Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Advice For Conducting Due Diligence When Buying A Gas Station

A gas station for sale can represent a very dynamic business opportunity for an entrepreneur. In this specific kind of business - more than ever before, location is absolutely everything. Even if you might have discovered what you believe to be a “rough diamond,” next to two major traffic arteries or along side a very busy intersection, it's still unwise to "take the plunge" until you've performed a thorough and detailed process of due diligence.

One of the biggest mistakes that someone can make, especially if they have never operated, owned or purchased a business before, is to let their enthusiasm get the better of them. Even if the sheer volume of vehicular traffic that goes by the specific location you're considering is almost beyond belief, or you're concerned that some other buyer might jump in ahead of you, never even think about short-cutting your own discovery process. Most ideally you should spend at least four weeks getting a real feel for what you're letting yourself in for, before you act.

If you have made up your mind, and you are going to buy gas station business with a convenience store too, make sure you are generally happy with the fundamentals presented to you by the seller and you do not see anything “glaring” which could cause red flags to be raised, then you should tell the seller that you want an observation period to allow you to become more comfortable.

During your observation period, you will be able to analyze the actual operation of the gas station and convenience store and get a very good idea whether the financials that you have been given represent an actual or a contrived position. If you happen to be inheriting members of staff, you'll have the opportunity to see how well they do their jobs and how useful they are at maintaining your profits. This is infinitely preferable to just sitting down with them for thirty minutes and asking them questions. Above all, this observation time will allow you to come up with a number of ideas that you can ideally implement following purchase to increase revenues and profits.

Get ready to check all the following items during your due diligence work:

• The financial records, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, tax returns, and registers.

• The inventory records, being on the lookout for discrepancies.

• The employee records - watch to see that they are well-maintained, all legal elements are covered and the liabilities are unearthed.

• All equipment should be inventoried and maintenance records checked. Is a process of regular maintenance scheduled?

• Review all supplier contracts and attempt to contact the major suppliers. Are there any clauses which cause renegotiation following a sale – if so, you will need to be sure that you are covered before you proceed any further.

• A business such as this can be heavily regulated. You do not want to purchase gas station business problems caused by their failure to keep up with inspections or any citations issued due to irregularities.

Important: Get environmental reports and be certain the business is in full compliance. Have your attorney check for any prior infractions. Make sure all tanks meet the latest standards, and proposed ones. If not you may face an enormous expense soon after taking over, not to mention the lost business from closing down to make these adjustments.

If you are generally happy with the paperwork, use your observation period to do just that – observe. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times and see what makes this business “tick.” Make a note of anything, however small, that you think might have grounds for improvement and while you should not live and breathe at the location for the entire period of time, you should nevertheless aim to be there during strategic moments – during opening, during major deliveries, during rush periods, during slow periods, during closing.

It isn’t advisable to cut short your observation period, as time spent now could represent a wise investment in your time.

Richard Parker is the President and founder of the Diomo Corporation - The Business Buyer Resource Center. His inspiring materials, seminars and consulting have assisted thousands of business buyers with achieving their life long dream to buy a business.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Importance of Electronic Mail

 Importance of Electronic Mail


Sending an email is more cost-effective than writing & sending a typical  letter, for its quick and inexpensive. In simple it is important because of following reasons



    * It is free of cost. The cost incurred is the cost of connecting to Web. More over it helps to transfer the information instantly without any hurdles.



    *The message is sent instantly. The only time lag in this can be because of heavy traffic on the URL on which the information has to be sent.



    * E-mail address can be obtained at various domains. So it is possible to send the message to various addresses simultaneously in a singal stroke.



    * The letter is not necessary to be typed on the paper it can be sent in the soft copy reducing the paperwork.



    * No time is wasted in typing, printing, going to market, to get ticket or to post the letter. Everything is istant, so it is very efficient.



    * Another main feature of E-mail is that you can get the mail at your house, office, cyber caf or any other place around the world. Your mail box is global and you can access it from anywhere.



    * When E-mail are done using special mail softwares like outlook express or Microsoft Outlook, the mails received & sent are stored in various folders, which can be deleted if not necessary. So it is very easy to maintain the records.



    *Email can be sent to over one person at a time, and can be received as an information, that has been mailed to over one person.


    * Maintaining the records like address and phone numbers is easy through the address book.



    * It is lovely to communicate over phone, but it is not feasible to send the documents through it. E-mail can also be used to send text files, pics etc.



    * Since E-mail can be sent from your desktop, you require not bear the cost of going to the post office to send the letter.


    * Search feature is very useful for the users who have tons of emails. With the help of this option, the user can delete, move, read & forward emails listed on this page.


     * When the user deletes any e-mail, it mechanically moves to this folder and if needed ,he can recover it by simply moving it to inbox.

Great Things About Christmas


There is something about the warm feeling that you get around Christmas time. Each year, many people celebrate the festive holiday with family occasions, presents, food and music. Christmas is celebrated in many areas, and those who celebrate the holiday, have a lot of happiness and festivities to look forward to each year. It seems as though some of the great things aboutChristmas involve the feelings that you get when you walk into a store and hear your favorite Christmas songs playing, smell the scents of the season, and see people rushing around to find that perfect gift.
Christmas is one holiday that allows you to feel warm and happy, and enjoy all of the fun things that there are to do around that time of year. Some people love theChristmas holiday because of all of the traditions that they celebrate. It seems as though no matter who you ask, everyone has a special Christmas tradition with their families. For some it is opening of presents, decorating the Christmas tree, enjoying special foods and drinks, and all kinds of festive events.
Christmas time is a favorite for many people because there is something to be said for the way that the sound of Christmas music, the smells of fresh baked Christmas cookies and the falling of snow outside warms the heart of many. There are a lot of great things about Christmas that many people enjoy. No matter what it is that you like to do to celebrate the holiday, or what your family enjoys doing to spend that special time together, it can be a great way to gather together, enjoy a lot of great food and company, and have a good time. The enjoyment of shopping for that perfect Christmas present, the hustle of everyone wrapping presents and doing their Christmas baking and the warmth and smiles of people that you see everywhere, is what makes Christmas such a special holiday.
No matter where you live, you can enjoy many wonderful things about celebrating Christmas. There are Christmas movies, films and concerts, Christmas parties, and plenty of other Christmas events that you can be a part of. Even if you enjoy the more quiet side of Christmas, and enjoying a night of soft Christmas music as you light a fire and watch the snow fall, there is something for everyone to enjoy at Christmas. This year, if you want to experience Christmas, put on some Christmas music, decorate a tree, wrap presents and spread the Christmas cheer. Join a group of carolers on the street, or bake a fresh batch of Christmas cookies to give out to those passing by in the festive season.


Source: Great Things About Christmas

Cleaning House Up later a New Years Eve Party

Most people enjoy planning and hanging New Years Eve parties but tidying up after a New Years Eve party isnt always high on most peoples lists of favorite activities. However, if you plan to host a New Years Eve party in your house you have to consider how you will neaten after the big event. This article will provide a few points for tidying up after a New Years Eve party and will offer great ways in which tidying up after the party can be staved off.

One of the easiest ways to deal with tidying up after a New Years Eve party is to plan on employing a maid service to assist you in the cleanup process. You can hire them to show up later in the day on New Years so you have the opportunity to get some sleep after the party but before the cleanup crowd arrives. This option is significantly more expensive than planning to clean up on your own but for those who are dreading the cleanup process it can be a very worthwhile expense.

Drafting a few friends to assist you in neatening after your New Years Eve party can also make the operation much simpler. Just having a few people stay to help you clean up can be very essential because the excess people will ensure the clean up is completed much more speedily than it would be if you did all of the work by yourself. It can also make the work seem less tedious because your friends are with you. In fact it may almost seem like an extension of the party because you can continue to talk and socialize with your friends while you work.

Hosting the party at a restaurant or catering hall also makes the cleanup process quite simple. If you are planning to host your party in one of these locations anyway the cleanup process will be very simple. You may have some basic duties associated with tidying up and may also have the responsibility of ensuring your guests behave responsibly and do not destroy the property but otherwise the staff of the restaurant or catering hall will take care of the cleanup work and you will be free to leave at the end of the party.

Although it is not ideal, it is possible that you will end up tidying up after the party completely on your own. While most guests will offer to stay, you cannot count on them to do so. In the event that you are on your own for cleanup you have a twin of choices. You can either undertake the mess as soon as the last guest leaves or get some sleep before starting the cleanup process. Whichever you decide, you should try to at least make the cleanup fun. Try turning on some music to keep you company while you work and you may find the job is completed before you know it. You can also help to keep cleanup at a nominal by doing small cleaning tasks throughout the evening. This will take you away from the party for a short time during the evening but it will reduce the amount of work you have to do the following day. It will also keep the sum of work to be done from seeming too terrible.