In 2013, 30 percent of brokered deals and 31 percent of investment bank deals fell through after a Letter of Intent was signed.  According to Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, valuation gaps in pricing were the number one reason that M&A ventures failed.  This was followed closely by non-fiscal demands from either party that were deemed “unreasonable”.  Interestingly, ...

Cash Flow is the Most Important Financial Item for a Small Business Owners to Pay Attention To. Here's How to Speed it Up.   Cash flow--how cash flows through your organization from sale to invoice to receipt--is the lifeblood of a small company, writes Eric V. Holtzclaw at Inc.com.  And speeding up your cash flow allows you to do more and gives your company more stability.  Here are seven tips:   ...

Accounting Isn't Just a Necessary Evil; Sometimes the Methods Can be Used as a Key Part of Your Business Strategy   Jeff Haden at Inc. answers a question from a reader who wonders if it matters what inventory accounting method she uses.   It does!  Here's some explanation, and specific advice:  ...

Many Business Buyers Probably Have Some Boilerplate Questions Ready to Ask Business Sellers — But May be Missing the Most Important Ones.   Mike Handelsman, group general manager for BizBuySell.com and BizQuest.com, the Internet's largest and most heavily trafficked business-for-sale marketplaces, recently advised readers at Inc.com that if they're thinking about buying a business, they should put extra eff ...

On Marketing Mistakes Generally, Bad Marketing Messages in Particular, Social Networking, and More Geoffrey James at Inc.com writes: "A few months ago, I traded emails with best-selling author Seth Godin on the subject of marketing inside small businesses. The more I read over the interview, the more I realize that his advice is priceless."  Here's an excerpt of the interview.  Read the whole piece for the ...

Jewels from Seth Godin, Harvey Mackay, Tony Robbins, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Others on Success, Vision, Health, and More  This set of inspirational thoughts for the new year will galvanize you into action.  "At the start of every year," writes Geoffrey James, Sales Source columnist at Inc.com, "I create a list of quotes to guide and inspire me for the next 12 months. Here are the quotes I've selec ...

Six Out of 10 Small-Business Owners Buy Business Benefits of Social Media; 41% Prefer LinkedIn; Only 3% Vouch for Twitter  Not that that stopped Twitter from getting a $9B valuation this last week.   Emily Maltby and Shira Ovide report that the Wall Street Journal and Vistage International recently surveyed 835 small business owners.  Here are the results. ...

Here are four surprising ways to protect yourself in a law suit and keep legal fees to a minimum. Kevin Daum at Inc. advises:  "Shakespeare said, "First kill all the lawyers." Maybe this seems a tad aggressive, but then again, for most people the last thing you look forward to is someone showing up at your door with a subpoena. Whether a lawsuit is business related or personal, the thought of engaging an at ...