As the curator of the INSIDER Guide to New Product Development (NPD), I’m constantly keeping an eye out for bite-size information that will help you develop and scale better subscription products. Here’s my “Five on Friday” list for September 4th, featuring the five best trends, tips, quotes or stats from my reading this week.
1. Understanding SBA Loans
While many of us head to Kickstarter to find startup cash, some of us go the old-fashioned route and head to the bank for an SBA loan. What may surprise you is that the SBA doesn’t actually lend the money; banks do. And knowing what criteria your bank will use – and the thresholds they use for approval – can be the difference between success and failure. What should you ask your banker before filing your request?
- How much do you discount personal income? Many banks take up to 50% of your income off the table before they even begin assessing your debt-to-income ratio. Think you have an income of $100,000? For loan purposes, it may be as little as $50,000.
- What is your minimum debt-services ratio? This figure, which shows the bank how much income you have available to pay your debts (after the discount above) is often as high as 1.25, but can be as low as 1.08. The difference could put you in – or out – of the running for a loan.
- What is your assumed payment rate? This is the percentage used to determine how much you will have to pay on your loan annually. For example, if your loan officer uses 24% on a $100,000 loan, your assumed payment rate will be $24,000 annually. If the figure is 20%, the assumed payment rate goes down to $20,000.
Knowing what goes into your loan approval process doesn’t help you “game the system” but can help you understand the likelihood of success in application. Talk to your lender before you fill out the paperwork.
2. Good Ideas for Going Global
It’s a blessing and a curse of our businesses that it’s tremendously easy to expand globally – as a matter of fact, it’s challenging for online publications not to. While there’s a pretty obvious sales pitch running through it, Hubspot’s “22 Global Growth Hacks” are a solid primer of considerations when you plan to take your subscription outside the borders. One that’s particularly important:
“Offer local phone numbers. Thanks to international call forwarding and routing services you can easily get country-specific phone numbers to make it easier for customers to call you. Then, set your re-route rules accordingly.”
3. Media Use by Age Group: 18-24-Year Olds At the Back of the Pack?
Here’s a surprise – even including gaming devices, According to data reported by eMarketer, 18-24-year olds interact with media overall less than any other age group. However, while these figures do include gaming devices and mobile video, they do not include music.
4. Specific Insights from a Fellow Entrepreneur
Found, not surprisingly, on Entrepreneur.com, this article-slash-primer on business startup is worth the short time to read in its entirety. Adam Callinan tells the story of his startup, BottleKeeper, offering specifics on what went well, what tools worked – and what didn’t. Time for just a sip? Here’s a good quote:
“One of the most important plugins was a rewards and referral program, which was and is still aggressively based on ‘refer a friend, get a free BottleKeeper.’ This was huge for leveraging consumer social sharing because it wasn’t the “get 10 percent off” that you typically see — we quickly learned that a bonus program must be significant to gain real traction.”
5. Get Ready for the Holidays
My local supermarket has already put the Halloween candy out, and I bet yours has too. It’s hard to believe that, if you haven’t already started planning your holiday marketing campaigns, you’re already late! But don’t let this high-opportunity season pass you by; take advantage of this giving time of year by highlighting gift subscription options, creating holiday-themed articles, games and giveaways.
Where did the summer go? Enjoy the long last Labor Day weekend!
Diane
Diane Pierson, our INSIDER Guide to New Product Development, is a leader in product management and marketing, having delivered results to companies including Dun & Bradstreet, LexisNexis, American Lawyer Media and Copyright Clearance Center. She has built products & services that have delivered over $100 million in revenue and knows what works, and what doesn’t, when executing product plans and strategies. (Read Diane’s full Bio)
