The recent Silicon Valley Bank crisis sent ripples through the world of small businesses, startups, and venture capital. Thankfully, the crisis was mainly thwarted by getting bailed out and addressed by calls for regulation by the Biden administration. But it set enough investors on edge to recognize that it's not the first crisis to affect businesses, and it certainly won't be the last.
Women look to other female leaders to feel empowered as they break through glass ceilings and face various obstacles along the way. It's important for them to clear a path for other women as well. Women leaders often face challenges such as more responsibilities within their homes and at their jobs, and when serving as entrepreneurs, unequal access to venture capital. Let's hear from some of them for more motivation for us all.
When you own your own business, something always demands your attention. Whether it's troubleshooting office issues like internet outages, customer service challenges, or trying to get paid, entrepreneurship is a busy vocation. To grow your business, you may need to adjust your focus from putting out fires to looking at your business differently.
When you agree to do business with another company, the expectation is that you'll provide goods or services, and they'll pay in a timely manner. Providing the goods or services costs your company in overhead, salaries, expenses, and more. So what happens if your client doesn't pay on time or at all? Is there anything you can do to get paid or prevent late payments?
Financial statements are as important to business leaders as they are to investors. Working capital provides a financial snapshot of your business on the balance sheet - the difference between the company's current assets and its current liabilities. A cash flow statement offers insight into the expected cash generated over a certain period of time. Both cash flow and working capital affect each other and are valuable measurements of financial health.
When your business has a late-paying client, follow-up calls must be handled quickly and with conviction. Late or non-paying clients cause your business to write receivables off as bad debt, and they could cause the deterioration of your business relationships. Or you could escalate to a professional B2B collections agency that values your business relationships and your cash flow.
Does it actually cost more to attract new clients than keep current ones? That can only be decided when you consider the cost of your time and the value of your clients. Nevertheless, happy clients are usually your most loyal clients, and they'll likely recommend your goods and services to others. Let's identify strategies for keeping your existing B2B clients happy so you can maintain a strong, long-lasting business relationship and save money along the way.
As a business owner, it's important to stay on top of your accounts receivable, especially when it comes to business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Accounts receivable refers to the money that your clients owe your company for goods or services that have been provided but not yet paid for. B2B accounts receivable management can be a bit more complex than consumer (B2C) accounts receivable, so it's important to understand how to manage your accounts effectively.
As a business that works with other businesses, the expectation is that they'll pay for the goods and services you're providing. Unfortunately, delinquency and debt in business relationships is a very real, all-too-common problem. If you pay attention, there are glaring red flags that could provide clues that some clients could be problematic.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the number of accountants and university students that are studying accounting is falling. The long hours, especially during tax season, are turning off young recruits. Enterprise corporations are offering college credits and higher pay to entice more people into the field.
