Lillian Vernon’s 10 Questions for Entrepreneurs

You may know Lillian Katz better by the name Lillian Vernon. She is the founder of the $258 million direct-marketing company Lillian Vernon Corporation. Below are 10 questions Vernon thinks you should ask yourself before you attempt to start your own business.

 

1. Do you have the necessary commitment?

To succeed, you must feel passionate about the work you have chosen. Lukewarm enthusiasm will not sustain you through the challenges you will face in a start-up business.

 

2. Are you prepared to work extremely hard?

Launching your own business demands long hours of labor. Are you sure you want to give up a good part of your social life: your weekends, golf games and vacations? For your developing business to succeed, you will need to focus all your energies on it.

Crisis Management – by Dan Lacy

Learn to recognize potential problems before they threaten the survival of your business.

 

During the bleak days of the Depression, an aggressive politician from New York named Franklin Roosevelt made a bold promise that his administration would put “two chickens in every pot and a car in every garage.” As it turned out, this was one of the few times in history when a political exaggeration was actually an economic understatement.

 

Today, poultry is so inexpensive that it is the most common meat used in pet food. And the automobile has become such a fixture in the American home that owning just one is a handicap rather than a privilege. In fact, we have such an innate understanding of the internal combustion engine that most of us have a rough idea of how it works and why it sometimes doesn’t.

Danger Signals of a Business in Trouble

During the bleak days of the Depression, an aggressive politician from New York named Franklin Roosevelt make a bold promise that his administration would put “two chickens in every pot and a car in every garage.”  As it turned out, this was one of the few times in history when a political exaggeration was actually an economic understatement.  Today poultry is so inexpensive that it is the most common meat used in pet food.  And the automobile has become such a fixture in the American home that owning just one is a handicap rather than a privilege.  In fact, we have such an innate understanding of the internal combustion engine that most of us have a rough idea of how it works and why it sometimes doesn’t.

7 Ways to Improve Cash Flow in Your Business

One of the more significant challenges of owning a business is having enough cash to pay the bills.  Your ability to pay your bills on time, to a large effect, is based on how successful you are in collecting your accounts receivable in a timely manner.

Demographic Profile – An Average American Millionaire

General Information

• The average age is 57. Only 10% are under 40.
• Grew up in middle or working class families. (80% are first-generation millionaires).
• Attended some college (15% dropped out by 12th grade).
• Approximately 60% are men, 40% are women.
• Drives an older American car (60%).
• Dresses moderately and conservatively.
  

How to Sleep Better with a Cash Flow Plan

What is the biggest worry that keeps small business owners awake at night?  More than likely, it’s the fear of having little or no cash flow to pay bills and make payroll.  After all, if there isn’t anything in the bank, it is nearly impossible to keep the business operating.

Most of the smaller business owners I know, tend to look at their check books and see if they money in there.  If they do, it is a good thing and if they don’t it creates a lot of stress. As the business grows using this simplistic system will get the business owner in trouble and depending on the seasonality of the business and the rate of growth, it can create a very big problem.

Crisis in Business Financing

Over the last 90 days, the banking community has gone through tremendous turmoil due to the loss in earnings from the sub-prime market, deterioration in stock price (some as much as 70% in the last 12 months), liquidity issues (unable to fund new loans) and full scale lay off of departments and key employees.

The Secret of Success

Thought for today. The secret of success.
You need to be a hungry fighter – and a hungry fighter never quits. Success is largely hanging on after other have let to
- Dr. Seuss was rejected 23 times
- Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team
- Henry Fort went broke five times
- The University of Bern rejected Albert Einstein’s Ph.D. Dissertation
- Winston Churchill took three years to get through the 8th grade. Later Churchill gave a commencement speech at Oxford consisting of only seven words: “Never, give up! Never, never give up!”

Turmoil in financial markets costing financial industry dearly

As you know the banks in central Indiana are aggressively tightening up credit.  It is much harder for a borrower to get financing today than it was 2 years ago and many borrowers that don’t match up to the new standards are being shown the door.   There is an interesting report as of 2/1/08 from Bloomberg that identifies how much each financial institution has written off for bad debts in 2007. 

Making Your Business Great

Ever talked to a business owner who is frustrated with the growth of his business, how revenue seems to seeks its own level whether it is $500k or even $8M, revenue seems to get to a point and it just doesn’t seem to change? Ever wonder why this occurs when other businesses just seem to continue to grow? Is it the economy, the market, the industry or even the product that is holding them back?

Truth be told, the biggest single ingredient holding back a company that is stalled-out is the person that is running it. Running a small business is probably one of the toughest jobs in the US today. It isn’t the long hours, it isn’t the technical knowledge or industry expertise; its how the CEO chooses to manage people and delegates authority and responsibility. Those that learn to grow their ability as leaders (vision, communication, responsibility, accountability, responsibility, delegation, etc.) as their company grows are the ones that see growth in their organization, improved profitability, increased cash flow and wealth.