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How do you choose between very different orders? A client received two attractive orders. They are a very different size!  Delivery dates overlaped.🔶One is very large and will occupy the majority of their team. They want this in order to grow; they have completed similar orders before.🔸The other is smaller, more challenging, the founder must supervise personally. […]

Using a 10% increase in key metrics for significant profit. Entrepreneurial business strive to continually increase sales. As a minimum the cost of business inputs increase so in order just to “stand still” revenue must increase. But, did you realize it is possible to work on a 10% increase and convert it to a 72% […]

We often hear the debate over how much of what we become in life is the way we are “made” and yet how much is what we are “made into”.I.e. what is inherent characteristics (wiring) and what is influence and external (experience, social influences, environment). My children are perfect examples.They could not be more different […]

An entrepreneur is very proud of the company they created. Justifiably so! It takes significant hard work to build a successful business. But things sometimes go off-track. You can get through! No matter how bad it feels. But get help or support. What got you here will not get you there. You need a fresh […]

Business advice given to all entrepreneurs and managers is that business growth is essential. Fast is Best. Do NOT follow it. Do NOT grow fast. It is the worst thing for your business. The advice you receive is usually to serve the interests of investors, someone’s ego, or other ill-guided purposes. Told that the growth needs […]

Are you the main entertainer or strategically steering your business? Revenue multiple millions but still you make every decision, pull every string, remove every problem? Are you feeling like chief puppeteer in a game of whack-a-mole? And some days this leaves you wondering if you may be the mole, whacked repeatedly? The show is bigger, […]

Does anyone elect to impose blinding pain on themselves? In business .. yes! Are you a business person that manages exclusively by pain? A large number of entrepreneurs and business owners do not prevent problems. They only react when problems indicate catastrophe.* Delay having difficult conversations with problem employees.* Delay putting systems and plans in […]

Turnaround … what a crazy idea? To say a person, or business, turns around sounds like “going back towards where you started”. If you turnaround on a road you return in the direction you came from. The Oxford dictionary defines a turnaround as “an abrupt or unexpected change, especially one that results in a more […]

Every successful business has good times and bad. Cycles. How do you handle the heat?  I like some element of heat. I work in the heat frequently. But the cool down is where the value then pays dividends. I am referring to heat, challenges, frustrations, hard times in your business. Revenue increase but profit decrease? Higher […]

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”Charles Darwin We hear the statistics … the majority of companies fail (or just give up) within three to five years of incorporation. Cash flow takes companies out of business in most cases. In a […]

Are You Waiting for Change? Or Are You Creating It? The past few years have had fascinating weather in different parts of the world. “Uncharacteristic”. Really variable.Significant variation even within small geographic areas. Is this the impact of environmental damage or something else? (A topic for another day.) When experiencing change such as this there […]

If you are running a small or medium sized business, you may have grown to where you are considering adding an extra manager to help you handle all of the work. But do you add a financial manager (potentially a CFO) or an operations manager (potentially a COO)? Do you need help managing your finances […]

A fractional COO, or Chief Operating Officer, is a professional who provides part-time or project-based operational support to small and medium-sized businesses. But what exactly do they do, and how can they help with various aspects of the business? In this post, we will explore the role and benefits of a fractional COO, and when […]

What is their Role? Why does a Business need a CFO? Describe the transformation. Have you heard the term fractional chief financial officer (also called part-time CFO) and wonder what it means, and do you need one? In this post, we will discuss transformation, what a fractional CFO is, services they offer, when you should […]

The traditional definition of working capital:assets or liabilities that cycle through the business continually to create your business activity, sales, profit. Cash, receivables, payables, inventory. But is your capital actually working in your business? Working to make you successful? If it is working what is working for you? If the cash is just in your bank […]

I have seen several companies recently that, after years of operating without a strong financial partner to maximize their success (but that is a topic for another day!), decided to appoint a Chief Financial Officer, or a Fractional CFO, only to be seriously disappointed. These are companies on the smaller size. The one today $25 […]

Have you stepped on a lion’s tail in the African bush? My family was on walking safari in South Africa.  Enjoying the fantastic experience of walking as a group, single file, silently, through an African early morning. Innumerable dangers around but an experience that is hard to match.  Peaceful, cool, magnificent. Suddenly the lead game […]

Defining Growth The common definition of growth is “to increase in physical size” i.e. get bigger, heavier, stronger. Of course it can also mean increasing, developing or maturing an intangible.  Like knowledge. Children are excited to measure how fast they grow.  It certainly has advantages, like qualifying for “big and scary rides” in the theme […]

When does the most profound PERSONAL GROWTH happen?  In business and personally? Reading a book? Learning from someone else’s errors? While meditating? During formal education?It happens through personal experience and especially when challenged. In the throes of frustration.  When overwhelmed.  Afraid.  Confused.   Angry or embarrassed. It happens when you are doing the same thing and […]

Think you can? Know you Can! “I—think—I—can, I—think—I—can.” Like the Little Engine said. Often pulling your business for ongoing growth and success is hard. But You-Can-Do-It! You will do it … If you want to. When the going gets tough only the best get going because they do it right, they find a way, or […]

A recommendation? This week I happened on a recommendation someone had posted.So?! You are probably saying.  What is so impressive about that?  Many people post recommendations and thank others for assistance they had provided. Many recommend a service provider that has delivered a great experience. Not unusual.What struck me here was not the fact it […]

We last week went into a new version of pandemic lock down. The increase in hospitalization attributable to the Delta variant was projected to overwhelm health capacity.  This has people again asking what the true meaning of risk is and how does one prioritize. Risk can be defined broadly as:A condition in which there is […]

Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’Plannin’ and dreamin’ each night    …. Nothing in life is certain and nothing is known before it happens.  Unfortunately perhaps! We can plan, or expect, a specific situation but the reality usually is different, even if only slightly.  After all that is exactly what keeps life interesting.  It keeps […]

In the world of entrepreneurship, you’ll hear about the hustle and the hard work, the thrill of success and devastation of failure, and of course the guaranteed millions the ultimate Big Idea will deliver, and how fast it will be! You encounter a lot of people sharing their Big Idea with anyone who will listen. […]

Enviable Business Success … and Then What The road to success is filled with challenges for all companies.  But it does start feeling like less of a struggle and hustle: there is more flow, the sales pipeline starts filling and producing a consistent increase in revenue, the marketing is delivering brand awareness and visits, the […]

Your business is doing well!  Could it be more successful? Every business, by definition, has an entirely individual definition of what success is.  Profitability is usually one of the measures, but only one.  Is it time to increase your profits?  To remove obstacles that prevent unlocked growth? To generate cash instead of raising more for […]

It is not always easy to grow an entrepreneurial business. For the first few years the founder and executive team’s passion drives them. But does the market believe enough to support and grow the business? Is their invention, undertaking, product, or service required? Even when the company is selling products or services it can be […]

On an interview recently we identified three important characteristics that indicate longer-term success of a business or investment (the “FIT” qualities): Finance – structured, efficient cash, and financial management.Idea – the product or service idea is desired and valued by potential customers and is, or has the potential to be, widely distributed or have high demand.Team […]