Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women
The May Event for Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women was held at Clarion Hotel IFSC on May 10th
The May event of the Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women featured a talk on the topic of “Financial management for small companies – How to avoid common pitfalls”. Janice Fleming, Partner with Creely Fleming & Co (http://www.creelyfleming.ie/) shared her insights from working with many companies over the years.
In addition, Janice prepared two very helpful Checklists which were forwarded to members. Her overall message was that by changing some of your behaviours and by putting some basic procedures in place to report and forecast your true sales, profit and cash situation, you can very much increase the chances of your company being successful.
New member Pascale Van Riet of Phoenix Delite (www.phoenixdelite.templates.ie ) displayed her beautifully packaged sugar free chocolates and attendees enjoyed her samples.
Gobnait Collins of Kendlebell - Kimmage (www.kbelloncall.ie) had a prize for one lucky member of €300 worth of their Virtual Office & Telephone Answering service.
You can see some photos from the night on http://www.facebook.com/DublinCityEnterpriseNetworkforWomen.
The network meets on a monthly basis and the next event will take place on Monday 14th June with the theme of “Online engagement – A key part of your Communications Strategy”.
From June, we plan to hold a morning briefing session for members in the DCEB office between meetings. The first event takes place on Wednesday morning 2nd June and it will feature a talk on DCEB services.
You can join the network at http://www.dceb.ie/event-calendar/networking or email the Network Manager Pauline Logan for more information at network@dceb.ie.
Summary of talk by Janice Fleming, Partner with Creely Fleming & Co
KEY MANAGEMENT FAILURES AND TIPS FOR AVOIDING THESE
MANAGEMENT FAILURES
1. Indecision
2. Procrastination
3. Re-inventing the wheel
4. Resistance to change
5. Poor/no planning
6. Reluctance to delegate
7. Inability to recognise weaknesses
8. Poor communication skills
9. Poor Time Management
10. Poor interpersonal skills
TIPS FOR OVERCOMING FAILURES
1. Be Decisive
2. Don’t Put Things Off
3. Accept Tried and Trusted Procedures
4. Be Open to Change
5. Plan, Plan, Plan
6. Delegate
7. Honest Appraisal of Strengths and Weaknesses
8. Improve Communication Skills
9. Time Management
10. Interpersonal Skills
.
PROCEDURES IN PLACE IN SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES
FINANCIAL/BUSINESS PLANNING
(1) Annual Budgets prepared
(2) Actual versus budget sales, gross profit and overheads monitored on a regular basis
(3) Reassess your position on a regular basis
SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES
(1) Clear pricing policy
(2) Costs controls
(3) Cash collection
(4) Staff training & development
(5) Accounting Records
(6) Financial Reporting
(7) Marketing Strategy
MANAGING CASH FLOW
(1) Cash flow forecasts – forecast your bank balance situation.
Prepare simple monthly forecast of receipts and payments. Make sure that you’re getting optimum terms from suppliers
Spread once off annual costs over the year.
Spread cost of something you will use for a period of time over that period for example by borrowing for it and using initial cash for other costs as banks reluctant to fund anything other than capital costs (and usually only 60% of this).
(2) Control personal spending
Set up separate business/personal accounts and fixed drawings on monthly basis
(3) Review tax situation
Ensure you can pay VAT and PAYE/PRSI on time.
Set aside funds to pay your Income Tax and/or Corporation Tax when due.
Use your management accounts to keep track of your Income or Corporate Tax liability.
If you would like to join the Dublin City Enterprise Network for Women please visit http://www.dceb.ie/event-calendar/networking.
Dublin City Enterprise Board is funded by the Irish Government and part-financed by the European Union.