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How to Measure and Maximize Your ROI (Return on Investment) By Shane Bender -
Are you in a position today where you desire business success at the next level? Let’s say your business is growing and you need your financials to be improved. You may be asking why you would require better financials to get bigger. One key reason that would require greater and more focused financial reporting would be if you need a large loan or need to take on a new investor. Another key reason to move to a moderate level of financials is if your organization requires an audit of your financial statements. -
The Business Assessment that leads to Success 25% of all start-ups fail within one year, and 50% of businesses fail within 5 years. Staticbrain.com states that “incompetence” is the number one reason for business failure. I know this seems harsh, but it isn’t too surprising. It is difficult to be good at everything. Most likely, a business is good at making a product or providing a service, but might not be good at planning, finance, accounting, pricing, taxes, and management. -
Have you seen more and more news about wildfires? This is due to an increased trend in acreage being burned by wildfires in the US. Have you thought about how we fight wildfires? I started thinking about this in terms of business. I hear frequently from business owners that they spend too much time “putting out fires”. This is a very common problem in fast-growing businesses of all kinds. -
Have you ever asked yourself where is the cash is really going in your business? You might be wondering how you are profitable but don’t ever seem to have enough cash. Have you wondered if you should expand through hiring, a new office, or a new product line? Or perhaps you are worried about the possibility of making payroll if you lost your largest customer or supplier? Have any of these questions kept you up at night? In smaller businesses that do not have a Controller, CFO, or Finance Director on staff, these questions are common for business owners. Wouldn’t it be great if we could know how much cash we would have on hand next month, in six months, or even next year?
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Last year, I decided to be an assistant Upward basketball coach for my 2nd grade twin boys’ team. They didn’t keep score on the scoreboard, but my players kept asking me who was winning. Of course, I told them that it didn’t matter and the most important thing is that they learn how to play the game. That didn’t stop them from trying to keep score. This year, I am coaching in 3rd grade, and they do keep score on the scoreboard. Our team was losing by 20 points, so the referee asked if I wanted to turn off the scoreboard, but I told him “No”. It was embarrassing, but the score is a strong motivator. At the time, I told the two players on the bench that we needed to just try to get 8 more points. We stopped focusing on how much we were losing but instead on just getting one goal at a time and we ended up scoring 12 more. We didn’t win the game, but we won the 2nd half.