Blog: Cash Flow University
Articles to Educate You on Cash Flow
By the experts at MP Star, One Fee Factoring Since 1995
An Introduction to Buy-Sell Agreements
You might think your business partner’s spouse is terrific. You appreciate the support of the long hours and the understanding of the many sacrifices that must be made to grow a business. You get along fine during social situations. You even send a nice gift for the...
Why Bank Failures Matter to Your Business
Bank failures don’t dominate the financial headlines like they did two years ago, but they still occur frequently enough to send negative ripple effects through the economy. In mid-March, regulators shut down two banks in Georgia and Illinois, marking the fourteenth...
The Pros and Cons of Business Partnerships
A business partnership can be a great thing. It can help an individual achieve more than he would have alone. A partnership can leverage strengths, hide weaknesses and prove that – sometimes – the whole really is greater than the sum of the parts. The right...
The Perfect Windsor Knot and the Other James Caan
The Perfect Windsor Knot and the Other James Caan It’s truly the app decade. Apps for entertainment, news and information, travel, lifestyle, education, and business purposes are being churned out on a daily basis. At the rate things are going, we’ll soon need an app...
The Election Year’s Magic Number
One theme that continues to appear in these postings is that decision makers, especially those in the business community, hate uncertainty. More information is always better than less, and that includes information about matters outside of your control. Not knowing is...
Your Company’s Most Powerful Tool
If memory serves, it was Vince Lombardi who said, “When you have a cannon, you need to fire it.” Lombardi was talking about running back Paul Hornung, and responding to criticism that he was giving the future hall of famer too many carries. But after five NFL...
Six Tips for Better Email Marketing
Email marketing is not just for large companies with huge staffs full of marketing types. Even small, growing companies can benefit from the convenience and quick response times afforded by a well-planned email campaign. There are many opportunities for leveraging the...
Invoice Factoring: Five Lessons for Business Owners
So how’s your cash flow? Running a successful business depends on having enough cash on hand to meet your obligations in a timely manner, and that’s why thousands of business owners and operators have come to appreciate the advantages offered by invoice factoring....
Post Office to Proceed with Cost Reduction Plan; Service Cuts Could Impact Businesses
In case you haven’t heard, all signs point toward the U.S. Postal Service moving ahead with previously announced plans to close or consolidate more than 260 mail processing centers early this summer. The Post Office can’t make the changes until after May 15, when a...
Give the People What They Want: Easy Steps to Effective Customer Surveys
The Internet makes it very easy to obtain current, almost instant feedback from your customer base. Consider the opportunities that weren’t available to business owners just 15 years ago: Email links to sales and customer service personnel give buyers direct,...
Free business advice: these 3 free business advice tips can benefit your business in 2012.
As I was reading an article in Entrepreneur Magazine regarding business resolutions, I was reminded about how taking small steps can have an oversized impact on your company. In other words, you don’t need to develop a multi-faceted, exhaustive plan to make a...
Entrepreneur ideas: here’s proof that even small entrepreneur ideas can lead to great things.
Entrepreneur Magazine recently named its winners of the Entrepreneur of 2011 Awards. The magazine sorted through thousands of deserving candidates and decided on three winners. In some ways, these entrepreneurs couldn’t have been more different: Lee Rhodes creates...
Cash flow management: why sound cash flow projections make it easier to grow your business.
Did you know that keeping inaccurate or inadequate cash flow records can hurt your chances of expanding your business? It’s a fact of business life. Those who maintain precise records with accurate cash flow projections often are rewarded – especially when it comes to...
Financial statement analysis: Puzzled by financial statements? Feeling overwhelmed when interpreting them? Don’t worry. You’re not alone.
But, deciphering these statements really isn’t that difficult – even if you don’t have a financial background. Once you’ve read our financial statement analysis (and free business advice!), you won’t feel as intimidated the next time you hear the term “financial...
Seasonal business cash flow management: how to use cash flow management to survive the ebb and flow of a seasonal business.
If you run this type of business, you know about the difficulties of maintaining an adequate cash flow. In fact, you’re more susceptible to feeling a cash flow strain than many businesses. But, you can do plenty about it – besides worry. The U.S. Small Business...
Cash flow management: use invoice factoring to help avoid the fate of too many small businesses.
Did you know that about half of all small companies go out of business within their first five years of operation? That’s according to a credible source – the U.S. Small Business Administration. If you’re a small business owner, that’s a scary statistic. But, there’s...
Navigating the Social Media Jungle
(Disclaimer: MP Star Financial is working towards getting involved with social media; keep reading to see what we plan to do! Ignore the social media phenomenon at your own peril. Businesses of all sizes and in nearly every industry are jumping in. They’re finding...
The Case for Sales Forecasting
Nothing happens until a sale is made. - Thomas Watson Sr. Mr. Watson, the former CEO and chairman of IBM, was right, of course. So it would be nice to know when the sale will happen, meaning you can get past the “nothing” happening stage, and move toward growing your...
Coping with Higher Gas Prices
Spring is just around the corner. That means baseball, the end of the school year…and higher gas prices? Yes, unfortunately the winter thaw generally means higher prices at the pump. Increased demand for fuel because of heavier traffic in mild weather is part of the...
Five Great Apps for Growing Businesses
Among other things, running your business is a balancing act involving your time. In fact, time might be the most precious resource you have. (You can always make another dollar, but let’s see you make another minute.) Since no one has figured out how to cram 25 hours...