DAS Blog

Check out this interesting piece I found written by a fellow blogger, Dharmesh Shah. The blog topic shares some guidelines for naming a start-up business successfully. Below I’ve listed his 18 points to focus on when naming a start-up [...] ... Read more

Below is a case study about Dynamic Advisory Solutions. The piece was written by Gwen Moran from RainToday Publications.I hope you enjoy! [...] ... Read more

On Monday, September 20th 2010 the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced that the recession was “officially” over. Its official ending was recorded as June 2009. This recession was the second longest recorded in history, lasting 18 months, next to the recession [...] ... Read more

Have you ever bounced a check due to insufficient funds? How often does your accountant balance your business checkbook? As you may be aware, many entrepreneurs don’t always keep tight control of their cash. Bouncing checks and overdrafts may seem to be a simple [...] ... Read more

Below is an article from MSNBC where I was asked to share my thoughts on government assisting small business start-ups. I hope you enjoy! Small firms’ job-growth role may be overstated: Study contends startups, not older firms, are economic engine By Bill Briggs [...] ... Read more

Traders Joe’s is a grocery chain that provides low-cost, staple or organic foods, to its consumers, from all over the world. The atmosphere provides the shopper with a cultural experience not offered by other grocery chains and offers products consumers can’t find anywhere else. Trader Joe’s has 334 stores in 25 states and is welcomed in both small and [...] ... Read more

Ren Carlton, CEO of Dynamic Advisory Solutions and author of "Profitpreneurship - Creating a Business that Produces Outstanding Financial Results" appeared on episode 89 of the Business Insanity Talk Radio show with Barry Moltz. Ren Carlton gives a glimpse into his new book, as he offers advice [...] ... Read more

What is the likelihood of a double-dip recession? According to Lord Abbett, senior economist and market strategist with Milton Ezrati, the scenario is unlikely: “It seems these days that half the headlines in the financial media fear a double-dip recession, as do half the conversations on Wall Street. There certainly are risks [...] ... Read more

Obviously the BP oil spill is a tremendous tragedy. Many mistakes were made, but who is primarily at fault? CEO Tony Hayward is taking most of the heat, but I would argue the CFO should be answering for this catastrophic mistake. [...] ... Read more

How much does it truly cost to start a business? When calculating your investment, you need to include both cash and debt (both business and personal debt for the benefit of the business). Let's plug in some figures for illustrative purposes: [...] ... Read more

Troy, MI. Local entrepreneur and award-winning journalist Ren Carlton has released his first book. “Profitpreneurship: Creating a Business that Produces Outstanding Financial Results” is now available on Amazon.com! Below is a third party write-up of Profitpreneurship. You can learn more about the book [...] ... Read more

I like to think of myself as an optimist. I truly believe positive thinking can overcome a lot of challenges in both business and life. However, I also feel that blind optimism is dangerous. Even though the stock market has moderately recovered and unemployment has somewhat stabilized, small businesses are still struggling. Based on my [...] ... Read more

One of my biggest frustrations is my back problems. Event though my doctors have prescribed exercise and medicine, I am frequently in pain. I am frustrated due to my inability to treat the actual problem, Spondylolis Thesis. Regardless of the amount of pills I take or the exercises [...] ... Read more

Have you ever wondered how your employees would act if they owned their own business? One of my clients is a consumer retailer. Because of the product line, he needs to maintain a fleet of delivery trucks. When I would visit my client during the winter, I would notice at least one delivery truck would [...] ... Read more

I recently received an e-mail asking me what it would cost to hire a good CFO. His current CFO is in the process of retiring, and he wanted an idea of what the market rate was for the position. Based on the size ($20 million in annual revenue) and location (Miami) of his business, [...] ... Read more

I was having lunch with a client and he posed the question "Why don't most small businesses make real money?" After talking for a while, we came up with some good ideas. Before I tell you those ideas, let's define what real money means. Real money is when the owner is paid the market rate for [...] ... Read more

Keeping Your Bank Happy When serving as CFO for literally 100's of companies over my career, I have had my share of bank meetings. Whether it is the weakness of the credit market or the lack of adequate business performance, this has recently become an unpleasant chore. Today I met with a lender that is in [...] ... Read more

When I was in business school, I was under the delusion that entrepreneurs used other people's money to get rich. Now I would argue that this is the exception as opposed to the norm. When most of my friends and I started our businesses, we had very little financing. For me, it isn't because I [...] ... Read more

I met with a prospect last week that is in serious trouble. Due to increased competition and reduced demand, they have sustained significant losses over the past few years. They have a turn-around plan. They have a good team of employees. They have the inventory to sell. They have clients to sell to. There is [...] ... Read more