Articles by Richard Walton

A blog developed and monitored by Richard Walton, MBA Adjunct Professor of Management, New School University, NYC Scaling is being utilized today by all types of organizations in the frantic world wide effort to stop the spread of the corona virus. The situation is...

Question: How can I take a good look at my company at the beginning of the year and recognize what I need to do to improve my outcomes (sales, profits, satisfaction, etc.)? Answer: This can be done quite easily with an analytical tool called SWOT Analysis. Take a look...

Question: What are the various ways available to an entrepreneur to structure a new business opportunity? Answer:  Entrepreneurs start thousands of new businesses each year in the United States and throughout the world. While Statistics show that many fail within a...

Organizations and people have to grow simultaneously in order for each to reach their potential. We have already covered the business side of growth. Let it be clear, however, that business growth is conditioned upon personal growth of everyone involved in the...

Question: How Important is Integrity in Business? Answer: It is One of the Most Important Issues Business Owners and Mangers Will Face. For Example: Assume you are interviewing someone for a job. You pose this question: ‘Would you be willing to tell a ‘little white...

Question: What is the best way for me to get training and advice on building a business model for my new company but also getting help on the personal side of setting up and running a new business? Answer: This question often comes up in the development of training...

Question: I am a small business owner/manager, and I just don’t have enough time in the day to do any future planning. I know this is important, but taking care of business now takes priority. You can’t tell a customer that you are planning for the future when...

Question: I saw recently in the Herald Mail that the Letterkenny  Army Depot near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania has received its 10th Shingo medallion for excellence in manufacturing. What is a Shingo Medallion and can it be utilized by small businesses? Answer: The...

QUESTION: I have a small business with ten employees. I am concerned that costs keep going up while sales are not. I know larger businesses have cost reduction and sales building programs but I can’t afford to hire additional people to work in these areas. Is there...

Here they are! Break even analysis, Ratio Budgeting, and Cash Flow Analysis Breakeven can help in planning your operations by showing the necessary volume you need to avoid losses and make profits. Ratio Budgeting can show the relationship  to cost and volume figures...

Question: How can I get funding for my new business before I have experience and a track record? Answer: Getting financial assistance at startup is nearly always difficult. The company has no track record of earnings on which to base its capacity to pay back loans,...

I came cross an article on innovation written for the Lean Enterprise Institute. You can access it here  

Question: I have recently started my business and want to grow my sales and operate profitably. What is the best way to do this? Answer: There are a series of four steps that can help an entrepreneur develop initial sales for his startup, grow those sales over time...

The Evolving Management Life Cycle: What needs to be done at each phase of the organization's life. 1-STARTUP, 2-GROWTH, 3-MATURITY, 4-CONCLUSION By Richard Walton April 8, 2013 INTRODUCTION Within the four phases of a business organization’s life cycle, there are...

AN EXAMINATION OF PHASE 2-GROWTH By Richard Walton, MBA January, 2015 I have written in this column a number of times about the Small Business Life cycle (SBLC), which consists of four distinct phases each of which requires specialized tasks and managerial attention....

USING THE STRUCTURE OF THE FOUR PHASE LIFE CYCLE OF THE SMALL BUSINESS Phase 1 - THE STARTUP Tasks to be done: Create a viable business model with a unique value proposition for selected markets. Develop a draft business plan to initiate startup. Include a...

YOU NEED A  CAREFULLY DEVELOPED EXIT STRATEGY There are several reasons why exit strategies are not top of the mind issues in small business management. First, there is always the press of day to day events which require immediate attention. Second, there may be the...

THE WHAT AND HOW OF COMPANY SUCCESS Several weeks ago I was attending a business convention and co staffing the SCORE display with Ken (a colleague) when a distinguished looking middle aged gentleman came to the booth and said to my colleague: ‘Ken, do you remember...

Based in part on the book: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. What is the most important indicator of the potential future success of a new business venture? Some may say it is the quality of the idea behind the business. Others may be swayed by the presentation of the...

HOW TO DEVELOP BELIEVABLE FINANCIAL DATA In my work over the past 11 years with SCORE, Hagerstown, I have constantly been asked for help developing financial information for inclusion in a Business Plan. This seems to be a major stumbling block for many entrepreneurs...

A NEW WAY TO ENSURE THAT YOUR VENTURE WILL SUCCEED I have been a mentor with SCORE for 11 years. Most recently, I have simultaneously held the positions of Assistant District Director for Western Maryland and Co Chairperson of the Hagerstown, Maryland Chapter Number...

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND Adapted from: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey Stephen Covey wrote, ‘Begin with the End in Mind’. (Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). He applied the idea to personal actions and projects by making it clear...

HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN What’s not to like about growth? Every small businessman or woman I have ever met wants to see their business grow and for a number of reasons, all of them good. A few of them are: the need to pay back start up loans, pay higher salaries to...

How do management job changes during a firm's life cycle inform their behavior at each phase, from startup through growth, maturity and conclusion? INTRODUCTION Within the four phases of a business organization’s life cycle, there are differing managerial requirements...

YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE Start-up businesses, as well as ongoing firms, require management talent in order to be successful over the long term. While training and education are important beforehand as preparation, what is less well understood is the need for...

SALES GROWTH ALONE IS NOT THE BEST MEASURE OF SUCCESS Sales growth is normally considered a huge success particularly for the small business startup. It serves to verify that the business concept is working and that customers are buying the product and/or service at...

INTRO In my work at SCORE, I often counsel entrepreneurs about the need for a Business Plan as a precondition for obtaining financing for the new venture. In some cases the plans that I see are prepared with insufficient attention to creating and using this powerful...

MANAGE THE PRESENT WHILE CREATING THE FUTURE There is a concept derived from biology concerning how systems decline over time. The concept is called entropy, and it manifests itself in people, businesses, and even ideas. It is the progressive decline over an extended...

THE REAL WAY TO BEAT THE RECESSION RIGHT NOW Innovation is widely viewed as the key to ending the recession and creating jobs as well as making small business startups more successful. And indeed, almost every day we hear of some new Internet venture that promises to...

A NEW WAY TO COMPETE IN A CROWDED MARKET Small business Organizations compete in a number of ways. Among these methods are reputation, price, response time (whether deliveries or response to inquiries), and customer service. Quality is also a tool of competition, but...