business goals

The Value of Business Growth Planning

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Portal CFO Growth Planning Tips

Whether you’re just starting out or already have an established, profitable business in operation, business growth planning should be near the top of your priorities list. Every industry has unique challenges, but some common practices can position your business for future success. We’ve compiled four tips that will give you the most value out of your business planning and set you on a course for success.

Growth Planning Tips for Success:

1. Real Time Accounting

From the basics of Excel or QuickBooks, to more advanced custom accounting software solutions, every business has a way to track their financial position. Implementing a software system that delivers insights on your finances in real time can help you make strategic growth planning decisions and spend your limited capital where it will have the greatest impact.

2. Set Goals For Growth

You may be just getting started in a new market or launching a new product, but all businesses have aspects like revenue or cost savings they want to accelerate and measure. Setting growth planning goals and milestones and using them to track progress over time for your most important business activities makes the mission clear for employees and helps remind everyone what you’re striving towards.

3. Forecast For Tomorrow

Every business should use their existing data to develop strategies for what they can do better in the future. Building forecasts and models for costs of goods, profitability, or logistics expenses can help set expectations for capital requirements, and can often reveal inefficiencies or blind spots that can be addressed to make your business even better.

4. Talk To An Expert

Meeting with consultants is a great way to learn more about your industry, the major players and challenges, and how you can develop a growth planning strategy to win against the competition. If you’re working on a difficult project or seeking to maximize your return on investment, growth and planning consultants can set you on the right course for accelerated success and profits.

Growing your business can be as complicated as running it day to day, but the payoffs can take your operation to the next level. Take charge and use these tips to get a head start on growing your business today.

Remember, running a business successfully does not need to be complicated.  Keep it simple!

For more interesting topics on successfully managing the challenges of growing your business profitably, please search our blog at our website www.portalcfo.com.

Small Businesses: Choosing Health Insurance Penalty

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After the Affordable Care Act passed last year, a lot of analysts and business owners began discussing the impact that it would have on small business health insurance. The law requires small businesses with at least 50 employees to provide health insurance to their employees who work 30 or more hours per week, on average.

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What is a Cash Flow Forecast and how can it help my business?

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The key to avoiding a cash crisis in your business is to have as much visibility as possible into your Company’s future cash flow.  A cash flow forecast can help your small business plan more effectively.  If you can look into your Company’s operating results in a quicker fashion, you can make changes to your business quickly if you need to.  Before you make a cash flow forecast, make sure that you track your financial results in real-time (as in right now).   Most companies receive their financial statement two-to-three weeks after the end of the month or in some cases, much longer.  That is a problem because you are now reviewing history and therefore reacting late.

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Staying in the Black: What You Can Do to Make Sure Your Business Stays Profitable

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staying in the black

As a business owner, you have a lot of responsibilities to a lot of different people, but all of that responsibility ultimately ties into staying in the black.  In business, the term “in the black” means that a business is profitable and it’s where every business wants to be, regardless of its size or industry.  The opposite of “staying in the black” is called “being in the red” and you want no parts of that.

But just what are some of the things that a company needs to do in order to reach that highly sought after status?  Obviously, there’s no straightforward answer to that problem. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re out of luck when it comes to ensuring that your company stays ahead of the curve by continuing to turn a profit regardless of the economic conditions.

In this post I’ll be offering some advice on staying in the black, so keep reading! You may be surprised at some of the different practices that you can put into place to ensure longevity for your small business.

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How to Find Angel Investors: What You Can do to Secure Funding For Your Business

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you may be thinking about how to find angel investors who can provide you with the kind of capital that will allow you to secure funding and build your company

Funding your business so that it can become more than just a dream is no easy task. With that in mind, you may be thinking about how to find angel investors who can provide you with the kind of capital that will allow you to secure funding and grow your company.

There are a number of methods by which you can find an angel investor; a person who provides you with capital in exchange for partial ownership of the company.

Because funding your business is such an involved and important process, you want to make sure you do it right and find an investor who will be a perfect fit for your business.

So let’s take a look at some of the things that you should consider when trying to answer the question of to how find angel investors. You will be able to use the information to guide you in your own search for that perfect financial backer.

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How to Finance a Small Business: What Options You Have

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how to finance a small business

The question of how to finance a small business is one that every entrepreneur asks when they are starting out.  One thing I have learned over the years is that what works for one type of business may not necessarily work for others. There is no “one size fits all” formula. Let’s take a look at the question of how to finance a small business and we’ll examine various answers that can apply to your business.

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Business Financial Metrics Every Entrepreneur Should Know

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business financial metrics that every entrepreneur should know

Business financial metrics are essential to learning how your company truly operates, so it makes sense that you would want to know absolutely everything that there is about them.

As an entrepreneur, you have to wear many hats and be knowledgeable in many different disciplines.

From knowing your product or service inside out, to being able to talk to your customers and clients, to showing the leadership skill that your employees need in order to bring out the best that they have, your role as the owner of the company is one that will demand everything you’ve got.

But it can all be for nothing if you don’t know about the different aspects of finance that serve to keep you in business.

This post will look at some of those areas, provide explanations about what each one is, and show you what you can do in order to make sure that your business thrives in these areas so that it’s able to thrive as a company.

So, if you’re ready to learn more about business financial metrics and what they mean for you, then keep reading this page.

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The Importance of Small Business Goals: What You Can Do To Improve Your Bottom Line

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Small Business Goals

As a consultant to entrepreneurs, one thing I like to do is repeatedly stress the importance of establishing small business goals and then doing everything within your power to achieve them. But just how can you ensure your goals translate into real-world success?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a catch-all answer to that question, because no two industries are exactly alike. At the same time, no two businesses within a given industry are exactly alike either. Even so, the fact is that goals are what drive business owners to make the decisions they do.

So let’s take a look at some small business goals that you should consider and I’ll show you how they are important to taking your business to the places you want it to go.

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