My company, SouthWare Innovations (www.southware.com), sells accounting software thru dealers. Each year we meet with our dealers and there are always some technical issues that we discuss. Many of these issues vary from year to year. But, we also talk about business issues and most of these issues are the same year after year. While the technical issues vary from industry to industry, most of the business issues are common to all kinds of businesses in all kinds of industries. This blog is about business instead of SouthWare, and I want to discuss some of those common business issues in my next few blog entries.
Let’s start with cash flow since the recent economic problems have made this problem even more acute. Most businesses struggle, at least occasionally, with having adequate cash. A shortage of cash can be caused by not selling enough, selling a lot, poor margins, slow paying customers and non-paying customers among other causes.
One thing that has troubled many businesses the last couple of years, is that credit limits that have been okay for specific customers are now way too high. Maybe we didn’t even have to think about credit limits with some long-term stable customers, but suddenly they are in trouble and can’t pay their bills.
The tendency, once we spot the problem, is to take drastic steps which may be necessary and may not. Going back to my school days, I still remember and use the old strategy that we are not trying to eliminate bad debts, we are trying to maximize gross profit. This just means we are trying to find the right degree of credit control that will still keep customers buying but without increasing bad debts to the extent that those extra sales aren’t profitable. Unfortunately, its hard to control that just with formulas - it takes some judgment and common sense as well.
For some customers, extending additional credit - either more dollars or more time - is good for you and them. For others, you are just enabling them to postpone making cash flow management decision that they have to make to survive and prosper. This is similar to people using credit cards. Sometimes they are capable of managing the balances and sometimes it just allows them to get in more trouble.
Broad advice can’t fit every situation but in many businesses it will help to do some combination of tightening credit limits, increasing frequency of collection calls, reviewing all past due accounts, stop extending credit when the warning signs justify, and insist that past due customers keep in touch on how and when they are going to pay.
I will close by reemphasizing a point I made above. Just because an X dollar credit limit has been good for a customer for several years, it isn’t necessarily safe in today’s environment. Many companies are struggling to stay afloat and this may mean they are borrowing from you because they can’t get the funding from their normal sources. The bottom line is that credit sales take more monitoring today than they do when the economy is stronger - both during the sales process and afterward during the collection process.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Staying Young
How to Stay Young
Strange title to appear in a Success/Motivation blog. We all know the parts about eating right, exercising and getting plenty of rest. I have found an additional step that helps both the physical and mental body. Keep learning. Many tests have proven that “exercising” the brain keeps it functioning better and longer. It even partially offsets, or delays, the impact of alzheimers and dementia. Here are some brain activities that can keep us younger longer:
-Sudoku and cross-word puzzles are challenging and stimulating
-Reading - biographies, self-help and fiction. Including the Bible and other spiritual books is great. Joining, or starting, a group that discusses books and articles is helpful. I attend a Men’s Bible Study every Thursday morning that is really stimulating.
-Listening to CDs in the car is good and it takes advantage of free time.
One of the books on my Favorites list is Earl’s Pearls on Enjoying Excellence. One of the Pearl’s is Keep Learning and the emphasis is on “No matter how old you are, never stop learning.” Earl says that “Reading is an important habit to continually fuel you with new ideas and information that you can bring to your work, your home and all your activities.”
A sad fact that I have heard multiple times is that most adults never read a book after they complete their formal education. The Bible says to keep growing and it helps keep our brains and bodies young. It keeps our brains working better. Those are good reasons to keep learning.
If you aren’t in the habit of “exercising” your brain in these ways, decide today what you are going to do and set some specific goals for how to make it happen. For example, I have a written goal to do at least 100 Sudoku puzzles each year. So when I complete a puzzle, I put the date and a number by it. It is July and last night I did #62. So I know I’m on schedule to complete my 100.
I went to a luncheon a few years back and sat by a lady who was 80 plus and very sharp and articulate. She told me that she made it a point to “learn something every day.” That is a pretty good idea and it sure worked for her. Keep going and keep growing!
Strange title to appear in a Success/Motivation blog. We all know the parts about eating right, exercising and getting plenty of rest. I have found an additional step that helps both the physical and mental body. Keep learning. Many tests have proven that “exercising” the brain keeps it functioning better and longer. It even partially offsets, or delays, the impact of alzheimers and dementia. Here are some brain activities that can keep us younger longer:
-Sudoku and cross-word puzzles are challenging and stimulating
-Reading - biographies, self-help and fiction. Including the Bible and other spiritual books is great. Joining, or starting, a group that discusses books and articles is helpful. I attend a Men’s Bible Study every Thursday morning that is really stimulating.
-Listening to CDs in the car is good and it takes advantage of free time.
One of the books on my Favorites list is Earl’s Pearls on Enjoying Excellence. One of the Pearl’s is Keep Learning and the emphasis is on “No matter how old you are, never stop learning.” Earl says that “Reading is an important habit to continually fuel you with new ideas and information that you can bring to your work, your home and all your activities.”
A sad fact that I have heard multiple times is that most adults never read a book after they complete their formal education. The Bible says to keep growing and it helps keep our brains and bodies young. It keeps our brains working better. Those are good reasons to keep learning.
If you aren’t in the habit of “exercising” your brain in these ways, decide today what you are going to do and set some specific goals for how to make it happen. For example, I have a written goal to do at least 100 Sudoku puzzles each year. So when I complete a puzzle, I put the date and a number by it. It is July and last night I did #62. So I know I’m on schedule to complete my 100.
I went to a luncheon a few years back and sat by a lady who was 80 plus and very sharp and articulate. She told me that she made it a point to “learn something every day.” That is a pretty good idea and it sure worked for her. Keep going and keep growing!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Focus on What is Important
Ongoing research continues to show that three of the biggest challenges facing people today are: time pressures, financial pressures and the struggle to maintain a healthy balance between work and home. Most people struggle with these and other challenges because they simply lack focus in their lives and activities. They procrastinate or allow themselves to be easily sidetracked. Most of us become involved in too many different pursuits so we can’t really do anything as well or as timely as we would like.
This article isn’t going to attempt to tell you what to focus on. Those decisions need to be made by the individual and by couples. A separate article on Goal Setting will give some tips on selecting, and modifying, those things that are most important. But each of us has things we already know are important. How do we put more emphasis on those?
Despite many opinions, and excuses, to the contrary, life doesn’t just happen to you. Life is all about the choices you make and how you respond to every situation. If you are in the habit of making bad choices, disaster often occurs. Successful people have successful habits, unsuccessful people don’t!! When you develop a chronic bad habit, life will eventually give you consequences. Negative habits breed negative consequences. Successful habits create positive rewards. Successful people have successful habits. That’s just the way life is.
So let’s look at our habits. Many of our daily activities are habitual. Some studies show that up to 90% of our normal behavior is based on habits. This includes things like the way you dress (which shoe first), brushing your teeth, the route you take to work, how you greet people, how you answer the phone, where you sit in church, whether you get to places on time, and on and on.
If we can systematically improve one habit at a time, and turn that new behavior into a better habit, we can gradually but dramatically improve our overall lifestyle. To change habits, you must strongly commit to change - and you must follow through. People who dabble at change will quit after a few weeks or months. And they will usually have a long list of excuses why it didn’t work out for them. Remember, successful people don’t drift to the top. It takes focused action, personal discipline and lots of energy every day to make things happen. The habits you have now and those you develop and nurture from today forward will ultimately determine how your future works out. Rich or poor. Healthy or unhealthy. Fulfilled or unfulfilled. Happy or unhappy. The choices are yours, so choose wisely.
One thing to remember is that your outward behavior is the truth, whereas your inner perception of your behavior is often an illusion. Your habits and belief systems are a product of your environment. The people you hang around with and the environment you live in strongly influence what you do. If you hang around with people who are always complaining about how bad everything is, you will start believing at least some of what they say. But if you surround yourself with people who are strong and positive, you’re more likely to see a world full of opportunity and adventure. If you can’t put enough positive influences in your life right now, find some good motivational tapes and books. The library is a great source. Try some autobiographies or biographies of people who have traits you admire. The average American doesn’t read non-fiction books after they get out of school. Its easy to be much better than average. Another helpful tip is to get to know some older people who can be role models in various areas. They are usually happy to play the role of teacher or mentor and can help you make the adjustments you need to improve your habits and your life. Again, the only requirement for you is that you must commit to change.
Look at your life and your newly defined priorities and see if you need to set some new boundaries. Begin asking yourself regularly if what you are doing right now is helping you to achieve your goals. This needs to become a habit and it will mean you have to say NO more - maybe a lot more. Don’t be surprised if the person who gives you the most trouble with your new boundaries is YOU. The biggest battle is usually right between your own ears. To solve this problem, you have to be very definite and determined to make your new behavior work. Other people will also try to sidetrack you. Sometimes they will act hurt; sometimes they will act angry. The telephone has to be controlled also. What you are doing needs to be treated as important which means that the person calling doesn’t always need to get your top priority. Voice mail is a great tool to help smooth this transition. Mainly you have to change your thinking and you have to take action. It all boils down to the old saying that you can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results.
Decide what is important to you, write down a plan, be completely committed to making it work regardless of setbacks, and watch the results. The people who really accomplish more than others do so because they FOCUS their efforts on the things that are most important to them.
Success isn’t magic or hocus-pocus
It’s simply learning how to FOCUS.
Some of the thoughts and ideas in this article were taken from The Power of Focus by the guys who wrote the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
This article isn’t going to attempt to tell you what to focus on. Those decisions need to be made by the individual and by couples. A separate article on Goal Setting will give some tips on selecting, and modifying, those things that are most important. But each of us has things we already know are important. How do we put more emphasis on those?
Despite many opinions, and excuses, to the contrary, life doesn’t just happen to you. Life is all about the choices you make and how you respond to every situation. If you are in the habit of making bad choices, disaster often occurs. Successful people have successful habits, unsuccessful people don’t!! When you develop a chronic bad habit, life will eventually give you consequences. Negative habits breed negative consequences. Successful habits create positive rewards. Successful people have successful habits. That’s just the way life is.
So let’s look at our habits. Many of our daily activities are habitual. Some studies show that up to 90% of our normal behavior is based on habits. This includes things like the way you dress (which shoe first), brushing your teeth, the route you take to work, how you greet people, how you answer the phone, where you sit in church, whether you get to places on time, and on and on.
If we can systematically improve one habit at a time, and turn that new behavior into a better habit, we can gradually but dramatically improve our overall lifestyle. To change habits, you must strongly commit to change - and you must follow through. People who dabble at change will quit after a few weeks or months. And they will usually have a long list of excuses why it didn’t work out for them. Remember, successful people don’t drift to the top. It takes focused action, personal discipline and lots of energy every day to make things happen. The habits you have now and those you develop and nurture from today forward will ultimately determine how your future works out. Rich or poor. Healthy or unhealthy. Fulfilled or unfulfilled. Happy or unhappy. The choices are yours, so choose wisely.
One thing to remember is that your outward behavior is the truth, whereas your inner perception of your behavior is often an illusion. Your habits and belief systems are a product of your environment. The people you hang around with and the environment you live in strongly influence what you do. If you hang around with people who are always complaining about how bad everything is, you will start believing at least some of what they say. But if you surround yourself with people who are strong and positive, you’re more likely to see a world full of opportunity and adventure. If you can’t put enough positive influences in your life right now, find some good motivational tapes and books. The library is a great source. Try some autobiographies or biographies of people who have traits you admire. The average American doesn’t read non-fiction books after they get out of school. Its easy to be much better than average. Another helpful tip is to get to know some older people who can be role models in various areas. They are usually happy to play the role of teacher or mentor and can help you make the adjustments you need to improve your habits and your life. Again, the only requirement for you is that you must commit to change.
Look at your life and your newly defined priorities and see if you need to set some new boundaries. Begin asking yourself regularly if what you are doing right now is helping you to achieve your goals. This needs to become a habit and it will mean you have to say NO more - maybe a lot more. Don’t be surprised if the person who gives you the most trouble with your new boundaries is YOU. The biggest battle is usually right between your own ears. To solve this problem, you have to be very definite and determined to make your new behavior work. Other people will also try to sidetrack you. Sometimes they will act hurt; sometimes they will act angry. The telephone has to be controlled also. What you are doing needs to be treated as important which means that the person calling doesn’t always need to get your top priority. Voice mail is a great tool to help smooth this transition. Mainly you have to change your thinking and you have to take action. It all boils down to the old saying that you can’t keep doing the same things and expect different results.
Decide what is important to you, write down a plan, be completely committed to making it work regardless of setbacks, and watch the results. The people who really accomplish more than others do so because they FOCUS their efforts on the things that are most important to them.
Success isn’t magic or hocus-pocus
It’s simply learning how to FOCUS.
Some of the thoughts and ideas in this article were taken from The Power of Focus by the guys who wrote the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Friday, June 11, 2010
SETTING GOALS - WHY AND HOW
This is a topic that I am passionate about because I have seen major differences in my life between the times I have had goals and the times I haven’t.
Here is one of my favorite stories. In 1953, a survey was done of recent Harvard graduates. 3% had really done the process of setting specific, measurable goals, including putting them in writing. 10% had partly set some goals and 87% had not worked on goal setting. In 1973, they surveyed these people again and found that, in the measurable areas, the 3% had accomplished more than the 97%. Their net worth was as much in total as the 97%! This is an amazing statistic. While success can’t be measured just in dollars, the fact that they were able to accomplish so much more financially is a good indicator that the other areas of their lives were more productive also. Goal setting works! It works, if you set clear, specific, measurable goals in writing and then work at achieving them.
Beginning in 2004, I added one simple yet highly effective step to my goals program. I wrote in my daily planner at the first of each month these words. Re-read goals! This has kept me on track, reminded me of things I had neglected and allowed me to accomplish more than ever before. This illustrates one of the reasons why goal setting can make such a huge difference in what we accomplish. If we set goals AND keep them clearly in mind, then we find blocks of time to work on those goals. Also, when we get sidetracked, which we will, the written goals help us get back on track much sooner.
A good definition of a goal is the ongoing pursuit of a worthy objective until accomplished.
Remember these 10 things when setting your goals:
1) Your most important goals must be yours - not what someone else wants you to do.
2) Your goals must be meaningful - really important to you, you are willing to work hard to make it happen.
3) Your goals must be specific and measurable - so you know when you finish.
4) Your goals must be flexible - you need the freedom to adjust if something much better comes along. Be careful not to chase too many new ideas at once - keep your focus on a limited number of goals.
5) Your goals must be challenging and exciting - we limit ourselves if goals become boring and too easy, stretch your comfort zone sometimes.
6) Your goals must be consistent with your values - you don’t want to be reaching for goals that you don’t believe are right.
7) Your goals must be well balanced - set goals for all areas of your life including spiritual, family, work, leisure, etc.
8) Your goals must be realistic - things frequently take more time than we think due to setbacks, unexpected life changes, new goals and challenges.
9) Your goals must include giving something back - both money and time.
10) Your goals need to be supported - go public with some goals to give you some pressure to succeed, keep some to yourself for quiet satisfaction and share some only with a few select people who you trust and who will support and encourage you thru the tough parts.
This is a topic that I am passionate about because I have seen major differences in my life between the times I have had goals and the times I haven’t.
Here is one of my favorite stories. In 1953, a survey was done of recent Harvard graduates. 3% had really done the process of setting specific, measurable goals, including putting them in writing. 10% had partly set some goals and 87% had not worked on goal setting. In 1973, they surveyed these people again and found that, in the measurable areas, the 3% had accomplished more than the 97%. Their net worth was as much in total as the 97%! This is an amazing statistic. While success can’t be measured just in dollars, the fact that they were able to accomplish so much more financially is a good indicator that the other areas of their lives were more productive also. Goal setting works! It works, if you set clear, specific, measurable goals in writing and then work at achieving them.
Beginning in 2004, I added one simple yet highly effective step to my goals program. I wrote in my daily planner at the first of each month these words. Re-read goals! This has kept me on track, reminded me of things I had neglected and allowed me to accomplish more than ever before. This illustrates one of the reasons why goal setting can make such a huge difference in what we accomplish. If we set goals AND keep them clearly in mind, then we find blocks of time to work on those goals. Also, when we get sidetracked, which we will, the written goals help us get back on track much sooner.
A good definition of a goal is the ongoing pursuit of a worthy objective until accomplished.
Remember these 10 things when setting your goals:
1) Your most important goals must be yours - not what someone else wants you to do.
2) Your goals must be meaningful - really important to you, you are willing to work hard to make it happen.
3) Your goals must be specific and measurable - so you know when you finish.
4) Your goals must be flexible - you need the freedom to adjust if something much better comes along. Be careful not to chase too many new ideas at once - keep your focus on a limited number of goals.
5) Your goals must be challenging and exciting - we limit ourselves if goals become boring and too easy, stretch your comfort zone sometimes.
6) Your goals must be consistent with your values - you don’t want to be reaching for goals that you don’t believe are right.
7) Your goals must be well balanced - set goals for all areas of your life including spiritual, family, work, leisure, etc.
8) Your goals must be realistic - things frequently take more time than we think due to setbacks, unexpected life changes, new goals and challenges.
9) Your goals must include giving something back - both money and time.
10) Your goals need to be supported - go public with some goals to give you some pressure to succeed, keep some to yourself for quiet satisfaction and share some only with a few select people who you trust and who will support and encourage you thru the tough parts.
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