The thing about Entrepreneurs is that they are often the opposite of Accountants. I’ve never come across an Entrepreneur who said “I’ve got this great idea, but I need to optimise the working capital cycle before going ahead”. They just say “I’ve got a great idea” and then just go for it- leaving the accountants.. read more →
There is something has been bothering me for years now and, going by recent experience, it is still an issue. I’ve seen it on far too many occasions and I’ve seen how damaging it is to small-to-medium businesses across the country. It is crazy but it keeps happening over and over again. What I’m talking.. read more →
Like most people reading this, I’m a bit of a fan of Dragon’s Den. So I was pleased to see that last night (October 3rd) the BBC was running one of the spin-off programs – “How to Win in the Den”. This particular episode featured, amongst others, Ling of Ling Car Leasing fame. As I.. read more →
Right now I’m in the middle of reading a great book by a friend of mine; Robert Copping: The Heart of Business Success – How to overcome the Catch-22s of growing your business It is available from Amazon right here In the book Robert explains that there are three key Catch-22s that collectively conspire against.. read more →
First of all, congratulations to Sue Acton at Bubble & Balm. Sue has successfully raised her full £75k target through Crowdcube. It is a brilliant achievement. To quote Crowdcube founder, Darren Westlake: “In the current climate with banks being risk averse, we are thrilled that Bubble & Balm has succeeded in getting vital growth investment.”.. read more →
‘Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is reality’ I’m guessing that you’ve heard this phrase before – but what does it mean in the real world: Well, I’ve seen too many businesses spending their time chasing low-margin orders, giving larger discounts, extending terms – all in the misguided belief that such activities would.. read more →
On January 6th, in my post about HMV, I commented that the issue for SMEs will be what happens if or when the insurers pull cover: When a big retailer sneezes it is the suppliers that catch the flu. The debt insurers will pull their cover. The banks will then pull any financing, discounting or.. read more →
Stationary money is of no value. It just sits there. Doing nothing. Achieving nothing. Rotting away as inflation eats into it. Money needs to move. Stretch its legs. Be exchanged for goods and services so that the next owner can then use it to do the same. My neighbour gets paid a bonus (and the.. read more →
As a postscript to my blog entry this morning, I thought I’d mention that just under three years ago there was a blog post about HMV on the Interactive Investor site : Is HMV in the ‘buggy whip’ business? A few quotes: I bought HMV thinking it would go on growing but the question now.. read more →
Another interesting article in the Telegraph has caught my eye: HMV profit warning: can it survive? Now, I am going to have to confess some pro-HMV bias here. I’ve been involved with them on a number of occasions over the last twenty-five years, I’ve had a beer or two with Mr Fox, and I even.. read more →