Benchmarking is a way to achieve your financial goals. Benchmarking encourages you to look for better and unique ideas that can be applicable in your business. Aside from innovative ideas, pushes you to formulate effective practice of operation. People who practice benchmarking in their business often look at their organization and make changes and improvement to make their team or product more competitive.
Competition may not the mother of all invention but it certainly is the cause of all improvements. In sports, healthy competition can lead one team to do better. If athletes don't compete against each, they will not know how it feels like to win. Life gets better when there is competition.
The principle of healthy competition can be applied not only in sports but in business as well. As a matter of fact, a lot of good things came out of healthy business competition. To give you a better and clearer example of the picture, take this: you own pastry store that achieves a gross profit of about 30 percent. You think 30% is okay and that your pastry store is doing quite well. You don't do something about it as you are overly satisfied with your profit. But if you know that a distant pastry store achieves gross profit of 50 %, things will change. Since you know that there is still room for improvement and that you can do something to improve your 30 %, you now have a goal to reach.
This is where benchmarking comes in. If you have a financial goal that you need to reach or a vision that you want to achieve, benchmarking can help you achieve your goal. Fact is, benchmarking is considered to be a major part of business development as it gives business owner a clear and thorough understanding of what are the things that needs to be done in order to be the best. Come to think of it, big names in have been using benchmarking as a way of measuring the progress of their business. It does not matter what type of industry you are in, there will always be competition; therefore, benchmarking will always applicable.
Another advantage of benchmarking is that you get a bird's eye view of your shortcomings in your business. The rule is quite simple, the more often that you see what you did wrong, the more likely that you will do something to correct it. Researching is also improved if you do benchmarking, if you see someone doing better, chances are you will ask around and research about their formula, their secrets and the things that they do in order to get what they have achieved.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
What is Holistic Financial Planning?
One of the newer phrases to find its way into the vocabulary of today's more progressive financial planners is "holistic financial planning". So what does it mean and why now? Also is this newer type of all inclusive financial planning something that you can benefit by?
In broader terms, holistic financial planning identifies and takes into consideration the entirety of a clients financial situation both present and on into the future. When the client receives completely inclusive or complete holistic advice, they are far better able to make decisions that insure that their total objectives are more realistically obtained.
In the past far too many financial planners and their clients took a far more narrowly focused approach to Financial Planning. Each consideration was held out and dealt with separately. One by one increments or facets of a person's finances would be analyzed and dealt with as a singular unit. In the end it was felt that all the pieces would fall together correctly and they often did.
How Holistic Financial Planning Works
With holistic financial planning however, all aspects of client's finances, goals, lifestyle and ideals are brought together at once and analyzed as a whole. A much "bigger picture" is viewed, if you will and also other peripheral aspects and factors such as client's principles are entered into the equation as well. Something that was rarely done in the past.
Holistic financial planning begins with a preliminary financial advisory process that includes an initial fact finding stage. This initial stage of the process is geared towards assessing a clients likes and dislikes, general opinions, goals both short and long term. Also during this initial fact finding stage, information such as a clients risk tolerance is also gathered and filed for analysis. Then after the necessary preliminary information has been gathered, it's on to the next phase.
This secondary stage would be the strategy recommendation stage, where all of the data gathered is used to formulate an inclusive and objective strategy that takes all into account. In this stage the clients objectives and goals are prepared and laid out with a focus on creating wealth, debt management, taxation plans, estate planning and of course risk.
While this process may sound simple on the surface, it's not. In fact in some cases the entire preliminary review can involve several meetings and in the end what is arrived at must also be approved by the client. As these meetings and review sessions unfold, often times a client will be given several options to choose from, such that in the end the final plan meshes seamlessly with their principles and values.
The final phase of the holistic financial planning process involves the monitoring/review process. As previously indicated, this a continuous and ongoing function in which benchmarks the applied overall plans outcomes and performance levels, factored against the clients perceived goals and objectives.
This ongoing process includes periodic portfolio value assessment reports, workshops and seminars, portfolio review meetings and strategy sessions and of course the end of year pre-taxation strategy and planning sessions. So hopefully now you can see that it's a system that provides holistic advice for clients geared towards growth, security and peace of mind.
In broader terms, holistic financial planning identifies and takes into consideration the entirety of a clients financial situation both present and on into the future. When the client receives completely inclusive or complete holistic advice, they are far better able to make decisions that insure that their total objectives are more realistically obtained.
In the past far too many financial planners and their clients took a far more narrowly focused approach to Financial Planning. Each consideration was held out and dealt with separately. One by one increments or facets of a person's finances would be analyzed and dealt with as a singular unit. In the end it was felt that all the pieces would fall together correctly and they often did.
How Holistic Financial Planning Works
With holistic financial planning however, all aspects of client's finances, goals, lifestyle and ideals are brought together at once and analyzed as a whole. A much "bigger picture" is viewed, if you will and also other peripheral aspects and factors such as client's principles are entered into the equation as well. Something that was rarely done in the past.
Holistic financial planning begins with a preliminary financial advisory process that includes an initial fact finding stage. This initial stage of the process is geared towards assessing a clients likes and dislikes, general opinions, goals both short and long term. Also during this initial fact finding stage, information such as a clients risk tolerance is also gathered and filed for analysis. Then after the necessary preliminary information has been gathered, it's on to the next phase.
This secondary stage would be the strategy recommendation stage, where all of the data gathered is used to formulate an inclusive and objective strategy that takes all into account. In this stage the clients objectives and goals are prepared and laid out with a focus on creating wealth, debt management, taxation plans, estate planning and of course risk.
While this process may sound simple on the surface, it's not. In fact in some cases the entire preliminary review can involve several meetings and in the end what is arrived at must also be approved by the client. As these meetings and review sessions unfold, often times a client will be given several options to choose from, such that in the end the final plan meshes seamlessly with their principles and values.
The final phase of the holistic financial planning process involves the monitoring/review process. As previously indicated, this a continuous and ongoing function in which benchmarks the applied overall plans outcomes and performance levels, factored against the clients perceived goals and objectives.
This ongoing process includes periodic portfolio value assessment reports, workshops and seminars, portfolio review meetings and strategy sessions and of course the end of year pre-taxation strategy and planning sessions. So hopefully now you can see that it's a system that provides holistic advice for clients geared towards growth, security and peace of mind.
Financing Your Government Contracts With Purchase Order Financing
Purchase order financing is a very good way for businesses to generate the capital necessary to fund government contracts. Government contracts are in hot demand. They provide companies with business that can be counted on and that also pays well. Businesses typically don't have to worry about a check from the government bouncing or not getting paid. Consequently, businesses go after these contracts hard, hoping to secure the business of the government. The problem is that these jobs can be quite expensive to fulfill and can subsequently, put a lot of strain on a businesses' cash flow. Purchase order financing is one way for them to get the money they need.
Bank financing has historically been one of the primary ways that companies used to come up with the money they need to cover the costs of their government contracts, though this was not always possible for every business. Newer companies may not have been able to qualify and neither might those with bad credit. Today, it is difficult for all companies to secure a loan, regardless of their credit history or length of time in business. One option for those looking to generate cash is purchase order financing.
Purchase order financing is a method of generating capital that would be ideal for those with government contracts. In order to fulfill a government contract, it is often necessary to buy materials or products. If a company does not have the money on hand to do so, they can not complete the job. That is where the aforementioned financing comes into place
Purchase order financing occurs when a company sells their purchase orders (orders for materials, finished goods, etc.) to a business known as a Factor. The Factor will make arrangements with the supplier which may include actually buying the supplies or goods with cash or opening up a line of credit with them. The company who needs the goods will then be able to receive them. They will repay the Factor after they have completed the government contract. Payment for this service typically involves some sort of profit sharing.
Purchase Order Financing is an ideal way for businesses to finance government contracts. It makes it possible for companies to immediately generate the cash they need to fulfill their contracts, even if they do not have the money required. Instead of having to turn down the contract or somehow get out of it, they are able to complete it. This puts them in a good position to receive another contract in the future. The availability of purchase order financing also makes it possible for smaller companies to go after government contracts. Many shy away from them because they fear they don't have the capital. P.O. financing provides them with the capital they need to compete even with larger, more established companies.
Bank financing has historically been one of the primary ways that companies used to come up with the money they need to cover the costs of their government contracts, though this was not always possible for every business. Newer companies may not have been able to qualify and neither might those with bad credit. Today, it is difficult for all companies to secure a loan, regardless of their credit history or length of time in business. One option for those looking to generate cash is purchase order financing.
Purchase order financing is a method of generating capital that would be ideal for those with government contracts. In order to fulfill a government contract, it is often necessary to buy materials or products. If a company does not have the money on hand to do so, they can not complete the job. That is where the aforementioned financing comes into place
Purchase order financing occurs when a company sells their purchase orders (orders for materials, finished goods, etc.) to a business known as a Factor. The Factor will make arrangements with the supplier which may include actually buying the supplies or goods with cash or opening up a line of credit with them. The company who needs the goods will then be able to receive them. They will repay the Factor after they have completed the government contract. Payment for this service typically involves some sort of profit sharing.
Purchase Order Financing is an ideal way for businesses to finance government contracts. It makes it possible for companies to immediately generate the cash they need to fulfill their contracts, even if they do not have the money required. Instead of having to turn down the contract or somehow get out of it, they are able to complete it. This puts them in a good position to receive another contract in the future. The availability of purchase order financing also makes it possible for smaller companies to go after government contracts. Many shy away from them because they fear they don't have the capital. P.O. financing provides them with the capital they need to compete even with larger, more established companies.
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