Small Business and Entrepreneurship Experts, Tips and Advice | BizLaunch Small Biz Blog » Andrew

Cash Management

Andrew — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:19:12 +0000

Let me begin by making a few statements. First, “money is the most important asset your business has, period.” Some may argue that the most important assets are your employees. I would agree, but, if you have no money you cannot pay these employees to stay. Also, you may make mistakes in managing your employees, your customers, or your physical facilities and you can survive, but don’t mismanage your cash. If you don’t manage your cash flow, you can be forced out of business. Second, “profits do not equal cash.” You may have a profitable business, but all your cash could be tied up on your balance sheet, like in your receivables and inventory.

Now let’s talk about how to manage cash flow so that you can stay in business. I always believed that it was good practice to get into the habit of producing a weekly forecasted cash flow. As you can see from the example below, it’s really not that difficult to implement.

Let’s look at the components of this forecasted cash flow:

Opening cash balance – I suggest you start at the beginning of a month after you have reconciled the general ledger cash account to the bank. In this example I’ve used $50,000.

Cash inflow – When you forecast cash inflows, you would look at such items as: receivables being paid, tax refunds, interest earned in the business bank account, etc. The key is sitting down with your receivable person and determining what cash is expected to be received that particular week based on calls to your customers.
Cash outflow – Usually you will have such items as: payroll, accounts payable cheque run, any automatic withdrawals from your business account, such as lease payments, etc. Your accounts payable person should be able to look at cheque runs for the last six months to forecast this number.

Each day that goes by you need to update the spreadsheet with what actually happens. Did you actually receive $8,000 on Monday? Was your cheque run $15,000 on Thursday? Enter the actual into the spreadsheet and note why there were variances, i.e. the $8,000 was made up of three customers and only two paid. Do the same for the expense side. At the end of the month you need to reconcile the general ledger account once again and it should match up to the ending cash balance. Finally, don’t be surprised if you find in the beginning that you over estimate your cash inflows and under estimate your cash outflows. Over time you will perfect this exercise.

By: Anthony Pichelli, CMA (Investment Advisor – RBC Dominion Securities)

Office: 416-733-5255 Cell: 416-315-3183 anthony.pichelli@rbc.com

10 Important Personal Characteristics of Entrepreneurs

Andrew — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:00:00 +0000

They are goal-orientated
They are committed to their business and work really hard to get the business up and running
They thrive on uncertainty
They continuously look for opportunities to improve
They are willing to take risks
They are willing to listen and learn
They have good people skills
They are creative and innovative
They have a positive attitude and approach
They never give up

Photo credit, Rannie Turingan

15 Signs you are probably an entrepreneur

Andrew — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:45:00 +0000

Your business is your life and hobby
You often do and then think
You don’t like being told what to do
You often have dreams about your business
You constantly find ways to innovate everything
You hate small talk
You don’t REALLY read long contracts even though you say you did and recommend people should
You’re very impatient
You hate standing in line(queue if you’re English) to buy something
You hate meetings
You look forward to Mondays
You have a short attention span
You don’t read long emails
You send out short emails and sometimes people think you’re rude
You hate being told you’re wrong

Photo credit, Lightmash

The Essential Rules of Small Business Marketing

Andrew — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:58:55 +0000

How to Keep Your Small Business Afloat in Tough Times

Andrew — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:08:14 +0000

How to Thrive In Difficult Times…

Andrew — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:39:00 +0000

On March 20-22, 2009 the first CRISIS & OPPORTUNITY CONFERENCE will be produced in the City of Markham.

As part of the current economic global stimulus effort this event will focus on education and providing the necessary tools to start and grow existing small businesses. As the backbone of our economy, the strengthening of existing small business and the information on exciting opportunities that exist today will play a vital role in the turn around from where we are today.

Topics will range from “How to Grow Your Business on the Internet” to “Obtaining Government Financing“, “How to Invest in Difficult Times” and “Using Referrals to Create Customers“, to name a few.

These sessions are tailored to provide a solid foundation to start or grow a small business and we look forward to delivering a power-packed event to you.

More Information: www.crisisandopportunity.com

10 Things You Should Do If You Plan To Buy An Existing Business

Andrew — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Get professional advice from a business advisor, accountant and lawyer
Check that you are paying a fair price. Sellers often over-value a business. If possible, try to get the seller to finance part of the selling price
Find out what lease is available on the premises
Try to find out the “real” reason the owner is selling the business
Check out the financials. If the figures look to good to be true, they probably are
Do proper research on your competitors, location etc.
Don’t believe everything the seller or business broker says. Remember, they are in it to make as much money as possible
Run the business with the owner at least 1 month before you take over to confirm sales, profits etc.
Don’t get to emotional about a business. Think with your head not your heart
Ask yourself the question. Will i still be happy in this business in 5 years?

How to Manage & Grow Your Business Online

Andrew — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Registration now open to Seating limited to first 100 people – register now!
Free Learn & Launch Event with Microsoft ® & BizLaunch

The business world is moving to the clouds as large and small companies put everything online. Can your business do more on the web?

In this seminar, you’ll learn about the latest online tools to manage and market your growing small business. Explore cloud computing to see how your business can use it to increase sales, reduce costs, boost productivity and improve team communications. Plus, you’ll learn how to build online communities of your customers, colleagues and suppliers with popular social media applications such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Plaxo, Twitter and search engines.
Event highlights:

* Hear from the President of Microsoft ® Canada.
* Networking with local small business owners.
* Microsoft ® product demo. You will be one of the first small business owners in Canada to see a new product from Microsoft ®.
* Expert advice for your small business. After the seminar, connect with experts from Microsoft and BizLaunch to get answers to your small business questions.
* Complimentary breakfast will be served at 8 a.m.
* A free trial offer for a new Microsoft ® product.
* One lucky guest will win a Microsoft ® Zune™ Digital Media Player!
* Gift from Microsoft ®. You’ll receive a beautiful leather card holder for your business cards or credit cards.

Breakfast at 8:00 a.m., Seminar from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m., Networking Reception & Microsoft Demonstrations from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m.

(Auditorium, Lower Concourse Level)

Sponsor: Microsoft
Venue:
Address: MaRS Centre, South Tower, 101 College Street, Toronto, ON

Click here to register: http://www.bizlaunch.ca/events.php?id=828

10 Ways to Market Your Business

Andrew — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Project the right image by looking like a professional business. Have your logo, business cards, letter head, signage designed by an expert
Identify 10 benefits of doing business with you and use these in all your marketing material
Attend networking events regularly. Conferences, tradeshows, seminars
Develop a database of important contacts you regularly communicate with
Always treat customers like they are worth a million dollars to your business
Develop your own newsletter and send it out regularly
Create professional adverts ,brochures and fliers that attract your customers attention
Develop a simple easy to navigate website that helps you attract customers online and offline. Ensure it is properly marketed and optimized
Present free seminars for current and potential customers to show your expertise and market your services. Give to get
Use free social media to market your products and services. Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Blogs, Twitter, Kijiji and Craigslist

Books Every Small Business Owner Should Read

Andrew — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:51:00 +0000

Good to Great by Jim Collins Amazon Link
Losing my Virginity by Richard Branson Amazon Link
Duct Tape Marketing by John Jantsch Amazon Link
Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson Amazon Link
A Passion for Excellence by Tom Peters, Thomas J Peters, Nancy Austin Amazon Link
E Myth by Michael Gerber Amazon Link
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki Amazon Link
eBoot-Camp-Internet-Marketing-Techniques by Corey Perlman Amazon Link
How to Become a Rainmaker by Jeffrey Fox (I like all his books) Amazon Link
Get Everything You Can Out Of All You’ve Got by Jay Abraham Amazon Link
Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples Amazon Link
Getting Business to Come to You by Paul Edwards Amazon Link
167 Tax Tips for Canadian Small Business by Stephen Thompson Amazon Link
4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris Amazon Link
How to Get Rich by Felix Denis Amazon Link
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie Amazon Link
The Big Idea by Donny Deutsch Amazon Link
The Knack by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham Amazon Link
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (I like Outliers too) Amazon Link
The 100 Best Business Books of All time Amazon Link
The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott Amazon Link
Everything I Need to Know About Business I Learned From a Canadian by Leonard Brody and David Raffa Amazon Link
Success Principles by Jack Canfield and Janet Switzer Amazon Link
Visionary Business by Marc Allen Amazon Link
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath Amazon Link