We have spent the past two weeks discussing portfolio analysis in great depth here on Profit. Value. Life. Now we will take a look at some portfolio analysis case studies. First, I introduced the benefits of portfolio analysis: greater margin—in both profit and life. Next, I described the process for performing a portfolio analysis: use…
As discussed in my last post, the chief goals of performing an in-depth portfolio analysis are to gain insight into ways to optimize a business and its profit margins. Net profit margin is a percentage calculated by dividing pre-tax net income by revenue. That percentage is an average of each customer’s profit margin, each product/service’s profit…
Far too many business owners suffer from a lack of time.The business takes everything they have in terms of time and energy. They run from one fire to another – doing their best to put them out quickly. There is no spare time; there is no spare energy. They lack margin. The company owns them. Because…
Wage inflation is alive and well. You have identified a need to raise prices, and you have decided that it is the best time to do so for your company. What can you do to ensure that the price increase is a success? The first step is to determine your new pricing. Some companies raise prices…
The costs for raw materials are up. Health insurance costs continue to climb. Labor is in short supply which typically means wages will go up. As of the US Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary report released on June 5th, 2018, there are now more jobs available than people looking for work. According to…
Preparing a budget does not have to be laborious. I hated wasted time; I also hate spending a lot of time on budgets. That view might strike some of you as strange given that it comes from a CFO (Chief Financial Officer). But the truth is that budgets do not have to take a long…
I hate wasted time. How about you? I always seem to have more things to do with my time than time to do them. I figure I could fill two or three lifetimes with what I would like to do—in business and for pleasure. It is that time of year where every good…
I do not know about you, but I have learned the hard way that it is easier for someone to interview well than it is for him to perform well in his job. How does this realization help me? It helps me remain a skeptic throughout the hiring process. No longer do I “fall in…
True story: No one in my family knows what I do. I have been married for more than 30 years, and my in-laws still do not know what I do. It turns out that they are not the only ones. The world of accounting and finance seems to be a mystery to most people,…
Many businesses fail because they fail to consider 3 important cash flow factors when they answer 2 fundamental strategic questions in strategic planning