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Business Tips From the Editor - June 2024
BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR
June 2024
Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor
“List of Financial Data business Owners Should Prepare and use to Monitor Results”
- Annual Business Plan - Serves as a road map to where the business is going and how it will get there.
- Annual S.W.O.T. analysis
Lists of business' strengths so employees can sell from them and the business can capitalize on them.
Lists the business’ weaknesses so the employees can work to turn them into strengths.
Lists the business’ opportunities so the employees can capitalize on them.
Lists the business’ threats so management can manage through them if they occur. - Identify the business’ financial goals with details on how to achieve them using measurable processes.
- Identify the business’ business goals with details on how to achieve them using measurable.
- Create an annual financial budget on a month-by-month basis and review the actual results vs. the budget monthly and quarterly using over and under measurements, making changes and/or modifications as needed.
- Create a dashboard of key financial measurements that compares current financial period to budget, same period to same period prior year, and year-to-date to year-to-date prior year.
- Review the business’ past two to three years actual financial results with the actual financial results of other businesses that operate in the same industry.
- Review accounts receivable aging schedule monthly looking for large past due of large concentration of client(s).
- Review accounts payable aging schedule monthly looking for large past due of large concentration of vendors/suppliers.
- If the business is in the contract-winning business, compare the ratio of contracts won vs. contracts bid on.
- Review business pipeline report for the current period vs same period month, prior quarter, and prior year.
- Review outstanding balances, and availability on all lines of credit.
- Review a rolling thirteen-week cash flow modeling report.
- Develop a list of KPI’s and measure the actual results monthly vs. established KPI’s.
- Review compliance with any outstanding loan agreements to prevent default.
List prepared by Horizon Associates, Inc.
Business Tips From the Editor - May 2024
BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR
MAY 2024
Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor
“Some Things Stay the Same”
Last week I came across an April 2006 Business Survival Guide Houston Business Journal publication, and as I was thumbing through the pages, I noticed the title of some of the articles and thought how fitting for the 2024 business environment. Some of the article titles were – “Put company policies into languages firm’s employees speak”; Maintain records at all stages of product development and rollout”; “Understanding copyright laws helps protect intellectual property”; Cyberrisks increase in a world where everyone is a publisher”; Businesses need to adapt systems to requirements of the new e-worlds and “Watch loan documents to avoid collection trouble spots”. There were several others, but I won’t list any more because I think you can get the idea. What I thought was even more interesting was some of the advertisers’ Ads for products or services that could be marketed today – Like “Fraud Happens – But it doesn’t have to happen to you”; “Secure Flexible Easy Fast Proven Cost-Effective Internet Connections”; and “Building Relationships and Make a Difference in People’s Lives”, just to name a few.
What is my purpose of pointing all this out to you? – Well, it is two-fold. First, have you ever heard the expression “Don’t reinvent the wheel”? Well, these examples kind of prove that in what seemed to be great business article topics almost 20 years ago are still probably great business articles topics today. And second, there are some very time-tested fundamental issues in business that are strong enough that they can be and should be used over again, despite how technology savvy we think we are, or how we think that the business world has changed so much we have to work harder, faster and smarter.
And finally, I think I am going to hold on to this April 2006 Business Survival Guide Houston Business Journal to use as my personal AI source, because I’m not sure if articles written and published in 2006 can be found in a May 2024 AI on-line search.
If you need help or assistance in moving ideas forward in you business, talk to a business advisor who has been there and done that. We encourage you to visit our Web-site at www.silverfox.org and learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, and how they can assist you with your business needs, as well as to discover more about our great programs and community outreach endeavors.
