Surviving the Economic Crisis

Surviving the Economic Crisis<


More good advice for coping with recessionary times!

What is a Virtual CFO? How Can It Help My Small Business?

For many small to mid-sized businesses it is just not practical or financially feasible to have a full time salaried Chief Financial Officer or Controller on your payroll. You can get the benefits of a senior financial executive at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO by engaging a Virtual CFO.

The primary difference between the two is that a Virtual CFO is not on site on a full time basis but works on and for your business whenever you need him. We are available to you on call, as required. We will respond to an email or phone call within the hour.

So turn over the financial and administration management of your business to us. Whether it’s timely and accurate financial statements, preparing financial or strategic plans, or dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency, or working closely with your banking and lending relationships our top priority will always be looking after your bottom line. We will monitor the health of your business on an ongoing basis, providing you with advice, feedback and recommendations with respect to the ongoing profitability and success of your company or organization.

7 Things You Need To Do Today To Succeed In Business

You really don't need an MBA these days to succeed in running your own small business. Marketing and entrepreneurial guru Seth Godin suggests that there are 7 fundamental things you need to embrace in order to be successful running any business these days:

1. Find,hire, manage and lead outstanding people
2. Embrace change and move quickly
3. Understand and excel at business development and making deals with other companies
4. Prioritizing tasks in jobs that change every day
5. Selling - to people, to companies, and to new markets
6. Understand the impact of new technologies
7. Working with lenders and other sources of financing

Fine-Tuning and Growing Your Small Business

This is a fine article written by Rick Spence of the Financial Post. The projects or activities that Rick lists are all perfect examples of what Michael Gerber (author of the E-Myth Revisited and Awakening the Entrepreneur Within) talks about when he encourages entrepreneurs and small business owners to work more ON their business than IN it.

The Current State of the Canadian Economy and its Impact on Small Businesses

While I'm no economist I do believe that there is a great deal of unnecessary pessimism and un-founded fear about the current state of our economy. Having said that if enough people believe we're in a recession or are about to go through one then in fact we will. It will become a self fulfilling prophecy. Actually, Franklin D Roosevelt said it best many years ago when he opined "we have nothing to fear but fear itself".

So what are the current indicators telling us?


Banking: While the banks in US and many in European have been hit hard by the sub-prime mortgage fiasco, the banking system in Canada is robust and healthy. Yes, several Canadian banks have taken some hits and losses as a result of international loans but on the whole the International Monetary Fund is very confident in the Canadian banking system.

The Canadian Dollar: Now trading near a three year low of 80 cents. The Canadian dollar is really a petro-currency these days and has traded very consistently with the world price of oil. As world prices of oil rose so did the Canadian dollar and now as the price of oil has dropped significantly so to has the Canadian dollar. This is good news for small Canadian manufacturers who export. Not so good news if your business imports raw materials or manufacturing inputs from the US. Not so good news if you are planning on vacationing in the US in the next several months and very bad news for Canadian snowbirds.

Stock Market: The Canadian stock markets have taken a significant hit. Most of this hit however has been born by oil stocks as the price of a barrel of oil has now dropped 50% since its peak in the spring of $147 per barrel. While not so good news for oil stocks and oil companies in general it is very good news for consumers and small businesses when it comes to energy prices. And if you do hold stocks, remember that you haven't lost anything until you sell. Every major downturn in the stock market has been followed by an upturn.

Unemployment: The September jobs report shows more new jobs were created last month than in any previous month

Growth: And yes, while growth has slowed, it is still higher than most other countries and the world and Canada is the only G8 country not running a deficit

So what does all this mean to the small owner managed business in Canada?

It means on balance that economic conditions are still pretty good. Hard working Canadians should continue to run their businesses the same way. Invest in training your people, continue to invest in infrastructure and continue to invest in marketing and selling your products and services. Now might be the time for a little prudent belt tightening. Cut down on the extravagant spending. Cut out the waste. Review your spending very carefully prior to making the commitment. Be confident that you will ride through these uncertain times. After all the only thing we really need fear is fear itself!

Help for the Small Business Owner

We believe that the strength and foundation of a healthy and vibrant economy in Canada rests with the courage and determination of the small business owner and because of that belief our mission is to help and assist small businesses succeed.

We know that many small business owners are driven by the freedom that working independently promises; however we also know that owning and running your own small business can be very lonely, frustrating and one where you often struggle financially and you are working incredibly long hours.