We want to share with you our thoughts on business projections, cash management, small business, entrepreneurship, finance, startups, and business planning.



After beta testing ProjectionSmart Startup (for startup business) with 300 entrepreneurs, Bob and I recently held workshops with SCORE (the Service Corp of Retired Executives) and with 60 chiropractic students at Northwestern Health Sciences University who are about to graduate and start their own chiropractic businesses. We showed both of these groups the benefits of Startup and the Proof Plan, and it was very satisfying to see how quickly they grasped these key concepts, understood the numbers of their... [continue reading]

During my career I’ve turned around a bunch of companies, some of which were only a few weeks away from shutting down. As I look back at those companies, and at other companies that I straightened out and put back on track, I see that they all made some of the same mistakes. Being in a turnaround situation is very stressful, involving pressure from all sides: banks, vendors, customers, employees, and owners. So keep these common mistakes in mind with your business and avoid getting yourself into that dre... [continue reading]

It’s August in Minnesota, and snow could start falling at any minute! The last week in August means we are starting up another semester at the technical college where I teach. One of the classes I teach is called Introduction to Small Business, a required course for a certificate in entrepreneurship The class gives the students an overview of what it is like to start and own a small business. We spend a great deal of time in this class exploring why some businesses fail while other succeed. As a starting... [continue reading]

If you look up the word “bootstrapping” in the dictionary, you will find definitions that include “a means of advancing oneself”, “a means of accomplishing something”, “relying entirely on one’s efforts and resources”, and “to help (oneself) without the aid of others”. Most people who help start small businesses use the word “bootstrapping” only in relation to money. Their definition would be launching a business with as little outside money as possible. Another way of putting this is, getting your busin... [continue reading]

Whenever I speak at a workforce center on starting a small business, I always ask the question, “How many of you have written a business plan before?” I always get one or two people who have attempted the process, and they always say the same things. They usually point out that the process is extremely complicated, they may not understand the words being used, they do not like having to write so much, and they absolutely do not know how to do the financials spreadsheets required for most business plans. ... [continue reading]


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Five stars

"ProjectionSmart Startup was incredibly helpful in allowing me to process and display data from my future business in a way that was easy to both read and understand."
~ Joel, small business owner

Five stars

"ProjectionSmart is my digital Controller."
~ Rob, Small business owner

Five stars

"ProjectionSmart makes it easy to create your business plan and find out if you have any shortcomings or need to reevaluate your plan."
~ Parker, startup entrepreneur

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