If anything highlights the importance of maximizing cash flow and reducing the cost of leverage, it is the surge in interest rates: from 3.75% in December 2021 to 7.5% at the close of 2022. As we embark on this new year, all small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to set targets for improvement – the …
Great. Good. So-So. Bad. It’s been quite a year for all of us. As I look back on this year and think about my clients’ results – determining wins and losses with hard, comparable data on sales, margins, efficiency, and profitability – it is sometimes still hard to quantify a year as a great year, …
The old saying “grow or die” is now “scale or die.” I love the Grateful Dead song, “Uncle John’s Band.” There are so many great lyrics … When life looks like easy street, there’s danger at your door … but the lyric that hits me is Woah, oh, what I want to know, where does …
Working with businesses to standardize and improve their processes is one of my favorite things to do. I just finished working with a medium-sized business whose owner was very engaged in every aspect of the business and every decision needed to run through him. We flow-charted and documented each substantial process by function, including sales, …
It’s that time of year again – the first half of 2022 is already over. We’re at half-time, just like in a football game. This is when the coach takes the team to the locker room to examine how they’ve performed so far, give some leadership inspiration, and reinforce the plan to regroup and outperform …
Small business is not as small as you think. Did you know that there are 32.5 million small businesses in the United States and that they generate approximately 45% of the US economy? A small business is defined as a company with less than 500 employees. 80% of these small businesses have NO employees! The …
Process Makes Perfect: Helping Your Small Business Avoid Failure Read More »
It’s time again for a quarterly review. The first quarter just ended. Check in to see how your performance is tracking compared to your goals. Do you need to rethink any goals or realign any projects? Are you on track with your financial forecast and the large projects you laid out last fall in anticipation …
Quarterly Review: Review. Reframe. Realign. Rekindle. Read More »
CEOs and business owners are under a tremendous amount of stress these days. Even if the business is profitable and has decent cash flow, leaders face uncertainties such as supply chain issues, inflation, difficulty finding staff, the potential of rising interest rates, the pressure of the board of directors to perform better and corporate taxes. …
How CEOs can Transform Financial Stress into Success Read More »
I work with many bankers and lawyers who call me when they have a customer or client whose company balance sheet shows they need help improving their business. The initial assessment takes about a week. We review the companies’ internal controls and backroom systems. Then we look at the historical financial statements, the current forecast, …
What a year! We said that at the end of 2020 and as a business owner or executive, you’ve had your second-challenging-year-in-a-row. Finding good staff, dealing with supply chain delays, PPP loans, etc. Things have continued to change; I hope you’ve been able to adapt your business to thrive. Pandemic or not, it’s the time …