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Start-Ups & Entrepreneurship
Guidelines to Improve Banking Relationships (What Does Edgar Allan Poe Have to Do With It?)
Good Character and Cash Flow Improve Banking Relationships Typically, there is significant triage to be done before determining if you can improve banking relationships. Most often, the problems come back to cash flow and misunderstanding what banks do. While Boards do not manage bank relationships directly, they are responsible for the firm’s capital structure, and […]
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Overcoming the Biggest Consumer Sales and Marketing Challenges
Consumer Sales and Marketing Challenges That May Challenge You Too Consumer-focused businesses have three key challenges: Understanding what the customer/market wants Targeting the right segments Differentiating what they offer from what their competitors offer In all my years creating marketing plans, these challenges continue to pop up the most frequently. And the product, service, size […]
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Retaining Tribal Knowledge For Your Company’s Long-Term Health
Tribal Knowledge: Be in the Know America is getting older. Not just in terms of it having a birthday every year, but in terms of the percentage of people closing in on retirement. You can thank the aging Baby Boomer population for that. What that says to me is that any company with a significant […]
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Millennials in the Workplace Want These 4 Qualities in a Company
Millennials in the Workplace Want to be Understood The Leading With Courage Academy recently led a panel discussion on millennials in the workplace, and how to better incorporate this unique demographic into your culture for greater success. During that discussion, four key things were uncovered that millennials in the workplace want most: focus, transparency, trust […]
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Smart Giving Gives Back: The Surprising Benefits of Organized Philanthropy
It’s not Selfish to Reap the Benefits of Organized Philanthropy Bringing family members together to invest philanthropically is a game changer, but organized giving can challenge even the strongest families. Yes, philanthropy is about generosity, but it can also feel like a time-consuming obligation. It can be messy and administratively intensive. And that’s all before […]
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For Better Venture Capital Value and Returns, Look to the Midwest
Midwest Is Best When It Comes to Venture Capital Value Readers of my earlier Financial Poise articles may remember this: I am a rare breed, a value investor who also loves to talk venture capital value. Seems strange? I’ll explain. Consider these venture capital stats: Only about 20% of venture capital deals make money. The […]
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Developing a Branding Strategy for Your Startup or Small Business
Everyone Who’s Anyone Is Developing a Branding Strategy “Branding” is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days. From individuals developing personal brands to professionals tasked with complete makeovers for iconic brands like FedEx, UPS, and KFC (notably all just shortened versions of their former brand names), everyone seems to be developing a […]
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How Small Business Owners Can Save on College Costs
10 Strategies to Help You Save on College Costs For small business owners, understanding three little words—expected family contribution, or EFC—can save on college costs (we’re talking thousands of dollars). How you structure your business, where you hold assets and which schools your child applies to all affect your EFC. So, where to begin? Try […]
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The Many Challenges Ahead for Private Equity Investing
Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of a similar article published in January of 2013. To view the original, click here. Private Equity Investing Has Exploded Over Past 10 Years The mindset in private equity investing doesn’t seem to have changed much since I first wrote about investing in private equity funds for Financial […]
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Effective Private Company Board Strategies Drive Goals to Completion
Private Company Board Strategies Create Advantage Strategy has been defined as the art of finding an unfair competitive advantage in the marketplace. It is implemented through defined objectives, strategies and tactics. Whether public or private, driving strategy is how boards create value. Public companies tend to have well-staffed strategy groups, of which M&A is one […]
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