How to Prepare for Your Companys Financial Future
Sooner or later, most business owners need to look for outside financing. Whether it's a line of credit with a bank to handle predictable cash crunches or a significant capital investment to improve plant and equipment, virtually every business will need access to additional funds at some point in its life.
But the time to start thinking about how to make the best impression with bankers and private investors ideally begins long before you schedule an appointment to discuss your financing needs. In fact, the best preparation you can undertake to get the financing your business requires is the very same work that you should be doing to ensure that your business is financially sound in the first place. Business owners that can consistently demonstrate their ability to effectively plan the future of their company will stand out in the crowd of more haphazard entrepreneurs.
Here are several things that you can do now to ensure that your search for outside financing will be successful:
Determine Realistic Rates Of Growth: Unless you're the next Amazon or eBay, "pie-in-the-sky" projections about how quickly your revenues will grow will usually be seen as so much wishful thinking. Effective financial planning requires you to develop your business around realistic growth rates. Otherwise, you'll wind up in the hole before you even begin.
Develop Pro-Forma P&L's, Cash Flow Reports: Once you have estimated what your revenue picture will look like, you can more accurately predict what your financing requirements will be. Put together projected profit and loss statements and cash flow estimates so that you know exactly how much financing you'll need and when you'll need it.
Write Your Business Plan: Contrary to popular opinion, written business plans are not just for those who are looking for venture money. A well-written business plan can be an effective planning and management tool for every business. Often, the very act of writing about your business forces you to think through complex strategic issues, reevaluate your critical business assumptions and identify other areas where careful analysis will strengthen your chances of success.
Revise, Revise, Revise: Take a look at your plan and your projections at least once a year, and revise them according to actual results. If your performance falls short of your expectations, analyze why you failed, implement the necessary changes in your business strategy and adjust your projections to more realistically forecast future results. Likewise, if you were too conservative in your projections, don't be afraid to scale up your targets.
Keep Your Finance Contacts In The Loop: A good relationship with a banker or outside investor should be developed over time, not simply when you have the need. Keep your financing contacts up-to-date with what's going on in your business by providing regular financial reports and by meeting with them periodically to apprise them of how things are going. The more knowledgeable they are about your business, the more comfortable they'll be in providing you with the help that you need when you need it.
William von Achen is president of Strategic Management Resources, an executive coaching and management consulting firm offering advice and counsel to business owners and senior executives. For more information visit our web site at http://www.smrweb.com
 Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:49:35 GMT Bush: US authority able to solve financial crisis - People's Daily Online
People's Daily Online - US President George W. Bush arrives in the Rose Garden at the White House to makes a statement on the economy in Washington, October 10, 2008. President Bush vows action on financial crisis Bush's Lullaby to the Markets Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:12:49 GMT McCain Lauds and Attacks Obama in Same Day - New York Times
New York Times - Senator John McCain of Arizona and his supporters at a rally on Friday in La Crosse, Wis. By ELISABETH BUMILLER LAKEVILLE, Minn. - After a week of trying to portray Senator Barack Obama as a friend of terrorists who would drive the country into ... McCain Moves to Soften the Tone at Rallies John McCain, speaking to supporters, tries to defuse an anti ... Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:08:14 GMT Democrats Are Gaining, Registration Data Shows - New York Times
New York Times - By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and GRIFF PALMER Some longtime Republican strongholds in New York are becoming increasingly Democratic, a striking change driven by demographic shifts, intense voter registration drives by Democrats and allied groups and sagging ... Campus registration drives in full swing Ott, Hook face off for open county office Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:20:33 GMT Genomics project unites four Wisconsin research institutions - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - By KATHLEEN GALLAGHER Wisconsin’s four biggest academic research institutions will collaborate on an initiative aimed at giving the state national stature in the fast-emerging field of individualized medicine, Gov. Marshfield Clinic gets biggest donation yet Wis. governor unveils gene research triangle Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:29:44 GMT Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' - Bloomberg
Bloomberg - By John Brinsley and Rebecca Christie Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson indicated that pumping government funds into banks is a priority and said financial markets will remain volatile. US planning to buy equity in financial institutions Treasury Weighs Investing In Banks Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:21:05 GMT G-7 Commit to `All Necessary Steps' to Stem Global Meltdown - Bloomberg
Bloomberg - By Simon Kennedy Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Group of Seven finance chiefs, meeting after stocks plunged and as a global recession looms, vowed to prevent the failure of vital banks while failing to unveil new initiatives for thawing credit markets. Group of 7 Nations Seek Coordination in Rescue In latest bold step, Treasury will buy bank stakes Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:03:42 GMT US Near Changing Stance on North Korea as Terrorist - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By JAY SOLOMON WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is hoping to announce as soon as Saturday that it is tentatively removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, in a bid to kick-start a stalled nuclear disarmament agreement, ... AP: US to remove North Korea from terror blacklist US May Remove North Korea From Terrorism List, AP Reports Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:02:40 GMT Work At Home |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Today's employees are not only interested in security or in... Read More The title implies that some people are and others not.This... Read More This article relates to the Recognition competency, commonly evaluated in... Read More Being able to communicate effectively with others requires people skills,... Read More If you think the power move has costs, consider the... Read More 1. Create a filing system with broad categories such as... Read More Employees truly deserve paid vacations. Theystruggle through stressful jobs most... Read More People in leading positions are often in a dilemma: on... Read More Old style management doesn't encourage personal mind control, employees aren't... Read More Employers pay a high price for absenteeism, often more than... Read More Motivation is a term that is so widely used, yet... Read More One of the major benefits, if not THE benefit of... Read More Once upon a time there lived an innocent, hardworking manager.... Read More Bar Charts and the Information ChallengeWhether one is an unknown... Read More Many business owners are sabotaging their business without even realizing... Read More Okay, so you've figured out what kind of meeting is... Read More Want to bring out the best in people?Edward W. Smith,... Read More Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with... Read More Certain processes enhance creative output and others enhance innovative output.... Read More The digital divide is defined by the role computers play... Read More The first step in planning an agenda is to identify... Read More Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More Have you ever sat in a meeting where everyone is... Read More Suggested practice for HR personnelMuslims now form one of the... Read More
Adsense
websites
Todays Employees and Their New Needs: What You Need to Know
Creative People, Innovative People
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Best Incentives are Free
People Skills: Eight Essential People Skills
The Professor Makes A Minus Power Move
Organize your Office- Seven Solutions
14 Ways to De-Stress Employee Vacations
CEOs Are Great, Top CEOs Are Greater
Recruitment - Pick People Who Think
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Reduce the High Cost of Employee Absenteeism
The New Five Truths of Employee Motivation
Enable Continuous Improvement of IT Services through ITIL
Once Upon a Conflict
Bar Charts Brought to Life: Index of Interactive Information for HTML and PDF
Are You At The Mercy Of Computer Geeks?
Guidelines For Conducting A Good Meeting
Quick Tips On Bringing Out The Best In People
Creativity and Innovation Management ? Feasibility
Have You Fixed the Broken Window?
Lateral Thinking, Logical Thinking, Applied Creativity
Middle-Aged Managers, the Forgotten Digital Divide
Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Have SMART Goals
Innovation Management: The Quality and Quantity of the Idea Pool
Dialogue vs. Discussion
Islam in the Workplace
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Organizational Capital in Politics, War, Sports and Business
Intangible Corporate Assets such as Organizational Capital, Blue Sky and... Read More
How to Create a Trusting Manager-Employee Relationship
BUILDING TRUST AS A MANAGER: 1. Be reliable. Follow through... Read More
Employee Retention: Its a Changing Game
As a management consultant, I have seen some poorly conceived... Read More
Three Professional Services Resolutions for 2005
With client expectations higher than ever before, and the gradual... Read More
Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk: Part 1
Leaders speak 15 to 20 times daily. You speak at... Read More
Medical Collection. How Organized is Your Office?
At one time or another, all of us have experienced... Read More
The Ten Keys to Maximizing Employee Performance
1. Let people know what you expect. If people know... Read More
Employee Retention: Five Leadership Fundamentals
Are your management practices on the right track? Retaining your... Read More
Rethinking Workplace Security: How the Rules Have Changed
The workplace has traditionally been a dangerous place. Very early... Read More
Miracle Max On Market Breakthroughs
Successful enterprise building requires seven elements. These are:1. People, who... Read More
How to Set Up a Conference Call
The methods in which you set up a conference call... Read More
Building A Stellar Business One Employee At A Time
Top businesses that continually lead their industry clearly understand a... Read More
Culture Management and Creativity
Many concepts in the fields of managing creativity are very... Read More
The Top Six Reasons to Buy Rather Than Build an Inventory Management Solution
Is building your own inventory management solution really your best... Read More
What Your Employees Want You to Know (But You Might Be Afraid to Ask)
This is a challenge for every company owner and manager.... Read More
Climb out of the Box - How to Hold Effective Meetings
Out of the box thinking is a popular fad today.... Read More
How to Dodge Distribution Difficulties
It happened again. I ran into an old friend while... Read More
Gift Giving for Business a Major Headache
Corporate gifting is a big headache for most business owners;... Read More
Five Ways to Turn Resistance into Opportunity
Resistance. It isn't something people cherish or enjoy encountering. We... Read More
Preparing For ISO 9001 2000 Registration
The steps need to be taken to prepare an organization... Read More
How Businesses Can Stop Wallowing in Bad Debt and Prevent It in the Future
"Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains... Read More
The 5 Obsessions of a Passionate Employee
A recent report entitled "How Google Grows?and Grows?and Grows" stated... Read More
Bringing Ideas to Life: Seven Principles for Pulling Together
You're so excited you're practically bouncing off the walls. This... Read More
Key Control ? Who Has the Keys to Your Kingdom?
Key control, or more accurately the lack of key control... Read More
Performance Management - Getting The Most Out of Your Employees
Managing for Best PerformanceIn it's simplest form, performance management is... Read More
Business Management |