All Posts By

Laura Fisher

October 5, 2022
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5 Reasons Businesses Fail

By | Business, Tips

5 Reasons Businesses Fail

 

I did a podcast at The Catholic CEO’s business center in Sugar Land, Texas. Laura Fisher, the interviewer, and her husband run a great place (www.imperialbusinessparks.com). You can find the interview there. She asked me how businesses fail.
There was a dark, brooding sky, torrential rain, flashing lightning all around us, and loud crashing thunder during the interview. It kind of set the mood. Our headphones were crackling with noise. We pressed on.

1. Run Out of Cash.

Sounds simple right? But the point I was making is that businesses that fail almost unanimously tell you that they didn’t realize they were running out of cash.

SOLUTION: Monitor your cash every week.

Forecast next week’s expenditure needs, including payroll. Take quick action to boost collections or sales. Think on a weekly basis. This means you can’t randomly look at your financial statements six or eight weeks later. Get data weekly.

2. Miss signals.

How do you get signals? SOLUTION: You create a weekly dashboard of the most important indicators for your business. You measure them. You report them. And, you interpret the data. You don’t just report it. Think visual aids like red, yellow, and green coding or line graphs and bar charts. Take the time to build these tools. Select three to five and learn to understand their every twitch.
-3. Forget about markets and customers. How can you forget? Easy. You get

-3. Forget about markets and customers. How can you forget? Easy. You get into a groove or rut. You start expecting the revenue flow to continue without change. But maybe a competitor has a better product. Maybe your pricing is insensitive. Maybe your service has slipped. Maybe you’re mailing it in.

SOLUTION: Constantly do customer discovery. Constantly test the merits of
your product or service. Do short, sharp pricing tests.

4. Let the Team Fall Apart.

Years ago, and still true today, The Kaufmann Foundation wrote a report on all the factors that contribute to valuation. The
most important factor that contributed to business valuation? The team. The people. The business plan, the technology, and even the size of the market are all secondary to the team. Why? The team can respond to conditions that emerge (see black swan events) when the unexpected surprise hits.

SOLUTION: Pay attention to the “Big 8 Teamwork Traps”. Contact us and we’ll send you my free published article.

5. The Abilene Paradox.

Check it out. The Abilene Paradox is that situation that arises when nobody speaks up. The story is that of a family sitting on the porch on a hot Sunday afternoon in Kansas. One of them says: “Let’s go to Abilene for ice cream.” Another one says: “Nah. Too hot and dusty.” But another one says: “Well, maybe it would be good. Nice delicious ice cream?” Yet another says: “But it’s so hot!” Fast-forward and you see that they indeed went to Abilene. Now it’s sunset and they are back on the porch. One says: “You know, I never really wanted to go to Abilene.” Another says: “But I thought you wanted to go, and that’s why I agreed to go!” Still, another says: “Me too. I thought you all wanted to go and so I agreed to go – but I didn’t really want to go either.” As you can see from the story, they all made assumptions about what the other was thinking.

SOLUTION: Check to make sure everyone is heard. And check for the truth, not for an assumption transmitted by silence or silent assent. Check for the real opinion.

God bless you, your family, and your works. You can be Catholic and successful in business. Believe it.

The Catholic CEO
Henry Kutarna

November 9, 2020
0

Axxiar USA Feature

By | Industry

We hate to see them go, but we knew this would happen.

Axxiar came to us with a unique problem that needed to be solved. Their NEW place in Alvin, where they moved to, was not available/ready to occupy. SO they needed an affordable short-term solution.

That’s where we come in! Axxiar needed office space for four employees and warehouse space. First, they looked at our Office Warehouse units, but they required more space for their machinery & inventory. So, they decided to rent one of our large warehouse unit 12’ x 40’ PLUS a Private Office for 4, upstairs in Business E Suites.

When I interviewed them for this blog, they confided that they would have preferred to be here had known before about how excellent our property and service was. I loved hearing that!

I noticed the first day they arrived; by mid-day, all four workstations were up and running. Benjamin Chevalier says the internet is FAST, and our Community Manager, Colin, was a big help because he knows how all the tech works together.  

They also mentioned the pleasant atmosphere and amenities we have, including our network printer, all the coffee they could drink, and separate meeting rooms to use for Zoom calls and such. Today they had a webinar on our property to showcase a new tool – over 35 attendees, and it went off without a hitch.

We are going to miss them. I forgot to mention, they were French, and we enjoyed sharing our American traditions with them.

Of course, we want them to stay, but we know our customers are on the move! That’s why we offer short-term options and services that are scalable to your business needs. In this economy, flexibility is required! Our business model is based on that – we know as businesses grow, so do their needs.

I met some great people for Axxiar, and it’s satisfying to know that we had a part in keeping their business functional during a transition that could have been costly.

https://www.axxair.com/en-us/en-us/

AXXAIR designs, manufactures and distributes its orbital tube working machines ever since the company’s foundation in 1997. Our business focuses on the global tube working process: orbital cutting, beveling, squaring and welding. With now over twenty years of experience under its belt, the group has become an international reference on the market of tube processing.