The Economics of Commercial Real Estate
The pundits write and speak about investing in real estate as a good inflation hedge, but rarely does anyone demonstrate that with hard numbers. Since most assets other than real estate depreciate over time rather than appreciate, I understood the logic of the general statement but wanted to see how that played out in actual […]
The 3 Pillars of Financial Management
I was asked last week to explain the value of a CFO to a young entrepreneur who had started from scratch with a great idea, and built a pretty solid business before hitting the glass ceiling (no, not that one) where the financial infrastructure he had in place just could not support his continued growth. […]
Power Negotiating in 10 Steps
Whatever business you are in, whatever role you fill in your company, negotiation is part of your responsibility. Whether you’re trying to buy a machine or a building, capture a new customer, get a better deal from a supplier, sell your company, or buy someone else’s company, negotiation is part of arriving at a mutual […]
Finding the Needle in the (Accounting) Haystack
Accounting is a foreign language. Or at least that’s how many CEOs and business owners see it. If they get monthly financial reports, they may only look at two numbers on the income statement – the top number (sales) and the bottom number (net profit). That effectively avoids having to understand the nuances in between, […]
How Much Financial Reporting is Too Much?
I spoke with a CEO today, referred to me by a business associate, about providing CFO services to get their financial records current and their financial reporting up to what is needed to manage the business. It didn’t go as I had hoped. The CEO’s company, in the business of refurbishing major pieces of equipment […]
Family Business Succession – How to Make it Work
Family-run businesses are in many respects the backbone of American business. They are typically the most stable of small businesses, with a much lower failure rate than other small business models. Some of the largest and most successful companies in America are family-owned and operated businesses. Yet 70% of family run businesses don’t make it […]
How Do Vacations Save Employers Money?
We often find ways to save clients money once we begin working with them: renegotiating bank loans, switching insurance brokers or providers, identifying hidden costs in underpowered accounting systems, etc. We also look for ways to improve internal accounting controls to ensure the business is run in accordance with its approved policies. Those two important […]
Be Careful Who You Ask For Help
Few decisions in life will be more important to a business owner than the ones they make while planning the exit from their business, especially if they spent 5, 10 or 20 years building it. And no matter the size of the business, or its niche, its degree of success or its position in its […]
Set your targets and get your team involved
Last week I asked if your strategic plan was for real. It was noted that one of the ways to bring it to life is an operating plan that spells out what gets done each year in support of the long-range plan. This week I want to take that idea a step further, based on […]
Is Your Strategic Plan For Real?
Every well-run company has a strategic plan in writing, ideally also in the hands of every key executive in the company. Not just hopes, dreams and aspirations, but solid goals and targets and timelines they hope to achieve for the benefit of owners/shareholders, employees and customers. Unfortunately many CEOs who believe they have created a […]