Founding partner of CEO Advisory Guru, LLC . Best-selling author of The Private Equity Playbook and The Exit-Strategy Playbook. getty Everywhere you look, the signs are there. Christmas lights have come down, those unrelenting holiday ads are a distant memory, and the Salvation Army’s bell ringers have packed up their red buckets for another year. It all adds up to one thing: The holidays are over, and the new year is well underway. But for many people—and small and medium-sized business (SMB) owners are no exception—shaking off the holiday cobwebs and figuring out how to move forward is often easier said than done. Indeed, this is the time of year that many SMB owners find themselves asking one all-important question: How can I set my business up for more growth and profitability in this first quarter and for the rest of the year? While multifaceted, the answer is simple: You need to learn to run your SMB like a large business. Specifically, that means getting clear on your cash flow, setting measurable and achievable goals for growth, and staying disciplined about doing whatever it takes to achieve those targets. 1. Get Clear On Cash Flow Most SMB owners, myself […]
