Dodo Loves Marketing

Making The Deal

When you finally find a car that looks good, runs well, and seems like a fair deal, go back with a parent or friend—someone who’s more objective than you are. It’s easy to get infatuated with a car and miss some of the troubling details. Be sure to ask the owner about the car’s history of accidents and repairs. You may not get a straight answer, but it’s always wise to ask. Also, ask for records of maintenance and repairs. A person who keeps a file of receipts is generally someone who takes care of cars.

If it still looks like a good deal, take it to a mechanic. He can run simple tests on the car, inspect the brakes and fluids, and tell you if there’s anything scary lurking out of view. If the car has big problems, look for another—you don’t want to be buying someone else’sproblems. If the car passes your mechanic’s inspection, make an offer. ..more

• Read More »

I’m about to tell you some stuff that a lot of people don’t want you to know. You see, youth marketers are growing filthy rich off your hard-earned cash, and what I’m going to tell you will foil their schemes. That’s because the three investment tricks you’re about to learn will show you how to invest more of your money into your future, not theirs. If you follow my advice, you won’t be putting any of them out of business. But if a bunch of readers like you try these tricks, a few of them might have to drive BMWs instead of Lambourghinis. What a shame.

Here’s another shame. These tricks are so simple, you’d think that more people would try them. But most people don’t. Instead, they squander all their cash on stupid purchases, then complain that the rich keep getting richer, while they just keep getting poorer. It doesn’t take an economics degree to figure out that those marketers keep getting richer off their money— money that they practically throw at them. ..more

• Read More »

Assembling a cash flow statement: chronicling the past. To help you get started in putting together your own cash flow statement, this section describes the cash flow statement of a hypothetical architectural firm, ABC Architectural Services.

The cash flow statement is for the four months just ended (For the purpose of the exercise, we assume that we’re now at April 30.)

A few notes about this company:

It employed seven people in January and received two new architectural design contracts in January for $25,000 each. These jobs should each take five months to complete and are payable as completed. ..more

• Read More »

All business owners know what cash flow is—if not technically, then emotionally. Nevertheless, it’s worthwhile to approach this subject from the very beginning because it is key to business success. Some business school professors have even begun to impart to their students the latest thinking about cash flow: “Cash flow is more important than your mother.”

A useful way to think about cash flow is to view the business as a living organism. Cash is the nutrient that runs through its arteries and veins. The brain might be viewed as the product or service, the heart as the marketing, and the stomach as the finances, at which point it all begins to get a little messy. If you don’t have enough cash flow, though, rest assured that the living organism turns into a skeleton. , ..more

• Read More »

An excellent example of assumptions underlying a business plan is provided in the People Express financials. Here we find a list of 12 assumptions that help clarify the projections that follow. Most have to do with revenues and expenses associated with flying the company’s expected three plane fleet. Thus, we learn in points 7, 8, and 9 that revenues don’t include certain items that could become important later, like excess baggage and charter fees. And we learn in points 4 and 5 how the aircraft lease and personnel costs are figured in. ..more

• Read More »

The income statement is the one we all tend to focus our attention on because it provides the proverbial “bottom line”— the company’s profit or loss. It’s usually done on a quarterly basis.

As you look at the basic income statement you’ll notice that it seems a lot like the cash flow statement. You start with your revenues less commissions. From that, you subtract direct labor (drafters and architects, for instance, for an architectural firm) and materials.

The result is a subtotal that gives you your gross profit or loss. (The percentage of gross profit to revenues can be a very useful number. It’s your gross margin and can help you compare yourself with others in your industry—it tells you immediately whether your labor or other costs are way out of line.) ..more

• Read More »