Growing a Business

Introduction
There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment (May 6, 2008) with much talk in the media of an ‘impending economic downturn’. While the phrase ‘recession’ seems to be close to many people’s lips, it is being muttered in hushed tones rather than being shouted from the rafters. In the U.S. they are ‘not […]

One of the greatest misconceptions about business planning is that a business plan is useful only for start-ups. While start-up companies are indeed one significant segment of business planners, business planning is being utilised by an increasing number of companies as a means to manage growth better, to ensure new ideas have been assessed […]

The New Year is synonymous with resolutions and promises of making changes. If you are an entrepreneur, this time of year offers you a perfect opportunity to take stock of your business, as emails are probably at an all-time low over the holiday period. Here is my checklist of priority resolutions for all entrepreneurs for […]

Managing the budget numbers can be simple, but managing a budget takes people, not spreadsheets. While budget numbers are simple, budget management isn’t. To make a budget work, you need to add real management:

Understand that it’s about people: Successful budgeting depends on people management more than anything else. Every budgeted item must be “owned” by […]

The illustration below shows a Business Ratios table. It includes dozens of standard business ratios calculated from business plan financials, and used and expected by bankers, financial analyists, and investors. It also includes a column of statistical indicators for the specific type of business. This industry information is classified and categorised by Standard Industrial […]

In a previous article I talked about business numbers and the critical difference between cash and profits. This article looks at how to plan for cash in a business plan, understanding the critical elements that affect cash flow. You don’t want to be one of those businesses that goes broke even while producing profits.
Basic cash […]

You know it when you see it
More years ago than I care to say, as a senior manager with Creative Strategies International, I gave up trying to define strategy. During the years I was in that business, I discovered, slowly, that most people believe they are naturally good at strategy. They may not be able […]

The familiar phrase, “the bottom line,” used as synonymous with the conclusion or the underlying truth, is actually taken from the standard Income Statement in accounting, which subtracts costs and expenses from sales and shows profits as the bottom line of the statement.
After you have projected sales and cost of sales, you need to think […]

Although cash is critical, people think in profits instead of cash. We all do. When you imagine a new business, you think of what it would cost to make the product, what you could sell it for, and what the profits per unit might be. We are trained to think of business as sales minus […]

Although cash is critical, people think in profits instead of cash. We all do. When you and your friends imagine a new business, you think of what it would cost to make the product, what you could sell it for, and what the profits per unit might be. We are trained to think of business […]