entrepreneur Archives - Eric P. Butts

September 26, 2016 by Eric Butts 2 Comments

Are you the person who jumps or waits to be pushed?

Last week, I had lunch with a friend who just left the firm to join his brother’s fast growing start-up. I’m sad to see him go but also respect the courage he has to go all in on the family business. The move comes with some risk and sacrifice, one of the bigger ones being he will spend a significant amount of time away from his wife.

A lot of people would say this could end badly for their relationship and/or their financial future. Those people would be mistaken and clearly missing a key piece of info that my friend and his wife fundamentally understand. [Read more…]

January 20, 2016 by Eric Butts Leave a Comment

Shark Tank and the Importance of (Realistic) Self-Perception

You need to watch Shark Tank.

I know I’ve said it before, but you seriously should give it a shot if you haven’t seen an episode.

Aside from the entertainment value of my favorite shark Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’ Leary, I learn something new or am reminded of key business lessons practically every time I watch.

This weekend, I ended up catching up on the last two episodes. On each episode, an entrant into the Shark Tank stood out for their self-perception, but for completely opposite reasons. [Read more…]

August 24, 2015 by Eric Butts 2 Comments

4 Ways to Manage Finances for Small Business Owners Who Are Looking to Expand

Someone recently sent me a question asking about tips for managing finances for small business owners looking to expand. Small business owners looking to expand face the same fundamental finance problem any other business faces – how to invest in your business while making sure you have enough cash to pay your bills.

You might think that sounds obvious, but if it was so straightforward we wouldn’t have 50% of businesses failing by year 4. Businesses fail for one reason – they run out of money. Unfortunately, running out of money is a symptom of many possible problems and doesn’t necessarily indicate mismanagement of finances.

[Read more…]

May 26, 2015 by Eric Butts Leave a Comment

Why Sales Are A Terrible Indicator Of Business Health (And 3 Metrics You Should Look At Instead)

I get why you want to tout your sales.

You’re proud a bunch of people actually thought it worth while to give you money for the product or service you sell.

It’s the number you can reach out and touch to make you feel like all your hard work yielded real results.

That sweet, sweet validation reinforces everything you did so you keep it up going forward.

And that’s exactly the problem. [Read more…]

April 24, 2015 by Eric Butts Leave a Comment

The Most Important Quality of Successful Entrepreneurs

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about what investors look for in entrepreneurs?

The answer to that question changed for me in recent weeks. I used to think the answer was an entrepreneur having a great idea, being really smart, or hard working. While investors and business partners respect those traits, they aren’t at the top of the list. [Read more…]

May 14, 2014 by Eric Butts 1 Comment

Accounting Is The Language of Business and Every Entrepreneur Needs to Learn to Speak It

Every startup needs good accounting! — photo credit: dierken via photopin cc

I live in the San Francisco bay area, land of the start-up, the place where people quit full-time jobs to chase the dream of being bought out by Facebook and never working again. Who can blame these budding entrepreneurs? Every time you turn your tv on, Facebook is either buying or trying to buy some young, unproven company for billions of dollars. Consistently seeing such a lack of buyer’s discretion from cash-heavy potential suitors just makes the dream seem all the more plausible.

So where do you start on this journey to Escape From Cubicle Nation?

First, you need to understand it takes more than just a good idea to run a successful business. No matter what kind of entrepreneur you are, there are some basic accounting things you or someone you hire needs to know to keep your business from imploding.

[Read more…]