanic turned entrepreneur and is known as the “Godfather of Silicon Valley” for his role authoring innovative books in the Lean Startup movement, which have been implemented by millions of startups worldwide.

6.) Maker Movement Pioneer – Mark Hatch

Hatch is a former Special Forces leader who currently runs the Green Beret network on LinkedIn, he is a partner at Network Society Ventures and is an author. He helped pioneer the Maker Movement and through his works he continues to help future makers and tinkerers.

7.) Social Media Maven – Koka Sexton

Sexton is a former Army officer who is one of the world’s leading minds in social media. Sexton used to head LinkedIN’s social media department, created Social Selling Labs to provide sales resources, and is currently working for the most-used social media management tool – Hootsuite.

8.) Startup List – Nick Frost, Creator

Frost is a Navy veteran who created Startup List in his bunk in Iraq. He currently works as a curator at the Mattermark Daily newsletter.

9.) StreetShares – Mark Rockefeller, Co-Founder

Rockefeller, a former Air Force officer co-founded StreetShares and a created a new way to match borrowers with investors. Recently the company added Veteran Business Bonds to their offerings to better support veteran businesses.

10.) The Lean Product Playbook – Dan Olsen, Author

Olsen, a former Naval Officer, has been a leader in Silicon Valley for over 20 years. His experiences working on nuclear submarine designs led him to write a practical step-by-step book for lean startups that is used by thousands of entrepreneurs each year.

11.) VC Trailblazers – Pitch Johnson and Bill Draper

Johnson (Air Force) and Draper (Army) were some of the venture capitalists on the West Coast back in the early 1960s. They created Asset Management Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures and through these companies they have funded a staggering number of other companies.

By Debbie Gregory.

Managing your business cash flow can be challenging but it is incredibly important to the success of your business.

Below are 12 easy ways to help you improve your cash flow:

1.) Put It All In Writing

Make sure that all your business documents, customer agreements, and invoices clearly set out your payment terms, expectations, due dates, etc. Never leave any important items ambiguous.

2.) Send Invoices Immediately

People tend to pay once they have an invoice in hand, never make them wait.

3.) Include a Specific Due Date

It is very important to make your expectations as clear as possible. Simply stating “due upon receipt” is not enough. Add a clear due date or time frame (such as “payment due within 30 days of the bill date”).

4.) Offer an Incentive for Quick Payment

People love getting things for free. If you can offer them some sort of incentive for paying early, they will be more motivated to do so. For example you could give them a small discount for paying within a week of invoicing.

5.) Add a Late fee

Adding a fee for being late with payment tends to motivate most to get the bill paid quickly. Without a late fee, some people may put off paying you for months.

6.) Put together a Payment Plan

Allowing people to pay off large bills over time allows them to better budget for the expense and makes it easier for them to pay the bill.

7.) Use Electronic Billing or Electronic Funds Acceptance

Using electronic billing allows you to get the invoice to the customer very quickly as well as saving you money on postage costs. Accepting electronic payments works the same way.   It is fast and cost effective. You want to make sure that you accept payment in a variety of ways to make it easier for people to pay you.

8.) Sell your Invoices

If you need cash fast, there are services out there that will pay 90-99% of your original invoice amount upfront for a small fee.  Make sure they are reputable and do not harass your clients.

9.) Hold off paying your own bills

While you wait for your own clients to pay you, hold off on paying bills until they’re actually due. Of course take advantage of any incentives for early payment, but wait on the others.

10.) Secure A Credit Line

If you need help with your cash flow consider a line of credit with your local bank.

11.) Actively Monitor Your Cash Flow

Keep a close eye on your cash flow. Make sure that you know what has been paid and what is about to become due. Send reminders if necessary and make sure that you track any late fees.

12.) Hire a CPA

A CPA can help you in many areas.   They can guide you towards your financial goals, offer corrective suggestions, ensure you are taking advantage of the correct tax breaks or benefits, improve your cash flow, and so much more.   They can pay for themselves in savings.

By Debbie Gregory.

Our world relies heavily on technology and the Internet. Criminals target companies of all sizes, including small businesses. Knowing a few security basics can help you protect your business and even reduce the risk of your business falling victim to a cyber criminal’s attacks.

Below are six key areas to focus on to help make your business more secure:

1.) Require strong passwords on everything

Strong passwords are at least 12 characters long and are a mix of numbers, symbols, and capital and lowercase letters. Use strong passwords for all laptops, tablets, computers, and smartphones owned or used by your company and your employees. Make sure that no one leaves any of these devices unattended in public places. Never reuse old passwords and never share passwords in texts or by email. Make sure that you also limit the number of unsuccessful log-in attempts to limit password-guessing attacks.

2.) Use multi-factor authentication

Require multi-factor authentication to access areas of your network with sensitive information. This requires additional steps beyond logging in with a password such as a temporary code on a smartphone or a key that’s inserted into a computer.

3.) Secure your router

Make sure that you change the default name and password that comes pre-installed on your router. Make sure that you also turn off remote management and log out as the administrator once the router is set up. Make sure your router offers WPA2 or WPA3 encryption, and that it’s turned on. Encryption protects information sent over your network so it can’t be read by outsiders. If you do not know how to do this we recommend getting in touch with a reputable tech company to take care of this for you.

4.) Keep all software up to date

Make sure that all of your devices are setup to automatically update when an update becomes available. This includes any apps, programs, web browsers, hardware, and operating systems.

5.) Secure all of your files

Backup all important files offline – either on an external hard drive or in the cloud. Make sure that the offline backup is secured with a strong password. Make sure you store all of your sensitive paper files securely. Also, make sure that you encrypt the data on devices and other media that contain sensitive personal information. This includes laptops, tablets, smartphones, removable drives, backup tapes, and storage solutions.

6.) Train your staff

Create a culture in your company of security by implementing a regular schedule of employee training and make sure that you keep your employees updated as you find out about new risks and vulnerabilities.

Most importantly, make sure that you have a plan in place just in case you do experience a breach. You will need to get backups online quickly so you can get back to work as well as notify any customers who may also be impacted. The FTC’s Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business gives you steps that you can take.

Again, cyber security is increasingly important in our world. If you are uncomfortable or lack the knowledge to implement security at your company we highly recommend hiring a professional technology company to keep your information secure.

By Debbie Gregory.

You may not know it but press releases are still an effective marketing tool for small businesses. Press releases are released online through news services and press release services. This means that your press release will not only be seen by journalists or bloggers, they can also turn up in general search results by the public.

Below are the key elements of every press release as well as a few tips to help you write a good one:

Headline

Make sure that your headline is attention-grabbing, while also immediately conveying what the release is about. Your headline should be no more than 100 characters long as shorter headlines are easier to share on social media platforms and more of it will show in search results online. Utilizing pertinent keywords in the headline will also help it show up in searches.

Subheading

Your subheading is a short summary of the main idea of the press release. The subhead should add a bit more information and expands on the headline itself.

Date

Adding the current date along with the city and state where your business is located will help journalists looking in your area for local businesses find you as well as ensure they aren’t using outdated releases.

First Paragraph

The first paragraph of your release should briefly explain the most important information in your release. Make sure to include the five W’s (Who, What, When, Where and Why) as well as your company name. People today have short attention spans, and most won’t read beyond the first paragraph, so you need to make sure what they do read grabs their attention.

Body Copy

This is where you can explain your announcement in greater detail. Make sure to break it up into paragraphs for easy reading by the consumer. Use informal language, as the body copy should sound natural, and include any relevant keywords.

Quotes

It is always a good idea to include a quote or two from your company’s key people (the president, CEO, or the company’s authority on the subject matter). Always include that person’s full name and title.

Extra Flair

If possible, include things like photos, infographics, videos, and other visual elements that a journalist can use to help differentiate your release from others. Include photos of the product, person, or event that your release is covering. You should also make high-resolution photos available for any journalists that would like them (this can be done by posting them to your own site and including links for download in the press release).

Call to Action

Near the end of your press release always be sure to include a call to action. This is something you want the reader to do once they have finished reading your release – maybe visit your website, learn more about your new product, reserve tickets for an upcoming event, etc. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to contact you. Make sure to include a link to your website as well as a phone number the reader can call.

Boilerplate

A boilerplate refers to a brief paragraph about your business that you include at the end of every press release. This should short paragraph should include your full business name, a short bit about what it does, when it was founded, and any other important information that you want a reader to know. Keep it short and sweet.

Media Contact

The media contact is someone at your business who is available to quickly respond to inquiries from the press release. List multiple ways to contact your spokesperson (phone, email, social handles, etc.).

To sum up:

• Press releases should be no more than two pages in length.
• Start with an eye-catching headline and subheading.
• Include quotes from key personnel in your company.
• Spice it up with enticing visuals.
• Include links when appropriate.
• Use relevant keywords but don’t go overboard.
• Make it very easy for the reader to contact you.

By Debbie Gregory.

Veteran-owned small businesses have a lot to offer, to their customers, their communities, and to prospective employees. Despite the focus and push for veteran employment through diversity and inclusion, there needs to be greater focus on supplier diversity for veteran owned businesses.  I also believe that corporations need to integrate their Supplier Diversity, Inclusion and Diversity and Veteran Affinity and mentorship groups for real success.

Some interesting stats according to the Small Business Administration (SBA):

• Veterans are a key part of any supplier diversity program.
• Veterans are one of the most successful groups of business owners in America.
• 1 in 10 businesses are veteran-owned.
• Veterans are 30% more likely to hire other veterans.
• 5% of VOSB’s operate in the professional, scientific, technical services industries, and the construction industry.
• 1 % are in wholesale and retail trade.

Don’t Just Hire Veterans – Do Business with Them! There are many good reasons to work with veteran-owned businesses.

–Know the Rules

The federal government requires 3% of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards go to Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs).

–Finding Veteran-Owned Businesses

The very best ways to find a veteran-owned business is to search connect with and sponsor trade associations such as VAMBOA with huge memberships of Veteran Business Owners.   VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association can connect the RFIs and RFPs of your corporation with our network of over 7,000 members.

I believe that time is at a premium for small Veteran and Service-Disabled Businesses as it is for the corporations that are required to have a diverse supplier network.  Instead of spending the time of staff and the expense of attending conference, become a VAMBOA sponsor and we will place your message online to our large membership and on social media with almost a quarter of a million fans and followers.

-Do Your Research
There are good vendors and bad ones. Simply having a federal VOSB/SDVOSB certification does not mean that the vendor is experienced or any good at their job. Always ask for work examples or references as you would with any vendor, supplier, or potential employee.

Any company can slap a “veteran-owned” sticker on their location or product but some may not be honest, and fraud is a concern. Most states will certify a business as VOSB/SDVOSB if they have their federal VA certification. Before doing business make sure that you request a copy of that certification.

-Get Management on Board

You will need to gain the support of your senior management in order to add veteran-owned businesses to your approved supplier lists. Veteran-owned businesses now provide almost every type of product or service you can think of.  Make sure the entire company is on the same page about including VOSB/SDVOSBs. Veterans hit all the boxes as they are diverse group including minorities, women and disabled.

-Educate Your Purchasing and Contract Departments
Once you are sure that you have clearly outlined your goals for including veterans in your diversity supplier efforts, provide well researched lists to your key personnel of veteran-owned businesses to help jump-start the process. The most common internal pushback is lack of access to known veteran-owned businesses. If you cannot find them – it is hard to work with them. Make it as easy as possible for your employees to include VOSB/SDVOSBs when your company is looking for a vendor or supplier.  The very best way is to become a VAMBOA sponsor.  Contact us at info@vamboa.org.

-Tipping the Bidding Scales in Your Favor
Sometimes working with veteran-owned businesses can bring you a competitive edge when bidding a job. Certain agencies will give preference to companies that utilize VOSB/SDVOSBs. Each federal agency sets participation goals for small businesses in procurement contracts. Regulations require Federal purchases over $10,000, but less than $250,000 to automatically reserve, or set-aside, a portion of the contract monies for small businesses.

Working with VOSB/SDVOSB can help you, the VOSB/SDVOSB you work with, and our economy in general. Next time you need a new supplier, vendor, or partner it may be in your best interest to find one being run by a vet.   Contact VAMBOA – info@vamboa.org