As a small business owner, chances are that you negotiate more often than you’re aware. For example, you negotiate terms with employees, vendors, suppliers, even the bank.
When negotiating with customers, confidence in your negotiating skills will help you strike effective deals. The time and energy it takes to improve your negotiation skills are well spent, because of the enormous payoff. Effective negotiation skills will help you reach outcomes that might otherwise slip through your fingers. You bring your A-game to the bargaining table, thereby maximizing the value of the agreements you reach. As the saying goes, you don’t leave money on the table. You confidently flex your negotiating muscle to close a sale with a customer.
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. Consequently, running into cash flow problems can quickly drain the life out of a business. Steady cash flow strengthens an organization’s financial position. When no money is coming in, people tend to stop working or providing services. It is important for small businesses to monitor their financial statements and manage cash flow in order to have cash on hand to run day-to-day business operations.
Have a good employee? Well, then you’ll want to retain that individual. The cost to replace an employee can cost a thousand dollars or more, depending on the industry. So, what’s one way to motivate good employees and earn their loyalty? Staff appreciation. Appreciation sends ripples through an organization. An employee who feels appreciated is:
Business owners put in long hours. I know this because I get emails from bookkeeping clients after hours and on weekends. A business start-up is especially demanding. Plus, cash flow is tight when a business is new. Because cash flow is limited, some small business owners forgo compensation. After all, won’t the business be stronger if the earned income is invested back into the company, not spent on compensation? While that’s a logical argument, I advise business owners to follow a different financial strategy. Here’s why business owners should compensate themselves fairly.
I’m Kristie Van Pay, the proud owner of Prosperity Bookkeeping LLC. I look forward to sharing my story. I hope that you will enjoy getting to know me better.
Credit cards certainly are handy financial tools. It’s so simple to pull out a credit card from your wallet and pay expenses on the go. Credit is handy for one-time and recurring business expenses, also. Financing purchases with a credit card is simpler than taking out a loan. Plus, plastic is easier to track than cash payments. Businesses like the convenience of plastic – along with its special perks like miles, points, and cashback. Companies that pay the full balance of their credit cards every month have a convenient and effective way to pay their bills. These organizations avoid costly interest and penalties often associated with credit cards. Whenever possible, businesses should pay off their balance in full, or at the very least, pay more than the minimum due. However, sometimes paying more than the minimum just isn’t possible. That’s when credit card debt mounts and profitability suffers.
Subscription services are everywhere. While many are critical to small business operations, others can slowly drain your accounts. Subscription services often become background noise, and you don’t realize the money you’re spending.
Julia runs a consulting agency in Green Bay. After five years of building her customer base, she has an overall picture of what type of customer is the most profitable to work with. Moving forward, Julia would like to work with more of these types of “A-List” clients. They’re a good fit for her agency’s capabilities, and they’re making her money. Thus, Julia combines the information she knows about her ideal customer. By doing so, she creates a customer persona. A customer persona is developed by compiling the demographics that top customers share:
Do you remember the days of receipt books, file cabinets, and daily trips to the post office? Sure, that’s what worked back then. Thanks to the birth of Microsoft Office, QuickBooks Online, and other technology, business operations have changed immensely. Many of today’s small businesses are paperless offices. Prosperity Bookkeeping certainly is one of them.
I recently came across an old photograph taken at an office where I worked. I had to chuckle at all of the office products that are missing from my business today. Times have changed! We no longer need a Rolodex, land line, 10-key calculator, stapler, CRT monitor, binders, photocopier, or bookshelves. Out with the old,
Owners of small businesses rely on their customers to pay their invoices on time. On-time payments are essential to maintaining cash flow and business operations. With cash on hand, owners can pay themselves a fair wage, hire new employees, purchase equipment and inventory, and expand their marketing, products or services. When cash is tight, businesses
UPDATE The video tutorial referenced under Accounting Tips and Reminders is now ready and will be published on YouTube Wednesday, November 17 at 4:00 p.m.! —————————————————————————————————- Mark had been poring over his profit and loss statement for hours trying to figure out where he was losing money. He could see his sales were down and
Cash flow is the ‘new black’ for 2020…but how do I manage it? Cash flow has a profound impact on the entire business. However, there’s still some confusion surrounding the concept and its practical application. Understanding how to manage cash flow goes hand-in-hand with business success, while ignoring it can lead to disastrous results. How
Cash flow is the ‘new black’ for 2020…but why is it important? Cash flow has a profound impact on the entire business. Despite this, there’s still some confusion surrounding the concept and its practical application. Understanding cash flow goes hand-in-hand with business success while ignoring it can lead to disastrous results. Balancing incoming cash with
Cash flow has a profound impact on the entire business – but there’s still some confusion surrounding the concept and its practical application to your business. Understanding cash flow and cash management goes hand-in-hand with business success while ignoring can lead to disastrous results. Cash Management Cash management occurs when a person or process manipulates
Cash flow is the ‘new black’ for 2021…but what exactly is it? Cash flow has a profound impact on the entire business – but there’s still some confusion surrounding the concept and its practical application to your business. Understanding cash flow goes hand-in-hand with business success, while ignoring it can lead to disastrous results. Cash
Often times I am asked by new (and not so new) business owners, “What do you recommend I use to keep track of my business transactions?” Do a search for accounting software and you will be overwhelmed by the options. However, despite the wide array of options out there, QuickBooks Online is still my top
If I asked you how much money your customers owe you, would your answer be accurate? When your Accounts Receivable numbers are accurate and up to date, you become more confident making business decisions. You can base decisions on financial statements that you can trust. Identify Balance Sheet Inaccuracies Basically, Accounts Receivable is a line
Today we have more choices and strategic information at our fingertips than ever before. Here’s how to make it work for you. Making business decisions can be challenging when there are so many factors at play. Timing can play a huge role. So can due diligence in vetting every potential decision you could pursue.
