James E. Heyward CPA

Episode 4: What VALUE means!

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In this episode, we talk about what value means to your small business.

When you think about the word value, it can mean a lot of different things. Value is subjective and means something different to everyone. So what does it mean to your small business? Let’s take a look at how you can figure out the value of your small business and what that means for you moving forward.

Value is the total worth of a product or service. It is determined by the benefits that a customer derives from it. But what does this mean for you? For your small business?

It is fair return on Goods or Services. Relative importance, worth, or utility.

Valuing a business can help you focus on areas for improvement. There are lots of things you can do to help secure a good valuation, including:

  1. planning ahead: have a solid business plan, with a focus on how you’re going to achieve both short-term and long-term results
  2. reducing risk: for instance, if you rely on a particular group of customers, consider diversifying
  3. putting great processes in place: think about how you store information, whether it’s financial records or simply how the business works. Often, the more you can show, the higher the confidence in the business.

What works for one business won’t always work for another. By giving an overview of several popular business valuation methods, though, we hope you’re closer to understanding how much your business is worth.

Learn more. What VALUE means to your Small Business!

Episode 3: The Power of CashFlow

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In this episode, we are going to discuss how cashflow can be your best friend or worst enemy. The key to making sure your cash flow is always on your side is to make sure you are doing the right things with the money you have.

What is Cash Flow?

Cashflow=Lifeblood of Business or Finances.

Cash flow represents the movement of cash in and out of the business or personally in and out of your bank account. It is fundamentally not profit. It is not what you earn, but essentially what you keep.

It is mathematically impossible to get ahead with a negative cashflow — in order to save money, in order to pay off debt, you must earn more than you spend. To gain wealth, you must spend less than you earn. This is the fundamental law of money. Framed in terms of a mathematical equation:

[WEALTH] = [WHAT YOU EARN] – [WHAT YOU SPEND]
This formula tells us two things:

If you spend more than you earn, you are losing wealth — you have a negative cashflow. If you spend less than you earn, you are accumulating wealth — you have a positive cash flow.

cashflow
Every outflow is not an expense

Have you properly evaluated your cash flow? Are you in a positive or negative balance? Listen to more Power of Cash Flow.

Heyward CPA LIVE Episode 19 – Don’t Be Afraid To Say “I Don’t Know”

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“I don’t know” is a phrase that few people will admit to saying. This can be due to fear, embarrassment, or the fear of not being able to answer a question. However, this phrase should not be taken negatively. In fact, it should be seen as liberating, as it is a way to cut through the clutter when you do not have an answer a gateway to learning what needs to be done for your business.

Heyward CPA LIVE Episode 18: Client Accounting Services: What does that mean for my business?

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The March 15th deadline is approaching and businesses are paying attention to LAST YEARS financial results. In the episode, we discuss how Client Accounting Services (CAS) are essential for business owners to achiever their goals in the current year.

The Habit Business Owners Should Adopt.

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Entrepreneurs believe in sacrifice.

They sacrifice for clients, employees, and vendors and willing to overcome anything that might stand in the way of dreams.

The sacrifice mentality affects owners and their families because they do not consistently compensate themselves. With all the effort and perseverance needed to run a small business, a business owner must be able to maintain their livelihood and support their family’s needs, or eventually, the business will fold.

Be nice to yourself!
As an entrepreneur, when you ask somebody to work for you or perform a short-term task, compensation is expected.  As an owner, you do five times the work of someone working with you, but never consider compensating themselves.

Business owners should be nicer to themselves; you find ways to pay every other bill and but you don’t find a way to pay yourself. if you are cognizant of paying someone else, why not look out for yourself?

I know it’s rough and sometimes it goes against conventional wisdom, but you have to be nice to yourself.

Start with this Habit
My advice for business owners is to build a habit of paying yourself, even if only $100 or $50 per pay period.  As revenues grow, your paycheck can be increased, and you will make enough to take care of yourself, possibly even pay yourself a bonus.

Look at it this way – flight attendants tell passengers to put their masks on BEFORE assisting someone else if cabin pressure drops.  In other words, we have to care for ourselves before we care for others.

Being a founder, leader, CEO or boss are all positions where sacrifice is necessary – but if the owner/founder does not take care of themselves the business may not be around for the long term.

How PPP can save your Company!

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In this video, I speak a bit about my thoughts on PPP. Let me know what you think in comments.