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May 30, 2001 - When
it comes to describing Millian’s business advisor services, she likes to call
it individual hand-holding.
“With
each business and each individual taxpayer, I do whatever needs to be done,”
she says. “Just knowing what the business needs as far as record keeping,
insurance, legal advice, etc….I refer them to the proper professional if I
don’t know the answer.”
A
lot of small business don’t have a full corporate structure in place. The
owners may fulfill multiple roles such as the president, bookkeeper and human
resources director. In a situation like this, Millian role is as an advisor to
help business owners make the best decision possible.
“I’m
acting like a controller would in a bigger business,” she says. “If
they’re doing hiring and firing, I help advise them on what to do and how. I
help them decide whether it’s time to move from having the wife do the
bookkeeping to a professional bookkeepers.”
When
someone is the sole owner of a business, that’s when they really need someone
to talk to, Millian says. And with 32 years of experience behind her, she’s
seen a lot of different situations through the years and offers a good point to
bounce ideas off of.
“It’s
like a good marriage. You need someone to discuss things with,” she says.
One
of the hardest things for a small business owner to do is to reach out beyond
their immediate resources, she says. With one client, for example, she spent a
lot talking with her and helping her to evaluate why she was thinking of letting
an employee go.
“We
discussed why she wanted to fire the employee and what it would accomplish. Then
we talked about whether she would hire a replacement and how would that person
be different from the person she was firing,” Millian says. “A lot of
business owners only look at the immediate problem and not to the future.”
One
of the biggest things Millian does is to help businesses manage their growth.
“You
try to keep them growing slowly and within their means,” she says. “What
kills so many businesses is that they don’t have the cash flow they need and
one little blip can throw the whole thing off.”
Growth
occurs too quickly when a business commits to a greater amount of sales, but
doesn’t have the cash flow to purchase the inventory to fulfill those sales,
they go into debt and then can’t pay their bills.
This
situation is called being undercapitalized. “You need enough working capital
to pay certain expenses up front such as inventory, receivables, payroll and
payroll taxes. Without enough working capital, you run short on cash and can’t
meet all your obligations.”
As
always, Millian suggests you contact your CPA or business advisor to assess the
health of your business and determine what action you might need to make.
“That
how you can get the best use of your CPA – let them help you with management
decisions.”
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