Cash Flow Advice

America's debt default averted - Financially Greece is now in a better state!

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Mon, 1 Aug 2011 15:36:00 +0100

Today the U.S. has agreed to increase the level of debt owed per head of population to a staggering $48,000, and avert defaulting on repayment of it's debt, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders announced the agreement on emergency legislation last night, lifting a dark cloud that had threatened to rain down untold damage on a US economic recovery. So rather than default on the national debt which no doubt would have serious ramifications around the world the US has decided to increase it's own overdraft facility. Interestingly the Markets around the world responded positively to the news. The increased debt facility should gives the government enough wriggle room to allow it to function normally until the next general election.

So American debt per head of population is now greater that the $43,000 of Greece and in getting close to double the UK debt of $26,000.

WARNING: Asking for an increased overdraft facility is unlikely to work with your bank. You would be a lot better off focusing on Finding Cash in Your Business, handle it better and look for the golden opportunities it creates. Click the link to see how!

Apple to release OS X Lion a Cash game changer

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:25:00 +0100

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion release will set the cat among the pigeons ... but why should you be interested? For the first time Apple will release a new operating system only as a digital download available from it's online app store. Overnight this will dismantle the software reseller market and rebuild a direct sales channel to Apple’s customers. Obviously this will adversely affect companies that used to create and distribute the DVDs for the Operating System. A grave impact could be felt by the business plan of PC World, best buy etc. as software manufacturers make the move to digital download only.

Putting to one side the technical difficulties in deploying a 4gigabit download, from design to delivery no physical touch is required, and the speed of product deployment is vastly improved as postage and packing becomes irrelevant.

More importantly the Cash implications are huge as the lead to Cash has just come down from weeks to minutes. Reseller bad debt has become extinct, and to top it all that Apple will be selling the software with an eye watering profit margin approaching close to 100%, once it recovers it’s development costs, which could happen within days of the release.

The release of OS X Lion is a Cash game changer it should make you stop and think about the way you handle Cash in your Business. Remember, it's all about Finding Cash in Your Business, handling it well and looking for the golden opportunities it creates.

Phone hacking and the real costs

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Thu, 7 Jul 2011 10:43:00 +0100

Up to March 2010, the News of the World newspaper published by News Group Newspapers, owned by News International and running almost 40% of newspapers in the UK, had spent over £2 million settling court cases with victims of phone hacking. Today New International announced the closure of the News of the World paper after 168 years with the potential loss of up to 200 jobs.

The cost to the News of the World pales into insignificance when you consider that over the last few days the parent company Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has seen its share price drop a few percentage points wiping over a billion dollars of it's market cap.

The closure is more likely connected with the share price drop, advertisers withdrawing their support from other newspapers in the group, increased scrutiny over journalism going forward, and news international's bid to own BSkyB outright, than the real cost measured in the additional suffering phone hacking has caused to individuals, relatives and friends.

Have a listen to the Cash in your Business podcast and see how your business can benefit from the 10 vital signs of life.

Wimbledon Centre Court Nadal V Murray in the Cash growth Semi Final

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:09:00 +0100

Let's look at the financial prize stats to date and see if we can serve up any conclusions on the outcome of the match (Wimbledon 2011) Andy Murray has played 391 Career tennis matches of those he has won 289 and lost 102 and in the process has earned himself $16million USD that works out at an average of $41,000 for each game played. Rafael Nadal has played 625 Career tennis matches of those he has won 517 and lost 108 and in the process has earned himself $42million USD that works out at an average of $67,000 for each game played.

So it looks like it's all over for the Scot until you challenge recent baseline performance with hawk eye. Year to date Murray has played 30 career tennis matches of those he has won 22 and lost 8 and in the process has earned himself $2million USD that works out at an average of $67,000 for each game played. Year to date Nadal has played 52 career tennis matches of those he has won 45 and lost 7 and in the process has earned himself $4.3 million USD that works out at an average of $83,000 for each game played. So Nadal PLC is expected to win until you look at the prize earnings growth.

The earnings growth for Murray PLC has increased by $26,000 over the average baseline figure of $41,000 as compared to Nadal's increase of $16,000 over his average baseline serve of $67,000. So there you have it invest in Nadal PLC for a powerful serve and a nice stable return or Murray PLC for a vastly improved baseline serve, a speedy return and a potential future winner.

Finally, use your head. Nothing in this post is intended to replace common sense, and as you can imagine Cash prize money is only a part of a Players income. But the question remains how do others perceive your companies growth potential? Remember, it's all about Finding Cash in Your Business, handling it well and looking for the golden opportunities it creates.

The Greek Tragedy

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:14:00 +0100

The Greek government employs 1/3 of the population. It has the highest budget deficit in the EU. In monetary terms it spends approx. $45Billion per annum more than it raises in taxes, and it's debt mountain stands at about $544 billion. A new loan package of a further circa 120 billion euro over three years is currently being considered by the IMF. So not surprisingly any additional loans come with very strong caveats. On 13 June 2011, Standard and Poors lowered the Greek sovereign debt credit rating to "CCC', which means: vulnerable, dependent on current economic situation!

If the outstanding debt is restructured delaying repayment further the credit agencies will rate the Greek government bonds as Junk, which means that the lenders are not expected to get anything like the face value back. It's all very well getting a loan but the debt problem has not gone away, the deficit has not gone away and in fact the problem has now been compounded with high interest payments.

The next few weeks will be critical to the future of the eurozone. Here are some potential consequences of the a Greek sovereign debt default. The so called PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) will struggle to raise any additional funding at favourable rates. A number of banks including the bank of Cypress could go bust, "flag of convenience" shipping and holidaying in Greece could become much cheaper.

But here is the billion dollar question "why are the eurozone heavy weights like Germany and France not throwing themselves behind more loans to Greece at more favourable rates?" Could it be that the eurozone has reached the tipping point, and it is now better for the eurozone if Greece just slipped away? Ask yourself the question how long could you run a business in deficit? The key to surviving the global credit crunch is to look for cash in your Business, find it, handle it well and look for the golden opportunities it creates. Finding Cash in Your Business

Are you up to your waist in quotes?

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:42:00 +0100

Cutting costs and improving Cash Flow is where all small businesses need to be right now. The big question is where do you start?

Recently the owner of a small business said to me I am quoting for more business opportunities than ever before, converting less, constantly running short of time and my costs keep going up.

He then showed me into his office where ring binders full of quotes that had not converted to orders were stacked in waist height piles, taking up valuable floor space. May I first say that these guys were experts at filling quotes, with a keen eye for methodical approach, and if that had been their core business they would have been very profitable. Mentally I could see cash sticking out of the ring binders and falling onto the floor. He asked me the obvious question why have I lost out on so many quotes? His business was a car body repair shop and rather than provide an answer to a subject I knew nothing about. I asked him to indulge me as we started to evaluate how much money he had invested in creating the stacks of quotes.

The results were staggering in one year alone he had investing about two years wages, which had ultimately feed through to his bottom line costs and explained why he was busier without seeing any improvement in cash flow.

Small businesses cannot afford the luxury of doing “business as usual” in a recessionary environment it is critical to re-evaluate how your business operates.

Improve your Company's Cash Flow now! Episode 6 Finding Cash in Your Business

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:18:00 GMT

The podcast that helps you find Cash in your Business: On this episode we answer the question what is SG&A. The featured segment ‘Improve your Company's Cash Flow now!' by using your internal accounts, and how that helps to pinpoint areas for improvement. Our regular Cash in quick tip... and a true story to stop your Ship from sinking. And a special offer.

The aftershock of the Japanese Tsunami

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:07:00 GMT

Last Friday an 8.9 earthquake caused a Tsunami to land on part of the Japanese coastline. Tsunami comes from the Japanese language and means harbour wave. This wave destroyed everything in its wake for up to 10km inland, as it travelled at the cruising speed of a jetliner and pounded the land with a wall of sludge and debris.

When the 3rd largest economy in the world gets hit we all feel the aftershock. One days trading in the UK saw £30B wiped of the value of FTSE shares, and insurance claims against British companies are expected to be of the same magnitude. Supply of Japanese high tech specialist parts have now become hard to come by, and sales of luxury exports into Japan have plummeted. Japan is now expected to stay in recession and its trade deficit to increase.

Added to this the potential for a nuclear meltdown as radiation continues to leaks from Japan’s nuclear plants, and you can see why throughout the world people are asking questions about our reliance on Nuclear fuel.

But all this pales into insignificance when you consider the magnitude of the loss of life and human suffering. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people at this time.

www.craigscopy.com I Module 1 Cash Flow Formula

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 14:42:00 GMT

Don't miss out. This is part 1 of the Series that has changed the way literally thousands of people understand how cash flow works. Just look at the viewing figures!

It's all about ... Ways to find Cash you didn't know you had, and attract cash you didn't know you needed.

www.craigscopy.com I Module 1 Cash Flow Formula V1.3

View more presentations from Craig’s Copy.

Your Company's Health check. Episode 5 Finding Cash in Your Business

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 8 Mar 2011 01:02:00 GMT

The podcast that helps you find Cash in your Business: On this episode we answer the question what is a Business plan. The featured segment ‘Measuring your Company’s health’, and we are going to provide the 10 vital signs to look out for. Our regular Cash in quick tip. Explain why you should be interested in Market perception, Accounting irregularities and the memory boosting CASH acronym. And a special offer.

'7 areas where companies bleed cash' Episode 4 Finding Cash in Your Business

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:42:00 GMT

The podcast that helps you find Cash in your Business: On this episode you can look forward to an explanation of the terms Profit and Loss. The featured segment ‘7 areas where companies bleed Cash’, and at what cost a blood transfusion comes. The Cash in quick tip. An introduction to help you understand the business’s Working Capital Cycle, and why improving it benefits the bottom line, and a quick look at loans. And a special offer.

How to beat the competition. Episode 3 Finding Cash in Your Business

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:38:00 GMT

The podcast that helps you find Cash in your Business: On this episode you can look forward to an explanation of the terms Liquidity. The featured story to get you thinking about beating the competition. The Cash in quick tip. An introduction to competitive analysis, the Current Ratio and the Acid test. And a special offer.

Generate more Cash from existing turnover. Episode 2 of the Finding Cash in your Business Podcast Series

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Wed, 9 Feb 2011 15:27:00 GMT

The podcast that helps you find Cash in your Business: On this episode you can look forward to an explanation of the terms Working Capital, Free cash flow and EBITDA. The featured story to get you thinking about generating more cash from existing turnover. The Cash in quick tip. An introduction to time lag and the value of Cash flow forecasting. And our special offer.

Having too many customers can break you

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Mon, 7 Feb 2011 17:30:00 GMT

What many businesses don't get, is that the customer acquisition and maintenance cost are normally far greater, than the money the customer will spend with you on their first sale.

On average a business need to bring each customer back at least 5 times before they will begin to generate a profit and become good quality Cash customers.

One business I looked at had just over 700 customers, but was struggling to sell into their customer base.

Initially I asked for a historical list of how much each customer had spent with the company.
My next question was how many customers regularly do business with the company. Of the 700 only 70 regularly did business with the company.
Now comes the crucial question ‘of the 70 how many pay their bills on time or at all?’ now we are down to 30.
I then asked for credit ratings for the 30 left and that brought the number of good Cash customers down to 20.

The company had made the fatal mistake of not understanding the cost of customer acquisition and maintenance. The expectation was that all customers are equal and so they were shared out equally amongst the sales staff.

The average business spends 6 times more trying to win a new customer, than it does generating new business from an existing customer.

In recognition of this fact the solution required a combination of reducing the size of the sales team and providing a more appropriate level of account management.

The company now focuses on supporting the top 20 accounts with sales executives. The other 680+ accounts are managed by a combination of a telesales team and the bailiffs.

A typical fully loaded Sales Executive cost to the business was £100,000 and there were 30 in the team including managers. Each sales executive handled over 20 customers. The business was spending around £3m supporting customers who had no intention of buying. In fact only 1 out of every 35 customers was worth supporting.
Contrary to popular opinion creating a smaller Sales team increased motivation, productivity, salary and sales. The new smaller team had a reduced management overhead and had improved the profit from existing turnover by around 7%.
The Sales executives had more time to spend with each of their customers that meant they delivered a better quality of service and this in turn encouraged the customer to place more orders.
It was true that the business had redeployed staff but by doing so it focused on creating a better staff moral and secured the jobs of all that remained.

The business was now running much more efficiently, it has seen an on-going improvement to turnover, and is in a much better place to manage the growth of the sales team going forward.

Why demographics matter

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Wed, 9 Jun 2010 14:06:00 +0100

The day of 7 Billion is expected to arrive in July 2012. In 1804 the world’s population was 1 Billion to reach 2 Billion it took 123 years, right now it takes about 12 years to add 1 Billion people to the planet. The good news for Internet shopkeepers is that Thomas Malthus prediction in 1798 that the world would run out of food in the 19^th Century has not come true and there could be a lot more customers arriving in the shop shortly.

So how can demographics affect the way I do business? Developed countries have stable population and in the case of Europe a decline in population is expected soon. The world’s population growth will be concentrated in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Western companies need to start to understand that young people and new customers will come from these emerging markets.

By 2025, India is expected to have the largest population in the world. Ethiopia with 140m will have the 9^th largest population in the world. Infrastructure, communications, medicines etc. all need supporting. So what’s your strategy for reaching the emerging marketplace?

If you don't have one, isn’t it time your company committed to working one out?

Marathon Running and the cash comparison

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 11:25:00 GMT

A friend of mine, Keith Cluderay, is a Marathon winner and Olympic trainer. He told me an interesting story last week. At some point when you are running a Marathon you run out of energy, your body just can't store enough fuel. I kid you not the running terminology is "bonking", some people call it the wall. Your body's fuel store has been completely depleted, and your body needs to break down fat into energy to keep running. Interestingly just before you bonk you are running at your best, I guess you are like a car coasting. As suddenly as a click of the fingers your speed drops and you feel terrible.

Back to our story. Keith was 2 miles off finishing the Marathon and looking like coming in second when the front runner suddenly slowed down and just as Keith became level with him, he said in a low strained voice "go on Keith win the race!" Even after 24 gruelling miles and almost spent that small encouragement played a huge part in providing just the boost he needed ... and Keith won the race.

The analogy with Cash is startling you may have covered most of your route to Market but are you running low on funds? What Cash boost do you need to come over the line?

Have you missed out a key part of your Sales Strategy

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Wed, 3 Mar 2010 14:53:00 GMT

Business survival strategy, Three Buckets and the forces of Hell unleashed

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:46:00 GMT

Forces of Hell
On the 31st July 2008 the UK Chancellor Alistair Darling famously gave an interview where he said that Britain’s economic conditions were “arguably the worst they have been for 60 years”. Alistair's has since gone on record as saying that "the forces of hell were unleashed" after his frank warning of the economic storm ahead from all political parties. Surprisingly Alistair is still Chancellor and I can't help wondering isn't it time you were honest with yourself and started to work out your company's survival strategy to combat the worst recession since the war.

Building your Business's survival strategy
You can start to build your own business survival strategy by using Three Bucket workshop approach detailed below to build your very own survival strategy.

The Three Bucket workshop
Get your management team in a room and tell them the War cabinet is now in session all communication with the outside world has is now cut off. My preference would be to appoint a facilitator and meet at the weekend to keep the meeting relaxed and interruption free. Get three buckets and label them 50%, 75% and Core.

There are the 5 stages to complete this process and the battle is about to commence.
Stage 1. This is probably the most boring bit, but it may also be a revelation as to how your management team are spending their time. Write down the names of all of your products, services, innovations, departments and functions. This could be done on post-it notes, pieces of paper or a white board. Document and distribute the list to each member, leaving space at the bottom in case new areas are unearthed.

Stage 2. The first bomb has just been dropped on your customer base and you have lost 50% of your customers revenues as a consequence. What does your business need to stop doing to keep in business afloat?

Based on the list (If an your team think of new areas not already covered in the original list just add them to everyones list, the more the better). Ask each individual to write down, on a separate pieces of paper, everything your business would need stop doing to keep profitable. Put the pieces of paper in the bucket marked 50%.

Stage 3. A second bomb has just been dropped and you have lost another 25% of your customers revenues as a consequence, so in total your revenues have dropped by 75%. Now what does your business need to stop doing to keep in business afloat?
Based on the list (again if your team think of new areas not already covered in the original list keep adding them to everyones list). Ask your team to write down, on individual pieces of paper, everything your business would need stop doing to keep profitable. Put the pieces of paper in the bucket marked 75%.

Stage 4. Ask you team to look at the items that they have left from the list Those that remain should be considered as core Business, and the remaining items should be put in the core bucket.

Stage 5. Up to this stage the team have individually decided on which items go in the buckets. Now the fun and games commence. Create an inventory of the items that have been placed in each bucket.

Start with 50% bucket and the the highest word count and discuss and agree as a team that it is placed in the right bucket
Now look at the 75% bucket and the the highest word count and discuss and agree as a team that it is placed in the right bucket.
Lastly look at the Core bucket and the the highest word count and discuss and agree as a team that it is placed in the right bucket.

The core bucket now contains the Business's reason to exist and the things that you should never stop doing. The 75% bucket is the buffer that captures items that are controversial, and for the time being can be left alone. The 50% bucket contains clear guidance as to the things you should stop doing.

Confident?
After this exercise is completed you will feel confident of your survival strategy, However, watch out for the sword of Damocles, before you stop items qualify your findings with hard financial evidence. Your Survival strategy is now both agreed by top management and qualified. What you have achieved in a day is something that most organisations will never arrive at. You have created a Survival strategy, a sense of urgency, and a focus that can direct the actions of your management team to weather the financial storm ahead. www.craigscopy.com "Money talks just listen."

The Celebrity Pacer - and how you can generate more cash from existing turnover

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:43:00 GMT

You are running in a pack of 52,000 people and you hear someone say that a celebrity is behind you, and the ripple effect of voices spreads the news. People are stumbling as they rubber neck the celeb. You turn, glance, not to stare just to make sure you know what they look like without the makeup and see if the camera has been lying. She does look a lot smaller in real life. At the same time those tightly bunched around you do the same and give each other a knowing glance. Proof positive, you can now confirm it actually is her and she sweats just like you. She is running the Great North Runs 13.1miles just like you. You and those around her are elated you have a new spring in your step and she is running just like you. If she can do it you can too, after all she is running just like you and this could be your chance to be on TV.

Here is where I burst your bubble. That celeb is not running just like you – you see unlike you they have an anonymous helper, the pacer, who’s job is to stay incognito and harness all that the celebrity can do and make it go further. We all have our natural limits those that we are comfortable with. The pacer takes those limits and uses his experience to focus effort on achieving the required goals. Next time you see a celeb run pay attention to the runner next to them who hasn’t even broken sweat and remind yourself with the right help that could be you.

You can generate more cash from existing turnover; all you need is the right focus.

The Banks have gone to the Races

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Mon, 8 Feb 2010 11:29:00 GMT

The Banks are gambling with our money at the races, analysing your racing form and only placing bets if they feel you have a strong chance of coming home amongst the top runners.

Whilst money was in good supply the Banks took a positive view on Risk and had few issues providing loans. Now cash is limited the Banks have had to create new lending criteria. As a business you are no longer being judged on your own Business’s performance, or your ability to service your debt, you are being judged against the competition.

I spoke to a Company recently have a loan of £200m I asked how they were being treated by the Bank and was told that the Bank loved them. You see the first £20m from their profits, in fact nearly all the profit, pays the interest on the debt. However, this love relationship will only lasts as long as they service the debt, if they fail to pay the interest on the loan - they change from being an asset to a liability and the Bank will call time on the loan, and place their bet elsewhere.

Where do I go from here?

To reduce your reliance on the Bank and increase your chance of survival sign up for the free email updates and the “The finding Cash in your business Podcast".

Recent research has shown that in 72% of occasions Fund Managers charging about 2% fail to beat the market. So if the 'experts' fail to back the winner in the majority of cases isn't it about time you took an active interest in managing the Cash in your business?

Introduction to the Finding Cash in your Business Podcast Series

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:23:00 GMT

The podcast that helps you find Cash in your Business: On this episode we are going to provide a guide of what you can expect to learn by listening to the podcast. An explanation of the term credit crunch. A story to get you thinking about the value of money in your business. The Cash in quick tip. Seven areas where you’ll find cash buried in your business and the seven building blocks where the money is hidden. And a special offer for our listeners.

Finding Cash can be exciting

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:53:00 GMT

For more Free Cash Flow Advice head over to www.CraigsCopy.com

Craig's Copy website introduction

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:44:00 GMT

For more Free Cash Flow Advice head over to www.CraigsCopy.com

Finding Cash in your Business ebook

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:12:00 GMT

The idea for this book arose from a desire to clear away the mystique of Cash Management, make you aware of its importance especially as we live through the Global recession, and provide you with the tools to better manage the Cash in Your Business.

Cash is the lifeblood of any business and this book provides insight, guidance and the steps to help you take a look under the skin of your business to reveal just how well the Cash is pumping through your company's arteries.

This book will help you find Cash you didn't know you had, and attract Cash you didn't know you needed.

For more Free Cash Flow Advice head over to www.CraigsCopy.com

Discover the Cash Flow Formula

craigscopy@gmail.com (Chris and Craig | Business Strategists) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:57:00 GMT

The Cash Flow Formula was developed after extensive research into understanding and improving the way businesses manage Cash. The circular wheel shown is the ‘aide memoire’ to help drive a systematic approach to analysing the cash flows within your business. Each of the segments in the circle are broken down in detail in the various resources available at www.CraigsCopy.com.