Featured Business Guidance Articles

Know and Avoid Common Decision-Making Mistakes

To err is human, but don’t give up! You can learn to make better decisions. You have the intellect necessary to gather and objectively assess the relevant facts. Just slow down, conduct a level-headed analysis and get familiar with psychological biases that tend to derail sound decision-making for humans (so you can avoid them). Here [...]

Tips for Wringing Out Cost and Improving Gross Margins

Purchase, Don’t Expedite. Time is money. Given a little time, a purchasing manager worth his/her salt should be able to wring a significant amount of cost out of any purchase. So give him/her incentive and time. Expedited orders add substantially to freight cost, and when you need it quick, your bargaining power is weak.
Use ABC [...]

ABC Inventory Control to Boost Profit and Carve Out Tax-Free Cash

The skill of a company in procuring (i.e., purchasing) parts, product and managing inventory can be the difference between success and failure. This is because:

The profitability of a business — or lack thereof — is established by the gross profit margin. That is, the profit left over from each sale after the direct expenses are [...]

Latest from The Business Owner Blog

Why Business Owners Should Watch the Super Bowl

“Want to compare yourself to someone, make it someone great,” my father used to say. Okay, maybe I should compare myself to a winning football coach, such as Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints. After all, a professional sports team is a business.
If I worked with the energy and focus and commitment to winning of [...]

The Business Owner Articles Now Available in Audio Format

All our articles and blog posts are now available in audio format at www.TheBusinessOwner.com. When you’re at the site, simply click the “Listen Now” icon that accompanies each article and blog post. The audio version will begin to play. You’ll also be offered the opportunity to download the file to your iPod or MP3 player. [...]

Free Fraud Prevention Webinar for Business Owners

Wednesday, Jan 13, 11:30 CST
A leading cause of business failure in the U.S. is employee theft.1 Organizations lose 5% of their revenue to fraud.2 Small businesses suffer disproportionately2 and the perpetrator is typically a “most trusted” employee. One in twenty-five employees are sociopaths and looking for opportunities to swindle you.3
If you’re a business owner, you’re at [...]