There are other alternatives for financing than the bank

Why Use Private Equity? Do You Want to Grow Your Business? If your business is not at $20,000, private equity investors will pass you by.
As we learn in most realms of life, the low-priced products aren’t always best for you. And with a greater number of private investors creating a growing company’s market for financing, many Canadian business owners are discovering there are alternative sources of capital. Probably, the most exciting news is that private equity deals are being done for as little as $500,000 – a sign that private equity is shifting from Bay Street onto Main Street. Read more (PDF) >     

How to fuel growth, technology and social media at Rotman

The Next Steps program gives you the confidence and skills you need to take your business to the next level. Interact with a senior-level advisory panel of accomplished women entrepreneurs, and gain knowledge from peer mentors who have shared your business challenges. The six-module format allows you to take what you learn and apply it immediately.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011, 6pm to 9pm

Rotman, University of Toronto

Jacoline Loewen, Author and Partner at Loewen & Partners:

Fuelling Growth: Technology & Social Media

Learn how to use new technologies and social media strategically. Maximize the impact of the X factors on your business development.

6 Tips for value pricing

Why is the concept of value pricing seen to be radical? It makes a great deal of sense and I appreciated the LinkedIn discussion and thought I would share some of the highlights. Here is one of the posts.
After mentioning I had taken 14 pages of notes on Baker's book on Value Pricing, above, Jacoline Loewen suggested I share a few Aha's from these notes. Here they are: Baker presents the idea that professional advisers should keep in mind that we are (or should be) giving our clients (which he calls customers) a crowbar with which to open a treasure chest. If so, ten times the price would still be a bargain for our crowbar. We should not provide a cheaper price merely because, for example, we may have lower fixed overhead. Value drives price, not cost. If we have significant intellectual capital (as defined by Baker), offering it at a lower price devalues it and sacrifices a significant amount of profit.
 We should focus on the totality of our services our firm provides the customer or client and consider bundling them together into a fixed price agreement, not an hourly rate agreement. The billable hour becomes the floor, not the ceiling.
 Baker outlines methods of qualifying the right customers/clients, the sins of hourly billing and ways to eliminate them, how to understand the value we offer that customers seek, key predictive indicators for knowledge workers, and eight steps to implementing value pricing.
In his section on developing and pricing offerings, the author identifies several elements, any or all of which a firm’s Value Council (explained in the text) may want to make part of a fixed price agreement, over and above the hourly rate, which is never mentioned:

1. Fixed Price. (A guarantee that the customer/client will not be surprised by an invoice; that all work will be authorized in advance, so that the client will be able to budget his or her professional spend with certainty.)
2. Change Orders. (This ensures customers that work will never be done without their authorization on price, terms and scope, giving them a choice on how to proceed.)
3. Service Guarantee. (An overt statement that your project will create value three to ten times greater than the cost or the customer doesn’t pay.)
4. Price Guarantee. (The customer may ignore any invoice they receive for which they did not authorize price, payment terms and scope. The customer will never be surprised by an invoice because all work is priced in advance.)
5. Unlimited Access. (The customer is granted unlimited phone calls and meetings to discuss whatever the customer wants.)
6. Payment Terms. (Financing plans.)

 The subtitle of Baker’s book indicates the concept of value pricing is radical. It may be radical, but after carefully studying his book, it makes a lot of sense to me.
Posted by Robert R Dunford
Robert R. Dunford, Principal
http://www.GCIResearch.com
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Are my hourly rates too high or too low?

Business owners are enjoying their position of power as capital floods Canada and one of the big issues is how the fees charged by professionals are being squeezed. A post by Robert Dunford about how to charge for his finance services unleashed a torrent of responses.
I particularly liked the advice from Michael McGrady:

I personally believe that it’s imperative to lead the preliminary discussion as a marketing professional and leave the tactical/technical for later. You provide knowledge, perspective, assurance and informed caution – your work helps to set strategic direction, inspires the development of deal structure, helps to craft strategies regarding earn-outs, reps & warranties, etc. and in some cases help prevent bad deals from happening. We have all been involved in or know of deals that went south solely because of poorly executed research and due diligence – the financial consequences of these bad transactions always eclipse the minor onetime expense your contribution would have provided. They clearly like your work; remind them, talked about the multifaceted value you provide and the consequences of a poor execution. And don’t lower your price; if you don’t value your time who will? 

The second thing to possibly consider is working on retainer or a combination of retainer and an hourly rate for overflow. There is more work involved on the front end to ensure you and the client understand the scope. I like retainers because I don’t have to manage a time sheet and if I am more efficient in some aspect of my work I don’t penalize myself with fewer billable hours. The client likes it because they don’t feel they are being nickel and dimed and it gives them a delineated line item for the budget. As I said it’s more work on the front end but so far I haven’t broken my pencil and I make more money than I would have by billing hourly (knock on wood).
There was recommended reading from Isabella Brusatti and the book inspired this quote - Baker's book qualifies as a "good book," as defined by Thoreau: 

"Books, not which afford us a cowering enjoyment, but in which each thought is of unusual daring; such as an idle man cannot read, and a timid one would not be entertained by, which even make us dangerous to existing institutions––such call I good books." 

—Henry David Thoreau: A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 1849
Jacoline Loewen, Money Magnet author, Mergers and Acquistions expert.

Learn the financial strategies that will set you apart

Enjoyable and informative financial information do not often go together but Clemens is someone who has does manage to achieve both goals. He has a new book which I recommend.

This is not another finance book that promises you to get rich quick. Instead, it offers a systematic approach to learn some essential finance skills and to promote good money habits. The book is geared towards musicians and artists but it is also full of vital information for a typical young adult entering the work force or about to head for college. If you are considering a career as a self-employed creative entrepreneur or in case you just wish to brush up on your basic financial literacy skills, you will find extremely good value in this book. The author is an investment advisor and a former musician. He can relate to the world of finance from an artist’s perspective and is therefore uniquely qualified to teach personal finance in a way that makes sense to someone who has little or no experience with money matters. The book is full of fun and thought-provoking examples showing you how to keep your financial house in order. Ultimately, you will learn the financial strategies that will set you apart from those who live from paycheck to paycheck.

About the Author

Clemens Kownatzki is founder and CEO of FX Investment Strategies, a Registered Investment Advisor. In addition to running his investment advisory firm, he is a contributing author at SeekingAlpha.com and BusinessInsider.com. He also publishes the popular investment blog www.fxinvestmentstrategies.com along with a weekly news-letter. In 2010, he joined Pepperdine University as an adjunct professor of finance. Prior to starting his own business, Clemens has been in charge of the operations and risk management of two international foreign exchange and commodities brokerage firms in London and Singapore. Clemens earned his M.B.A. degree from the Graziadio School of Business at Pepperdine University. He is also an experienced and passionate musician of many years. He graduated from Musician’s Institute, Los Angeles in 1987 and was nominated Outstanding Guitar Player of the Year Award Winner. He currently lives in California with his wife and two children.