Here is the newspaper ad that has been running weekly in the North Bay Business Journal to announce the upcoming event of The Leadership Forum. I will be moderating the event as well as serving as a contributing member of the panel.In addition to the very practical strategies relating to…
I will be moderating and participating on a panel presented by the Northy Bay Business Journal entitled: "Cash is (still) King: Practical Strategies for Turbulent Times". You can read more about it here.
In my column running today in the July 14 edition of the North Bay Business Journal entitled Sound Cash Management 'cheapest investor you'll ever find, I referred to a graphic that better explains the Sales Cycle or Operating Cash Cycle. You can click on it, below, to enlarge it and…
In my column appearing in the North Bay Business Journal June 30 edition, I continue the series exploring the financial challenges of accelerated growth. This particular column illustrates the value of financial analysis, but more broadly, should encourage you to make sure you have strong financial leadership in your organization. My experience is that many middle market businesses consider that investment as “indirect overhead” and not as a productive source of profitability. Nothing could be farther from the truth and for evidence, (more…)
One of my colleagues, Dr. Steven S. Cuellar, Ph. D. and Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Sonoma State University, has recently published an article entitled "Price, Promotion and Profits" in Wine Business Monthly. It's an insightful look at the intersection of price, promotion and profit that illustrates…
In my recent article in the North Bay Business Journal, I referred to a downloadable copy of a full-color diagram of key Valuation Concepts. You can find it here. You might note the interesting observation in this article about the sale of the Duckhorn Wine Company to a private equity…
Most of you know Jim Collins as a result of his Good to Great bestseller, which catapulted metaphors like the "hedgehog" and "people on the bus" into the business vernacular. Writing in the current issue of Fortune magazine - the Fortune 500 edition - he discusses The Secret of Enduring…
For those of you who read the recent column in the April 14 edition of the North Bay Business Journal, entitled A cash crunch necessitates a trip to the bank for a loan, here is the extended version with a more complex borrowing calculation which takes into account the Minimum Cash Balance required. Please feel free to post any comments you have and I’ll try to respond promptly.
“Creditors have better memories than debtors.”
Benjamin Franklin
“John, are you ready for our meeting? We said yesterday that we were going to meet to go over our financial projections and review a possible bank proposal.” (more…)
For readers of my January 14th column entitled Small businesses lead economy, but often neglect their own needs, I promised to provide a copy of the 2007 Mass Mutual Family Business Survey.