I was once talking to a student who was puzzled about Gross Margin – “Is it Gross because its big or is it that it is ugly?” he asked. (Was he joking???). If you are well versed in these terms no need to read further. However, I have come across small businesses that are not… Read More »
Many small businesses operate without an inventory control system. When they buy goods for sale they post the cost directly to the Profit and Loss account under the title “purchases”. In this case the Gross Profit on the sale is calculated as: Gross Profit = Sales – Purchases Simple. What is wrong with this? Most… Read More »
Whilst how best to control a business is a complex issue and people write papers or even whole books on the topic, this post explores some of the main characteristics of a business that is in control. The final measure of success is that the business can consistently trade profitably. You cannot get around the fact that… Read More »
The idea behind this blog is to engage business owners in a conversation about techniques, methods, tricks, systems and other tools that help with the challenging task of managing a small to medium sized business. During my past and present consulting assignments I come across interesting adaptations of known good management practices. After all …… Read More »