Is Your Leverage Creeping Up on You?
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Is Your Leverage Creeping Up on You?

We’ve been talking about how running a business is like baking or cooking.  You need all the right ingredients, in the right proportions, cooked at the right temperature, for the right amount of time.  Every business owner wants a business that’s perfectly “cooked”, with lots of cash flow and profits and collecting receivables well. If you…

How to Stop Leaking Cash
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How to Stop Leaking Cash

We’ve been discussing how running your business is like following a recipe. You need the right ingredients in the right amounts in order for the dish to come out correctly. We’ve talked about profitability, which is a measure of profit relative to revenue. And we’ve also talked about activity, collecting your accounts receivable and turning inventory. The third ingredient…

How Good Are You at Collecting Money?
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How Good Are You at Collecting Money?

We’ve been talking about how running a business is like baking or cooking. You need all the right ingredients, in the right proportions, cooked at the right temperature, for the right amount of time.    Every business owner wants a business that’s “cooked” just right, with lots of cash flow and profits. You can read about the…

3 Liquidity Traps to Avoid
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3 Liquidity Traps to Avoid

You might be in a growth phase of your business. Growth always requires cash and cash is generally at a premium. Further, there are some liquidity traps to be avoided as you grow. Here’s 3 to watch out for:  1) Excess build-up of accounts receivable  It’s normal for your receivables to increase when you grow. However, if…

Are You Under-Banked?
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Are You Under-Banked?

Are you under-banked? If so, you’re not alone. A recent article I read indicated that among CFO’s, being under-banked has landed on the growing list of challenges most CFO’s face. Here’s why:  A recent report stated that the financial landscape for small to medium sized businesses (SMB’s) has changed significantly.  Credit markets have become increasingly biased toward bigger…

2 Questions You Need to Answer Before You Talk to a Bank
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2 Questions You Need to Answer Before You Talk to a Bank

Every business owner wants abundant cash flow in their business. It’s emotional and practical. Cash is like oxygen. Your business can’t function without it.  When cash is in short supply, owners become lightheaded, then despondent, then desperate. Cash represents success and lack of it, failure. It’s not a question of “if” cash is in short supply,…

Are You Losing Sleep Over Business Cash Flow?
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Are You Losing Sleep Over Business Cash Flow?

In your business, money has a way of going out just as fast as it comes in. When cash is tight (and it almost always is), many business owners go home at night worrying about lack of cash in their bank account. In fact, 54% of business owners in a recent Forbes survey are losing…

Teaching Financials to Drive Performance: Part 1, The Balance Sheet
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Teaching Financials to Drive Performance: Part 1, The Balance Sheet

Every business owner wants to make more money and maximize profits. The problem is that many business owners don’t know how to manage the finances of their business or what levers to pull to improve overall profitability.  One of my business owner clients put it like this: “I never had a problem making money. Revenue…

What You Really Need to Know About Changes in Accounts Receivable

What You Really Need to Know About Changes in Accounts Receivable

80% of startup businesses fail in the first 5 years and 50% of those fail because of cash flow issues. I hate to see so many failures because of cash flow when it’s something that can be prevented or mitigated. One major cash flow killer in a business is the slowdown of collecting accounts receivable….

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