A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center, part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.
By Bruce Morse, WSBDC Region 2 director
"The financial side of my business is not something that I pay enough attention to and I feel like I've lost touch a bit with what's happening. I look at the financial reports, but am not really sure what I'm looking at. Are there some specific things I should be aware of?" Bill, Thermopolis
About two years ago we started a program called a "Financial Health Check-up" that uses a combination of computer software and our internal experience in the area of financial analysis to help business owners feel more comfortable with their financial reports.
Many, in fact, probably most business owners would rather sell their service or manufacture their product then spend time looking at numbers. However, they, like you, also realize it is important to the long-term success of their enterprise.
Our free program consists of a computer analysis of your historical financial data that compares a local business to others in that industry and also trends within the business itself. The result is an easy-to-read narrative report that can be viewed by the owner or with the assistance of an SBDC counselor.
Another aspect of this program is the ability to do some forecasting and see what the financial picture might look like if certain changes were implemented. With any projection there are lots of variables and uncertainty, but at least it gives you a place to start. To learn more about this service, contact Morse at 1-800-383-0371 or e-mail bmorse1@uwyo.edu.
A blog version of this article and an opportunity to post comments is available at http://www.wyomingentrepreneur.typepad.com/blog/.
The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, e-mail wsbdc@uwyo.edu or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922.
Posted on Monday, October 05, 2009