{"id":2845,"date":"2013-08-04T20:02:15","date_gmt":"2013-08-04T20:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philipelworthcfo.com\/?p=149"},"modified":"2023-04-19T19:13:11","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T19:13:11","slug":"what-any-business-can-learn-from-the-detroit-bankruptcy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/","title":{"rendered":"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following 4 points were blogged by July 27, 2013\u00a0by\u00a0Curt Mercadante<\/a>. \u00a0I have taken Curt\u2019s very succinct points and added a few thoughts for my contacts and clients.<\/p>\n

1) Just because things are great today, doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll be good tomorrow<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Curt stated that cities such as Detroit, and states across the country, were flush when the economy was good \u2014 but they spent their money, didn\u2019t plan ahead and now are in some pretty deep fiscal holes.<\/p>\n

The streets of American entrepreneurship are littered with companies and startups who did the same thing \u2014\u00a0experienced success fast, grew too quickly, hit rough times, and hit the skids.<\/p>\n

I advise all the organizations I work with in the Chicago area, that they need to build reserves.\u00a0 The economy and all business go through cycles.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t store up when times are good you will not be prepared for when times are bad.<\/p>\n

2) Don\u2019t spend money on \u2018swag\u2019<\/b>.<\/p>\n

According to Curt, Detroit has learned about extraneous spending on such extraneous \u201cswag\u201d the hard way. \u00a0To wit: In the midst of the Motor City\u2019s bankruptcy, city officials have approved $285 billion in taxpayer funds to build a new \u2026\u00a0hockey stadium.<\/a>\u00a0 The stadium may look nice, it may make people feel good, but it\u2019s a waste of money.<\/p>\n

As John Stossel \u00a0points out<\/a>, Detroit spent $60 million on a New Public Safety Headquarters (and, yet, still has one of the highest murder rates in the country, with an average wait time for police of 58 minutes).<\/p>\n

Neither the hockey stadium nor the public safety headquarters was needed, and they aren\u2019t helping Detroit\u2019s bottom line \u2014 they\u2019re putting the city in a deeper hole.<\/p>\n

Just because you are profitable does not provide the justification to spend extravagantly, even if is for capital improvements.\u00a0 If you need to purchase new equipment have you run a return on investment analysis?\u00a0 Many business owners I work with dream to own their own buildings, but I ask if this really is the best use of capital?\u00a0 Making solid business decisions is critical to long term success.<\/p>\n

3) If you\u2019re in too deep, call in some help<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Curt says that Detroit\u2019s politicians have not been able to dig the city out of it\u2019s deep fiscal hole which, to be sure, was created by decades of mismanagement. \u00a0Now, the experts (the governor and appointed emergency manager) have taken control and are working to set things straight.<\/p>\n

Now, hopefully, your business never gets in a hole as deep as Detroit\u2019s, but we all face challenges that sometimes are beyond our expertise to fit. Seeking outside help \u2014 whether from friends, colleagues or even paid consultants \u2014\u00a0isn\u2019t a sign of weakness; it\u2019s a sign that you\u2019re serious about fixing the problem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Too often my clients wait until the pain to too much to bear before they call me for help.\u00a0 I work to bring clients back from the abyss by finding cash, but staying out of trouble in the first place is the better strategy.<\/p>\n

4) Cut costs, cut costs, cut costs.<\/b><\/p>\n

Okay, this last one may seem obvious \u2014 and is probably covered by some of the other points on this list. \u00a0But it\u2019s still vital. \u00a0Detroit has spent its way into the current crisis \u2014 promising too much money to its employees, and spending recklessly, while its tax base fled the city. \u00a0The city has also learned (although the politicians probably won\u2019t admit it) that raising taxes can make the problem worse.<\/p>\n

Your business should learn from this example. \u00a0Your tax base (i.e., your clients) won\u2019t always be around and, besides, you can\u2019t just snap your fingers to raise more income like a city can raise taxes.\u00a0 Cut your overhead. Go lean. Don\u2019t hire too fast. Work from home (or co-share an office).\u00a0 Do whatever you can to keep those costs low. It\u2019s questionable whether politicians in Detroit, and across the country, will learn anything from the Motor City\u2019s downfall \u2014 but you\u2019re smarter than they are, and I know you will apply these simple lessons to your small business.<\/p>\n

Curt\u2019s advice here is right on.\u00a0 If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae<\/b> are here to help<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following 4 points were blogged by July 27, 2013\u00a0by\u00a0Curt Mercadante. \u00a0I have taken Curt\u2019s very succinct points and added a few thoughts for my contacts and clients. 1) Just because things are great today, doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll be good tomorrow. Curt stated that cities such as Detroit, and states across the country, were flush…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy | CFO Services | B2B CFO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae are here to help\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy | CFO Services | B2B CFO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae are here to help\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Phil Elworth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-04T20:02:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-19T19:13:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phil Elworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phil Elworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Phil Elworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6585505d66d139017e90b92155c4ce7d\"},\"headline\":\"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-04T20:02:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-19T19:13:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":735,\"articleSection\":[\"Other\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/\",\"name\":\"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy | CFO Services | B2B CFO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-04T20:02:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-19T19:13:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6585505d66d139017e90b92155c4ce7d\"},\"description\":\"If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae are here to help\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/detroit-bankruptcy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/\",\"name\":\"Phil Elworth\",\"description\":\"B2B CFO\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6585505d66d139017e90b92155c4ce7d\",\"name\":\"Phil Elworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b557073e8248d5333ae7508bc4e91ac098f0c00795328809e74097b57f569791?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b557073e8248d5333ae7508bc4e91ac098f0c00795328809e74097b57f569791?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b557073e8248d5333ae7508bc4e91ac098f0c00795328809e74097b57f569791?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Phil Elworth\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.b2bcfo.com\\\/phil-elworth\\\/author\\\/pelworth\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy | CFO Services | B2B CFO","description":"If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae are here to help","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy | CFO Services | B2B CFO","og_description":"If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae are here to help","og_url":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/","og_site_name":"Phil Elworth","article_published_time":"2013-08-04T20:02:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-19T19:13:11+00:00","author":"Phil Elworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Phil Elworth","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/"},"author":{"name":"Phil Elworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/#\/schema\/person\/6585505d66d139017e90b92155c4ce7d"},"headline":"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy","datePublished":"2013-08-04T20:02:15+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-19T19:13:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/"},"wordCount":735,"articleSection":["Other"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/","name":"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy | CFO Services | B2B CFO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-04T20:02:15+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-19T19:13:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/#\/schema\/person\/6585505d66d139017e90b92155c4ce7d"},"description":"If you need help or guidance to navigate any rough waters, myself and my partners at B2B CFO\u00ae are here to help","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/detroit-bankruptcy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Any Business Can Learn From the Detroit Bankruptcy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/","name":"Phil Elworth","description":"B2B CFO","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/#\/schema\/person\/6585505d66d139017e90b92155c4ce7d","name":"Phil Elworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b557073e8248d5333ae7508bc4e91ac098f0c00795328809e74097b57f569791?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b557073e8248d5333ae7508bc4e91ac098f0c00795328809e74097b57f569791?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b557073e8248d5333ae7508bc4e91ac098f0c00795328809e74097b57f569791?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Phil Elworth"},"url":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/author\/pelworth\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11511,"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2845\/revisions\/11511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.b2bcfo.com\/phil-elworth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}