In This Issue:
- Message from Managing Director, Noah Harris
- Veteran Company Spotlight: Acumen Building Enterprise
- Advising Corner: How Working Capital Helps
- Small Business Resource: Gusto
Friends,
In the military, service members receive great benefits from learning from highly-trained, well-experienced leaders, instructors, and peers. The same approach can hold true for small business — existing business owners have a lot of knowledge to share about the lessons they learned and the best practices they’ve discovered through trial and error. Our client profiles include best practices and advice from our small business clients to help other veteran-owned small businesses succeed.
We recently spoke with Walter Allen, a Navy veteran and owner of Acumen Building Enterprise, a transit and transportation consulting business in Oakland. He shared with us that in order to help his business grow and to hire the staff he needed to achieve that growth, he required more working capital. He used his Veteran Launch loan for working capital, enabling his business to take advantage of the growth opportunity he was presented with. Our advising corner this month focuses on what working capital is and how it can help your business.
If you’re not sure about your next step, give us a call. We can help you get connected to the right resources to help you take your business to the next level.
As always, thank you for helping us spread the word about Veteran Launch and for your continued service to our communities as small business owners.
Noah Harris
Managing Director
Veteran Launch
Meet Our Clients: Acumen Building Enterprise
Walter joined the Navy at 17 years old and served for seven years. He stays connected to his military roots, dedicating Acumen to employing veterans, people of color, and women. “My goal is to create jobs, reduce climate change, and increase urban mobility,” says Walter. “We know that veterans are great employees: they hit deadlines extremely well, they thrive in highly structured environments, and exhibit excellent pattern recognition. All of these characteristics make our veteran employees invaluable.”
“Being an entrepreneur is not all fun. It’s hard work and late nights, but it’s incredibly rewarding. If you’re starting a business you need to be ready. Plan for cash flow because that’s what keeps your business open,” advises Walter.
Advising Corner:
How Working Capital Helps
Many small businesses need additional working capital to manage the short term cash obligations of their business. But what IS working capital?Your working capital ratio is Current Assets divided by Current Liabilities. If your ratio is less than one, you’re probably feeling pretty cash-strapped. If your ratio is more than two, your assets may not be working hard enough for you (ie: you may want to invest them). If you’re in the “less than 1” ratio, you may want to consider a working capital loan. Having the additional cash on hand allows you to focus on running your business and growing your revenue. The saying “it takes money to make money” could be referring to working capital.
Working capital gives you some additional runway to make decisions for your business. Are you forced to decide between payroll and a key upgrade that could help your business make more money? If so, working capital can help you achieve both at the same time, allowing you to grow your revenues and eliminate the stress of figuring out how to satisfy your other obligations on time each month.
Click here to read the full post and learn more about how to working capital supports your business.
Small Business Resource: Gusto
| For many small businesses, payroll, human resources, and benefits are murky waters. It’s tough to stay up-to-date on all the regulations and to make sure that you’re offering competitive salaries and more to the folks that make your business run successfully (your employees). There are a variety of different resources out there to help you, including Gusto. Here’s how they describe their company: | |||||
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Gusto provides payroll, benefits, and human resources services for employers and employees in the United States. Their customizable platform lets companies mix and match the services that are right for their companies, budgets, and employees. They’re currently working with over 30,000 small businesses nationwide who are utilizing their services. Click here to learn more about Gusto’s services. |
