by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | Business Plans, Profit Improvement
Even the smartest small business owner can do dumb things now and then. Unfortunately, some mistakes can kill a company. Just ask Jeff Seifried, small business coordinator for the City of Aurora, Colo., and Peter Tourtellot, chairman of the Turnaround Management...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 17, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, Start-Ups, Strategy
(See attribution below.) Even the smartest small business owner can do dumb things now and then. Unfortunately, some mistakes can kill a company. Just ask Jeff Seifried, small business coordinator for the City of Aurora, Colo., and Peter Tourtellot, chairman of the...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Leadership, Management & Motivation, Sales Management, Start-Ups, Strategy
There are numerous lists of “ways to succeed in business” and many of them contain some words of valuable advice for every business owner. This article takes a different view — that of wanting to be sure a business turns up its heels and dies in the shortest possible...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 29, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting
Viewed historically, first there were bookkeepers and then there were accountants. Once the accountant’s qualifications became professionally recognized there was a fairly inflexible gap between the two roles that became pretty much the same worldwide. Particularly...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 29, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting
A business buys an off-the-shelf accounting system and proudly installs it, only to find after a few weeks that nobody knows how to use it, that it does not allow for unique data entry and does not meet the requirements specific to small business. It is going to cost...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
First let’s ask, does your firm have a credit policy? An amazing number of professional services firms don’t have one, or if they do it’s relatively haphazard. It’s essential that your firm has a credit policy and that it’s known and understood by every member of your...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 29, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting, Financial Ratios & Formulas
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Communications & Performance Reviews, Leadership, Management & Motivation, Sales Management, Strategy
Fewer than half of workers are committed to the goals of their organization. That’s the key finding in a survey by FranklinCovey of 12,182 U.S. workers conducted in late 2003 and released in March, 2004. The survey also showed that only 48% of workers believe their...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
While there’s no escape from preparing the financial information for a business plan, a step by step approach will help make the task less onerous. Similar to the overall business plan itself, the financial information should be divided into specific sections to...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 29, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Business Plans, Marketing Strategies, Performance Management, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
by Chris Hunter | Mar 28, 2016 | Delegation, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Nov 11, 2015 | Family Businesses
We often use the term “family business” without having a clear definition of just what a family business really is. Coming up with such a definition is more difficult than it might at first seem, but it would be helpful for any number of reasons. A...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
The best way to avoid overdue accounts is to avoid dealing with another firm’s slow paying customers. Almost every customer that’s going to be a problem for you is already a problem for somebody else. Does that mean never taking risks? Of course not. Every business...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 28, 2016 | Delegation, Leadership
Almost every business owner has too much to do and not enough time to do it in. But there is a solution – let your team members take some of the weight off your back by learning how to delegate effectively. Are you taking work home every night? Do jobs pile up when...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Operations
by Chris Hunter | Nov 22, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Nov 29, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting
by Chris Hunter | Nov 22, 2015 | Delegation, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Start-Ups, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 30, 2015 | Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Profit Improvement
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Business Development, Change Management
Ever calculated just how much you spend on software? Or does the thought of the money spent on IT to supposedly improve your business make you want to cringe? Here’s something even more cringe-worthy. Many businesses are obliged to invest heavily in new software to...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Management & Motivation
Management is always an interesting topic in the world of business. It’s something that some of us do better than others, and it requires a diverse set of skills that it never hurts to update or refresh. Unfortunately, it’s also an area that’s targeted by one fad...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Start-Ups, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Performance Management, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Operations, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Leadership, Project Management, Start-Ups, Strategy
Every firm needs a statement of its vision. A vision statement can be a unifying and motivating force for all team members – those who are part of the organization today and those who join in the months and years to come. If they are exposed to a bold and exciting...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 29, 2015 | Bookkeeping & Accounting, Cash Flow Management & Modeling
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Management & Motivation
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Plans, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
You’ll recognize the familiar way to tell an optimist from a pessimist. Give each a glass of water filled to the halfway point and ask them to describe it. The optimist says the glass is “half full”, the pessimist says it’s “half empty”. From this you can extrapolate...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 26, 2016 | General - Operations, Legal Issues
Ever since Orwell’s classic novel “1984” was published there’s been a growing sense that Big Brother may indeed be watching us. Walking along a city street, driving on a freeway, or even sitting at our desks there’s an increasing chance that someone could be looking...
Chris’ combination of academic credentials, career experience and temperament ideally suit his calling as a business development advisor. Clients say he has a mind for business and a heart for service.