Please enjoy these Library articles about Business Finance.

Vol. 37: “Shell the Beach”

The North Bay Business Journal, a publication of the New York Times, is a weekly business newspaper which covers the North Bay area of San Francisco – from the Golden Gate bridge north, including the Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa counties.

 

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Article published – March 9, 2009

BUILDING A BUSINESS: Planning, pre-emptive explanation will help you with your bank

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

In the last column we discussed a few core principles about building a sustainable banking relationship. “No surprises” and “preparation” are two of the essential elements.

Now we move to planning. This is a broad subject with many variations, so we’ll focus on cash flow forecasting as an invaluable component of that process. While it provides an important tool for your banker, it must also be an indispensable part of your planning arsenal. Gen. Eisenhower’s comment focuses on the process rather than the result to emphasize that unexpected events and new information always make a difference.

Nonetheless, forecasting remains an elusive objective for many business owners. Most of the objections I hear are comments like, “I have no idea what our sales will be” or, “Who knows what will happen tomorrow let alone the rest of this year” or, “Our industry is in such a state of flux that no one knows what might happen.”

While these “Double V” economic times (big volatility and little visibility) make it more difficult than ever to predict and forecast performance, your bank will be remarkably unimpressed by these excuses. (more…)

Continue ReadingVol. 37: “Shell the Beach”
Read more about the article How to manage layoffs

How to manage layoffs

financeCFO Magazine recently published an article about “How to Talk about Layoffs“. It includes some valuable anecdotes about layoff processes that don’t work.

Here are several key themes that bear repeating:

  1. No amount of employee communication is too much. Most business leaders assume employees know much more about strategy or financial challenges than they do. Head off greater problems by keeping everyone informed about what you’re doing and what you’re thinking. (more…)

Continue ReadingHow to manage layoffs

Vol. 36: How to deal with your bank

The North Bay Business Journal, a publication of the New York Times, is a weekly business newspaper which covers the North Bay area of San Francisco – from the Golden Gate bridge north, including the Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa counties.

 

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Article published – February 23, 2009

BUILDING A BUSINESS: Ideas for your business you can take to the bank

“Money is better than poverty if only for financial reasons.”   – Woody Allen

I’ve received a lot of questions lately about banking issues and the “rules of the road” for dealing with your bank in a troubled economy. All of us are facing an economy that I refer to as the “Double V” – an insidious environment comprised of big volatility and little visibility. These twin engines will predominate for the foreseeable future.

This week’s column will start with Banking 101 as we make our way toward more subtle concepts. Unquestionably, this process is more artful than scientific, and while there are mechanical tasks and financial metrics that apply, managing your banking relationship requires both judgment and discretion.

• No Surprises. It’s no surprise that “No Surprises” is at the top of the list. (more…)

Continue ReadingVol. 36: How to deal with your bank