Here’s my definition of GOOD Marketing:- A well thought through strategic approach to marketing planning combined with consistent follow through action on that strategic planAND THEN…..Regular analysis of results in order to progressively improve the “current best thinking” on the business’s marketing. The MARKETING OBJECTIVE being to drive the growth of PROFITABLE SALES. My Strong BeliefMarketing spend MUST be an INVESTMENT not an EXPENSE. Accordingly, […]
THE “CASH FLOW DOCTOR” ON THE 2024 BUSINESS CLIMATE
Having over forty years experience of guiding and advising small business owners on cash flow and financial management I think I’m pretty well qualified to speak as “THE CASH FLOW DOCTOR”. Here’s how I see my job as “The Cash Flow Doctor”……it’s to :- ** Analyse cash flow problems** Formulate and propose SOLUTIONS to those problems** Encourage CONSISTENT ACTION to restore cash flow to good […]
Cash Flow Pressures in 2024
Here’s a link to an article from the business magazine which discusses the content of Begbie Traynor’s most recent Red Flag Report (for Q4 of 2023). The article opens by stating, “The latest Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert report highlights the speed at which critical financial distress is growing in the UK”. If you are seeing signs of progressively worsening cash flow (critical financial distress) […]
CASH FLOW PRESSURES 2023 Ep. 2
Begbies Traynor are one of the U.K.’s biggest insolvency practitioners. They produce a “Red Flag” Report on the health of UK businesses on a regular basis. I’ve added below a link to their report of 24th January 2023 the contents of which make concerning reading for U.K. business owners. The opening line of Begbies report states :- 610,405 businesses across the U.K. in “significant” financial distress. […]
CASH FLOW PRESSURES 2023 Ep. 1
The subject of addressing cash flow pressures is going to be an increasingly hot topic among SME owners across the coming months. Accordingly, I intend to shine a spotlight on some specific cash flow related issues over the months ahead. I plan to do this by sharing with you some “cash flow pressures” related reports and articles coming through the media, give you my thoughts […]
An Annual S.W.O.T. Report
I was talking to a client a couple of weeks ago about the value of doing a S.W.O.T. Report ( Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats ) on his business in the early part of each new year…….. an annual opportunity to assess his business from a strategic/high level point of view. I’d certainly recommend the basic idea to you and indeed to every business owner. […]
Wisdom From Jay Abraham
A couple of evenings ago I was watching a short Jay Abraham video. Watching Jay’s videos is a fairly frequent activity for me. I rate Jay’s advice on business strategy and marketing as “ as good as it gets “. Here are a few takeaways from that short video that I thought I would share with you :- Maximising business performance involves geometric layering of […]
After The Acquisition – What Comes Next ?
The process of acquiring a business requires patience and tenacity as negotiations are worked through with the vendor, deal financing is put in place and the commercial, financial and legal due diligence check lists are worked through. There are many “ moving parts “ to align when seeking to close an acquisition deal but in Churchillean terms I think that the date of closure on […]
Carillion – How to fix the “ Hole “ in Cash Flow ?
Various media sources are estimating the number of sub contractors who may suffer bad debts and a cash flow hit as a follow on from the Carillion liquidation in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 businesses. It is very clear that sub contractors anywhere in the Carillion supply chain will need to manage their cash flow very closely and very carefully over the months ahead. […]
Which Stage Describes Your Business ?
I’ve been working with independent businesses and their owners for over forty years and from what I’ve observed in that time it seems to me that for the majority of independent business owners their business life can be summarised into the following stages :- STAGE 1 – THE START UP New businesses are started for a variety of reasons but fundamentally I think the decision […]