Archives for December 2019

Tackling Growth Delusions When Buying a Business

There is no doubt about it, it can be exciting to buy a new business.  However, in the process, it is very important that you don’t become unrealistic about future growth.  Keep in mind that in the vast majority of cases, if a business is poised to quickly grow substantially, the seller would be far less interested in selling.  Richard Parker’s recent article for Forbes entitled “Don’t Be Delusional About Growth When Buying a Business” seeks to instill a smart degree of caution into prospective buyers.  Parker notes that when evaluating a business and talking to the owner, many buyers come away with a sense that enormous growth is just “sitting there” waiting to be seized.  In particular, Parker cautions those buyers who are buying into an industry that they know nothing about; those individuals should be very careful.  When buying into an industry where one has no familiarity, there can be a range of problems.  The opportunities that you see may not have been tapped into by the … [Read more...]

Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

If you don’t exactly understand what corporate social responsibility (CSR) means, don’t worry.  We’ll cover the main points you need to know.  CSR is increasingly seen as something that companies of all sizes need to be aware of, so let’s take a closer look at a few of the finer points. There are 4 basic pillars in CSR: the community, the environment, the marketplace and the workplace.  The community pillar of CSR refers to your company’s contribution to the local community; this contribution can take a variety of forms ranging from financial support to personal involvement.  The second pillar of CSR is the environment.  The simple fact is that people around the world are becoming much more environmentally aware.  You can be quite certain that a percentage of your customers and/or clients have environmental concerns.  Increasingly, consumers want to know that the companies that they are purchasing from have good environmental practices.  There are many ways that businesses can show … [Read more...]