Most consultants that I meet aren’t expecting to make $10 million per year offering their services. As professionals they want to make a healthy six-figure income. But the constraints on their time – both selling and executing their consulting – make it difficult to scale their businesses. They reach a sales-plateau with little hope of generating more revenues beyond that maximum level. This can lead to frustration and disenchantment; especially if that plateau isn’t enough to support the … [Read more...]
How open should you be about your company’s finances?
Some years ago I hired an attorney to represent me on a small matter. He was young and very successful, expanding and running television commercials promoting his exploding law practice. After we agreed to work together it came time to pay him his fee. At that point his elderly father came in to collect my payment. I was a little perplexed, since there were dozens of employees just outside his office. The attorney looked at me and said “What? You don’t think I’m stupid enough to actually trust … [Read more...]
Use big data for small business to crack the pricing code
Pricing is the most difficult element of a company’s marketing mix to get right. Few small businesses take a scientific approach to pricing, instead relying on trial and error as well as the owner’s gut. Slugging around with unscientific pricing experiments can easily cost a company thousands of dollars a month in lost profits. Even worse it can lead to lost customers that otherwise would have stayed if the proper pricing were used. Up until recently, only very large companies could afford the … [Read more...]
Small business profits can be good, bad or just plain ugly
At its most basic a business exists to make profits. You can’t have anything else – jobs, products, and a sense of accomplishment – unless you can turn a profit. Many businesses these days are doing just that – making big profits. During the first 3 months of 2014, U.S. corporate profits were over $1.5 trillion; this is even after deducting falling inventory and equipment values. That’s nearly $17 billion daily! While this sounds great, just because a company is making a profit doesn’t mean … [Read more...]
Use price anchoring to boost sales
Nailing your pricing should be the focus of every small business owner. While big companies have entire departments dedicated to price optimization, we usually have to rely on our judgment and trial and error. Does this mean we are condemned to always price too high or too low? Absolutely not! There are many proven pricing strategies developed over decades of research that we can put to work immediately. Many are based on human psychology and have stood the test of time. One such strategy is … [Read more...]
Breaking the barriers to growth capital
Small businesses generally have a difficult time obtaining the financing they need to grow. Barriers to growth capital can seriously hinder an owner's plans for expansion. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the last 20 years have seen a significant decrease in banks’ lending to small business: In the mid-1990s, small business loans represented one third of all business loan balances; today it’s down to one in five. Last quarter, overall business lending grew at an … [Read more...]
Smooth out small business cash flow lumps
Only a perfect business receives cash from customers just in time to pay all of its bills. For most businesses, cash flow arrives in lumps with long dry spells in between. The weeks before one of these lumps can be very stressful as owners scramble to find desperately needed cash. While you may be willing to wait to get paid, many suppliers and employees won’t be so flexible. To avoid this stress, you need to use different tools and techniques to smooth out your cash lumps to be able to pay … [Read more...]
Five ways to keep small business growth from killing your company
Can rapid small business growth actually lead to failure? Absolutely. Businesses close their doors every day because of too much success too soon. Keep an eye on your cash: Customers that provide large, unexpected orders aren’t always willing to pay cash in advance. Calculate how much cash your business needs to fulfill your new order volume Don’t divert cash from your current options to pay for the new growth; your new customers may not pay you on time or at all Obtain financing to … [Read more...]
Three steps to getting paid on time
Small business getting paid on time on your accounts receivable What’s more important than closing a big sale? Getting paid! Sometimes this is harder than winning the deal. Small businesses lose over $15 billion a year to unpaid sales. Here’s how to avoid adding to those losses. Do your research before you make an offer Before closing a sale, determine how willing and able the client is to pay you on time. Structure your payments accordingly; the riskier the client the more you need to … [Read more...]
Is your small business cash working for you?
Managing your small business cash In business cash is king; it’s even more important than profits. Successful businesses carefully measure and manage the amount and the timing of cash coming in and going out. Many highly profitable businesses go bankrupt ever year because they didn’t pay attention to cash flow Why is cash flow more important than profits? Employees, suppliers, creditors, the government – pretty much anyone you owe money to – expect to be paid on time and in cash. Failure to … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 38
- Next Page »