|
||||
|
I was looking through an old edition of Home Furnishings Retailer, an industry trade magazine, and I came across an interesting article. The two main points of the article were: 1. Recognize that you have established a brand image in the minds of your customers, either intentionally through specific brand-building efforts, or unintentionally through your interaction with your customers. 2. According [...]
1. Performance – generate enough cash flow to be self sustaining, and possess a solid track record of meeting other objectives. 2. Impact – Play a significant leadership role in shaping its industry. Not necessarily the biggest company; influence can be by innovation rather than size. Continue reading «What Makes a Great Company (Book Review)»     If your business involves selling a product instead if providing a service your ability to make a profit depends on three factors:
    Let’s take a look at item (3). Your primary objective is to minimize the amount of time the inventory is in your possession; the longer you hold it, the more it costs you. So what can you do to reduce your inventory holding period? Continue reading «How Does Your Inventory Flow?»     My articles are about the subject of financial management, but you may have noticed that much of the time I don’t talk about numbers or mathematical formulas. Why is that?     It is because I have noticed that people often confuse numbers with events. They forget that numbers are only a representation of events that have actually occurred or events that we think are going to happen; But numbers are not the actual events themselves. We have to remember that the numbers we use to represent events are often estimations, a guess. Good guesses, but a guess just the same. Continue reading «What is Your Story?»    In the huddle the pro-quarterback looks at the other players and says, “We really need to win this game.  Let’s score a touchdown on the next play.”  The players respond, “Great, we’re with you QB, what’s the play?”  The quarterback snarls, “What’s the play? How long have you guys been on this team?  You’re supposed to know all the plays, especially the one I’m thinking of in this situation.  What are you being paid for?  Now you even want me to tell you the next play?  Next you’ll be expecting me to tell you my game plan!  You guys are supposed to be professionals and I want performance.  You should already know what needs to be done to win this game!”    Not a very good way to run a football team, is it?  Yet many business owners and managers use the exact same style to run their business.  They want performance from their management staff and employees but fail to effectively communicate the game plan to their team—if they even have a game plan at all. Continue reading «Does Your Team Know the Game Plan?» A critical tool in building any successful business is an effective marketing strategy—one with an ongoing focus on creating new customers while increasing sales from existing customers. By definition, the marketing umbrella covers many business functions other than selling: market research, pricing, packaging, distribution, quality control, public relations, advertising and customer service. Businesses that focus primarily on the [...]    Websites are a good place to get information, but it is just as important to build a library of books that can help provide guidance on how to manage your business.    The overriding theme of my articles and podcasts is that financial management is ultimately about maximizing the value of your company.  Doing so means it will be easier to borrow money or raise equity, as well as to obtain a higher price for your company when you sell. Continue reading «Reading List for Your Business Library»    So you have decided to conduct an internal, “practice” due diligence review to identify areas within your business that may need special attention.  Where should you focus your examination?  Here are some of the things you will want to know:
Continue reading «Preparing for the Due Diligence Review»    I have noticed that it is not uncommon to hear the terms, Financial Manager, Vice President of Finance, Controller, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer used interchangeably, as though each term means the same thing.    In reality, Financial Manager, VP-Finance and CFO encompass the same activities, and these activities tend to be broader in scope than the activities of the Treasurer and Controller.     Therefore, I thought it would be helpful to give you a brief description of the duties of the Financial Management function and how such duties are divided.  For simplicity, the term “CFO” will also mean Financial Manager and VP-Finance. Continue reading «Financial Manager, Controller & Treasurer» |
Get More Done in Less Time 
|
|||
|
Copyright © 2010 Kaufmann's Comments - All Rights Reserved |
||||
