If you own or run a mid-sized business, then you are probably used to working in an environment of uncertainty. Things are constantly changing in the world of business — whether it’s customer preferences, government laws and regulations, raw material prices or competitors’ offerings. Successful owners and entrepreneurs can...
The catch-phrase “Show me the money!” was immortalized in the movie Jerry Maguire when the title character and his client, pro football player Rod Tidwell, scream the line back and forth at each other over the phone. Tidwell, of course, was telling his agent Maguire to negotiate a big...
Despite the rise in recent years of the IT and professional service industries, it’s the manufacturing industry that keeps the gears of the U.S. economy running smoothly. After all, manufacturing businesses build things that we use in our everyday lives — from cars and washing machines to furniture and...
De-cluttering and purging have become all the rage among many people since the release of a book titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. The author, Japanese organizing consultant Maria Kondo, urges readers to ask themselves whether or not every item they...
As the owner or CEO of a mid-sized business, you make many decisions that impact the future direction and success of your company. These range from relatively small and non-critical decisions like choosing a janitorial or catering service provider to much bigger and more consequential decisions like hiring executives...
Owners and CEOs of mid-sized businesses face a wide range of both opportunities and threats every day. For example, new technologies like the Internet can change the face of industries practically overnight, creating new opportunities that were unimaginable before. Meanwhile, threats like the emergence of new competitors can jeopardize market...
“Honesty is the best policy.” If you’re like me, your parents taught you this when you were young, and you may have tried your best to put it into practice throughout your life — in both your personal and business dealings. In fact, noted author and motivational speaker Zig...
As hard as they might try to plan and prepare, most organizations occasionally experience situations that could be described as chaotic. This includes the finance department, where the busyness of the end of the quarter or the year can present unique challenges to financial staff and leadership. Finance leaders need...
Businesses have three main options available to them when it comes to raising business capital: debt, equity and retained earnings. There are many different factors that go into how owners and CEOs choose from among these options when structuring capital, including the hurdle rate, internal rate of return (IRR),...
There’s an old saying in business that “a sale isn’t a sale until you get paid.” This reflects the fact that while sales are certainly nice, credit and collections are just as important to a company’s long-term financial success. In fact, an argument could be made that credit and...