The Crisis

At this point with the economy in a recession, depression or what Wall Street or the media wants to call it, we need answers.  I call the economic climate we currently find ourselves in as a CRISIS.

Why do I call this climate a crisis? This term is defined by Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending, especially: one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome.  We are currently at this position.

Just yesterday someone spoke to me about a huge percentage of business took a hit.  I told the young man many businesses are taking a hit now because of the economic climate.  Many businesses, especially small businesses, rely on credit cards and bank loans to pull the out or assist them in times like these.  Here is the issue which creates the crisis, the banks are not lending like they normally would which places a hold on loans and lines of credit. 

So what is a business or an individual to do in such a crisis?  I say that both should realign their culture of revenue generation, spending and investing.  This applies to the six figure W2 earner to the non profit organization to a Fortune 500 company.  We must examine the culture in which we do business.  We must ask the difficult questions and make some tough decisions. 

When was the last time you measured your organization’s strengths and weaknesses?  Do you have a product or service idea that is tailor made for the crisis we find ourselves in?  How do you go about possibly replacing key leaders and training others?  These are just some of the questions that must be asked in order to examine the culture and to stop this crisis.  I think crisis management just took on a new distinction!

For more information on financial crisis management contact info@thetowlesgroup.com

The Four A’s of Finances

There is a process to wealth for the non-wealthy and we look to expose this process in this article.

The first step is arranging. Arrange your financial picture that is readable and understandable. You might want to speak with a financial advisor or your tax professional that will work with you to prepare accurate personal financial statements.

The next step is assessing. Once the financial statements are prepared it is now time to assess your financial situation.  How much debt are you carrying?  What areas are your revenue coming from? What opportunities are there to produce more income or shrink your debt?

The third step is set an aim.  After the assessment is done it is now time to create a plan and set a goal.  When you set your goals, be sure to work backwards, yes backwards.  Look at where you would like to be.  Make that your long term goal, three to five years out.  Determine the steps you will need to take from where you are now to where you want to be.  These will be your mid range goals.  What can you do right now (within the next 30 days) to move in that direction?  These will be your short range goals.

The fourth step is to administer. Now that there is a plan in place, the plan must be executed.  Life is full of obstacles therefore you will need to form a team of people to whom you will be accountable to with regard to administering your aim.  It is important that you do something everyday to push you closer towards your aim.  It is also important to select people on the accountability team who will be honest with you and those who are not jealous of your progress.