By Rob Basso on 2/15/2010 8:28 PM
Guest Post from Robert Bluver, Co-Owner of La Mantia Gallery
Every single small business including highly successful ones like LaMantia Gallery faces many challenges day in and day out to grow their business. In light of the recent economic situation it becomes even more critical to create as many opportunities to help with that growth. As one of the premier art galleries in the country we are constantly looking for ways to move our business to the next level.
I was recently contacted by Robert Basso the executive producer of Basso on Business a show dedicated to helping businesses on Long Island deal with some of the challenges facing small business owners. Robert Basso suggested a show with LaMantia Gallery in the spotlight. At first I received this offer with a degree of reluctance, because one is always worried about how your business will be portrayed.
As we started the process and developed the ideas for the show it became clear to me that the objective for Basso on Business is to sincerely... |
By Rob Basso on 2/12/2010 2:10 PM
Accounting for a small business is sometimes considered an unimportant task. Owners and managers focus on internal staff management, client satisfaction, sales and meeting their daily responsibilities. Accounting tends to fall into a category of a non-revenue generating portion of the business and frequently it ends up being done poorly or ineffectively.
The problem with this attitude is that it causes unintended issues and consequences. For example: I was speaking with Andrew Reade at a regional accounting firm and he told me that many companies that don’t use proper accounting methods end up struggling because they don’t know where they stand financially. Even a financially strong company may not how much cash they have in the bank, they may bounce checks, delay payments to important vendors and possibly have trouble getting financing because of shoddy accounting and financial record keeping.
When I started my business I did the best I could. I did not use a computer program, I simply kept a paper ledger... |
By Rob Basso on 2/3/2010 1:28 PM
I was recently at a business function and the speaker asked how many people had actual written business plans. I was actually shocked that the majority of the small business owners did not have one. Most entrepreneurs seem to be so excited about their idea that they forget that they need to have some sort of plan to follow, a road map of sorts.A business plan is not just a financial document it is also supposed to include your company mission, marketing goals, sales goals….written out, not just numbers. It should serve as the company mantra and should be shared with all managers that have responsibilities to meet the standards put forth in the document. It not supposed to be a private document for the owner or president. How can the team fulfill the wishes of the plan unless they are intimately involved?In fact, each manager, even if it’s your spouse or family member should help formulate their own goals and participate in the building of the plan. It is easier to take ownership of something if you actually helped... |