You could be a startup with a single salesperson or a large public corporation with 100s of sales people / account executives / legal teams / customer service departments / finance teams / engineers and executives. Either way, it is good to understand how to motivate through pay structures. Having happy people work, support, and sell your product or service can mean the difference between success and failure.
Editable financial models to help validate the economics of your business. Now, anyone can create a financial projection. email me: jason@smarthelping.com
Places Of Interest
Pros and Cons of Starting a Driving Range Business
If you own property or want to buy property and invest in a fairly low initial investment business, then a driving range might be the ticket.
Best Practices in Cohort Analysis for Subscription Businesses
Performing a cohort analysis for recurring revenue businesses is not easy. It takes a trained professional to do it right and explain it. I am talking about this in the context of a company that has multiple years worth of data that wishes to understand key stats about their customers' behavior over time. Mainly, the retention, lifetime value, and customer acquisition cost as well as meta calculations and derivatives of those data points (LTV:CaC, CaC payback time)
How an eCommerce Business Can Improve Conversion Rates
An eCommerce business lives off conversions. If they are not happening, the business dies. This site you are on now relies on digital downloads. A simple conversion rate improvement from 1.5% to 3.0% automatically doubles revenue. It is hard to do though and hard to test what actually is working. There are many external factors that are not easy to account for.
Oil and Gas Well Drilling - 20 Year Cash Flow Financial Model
This financial analysis template is built for oil and/or gas well drilling, exploration and extraction. It has up to 46 drilling cohorts that allow for an arbitrary number of drill holes that take place over time and the resulting economics. The main purpose of the model is to create an accurate cash flow forecast based on a drilling deployment schedule. Includes options for a joint venture / waterfall with IRR hurdles.
How to Approach Marketing as a Startup
For a startup to get some important momentum that compounds on itself, there are some essential things that will help you. A first impression that people remember is insanely valuable. This is all marketing. A good long-term marketing strategy for startups would include a combination of tactics, including:
Construction Business: Operating Competitive Advantages
A construction business, also known as a general contractor, typically performs a wide range of services related to the construction, renovation, and repair of buildings and other structures. This can include activities such as:
Best Practices for Managing Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable
Accounts receivable refers to the money that a company is owed by its customers for goods or services that have been delivered or used but not yet paid for. This is considered a current asset on a company's balance sheet. Accounts receivable is important for a company's cash flow and can be used as collateral for loans.
Balancing Growth and Stability in a Startup Business
As a startup business, it's important to strike a balance between growth and stability when it comes to financing. One strategy that can help achieve this balance is to pursue a combination of debt and equity financing.
Importance of Network Effects When Starting a Business
What is a Cap Table and How is it Structured?
A cap table, short for "capitalization table," is a document that shows the ownership structure of a company. It lists all of the shareholders in a company, along with the number of shares they own and their percentage of ownership.
How Does a Leveraged Buyout Model Work and Pros / Cons
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is a type of financial transaction in which a company is acquired using a significant amount of borrowed money, with the acquired company's assets serving as collateral for the loans. The purpose of an LBO is typically to acquire a controlling interest in a company, and the buyer is usually an investment firm, private equity firm, or a group of investors. The goal is to achieve a high return on investment through the acquisition and subsequent management of the company, and to eventually resell the company at a profit.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Starting a PaaS Business (Product-as-a-Service)
There are several advantages to running a product-as-a-service (PaaS) business:
Challenges and Advantages When Starting an Apple Orchard Business
Starting an apple orchard business comes with some challenges, but there are also a lot of long-term rewards and benefits to running such a business as well.
Construction Loan Financial Modeling: Update to Real Estate Models
There are all kinds of methodologies and styles I have seen in my financial modeling career for forecasting the use of a construction loan or debt to help get a real estate deal funded. What I have built in the three templates below involves the best and most flexible configuration possible.
How to Invest in Hotels - For Real Estate Investors
Hotels have been around for a long time and will likely continue to be around. Even with all the Airbnb / short-term rental hype, there is still plenty of demand to stay at a hotel when traveling / vacationing. Below is some insight into what it takes to invest in hotels and a bit of history. I think knowing the history of an industry is important to understanding it and understanding something you are investing in is important.
Inventory Management Procedures
Overall, good inventory management is essential for maintaining a healthy and profitable business. It helps ensure that the right products are available to customers, while keeping costs and risks under control, and helps to support growth and profitability of the business.
Economics of Building a Golf Course
The financial impact of a new golf course can effect many people in many ways. The operator / developer is looking to benefit financially, the community is looking for a new fun activity, and the city would get higher tax revenues and boast an attraction for more people to come live there.
How to Sell Your House Direct to Buyer Using Seller Financing
I have built a great seller financing template that does include the tax calculations for basis and that will help you plan the finances around selling your house in this way. It has a few different options for loan terms (regular p+i, interest only with a balloon at the end, and a term loan (amortization with a balloon payment at some point earlier than the amortization term). All have different tax implications and cash flows.
What is a Better Business Model: Franchising or Licensing?
Franchising is different than licensing in a few ways, what is most suitable for your business will depend on many factors, scaling goals, and personal goals. Franchising and licensing are both ways for a company to expand its business by allowing others to use its trademark, products, and business model. However, they are different in several key ways.
Favorable Environment for Starting a Lending Business
A good environment for starting a lending business would have a combination of factors such as a stable economy, a sizable population with diverse credit needs, a well-developed legal and regulatory framework for lending activities, and a competitive market with room for new players. Additionally, having access to a diverse range of funding sources, such as banks and investors, can also be beneficial for a new lending business.
How Can a Company Determine a Price Point to Sell At
All sorts of things go into figuring out a price point. First, you have to pick your market (niche or not) and figure out what that marketing is generally willing to pay for things. Then it is just about the cost of goods sold or cost to provide the service and a target margin / volume. The general retail customer will be very sensitive to price, but if your customers are other businesses, this is less of a factor.
Dividend Investing Strategies
Dividend investing is a strategy where investors look to purchase stocks that pay dividends on a regular basis, such as quarterly or annually, with the goal of receiving a steady stream of income. Here are a few strategies that you can consider when dividend investing:
How to Build Wealth Through Multiple Channels
Generally I talk a lot about business, strategy, financial models, and spreadsheets, but what is the point of it all? Well, the point is to build wealth. That is why a financial model is relevant. It is a tool to help people and businesses that are trying to grow.
Types of Businesses that Require Little Management / Stress
There are many different types of businesses that require varying amounts of management and stress to operate, and the level of management and stress required will depend on a number of factors, such as the size and complexity of the business, the number of employees, and the industry in which the business operates.
Strategies for Starting a Vending Machine Business
There are a few different deployment strategies that you could consider for a vending machine business:
Competitive Advantages for Real Estate Investors
There are several competitive advantages that real estate investors can leverage to achieve success in their investments. Some of these include:
Successful REITs Do These Things
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are required by law to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income to shareholders in the form of dividends. REITs typically distribute dividends on a quarterly basis. The amount of the dividends will depend on the REIT's financial performance and the discretion of its board of directors. REITs that have strong financial performance and a history of steady dividend growth may be able to pay higher dividends to shareholders. However, it is important to note that dividends are not guaranteed and the amount of dividends paid by a REIT can fluctuate from quarter to quarter. There are several strategies that a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) can use to be successful over the long term:
Most Valuable Competitive Advantages to Have in the Real Estate Business
There are several competitive advantages that can be beneficial in the real estate business:
Help for Startups Hiring New Employees: Negotiation and Financial Considerations
When hiring new employees for your startup, there are several things you should consider negotiating:
How to Negotiate Compensation with a Startup
What is More Important When Building a Successful Business, the Product or the Team?
Best Practices for Startup Revenue Projections
There are a few key steps you can take to build accurate revenue projections for a new business:
Good Spreadsheet Design Strategies
A good spreadsheet design should be organized, easy to read and understand, and free of errors. Here are a few specific things to consider when designing a spreadsheet:
Explaining Every Type of Depreciation Strategy
Depreciation expense is not just a trick for those that own real estate. There are various strategies involving depreciation that many businesses can use to lower their tax liability. Here are the general types of depreciation and when they can be used:
Strategies for Issuing Employees Equity
Things You Must Get Right as a Startup Founder
Opportunity Zones and Real Estate Funds - How it Works and Deadlines
I would like to premise this with a few things. First, I have done a dynamic financial model for opportunity zone feasibility analysis for a private client. It is too specific to sell in my opinion so I never built a template for it. Second, just because a property is in an opportunity zone doesn't mean it is a great investment. There are many strategies surrounding this kind of real estate investing methodology and it is for the experienced.