Manage For Profit | First Bank - Illinois & Indiana

Managing a business for profit requires continuous reinvention and a watchful eye for signs of decline.

Congratulations, you survived the roller coaster of the building and growing your business. It’s important to continue with a growth mindset, however, today’s business environment requires constant reinvention to stay competitive. As you enter the Manage for Profit or maturity stage of your business life cycle, cash flow and profitability create a solid foundation. From a track record of annual growth to loyal employees and predictable revenue, this is the time to acquire other businesses, introduce new product lines, or consider selling the company to investors. Here you’ll find articles, guides and tools to help you avoid complacency in your success and stay vigilant for other opportunities or signs of trouble.

How to improve your profit margin

While growing your business is important, you can't lose sight of how this sales growth impacts your profits – for good or for bad. Many business owners find that while they have achieved the sales growth they were seeking, their bottom line remained unchanged. Read More on How to improve your profit margin
Understanding and improving working capital

To calculate working capital, you simply take the difference between your assets that you can convert to cash in the next 12 months and what you will have to pay in the same time frame. If you have an excess of assets over liabilities, you have positive working capital. Read More on Understanding and improving working capital
Decrease the chance of running out of money

A business can only survive for a short time without sales or profits. The reality is your business needs cash to pay bills and to continue operating. Since cash flow issues can cripple a small business, the more warning you have of peaks and troughs, the more time you have to prepare for them. Read More on Decrease the chance of running out of money
How to get asset financing

Many businesses don’t have enough money to consider an outright purchase for assets, especially if it involves large expensive pieces of machinery, making financing the asset a necessity. If this is the case with your business, you have a number of options. Read More on How to get asset financing
How to defend and justify your pricing

Often small businesses find themselves justifying their price to customers, and then being pressured to think “I have to give a discount or match the competition to get the sale”. But if you’re confident in your pricing strategy and the value you add to the customer, you shouldn’t need to give away your margin. So what are the best ways to defend your price? Read More on How to defend and justify your pricing
Managing accounts receivable

One of the most important aspects of managing a business is the collection process of money owed. Businesses often prioritize sales and extend credit to customers without properly managing that credit. This can lead to a longer collection cycle, which ties up working capital that could be used elsewhere in the business. Read More on Managing accounts receivable
How to protect your business from payment fraud

Research indicates that over 80% of companies were the target of some type of payment fraud in the last year. Payment fraud can be difficult to detect and may come in the form of checks, credit cards, and/or electronic payments. Read More on How to protect your business from payment fraud
Discount chart template

It’s easy for businesses to fall into the trap of offering big discounts like their larger competitors. Often times, they do not realize the impact that it will have on profitability. Read More on Discount chart template