This week we welcome Guest Blogger Maurice Marwood, President of MMARCO International Services Inc. Great topic for all Entrepreneurs to take notice!
As an entrepreneur, can you be confident of the longer term viability of your business? How do you know? What financial tools and yardsticks do you use to measure and track viability? Is your expertise in marketing, selling, engineering and product or service development, rather than financial management?
In addition to these day-to-day operational disciplines, the entrepreneur must also process sufficient knowledge to remain focused on the conduct of the business for profit from operations. The role of financial management is much more closely connected to operational activities than is generally assumed; certainly, the results of all management is to identify the most efficient uses of the resources of the business, and manage the funds necessary to support operations.
Given these overwhelming facts of business life, financial statements and reports must be regular management tools rather than esoteric data presented once in a while at reporting time. They should be used routinely to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to identify and isolate trouble spots before they reach crisis proportions. The three most widely used financial statements include the Income Statement, the Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow Statement.
Financial management principles and techniques can be applied to every area of operations. They can identify sources of profit and the flow of cash through your business and point the way to the most efficient use of those funds. They can facilitate your long term planning by assessing the financial implications of your proposed course of action.
If you require to raise funds, Cost-of-Capital study can help you identify the least expensive method. A Net-Present-Value study will identify the investment projects with the greatest growth potential. Or if you are facing cost overruns, a Cash Receipts Analysis will help you spot the cause. Discounted cash flow analysis techniques can reveal flaws in ill-advised investments.
Cash flow and cash flow management tools are critical to avoid liquidity disasters. Many profitable companies have gone out of business because they did not manage their cash well - profit is not cash. In contrast, an unprofitable business can remain viable for many years if it carefully manages cash flow.
You do not have to be an accountant, auditor, banker or investment professional to make full use of the various financial management tools. You only need to have a working knowledge of what it takes to put the information to proper user. Good financial reports can provide new insight into the inner workings of your company, and put you in a better position to make better informed management decisions to help your business grow and prosper.
Do not abdicate this important responsibility to your accountant. An important first step would be to take a course in Finance for the Non-Financial Manager.
Maurice Marwood, Guest Blogger
President
MMARCO International Services Inc.
Connecting professionals to share stories of making new business relationships and creating opportunities.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Working with Family
Working with family has dynamics of its' own as compared to businesses that have no family involved. There are pro's and con's to working with family.
Some of the pro's include your family members have a vested interest in the business. They care just as much as you do. You can trust them and they have your back in all situations. They can give you constructive criticism in certain situations. They see things from a different perspective and can share this with you to help run a better business.
Some of the con's include the following. It is also a challenge to give constructive criticism in certain situations. When it's vacation time there may be a larger number on vacation at the same time.
If you live with them, you tend to bring the work home with you. It can become the mainstream conversation when you get home, at the dinner table and afterwards. You talk about work all the time on vacation. You never seem to get away from work when you live and work with family. This is a trap to avoid and to work on if it does dominate your personal time.
We have family dynamics at AlphaKOR which has been a good thing for us over the years. We have brothers, sister, in-laws and couples on our team which have helped build our culture. The con's have been minimal and the pro's have mainly dominated in developing our success.
My wife, Carmela, joined our team five years ago. I admit, at first we talked about the office at night a lot. We would catch ourselves, our daughters would mention it so we decided to not talk about the office except on occasion or specific items such as "Oh I forgot to tell you to submit that order for a client".
What is your experience working with Family?
Some of the pro's include your family members have a vested interest in the business. They care just as much as you do. You can trust them and they have your back in all situations. They can give you constructive criticism in certain situations. They see things from a different perspective and can share this with you to help run a better business.
Some of the con's include the following. It is also a challenge to give constructive criticism in certain situations. When it's vacation time there may be a larger number on vacation at the same time.
If you live with them, you tend to bring the work home with you. It can become the mainstream conversation when you get home, at the dinner table and afterwards. You talk about work all the time on vacation. You never seem to get away from work when you live and work with family. This is a trap to avoid and to work on if it does dominate your personal time.
We have family dynamics at AlphaKOR which has been a good thing for us over the years. We have brothers, sister, in-laws and couples on our team which have helped build our culture. The con's have been minimal and the pro's have mainly dominated in developing our success.
My wife, Carmela, joined our team five years ago. I admit, at first we talked about the office at night a lot. We would catch ourselves, our daughters would mention it so we decided to not talk about the office except on occasion or specific items such as "Oh I forgot to tell you to submit that order for a client".
What is your experience working with Family?
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Why do I Blog?
Every Wednesday morning rolls around and it's time to publish this blog. So why do I blog?
I look back at when I started the Building Circles blog and used to blog daily! It was my way of sharing my thoughts which eventually evolved into a weekly topic.
The weekly blog helps me share and learn about different topics. Each day I look and ask those around me for topics and ideas. I also ask associates to be guest bloggers. It is interesting to learn about what others are interested in and to see their point of view. One was even an Anonymous Blogger with a good topic on customer service.
Other weeks, I build on someone else's blog by sharing their idea and blending my own thoughts and experiences. I include the link to the original blog to give credit to the author.
I enjoy receiving comments, receiving likes and messages on the topic I've blogged about. It makes me feel like I am making a difference when they share how it helped them. It also makes me feel connected with the audience. Some say thanks for the advice and sharing the knowledge, some talk about the memories it brought back, others tell me they can relate and then share their experiences. It is great to see interactive communication sparked by a guest blogger or my blog topic.
I enjoy the feedback, comments and suggestions. Everyone is welcome to contribute and share their thoughts. It makes me feel good when someone takes away a nugget or two. Thank you for following my blog, for the inspiration and the support.
I look back at when I started the Building Circles blog and used to blog daily! It was my way of sharing my thoughts which eventually evolved into a weekly topic.
The weekly blog helps me share and learn about different topics. Each day I look and ask those around me for topics and ideas. I also ask associates to be guest bloggers. It is interesting to learn about what others are interested in and to see their point of view. One was even an Anonymous Blogger with a good topic on customer service.
Other weeks, I build on someone else's blog by sharing their idea and blending my own thoughts and experiences. I include the link to the original blog to give credit to the author.
I enjoy receiving comments, receiving likes and messages on the topic I've blogged about. It makes me feel like I am making a difference when they share how it helped them. It also makes me feel connected with the audience. Some say thanks for the advice and sharing the knowledge, some talk about the memories it brought back, others tell me they can relate and then share their experiences. It is great to see interactive communication sparked by a guest blogger or my blog topic.
I enjoy the feedback, comments and suggestions. Everyone is welcome to contribute and share their thoughts. It makes me feel good when someone takes away a nugget or two. Thank you for following my blog, for the inspiration and the support.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Reflecting on Good Planning
It has been a year since we finalized the plans for acquiring a competitor and moving into a new location.
This move and acquisition required a lot of attention by the four partners. We had many discussions both impromptu and formal ones. You can imagine all the ideas shared, the many discussions, brainstorming all the pro's and con's for each idea.
I found myself wanting to be involved in every conversation and realized this was just not possible. We still had a business to run! It was exhilarating to challenge my role as the President and the roles of the Four Partners to lead the AlphaKORians.
I am very proud to say both undertakings were very successful. Let's take a look back starting with Labour Day 2014:
This move and acquisition required a lot of attention by the four partners. We had many discussions both impromptu and formal ones. You can imagine all the ideas shared, the many discussions, brainstorming all the pro's and con's for each idea.
I found myself wanting to be involved in every conversation and realized this was just not possible. We still had a business to run! It was exhilarating to challenge my role as the President and the roles of the Four Partners to lead the AlphaKORians.
I am very proud to say both undertakings were very successful. Let's take a look back starting with Labour Day 2014:
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
3 Simple Ways to Appreciate Employees
There are many ways you can appreciate your employees and I would like to share 3 of them with you.
1. Say Thank You More Often
This may seem obvious and yet many employees have shared with their employers and others they wished their employers would thank them more.
As employers we can argue the employees get paid for doing there job. Saying a genuine thank you and recognizing an employee for doing their job shows your appreciation as an employer.
I have always felt I was saying thank you more often and realized just a couple of years ago that I was actually not doing this. Being aware and making changes to say thank you more often has made a difference.
An example was our Open House in June. Everyone on the Team stepped up and did a lot of work. The day after the Open House, the first thing I did when I walked in was to personally thank each employee and shake their hand. Was this necessary? No. Why did I do this? It was my way of showing the appreciation from the Partners for everyone's efforts and for making it such a great event.
2. Listen & Recognize Your Employees
Your employees see the business and daily tasks differently than the employer. Ask your employees what they think. Ask them what they recommend to improve and make things better.
Listen to them. Acknowledge their ideas and input. Employers may not always agree, however, seeing the employees' perspectives and blending it with the employer's perspective creates very positive results.
At our monthly Team discussions, we say thank you to employees for specific things accomplished from the previous month such as certifications, targets reached and client experiences. We also recognize milestones with awards for 5 years, 10 years and 20 years of service.
3. Provide A Fun and Creative Environment
We spend a significant amount of time at the office and employers should consider the environment the employees work in. Is it confined, stuffy and no room for any enjoyment or leisure activities. Where do employees have lunch and where do they take a break?
We have created areas of very open space. There is a ping pong table for some leisure time when taking a break. We have meeting rooms that are relaxing and the "Unplugged Lounge" for interactive and creative discussions. There is a lot of outdoor green space for playing catch, throwing a football around and kicking a soccer ball.
As long as there is balance with work, leisure and creativity, this type of environment works very well. Our employees have embraced and supported this environment and enjoy the "java" stations for many types of coffee or tea.
What are you doing to appreciate your employees?
1. Say Thank You More Often
This may seem obvious and yet many employees have shared with their employers and others they wished their employers would thank them more.
As employers we can argue the employees get paid for doing there job. Saying a genuine thank you and recognizing an employee for doing their job shows your appreciation as an employer.
I have always felt I was saying thank you more often and realized just a couple of years ago that I was actually not doing this. Being aware and making changes to say thank you more often has made a difference.
An example was our Open House in June. Everyone on the Team stepped up and did a lot of work. The day after the Open House, the first thing I did when I walked in was to personally thank each employee and shake their hand. Was this necessary? No. Why did I do this? It was my way of showing the appreciation from the Partners for everyone's efforts and for making it such a great event.
2. Listen & Recognize Your Employees
Your employees see the business and daily tasks differently than the employer. Ask your employees what they think. Ask them what they recommend to improve and make things better.
Listen to them. Acknowledge their ideas and input. Employers may not always agree, however, seeing the employees' perspectives and blending it with the employer's perspective creates very positive results.
At our monthly Team discussions, we say thank you to employees for specific things accomplished from the previous month such as certifications, targets reached and client experiences. We also recognize milestones with awards for 5 years, 10 years and 20 years of service.
3. Provide A Fun and Creative Environment
We spend a significant amount of time at the office and employers should consider the environment the employees work in. Is it confined, stuffy and no room for any enjoyment or leisure activities. Where do employees have lunch and where do they take a break?
We have created areas of very open space. There is a ping pong table for some leisure time when taking a break. We have meeting rooms that are relaxing and the "Unplugged Lounge" for interactive and creative discussions. There is a lot of outdoor green space for playing catch, throwing a football around and kicking a soccer ball.
As long as there is balance with work, leisure and creativity, this type of environment works very well. Our employees have embraced and supported this environment and enjoy the "java" stations for many types of coffee or tea.
What are you doing to appreciate your employees?
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