Course List

ACE: Strategic Planning for Small Businesses

Small business strategic planning should quickly lead you from defining where you are going to deciding how to get there. Getting there takes a well-built strategy and implementation plan. Get planning and management tools with the basics of how to use them.

Analyzing Whether to Add New Locations

A new location is a major commitment of time and money with the potential to expand a company’s business and increase profits.

New locations also come with risks. Sales may be lower than expected while costs are higher. The new location may pull more resources from existing operations and strategy than anticipated.

I'll give you step-by-step guidance on how to decide whether a new location will increase profits or destroy value.

Behavioral Finance

It’s time to stop yourself from making quick, emotional decisions by allowing yourself to think clearly to reach a better decision. Overcome your destructive financial impulses by understanding common thinking mistakes.

With my Behavioral Finance course, you can avoid these costly financial decision-making mistakes. The course will help you to learn science-backed ideas to make better financial decisions.

Better Budgeting

Are You Tired of the Drama and Dysfunction in the Business Budgeting Process? Budgeting consumes a massive amount of time and resources. It's a stressful and busy time.

Are there ways to improve the effectiveness of the investment we make in the budget process? Can we make better budgeting decisions that lead to higher performance?

There are options within and beyond traditional budgeting. Every company should consider these options to discover which could improve their budgeting process. 

Business Loan Basics

Business loans are a vital source of funding for cash flow management. The course begins with ratio analysis and cash flow projections to determine whether loan funding is needed. I then explain how leverage (the use of borrowed funds) magnifies returns but increases risk.

We then explore key loan components like different ways interest is calculated, types of fees, and the multiple terms that can be structured into a loan. 

You’ll discover ways to reduce the interest rate on your loan. I give an overview of the application process and the documents lenders frequently request.

Key documents that are signed at loan closing are described, and the importance of each is explained. I’ll point out important clauses included in these documents.

Creating Value: Business Success from Shared Value

You get what you value when you provide value to others. Business success comes from creating value for owners, customers, and employees. In this program, you'll identify exactly what each of these three groups value and how to increase that value - and your success.

Entrepreneurial Finance: Small Business Financial Management Basics

Get a financial overview of the entrepreneurial journey from startup to operational decisions to exit planning. You’ll hear from a business banker guest speaker who explains what lenders look at when deciding whether to make a loan to a small business.

You’ll learn:

Improve Your Cash Flow

One of the greatest sources of stress for small business owners is managing cash flow. 69% of business owners who have been kept up at night by concerns about cash flow. More than half of U.S. businesses have lost $10,000 or more by foregoing a project or sales specifically due to issues created by insufficient cash flow.

This course shows you how to assess current and future cash flows. You learn techniques to increase cash flow and reduce dips in cash flow. I list critical sources of cash for businesses, along with the pros and cons of major sources.

I explain how to prepare a cash flow projection. You discover a company’s sustainable growth rate and how to increase it. I show you how leverage can increase growth, profit, and cash. Leverage also comes with risks and I explain how to manage those risks.

Marginal Profitability Analysis

Marginal Profitability Analysis provides relevant decision information for setting prices, product design and product profitability. Analysis of whether to open or close locations or divisions can also be done with marginal profitability analysis.

The course provides practical examples of making decisions with marginal profitability analysis. Examples include determining optimal production amounts and which products to promote. The final section explains how to calculate the change in profitability from a price increase and a price decrease. A worksheet template is provided for this analysis.

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs)

What performance secret can you learn from Google, Intel, and Intuit?
Objectives and Key Results, also known as OKRs, have become very popular for improving company performance. They have powered success at companies like Google, Intel, and Intuit.

OKRs can improve focus, engagement, innovation, and  performance. I'll walk you step-by-step through how to implement OKRs at your company

SBA Loans: Funding and Resources for Small Businesses

Discover SBA loan programs and resources that could help your business. This course helps business owners and their advisors better understand the purpose of SBA loan programs, who's eligible, and whether U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loans are the right funding for the business.

Understanding all the SBA loan programs, where to get more info, and where to find lenders can be daunting. I'll give you two templates that summarize this for you and help you quickly get the information you need.

Business Structure Benefits and Options for Entrepreneurs

Deciding the business structure choice, also known as business entity choice, that best fits your business can be overwhelming. This course will guide you through the benefits business structures can provide. You'll learn which structures can provide the benefits you need.

This course explains the benefits business structures can provide and lists the pros and cons of popular structures.