Part 1 - Balancing the Financial, Personal and Social Spokes
By Jane Boucher

If one of the spokes in your "wheel of life" is weak or missing, the ride is much more difficult. It takes a conscious effort to devote equal time to each of the "spokes." If you are unable to devote equal time, your life gets out of balance, which can result in confusion and chaos. Consider the first three primary areas that influence your "wheel of life:"

Financial / Career

In most cases, you have little control over the hours you spend working and commuting. Try to plan your activities with you’re your own wheel of life in mind. Focus on the areas of your life where you do have some control and flexibility. Don't let your job overshadow your time with your spouse and children. Don't allow your career to rob you of your emotional and physical health. Ask yourself the following questions:
 Does your job give you a sense of purpose?
 Do you feel that you are accomplishing something?
 Do you feel that your life has an impact?
 Does your job give you a sense of belonging?
 Does your job give you the opportunity to be recognized and appreciated?
 Does your job maximize your potential?
 Do you earn less than you could somewhere else, but your current job offers you a greater quality of life?

Personal

How do you know what you really want out of life? Most people are so busy that they don't take time to think about how they want to spend the rest of their life. Consider these ideas for a happier, healthier mental attitude:
 Be flexible.
 Tolerate frustration and uncertainty.
 Overcome your past, try not to be overwhelmed by the present and don't fear the future.
 Be open-minded and non-judgmental.
 Be willing to learn from others.
 Challenge traditional ways of doing things.
 Make decisions without being overly influenced by others.
 Be sensitive, empathetic, and aware of other people's thoughts, feelings and needs.

Social

The social part of the wheel of life has to do with your social conscience. What are you willing to give back to society and expect nothing in return? Are you associated with a cause or a group? Are you involved with your church, synagogue or temple? Do you support a political or human rights agenda? Have you taken time out of your busy schedule to help someone less fortunate than you? It's easy to feel sorry for yourself in today's crazy world. There is never enough time and always too much to do. One way to take your mind of off yourself is to find someone who is less fortunate than you are and help that person. If you don't feel grateful for what you have, find someone who has less - you'll be cured, right away.

Next month - Your Wheel of Life: The Spokes Support the Rim
Part 2 - Balancing the Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Spokes

Jane Boucher is a Master Business Coach and Certified Speaking Professional
Reach her at 937-416-9881 or jane@janeboucher.com.
www.janeboucher.com

As a business broker I am often asked the question, “Do I need a business broker to sell my business?”

The short answer is yes, but not for the reasons you may think!

The primary function of a business broker is to find a buyer for your business, help you determine the right price for the business, and to close the transaction. Business brokers often provide additional services such as advising on whether the sale should be structured as an asset or stock sale, provide assistance with financing, and to supervise the due diligence process. The business owner should make sure the broker is highly qualified to undertake the transaction because there are no established qualifications for brokers, and many brokers operate on a part-time basis.

But the real reason a business owner should hire a broker is because selling a business is very time consuming, and someone needs to guide the sale process while the business owner keeps the business performance strong. It has been my experience that deciding to sell a business is a very personal decision, and one of the toughest decisions an owner makes. But once decided, owners tend to let down mentally on the business because it is being sold. WRONG! The owner must keep the business performance strong during the sale process, or risk losing any potential sale. I have experienced transactions fall apart because the business is performing poorly during the sale process. And this is precisely the time when the business needs to be at its best!

So, if you have decided to sell your business, seek a qualified broker and trust the broker to guide the sale process while you keep the business performing strongly. This approach will help to maximize the sale process and the proceeds!


Bob Bowman
926 Goal Post Drive Dayton, OH 454548 P: 937-885-5548 F: 937-885-4254 C: 937-620-0859
email: rbowman18@woh.rr.com www.bowmancapitaladvisors.com

Some firms use compensatory time off to compensate employees for working more than their scheduled hours. For non-exempt employees compensatory time cannot be awarded to the employee in lieu of overtime, even if the employee requests it. The Ohio law is very clear that any time worked in excess of 40 hours in seven consecutive work days must be compensated at overtime rates. Substituting time off in another time period does not comply with the law.

Also be very careful with part time employees who could trigger eligibility for benefits or trip your headcount into the Affordable Care Act mandatory health care rules. Allowing an employee to work more than 30 hours in a week could unintentionally activate these benefits. And you might not realize the error for some time which would compound penalties.

There are tricky areas of compensation law that should be discussed with an employment attorney. For example, are non-exempt employees who take work home eligible to be paid for that time? The answer is yes. Could that same work qualify for overtime- yes. What about the employee who routinely comes in early, putting in more than their scheduled time? The answer is- check with counsel but probably yes. What about flex time employees who stay a little late to complete a project – that time must be compensated, possibly with overtime.

Finally, you cannot presume that other states have the same rules on overtime. For example, California requires overtime any day the employee works more than 8 hours in a day, but they have specific exemptions to the rules.

If you are using this type of compensation practice or considering it, I strongly recommend you speak with an attorney who practices employment law. The penalties and embarrassment to your business is not worth the savings in overtime pay.




Jeff Matthews, CPA, CGMA is a partner with B2B CFO® and a member of The Sunrise Alliance. The Sunrise Alliance is a network of experienced professionals who provide support to small and medium-sized businesses, with the development and implementation of their strategic business objectives.  You can explore The Sunrise Alliance at www.TheSunriseAlliance.com and visit Jeff’s website at www.JeffMatthewsCFO.com

As business people, most of us are very tactical. We talk about our business strategy or philosophy, and most of us have developed Values and Mission Statements. Many of us even have prepared a Strategic Plan for our business. But we are so involved with day-to-day operations, the tactics, which we consider the real “guts” of our business, that we infrequently consider how the daily routine impacts our overall philosophy. More and more businesses are adopting Sustainability Goals and even hiring Sustainability Officers or Directors to help push their businesses in a sustainable direction. But we still think of these as add-ons to our regular business activities. For Kermit,” being green” is fundamental, but for the rest of us, greening or become more green in our business is something we think of after we have gotten the business basics covered.

So let’s take a break from the business of our business long enough to consider why be sustainable. Why is it something we should all include in our basic business philosophy? After all, “sustainability” and “ perpetuity” are very similar terms. Are there any of us who don’t want our businesses to go on…and on…and on? We need to be profitable – because we cannot sustain our business when we are losing money. So Sustainability needs to be a basic part of our business philosophy. How do we keep this business going? We make it sustainable. What does that have to do with solar panels and wind turbines? Maybe nothing! Sustainability is not those technologies on their own. Sustainability may include them or not, but they are processes to help reach it, not defining aspects of it.

To make sure our business will be here long into the future, we need to consider what we must do to change or enhance it. We should consider particularly: (1) our culture , (2) our built environment, (3) our equipment, (4) our supplies (including raw materials), and 5) our transportation, so that we will have them available forever. When we take that approach, we begin to look at Sustainability as a Basic Business Philosophy.


Chris Meyers
GreenTech Advisors
+1.937.532.8358
cmeyerenergy@gmail.com

8 Hours to craft and then start to implement a Strategic Plan, who are you trying to kid!

That work cannot be done, to any degree of acceptable quality in 8 Hours.

My experience in teaching Strategic Planning over a 20 year period on a university level and for being in senior leadership positions in many organizations for a much longer period of time than that, has demonstrated to me that most organizations and especially small organizations, do not spend anywhere close to 8 Hours of time strategically planning the organization’s future. In fact, many spend practically no time at all.

Strategic Planning can be an arduous and very time consuming effort, and in some situations and in some companies, it should be. But, my declaration is that, in small companies, Strategic Planning does not have to be that, and in reality, should not be that.

There are only a certain number of basis questions that must be addressed in an organization and after those; continued planning becomes just more detailed planning surrounding those basic questions. I have a listing of basic questions I use as a leaping off point in my Strategic Planning process, and then refine from there.

Truly, the initial Strategic Planning for a small company can be accomplished in 8 Hours and in its second year of use, less than 8 Hours is required. I have demonstrated this time and again.


John Hogan
Hogan Associates, LLC
11 Monteray Road
Dayton OH 45419
+1.937.424.4840 Landline
+1.937.974-0810 Cell
johnhogan@roadrunner.com

Say it like it is!

As a financial consultant to business owners, I am often asked, “how does my business compare to others?” Whenever I hear this question I almost always direct the business owner to the only metric that is truly comparable from business to business.

EBITDA Margin is the metric, and it expresses the percent of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization to total revenues. EBITDA is a measure of new cash flow generated by the business in a given period of time, usually one year or sometimes trailing twelve months. EBITDA Margin is the “percent” of total revenues represented by EBITDA. Stated another way, EBITDA Margin is the percent of each revenue dollar that ends up as new cash flow generated for the business.

This metric actually measures the effectiveness of your business model, and like most financial metrics, should increase over time if your business is operating more efficiently from year to year.

EBITDA margin for two distinct companies can actually be compared to see which business model is operating more efficiently. The greater the EBITDA margin, the more efficiently the business is creating new cash flow. And… the greater the valuation that will be assigned to the company.

And when the EDITDA margin is compared for the same business from year to year, it becomes readily apparent if the business is operating more efficiently from year to year.

So, if you want to know how your business compares to others, check out your EBITDA margin. Widely published for publicly traded companies, sought after by investors, and a key value driver for your business, EBITDA margin tells it all!


Bob Bowman
926 Goal Post Drive Dayton, OH 454548 P: 937-885-5548 F: 937-885-4254 C: 937-620-0859
email: rbowman18@woh.rr.com www.bowmancapitaladvisors.com

There is no single business metric that is crucial to every business nor every industry.

Most metrics are historical measures of ratios and relationships that the business deems critical to their success. The metrics may be financial but more often are measurements of volume or utilization of employees. In service industries metrics often focus on utilization of the billable personnel and billable hours versus paid hours. Call volumes are common metrics for sales personnel as are quote conversions into actual sales.

One metric that I think is important for all businesses to consider tracking is the projection of cash requirements. The term “Cash is King” is a well worn business statement, but the fact remains that cash is the lubricant that keeps business flowing. If a firm is projecting their cash needs for the next 13 weeks, they can have a reasonable picture of the risks to their cash position. And the projection gives them visibility in time to address and concerns. Without a projection, they are guessing. While experienced owners may be able to make reasonable educated estimates, documenting the thought process involved in the estimate will allow for refinement in the future.

A cash projection starts with an understanding of anticipated cash receipts from sales, receivables, and other sources such as tax refunds. These receipts are matched to anticipated expenditures to show the net cash generation/usage each week. Expenditure categories should be customized to each business. In many businesses payroll and benefits are a category. Payments for inventory purchases, rent, major insurance charges, capital equipment, and large variable costs also make sense to estimate on a weekly basis. Always include a miscellaneous category of expenditures and receipts to capture the unusual large items such as large quarterly or monthly payments. I recommend that a company track their weekly actual performance as a feedback to improve their estimating process.

If you don’t have a cash projection process or are not satisfied with the results you are seeing, I would be happy to meet with you and explore how to improve the process.




Jeff Matthews, CPA, CGMA is a partner with B2B CFO® and a member of The Sunrise Alliance. The Sunrise Alliance is a network of experienced professionals who provide support to small and medium-sized businesses, with the development and implementation of their strategic business objectives.  You can explore The Sunrise Alliance at www.TheSunriseAlliance.com and visit Jeff’s website at www.JeffMatthewsCFO.com