4 out of 5 businesses fail for what reason?

That’s right – 4 out of 5 businesses fail and it’s due to poor cash management,

Worrying about meeting payroll, paying suppliers and having enough cash to spend on marketing causes stress which can be avoided with the right reporting procedures.

Failure to manage cash has a knock on effect across the business.

I often take on clients who talk about feeling as if they are drowning but not having enough time , energy or knowledge to fix the problems.

So, how can you improve it? (Check out how you’re doing!)

1. Ensure you’re raising invoices for work done on a timely basis. Don’t leave jobs sitting as ‘work in progress’. Make sure you quote a purchase order if supplied and as much information as necessary to ensure the customer will sign it off for payment the first time.
2. Have good communication amongst decision makers in the business
3. Devise a cash flow visibility plan so you can monitor and act before there’s a problem, and decision makers can see the impact of their investment decisions in advance.
4. Make sure you’re getting timely and useful financial information so that you can make informed business decisions.

Put simply it’s down to

• Good communication
• Thinking ahead
• Doing things right the first time

If poor cash flow management is the biggest cause of business failure then it stands to reason that it should be the number one priority for every business owner.

If you’d like more information on how Jo Moir of Cool Piggy has helped businesses succeed and can do the same for yours, get in touch:

0844 811 1085   blog@coolpiggy.co.uk

Jo Moir bio – A dynamic financial professional with 20 years working alongside MD’s in fast paced environments with experience of unprecedented growth of 6 fold in as many years.

She specialises in partnering with established businesses with annual turnover of £500k to £10m

Who do you want to do business with?

I was asked this question a couple of weeks ago, and it certainly got me thinking.

I considered the values and ethics I have and came to the conclusion I want my customers to share those. And when I look back to 30 months ago when I was employed as FD in the motor trade, what being self-employed has given me is choice.

I can choose who I work with. Yippee!

I would hope that people who meet me consider me friendly, honest and dependable. I like to do the right thing and treat people fairly and without prejudice. The advice and help I give is based on my years of experience but also suited to the business I’m reviewing so I offer an initial review session with the owner(s) so we can see whether we can work together. When there are maybe money worries in a business, people can get stressed, and it’s vital that we can work together to resolves the problems. It can be difficult for owners to see other solutions to problems and that’s when it can be so beneficial getting someone in from outside of the business.

So, who do I want to work with?

People who are honest, aren’t racist, and treat people fairly. People who carry on their business in a similar vein –  I won’t condone dishonest practices.  The relationship I have with clients should be one of mutual respect.

And also, people who can smile!

Happy Monday everyone, the sun is out so enjoy!

Jo Moir is the founder of Cool Piggy, offering part time FD’s and business advisers to small and medium-sized businesses

www.coolpiggy.co.uk

Email blog@coolpiggy.co.uk

Are you on top of things?

Recently I’ve had a few people speak to me about managing their personal finances as well as their business finances. With times as they are and banks reluctant to lend to small business, it’s even more important that you manage your money effectively.

So, if I asked you the following how would you reply?

Q. How would you describe your attitude towards managing your money?

1. I know there are things I should do but keep putting them off.
2. I feel overwhelmed and don’t really know where to start.
3. I keep on top of money matters but I’m happy to find out more.

In business we tend to call this cash flow management;  put very simply ensuring you get money in quickly to maximise your bank balance and anticipating peaks and troughs in the flow of income and expenditure.

It can be of real value to speak with someone who can look at your individual situation and find solutions which you may not have considered because of your closeness to the business. You may have debts outstanding which cause you to lie awake at night worrying, yet when broken down into manageable chunks are not as bad as you thought! Also, sharing the burden with someone and having them followup with you regularly can be a real incentive to face the problems and get them sorted!

If you feel you could benefit from a free 15 minutes consultation with me to discuss your situation, then get in touch. All conversations are totally confidential.

Call Jo Moir on 0844 811 1085 or email jo@coolpiggy.co.uk

Website www.coolpiggy.co.uk

Do you know the path you’re on?

My son is dyslexic. And it makes life more complicated for us and him. He doesn’t enjoy reading and struggles with writing. He may learn spellings but doesn’t remember them to use them in context. He also struggles with organising himself but has made advances with this by for example getting his school bag ready the night before. We’ve known this for years, in fact he was officicially diagnosed at 7 (he’s now nearly 11), but it doesn’t make it any easier knowing and understanding the problems. We’ve now got puberty kicking in too – but hey that’s another blog for another day! We also had some issues in the Summer when he suddenly began swearing (a form of Tourette’s) and his behavoiur generally deteriorated. I didn’t know who or where to turn.

I decided to get an impartial assessment done. Now by that I don’t mean an Educational Psychologists’ Report which we’ve had before, but I wanted someone (experienced in the area) to spend some time with him and assess him from both from an emotional and educational point of view. We were being told by schools and doctors that nothing could be done and that he would start to improve and basically not to worry. Rubbish we thought, he’s getting worse and making our lives a misery!

So yes, we have got the report and what a difference it’s made. I am focused. I know what we want to achieve. I’ve had meetings with the school and bought him a notepad so he doesn’t worry about hos secretarial skills. We are investigating voice recognition software and predictive text software. His self esteem has soared.

The point I’m making is sometimes you come to a point where you need someone from outside of the situation to talk things through with and access the situation independantly. To see the wood from the trees.

And that’s where my financial skills come in with Cool Piggy. With my 25 years commercial experience in the cut-throat motor trade(!) I can be your sounding board, the voice of reason or maybe just someone to talk your plans through with.

Do you know the path you’re on?

My son is dyslexic. And it makes life more complicated for us and him. He doesn’t enjoy reading and struggles with writing. He may learn spellings but doesn’t remember them to use them in context. He also struggles with organising himself but has made advances with this by for example getting his school bag ready the night before. We’ve known this for years, in fact he was officicially diagnosed at 7 (he’s now nearly 11), but it doesn’t make it any easier knowing and understanding the problems. We’ve now got puberty kicking in too – but hey that’s another blog for another day! We also had some issues in the Summer when he suddenly began swearing (a form of Tourette’s) and his behavoiur generally deteriorated. I didn’t know who or where to turn. 

I decided to get an impartial assessment done. Now by that I don’t mean an Educational Psychologists’ Report which we’ve had before, but I wanted someone (experienced in the area) to spend some time with him and assess him from both from an emotional and educational point of view. We were being told by schools and doctors that nothing could be done and that he would start to improve and basically not to worry. Rubbish we thought, he’s getting worse and making our lives a misery!

So yes, we have got the report and what a difference it’s made. I am focused. I know what we want to achieve. I’ve had meetings with the school and bought him a notepad so he doesn’t worry about hos secretarial skills. We are investigating voice recognition software and predictive text software. His self esteem has soared. 

The point I’m making is sometimes you come to a point where you need someone from outside of the situation to talk things through with and access the situation independantly. To see the wood from the trees.

And that’s where my financial skills come in with Cool Piggy. With my 25 years commercial experience in the cut-throat motor trade(!) I can be your sounding board, the voice of reason or maybe just someone to talk your plans through with.  

How to stay focused when you work for yourself!

Now Mondays for me are normally a little bit dreamy. It’s a jolt back to reality after the weekend. Not that I lounge around in bed at the weekend; no, I’m normally up by 7.30 but the whole pace of life changes and the dynamics. The main difference is we do things as a family and therefore have to consider others’ wishes rather than being selfish as I am during the week.

What I find as well is it can be difficult to focus and achieve. When I was working for others and responsible for a large overdraft, even larger stocks and with staff reporting into me, I had a written system of a diary and daily ‘to do’ list. My job was one deadline after another and if I didn’t finish something one day I knew it had to be done the next as only urgent ‘to do’s’ got written in otherwise my head would have exploded!

But now, as I build Cool Piggy, I sometimes find my mind wandering as there’s not that urgency! I can write my newsletter today or leave it until next week. I can write a blog or hoover the hallway. There are still deadlines within my day if I have quotes to do, customers to visit, or network events plus my son to drop off and collect from the bus stop, but I’m more relaxed and that’s not always a good thing!

So the way for me to conquer this is to set myself daily tasks and targets in advance. I have already scheduled the rest of this week in detail and for my marketing plans I’ve got everything listed for the next 3 months until the end of January. Every morning now I have a clear idea of what I need to accomplish. I haven’t given myself too much either as I’d rather complete the daily tasks on the scheduled day rather than carry anything over.

Sorted!

Confidentiality assured….So whether yo

Confidentiality assured….So whether you’re buying a business, looking to expand or have some paperwork/process problems I am on your side!

Do you want increased financial confiden

Do you want increased financial confidence?Do you want peace of mind?Do you want more time to spend ON rather than in your business?Call me!

Filing – boring but necessary? How many

Filing – boring but necessary? How many of us like filing? For me the best filing is that – when it’s filed! The key is not to put it off. Don’t delay, file today. And how do you file? Well it depends on the paperwork. The key thing to remember is can you find what you’re looking for again easily?
If you stick with that theory then it’s easy.

If In Doubt Write It Down!

I did my first radio interview today. Not on a national station, but on a local internet station – well you have to start somewhere!

It was over in Banbury and hosted by Ian Gentles a very nice chap who made me and my fellow guests feel relaxed.

We met in reception at 9.30 and were taken up two flights of rickety stairs to ‘The Green Room’, in reality a small room with a green carpet. Ian explained the timings and gave us an idea of the format. And then at 9.55am we were ushered next door into ‘The Studio’. Four chairs crammed into a small amount of floor space surrounded by desks with knobs and buttons and sliding dials and other techno/radio ‘things’. And so after a couple of tacky adverts (his words) we were off. We passed the mic to each other as we spoke and I think we all did rather well! We spoke about the passion we each have for our own businesses, plugged businesses we rate and generally had a good time expressing our opinions on social media, the local area and being self employed.

I got a few plugs in but couldn’t remember peoples’ names hence the title – lesson learned – if in doubt write it down!

My thanks to Nicky Gough from Cotswold Family Law, and Lorraine Cheney from Navitas Design.