Sustainability in Small Business
Whether it’s due to the floundering economy, flat housing market, or time of year, it seems that more small businesses than usual are in financial distress. Let’s face it, entrepreneurship is risky, and many don’t survive past the three year mark. But some are not only surviving, but thriving. So, what’s their secret? Other than […]
Your Credit is Your Character
When it comes time for you to borrow money to start or expand your business, remember that bankers are risk averse. Their main interest is getting their loan repaid in a timely fashion. Lenders assess the risk factors of the loan through their evaluation of the borrower, using the 5 C’s of credit: collateral, cash, […]
Taking Advantage of Today’s Interest Rates
Is now the time to refinance business debt? Is now the time to get a new loan for your business? In today’s low interest rate environment, many business owners are tempted to try to refinance existing debt or obtain a new loan to take advantage of historically low interest rates. Some owners are seriously looking […]
Is PEO the Way to Go for Better Personnel Management?
Employees! It is hard to have a thriving business without them. They are a critical-to-success factor in your efforts to expand your business, freeing up your time to spend on activities that move the business further along the growth curve. But as you bring on more employees, you begin to wonder what happened to all […]
Building a Relationship You Can Bank On
Business relationships are important to overall business success, and far too few borrowers continue in a meaningful relationship with their lender after their loan has closed. In many cases, an adversarial type relationship develops over time. A common perception is that bankers only want to assist you when you don’t need them. Mark Twain even […]
To Debit or Not to Credit
The accounting profession has experienced a complete transformation in the way financial statements are generated and communicated to users. The emergence of low cost accounting software packages has replaced ledger cards and column pads, while hand written journal entries and general ledger postings seem now to have been replaced by “save” and “ok” buttons. With […]
Profit Engineering for Small Businesses
Now that many businesses have ended their calendar year and are preparing for tax reporting, it is an excellent time to evaluate last year’s performance and define areas needing improvement. As the economy tends to drift along at a sluggish pace, most businesses need to sharpen planning skills and develop a strategy that will deliver […]
Juggling Small Business Growth
Everyone in business wants to grow, right? Except for hobby businesses, or those where the owner doesn’t have growth as a goal, the answer is usually “yes.” In the beginning, most business owners think only of survival, and rightly so. The popular press is full of studies touting the long odds against business survival, let […]