Want to hear simple and practical ideas and opinions about business and entrepreneurship? After 20 years of working with entrepreneurs and business owners Dylan has lots to share. As the founder of Bridge Capital with a background in finance and technology he has made his own mistakes and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to sharing his thoughts and opinions. This podcast is meant to inspire and encourage entrepreneurs.
Episodes
Friday Apr 28, 2017
Friday Apr 28, 2017
They say interest is a silent killer in any business. This is because you don't really notice the impact it has on your profitability until you can look at an accumulated amount over a period a time to see how much of your profit actually goes to interest. It turns out that the money taken out of a business by an entrepreneur or the owners can also be an unnoticeable drain on profitability. Many small and medium sized business owners treat their business finances as an extension of their personal finances instead of treating their business like an investment. What many fail to realize is that without a policy or process around how owners take money from their business they may be doing more harm than good to their bottom line.
How are you taking money from your business? Listen now because you may be surprised to see the impact you are having to your profits and ultimately the value of your business.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bcPWkfDAykw
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
"music by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud"
Wednesday Apr 19, 2017
Wednesday Apr 19, 2017
This is a question I encounter many times when reviewing the cash flow and profitability of a business with either the entrepreneur or person running the business. It is usually followed by a very frustrating conversation that involves going through accounting terminology and concepts that are foreign to the person I am speaking with. Once the frustration subsides there is usually some excitement about what can be done with this new found knowledge. While it can be difficult to follow the cash flow and profits of a business the work is worth the effort and can produce improvements in profitability and overall value.
Where is the cash going in your business...specifically? Listen now because you might be surprised by what you discover.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bBOtKrEIXDE
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Tuesday Apr 11, 2017
Tuesday Apr 11, 2017
What is your balance sheet going to look like next year? The year after? What about three years from now? Do you care? Many times the answers to these questions are: not sure, no idea, don't know and yes I care but I don't have the information to properly answer these questions. It's very typical for a small or medium sized business to not know what their financial statements are projected to look like over the coming year much less the next three years. Many times they will have a budget (that is usually inconsistent with their historical performance) but haven't done the work to take the budget one step further and have it flow into an actual set of pro forma financial statements.
What are pro forma financial statements and why do they matter? Listen now to find out.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wW7kk3w3e9I
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Friday Apr 07, 2017
Friday Apr 07, 2017
There is no such thing as easy money right? Are you sure? There are really only two ways to grow your revenue: cut costs or sell more. There is a limit to how much more revenue your business can earn by cutting costs whereas selling more is limitless. If you only had time to do one thing in your business it should be focusing on how to sell more. There is no easy way to do that then by figuring out how to sell more to existing clients either directly or indirectly. The more systematic you can make this the more profitable your business will be and ultimately your business will be worth more.
So how do you sell more to existing clients or customers? Listen now to find out.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Kp8eI8_x2Lo
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
Tuesday Apr 04, 2017
It's going to cost how much!!! You must be crazy!!! That comment is made by entrepreneurs and business owners after hearing how much it costs to borrow money from either a mid market or private lender. The comment is usually followed by a series of expletives that I won't type here but needless to say the cost of capital is something that can scare or upset someone who maybe hasn't thought through the opportunity cost. There is no such thing as free money when it comes to business but more importantly the money your business is using has a cost to it that you may never have thought about but you might want to. Listen now to find out what you should know about how much you are paying for the money your business is using.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-q2Lrj01e8k
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Thursday Mar 30, 2017
Thursday Mar 30, 2017
People use to be paid based on their daily physical output. How many widgets could they build? How many trenches could they dig? How many calls could they answer and reroute. There was a time not long ago when people were the machines that made a business work - actually work. Today life is quite different. Technology continues to erode the physical work that people do and has left a void that only people can fill. In the past people were paid based on using their body to undertake physical or manual labour but in the future people will be paid based on using their brain to think and manage outcomes. The real question is: how is your business doing more with people? Listen now to see what might be possible.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0xfWiU6YKBs
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Tuesday Mar 28, 2017
Tuesday Mar 28, 2017
If can happen to a large company (see story here) it most certainly can happen to your company. Surprisingly, many businesses that have never been through a tough moment fail to appreciate how often this happens. I am referring to a company not really knowing its costs and finding themselves in a position where they have to work out of a tough position because they didn't realize what they didn't know. Understanding the costs for your business is one of the most important things to know outside of understanding how to generate revenue. It seems simple but in practise can be a challenge many businesses struggle with. Listen now to see how easy it can be to know the costs for your business.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n2cvHbaBBms
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Thursday Mar 23, 2017
Thursday Mar 23, 2017
Answers are easy. Asking the right question is hard. Over twenty years I have developed a skill for asking questions (to the dismay of my wife and family but that's for another post). Many businesses get really good at delivering their particular product or service to the market but can experience challenges or problems that end up redirecting their efforts and sometimes causing them to lose sight of what they were trying to achieve in the first place. This past week I had the chance to have a coffee with an individual have known for many years who has had his fair share of challenges but like any good entrepreneur he used his lemons (bad circumstances) to create lemonade. Now that the moments of desperation are somewhat behind him he was looking to get himself on better financial footing and wanted some input from me. I asked him #OneQuestion that changed the rest of our conversation and ended with him sending me a lengthy email with all of his answers. I asked him:
"How much money does your business need for it to do more?" Listen now to discover what the answer can do for your business.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RTD8i0DO1FU
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Tuesday Mar 21, 2017
Tuesday Mar 21, 2017
Do you know what your business owns and owes? Do you know what your business makes and spends? More importantly - do you know what the equity is in your business or what it might be worth? It's typical for an entrepreneur or for someone running a business to say "yes I know what we make and spend" but unlikely that they know what they own/owe and what the equity in their business is or what the value might be. Small and medium sized businesses can be so focused on surviving that they often don't take time to see if the needle is moving in the right direction with respect to the equity or value of their business. This is unfortunate because one of the very reason businesses are started is to build value and one day be able to cash in or have that value recognized.
So where is the best place to start if you can relate to this? Listen now to find out.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/htHfjnEaVXI
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan
Thursday Mar 16, 2017
Thursday Mar 16, 2017
"...the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen."
Running a business comes with an never ending series of trade offs and there are times when critical decisions need to be made that seem to have greater trade offs than what you may be accustom to. This can be particularly agonizing when a decision involves needing expertise that you may not have access to - like financing. When given an opportunity to profit from a decision that involves needing to find capital, often times entrepreneurs and business owners will either lean in and commit or miss the opportunity as a result of their lack of knowledge. Opportunity cost is a real concept that impacts many businesses but here are some things that might help you if you find yourself in a position where a gain to your business will involve being creative with how you find the capital to take advantage of it.
Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/icc0b2sLqqw
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2ntaWI7
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/gallagherdylan