Financial Bits and Bytes

Companies run into trouble from time to time. But why do some companies survive those troubles and others don’t? To me, there are two issues. First, it’s knowing when to ask for help. Second, it’s being willing to follow the advice that you’re given. But not everyone waits till they’re in trouble to ask for help. I remember getting a call from a business owner who said he was doing pretty well, he just wanted some help because he “didn’t know what he didn’t know.” Sometimes I meet with companies that are in a different situation. They have waited so

KPIs, Key Performance Indicators, are an important way for any manager or business owner to keep track of how he or she is doing. Remember one key point – If you don’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Which KPIs should you use to determine the success of your business? It would be nice and easy to tell you the six (6) most important KPIs for your business. The problem is that each business is different, and to make the decisions more difficult, each business owner has different goals. So how do you determine what KPIs are the ones that

You created your budget last fall, and you were relieved that you completed the task. You don’t need to worry about it for another year. But what is the reason that you created the budget? If it was just to put a target on your company’s back for this year, then you are missing the opportunity to have another planning tool at your fingertips. Let’s look at three major areas of your budget to see how it can help you through this next year. Revenue and Gross Margin There are a lot of factors that go into your revenue numbers:

I was visiting with a business owner the other day, and we were talking about his Cash Flow. The chart he showed me had a slow, but steady decline in cash flow over the past two years. I asked him what he was going to do about it, and he took a long ruler, laid it on the trend line, and pointed at the point where the cash flow hit $0. He said “That’s when I leave the company.” This raises a lot of issues. The biggest one, and one I hear from an increasing number of business owners is

The market has hit dizzying heights, the tax bill has boosted corporate earnings, and consumer confidence is up. The effects of International trade trickle down to the small businessman. We all recognize that as the economy goes, so goes the small business. Whether your business is B2B or B2C, it doesn’t matter. You will benefit or suffer just like everyone else will, when it happens. Of course, I mean when the Recession hits. But things are going so well!! Everyone realizes that there is a business cycle. During the highs, many companies succeed in spite of themselves. Some will make