F.O.C.U.S. Resources - Lea Strickland CMA CFM CBM

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	Nine Things Owners Would Do Differently… 07-15-2005 -- The saying that hindsight is twenty/twenty is as fitting in business as it is in our personal lives. No matter how experienced, every business owner learns lessons in every business venture; there are always things to be learned. If you haven't had to learn the hard lessons from experiencing these nine items, perhaps you can learn from the experience of others....
	On a Bad Day I Take Action… 07-7-2005 -- Whether business owner, manager, or employee, everyone experiences days when things just don't seem that optimistic. You don't get the "big" sale. Your competitors (and everyone else) seem to be doing everything better and achieving more success than you.
	The New Bankruptcy Law and Small Business 06-28-2005 -- The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 was signed into law on April 20, 2005 with an effective date of October 17, 2005 for most provisions. This law affects individuals (consumers), small businesses, and businesses in general with its many changes to existing bankruptcy laws.
	Accounting for Success 06-21-2005 -- Many new and small businesses do not invest time or money in establishing a comprehensive accounting process. (In this instance, accounting encompasses traditional finance and treasury roles.) For many, accounting activity is a necessary evil driven only by the need to collect customer payments, pay taxes, do payroll, and pay bills.
	Ethics - Who Needs Them? 06-10-2005 -- Life is about choices. Business is about decisions. Both require knowledge of your core beliefs and the tenets by which you will operate. Having certain knowledge of what you will and won't do enables you to act consistently and with a degree of reliability that enables others to know how to interact with you.
	Assembling the Puzzle Pieces 06-03-2005 -- Imagine buying a thousand-piece puzzle with an intricate picture on the box. You open the box and dump out the pieces to begin assembly only to find that this is a new type of puzzle. The puzzle pieces are blank until they are assembled with other pieces. The picture emerges only as you piece the puzzle together. You have to find the right pieces to connect without the clues provided by having portions of the scene visible on each piece while trying to assemble the puzzle.
	Adding Basel to the Debt Mix 05-27-2005 -- Basel refers to the banking accord addressing financial risk in lending that will be mandated for many banks (and their customers) in 2007. Basel II requires certain banks to begin setting aside capital against short-term loans (lines of credit) and applying credit risk calculations for lending.
	Defining Conflicts of Interest 05-16-2005 -- Conflicts of interest occur when someone (an individual or a company) has multiple relationships or connections with another individual or company which could keep them from being independent in thought, action, or opinion.
	Grants and Contracts - Compliance Required 05-05-2005 -- “Failure to . . . may result in termination for default of this contract. Contractor may be liable to refund all monies paid during the performance of this contract, receive an unfavorable past performance evaluation, an administrative assessment, or other adverse action.”
	NC Journal for Women - The Business Plan 05-02-2005 -- Answering the questions you like to have answers to when dealing with someone else’s business will help you in defining and writing the business plan to have the answers for your audience. It is time to capture the questions (and your answers) that you would ask of someone else if they came to you as a supplier, business partner, investor, or customer.
	General Seminars Don't Translate to Specific Results 04-27-2005 -- Too often seminar participants leave an event believing that if they follow the example in a seminar they will "get" the results their particular business needs. Unfortunately, unless the example truly represents what your business is and does and needs, it rarely works that way.
	From the e-Mailbox... What Is Holding My Organization Back? 04-19-2005 -- This question has several possible "answers". Without more information on the outcomes you have been pursuing, it isn't possible to diagnose what is going on. So the starting point is defining the issue.
	Don't Take the Process for Granted 4-11-2005 -- For technology and bio-tech companies, the availability of government grant programs through various government agencies – National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Depart of Defense, and others – provides an opportunity to obtain funds that neither dilutes founder and early-stage investor ownership, nor requires that they be repaid as loans do. However, grant funding isn’t without cost or requirements.
	Pennywise, IP Foolish 04-05-2005 -- Often business individuals, whether working along or as the owner of a small business or start-up technology company, do not fully understand the impact contracts and other agreements they make will have on their ownership of intellectual property. A young and/or growing business is often cash constrained; they’d rather save money for the costs of the patent process than have attorneys review every agreement.
	NC Journal for Women - Financial Projections - Part 2 04-02-2005 -- One of the most significant outflows (and largest commitments) of cash is payroll and payroll taxes. Just as significant are taxes—income and sales and use taxes. These outflows are legally defined and timed based upon operations, compensation levels, and legislative calendars.
	Are You Good, or Are You Lucky? 03-28-2005 -- One of the pitfalls of a business that takes off right away is the ease with which one can say “I’m good!” That may be true, but it also may be that you are lucky. This isn’t meant to be a negative attack or to devalue success. It is meant as a cautionary tale.
	Financial Statements - The Key to Understanding What Your Business Is Truly Doing 03-17-2005 -- Financial statements - the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flow - can provide valuable insights into what your business is doing. You may be surprised what they can tell you IF they are setup to do more than satisfy financial reporting and tax requirements.
	NC Journal for Women - Financial Projections (Part 1) 03-07-2005 -- There is an important distinction between profitability (revenues and expenses) and cash that often gets lost in the analysis of business results and projections. There has traditionally been a heavy concentration on the profitability of businesses and rightly so. However, there is an equally (if not, at times, more important) aspect of the business: CASH. Cash is the life blood of the business and is a critical item to forecast accurately.
	From the e-Mailbox: Why is 'Cash-Flow' the Most Important Thing in Business? 02-24-2005 -- Well, the answer may be self-evident and glib, but without cash your business doesn't exist. You have to have cash to pay the bills. Profit without cash doesn't pay the bills. Sales without cash receipts don’t pay the bills. Cash inflows that arrive after you need them won't enable you to pay the bills (on-time).
	Does Anyone "Get" What Enron Means to Business? 02-15-2005 -- erhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but I have to admit I am. In the past several months, I have encountered many instances of what I view as "compromised" independence.
	NC Journal for Women - Operational Aspects 02-07-2005 -- Identifying how you want to do your operations is one part vision. The other parts are planning, observation, exasperation, and experimentation. Utilize the experience and lessons learned through your personal interaction and what you witness to provide direction and guidance to your planning processes.
	Transitioning Your Business - How to Take It to the Next Stage 02-02-2005 -- Transitioning from a primarily entrepreneurial perspective to professional management, as it is often called, can be an extremely painful phase. It frequently requires the existing leadership team to step back or step out of roles they have fulfilled during the early stages of forming and establishing the business.
	Investing In Your Business 01-26-2005 -- In the past several weeks, colleagues have related they have been experiencing an increase in businesses contacting them for services – only to be asked to “donate them” to a for-profit start-up business. We’ve often heard “it never hurts to ask” Think, however, what you are asking someone to do.
	How For-Profits Compete with Not-for-Profits for Business 01-20-2005 -- Many for-profit businesses – consultants, seminar and workshop providers, and a host of other businesses are finding their toughest competition is coming from “not-for-profit” entities. Commercial businesses that provide services to other businesses (and individuals) are finding it tough to compete against the “free” or “discount” offerings being provided by the not-for-profit sector – including business associations, community colleges, and other organizations – both privately and government funded.
	NC Journal for Women - The Plan "Audience" 01-10-2005 -- Previous articles focused on considering a business of your own, defining the elements, planning for the business, and then developing the business plan. Last month's article ended by asking you to capture some of the questions and answers that you would ask of someone else if they came to you as a supplier, business partner, investor, or customer. Those questions and answers are key to understanding how to define and communicate with the target audience of your business plan.
	Where is my Cash Flow? 01-05-2005 -- These are significant questions for every business. Managing the cash flow is critical to a business's viability. The cash flow equation and conversion cycle has several components:
	Bottom-line Analysis 12-28-2004 -- The numbers tell the story. Every aspect of what you do and don't do is reflected in the financial results of your business. What is and what isn't present indicate the activities the business is undertaking and the results which are or are not happening.
	No Easy Answers 12-22-2004 -- It would certainly be nice if a marketing campaign, some sales training, or a new accounting system could magically fix an organization’s issues. The reality is that most business issues are a combination of people, timing, money, and the business model. No one aspect can be changed and solve the complete problem. Businesses are a series of interrelated parts and processes. Changing one aspect necessitates changes in the other parts to keep everything working together.
	Death by "Leadership" 12-16-2004 -- Have you ever seen a business or other organization self-destruct because the managers or leaders couldn't or wouldn't get out of the way? Sometimes it is a case of micromanagement. Other times it is neglect. And sometimes, believe it or not, it is BOTH.
	Self-analysis - Knowing When To Change 12-10-2004 -- In building your business, you will come to rely on many different people to fulfill roles in your business and as advisors and "coaches". The relationships you build are critical to your success. If these same relationships aren't capable of evolving, however, they can become impediments to that success.
	NC Journal for Women - The Business Plan - More than Planning Your Business 12-07-2004 -- Business plans presents every aspect of a business - what it is and does; how it markets, sells and delivers products or services; and the financial results of those activities. It includes staffing, spending, equipment, and other strategic and operational information.
	Who Is Running Your Business? 12-02-2004 -- In every business there are activities and tasks that the owner, manager, founder, or key executives don’t like to do, don’t know how to do, or just don’t want to do. When those tasks are key elements or effect the key elements of how your business does business, the people handling those tasks essentially begin “running” the business.
	Prospects - Pipedream or Pipeline? 11-23-2004 -- If you have been investing a significant amount of time and money pursuing a particular prospect and things just aren't happening, it may be time to determine if the anticipated deal is business in the pipeline or a pipedream. Many times that deal we just keep hoping is going to come through is a pipedream. Somehow it has become unacceptable for prospective clients to say "no".
	Business Plans, It's Not the Document 11-18-2004 -- Many times the business plan document is viewed as an "end product." Actually, the plan is the documentation of the product - the definition, clarification, and intention of the business model. The plan captures and communicates concisely the business - from markets and products to operational activity to past and future financial performance.
	All Business Plans, Not Created Equal 11-12-2004 -- Each type of plan serves a purpose, is targeted to a specific audience, and depends, in part, on the stage of business the organization is currently in and/or moving toward. The nature of an organizations’ business is another factor that significantly influences THE type of a plan it needs.
	NC Journal for Women - Planning Your Business 11-07-2004 -- One benefit of doing a formal business plan is that it requires you to formulate and write down all the bits and pieces that are in your head. Those bits and pieces are integrated (hopefully) into consistent assumptions and tasks that are quantifiable and enable you to understand the interconnectivity between the elements of your business.
	Late Paying Customers 11-03-2004 -- We have a client that continually pays late, as much as 75 days late. It is also our largest customer. They currently have another late substantial outstanding balance. Now they are ordering more products. They aren’t willing to pay the outstanding balance, refuse to pay cash for this new order, and are threatening to take their business to someone else if we don’t agree. Can this be handled tactfully without causing hard feelings? We are considering putting them on cash basis only starting January 1. What do you think?
	Caterpillar or Butterfly? 10-27-2004 -- Being on the brink of success also means you are precariously perched on the edge of "doom." Success in its earliest stages can more closely resemble failure than our concept of "success." Outside pressures to produce revenues and show a return (draw a living wage) tend to increase and become greatest at the point when businesses are experiencing significant internal pressure to get the business model working. These pressures are like two storm fronts converging on a ship at sea which is attempting to navigate uncharted waters and deal with the on-coming storm.
	The Business Cold 10-22-2004 -- n these days of sound bites and quick fixes, one-size-fits-most solutions seem to be as prevalent as the common cold and as hard to treat and cure. Most people probably have had the experience of someone from their organization reading a book or attending a conference and coming back with the “best, new way” to run the business.
	Cash Management 10-15-2004 -- Every day it seems we hear about the Enron, Worldcom, ImClone and other "big business" ethical violations. There is no denying the significant impact on millions of people and the financial markets. However, there is a business practice that I've witnessed as part of "cash management" in numerous businesses, big and small, that creates on-going, far-reaching repercussions in the economy.
	Before You Hire A Consultant Consider . . . 10-08-2004 -- This may seem to be strange advice coming from someone whose business centers on advising businesses, but here it is. Before you hire a consultant, consider you might already know what is wrong with your business. Yes, you or members of your organization probably already know quite a bit about your business problem. You just may not want to face it.
	Sound Byte Mentality 10-05-2004 -- Everyone has experienced the 30-second elevator pitch – from formulating your own to listening to other peoples. If you can say what you do in 30 seconds, then everyone gets it. Right? From my perspective a 30-second “sound byte” can be too short or too long.
	NC Journal for Women - Validating Your Concept 10-04-2004 -- Many highly successful businesses have been started on ideas other people thought were crazy. Many unsuccessful businesses were started as "sure things." How do you know before you start if your idea is worthwhile? How do you determine if there are already "too many" other businesses out there doing what you want to do? Maybe your concern is that all the players in the business you want are established and have a huge share of the market? How do you decide? How much importance is there in how many competitors and other factors are at play in the business, industry, or niche you want to enter?
	Strategic Alliance Challenges 09-24-2004 -- Making the decision to form a strategic alliance and then finding the right person, company, or organization to "partner" with is an intense process not to be undertaken lightly. It is one of the hardest things to determine in business; it takes research, strategy, and well, faith.
	Return on Investment: Strategy and Action 09-15-2004 -- t the times the organization is struggling, stumbling, or on the verge of ceasing – a time when cash and other resources are most constrained; spending on “fixing” or “altering” the organization isn’t usually an option. While those expenditures could be viewed as a necessity – keeping the lights on is the priority. What we define as necessary are the core infrastructure items and continuing to sustain operations as they have been operating.
	Start As You Intend To Go 09-10-2004 -- Sometimes the simplest lessons are the hardest to learn. Time is money to all businesses. For service providers, however, time is the key commodity. The tendency is to want to get the business at whatever the cost. The unfortunate reality is that it is difficult at best and often nearly impossible to increase your hourly rate with your existing client base. So what should you do?
	NC Journal for Women - Gathering Your Thoughts 09-04-2004 -- How clearly you can define your business - what problem or issue your business solves for your customer - the easier it is to begin marketing and developing the company to deliver on the "promise" of the business. Clarity of vision enables you to focus in on the specific customers you want to market and sell to. Furthermore, it enables you to identify and quantify the resources you need to generate the "product" (this includes services), deliver it, and seek out customers.
	You Should Make Me Participate 09-03-2004 -- One of the many things that amazes and confounds me is the statement "You should make me participate." There are many variations of it depending upon the situation. "You should make me ." Inherent in the statement is "I'm not responsible for me, you are."
	Working In and On the Business 08-20-2004 -- Contrary to popular opinion, it isn’t the product or service a company creates or delivers that makes the difference in the success or failure of a business. It isn’t the most exciting, newest, or most innovative concept – even a revolutionary one – that generates the largest bottom-line. In most instances, it is the determination and work ethic – the effort the founders, owners, and employees put into the business – that makes a business stand out from the rest and generate substantial bottom-line results.
	Flat Forehead Syndrome 08-13-2004 -- Whether working as an "intrapreneur" in large companies, as a small business owner, or as an advisor to many companies, it is likely that you have experienced "Flat Forehead Syndrome.” It is the result of beating your head against the brick wall of...
	Financial Results and Running the Business - The True Bottom-line 08-06-2004 -- Part of the process for reporting financial results is the ability to understand what generated the bottom-line result. It is both a financial and operational issue - What is in the numbers?
	NC Journal for Women - The First Step Is THE Biggest! 08-04-2004 -- The first in an on-going series of articles on making the decision to start your own business. This article kicks-off the series with a look at some of the things that impact your decision.
	The First Step IS the Biggest 08-03-2004 -- Taking the first step in starting your own business is often the hardest, and, arguably, the biggest step anyone takes in the business world. You, as founder, are ultimately responsible for every aspect – strategic, operational, transactional, and financial. There is nowhere to hide as a solo entrepreneur.
	Get Clear on Strategic Objectives 07-30-2004 -- One of the most challenging aspects of running a business of any size is identifying the best strategy for the organization to achieve the desired objectives. Many times we set imprecise objectives such as “increase sales”, “make more money”, and so on. What we need is to clarity the organization’s intentions.. The ability to set objectives that satisfy the following criteria is vital to aligning an organization for success:
	Strategic Plans and Budgets - Performance Tools 07-23-2004 -- By developing a robust financial forecast, the organization can validate and analyze the impact of assumptions and interpretations of information on the expected financial performance. The financial data compiled is a forecast of what is expected to occur in the organization based upon the current knowledge of internal and external influences on the company.
	Right Person, Right Role, Right Deliverables 07-16-2004 -- One aspect of business that often goes awry involves identifying resources and the cost required to acquire or use those resources. While equipment and other physical assets may be a significant part of your start-up capital, the human assets - employees, contractors, and service providers - will be on-going expenses and can result in significant "opportunity cost” to your operations.
	Backyard and Over-the-Fence "Consultants" and "Experts" 07-09-2004 -- Does this sound familiar? “Well, I was talking with my neighbor about <insert your question or issue here>, and he said that when his dad was in business they always did <insert that solution here>.” It may sound and seem logical that the voice of experience can give you good advice on your business, but the reality is it may be a costly mistake to act on that advice. What the person is telling you may be true, if you were in the exact same situation, but it is highly unlikely that the situations are identical.
	Service Providers and Intellectual Property 07-02-2004 -- Sometimes as service providers, it is difficult to draw the line between what is intellectual property and what is “community” property. Service providers, including lawyers, web designers, and other consultants/advisors often have as part of their unique business models and processes “tool kits” that they use to provide services and develop “tangibles” for the client.
	Understanding the Business Implications of Worker Misclassification 06-25-2004 -- Improperly written and executed work-for-hire (employment or independent contractor) agreements can lead to the inability to patent or otherwise protect intellectual property - or at least to have sole ownership by the company. Further the misclassification of workers can lead to company officers and individual employees having personal liability and being required to pay back wages, taxes, fines, and interest to employees and the IRS; facing forfeiture of tax exempt status of compensation plans, charges of tax evasion, and significant criminal and civil charges; and can impact the employees, creating tax and other personal consequences for them.
	Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should 06-17-2004 -- In dealing with employee schedules, compensation, and performance, there are a number of legal choices a business can make. This doesn't mean that in the long-term business perspective those are the best choices. For instance, a company can require an exempt employee to be on-call 24/7 for an indefinite period of time. That doesn't mean it is good for the employee or the company.
	Selecting an Enterprise Resoure Planning System 06-10-2004 -- As organizations grow and expand operations, the need for strong data collection and reporting tools increases. Businesses usually begin operations with tools – accounting and others – which aren’t comprehensive enough. They are not adequate to span the operational aspects of the business and support controls and functionally needed as complexity increases through sales, operations, manufacturing or other growth activities.
	Understanding the Business of Business 06-03-2004 -- Too often those of us with a particular area of expertise believe it is necessary to be all things in our business. Whether we are technology specialists (IT, Bio-tech, etc.) or professionals (doctors, lawyers, architects, dentists, accountants, and so on), we are smart, so we can do it. The question isn’t always if we can do it; the question may be whether or not we should be doing it.
	Understanding the "Experts" 05-27-2004 -- An overview of what different experts contribute to the business and how to determine which category of expert to seek out for your situation and issue.
	Diagnosing Enterprise Risk 05-21-2004 -- Taking an operational perspective on enterprise risk - includes 21 questions to consdier in assessing risk in the daily activities and operations of the business.
	Budgets, Forecasts, and Financial Performance 05-04-2004 -- Expanding upon the example in "Can the Business Have Moving Targets?", this article discusses three scenarios and the impact of that information on forecasting options.
	Can The Business Have Moving Targets 04-27-2004 -- From the eMailbox: The answer is Yes; however, the business needs to understand the different implications and options.
	10 Ways to Create Positive Cash Flow 04-22-2004 -- Overview of ten areas that impact cash flow and recommendations on how to improve the performance of these areas.
	Understanding the Impact of Cash on Growth 04-15-2004 -- Cash is the life blood of any organization. Without cash to pay vendors, employees and other stakeholders, the organization isn’t viable. Revenue, profit and cash position are intrinsically linked and need to be pursued as interconnected objectives.
	LLC or S-Corporation? Which is Right for You? 04-08-2004 -- Response to reader's question on how to determine which business legal form is best and how to choose - reviews similarities and difference from legal and tax perspectives.
	Trends in Taxation - Sales and Use Taxes 03-31-2004 -- An overview of some of the possible changes in the sales and use tax levels, application, and basis.
	Taking the Numbers to the Operational Perspective 03-24-2004 -- As the business environment continues to increase pressure to control cost, run tighter operations, and become more competitive, there is a correlating need for increased visibility and traceability between activities or events and the reported numbers.
	The New Entrepreneur 03-17-2004 -- Today’s entrepreneur is yesterday’s business executive, computer programmer, staff accountant, public relations specialist or any of the thousands of job titles and specialties you find inside of corporate America. The changes in the traditional business models, the trend to outsource and off-shore operations, has lead to the outplacement of many of the mainstream business processes.
	What is Check21? 03-10-2004 -- Article published in Carolina Newswire on March 10, 2004 on How Check Clearing Act of 21st Century Will Impact Your Business...
	Ten Reasons Businesses Fail 03-03-2004 -- In today’s business climate, it isn’t always the most innovative product or the one that is first to market that generates the most success. Success and longevity of a company are determined by the strength of its business systems. Here are ten reasons that businesses fail to reach full potential:
	Ten Things to Consider When Launching Your Business - The Details 02-20-2004 -- Whether you are thinking of starting a business or have already taken the plunge, getting clear is the first step in moving forward toward those desired outcomes.
	Ten Things to Consider When Launching Your Business - Questions 02-19-2004 -- "What do you want to get out of the business?" is the first of ten questions that get you thinking about the business of business.
	Beyond the Shoebox and Spreadsheet - Why Computerize Accounting December 2003 -- Article in the Microenterprise secion of Small Business Technology Magazine that discusses some of the issues, features, and alternatives when you are ready to take your accounting processes beyond the Shoebox and the Spreadsheet.