Get Cash Keep Control BLOG

By Stefania Aulicino

It’s not about Financing, it’s about Freedom

Why were we mesmerized to see the social revolution in Egypt as the people spontaneous rose up and demanded their freedom?

What is the freedom they wanted? Freedom to pursue their future.
Freedom means you are not condemned to be constrained by your past.
Entrepreneurs are faced with the same issue daily.

Finance is about your past. As such it is a constraint
Your access to funding is based on your collateral- what you did yesterday.
Your past is a “currency” of constraints.

Freedom is about your future.
The future only you can create- which is unlimited.
When you use your future as the valuable currency it is, you can pursue your passion.
The future is a “currency” of freedom
continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

Growing a business deserves to be fun and profitable.

Sara knows the importance of fast customer service when someone wants to buy.
Her expertise is credit card processing and customer support
Her focus is the higher education market, with its unique needs.
She used her innovative approach and became a leader in the field.
Her reward was revenue growth to $ 6 million at a rate which won her a spot on the Inc 500 list of fastest growing companies.

So what is the problem?
She is tired. Work is consuming her time so she can’t do the other things she loves.

Solution?
Sell ….. Sara was entertaining the idea of selling her company.
Because Sara’s company had low profits today, the valuation she could get was capped.
She had ideas of a new suite of products and some automation which could propel her company to $100 million revenue. Any buyer would tie their purchase price “valuation” to future profits obligating Sara to deliver milestone success for a new owner during a transition period. Problem is she would have no ownership or authority to direct the actions she knew were necessary.

Sara was about to pursue a permanent answer to a temporary problem, until we spoke and I suggested it was a business model issue. continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

You can get advice anywhere, but all advice is NOT the same.

Buzz invented a barrier to address flooding when he was digging below the water table for real estate sites in Florida. The effect was a fast solution allowing him to complete projects where other construction companies could not operate.

His “advisors” declared this was perfect for emergency solutions, suggesting entities like FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) would be big customers. Buzz thought that made sense and he spent 6 months trying to get into government agency offices to sell his product, without success.

Why do so many Business Owners accept business advice from their lawyers or accountants?
Nothing wrong with lawyers or CPAs, but you need to understand what kind of advice you will get.
• A lawyer is focused on avoiding risk
• A CPA is focused on documenting the past
How relevant is THAT for a business builder, responsible for profiting from the FUTURE?

The same is true of seeking out advice from a venture capitalist or angel investors.
Nothing wrong with learning about the investor finance world, but only you have spent your entire career to become an expert in your business and they are just learning it.

It DOES make sense to learn from each of your “advisors” about their area of expertise.
Just don’t confuse that with advice relevant for how to build your unique business. continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

Every year, over 30% of the entrepreneurs whose companies are listed on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies are on their 3rd company: the prior 2 were unsuccessful.
Too many entrepreneurs end up practicing on themselves.

Financing is NOT a transaction; it’s an organic part of building a business.

Just as you aim to build your product right the first time, aim to build your company right the first time.

That’s why finance is an organic part of building a business
continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

There are different kinds of doctors and you need to know which one will heal your specific ailment.
The wrong treatment, at best will not improve your situation, at worst will aggravate it- perhaps kill you.
There are different kinds of cash and you need to know which one is right for your use.
The wrong money at best will divert you from your goals, at worst will obliterate your goals- perhaps kill your dream.
continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino
A big birthday of mine was coming up and I wanted to do something different. I asked a friend who has a lovely city garden if I could have a garden party in his backyard. Wili was delighted. He himself is a party guy. As a complement to his profession as a graphic designer and manager of engineering draftsmen, which is how I originally got to know him, he loves to exercise his creative side; he is a skilled interior decorator, clothing designer, and gardener and loves the culinary arts.

We set the date and Wili asked me what I wanted. Something simple. Just the backyard for friends to gather with me. Yes I would bring the cake. And Wili’s sister, who has a side catering business, was engaged to help Wili with the food.

As we got close, Wili did not want to use paper products, but came up with stemmed glasses, porcelain and cloth napkins- in keeping with his eye for proper look for my event. Wili told me we must have cut flowers and we added that to the budget. Wili got the flowers wholesale and arranged then in his own vases.

The party was a smash success. Everyone was amazed at the backdrop of a very intimate garden party with fabulous food, cut and planted flowers and energy contributed by Wili’s entire family who joined our celebration.

Then the problem happened. continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

Why not begin this year with a New Year’s Resolution for your company?

Many of us declare resolutions for ourselves; why not declare a resolution for your company?
The New Year seems to be a natural time when many people think HONESTLY about what could improve their life. Better health, lose weight, less debt.

What is a declaration worthy of your company’s New Year?
continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

“I want to get my company to $10 million in revenue so I can get the attention of buyers and sell it”;
“I want to get to $1 million in EBITDA so I can attract a larger universe of buyers.”

Why would you do all the hard work of building a company to get it to a critical stage of take off and give all that upside away?
If you don’t grow your company, WHO WILL?

Too many entrepreneurs operate from the perspective that you can only monetize value if you sell your company.
The alternative is continue reading…

By Stefania Aulicino

Enthusiasm is a trait of all successful entrepreneurs. Used incorrectly, it becomes the Achilles’ heal of an entrepreneur’s business model.

The excitement of a new business rallies the Herculean effort of the founding team. People put in 12-hour days for less than normal compensation. In fact you can’t pay for that kind of work ethic. Imagine if you offered to pay your grandmother to cook Thanksgiving dinner for her family and grandchildren: you would actually dis-incent her! You cross the social bounds with commercial bounds.

Yet, trouble starts when the owner builds a business model that continues to rely on Herculean effort instead of shifting to a fully burdened model which can pay cash for value delivered to customers. Pricing is too low to pay for a sustainable team. Customers expect extraordinary service but are not charged a sustainable value-exchange. continue reading…

Stefania Aulicino

In unstable economic times, when sales are harder to close, the worst thing an innovative company can do is diversify.

Specialize on your core competency.
Go deeper.
Go wider with different features.
But don’t move away from your core competency.
continue reading…