Spring is coming!

While a great deal of the country is creeping in and out of the polar vortex (sorry Al Gore...I'm not buying the whole "global warming" antic) spring is actually right around the corner. Many readers are experiencing the uptick in sales already! After all...tax money seems to come earlier and earlier every year!
Consumers, at least the automotive consumers, seem to want to buy when they have the money in hand...that means we need to be prepared...and that means having inventory on hand ready and waiting!! But how do you take advantage of early buying opportunities to be sure you have inventory at the best price when your cash flow is at it's lowest point? Consider a revenue based loan ...this type of borrowing is based on your revenue and is probably the best way to take advantage of the best early bird special pricing your vendors are going to offer...all year!
If you've got a great new idea...crowd funding might be an option, but this is generally reserved for a brand new idea or product.
As always...drop me a line (using the "contact us" box on the right side of the page) if you have any questions.

Drive fast!

Go Corporate or Go Rogue

This is the gist of the article I just read by Paul Rosenburg at www.freemansperspective.com, a newsletter I subscribe to for the sake of keeping up with some of the world’s issues. This particular article addresses the “end of the American middle class” which is certainly a topic worth a whole other discussion….alas…not today…and not here on this blog. I am NOT a doomsday preacher, and never will be.

What I am is a realist, I like to identify a problem and come up with a solution…and like George W. Bush, once I have committed to my solution, I am going to see it through…and again, Like GW, if I’m wrong…well…that’s on me…and YES…I’ve been wrong before…just ask my wife!

The article I am talking about struck a chord with me; having been a business owner myself (and lost that business), and currently working in a management capacity as an employee within a company, I felt this is an issue business owners will want to be aware of…mostly because we are (most of us) guilty….and yet…it’s extremely simple to remedy!

Among other things, the author goes on to say that the American middle class has been eroding for quite some time; it used to be that a manufacturing job was a very good place to be in the American society, but (and this number was quite surprising to me, not the fact…the number) back in 1977 there was about 20 million manufacturing jobs…now there are about 12 million and the population has increased since then…NOT decreased!!

So…the author’s point here is that the middle class has no other choice but to “Go corporate or go Rogue.” The corporate choice, he states, is to become a mindless corporate drone…so many are going rogue…which is where my point (going rogue) begins to present itself…finally! But going rogue requires considerable strength of character…and so far I’ve just been talking about an individual…now consider going rogue as a company!!

Going rogue simply means stepping out of the norm…being or doing something different…no longer obedient or conforming!

So here is my point…what are you doing, as a business owner, to “go rogue?” How is working for your company different (and I would suggest…more fun) from your competitors and/or other local area jobs? All I am suggesting here is that you take a step outside of the box and ask yourself…would I work for me? And LOVE it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…