There are different types of financing to consider: debt, equity, and mezzanine.

Debt financing is the most objective and is therefore the easiest to negotiate. If you have the assets to support the debt and the income to support the interest payments, the negotiation period will be very short.

Equity financing negotiating is more complicated and revolves around agreeing on valuation and percentage ownership. Discussions usually requires several days.

Mezzanine financing involves a mix of equity, debt, convertible debentures and preferred shares. Negotiating the technical aspects of each so that an agreement can be reached between the investor and your company can be time consuming.

Another dictating factor is the number and variety of financing offers that you receive. It is the intermediary’s role to help you bring more than one offer to the table and assist you in evaluating and negotiating which one is best suited to your company’s needs based on their previous experience.

Venture capital term sheets are time limited. You have to quickly make up your mind if you want to accept or reject the offer. The short time period is in place to prevent you from using one term sheet to solicit new offers from other venture capitalists.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost
• Small Business Credit Cards For More Successful Businesses

In order to do this properly you will have to ask yourself a few questions about your own personal plans regarding the business. Do you wish to stay involved in this business in the long run, or are you more interested in getting it off the ground and letting someone else take over then? These are the kinds of questions you should deal with in your exit strategy.

You will also want to know a little about the investors you are pitching to and what their expectations are regarding the future of the investment:

If you are dealing with venture capitalists you have to be aware that they are looking for a high return. They will generally be expecting the business to go public at the end of the period or make some other high profit move. The period they are willing to invest is about three to seven years so you will need some sort of high return exit strategy at the end of that period. However, you should not opt for going public unless you are confident that it is a realistic goal for your company. Public offerings are very rare for small businesses and the investors you are speaking to will be all too aware of that fact.If you are considering an angel investor then again they will be looking for a high return but will not be overly concerned with the type of exit strategy under consideration, as long as it seems sound. They will be less sophisticated than the venture capitalists or institutional investors you may deal with and are more likely to be involved because of a personal relationship to you or the business.

There are a number of exit strategies you can consider:

The most basic exit strategy would be to simply bleed the business dry. This can be done by giving yourself a huge salary or other remuneration, regardless of the performance of the business. While it is not appropriate in most cases, there is no doubt that it can get a lot of your investment back out of the company in a short time.Another simple option is liquidation. Simply close the doors and wait for the company to be wound up. All debts will be paid off, and then whatever is left over will be clear to the shareholders.

While these two options above are quite practical and effective, they are professionally frowned upon and you may wish to propose a more sophisticated exit strategy if you wish to impress potential investors.

Another option could be selling to a friendly buyer. While you may have come to the end of your relationship with the business, there may be many people who would be saddened to see it end and may well be willing to step in to take over. This might include passing it on to another member of the family, or selling it to employees or customers. There are many businesses where this will be a realistic option, however it is difficult to predict it at the beginning of the venture.Another option is acquisition. This is when a rival firm, usually one wishing to expand, agrees to buy you out. You can negotiate the price and terms with the buyer and there is a good chance that both of you can come up with a very attractive price. You will get a good price because together with your assets, the buyer will be willing to pay for good will, market share, client contacts etc. This means you can get a very good price for the business.The IPOs that we previously talked about are the final option. These are potentially the most lucrative of all, but when reality kicks in, they might not seem like the dream you thought they were. In reality, a minuscule percent of companies manage to make it through an IPO. The process costs millions, includes lawyers, analysts, publicity agents and a lot of other costly professionals. The odds are against you ever making it. And if you do, you will probably be left with only a fraction share of the company you used to own.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost
• Small Business Credit Cards For More Successful Businesses

Here they are in order of importance (in my humble opinion, of course):

1) Point of Sale (POS) and Inventory Control Software
A good POS / Retail Management System can be a huge time saver and money maker for you. That’s partly why it’s number one…

In its simplest form, a good POS system will track all your sales so you can easily see how your business is doing (at any time). In other words, it replaces your cash register.

It’s difficult to decide where to even start talking about POS software because it can do SO many things for you. I could literally write a book about ALL the reasons why a POS system will help you — so I’ll quickly summarize in 5 key areas. A good POS system can…

* Dramatically improve your customer service.
* Simplify and improve inventory management.
* Improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
* Easily show where you’re making and losing money so you can make adjustments and increase profits.
* Save huge amounts of time by automating bookkeeping and countless other retail tasks for you.

Now keep in mind… not only will a POS system give you a huge benefit, but it can also be the MOST difficult technology to choose. There are many things to consider and you certainly don’t want to miss out on anything important because it’s very expensive to change POS systems. So take your time and do your research when you choose a POS system.

2) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
One of the unwavering keys to building a successful retail business is to build relationships with your customers. Because of that, CRM software is a critical tool for the retail business. And not only will CRM help you improve your customer loyalty it will help you market to potential prospects and generate new business.

In a nutshell, CRM software allows you to track your customers, identify market segments and then easily communicate with them via email, telephone, direct mail and more.

Some POS systems actually include CRM capabilities and that’s what I recommend. This allows you to track all this information in one place and reduce time consuming double entry. In any case, CRM software can be purchased as a stand alone product or considered its own module in your POS software. So it deserves its own category.

3) Bar Code Scanning and UPC Codes
Simply put, bar code scanning allows you to check products at the point of sale much faster and more accurately than can be done on the keyboard. Not only will this save you time, but you should also consider the effect of your inventory…

Just think about the consequences of entering the wrong product number and throwing off your inventory. Your inventory is the lifeblood of your business and accuracy is vital. These errors can cause you to lose sales, increase inventory costs, and waste hours of time.

I should also point out that if your merchandise has UPC codes, you can easily scan those tags without the need to print your own bar codes. This can be a huge time saver.

4) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
EDI technology allows you to send purchase orders (created in your POS software) to your supplier electronically via phone line or internet. Not only does this save a huge amount of time, but it can also reduce errors — so you don’t have to apologize to your customer because you special ordered the wrong item.

Just imagine, using your POS software to automatically generate purchase orders (based on order levels and sales history) and then sending your order to your supplier electronically. You can process your entire order without entering a single product number! How much time would that save you?

5) Retail Accounting Software
More and more retailers are doing their accounting in-house because they can quickly produce up-to-date financial statements and see how their business is doing at almost any time. This has become easier for the small business owner because of a variety of user friendly accounting applications.

Accounting software can be purchased stand alone or can be integrated with your POS software. Now it’s important for you to consider each different module within an accounting system. I suggest that your Accounts Receivable module (what people owe you) should almost always be integrated with your POS software. It’s also a good idea to get your Accounts Payable module integrated with your POS too (because you’ll reduce double entry). Your General Ledger module can be stand alone or integrated. There are pros and cons for each method. If you’d like to learn more about integrating POS and accounting software, here’s a good article to check out: http://www.possoftwareguide.com/articles/pos-accounting-integration.html

6) Store Traffic Counters
These valuable devices will help you improve sales conversion ratios, increase store traffic, and improve advertising. If you’re serious about increasing sales conversions then you need an accurate measure of your store traffic so you can determine your closing ratio. Automated traffic counters are accurate and objective. They provide surprisingly detailed data that takes the guesswork out of measuring closing ratios and even how ads pull.

Store traffic counters also help better schedule your sales staff because they identify actual foot traffic in your store during certain time periods. You can also determine if traffic goes up or down during marketing promotions so you can figure out what works the best. And this is just the tip of the iceberg! There are MANY benefits to this technology.

7) Graphics Design Software
Most small retail business owners tend to wear many hats… and taking care of marketing promotions can be one of them. With computers and graphics programs today, you can save thousands of dollars by creating simple flyers, brochures, and ads with your own graphics design software. Popular programs include Adobe InDesign, Adobe PageMaker, Corel Draw and Microsoft Publisher.

Websites & Shopping Carts
Whether you sell products on your website or not… websites can be powerful tools to promote your retail business. For example, you could link to your website from business cards, newspaper ads, and more. This gives you an opportunity to tell your story, give people an idea of what you sell, and convince them to stop by your store. Since it would be very expensive to tell your entire sales story in a newspaper ad… you can finish the job by sending people to your website and save money.

Then if you’re really serious, you can utilize a website shopping cart so customers can place orders and pay you right from the website.

9) Payroll Software
Payroll software can allow you to do payroll in-house and save a bunch of time. The software calculates the deductions that come out of each payroll, like FIT, SIT, FICA, 401K, HSA, flex, etc. It also calculates the totals for W-2′s (and prints them) at the end of the year. And of course, it also prints nice looking checks with all the deductions per payroll as well as year-to-date totals.

10) Portable Data Terminals (PDT) and Hand Held Computers
Portable data terminals are great tools that allow you to quickly count your inventory and easily update your POS system. You can simply carry around this portable terminal, scan your merchandise, and then enter your on-hand quantities. This allows you to more easily and accurately count your inventory.

In addition, hand held computers are becoming more popular. They allow you to create orders and complete various tasks on a computer that fits in the palm of your hand. You could place orders from a truck or anywhere inside or outside of your store.

Now I obviously listed only 10 retail technologies because it’s a nice round number, but there are many other great technologies that can help you out. For example, a few honorable mentions include… signature capture devices, smart cards, customer loyalty cards, wireless technology, and email auto-responders.

I’m sure there are a few more that I’m missing, but depending on your type of business, this is a pretty good list to start with.

I suggest that you take a close look at each one of these technologies. Make sure you understand what’s involved and why they are SO important. Then consider utilizing this type of technology in your business (if you haven’t already).

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• Small Business Credit Cards For More Successful Businesses

The numbers of small businesses that use these cards are ever-growing. A recent report shows that 66% of small businesses use these cards for purchasing and financing. Forty percent of this number use their exclusively use credit cards for their payments. But why should a business apply for one? Are there any benefits that merit application for such a card? There are many advantages. Some of them will be outlined below.

For one, these cards allow a business to get hold of good credit. Good credit is the use of borrowed finances to generate more cash. In effect, the act of borrowing actually results in the company earning more. A small business credit card allows for this. The business then is able to keep hold of finances for other reasons: investing for interest, for profit, or other needs the business may have for cold cash. They can pay in easy installments that will not dent the financial capability of the business. They can also pay when they are capable of paying.

Another advantage of using small business credit cards is the fact that they help make bookkeeping easier. Instead of keeping a journal of all transactions and receipts, one can have the credit card company send an itemized list of purchases made using their credit card. This allows for better bookkeeping and better accounting. Lost receipts and undocumented expenses can be avoided. This helps the business make more accurate financial reports.

Small business credit cards also allow businesses to build up their credit limit. Small businesses will typically need capital for new equipment, or to expand their business. A good credit limit will allow small business to access credit that would otherwise be inaccessible to small businesses. Bigger capital opens up the possibility of greater profits.

These cards also offer the option of limiting one business’s spending. This would be very useful for a business that is keeping a tight watch over its finances.

Small business cards are quickly becoming an efficient way to increase buying power and capital. With these advantages, it may soon be that small businesses will regard these small business credit cards as a necessity.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost

Some Consumers Want To Work With Large Companies:

Many companies out there try to make themselves seem larger than they appear and sometimes they do this on purpose. There are consumers out there that feel more comfortable going with established companies that have a team of employees and (apparently) have more responsibilities to their employees and clients.

Other Consumers Would Rather Work With Smaller Companies:

Then there are other consumers out there that can’t stand working with big companies and would rather work with the little guys who treat every customer like they’re family.

The problem lies with the misconception about how large or how small your company really is. See, if you give an appearance online that you’re a massive company when you’re not, this might actually backfire on you once people call for your products or services. People don’t like to be misled in any way, shape, or form.

Smartads has 5 people involved with us on a daily basis. We are not a team of 1 but at the same time, we aren’t a monster company either. Our contact pages reflect this as well.

Do You Have 10 Email Accounts Online That All Go To One?

It’s when you go through a companies contact page and they have an entire directory of emails listed for different departments that ALL, and I mean all go to the same person. It would look something like this….

For customer support email: support@bogussite.dumb
For technical support email: techies@bogussite.dumb
For advertising email: ads@youknowwhat.com
For general inquiries, don’t even bother!

See where I am going with this? I can understand if you like to separate your email accounts because of the volume coming in but, ironically, if you list over 5 “live” email accounts on your contact page, I’ll bet you’re getting a ton of spam as well!

Exploit Your Size To Appeal To The Right Clients:

Don’t try to hide your company’s size just because you’re a small business enterprise; exploit it to those who are looking to do business with specifically smaller companies. I can understand if you have the need to separate your email accounts, try having an online form that responds to a drop down menu which in turn sends the emails to different accounts on it’s own.

If you don’t like the fact that your business is a one-man band, hire someone to answer your calls for you. In fact, try out someone at home (family or roommate). They are a lot cheaper anyway. At least you can free up some time, and seem more professional from a client’s point of view.

The whole Point Is This…

Just because we can hide behind our computer’s to attract better, larger fish, it doesn’t really mean we actually need to. You might hurt your business more if you try to “act as if” or promise to make something work which you know you don’t have the resources for.

Raise Your Prices To Make More Money, Don’t Raise Your Curb Appeal:

You don’t need to look big in order to attract more money, sometimes the simpler answer works better. Try raising your prices to see whether or not this will actually deter consumers (Yes, there is a risk) but, if you try to appear larger than you actually are, you’re already risking a great deal.

Be true to your business and you will attract clients that are true to you. “Thoughts are things” really takes affect online because consumers can’t relate on an emotional level, they can only compute what they read and what they see. If your website gives consumers a false statement, your business will not profit from this method of promotion, but will only be hindered from your mistakes.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost

If you are in a business where some of the competitors are much larger, you may be able to benefit from using guerilla tactics. The principles of running a guerrilla organization differ from running a gorilla organization. As a guerrilla, we hide from our competitor; we do not try to crush them. I even go so far as to examine what they do well and let them do it. At the same time, I look for under-serviced markets and get to these markets fast.

A gorilla takes all competitors head on, trying to crush the competition. Sometimes this takes the form of a price war. Sometimes it takes major prolonged, drawn-out investment. This works as long as you are the same size, or larger than the competition. Even then, such a long battle can sap power and ultimately profits.

Companies that die often believe they were gorillas. It is certain death for a business to fight gorillas unless they can withstand the siege. Any time we hire someone with a gorilla-company background, we watch and coach that person to make sure they are indoctrinated with the appropriate tactics. We have to make sure they understand out business model.

My 8 favourite guerilla tactics are:

1 – Act fast. I use my company’s size for my advantage. I can act lightning fast. In the computer business, this is a huge asset. Things change so rapidly that moving fast and being first to market is a huge advantage. Larger companies do not react quickly. Develop a reputation for being first – it gets the attention of customers.

2 – Welcome smaller opportunities. Gorillas tend to say ‘no’ to manufacturers who don’t think they can do significant volume with. But a small opportunity rejected by a gorilla can be a very profitable opportunity for a guerilla. For EMJ, a million dollar per product line is an opportunity big enough to get the attention of my first string. In your business, look for the right-sized opportunity for you. Frequently, it is the smaller opportunity that has the best promise. The gorillas will leave you alone. There is always a right-sized opportunity for a company of any size. Knowing your rightful place in the market can help you to thrive.

3 – Get focussed. Higher focus means we know more, stock more, and sell more product of fewer manufacturers. The smaller our product listing, the more powerful we become. We know a lot about a little. That means we know the products we sell better than a gorilla, and we become a sales tool for the reseller, not just an order-taker. Could you become more focused and specialized in a business area by giving up on a part of your business?

4 – Be more flexible. We can adapt more easily to our customers and suppliers. We try not to be ruled by policy. The bigger a company gets, the more likely they are to have policy and some of it is required. As a small distributor, we can be more flexible. Are there areas that your competition is ignoring that by being more entrepreneurial, you can capitalize on?

5 – Be smarter. This sounds too simple, almost embarrassing to write. Since we are smaller, we can look at the business we do more carefully and make sure it makes good business sense. We don’t pick up another manufacturer just to increase the size of our line card. That’s just not good business sense for us. That’s the way we have to think – and so should you.

6 – Lower your overhead. For some reason, most companies seem to choose more expensive offices and furnishings as they grow. This expectation tends to increase costs in all areas of the company that distribution, at current margin levels, can ill afford. At EMJ, we buy quality used furniture. We are on the outskirts of Guelph where the cost of land and taxes is less. Our capital base is even high enough that our cost of capital is less than some of the gorillas. Are there areas that you can be lower overhead than the gorillas in your field? Costs always add up on the bottom line.

7 – Foster staff loyalty – one major advantage guerillas have over gorillas is the ability to attract, motivate, and keep good people. Primarily this is because guerillas can be more flexible, easier to work for and give people more of a sense of accomplishment because what they do contributes more directly the company’s bottom line. I have always found there to be great power by being smaller and treating my people with respect and not just as numbers. Gorillas can try to do this but it is tough for them to copy you.

8 – Just BE a gorilla. We like to enter market areas that we can dominate and specialize in. We may not be the biggest but in certain specific niches, we dominate. As long as we are the biggest in an area, we can act the part. We can under-price and over-service the competition forever. Anyone who enters our markets learns that it is expensive and often impossible to unseat us.

9 – Be personal. One thing a smaller organization can do is to be more personal. People buy from people. You can foster relationships that will help you sell. Part of the way we are personal is by showing our customers what markets and products ARE profitable. There is nothing that cements a customer relationship better than making them money, because you’ll be making money for them AND for you!

10 – Be opportunistic – to sum up guerilla strategy is simply to be opportunistic. Take advantage of opportunities that the gorillas cannot do. There are many companies that remain profitable by being opportunistic.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• How Do I Build A Winning Business Plan?
• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses

Is your niche too small? Finding a small market to target with your business is key to success, but sometimes people narrow their niche too much. While doggy dental products could be a wonderful niche (as almost any dog owner can attest) you could even narrow your focus down to a certain type of dog (such as lap dogs) but going for one specific breed would be taking it too far.

Target Market Too Small

Is your target market too small? If you are looking only at one community or small geographic region then you may well doom your product to failure. It is far too easy to saturate a small market and it is far too easy for any marketing mistakes to end your campaign before it gets off the ground. In today’s economy with the availability of global marketing you need to think big when you are planning your target market.

Budget Too Small

Is your budget too small? You don’t need a million dollar advertising budget but you should have some seed money to get your business and its marketing campaign off the ground. It is possible to build a business from nothing but it is also a lot more difficult and you might find yourself making some mistakes that cost you a lot more down the road than putting a little money up front.

Schedule Too Small

Is your schedule too small? Do you have enough time to devote to your business? Starting, running, and growing a business takes time. Some people get swept up in the planning and dreaming stages and never really start their business. Other people start before they have completely planned everything out and quickly get mired down by unexpected difficulties. While others do everything right in the planning and startup but once the business is running they get overwhelmed by day-to-day business and never think aobut ways to improve and grow their business.

Mind Too Small

Is your mind too small? You need to open up your mind’s eye to continually seek new opportunities to find new customers, to find new potential partners, to find new ideas for products, and to find new opportunities for marketing. Flexibility and adaptability are key to surival in today’s business climate and you always need to have new ideas cooking to grow and expand your market and your business. This means raising your head up out of the trenches once in a while. Yes, you might need to dodge the occasional missile lobbed your way but this is the only way to see those opportunities heading your way.

If you do your best to avoid these five not-so-small mistakes then you will be on your way to small business success.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost

Starting or running your business without a business plan is akin to being a human without a skeleton!

Not only will using a sample structure highlight any areas you haven’t fully thought through, but it will also provide you with a good idea of what makes a good business plan, and what doesn’t.

The importance of your business plan as a motivational factor in running or starting your business cannot be underestimated. You will find that your commitment continues to build as you collect information, research and write each section.

Your business plan should always accompany requests for Small Business Loans , and lenders or any kind of angel investor will simply refuse to consider your business proposal without one.

Lenders and investors want to see your plan with the aim of satisfying key questions before they make their decision to grant funding or not.

Once you’ve commenced trading your small business plan will act as a steak in the ground, and help you measure where you expected to be against where you actually are. It will help you take corrective action as necessary.

Sample Business Plan Structure

All plans should include at least the elements listed below, and perhaps additional sections depending on the type of industry.

Executive Summary
Company Background
Products or Service Overview
Unique Selling Proposition and competitive advantages
The Marketplace
Operations
Leadership and management profiles including professional competencies
Professional Support
Risks and Threats assessment
Financial forecasts including key assumptions
Relevant appendices

Collecting the information for all the sections is time consuming and sometimes difficult. The business section of your local library is always a good place to start research. Ask your friendly librarian about how to look up market research reports, and how to investigate competitors.

If you are not familiar with spreadsheet software, constructing the necessary financial forecasts represents a significant hurdle. You have 2 choices:

Pay someone to put part or all of the plan together for you, or a small investment in some business planning software.

The advantage of using a professional is you will receive the benefits of their experience, combined with a professional looking plan.

The disadvantage is that it won’t be easy to make changes, and more importantly, because you will not have been as involved in its preparation, you won’t be as familiar with its contents as you should be. Make sure to learn the contents well.

One final tip though, remember it’s the quality of the information you put into it that determines what comes out.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Guerilla Versus Gorilla – Small Companies Can Win
• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses

I can put up with the miniscule cubical. I can live with the lack of natural light (although I feel like a cave troll). I can even do without the cafeteria, water cooler, and coffee maker. What I really miss is my old phone.

You see, my old phone was indeed, not an “old” phone. It was a multi-line handling, LCD displaying, caller IDing monster that gave me more options than a new car salesman. My “new” phone has none of those amenities. There is no transfer or hold button, no screen to display who is calling, no headset and no electronic directory. In short, the only difference between this phone and a Garfield phone you might buy at Spencer’s Gifts is that this phone isn’t shaped like a cartoon cat. My job would be so much easier and my days so much more productive if only we had a real office phone system in place. The current system is so poorly automated that only a very small percentage of the calls I get are actually meant for me. Likewise, I get several E-mails a day asking why I haven’t returned phone calls in regard to messages I never received.

I guess the old addage that “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” really holds true in this case.

Since I came here, I have actively lobbied to have the old phone system replaced, but to no avail. I think I may be the only one here who knows what he’s missing. Oh well…I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who has experienced this. Maybe you too have lost a beloved phone in a career move. I sympathize with you. I’d leave my number so we could comiserate, but you’d probably never reach me anyway.

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost

I conducted the inquiry I needed to, said goodbye, and didn’t give it a second thought. A few days later, I had reason to call accounts receivable again. This time, in the process of conducting my business, I detected that I was being flirted with. Being a bachelor and hearing that incredible voice made me curious, but at the same time I realized that not having ever seen me, it was highly unlikely that this woman could be anywhere close to serious. I coughed it up to casual friendliness and again went back to my work. The third time I called after the changeover, Regina asked if I had been on the second floor with our mutual funds manager the previous week. I had been, so I surmised that she knew what I looked like and I answered affirmitavely.

This set in motion a conversation that wasn’t disguised friendliness but instead, overt flirting on her part. Now I was somehwat smitten. I said goodbye and tried to go back to my work but visions of a young buxom professional with a voice that could break a heart with a whisper had me in a frenzy. The next day, I decided it was high time I introduced myself to the new employee. I made my way down to the second floor, somewhat exited and nervous and all the while hoping to not be disappointed. I opened the door to the accounts receivable office and saw the most beautiful woman talking on her headset. She smiled at me and made a “hold on a minute” gesture. After her phone call ended, I reached out my hand and said, “Hi Regina, I’m Jim from upstairs”.

She answered, “Hi Jim, I’m Amy, Regina’s clerk…did you need to speak to Regina?”. My heart sank a little, and then the woman I would come to know as Regina came walking out, happy to finally meet me. As you might guess, she had the aesthetics of a water buffalo with a face that even a mother couldn’t love. I smiled, shook her hand and had a polite but short conversation before retreatring back to my office. I have since heard that as Ralph was retiring, he was able to hand pick his replacement. Why do I get the feeling that somewhere, he is laughing right now?

If you liked this article, You may also like

• Restaurant Business : Buffet Table Setting Ideas
• Venture Capital – What Happens After The Due Diligence Process
• Business Basics For Catalog Retailers
• Exit Strategies For Businesses
• The 10 Most Important Retail Technologies That Will Give Your Small Retail Business A Boost