The Puget Sound area is at full employment and finding good employees has never been more difficult. In most cases, the only way to find good employees is to hire one from another company. Of course, your company isn’t immune to poaching from others. So what to do? Many clients have been asking me recently […]
Archive | Finance
Having a Good Relationship With Your Bank
For most individuals and small businesses, a bank is where they have their checking and savings accounts and maybe a credit card. Maybe you’ve even got a signature line based on your good credit. But for wealthy individuals and businesses, their bank should have a bigger role. Any business needs capital. That comes in two […]
My First Rule of Business: Make it Easy for People to Give You Money
My first rule of business is: Make it easy for people to give you money. I know that sounds trite but there are plenty of businesses that make it too hard to give them money. I’ve had it happen many times and I’m sure you have too. It may be cultural, it may be the […]
Back to Basics–Paying Attention to Business Fundamentals
Here’s my gripe: Authors, consultants and others who use huge companies as examples for whatever point they are trying to make or sell. In the 1990s it was Microsoft. You’d hear, “This company is going to be the next Microsoft.” No it isn’t and it wasn’t. Now we hear the same things about Facebook, Google […]
Private Capital Markets
I recently attended a weekend event for business owners at Semiahmoo. I was one of the sponsors of the event and made a presentation on Private Capital Markets. Much of the academic support for the presentation came from ‘Private Capital Markets’ by Robert Slee. This book is the foremost piece of scholarship on the topic. […]
The Top Five Financial Problems in Small Business
Everybody seems to like lists so here is my list of the Top Five Financial Problems I find in small businesses. These are issues I see repeatedly when I go into help a small business. The most common problem in small businesses, big businesses, non-profit organizations, everywhere, unequivocally, Number One with a bullet, is…. #1 […]
In Praise of Profit
The most popular business books seem to be on the “soft” topics. Things like managing people, setting your BHAG/mission/vision/values, creating happy employees; stuff like that. I’m an avid reader of this kind of stuff. But, at a certain point, don’t all of us as business people have get on with it and make money? Charlie […]
The Seven Rules of Cash–Live By Them and Prosper
The cliché is that Cash is king. In this case, the cliché is correct. I am fond of saying that in the short-term, a business owner should be most concerned with cash. In the medium-term, the main concern should be profitability. And in the long-term, the owner should concentrate on building the value of the […]
Debt Gets a Bad Rap
During the last economic downturn, debt got a bad name. And no wonder; too much debt and the subsequent decrease in asset values caused many people and businesses to get hurt or worse. But since that trauma, we’ve overreacted. Now, more than ever, (prudent) financial leverage makes sense. Rates have never been so low. For […]