Lifeblood

Arrows in the Quiver: Finance as a Competitive Advantage

Sep 1, 2020 |

What are the traditional sources of competitive advantage? Having the best product or customer service, the leanest cost structure, or perhaps just... Read More

What are the traditional... Read More

3 Transaction Comments You Never Want To Hear (or Say)

Jul 13, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

Selling your business is but one of the significant transactions or deals a company, its owners, and its management will navigate over... Read More

Selling your business is... Read More

When Disaster Strikes: Cash, Customer, and Vendor Shocks

Jun 29, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

Mike Tyson famously said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Nobody can perfectly plan for major business... Read More

Mike Tyson famously said,... Read More

Where’s The Finance Talent At?

Jun 5, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

I spend a lot of time talking to finance professionals. The team, candidates, members of finance teams at clients, other colleagues, friends,... Read More

I spend a lot... Read More

Protecting the Entrepreneurial Spirit

May 7, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

Entrepreneurship is sometimes characterized as jumping off a cliff and figuring out how to construct the parachute on the way down. Essentially... Read More

Entrepreneurship is sometimes characterized... Read More

Fighting Corona: Working Capital and Liquidity Impacts

Apr 30, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

In March, Boeing, one of the largest and most prominent companies in the United States, had two pieces of news hit the... Read More

In March, Boeing, one... Read More

The Limits of Traditional Finance Models

Apr 24, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

The leaders of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) can have it tough when it comes to working with finance providers, both in... Read More

The leaders of small... Read More

Don’t Be a Pig

Apr 17, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

There’s a common investment banking saying about less-than-ideal clients. It’s “putting lipstick on the pig,” referring to dressing up a company as... Read More

There’s a common investment... Read More

The Working Capital Value Trap

Mar 31, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

There is often debt aversion in small or family-run businesses. Many leave excess cash in the company to not stress about working... Read More

There is often debt... Read More

Strategy Defines the Capital

Mar 3, 2020 |

Ben Lehrer

More companies need to fight to ensure that business strategy drives their capital structure, and not the other way around with the... Read More

More companies need to... Read More