The 100 Day Plan – A Key To Success

100 days to transform your target?

The 100 day plan is a much vaunted phrase commonly referred to by business leaders, politicians and, increasingly, those in the mergers & acquisition community. The features of a 100 day plan can be somewhat nebulous to those not experienced in their implementation in a transactional context, yet it should be, and is simple.

The plan should capture all the initiatives and actions of a management team in the first 100 days following either a corporate acquisition or private equity backed Management Buy Out (‘MBO’). The 100 day plan should focus the mind of the management team, foster accountability to the owners (whether they are new or existing) and ensure that the window of opportunity to add value immediately post acquisition is not lost. All grand sounding, however, what does a typical 100 day plan look like and what are the key factors to ensure it is not just a box ticking exercise?

Segmentation of the 100 day plan
It is possible to separate a 100 day plan into three elements, each having differing levels of priority and focus during the initial 100 days post completion, namely;

• Immediate actions to protect value. These are typically those identified pre-deal and are often transaction orientated, for instance amending VAT registrations, employee communications, press releases, short term cash flow forecasting to name a few;
• Addressing ‘house-keeping’ issues and ‘quick wins’ identified during financial, commercial and legal due diligence; and

• Discrete projects to be completed within 100 days that clearly add value and implement the Business Plan agreed at completion.
Inherently, the scale, number of actions, initiatives and focus of resources in each area often depends on a range of factors, for example whether it is a trade deal versus MBO , corporate versus private vendor etc.

Some best practice when 100 day planning
Each 100 day plan is different, yet there are a number of points to consider which can ensure the momentum of the deal is carried forward post acquisition generating maximum value for the acquirer or management team.

• Start planning early before the deal completes, prioritise initiatives and be realistic about what the management team can achieve in addition to their ‘day job’. The volume and exhausting nature of doing a deal means the 100 day plan is often sidelined by many management teams

• Sponsorship of the 100 day plan by the senior management team is crucial. Delegation of project ownership to a junior project manager means it is likely to lack the visibility, sense of urgency or importance it requires.

• Regular reporting of progress to the Board and any third party investors is fundamental to ensuring that management are accountable for the actions and priorities immediately post acquisition.

• As a manager it is important to extract as much information and input from your advisers as possible (before they disappear on holiday when the deal is done!) The advantages of their perspective is twofold – firstly, they will be close to the detail of the due diligence reports and the issues these have raised. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, they will have a different sense of perspective on the key deal issues to be addressed post deal.

Adhere to these principals, use common sense, and start planning pre-deal with your senior management team. This means your target should be well positioned to achieve its Business Plan in its first year.

By: Richard Sanders, Partner, Catalyst Corporate Finance

Posted by Anonymous 6:00 AM

A Freeway To Success Review – The Truth About Freeway To Success

Freeway To Success opened for business in December 2009 and has been and has done really well for the first year. They have had an exceptional year recruiting more than 15,000. Member seem to be very excited about the business opportunity offer. Two things you will not find in most other opportunities is that this business offers is a very affordable start-up cost and a low monthly membership fee.

The founder, Doc Lett, is a veteran in network marketing having owned several successful businesses in the past few years. Another thing that makes this company a good choice is the fact that Doc Lett has combined the discount warehouse with the network marketing industry. This is a great combination because not only can members make money they can also save money on just about everything that they buy.

Freeway To Success Products

The Basic Membership costs $15 to start and this cost includes a $10 yearly administrative fee and your first monthly payment. These members get a prescription card to save up to 65% on prescriptions, gift certificates worth $25 from Restaurant.com for only $1 to $5 each, and new monthly business training e-books.

The Gold Membership upgrade must be done in the back office. The cost is $25 and that includes a charge of $10 for the yearly administrative fee and the first month’s payment. Gold members have access to the Freeway To Success Clubhouse. The Clubhouse allows gold members to save on lots of products and services ranging from entertainment to travel to carpeting just to name a few. The gold membership is $20 and it combines the cost of basic and gold memberships.

Freeway To Success Compensation Plan

Members can earn $4 out of the $5 paid for basic plan and $12 out of the $15 for the gold membership. This is an astounding 80% of the membership fees.

The compensation plan is set up on a 5×5 forced matrix. This Means that you can have 5 people on your first level and you make money 5 levels deep. Once your matrix is filled, your $5 will becomes $3,855 per month in residual income.

The upgraded membership commission is paid on current member, so, you do not have to recruit additional members to earn the commission. However, you must already be a gold member. Once all users have upgraded to Gold, you will be making $18,000 a month and more than $200,000 a year.

Freeway To Success seems like a good business opportunity. Members have a very real chance to create residual income but only if they are willing to work.

However, if you are considering Freeway To Success you must know how you will grow your business. To be successful you must understand how to market your business. To find real success and financial freedom it will be not enough to invite friends and family members. You will need to learn the online marketing techniques that top marketers use to attract a large number of potential customers for your business. This will greatly increase the chances of success with Freeway To Success. If you combine consistent action with the right training, you can not lose!

By: Janiece Thompson

Posted by Anonymous 5:56 AM

Startups Take on the Business of Education

When it comes to opportunities for entrepreneurs, the field of education has a decidedly steep learning curve.

“Education startups certainly have unique challenges,” says Ariel Diaz of Boundless, a Boston-based startup that offers free online textbook replacements for college students. “The decision-making process in education is very convoluted, slow and complex.”

But that environment hasn’t discouraged entrepreneurs from approaching education with a variety of products and services. Given that for-profit education-related ventures are often viewed as suspect — online-learning organizations like the University of Phoenix have come under state and federal investigation for potentially exploitative and fraudulent practices — the key to making a go of an education startup is identifying market inefficiencies and challenges, but with an overriding focus on doing good.

Identifying a niche market
Sometimes, doing the right thing can have surprising beneficiaries. Judy Zimet found a niche in need of attention when she began Law Student Ally to provide one-on-one guidance to law students. Her service helps them achieve higher grades, obtain internships and improve their chances of landing a job once they graduate.

“This is no longer the world of Tom Cruise in ‘The Firm,’ where huge signing bonuses and luxurious gifts are showered upon law school graduates enticing them to join prestigious big law firms,” says Zimet, who is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Today, big law firms are in a financial downturn along with the rest of the world. Consequently, although there are approximately 45,000 law school graduates a year, there are only 25,000 legal jobs available. To land a job, law students need more than a juris doctorate earned with average grades. With personal coaching, law students receive higher grades, maximize class and internship choices, and receive recognition through publicized works and awards.”

Dealing with administrative challenges
Once you’ve found a problem to solve, you’re likely to come up against another one — the administrative element that plays a role in most any sort of educational system. Since, for instance, a school principal won’t actually be using products such as study-aid software, entrepreneurs are compelled to devise particularly persuasive marketing strategies — or try to circumvent administration altogether.

“Decision makers are often not the actual users of a particular product or service, similar to business IT decisions 10 years ago,” says Boundless’ Diaz. “This makes sales and distribution a significant challenge for startups who have to learn to navigate this. Some startups, including mine, are opting to go direct to students.”

Getting the timing and marketing right
If you do decide to market to students directly, academic schedules can pose still more hurdles. While many products and services know no real “season,” education entrepreneurs have to watch the calendar carefully to time marketing efforts and product rollouts.

“The school year is cyclical in nature,” says Diaz. “It means that there are fewer opportunities to iterate on the product, and creates hard deadlines — namely at the start of school year and semesters — by which new releases need to be complete.”

Entrepreneurs have responded with fresh marketing strategies, even for those education-related ventures that are a bit more traditional in nature. David Greenberg started Parliament Tutors three years ago. The New York-based company offers in-home and online tutoring to prepare students for all subjects, from kindergarten through high school, as well as tests like the SAT and MCAT.

Rather than advertising in education publications or making in-person pitches to students, parents and teachers, Greenberg opted to pursue a comprehensive social marketing strategy.

Ushering in the startup era of education?
Parliament Tutors’ growth underscores an overriding dynamic of the education system. Some schools and taxpayers pump more money into programs and services only to see scholastic performance continue to erode. Others trim budgets and, with them, valuable programs and offerings. It’s a volatile and very personal problem. Any entrepreneur with a solution that’s not only cost-effective but also boosts students’ grades and test scores will likely find an audience.

“Entrepreneurs love identifying the problem, innovating a solution and assessing the market opportunity,” says Charles Matthews, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research at the University of Cincinnati. “When it comes to matters of education, however, the deliverables are focused on the patchwork of constituents that constitute the education ecosystem — students, parents, prospective employers and politicians. The bottom line is not just profit or loss, but your impact on society.”

“Right now we are seeing a boom in educational costs and a simultaneous reduction in education effectiveness,” adds Diaz. “This creates a huge opportunity to leverage the prevalence of technology and the availability of open content to dramatically revolutionize education. I believe we are entering a golden age of education startups, and that education as a whole will see more change in the next 10 years than in the previous 50.”

Posted by Anonymous 5:46 AM