Verbal Communication - Speaking So Someone Will Listen
By SueCanyon | September 2, 2007
More important than written communication is verbal communication. Speaking in such a way that another understands what we mean, and understanding what is meant when someone speaks to us, are two elements crucial to the effective performance of our work each day. Read more »
Topics: Pocket Mentor, For Your Employees, Partners, General | No Comments »
Buying a Business Part II - Is There Enough Cash Flow to Make the Payments AND Run the Business?
By SueCanyon | September 1, 2007
Many businesses are offered for sale by the owner as ‘so-much down and so-much a month for so-long’. One of the biggest failure mechanisms for small business is buying into a business that is Read more »
Topics: Other Mistakes, Buying a Business, Cash Flow | No Comments »
Writing That Gets Results
By SueCanyon | August 30, 2007
I recently visited with a client who had reason to write a letter to one of his long-time customers. He was angry about some changes that had been made and was looking for an explanation and relief from some of the changes. He asked me to review his letter. His final draft, prior to my review, might have served to end his relationship with this customer. Read more »
Topics: Pocket Mentor, For Your Employees, Other Mistakes | No Comments »
Don’t Stray From Your Niche Part II
By SueCanyon | August 28, 2007
So, you’ve saturated the market with your best product, or someone has talked you into another product that will ‘sell like weeds’, or you’ve just gotten bored and think a new approach will breathe new life into your business. Apply some strategic sense to the new venture, product, or market by Read more »
Topics: Other Mistakes, General | No Comments »
Don’t Stray Too Far From Your Niche or Your Cash Flow May Suffer
By SueCanyon | August 27, 2007
You’ve heard the adage, ‘define your niche, and work it’? As businesses grow, I have noticed a clear tendency to stray from this strategy. And while there are many legitimate reasons to do so, be careful that you don’t dynamite your cash flow as a result. Read more »
Topics: Cash Flow, General | No Comments »
Buying a Business Part I - ALWAYS have a Formal Partnership Agreement
By SueCanyon | August 24, 2007
One of my long-time clients sold one of his businesses last year to two gentlemen; one, a family member who was to run the operation side, and the other, a fellow who was very capable of running the business side.
Yet, even though I fairly insisted that they work out a partnership agreement between them, they came to sign the deal without one. That day, they were so anxious to get the purchase agreements signed that they were not to be stopped, so I knew that the day was not to be celebrated as an end to a long process of negotiation, but rather would be the beginning of a long and painful process of arguments and legal fees for both the partners and the seller of the business. And so it has been… Read more »
Topics: Buying a Business, Partners | No Comments »
What Does it Take to Land One of Those Elusive Bank Loans?
By SueCanyon | August 14, 2007
Lately, I’ve been getting many questions about what to put in a loan package. It seems as if the Small Business Administration once again has a great deal of money right now to back loans to small businesses, so there are many banks pushing their loan programs. So, even though there is a great deal more information on the subject of getting loans in my Profit Power Action Pack Series, I thought I would touch on some important factors now.There are three things you must know about getting loans. Read more »
Topics: Cash Flow, General | No Comments »
24 Rules by Which to Live and Prosper in Business
By SueCanyon | August 11, 2007
GoDaddy has been my website host for more than two years. They do an excellent job of providing the services I need, develop new services, the products work well, and the customer service is very good. While I was on hold with them a couple of days ago, I noticed a button on their main site that led me to a blog written by the owner of GoDaddy, Bob Parsons. In it he shares his 16 rules for success in business and in life. In them, he has captured the essence of entrepreneurship.
I offer his 16 and eight of my own here to you. Read more »
Topics: General | No Comments »
You Deserve to Earn a Paycheck Along With Your Employees!
By SueCanyon | August 8, 2007
You may find that I say this quite often, “You deserve to get paid!” Well you do, don’t you? Read more »
Topics: General | No Comments »
Harvard asks, “Which is Better for the Ecomony, Success or Failure?”
By SueCanyon | July 28, 2007
Welcome to the new Sue Canyon Blog. Here you will find experiences that I have had with small business owners, bankers, vendors, customers, employees, and other interested parties over my long career in business repair.
We’re migrating here from blog.suecanyon.com, and will be doing so for a few weeks. Please have patience as not everything is working at the publication of this entry. Also, you may find entries both here and at the old site. Once we’ve moved all the entries, I will begin again writing more incredible articles for you, the courageous entrepreneur.
Below, you’ll find the first article I published nearly a year ago. I hope you enjoy the series.
Not long ago, there was a press release that announced a joint study by Harvard Business School and The Kauffman Foundation about an error in the government’s new formula for calculating small business bankruptcies. The study stated that the number of bankruptcies is understated by a very high percentage. It said that all companies that are sole-proprietors or S-Corps that fail are tied to personal bankruptcies in the government’s new formula rather than to business statistics.
http://www.kauffman.org/research.cfm?itemID=667
This is not surprising. But what caught me off guard was the conclusion made by these formidable gentlemen about the new bankruptcy laws. Read more »
Topics: General, Government | No Comments »