Americans’ confidence in finding a new job falls to record low

Don’t wait until you get fired to find a new job. Americans’ confidence that they will find employment is at an all-time low.

Take proactive measures to set up your side-hustle or startup today. Dozens of businesses are recession-resistant, such as vintage thrift shops, vending machine owners, medical equipment pickup, estate cleanouts, and more.

Side businesses can be a safer and lower-commitment entry into entrepreneurship. We have the resources, such as business plans, marketing services, and access to capital, to help you launch and grow your business.

September 9, 2025

Term Sheet and Due Diligence

Bee Well Holistic Healing is a mental health clinic in Easton, MD, that helps its clients become the best, most powerful version of themselves. Your Startup Guru provided term sheet review and corporate due diligence services for the next stages of Bee Well’s journey.

May 1, 2025

BUY a business for LESS than launching a new one

young ethnic female employee standing at counter in creative gift shop

You can buy a business for less than launching a new one! Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship isn’t just starting a new, novel, business. You can buy and grow an existing one. Some benefits of buying a business vs. launching a new one:

Established customer base
Existing assets such as furniture, fixtures and equipment
No need to hire new staff
Training from seller

Example New Cost Comparison

Customer list: $5k
Furn., Fix., Eq.: $30k
Find Staff: $5k
Training: $5k
Ramp-up cash: $50k
Legal, Due dil.: $5k
Total: $100,000

Example Existing Cost Comparison

Customer list: Incl’d
Furn., Fix., Eq.: Incl’d
Find Staff: Incl’d
Training: Incl’d
Ramp-up cash: $10k
Legal, Due dil.: $5k
Sale Price: $40k
Total: $55,000

Not all businesses are sold because they are unprofitable. Sellers list their business for many reasons such as retiring, moving, and changing priorities.

To buy a business, you will need several things, including:

Valuation of the business
Business plan to obtain acquisition capital
Due diligence of: Competitors and customers, and financials

November 13, 2024

Strategies for Mitigating Cash Flow Problems

Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business and is essential for day-to-day operations, growth, and overall stability. However, managing cash flow can be challenging, especially when faced with unexpected expenses, delayed payments, or seasonal fluctuations in revenue.

In an article by Yahoo! Finance, small business bankruptcies rose with a 29% increase in Chapter 11 filings in September 2023 compared to September 2022

Mitigating cash flow problems requires proactive strategies and a solid financial plan to ensure the smooth functioning of a business. Here are some effective approaches for businesses to consider:

Create Accurate Cash Flow Forecasts: Developing precise cash flow projections can provide a clear understanding of expected income and expenditures. By analyzing historical data, upcoming expenses, and revenue patterns, businesses can anticipate cash shortfalls and plan accordingly.
Optimize Invoicing and Payment Processes: Streamlining invoicing procedures and implementing clear payment terms can expedite the collection process. Offering incentives for early payments or setting up automated reminders for overdue invoices can encourage timely settlements, thereby enhancing cash available to the company.
Negotiate Favorable Payment Terms with Suppliers: Collaborating with suppliers to negotiate extended payment terms or discounts for early payments can ease immediate financial pressures. Establishing mutually beneficial agreements can help in managing cash flow more effectively.
Control Inventory Levels: Maintaining excessive inventory ties up capital that could be used elsewhere. Regularly assess inventory levels, identify slow-moving items, and adjust ordering to match demand. Just-in-time inventory management can minimize surplus stock and free up cash.
Explore Financing Options: Utilizing various financing options such as lines of credit, business loans, or invoice factoring can provide immediate liquidity during cash shortages. However, it’s crucial to weigh the costs and terms associated with each option.
Implement Cost-Cutting Measures: Review operational expenses regularly and identify areas where costs can be trimmed without compromising quality or efficiency. This might include renegotiating contracts, reducing non-essential expenses, or optimizing processes to increase productivity.
Diversify Revenue Streams: Relying heavily on a single source of income can make a business vulnerable to fluctuations. Diversifying revenue streams by introducing new products/services or targeting different market segments can help stabilize cash flow.
Maintain a Cash Reserve: Building and maintaining a cash reserve serves as a safety net during lean periods or unexpected emergencies. Setting aside a portion of profits for contingencies can prevent cash flow disruptions.
Monitor and Manage Debt Effectively: While debt can be a useful tool for growth, excessive debt or high-interest repayments can strain cash flow. Regularly review debt obligations and consider refinancing options to lower interest rates if feasible.
Seek Professional Financial Advice: Consulting with financial experts or hiring experienced financial advisors can provide valuable insights and guidance. Their expertise can assist in devising tailored strategies to address specific cash flow challenges.

In conclusion, managing cash flow is an ongoing process that requires vigilance, strategic planning, and adaptability. By implementing a combination of these strategies, businesses can mitigate cash flow problems, ensuring financial stability and fostering long-term success.

Remember, each business is unique, so it’s essential to assess individual circumstances and tailor these strategies accordingly to effectively address cash flow challenges.

December 13, 2023

What Flamin’ Hot Can Teach Us About Entrepreneurship

Very loosely based on actual events but Flamin’ Hot can teach us a few things about entrepreneurship.

Flamin’ Hot is a fictionalized dramatization of how the wildly popular Flamin’ Hot line of products was created. A more detailed account of the creation of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and related products can be found in this LA Times article. Although it is very loosely based on actual events, the film can teach us a few things about entrepreneurship.

Warning Spoilers Ahead

Entrepreneurial Spirit

Richard Montañez, the supposed creator was a natural entrepreneur since childhood. In the film, he was bullied by his classmates about his burrito lunch. He persuaded them to try it and got them to buy burritos from him. Richard then sold burritos to the entire school. Richard also showed interest in machinery early on which helped him understand the chip manufacturing process.

Not everyone is born with the traits and proclivities to create something new, but if you are, it’s a big advantage.

No Shame

Selling drugs got Richard in trouble with the law which limited his career options. So he pleaded his way into a janitorial job. Richard swallowed his pride and did the work.

Our perceptions about our self, how we think others perceive us, where we think we should be in life, pride, shame, etc. are all factors that can sometimes limit us. Overcoming this is probably more important than being a natural entrepreneur.

Industry and Market Research

Richard learned his job as a janitor but also learned how the chips were made. He also asked questions about chip manufacturing to people that were not in his department; thus crossing over departmental “cliques” — sanitation doesn’t mingle with engineers, etc. This allowed him to learn more about chip manufacturing than almost anyone. His willingness to overcome shame/embarrassment, in this case overcome corporate culture, also allowed him to access knowledge that others were unwilling/uninterested in learning.

Additionally, Richard’s Mexican-American background gave him exposure to spicy food and awareness about the large Latin-American population. In 1980, 6.5% of the US Population was Hispanic; by 1990, it grew to 8.8% as the total US population grew 22 million in that time. He saw how his friends and family would add spicy seasoning to their foods. Richard also saw, when he was on a delivery run with a coworker, that mainstream snacks were the only option in neighborhoods like his. A large and rapidly growing market did not have a spicy option.

This is all part of industry and market research.

In reality, Fred Lindsay, a Frito-Lay salesman that worked the Chicago and Great Lakes region noticed spicy products from regional competitors out-selling Frito-Lay.

Learn everything you can about your business, other people’s businesses, your customers, their customers. Knowledge is power.

New Product/Service Creation

It is important to note that Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (according to the movie) did not happen over the course of a couple of years. Richard was working at the plant for over 8 years when the idea came to him. Also, in the movie, Richard’s wife Judy, developed the recipe in what seems like less than a year.

In reality, Lynne Greenfeld and a team of product developers at Frito-Lay was assigned in 1989 to create a snack designed to compete with spicy snacks sold in the inner-city mini marts of the Midwest. Greenfeld would go on a field marketing tour throughout the Midwest and bring back 50 different bags of snacks that were all new to her. Eventually, she and her team honed in on a flavor combination and chubby devil branding that we know today. This process took around a year.

Bootstrapping

With the recipe in hand, Richard needed to acquire chips to coat the newly developed spicy slurry with. At the Frito-Lay factory, brown chips were thrown out because they only wanted the lighter colored chips. Richard took the discarded chips to create his first batch.

Finding inexpensive solutions is a crucial task in entrepreneurship.

Pitching

A pivotal moment in the movie happened when Richard looked up the contact info of Roger Enrico, CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo Inc., the corporate owner of Frito-Lay, to pitch the idea to him.

In the movie, Richard stumbles when asked about market share and product yield. This is where our services come in. Our industry leading pitch decks come with industry and market overviews, projected sales, and much more. Companies from a wide range of industries have used our pitch decks to raise funds from banks, SBA, and angel investors.

Guerrilla Marketing

Even after convincing Enrico to launch the Flamin’ Hot line, it was not all smooth sailing. In the movie, Frito-Lay did not launch an advertising campaign as most companies do for most products and services. As a result, the products were not selling.

To raise awareness for the product, Richard resorted to guerrilla marketing. He rallied his friends, family, and coworkers to start giving away unsold bags for free to anyone in the neighborhood. This strategy, more specifically, is called product sampling, and is commonly used by companies to raise awareness and increase the chances of initial purchases.

In reality, the Flamin’ Hot line of products had the full force of Frito-Lay’s marketing department. Unfortunately for most entrepreneurs, they do not have a large corporation driving awareness for their newly launched product.

July 13, 2023

Strategy consulting

Strategy consulting helps organizations solve complex business problems by developing and implementing plans. Your Startup Guru works with clients to identify their goals, analyze their current situation, and develop a roadmap to achieve their objectives.

Zavros came to us for help with a pivot to one of their existing businesses. They were looking at new industry sectors to enter where they would enjoy a competitive advantage and protection by barriers to entry.

Through meticulous industry research and market analysis, we found a growing niche that met their goals. A 5-year financial projection model comprising of a profit & loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement was also created so Zavros could see how much to charge customers, when to acquire new assets and at what price, as well as overhead expense budgeting.

Equipped with a strategy, Zavros now has a clear picture of how to enter into this new business endeavor.

Launch and Grow Your Business

February 27, 2023

Lost Over $200k Trying to Start a Business

Lost money trying to start a business - Reddit

This post on Reddit talks about how an entrepreneur lost over $200k trying to start a business brings up excellent things to consider when starting a business.

Every business is different, but some key lessons that apply to almost all businesses are numbers #3, #7, and #9.

Lesson #3: Don’t Build Everything At Once

As an entrepreneur, you are likely the CEO and janitor. In other words, you have a lot to juggle and little cash to spend. Getting the core product/service to market takes precedence over spending time and money adding bells and whistles.

Lesson #7: You Can Be Either Low Frequency or Low Price, but Not Both

In other words, you can make infrequent big sales or frequent small sales, but not both. Most businesses fail because of illiquidity (i.e. not enough cash). Expenses never stop and must be paid even in between sales, so make sure you are always generating sales. A SaaS/user-base business is slightly different because the revenue model is based on data and advertising, but a similar maxim still exists.

Lesson #9: A Founder’s #1 Job is Sales

Once the CEO is done with janitorial duties for the day, it’s back to the phones making calls. For example, one of the main jobs of a partner at a law firm is increasing yearly revenue. They might not be doing contract review or picking up trash, but they are rainmaking.

See the full Reddit post below:

I lost $209,640 of my own money trying to start a business. from EntrepreneurRideAlong

Launch and Grow Your Business

November 10, 2022

SBIR Seed Funding

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) is investing up to $2 million in seed funding, aka America’s Seed Fund. America’s Seed Fund is a program within the National Science Foundation and housed within the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. This congressionally mandated program aims to foster innovation and help create businesses and jobs in all areas of the United States, and small businesses funded by our program have since gone on to tremendous success, changing industries, and helping people and the planet. Click here for more information.

October 8, 2022

The Case for Small Businesses

The case for small businesses is a strong one. From job creation to patents filed, small businesses are a major driving force in the economy.

Small Businesses are an Engine for Job Creation

Despite losing 9.1 million jobs in the first two quarters of 2020, small businesses’ job growth rebounded swiftly following the COVID-19 recession. In the four quarters following, small businesses have gained 5.5 million jobs, making up for 60 percent of the decline during the early pandemic. Small businesses have generated 12.9 million net new jobs over the past 25 years, accounting for two out of every three jobs added to the economy. Source.

Small Businesses are Drivers of Innovation

Experts often use patenting activity as a proxy for innovation. Data from the National Science Foundation show that small businesses that engage in R&D generate more patents per employee than larger businesses that engage in R&D. However, small business patenting activity fell significantly following 2010.

The decline is now reversing. Small businesses recovered to two-thirds of peak patent application levels from 2015 to 2018 and recovered to half of peak patents received levels in the same timeframe. Source.

Small Businesses Need Support

Unfortunately, more than 90,000 restaurants that have closed across the U.S. in the past two years. Restaurant industry sales in 2021 were down $65 billion from 2019’s pre-pandemic levels. A touching article in High Country News tells the touching story of the last day at DeDe’s, a mom-and-pop restaurant in St. George, UT.

She suffered a stroke a year ago and hadn’t been able to visit. “When DeDe found out, she made my mom’s favorite meal — a ham, mushroom, and spinach omelet with Swiss cheese and a slice of cantaloupe — and delivered it to the care facility,” Feesago said. “It’s more than food. DeDe made us feel like family.”

This type of value-added service without an exorbitant surcharge would be unheard of in a corporate restaurant scenario. The personal touch is also gone. Optimizing for profit results in diminished customer experiences. The typical story of a small company that grows until it catches the eye of a larger firm is common. The value and brand that the small company created are gutted to make room for shareholder value creation. The original loyal customers eventually leave because the magic is gone. This is done over and over again until Main Streets throughout the US begin to look exactly the same with the same 15 corporations.

The tragic irony in all this is that corporations spend a considerable amount of resources trying to recreate a “we treat you like family” environment that customers want. Unfortunately, it is just marketing, and the user experience is not genuine. The corporations would do better as a holding company that lets the small business operate with minimal interference. The parent company could provide occasional funding for expansions, hiring, and process improvements.

Small improvements can lead to significant benefits. Our blog post Competitive Advantage and Coffee talks about how a simple gesture such as remembering regular customers’ names can result in higher coffee sales. Another example is DK’s Donuts a small independent donut store in Santa Monica, CA that has been in business since 1983. Even when mega-chain Dunkin’ Donuts opened a block away, business did not suffer because the user experience, customer service in other words, was not there at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Launch and Grow Your Business

September 16, 2022

Pharmacy Valuation

Valuation Methods

Our client needed a valuation for the purchase of a pharmacy. A valuation is crucial to determine a reasonable purchase price range for a business. Several methods, adjusted specifically for pharmacies, had to be used to arrive at a valuation. The methods used were Enterprise Value, VC Method, Discounted Cash Flow Method, and the Multiples Methods based on historical financial statements. Then an average was taken from the calculated values to arrive at a valuation.

Enterprise Value

The Enterprise value (EV) measures a company’s total value, often used as a more comprehensive alternative to market capitalization, also known as Equity Value. Also, if the company is not publicly traded, market cap is not an option. To calculate EV, you subtract the market value of liabilities and non-operating assets from the market value of assets and add in non-operating liabilities. Essentially, it is the value of the company’s net operational assets to all investors.

VC

The Venture Capital valuation method is a common method used by venture capitalists to value an investment. To calculate this method, one estimates the investment needed, forecast startup financials, determine the timing of the exit, calculate the multiple at exit, discount to the present value at the desired rate of return, and from there determine valuation and desired ownership stake.

Discounted Cash Flow

The Discounted Cash Flow Method is considered the most detailed and most heavily relied form of valuation for a business. To valuate a company using the DCF method, an investor makes estimates about future cash flows and the ending value of the investment and adjusts those future values to the present value using an appropriate discount rate. The sum of the discounted amounts is the intrinsic value of the investment.

Multiples

The Multiples Method is a valuation method based on the theory that similar assets sell at similar prices. The method takes a financial ratio, such as price-to-earnings, or equity value, or enterprise value (as discussed above), then multiply it by a specific number unique to the industry sector that the subject company is in. This gives a calculated value of what the company is worth.

Launch and Grow Your Pharmacy Business

Pharmacy or not, no matter what business you are considering, contact us today to know that you’re getting a reasonable price for the company.

July 22, 2022

Category: Strategy