About half of all companies close within five years of opening, and 70 percent will close within 10 years. An established company that suffers a significant loss due to a disaster faces the same long odds. The failure rate is virtually identical to the failure rate of startups, risk management consultant Bob Bernens said. “You [...]
Rapid technological advancements are making international business accessible for companies of all sizes, but the opportunity for new sales comes at a cost – not the least of which is introducing your product to a new, foreign audience. The Ohio Department of Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration can help. They offer a grant [...]
Attrition is “the true silent killer” for modern companies, experienced human resources director Bill Bagley said. It strikes in tangible and intangible ways: Increasing costs for recruiting and training, a loss of efficiencies, and lowering workplace morale. At Barnes Dennig’s most recent Distribution & Manufacturing Roundtable, Bagley discussed “Transformational HR,” a process companies can utilize [...]
A recap of our 2011 Wholesale/Distribution Annual Seminar, by Barnes Dennig Senior Accountant Tyler Duff: A successful distributor should plan for profit, take it off the top and maintain a net profit before taxes of at least 30 percent. To get there, Dr. Don A. Rice said, it is important to measure every business activity, [...]
For manufacturers and distributors who want to get more out of their property, the current issue of our quarterly Manufacturing & Distribution e-newsletter includes two insightful articles. The cover article for this issue is titled “The Five Keys to Being Green” and offers tips for becoming more energy efficient and environmentally savvy. For instance: 1. Look [...]
As the White House and Congress continue their debate about raising the government’s debt ceiling, one of the issues on the table is a repeal of “last-in, first-out” accounting, which would essentially mean a multi-billion dollar tax increase on companies that utilize the accounting method. President Obama and other Democratic officials have argued that repealing [...]
Often times the best sources of technological innovation for your company are the systems, assets and relationships you already have in place. The key is to find new and better ways to utilize them. That was one of the major messages of Barnes Dennig’s recent wholesale / distribution roundtable on “Innovative Uses of Technology.” John [...]
A drought will expose the bottom of a stream. When the water is low, you can see the rocks that weren’t visible when the stream was flowing at full force. The same is true of a business in a slow economy. All of the little rocks — the things that aren’t working so well — [...]