It was all going fine until the US economy was hit by the financial crisis, which began in July 2007. At that point, brokerage houses and investment institutions started to cut down their expanses by right sizing. It was the time when BPO firms got the opportunity to render their services. Outsourcing of equity research and analysis gave a significant support to financial institution across the USA and Europe.

Main beneficiaries of that opportunity were China and India. They are expected to grow further in the year 2009 and afterwards. We can clearly spot the continuation of bearish trend in the USA economy, which is expected to trigger issues such as rising operational cost and decreasing quality. This will be advantageous for the BPO industry. Some of the reasons for outsourcing of research and analysis are:

1. Low wage arbitrage
2. Access to large pool of qualified professionals
3. Decreasing responsibility related to HR management
4. Reduced risk due to small investment in infrastructure
5. Increased efficiency due to standardized operation
6. More time to focus on business plans

According to a study, hundred of the industry’s leading financial institutions are planning to outsource more than $200 billion worth of business to cut their operating cost. This all indicates a promising future for young as well as mature outsourcing companies who are able to offer the much needed equity research services to the firms in the recession-struck Western world.

Observation, focus group and surveys are three amongst the several ways to get primary data on potential targets while conducting business research. Your business plan should be the result of your business research. Among the many tools, the survey is the most simple and popular option for many businesses. There are several types of surveys used in business research; such as, telephone surveys, one-on-one interviews, mail surveys, or email. Telephone surveys are famous because they are cost effective and convenient. Budget and the need of the business will decide which survey to use.

Once you are done with the selection of the survey method, you are ready to develop the questionnaire. One of the main tools to acquire data is questionnaire. You need to develop a simple questionnaire that is easy to fill out. Here are some basic guidelines on how to create effective questionnaire for business research:

1. Keep the questions to the point
2. Ask short and relevant questions
3. Give clear instructions on how to answer the questions
4. In each question, use only one sentence
5. Ask different types of questions as per need
6. Keep your questions in order, ideally from general to specific
7. Do not ask for identifying information
8. First pretest your questions on your friends, family, or employees.
9. Do not use tricky questions
10. Maintain the objectivity of the questions. Try not to influence the response.
11. Try to use neutral language
12. Disclose your company’s name
13. Clearly mention the purpose of the business research
14. Appreciate the effort of respondent
15. Thank the respondents for their time

While preparing quality questionnaire, if you follow these guidelines for the survey, you can perform good business research that can contribute to the success of your enterprise.

Startup business owners mostly come across a common question i.e. how to write a custom business plan?

Well, in order to write a custom business plan, you are required to be prepared for the following things first:
• Estimation of required funds
• Business opportunity (with least limitations)

Remember, a business plan is the presentation of entrepreneurs’ skills and expertise, so make sure you have the knowledge of following:
• Business that you have selected
• Product or service that business will offer
• Planning for improvement in business operations

After finding answers to above questions, now comes the writing process of custom business plan. There is no set rule and standard in the industry for writing a business plan, but there are several common elements in every business plan such as summary, business introduction, marketing, financial strategies etc. For each heading, you must write concise information in simple and easy to understand language to keep the readers engaged. Below is a sample outline that includes common attributes:

Executive Summary: It is used to take a glance at the entire content of business plan. In addition, it mostly includes:

• Objectives
• Mission & Vision
• Keys to Success

Company Overview: It provides business introduction, concept and past achievements. Usually, following are included:

• Company Ownership
• Start-Up Summary
• Company Locations and Facilities

Product / Service: This section provides details of products or services that business is mainly dealing in. Usually, following are included:

• Description of Products / Services
• Customer Benefits
• Future Product / Services

Market Analysis: This section provides comprehensive details of market in which the business is operating. Following are usually included:

• Industry Analysis
• Target Customer Segment
• Competition with Key Players

Marketing & Sales: Marketing and sales strategies are presented here that entrepreneurs are planning to enter in the market. Following are usually included:

• Marketing Strategy
• Product / Service Positioning
• Pricing Strategy
• Sales Strategy

Management Strength: Expertise and skills of management are presented here. Usually, it is focused on describing qualification, experience and achievements of entrepreneurs. Following are included:

• Management Team
• Organizational Structure
• Personnel Plan

Financial Plan: This section deals with financial and statistical information regarding business operations. Normally, it includes balance sheet, income and cash flow statements for current and coming years.

Startup businesses as well as existing businesses need to seek investment from lenders such as banks and financial institutions. For that purpose, they need a solid business plan to raise capital, but having said that, it is not an easy job to do. Writing a business plan requires you to have sound business knowledge, expert eye on market and awareness of consumer trends. If you lack any of these qualities, your chances of getting loan approval are significantly low. It is better to subscribe to a professional business plan writer, if you are not good at writing on your own. There are many professional writing services available in the market, but all of them are not capable to address your needs. There are some attributes you need to look for in a business plan writer before hiring them. Those attributes are:

1. Check experience and qualification of business plan writers; how long they have been in the industry
2. A professional business plan writer cannot write every thing on their own. Check if they are engaging you in the writing process
3. Ask for sample business plan. Are they attractive and convincing in writing style?

A solid business plan usually comprises financial planning, extensive market research and creative business marketing strategies. This information breaks into many titles such as following:

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Mission and Vision
• Product / Service Description
• Market Analysis
• Marketing and Sales Strategies
• Competition with Key Players
• Financial Projections

Research and analysis in the field of investment is a necessity in today’s changing financial markets around the globe. Whatever the type of investor and kind of market, they simply can’t put their assets on risk without properly judging the scope and credibility of investment.

Being small investors has its own advantages and vice versa. You don’t have a big amount to lose and at the same time it requires extreme efforts to capitalize the profit opportunity from small investment.

A very simple investment for small investors is stock market. It is commonly misunderstood by the masses that stock investment requires big initial amounts, but that’s not true. There are some affordable options available for small investors to start with a small number of shares. If you are simply targeting the blue chip index and hoping to purchase a decent amount of shares, you should probably look for new and emerging companies that are indicating good future prospects.

Stocks are controlled by many factors. The fiscal year often influences how much a company generates revenue. It can however change as the business enters a new year. Some stocks are called seasonal, as there are companies which are in high demand in one season but not in the other season.

Government bonds and securities are a safe option as well for small investors because they don’t tend to change their directions a lot. But having said that you can’t just relax over it, rather you need o look at the facts and figures on timely basis. That means small investors do need to do their research and analysis before actually taking a position.

Investment research has its own divisions; fundamental analysis and technical analysis, both are as different in approach as they sound. Fundamental analysis deals with estimating value of any financial asset equals to current value of cash flows. A correct value of asset can assist in order to see whether the asset is “over priced” or “under priced”, for that one need to look at the financial statements of a company on regular basis. There are some other indicators such as its credit rating, business model, competition with rivals need to be look at.

On the other hand, technical analysis is the art of predicting future price movements. In this case, past index is studied to identify a possible trend and current index is analyzed to identify emerging trend. It is believed by many that history repeats itself and same is the case in technical analysis.

Investment research can be done after doing thorough research on the target commodity, but it requires special skills. There are many firms online which are providing investment research and analysis at affordable cost. In my opinion, it is a good option for small investors to get research services from these firms as they can provide more accurate and risk free information because these firms have dedicated expertise and a strong eye on the market than a trader.

iSource Biz provides customized and high quality services in areas of investment research viz. the Equity Research Analysis, Financial Analysis, Industry / Sector Research, Comparative Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Feasibility Analysis, Ratio Analysis etc.

The beginning of 2008 saw the US automobile industry under constant pressure. But when oil prices recorded all time high in July 2008, peaking at 147 dollar per barrel, it was the time when most of the car makers in US started to think of revising their policies. It was, however, all too late as the global melt down in financial market later in the year made severe impact on auto industry. As the recession started, demand for luxury cars of giant makers GM, FORD and Chrysler went down, that resulted in business loss of almost 60%. Big players were slipping into a possible bankruptcy case, and almost 3 million jobs were at stake, as the auto industry in US forms about 23% of GDP. There were ongoing discussions about making fuel efficient cars but this time it’s really at the point of serious consideration. All eyes are now looking at the US government’s bailout plan to save this industry.

There were rumors going on about financial assistance or a bailout plan recently, but now the present US president has clearly stated that all the car manufacturers who are seeking help from the government have to come up with strong viability plan which is in other words supposed to be in the form of big cut downs in the operational and productive expenses of these manufacturers in the years to come.

Let’s take a look at the financial results of all three manufacturers.

GM sold 9.37 million vehicles in 2007 globally (12% less than 2006) with revenue grossing $43.2 billion USD, but it has fallen to $37.9 billion this year (13% less than 2007). If we look at Ford’s financial figures for 2007, it shows a growth of almost 7% compared to 2006 with revenues touching $172 billion. It however slows down significantly in 2008 by about 11% with revenues reaching $154 billion. After that, comes Chrysler with a 3% loss of revenue in the current year as compared to 2006. Currently, unofficial sources say it is down to more than 20% from 2007.

Looking at the above financial results of all three giants, we can clearly see a bearish trend in the financial performance of all three manufacturers since the year 2006. Although Ford is fundamentally somewhat better then the two, it also seems to lose market share owing to strong competition from Toyota.  Their claims about the global financial crisis and credit freeze that are supposed to be causing all this trouble doesn’t sound meaningful, as in the same period from 2006 to 2008, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers increased their market share in US from 23% to 30% approximately. That makes sense when US president intelligently calls for viability plans rather than just aiding the industry after all it’s the stakeholders of these companies who need to diversify in this changing global market.

USA is one of the most economically established countries in the world. With an estimated GDP of $13.81 trillion, USA maintains top position. A large number of USA’s GDP belongs to the service sector which is 78%. USA witnessed a continuous growth in private sector and small businesses for almost 11 years; with an average growth rate of 3.8%- the highest ever in the history of this country. Like its height in GDP, USA does have the best per capita income which is estimated to be $45,850.

Ever since the recession started in the late 2008, USA’s small business sector has been bearing a crisis situation. Many of the giant investment groups declared bankruptcy which resulted in even more pressure on small businesses, as their investment crashed with them. Now to stay in the market, small business sector is working out to cut their cost of operations, and most of them are finding outsourcing as their way out.

Since USA maintains a high ratio of GDP to per capita income, cost of doing business in USA is very high also. What outsourcing does is that; it utilizes the labor arbitrage, which the under developed economies have on offer. For example, GDP per capita income of India is only $2,659, which is far less than USA’s $45,850. That makes a huge difference in salary structure saving cost almost by 70%, while at the same time; a high number of professionals from these under-developed countries are equipped with international qualifications, certifications and experience.

Many small businesses have already utilized this opportunity by outsourcing services like:

1. Marketing (call center)
2. Accounting and Finance
3. Investment Research
4. Software and Graphics Development
5. Content Development

There are many other reasons for which companies are outsourcing except for labor arbitrage, like increased efficiency, reduced risk margin, control over capital and many others. There are many BPO firms providing outsourcing services to USA clients such as iSource Biz.

Starting a new business or purchasing an existing one, both have their problems and challenges, but here I am focusing on the challenges that are encountered by new businesses. Have you done your research?

Starting a new business is not as simple as it is described in the books. You need to answer following questions before you start:

1. What is your business plan?
2. How much initial capital is required?
3. Do you have experience in the type of business you have chosen? 
4. Are the economic conditions favorable?
5. What makes you exclusive in the market?
6. What value do you add as the owner?
7. How many assets do you have?
8. What amount of debt you have acquired?
9. How will you attract customers?

The above questions can be answered easily if you have done your research about the opportunity, competitors and market history. If you are a novice in the game, you should consult with a professional for writing a business plan for you; it will help you to minimize risk factor.

After passing the starting stage successfully, now you have to look into the following point in order to run the new business successfully:

1. Market has no sympathy; put a lot of effort to reach out to customers. It will help you to compete with rivals; after all they have same intention as yours.
2. Always take advice from a professional, if you belong to medical profession and running a pharmacy, you are likely to have insufficient knowledge of paying taxes.
3. Consistently analyze figures of your business; sales revenue, stock, wages, bills, and taxes etc.
4. Don’t acquire un-necessary loans from bank or investment companies, which you are unable to utilize properly. Remember, you have to pay a mark-up; so think for the ROI before applying for it.
5. No one knows the future, so always prepare for back-up plans in order to avoid bankruptcy. Also, you must nominate someone to take your seat to make sure smooth running of business when you are not available, for example in case of an accident.
   

Whether you are starting a new small business or running a large scale company, your ultimate goal is to generate maximum revenue, and cut your cost as much as possible. Outsourcing can help you do both of them in efficient and effective way. Let’s have a brief look at what outsourcing really is.

Outsourcing is a method of transferring responsibilities, to a separate business entity in anticipation of increasing ROI of capital. Normally, companies are used to outsourcing services like Accounting, Data-Entry, Marketing and many other services.

The most obvious reason of outsourcing is to cut the direct labor cost, since under-developed countries have the advantage of low wage structure over developed countries. But that’s not all, outsourcing has many indirect cost saving features, which are following:

1. It helps in saving your capital cost, because you don’t have to invest in infrastructure and HR anymore. You can take advantage of that additional saving for your capital growth.

2. By focusing on limited type of services, BPO firms are more productive and efficient as compared to traditional style of business operations.

3. You are no longer putting effort in searching for right employees and taking care of the trainings and analyzing their productivity for on-time delivery. That also helps in starting a new project; you just take the order, ask for ETA from BPO firm, and deliver it to the customers.

4. When responsibilities are transferred to BPO firms, you and your managers can take advantage of that additional time to focus on core issues of business, resulting in better management.

5. Since you have got the access to a large pool of qualified and trained staff through BPO firms, now you can equally take part in handling bigger projects, which earlier was only restricted for big players.

6. Stay ahead of the upgradation headache. Since you are not involved in infrastructure and HR development, you are not required to look for the latest technologies in market for optimizing efficiency. It is the responsibility of BPO firm now at the same time reducing your risk factor.

Internet marketing is very popular with most of the businesses these days throughout the world; whether they are small or big. Every consumer checks the internet, when they decide to buy something. Thus, to have an advantage over your competitor and to ensure higher ranking of your website, you must have effective marketing strategies. Copywriting is the most important tool of Internet marketing.

The best way to sell your product is, through copywriting i.e. the magic of words promoting your goods and services. A well-written content convinces the visitors to purchase. Informative and easy to understand content, helps to draw people’s attention to your website.

You have to explain to the visitors, why they need your product and why they should buy it from you? You need to characterise your product in two aspects:

• Features: Describe the main characteristics of your product or services.

• Benefits: Briefly explain the key benefits of the product or services to the customers, so they can analyse their need with the product or services you offer. Both aspects of your product or services are very important and play a vital role on your website.

Your copywriting should answer their possible questions:

1. Why would I want one?
2. What can I do with it?
3. Why is this one better than the others?

Most of the time, customers will jump directly to the technical information of the product, so you have to make sure that the information of your product or services is well defined, easy to understand and handily available.

Normally, people come to the website to get information. This probably sounds like you have to write a lot of content. Good content that portrays your product will satisfy both human and search engine spiders. Copywriting for marketing purposes usually entails recitation of a product meticulously, highlighting superficial features and benefits in order to convince the target audience to buy your product. Nevertheless, remember that “features tell but benefits sell”.

Copywriting is an effective tool to appreciate your product’s true rationale. You can use it to get your readers fully understand and finally get convinced about your product or services.