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Five Reminders to Start the Year

Reminders to Start the year - Hand and Check boxes
.vce-row-container .vcv-lozad {display: none} The new year brings a reset of the clock, a fresh start and the ability to naturally reset on many fronts. With all the moving parts and limited resources, small businesses can also feel behind the eight ball already once the calendar turns.… Read More

How is Your Bank Lending?

How is yur bank lending - a laptop and numbers to indicate a banker's decision about lending to a business
We are in a period right now that I would describe as renewal shock. Companies have renewed loans already, some are in process and many more will do so in the coming months. We have seen first hand a number of changes, in the renewal process, terms and even in some cases polite nudges out the door from existing bank relationships.… Read More
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The Business Case – Are You Leveraging It?

a woman writing on a notebook
The typical entrepreneur is presented with a constant stream of potential opportunities, initiatives and investments in their business. We see the struggle almost daily with how to evaluate options. Too often it is based on guesses, gut and momentum. While this can lead to positive outcomes, there is a way to mitigate risk and make more confident decisions using an underutilized tool in the entrepreneurs’ arsenal – the business case.… Read More
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Is It Time to Invest in New People?

a person using a laptop
The last few years have seen an incredibly tight labor market, the tightest that most founders today have ever seen. This unfortunately has led to higher wages for B and C (or worse) players and many businesses settling on a hire, or afraid to hire at all.… Read More
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Storytelling – How Does the Story of Your Business Read?

a group of people looking at a laptop
Every founder that has built a viable business has created their own entrepreneurial story. It is the story that provides credibility to customers, to team members and to your market overall. One of the things frequently talked about in our firm is the critical question, “does the entrepreneurial story match the financial one?”.… Read More

What Rising Interest Rates Mean to You…and Your Neighbor

a person touching a stack of coins
High interest rates, at least in relative terms, are here to stay for the foreseeable future. And more increases could yet be on the way. We constantly hear from CEO’s asking for our crystal ball, and many of them very uneasy about the interest rate environment.… Read More
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Netflix Password Sharing and Your Business

a person typing on a laptop
Streaming giant Netflix recently rolled out the bold decision to crack down on password sharing. While controversial with many of its customers, from a business perspective, Netflix felt it had no choice than to act given the rising costs of its content library and the revenue loss from users gaining access to the platform for free by simply sharing a login.… Read More

The Small Business Inventory Dilemma And How To Get Out Of It

Workers managing inventory in a modern warehouse
Many sectors in the U.S. economy right now are experiencing bloated levels of inventory as the supply chain has caught up and demand in spots has cooled, leading to a bit of a perfect storm. Seemingly long forgotten are the persistent supply chain bottlenecks that disrupted the flow of just about every good resulting from the pandemic.… Read More
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Mind the Gap

a hand touching a graph
We are now over a quarter into the new year. Like many companies, you may find yourself falling short of plan. That doesn’t mean the budget has all of a sudden lost its value. It can be your best friend. This is not the time to panic.… Read More

Silicon Valley Bank Failure and the Impact on the Small Business Community

a graph of a rising graph of money
Many small business owners are seeing a flurry of headlines. Much has changed in just a handful of days. Silicon Valley Bank, the 16th largest bank in the United States, has failed. While the situation is fluid, what is most important is that we are in a starkly different environment than in 2008.… Read More