Business: The Way and the Tools Make or Break You

Was just looking for some tips on using excel and operational finance in particular
and came by this resource! =)



When running your business, one of the most oft things that I quote is "Its the business stupid!!!".

One of the benefits of going through finance and business modules in the university is that the need to be operationally profitable is drilled into you.

Indeed "Its the business stupid!!!".


What does that mean?

It really simply means that at the end of the day, your business must be a process of profit.

It should be a font, not an abyss. At least eventually. =)


In any business (and especially start-ups) there is a huge about of burn (of funds), to the point that there is a term for it:

"burn rate"

How fast is that business burning through your funds?


Is the burn justifiable? Will you run out of funds and be forced to liquidate before you actually turn a profit?


This really makes or breaks a business.


Now you might think, oh this is just for start-ups, but the truth is:


(And this brings us to another truth in business)



Business is war.

In war, resource management is one of the greatest tools a general must manage, be it soldiers tools, time, conditions.


What are the costs? the profits? The variables?


So even for a well oiled business... well it can only be well oiled if it is prepared and has its resource management all worked out.

Academics know this, SCM is one of the many attempts to try to quantify this concept.

Another way to achieve and tame the resource management beast is operational finance!

The two keywoards really sumarise its main focus:

Operational - How you do it. Your business logic.

Finance - The money side of things. Once you work your business logic a certain way. What are the associated costs and profits and does it all pan out in the end to bring you into the provebial black?

This site shows you real live examples of how operational finance is implemented, to give a better understanding of the term! Read through them, you will be better for it!

The site also has a rather good Excel guide (yes excel is ont of the most familar tools out there for working with data), you get some really good tips and tricks on how to manage your data.

Whats the use of data if you cannot make sense of it? Thats where excel comes into play. Excel allows you to visualise HOW your operational finance is doing. Are you doing alright?

As always, "Its the Business Stupid", so you got to work out what is your business?

How is your business ran on a day to day basis (operational) and are you making money (finance)? Which is the entire point of doing business is'nt it? And finally Excel allows you to actually implement this paradigm of viewing your business!

Hope this post helps, you can find more information about business tools and their uses here.


Cheers!