Saturday, February 6, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Solutions for the Working Capital Financing Puzzle
Solutions for the Working Capital Financing Puzzle
In using a puzzle comparison, this analogy provides an opportunity to evaluate the commercial loans puzzle (a challenging commercial lending climate) as something that tests the ingenuity of small businesses to solve. An increasing number of commercial borrowers are comparing what they are finding to a puzzle with pieces scattered everywhere when reviewing the current small business finance environment. A reasonable reflection of the underlying problems that cannot be ignored by a prudent business borrower is provided by the ongoing descriptions of commercial financing in terms of solving a puzzle. Such an analogy no doubt also reflects the growing confusion represented in small business owner interactions with their current bank concerning available business financing options.
For some commercial borrowers, recent experiences with their business banker probably resemble a confusing small business finance puzzle in which the level of difficulty keeps changing. Banks have recently been taking over two months for a working capital financing process that should realistically be completed in under one month, and even when taking this excessive period of time it has become a common experience for many banks to fail in providing the expected business capital without providing any warning that funding has been delayed or disapproved. Suggestions that commercial lenders have misrepresented what is required to finalize commercial loans are emerging in too many reports for borrowers to ignore.
Most business financing has been more complicated than borrowers realize for a number of years. Primarily because the eventual results have changed so drastically, recent events have made these complexities more obvious. It is situations like those noted above that cause business borrowers to feel like some of the required puzzle pieces have been removed from the board. Because fewer banks are now providing small business financing, that is in effect exactly what has happened. A business owner is indeed likely to feel as if the commercial finance puzzle pieces have disappeared when this happens with the bank that a business has previously relied upon for their small business finance needs.
By continuing the puzzle analogy, there are two practical options for commercial borrowers to analyze and consider. First, in an approach which can lead to a small business finance puzzle which will involve "fewer pieces" if executed successfully, business owners should assess the potential for a reduction in their commercial debt requirements. Second, by looking for alternative commercial lending sources, small businesses should attempt to find the "missing pieces". As with any complex business financing situation, both of these (as well as any other realistic commercial loan choices) should be thoroughly reviewed with the help of an experienced expert.
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Stephen Bush and AEX Commercial Financing Group provide help for small business financing and working capital management:
http://aexllc.com
Thursday, February 4, 2010
How To Develop Your Staff Into A champion Team In Your Small-Medium Business.
How To Develop Your Staff Into A champion Team In Your
Small-Medium Business.
Small-Medium Business.
Summary. “A champion team will always beat a team of champions.” That statement’s often heard about sports teams. But it applies in the workplace too. Manager sometimes concern themselves with building a team of champions. They should concentrate on building a champion team. These ideas may help.
The Team As the Basic Workplace Unit. Organizations are comprised of individuals. We spend lots of time and money trying to get those individuals to perform well. That’s desirable. But there’s another perspective. Each individual can perform well. But if they can’t work effectively with each other, your business will suffer. The basic human performance unit of the workplace isn’t the individual. It’s the team. You don’t have to build teams. You have to develop those which already exist.
What A Team Is At Work. In the workplace a team is characterised by three simple characteristics. • If one person in the team doesn’t do their job well, someone else in the team can’t do theirs well either. • Individuals depend on the help of other team members to achieve their work goals. • The goals of the overall team are more important than the goals of the individual members. When I use the word “team” that’s what I mean.
Misleading Titles. Unfortunately the use of the word “team” has been devalued in the workplace in recent years. Some managers and consultants use the word to describe any old work group, whether or not the members are genuinely interdependent. It’s as if by saying “team” you create “teamwork”. There’s a lot more involved than trendy work play.
Take care. Merely because we call a work group a team, e.g. “sales team”, doesn’t mean it’s effective. It may not even be accurate. We use the expression "sales team" to include support staff. But some salespeople don’t treat support staff as equals.
Multiple Team Membership. Even in very small businesses most employees are members of two or more teams. Sales support staff, for instance, may also be members of the “admin team”. Clerical staff are in the “admin team” but could also be part of the “warehouse team” and the “accounts team”.
Corporate Goals and Team Goals. Clearly defined corporate goals are essential if you want your company to be successful. They’re also necessary so that you can set effective team goals. Individual goals flow from team goals. Clear corporate goals are only the beginning. You must convey them, very clearly, to both your teams and the individual members. You cannot expect either individuals or teams to drive themselves down a road that has neither a clear destination or signposts.
New Mindsets. You need a new mindset to create effective team performance. Managers need to recognise the importance of teams in achieving corporate goals and in developing competent performance among members. Include effective team performance when setting up reward systems. Individuals need to understand that being a “star” performer isn’t as important as being an effective contributor to a “star team”.
Relevance Of Relationships. Work isn’t a “love in”. Unfortunately many attempts to develop “teamwork” are concerned with building better interpersonal relationships between team members. I’ve experienced many examples where close interpersonal bonds interfered with effective team performance. In these cases, individuals were not willing to risk upsetting a personal relationship for the good of the overall team. When individuals commit to team goals they’ll find ways to minimise their differences. And all members, even those who don’t “get on well” will experience the satisfaction of achieving the goals.
Conclusion. Start developing your workplace teams by identifying them clearly. Don't forget that many employees will be members of more than one team. Set goals and performance standards for your teams. Develop systems that enhance performance both within teams and between teams. And review your rewards and incentives to ensure they include team performance. But if you don’t have clearly defined corporate goals, sort them out first.
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Leon Noone helps managers in small-medium business to improve on-job staff performance without training courses. Some say his ideas are too unconventional. Find out for yourself by reading his free Special Report “49 Practical Tips For Better People Management In Small-Medium Business”. Simply visit http://www.leons7secrets.com and download your free copy now.
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