Any successful business owner is constantly evaluating the performance of his or her company, comparing it with the company’s historical figures, with its industry competitors, and even with successful businesses from other industries. To complete a thorough examination of your company’s effectiveness, however, you need to look at more than just easily attainable numbers like sales, profits, and total assets. You must be able to read between the lines of your financial statements and make the seemingly inconsequential numbers accessible and comprehensible.

This massive data overload could seem staggering. Luckily, there are many well-tested ratios out there that make the task a bit less daunting. Comparative ratio analysis helps you identify and quantify your company’s strengths and weaknesses, evaluate its financial position, and understand the risks you may be taking.

As with any other form of analysis, comparative ratio techniques aren’t definitive and their results shouldn’t be viewed as gospel. Many off-the-balance-sheet factors can play a role in the success or failure of a company. But, when used in concert with various other business evaluation processes, comparative ratios are invaluable. (more…)

Dentists will be shown how to diagnose the financial health of their practice at the Recession-Proof Your Practice workshop 8 a.m. to noon, on Oct. 30 at The Schuster Center for Professional Development, 9312 E. Raintree Drive in Scottsdale, AZ. Registration and breakfast will begin at 7:30 a.m.

The interactive workshop will provide participants with models to help them experience unprecedented growth in uncertain times. The fee is $95 per person and is 3.5 AGD credit hours. Attendees will also receive a free comprehensive Schuster Model for Spending Report – a $350 value.

Brenda Penwell, CFO and President of The Schuster Center, will facilitate the workshop. Penwell, who joined The Schuster Center in 1985, is known for her unique ability to successfully relate to both dentists and their team members. (more…)

‘I have no intention of continuing to provide support for the construction of dwellings that are a sieve in terms of their energy consumption’, said President Sarkozy last month.

Accordingly, the deductibility of mortgage interest for new dwellings will progressively be reserved for very low energy consumption properties.

Existing properties remain unaffected by this proposal, as the announcement is clearly aimed at trying to persuade developers that they need to improve the energy performance of newly constructed dwellings. (more…)

Everyone could use some extra money, particularly in hard times. Perhaps the bills were a little more than you’d expected this month, or maybe you’re trying to raise some starter cash for your own internet startup or business. As the first article in an ongoing series, here are ten handy ideas to bring in some extra money.

Donate blood

Blood banks will often pay $20-$40, up to twice a week.

People often overlook this, but it’s a good way to make money providing a desperately-needed service. Donating blood is traditionally done through the Red Cross on a volunteer basis, but many blood collection services will compensate donors for between $20 and $40 per donation… and donors can often donate twice a week. It’s a good way to help out both you and your fellow man. You’ll want to check in your Yellow Pages for blood banks and hospitals local to your area, and call around. Be aware that California does not allow financial compensation for blood, and seems to insist that doing the good deed of providing blood cannot involve enlightened self-interest in any way. Also take note that the FDA has forbidden people who it considers to be at a high risk of HIV from donating at any price whatsoever, and would-be donors who admit to having had male-male sexual intercourse since 1977 are rejected on the basis that they “might have been exposed to HIV” – despite the fact that being at risk is not limited to any one sexual orientation. I haven’t spoken with any blood bank staff who agree with this policy, but they all seem to perpetuate it through their enforcement of it regardless. For many who find that desperate financial times require considering unconventional sources of raising money – particularly students, although increasingly anyone in the middle-class – donating blood on a paid basis is an approach that works. (more…)

One of the most common forms of life insurance is the mortgage life insurance policies. They are used to pay off any home mortgage balance in the event something was to fatally happen to you. But are these policies a good deal? Here’s a look.

The best part of having this type of insurance is that your family can have a paid off home balance if anything were to ever happen to you. The other aspect is that in most cases the cost of the coverage goes down each year as the balance decreases.

Similar to your standard credit life insurance contracts you have for your credit cards; there are several negative aspects to mortgage life as well. In fact, many consumer advocacy groups are advising against purchasing these policies. (more…)