Join Steven Jones, CPA for a short 3 week course on financial management for entrepreneurs. Classes will be held on Monday evenings from 5-8pm CT via Zoom on May 1, 8, & 15. Zoom link will be sent closer to class beginning.
Topics that will be covered include: *Cash Flow Statement Basics *Profit & Loss *Balance Sheet Basics *How Financial Statements Tie Together *Evaluating Profitability *Working Capital & Operational Efficiency *Legal & Your Business *Accounting & Your Business *Taxes & Your Business
This course can be covered through the WORC (Workforce Opportunities for Rural Communities) grant. More information regarding the grant can be found at the link below.
You get what you focus on. In business, it means focusing on profit.
A business without profit will die. Being passionate about your work may keep you in the game longer, but without profit you are still losing money. You have to keep business expenses in control. There isn’t a shortcut that allows you to succeed if don’t have a clear path to profitability for your company. Every business may go through short cycles when expenses exceed income, but allowing it to happen repeatedly without making adjustments is the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over without making changes, expecting a different result. Continue reading →
As the April 15 personal tax deadline looms, you’re likely overwhelmed with short-term concerns about your business budget and your personal finances. You should also be considering two crucial longer-term questions: What are you saving for retirement, and where are you saving it? Continue reading →
Many of the CBI clients ask for help with their marketing message. Some of the things we cover during business coaching sessions are summarized below:
A successful marketing plan is built on consistent messages. When you’re building your business it’s tempting to want to try to be all things to all people. Your marketing messages can end up being all over the map. The result: It confuses your customers, and can get confusing for you as well. Continue reading →
Make 2016 the year to learn more about the business of being in business. Even if you’ve owned a business or directed a non-profit organization for years, join us for the CBI MBA (Master of Business Administration) Crash Course Accelerator. Continue reading →
The season where we all start to look at our numbers will quickly be upon us. The end of the year. The context that those numbers are in matters, so take a deeper look this year until you understand what your numbers are really telling you.
Let’s say you brought in $200,000 of revenue this month. Is that good or bad? It depends. If you brought in $100,000 last month, it’s good. If your expenses were $400,000 this month, it’s bad. Everything in context. Continue reading →
Offering value is not enough. If no one knows (or cares) about what you have to offer, it doesn’t matter how much value you create. Without Marketing, no business can survive – people who don’t know you exist can’t purchase what you have to offer, and people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer won’t become paying customers. Continue reading →
Many small business owners start out thinking they will do everything they possibly can in their business to keep costs low, including doing their own accounting. Some have learned the hard way that small errors can add up to a big mess. Continue reading →
We just filed a report with the Economic Development Administration (EDA) on the impact the Cumberland Business Incubator has had since February, 2013. Our number for Private Investment Generated came to $1,423,400! This is money that our clients have spent in their businesses on real estate, building expansion, equipment, rent and build out. Continue reading →
Ask almost any business owner or professional how they are and the most likely answer you’ll get is “Busy”. The problem with ‘busy’ is that it doesn’t equate to productive (as in getting the most important things done) – it generally just translates to busy.
Busy makes you feel like you’re getting a lot done. Busy makes it look like you’re getting a lot done. Busy makes you work longer hours…according to a recent Gallup study the average work week is now 47 hours and almost 40% of workers are working more than 50 hours a week (despite the fact that the data clearly shows that longer hours don’t equate to more productivity). Continue reading →
Offering value is not enough. If no one knows (or cares) about what you have to offer, it doesn’t matter how much value you create. Without Marketing, no business can survive – people who don’t know you exist can’t purchase what you have to offer, and people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer won’t become paying customers. 
