How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m just not a numbers person”? Have you ever been that person? It’s a common expression and an easy escape hatch to fall through when you’re staring at spreadsheets full of numbers and formulas. But it’s a phrase, and an attitude, that’s ultimately unproductive and stopping you from taking your business to the next level. 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
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
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
I attended a webinar yesterday where the presenter spoke my language! It was with John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing. Here are three questions that we should all be asking before we spend money on marketing. Once you are clear on your responses to these questions, your marketing strategy will be much more effective.
1. Why do we do what we do? Continue reading
The Cumberland Business Incubator (CBI) serves all types and sizes of businesses including for profit and non-profit; small, medium and large; start-up, mature and those transitioning to new ownership. Continue reading
I find business owners have a hard time keeping the gross profit margins on their product or service in mind when establishing pricing. To be able to maintain your gross profit margin, you need to know what your costs are. Continue reading
In Part 1 I mentioned that John McCarthy, computer and cognitive scientist who coined the term “artificial intelligence” stated…”he who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.”
Recently I wrote about KPIs, Key Performance Indicators. In Part 1 of this series, I presented a few ratios that might be your KPIs, or a part of your overall watchfulness of the numbers in your business. In this post I’m going to review some calculations to determine what typically happens in your business. There are four common methods of calculating a typical value: mean, median, mode and midrange. Don’t run – stick with me – it will be painless, I promise, and if you need more help, call for an appointment to work on the numbers for your business. Continue reading
John McCarthy, computer and cognitive scientist who coined the term “artificial intelligence” stated…”he who refuses to do arithmetic is doomed to talk nonsense.”
In the next few newsletters I hope to help you through some of the numbers of business. Recently I wrote about KPIs, Key Performance Indicators. Many of the KPIs in business take at least a basic understanding of a few mathematical concepts. In this article I’d like to introduce or reintroduce you to Ratio. Don’t run – stick with me – it will be painless, I promise, and if you need more help, just call for an appointment to work on the numbers for your business. Continue reading