First, Break All the Rules
How do the world’s greatest managers find, focus, and keep talented employees? It’s the subject of a recent Gallup poll. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently is based on the findings of these studies. Authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman advise business owners and managers to: [continue...] |
The Best Advice I Ever Got

Tom Harris, the “H” in HMB, and his partners, including John Mackessy, the “M” in HMB, are new Beanstalk CFO Group clients, and have been developing business application systems for over 15 years for large and small businesses and government entities throughout Ohio. They came to Beanstalk CFO, after many years of strong growth, with the realization that they needed to take a harder, more in-depth look at their financial results to ensure they are working as smartly and profitably as they can. We asked Tom to tell us some of the “best” things he would pass on to fellow entrepreneurs. [continue...]
Hey, What’s Your Number?

Owners of many Beanstalk CFO clients operate businesses that often represent the majority of their wealth generating capacity. Most people want to retire, or at least get to “work optional” someday, so these owners are fairly reliant on the business itself to provide the resources necessary to enjoy what is hopefully a long, healthy and fulfilling post-work phase of life. A key question is “How much do I need?” The answer depends on many variables. [continue...]
Top Performance: Nature v. Nurture

Research shows that outstanding performance is the product of years of deliberate practice and coaching, not of any innate talent or skill. How did Bill Gates, Wayne Gretzky and Yo Yo Ma become experts? Were they born or made? This is the subject of two beststelling books: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Bounce by Matthew Syed. Much less popular but far more fundamental is the research that fueled the rampant interest in this topic. Giants in this field are Anders Ericsson and Benjamin Bloom. Here's what they found. [continue...]
The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth

Steven S. Little, is hailed by entrepreneurs and critics as a practical, how to book on creating, maintaining and growing a small business. Little suggests strategies to survive, sustain, and attain the results each business person is after. It also reminds us that small business growth is extremely difficult, and many lead to failure. Realistic, yet optimistic at the same time – it is a strategy book for small business entrepreneurs. [continue...]
How Budgets Are Like Pancakes: A Recipe for Creating Smart Financial Plans

What do we know about pancakes? We know they’re flat. Pancakes are so flat they’re our benchmark for flatness. We often use them to describe the flatness of other things. Budgets are like pancakes, too. But not because they’re flat. Rather, budgets are like pancakes since the best way to make a budget is to use FLAPJAC: Facts, Linkages, Assessment, Projections, Judgment, Assignment and Comparison. Properly done, a budget can be an extremely powerful management tool, guiding a team to its objectives.
Click here to get our "FLAPJAC recipe".
Click here to get our "FLAPJAC recipe".
Top Ten Financial Tips for Business Owners

Did you know that some small businesses manage finances only through bookkeeping and tax accounting? Those companies rarely grow because they're not planning, tracking or sharing responsibility for financial performance. Running a business without proactive financial planning and management is like driving without a map, destination or gauges. It's a tremendous waste of time and effort.
But a company need not be large to be fiscally savvy. That's why we assembled this list. Taken from our best-practices toolkit, we present financial tactics used by the most profitable businesses. We offer these tips to help you set and meet financial goals that keep you on track toward success. Click here for the Top Ten Tips.
But a company need not be large to be fiscally savvy. That's why we assembled this list. Taken from our best-practices toolkit, we present financial tactics used by the most profitable businesses. We offer these tips to help you set and meet financial goals that keep you on track toward success. Click here for the Top Ten Tips.
The Best Advice I Ever Got

Tom Harris, the “H” in HMB, and his partners, including John Mackessy, the “M” in HMB, Beanstalk CFO Group clients, have been developing business application systems for over 15 years for large and small businesses and government entities throughout Ohio. They came to Beanstalk CFO, after many years of strong growth, with the realization that they needed to take a harder, more in-depth look at their financial results to ensure they are working as smartly and profitably as they can. We asked Tom to tell us some of the “best” things he would pass on to fellow entrepreneurs. Click here for Tom's Best Advice.
What’s Your Number?

Many Beanstalk clients operate businesses that often represent the majority of their wealth generating capacity. Most people want to retire, or at least get to “work optional” someday, so these owners are fairly reliant on the business itself to provide the resources necessary to enjoy what is hopefully a long, healthy and fulfilling post-work phase of life. A key question is “How much do I need?” The answer depends on many variables.
Click here to find out how to get Your Number.
Click here to find out how to get Your Number.
The Perfect 10: Pitching to Investors in 10 Slides & 10 Minutes

When raising capital for your company, it’s necessary to describe the plans for your business in a manner that will compel a financier to fund you. Since fundraising pitches contain similar ingredients whether they’re delivered to angels, venture capitalists or bankers, the term investor is used herein to designate any financing source to whom a pitch is made. Click here for the full Perfect 10 article.
QuickBooks Certifies Beanstalk CFO Group

Maker of the leading financial software for small businesses, Intuit has designated Beanstalk a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. We are one of only a handful of firms in our markets to have such expertise and congratulate our team for scoring so well on the exams.
Execution: How Great CEOs Get Results

George Patton once said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." That's useful advice not only on the battlefield but also in the office. Inspirational leadership, profound vision and brilliant strategy are worthless without tactical excellence. In fact, 88% of Inc. 500 CEOs attribute their success to extraordinary execution of a concept and only 12% to the concept itself. To close the gap between results required and results delivered, great CEOs create a culture of output based on specific people, milestones and time frames. Click here for how to Get Results.