Most businesses produce monthly reports. Far fewer have a conversation about them. The report arrives, someone glances at the profit figure, and it is filed

Many businesses are excellent at doing the work and oddly shy about collecting the money. It feels awkward. You have built a good relationship, delivered

Many business owners avoid forecasting because they think it requires a crystal ball. They imagine a spreadsheet of heroic assumptions, prepared by somebody who has

Most businesses begin by taking whoever turns up. That is entirely reasonable. When you are small, a paying customer is a wonderful thing, and nobody

Most businesses set their prices in a hurry. Somebody asks for a quote. You glance at what a competitor charges, choose a number that feels

The phrase “business systems” can sound rather joyless. It suggests procedure manuals, mandatory fields and somebody from head office explaining why the new process is

Most businesses begin by saying yes. Yes, we can do that. Yes, we can help. Yes, we can make a version for you by Friday.

Business improvement is often presented as something dramatic. A new strategy. A transformation program. A software system demonstrated by somebody who appears never to have

People sometimes imagine that financial reporting is about control. It conjures up pictures of accountants guarding budgets, asking why somebody bought lunch, and producing complicated

There is a particularly annoying stage in the growth of a business when sales go up, everyone gets busier, and somehow there is no extra

There is a dangerous moment in a growing business when everyone is flat out and the owner starts feeling successful. The phones are ringing. The

One of the stranger things about running a business is that you can be profitable and still run out of money. This sounds like an