Plan to Turn Your Company Around in 90 Days: How to Restore Positive Cash Flow and Profitability

Plan to Turn Your Company Around in 90 Days: How to Restore Positive Cash Flow and Profitability

by Jonathan H. Lack
Released July 2013
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781430246688

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Book description

More than half of all businesses in the U.S. don't make it to their fifth birthday, and nearly 70 percent are gone by year ten. How do businesses get into trouble? A hundred different ways. Poor cash flow, undercapitalization, lax financial controls, poor worker productivity, boneheaded mistakes, inefficient processes, failure to adapt, loss of enthusiasm . . . the list goes on and on.

The fact is, many businesses that face life-threatening challenges, or are just stuck in the doldrums, can turn their fortunes around. And Jonathan Lack is the expert who can show you how. Lack is a turnaround specialist—the guy called in to reinvigorate a stalled company or revamp the poor practices that reduce sales and decimate profits. Once he's done, the company is again on the road to growth and profitability.

Plan to Turn Your Company Around in 90 Days is a pragmatic, step-by-step guide to helping your company not only survive but begin to grow again. Among other things, this book will teach you how to improve your company's cash flow, how to better manage your payroll and employee productivity, and how to get better results from your marketing and sales efforts. Turn Your Company Around in 90 Days will help you develop a framework to create a strategic plan that will move your company in the right direction and breathe new life into tired or worn-out operations and products.

Plan to Turn Your Company Around in 90 Days will immediately help your firm in the following areas:

  • How to get to "cash flow positive" and then grow

  • How to manage technology better

  • How to manage your payroll and employee productivity

  • How to improve marketing and increase sales

  • How to restore profitability

  • How to manage your board of directors and investors

    • If you're at all fearful that your company may not last the next couple of years, this book is for you.

    What you'll learn

  • How to manage and preserve cash

  • How to reduce your expenses

  • How to increase your margins

  • How to increase employee productivity and improve operations

  • How to assess the strength of your products and services

  • How to increase sales and marketing efficiency

  • How to create a strategic plan to turn your company around

  • How to restore enthusiasm and become a desirable employer again

    • Who this book is for

    This book is written for CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and CMOs of large companies, midcaps, and small businesses. It's also for angel investors, board directors, private equity firms, and venture capitalists. It is intended to give readers the confidence that, by developing a basic plan, they can turn their company around and give it new life.

    Table of contents

    1. Title Page
    2. Apress Business: The Unbiased Source of Business Information
    3. Dedication
    4. Contents
    5. About the Author
    6. Acknowledgments
    7. Introduction
    8. PART I: Managing and Preserving Cash Flow
      1. CHAPTER 1: How to Manage Cash Flow Better
        1. The Importance of Cash Flow
        2. Getting Started
        3. Discretionary Costs/Expenses
        4. Discretionary Fixed Costs/Expenses
        5. Fixed Costs
        6. Variable Costs
        7. Scorekeeping: Weekly Cash Flow Report
        8. Summary
      2. CHAPTER 2: How to Manage Accounts Payables Better
        1. Your Reputation Is at Stake
        2. Accurate and Current Reporting
        3. Reach out to Vendors
        4. Payment Strategy
        5. Learn from Past Mistakes
        6. Summary
      3. CHAPTER 3: How to Manage Accounts Receivables Better
        1. Accurate and Current Reporting
        2. Reach out to Customers
        3. Don’t Assume You Will Collect Everything Owed Especially If You Don’t Have a Purchase Order
        4. Develop a Collection Strategy
        5. Learn from Past Mistakes
        6. Summary
    9. PART II: Improving Operations Management
      1. CHAPTER 4: How to Manage Employee Productivity Better
        1. Employee Survey
        2. Encourage Innovation and New Ideas
        3. Setting Expectations and Evaluating Skills
        4. Summary
      2. CHAPTER 5: How to Manage Technology, Facilities, and Manufacturing Better
        1. Auditing Your Technology
        2. Auditing Your Facilities
        3. Improve Your Manufacturing Process
        4. Summary
      3. CHAPTER 6: How to Manage Process Flows Better
        1. Developing Process Flows
        2. Process Delineation Worksheet
        3. Summary
    10. PART III: Increasing Marketing and Sales Efficiency
      1. CHAPTER 7: How to Understand Your Customers, Competitors, and Key Trends Better
        1. Know Your Customers as Well as, If Not Better Than, Your Products and Services
        2. Segment Your Customer Base
        3. Use Customer Surveys to Help Fill in the Gaps
        4. Learn from Your Competitors
        5. Summary
      2. CHAPTER 8: How to Develop a More Effective Marketing Strategy
        1. It Should Be “Marketing and Sales,” Not “Sales and Marketing”
        2. What Is Marketing?
        3. Don’t Confuse Strategy and Tactics
        4. Strategic Assessment
        5. Marketing Gap Assessment
        6. Putting the Pieces Together
        7. Summary
      3. CHAPTER 9: How to Develop a More Effective Sales Strategy
        1. Sales Is the Hardest Role in the Company
        2. Identify Your Key Sales Problems
        3. Conduct a Sales Audit
        4. Set Clear Expectations and Sales Goals
        5. Summary
    11. PART IV: Managing from the Top Down
      1. CHAPTER 10: How to Manage Investors and the Board of Directors Better
        1. Put All the Bad News on the Table ASAP—All of It
        2. Example of Board of Directors Memo
        3. Example of Investors Memo
        4. Prepare for the Meeting
        5. Leverage Your Investors
        6. Summary
      2. CHAPTER 11: How to Hire and Manage Your Turnaround Consultant
        1. Setting Your Own Expectations
        2. Important Selection Criteria for a Turnaround Consultant
        3. Do Not Revert to Bad Habits After the Consultant Leaves
        4. Use the Strategic Plan as Your Compass
        5. Summary
      3. CHAPTER 12: How to Manage Yourself and Your Staff Better
        1. Take Responsibility for Your Actions: Stop Blaming Others
        2. Focus on Working Smarter, Not Harder
        3. Set Expectations
        4. Leverage Your Strengths; Mitigate Your Weaknesses
        5. Get Your Staff to Work Smarter
        6. Protect Your Integrity; Don’t Cut Corners
        7. Summary
      4. APPENDIX: Sample Consulting Proposal
        1. Background
        2. Activities for Phase 1
        3. Activities for Phase 2
        4. Terms and Fees
        5. Biography
    12. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Plan to Turn Your Company Around in 90 Days: How to Restore Positive Cash Flow and Profitability
    • Author(s): Jonathan H. Lack
    • Release date: July 2013
    • Publisher(s): Apress
    • ISBN: 9781430246688