The SmallBizLady Buzz - Issue 155

As we March to the end of Women’s History Month, the unfortunate failure of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week affords us another opportunity to highlight a few financial lessons to learn that you can apply today.

1. Don’t put all your cash in one bank…especially if you have more than 250K liquid. FDIC insurance only covers up to $250,000 per depositor, per banking institution. Pick a second bank. I suggest a regional, community or credit union. They offer more flexible lending terms, better rates and a personal customer relationship. Don’t put more than $250K in any one institution, and be strategic with your banking relationships.

2. Manage your cash flow carefully. Understand your monthly payables and receivables so you know how much cash you burn through on a monthly basis and how many months of cash you have stashed in the bank accounts. Monitor the timing of when you spend cash with when cash flows into your business. You should be able to predict 8-12 weeks out whether you will run out of cash so you can take actions to avoid it. (Talk to a client about accelerated payments).

3. Review your balance sheet with your CPA or an outsourced CFO. Most small business owners hardly look at this financial statement, but it’s the 2nd most important financial report besides a cash flow. Your business balance sheet shows if your company is solvent with enough assets to cover your liabilities (vendor bills, credit card debt, loans/lines of credit, payroll liabilities, etc.)

4. Diversify your customer base. No customer should represent more than 25% of your revenue. When you have a customer representing too much of your revenue and the engagement end’s suddenly or there’s a delay with payment, it could significantly affect your cash flow and ability to pay your obligations.

5. Check your revenue model. Profits should be your main source of cash flow. Don’t depend on lenders, grants or investors to save your business. That funding dries up quickly in weak economic. Many of the startups (that aren’t often profitable) needed to take out a lot of cash and draw down on their lines of credit to survive. That put huge pressure on Silicon Valley Bank, which contributed heavily to the collapse of the bank.

Make sure you go inside the bank to do business. You want to make sure someone knows you, and that they are aware of your business, so if something happens, you have an advocate.

Hopefully, you have good money systems in your business.

If you are jumping into email marketing this week’s feature post will be helpful: The Art of Successful Lead Follow-Up: Tips and Tricks

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The Art of Successful Lead Follow-Up: Tips and Tricks

As a small business owner, you know that generating leads is only the first step in the sales process. Following up is essential to turn them into paying customers. Lead follow-up is often neglected, yet it’s critical to converting leads into sales. This article will discuss why lead follow-up is important, different follow-up methods, and tips to improve your results. Continue reading....

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Podcast: Bringing in Industry Experts to Go Further Faster with Jy Maze

Check out this recent podcast here: Bringing in Industry Experts to Go Further Faster with Jy Maze

Jy Maze is a speaker, author, and community advocate. She's the CEO of Maze Freight Solutions, a third-party logistics service based in Overland Park, Kansas. Maze Freight Solutions provides logistical services, including one or more elements of commercial procurement, supply chain management, and fulfillment activities for all sizes and categories of enterprises.

Jy wanted to change the lack of diversity in the logistics industry, which led her to start her business in 2017. Today, we will talk to Jy about why we all need to consider using industry experts in our business. For more information, check out mazefreightsolutions.com

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Are you ready to try your luck with email marketing?

In my course, The Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, you’ll learn how to set goals for your email campaigns, write smart headlines, rewards readers, learn to build strong calls-to-action, and build sales funnels. It includes everything you need to build your brand and make money in your sleep. Click here for all of the details.

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Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, marketing and social selling. Melinda is also the president of the Quintessence Group, an award-winning marketing consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, serving Fortune 500 brands who target small business market. LinkedIn named her a Top Voice for 2019 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In addition to being a former NY Times columnist, she is frequently quoted by media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News. She is the host of #Smallbizchat LIVE and The SmallBizChat Podcast. A prolific writer, Melinda has published more than 5000 articles on her blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com. Her small business advice is widely read reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded and Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.