Today we turned our attention to a topic that is very dear to my heart and my wallet since it cost me a million dollars. When I was running my business I thought I could rely on bookkeepers and accountants to do the financial statements and tell me what I needed to know-I was wrong- when I sold my last company I realized in the due diligence phase that I did not understand what every number meant on the balance sheet and income statement. I didn’t even know what a cash flow statement was and it cost me dearly. We have a series of guests to help us understand the numbers and the implications of not understanding the numbers.
Ron Schinik from Crownbrook Capital , a New York based investment group. Crownbrook Capital LLC acquires majority interests in privately held micro-cap and lower middle market companies with operating cash flow (EBITDA) of $1.5 million to $5 million. Ron has alot of initials like a BA, MBA and CPA which means he knows what he is talking about. We discussed:
1. What does a small business owner need to understand about financial statements? Why is it important?
What are the most important statements?
2. Why understanding the statements is so important in running and building the value of your company.
Jeff Gendreau leads the “attest” practice of the Minneapolis office Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP and has worked in public accounting since 1990. Jeff is a licensed CPA in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and California. Prior to joining Virchow Krause in 2006, he was a Director with a national accounting firm. We talked about first what does the word attest mean plus:
1. How financial statements are “the language of business”.
2. The fundamentals of financial statement analysis.
3. How to avoid the “Made Off” scenario.
Bob Okabe has been involved with early stage enterprises on multiple levels for well over a decade. As a co-founder of RPX Group in 2002. He helps develop the firm’s strategy and has led many of their largest and most successful engagements. Prior to joining RPX Group, Bob gained operating experience at a growing small business as CFO for a privately-held leasing company. He completed numerous debt, equity, M&A, and advisory assignments for entrepreneurial and venture backed companies during his twelve year career as an investment banker at BancAmerica Robertson Stephens, Lehman Brothers, and Kidder, Peabody
I have know Bob for along time and he is always the smartest guy in the room
We discussed:
1. What are the most common misconceptions about financial statements?
2. Are there simple metrics a small business person can use to tell if he/she is doing well?
3. How should I present my financial statements to lenders and investors?
Syble Solomon is executive coach for corporate, small business and non-profit clients since 1995.
She is the creator of Money Habitudes—a deck of cards that helps people see what motivates the way they manage their money and how that influences their career and business decisions as well as relationships and finances. We talked about:
1. What is a money habitude and why do we care?
2. How do our habits and attitudes about money impact running or financing a business?
Ken Easton is the award winning business author of “$urviving Your Business Debt”. A former. US. Marine, he has 38 years in the business finance and consulting fields. We discussed:
1. What can a business owner do, in this credit crunch, when he receives a 30-day Demand pay off letter from his lender?
2. What if a borrower is not have any luck at all trying to attract a bank for continued business financing.
3. When a business provides a lender with “collateral” why does the business person have to provide a personal guarantee as well?
4. Can the business owner get other entities to additionally guarantee his business loan?
Tania Gabrielle, Celebrity Numerologist, and Author counsels thousands of clients and businesses worldwide. Corporations turn to her for brand names, logos, launch dates and product titles. Her unique approach utilizes three sources of Numerology – Ancient Chaldean, Pythagorean and Ancient Egyptian. She is renowned for her ability to read names and numbers and explain hidden messages behind current events.
We talked about:
1. How do you counsel corporations and entrepreneurs using numerology
2. Examples of famous brand names that resulted in challenges and why.
3. Why Google and Coca Cola are the Number 1 brand names and what was the original name of Google!
4. The secret behind good and bad slogans.
5. Choosing the best date to launch your product, business or website.
Hey Barry, great advice getting the smartest guy in the room on your team. Entrepreneurs always have to hire people smarter than them, especially in specific disciplines like finance. That’s their specialty, so let them run with it!
Phoemneanl breakdown of the topic, you should write for me too!
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