CEO Vision with Blurry Funding

THE WORLD IS YOURS...

Executive leadership or entrepreneurship makes you believe the world is yours.  However, being in charge requires having a vision and understanding that you need people in place to properly plan and execute.  More importantly, there needs to be someone in place to balance the risks you want to take.

The job of any C-level executive involves guiding a strategic direction around the mission of the organization.  But regardless of the size of the company, the budget has to be able to exist or grow to sustain the vision.

Here's how to make sure the company mission is aligned with the funding with the right checks and balances to counteract unwise risks:

1. Identify the goals and the resources necessary to achieve them.   This requires having someone in place that has witnessed the success or experienced the failure to truly understand the time it takes and the quality of the people necessary to make things happen.  The result of this exercise should be a blueprint with a timeline including the number of costs associated to each action required to achieve the goal.
2. Evaluate the capital.  Do not count on contingent funding that may/may not appear on time.  Base this on guaranteed account receivables that take less than 90 days to collect or 50% of the promised capital funding or expense allocation or approved business lending with minimal contingencies.  Depending upon the costs required for #1, determine what it would take to remain under budget by at least 30% in case funding gets slashed.
3. Trim down the long-term goals into finer short-term objectives.  Whatever is remaining that cannot be completed will require some prioritization.  Give first priority to anything that has high impact and low effort followed by high impact and medium effort.  It's better monetarily and morally to have productivity for a goal than to just keep people busy.

There is nothing wrong to envision with a wide view but the person who understand financially how to get there will help narrow the focus for a better chance of success.  The vision won't be funny if it is within reach of the money. #checksandbalances

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Posted in: Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?,budget,CEO,checks and balances,CIO,entrepreneur.com,Entrepreneurship,entrepreneurship contracts,financing,leadership,mission statement,visionary,visions

Best Read Friday - The Most Expensive Super Bowl Turns into A Bargain

FINANCIAL WATERFALL?...

There is big money in major events being scheduled in a top metropolitan city or its surrounding area.  Because of the demand, the prices can go up to 500% of the normal price especially for a sporting event that attracts thousands of tourists.  However, the Super Bowl that is labeled as the most expensive ever is now offering some unforeseen bargains.

Pricey hotels and restaurants in New York City and the cities surrounding MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey are dropping prices.  Fares published over a month ago are now slashed to as low as $100/night in New Jersey and back to the norm of $200-$250/night in New York City.  

Whether the reason be the cold weather or the lack of interest in being overcrowded in a perceived public transportation nightmare, bargains can be found even for tickets.  

Check out this article on why the Super Bowl economic expectations for the dual-state tourism might have run its course.

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Posted in: bottom line,financing,Get A Clue,revenue,Richard Sherman,Seattle Seahawks,Super Bowl,Temeko Richardson,tourism

A Business Spending Makeover

SLASH SPEND FOR PROFIT WIN...

Between the holiday seasons, the end of year closing and getting ready for next year’s new business, every business owner must take the time out for a financial makeover.  This should not be too intrusive but effective, nonetheless, in revamping the spending patterns to increase the bottom line that can be used to reinvest in the business.  Here are a few tips to reduce those expenses and maybe give bigger bonuses at the end of the year.

• Hire People from the Cloud.  There is no need to keep people on the payroll indefinitely if there is not constant work.  Cloudsourcing is better for hiring qualified remote professionals that are only needed for specific short-term assignments like graphic design, writing, and event planning/scheduling.  And there are plenty of alternatives to global outsourcing for the cheapest labor since plenty of quality resources are available on sites like ODesk and Freelancer.
• Move the technology to the cloud. Unless the work and productivity require installed software, look to cloud solutions that cost less and require no manual interventions and desktop support for employees.  The monthly or annual subscriptions may cost more in the long term but it frees up time and money over time.  For small businesses, hire an intern to review all the applications that exist for the mobile market and there might be one that has minimal to no cost.  For large corporations, hire a technology implementation consulting firm to identify what enterprise solutions can be streamlined to run leaner.
• Leverage Social Media for Marketing.  Television and radio spend can blow a marketing budget especially since a consumer requires hearing a message 7 – 10 times before purchasing a product or service.  Use Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, and Instagram to stay relevant and promote new products.  Of course, there is the price to pay for sponsored Tweets and Facebook ads but that reaches more people in specific demographics and can be reposted enough times to generate sales that would pay for the promotional spots.
• Eliminate dead beats.  True, tis the season to be jolly and giving but not silly.  Complete a clear evaluation of anyone charging to overhead.  Are they holding their weight? Can their tasks be combined with another person’s?  Are they best suited in another role that can be charged back to a client?  And to make this less personal and more about business, a third-party can review and make unbiased decisions that you might have been afraid to make.
• Video/Tele-conference.  At the end of the year, the best way to curb expenses is reducing travel.  By this time of the year all the relationships should be sturdy enough to be absent in person for a couple of weeks a month.  Skype, join.me, WebEx, and even my least favorite (Lync) all have conference capabilities to allow any meeting to go on as scheduled with each participant sharing their desktops and mobile devices where necessary.

Makeovers are intended to enhance the beauty and there is nothing more beautiful than looking better financially when the spotlight is on the spending.  Use these tips quarterly to save big and possibly influence your outlook on changing your personal finances around for the better. 

For more business planning, be sure to follow this blog at blog.therlcgroup.com and pick up a copy of the book, Get A Clue - 10 Steps to an Executive IQ.

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Posted in: business continuity,business expert,business plan,business planning,business spending,eLance,Entrepreneurship,financing,Get A Clue,join.me,oDesk,skype,slashing spending,Temeko Richardson

Best Read Friday - 3 Crash Courses for Entrepreneurs

LEARN ENTREPRENEURSHIP FAST...

Everyone who opens a business does not have the time or money to invest in an MBA. After all, the passion is burning and the ideas are flowing but there is a threshold on the time to get to market without competitors taking over the potential buyers.  

Check out this article that provides three crash courses to help budding business owners learn about the setup, financing, and prototyping that is necessary to move forward while saving tons of money.  

Be sure to follow on Twitter @temekoruns or Facebook for business and motivational tips, especially the Entrepreneurship Tip of the Day.

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Posted in: crowdfunding,entrepreneur contracts,Entrepreneurship,finance the dream,financing,Jennifer Alsever,startup,startups,Temeko Richardson