How many times have we been told to write down our goals so we can keep them in focus ... and make sure we tell everyone around us so they can support us and cheer us on. Derek Sivers strongly disagrees and shares what he's learned from psychologists going back…
My friend and colleague, Steve Fredricks, President of Turrentine Brokerage, Trusted and Strategic Advisors to Growers, Wineries, and Financiers in the wine industry, did a terrific job at this year's Wine Industry Financial Symposium, Competing in a Rapidly Changing Global Wine Market.[pullquote]The Turrentine Wine Business Wheel of Fortune is the gold standard for…
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Why is this so hard? We find ourselves entrenched in the quagmire of a lingering and painful recession … more companies than ever need stronger financial management … and yet so many of them remain painfully slow to recognize it. Sure, many have trimmed costs and are paying closer attention to nickels and dimes, but few of them have a comprehensive financial strategy.
So, in some misguided way, I guess it feels good to have some company … because the need for financial discipline was a common refrain among wine industry cognoscenti at this year’s Symposium, Competing in a Rapidly Changing Global Wine Market. The economic shock waves of the last 24 months have rocked the wine industry, dragging many of its members, in some cases kicking and screaming … into an era where professional management and greater financial discipline are demanding front row seats alongside the entrepreneurs and artisans that have reigned over the California wine industry
[pullquote]Stronger financial management is overdue in the California wine industry.[/pullquote]
Building a bridge between the financial community and the wine industry is one of the founding precepts of the Wine Industry Financial Symposium formed in 1992. Last Monday, I was privileged to lead a 90 minute workshop devoted to Practical Strategies to Improve Cash Flow, in which I shared a few “diamonds in the rough” about how to get more juice into your bank account … and how the California wine businesses can integrate Strategic Finance into their everyday business decision making.
During the preceding From Survival to Prosperity – Strategies for Transition session, (more…)
Wanna have some fun? How about logistics? Now that's some fun, ain't it? Social media has stimulated countless phenomena ... but connecting with our communities is probably one of its most valuable outcomes ... which is why this new UPS commercial really caught my eye. Remember the lesson that if…
Doesn’t a lot of this jawboning about job creation make your brain explode?
I’ve never read articles by Rex Nutting before, who writes for MarketWatch on the WSJ Digital network … but a banker friend of mine referred me to his “Time to stop worshiping small businesses” article.
I’m not sure where Rex gets his information but his conclusions about the limited job creation value of small businesses is generally unsupported. After arguing, in Clintonesqe fashion about “it depends on how small the definition of small is”, he goes on to claim that while “small businesses do create a lot of jobs, but they also destroy a lot.” Citing a Census Bureau study, he claims that “once they pass their first birthday, small companies, on average, lose more jobs than they create. Many fail within years.”
[pullquote]Who says tax rates don’t matter to job creation?[/pullquote]
A recent study by the Ewing Kaufman Foundation reported an entirely different result, concluding that “80% of the jobs created in the first year are still here after 5 years.” There’s not enough detail available to comprehensively compare these disparate reports, but to debunk the value of SMB job creation requires a little more factual support from Nutting.
He also claims that tax rates don’t matter (more…)
It's exciting, isn't it, when we stumble across crumpled notes that have been lodged in our wallet for years ... to discover timeless gems that we may have forgotten? I've earlier reported on the piece of paper carried in the wallet of John Wooden, famed UCLA basketball coach, which bore…
Do you often wonder how this country gets along with the Pollyanna views inside the Beltway, mostly comprised of those who have never had to meet a payroll? The Senate passed the Small Business finance bill last week as a few Republicans crossed the aisle to provide the needed votes. The House is expected to quickly pass this version. More later … but ….
So What? It’s a $30B bill so it sounds like a lot of money … but so did the TARP $750B number when it was announced … and it’s still a long way from fully invested. The NYT claims it will help “credit-starved businesses” … says who? Read Uncertainty is killing business – NOT credit in which I review why credit availability is NOT what’s killing small business. If you’re uncertain about what uncertainty we’re certain about … read the WSJ verbatim quote to be reminded of the painful litany of the economic and regulatory quicksand on the road to recovery.
[pullquote]Are you uncertain about what uncertainty we’re certain about?[/pullquote]
Sure, there may be qualified businesses struggling to get credit. It is tougher out there, the underwriting standards are less flexible … but will the economy recover when credit is extended to small and middle-market businesses? No, (more…)
[pullquote] Double V - the deadly duo of Big Volatility and Little Visibility.[/pullquote] A recent WSJ opinion piece nicely summarizes the quagmire of uncertainty that plagues American business. I'm pretty tired of all of the "credit-starved businesses" stories presented like medieval alchemy ... fix this and you've found gold ...…
Volume 2 of our Financial Adrenaline series, entitled How Do We Do it?, explains how we begin the process of introducing the powerful principles of Strategic Finance into your business. We expand upon our conversation about the current state of financial reporting and describe our commitment to you that Finance should NOT be the Reason for Business Failure. We offer a series of questions that are crucial to successful businesses but that we don't think you can answer by looking at your traditional financial statements. We also explain why traditional financial statements are historical renderings of financial transactions but don't lead to the action plans necessary to drive improved business performance.