In these very tenuous and difficult economic times, the importance of profitability becomes tantamount. Without profit, positive cash flow, which is the life blood of business, can quickly dry up and cause significant difficulty even in basic operations. This is especially true when the availability of credit seems to be evaporating before our eyes. Profitability…

Attached is an article that was published yesterday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about a local client that Rich Foster (Sr. Partner) and I share here in the Twin Cities.  We already knew they were a fantastic, growing company, but now they are getting famous for their superior product.  We are very proud to have…

The holidays are upon us. This is a good time to reflect on the year which is now nearly passed. By almost anyone’s definition, this has been a challenging business year. For me, the challenges of 2008 make me think about risk and reward. Nearly every day in our business lives we face decisions that…

C Corp, S Corp, LLC, ESOP…Section 179, form 1120, schedule A, B, C…all of these are tax terms with which as business owners you are probably familiar. We are now in reality time when it comes to your taxes for 2008. By now you likely know what you owe to the government or you have…

It actually doesn’t start on the bottom. The ‘bottom line’ starts up higher on the income statement with a healthy gross profit margin (GM). Simply stated, GM is the value of sales less the total cost of the product or service sold. It is a critical measure in any business. An expanding GM line is…

Benefits Of A Debt Free Company – Foreword How much debt financing is right for a business? In today’s low cost money environment, the ‘easy’ answer might be “as much as you need” because it is inexpensive (depending on a company’s financial situation). However, the credit environment has tightened significantly during the past two years…

Here we are in our second consecutive year of a challenging economic environment that spans almost every industry. Every day we are reminded of this with still high unemployment rates, less than hoped for corporate financial results, bankruptcies and foreclosures, low consumer confidence, etc. With this news constantly put before us, I frequently hear from…

My firm, B2B CFO®, currently has 178 partners in 39 states with a combined 5,130 years of experience. One of the benefits of being a partner is it gives me access to many wonderful articles written by my knowledgeable partners to pass along in my newsletter. Due to this benefit, it has been awhile since…