Small Business Banking Mistakes

September 2nd, 2010 by Doug Boswell No comments »

Entrepreneurs are so busy working on their business rather than in their business–as they should be–that sometimes your friendly neighborhood banker can end up robbing you blind! The following are four common banking mistakes made by busy small business owners.

Only Banking at One Bank: As a small business owner with 100 things to do, it is easy to settle in with one bank and do all of your banking activity through that one institution. This can have a number of ill side effects. When it comes time for a loan and your bank denies you, if you don’t have a relationship with another bank, you may be out of luck. Secondly, you should make banks compete for your business. Don’t simply give all of your business to one bank by default. Shop around for the best deals.

Failing to Focus on Collateral in Loan Application: When you are submitting a loan application, you may be asked for an executive summary. Make sure that your executive summary focuses on why you are a good risk for the bank. Don’t talk about your exponential growth or potential. Bankers want to know about the facts of your financial situation: your assets, liabilities, and what you can offer as collateral.

Relying Too Much on Line of Credit: If you run your business on a line of credit, as many entrepreneurs do, you may be setting yourself up for disaster if your bank decides to reduce or eliminate your credit line. This can actually happen and has happened to many small business owners during the current recession. Try to wean yourself off your line of credit if at all possible.

Carelessness With Bank Fees: Small business owners remember: Cash is king. You must avoid bank fees at all costs. What a careless way to let your money literally vanish into thin air. Don’t get too lax with your banking, even during those busy weeks and months, because when you look back at your bank fees you will realize what a hindrance they can become to your business if they are a recurring issue.

Don’t fall victim to these common banking mistakes. This may mean you need to hire a part-time bookkeeper, but in the words of the E-trade commercial baby, avoiding these mistakes can “save you a pantload.”

Your Management Controls

August 13th, 2010 by Doug Boswell No comments »

Would you ever drive your car blindfolded? Obviously, not!

Nonetheless, every day millions of business owners drive their businesses without knowing their financial locations: where they have been, where they are, and where they are going. That sure sounds blindfolded to us.

As your profit and growth expert, our primary role is to ensure that you have the historical data that will tell you where you have been and where you currently are. With that information we can provide a professional consultation that will help you determine where you want to go while creating an action plan that will help you get there.

With this 360 degree view of your business, you can plan effectively and then track your progress against your goals. It will also help you anticipate obstacles so that, when encountered, you can easily maneuver around them rather than allowing them to slow you down.

With our help you can’t go wrong.

Skills a Business Owner Needs to Succeed

August 4th, 2010 by Doug Boswell No comments »

As an entrepreneur in the dynamic world of business, it is vital to stay informed on the things that impact your company. The factors may vary but several things are common among them all. There is always more to learn about business, and consistent development is a component of success. Savvy business owners recognize that internal improvements are not limited to how the business runs but also to who is running the business. That is why it is important to create opportunities to update your skills so that you can enhance business performance.

Let’s take a look at three skills that are common to successful business owners.

Diligence
A large number of entrepreneurs start companies every day. They have great ideas in mind for companies that will make an impact in the market. Many of them take it a step further by getting the concepts out of their head and onto paper but fall short when it comes to taking the next steps. Running your own business requires extraordinary commitment to get the results you desire.

It is possible to achieve success when you have a regimen for starting, running and growing your business one step at a time.

One tip that helps is to keep a reminder of your mission in front of you at all times. This can be in the form of a vision board, a keepsake box, or some other tangible item that reminds you to stay focused and inspires you to take action. Write down your goals and the strategies that you will use to reach them. Convert big goals into bite sized action steps so that you can continue to persevere when the task seems overwhelming.

Management
Being self-employed also means cultivating the skill to be a self-starter. This is having the ability to look at your responsibilities and motivate yourself to get going. Improving in this area equips you to work independently without requiring someone else to micro-manage your assignments. As a result, you can see the vision and run with it. In other words, you purposely look for ways to put plans in action with the desire to produce good results.

Having the ability to handle multiple tasks and be self-directed are two keys that will help you manage your business well.

Learn to prioritize by recognizing that you cannot do everything at once. Then put tasks in order of importance that will make the greatest impact on accelerating business progress.

Finally, and probably one of the most important tips in managerial success, is to do what you do best and be willing to delegate or outsource the rest.

Good Judgement
As a business owner you will need to make many decisions concerning your company. So having the ability to make the best decisions from multiple options is key. You may refer to your instincts in many cases, and that is acceptable, but be sure to consult with industry specific experts when you come to challenges that you are unsure about. Also, when possible, use quantifiable data to back-up your business assumptions.