Author Archives: Dave Berkus

When cash is tight – slow its flight!

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Dave Berkus

We have discussed why never to run out of cash.  This insight delves into how never to run out of cash.  There are four basic ways to increase the cash position of a company:  inject cash through borrowing or investment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 2 Comments

Never run out of money.

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Dave Berkus

Money in the bank is like oil in the car. This is such an obvious observation that you should think that it does not rise to the level of an “insight”.  Yet, there is sage advice behind this statement that … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business | 1 Comment

Recalling the Lateral Arabesque: Losing valuable employees

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Dave Berkus

Funny how good messages come back in new forms after years of languishing out in the ether.  Dr. Laurence J. Peter in The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong, wrote in the early 1960’s of the “lateral arabesque”, describing … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Surrounding yourself with talent | 3 Comments

The FAIRNESS doctrine

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Dave Berkus

Reduce the emotion; reduce the threat of lawsuit. You’ve certainly experienced the angry outburst from an associate or employee who has just learned of an event that the person took as “unfair”, no matter how rational the explanation by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Depending upon others, Protecting the business | 3 Comments

The 18 month rule.

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Dave Berkus

It can take 18 months from initial concern about a critical employee to getting a replacement up to speed. This insight is not mine, although I have experienced it several times with key employees since becoming sensitive to the concept.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business, Surrounding yourself with talent | 1 Comment

Contractors must really be independent!

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Dave Berkus

How many of us have “hired” independent contractors over the years, a bit worried over the gray area between employee and contractor as defined by the IRS?  I’ve experienced the results of a wrong decision, and the IRS and state … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 3 Comments

Employee first, company last, states the law.

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Dave Berkus

Almost all laws dealing with employment are designed to protect the employee, not the company. Minimum wage laws, workplace safety, independent contractor tests, minimum hours required for benefits, worker compensation insurance requirements and more are examples of such laws.  Notice … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 1 Comment

A worker compensation policy is not optional.

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Dave Berkus

This is one that early stage CEO’s are almost universally unaware of.  Most every state requires that any company with employees be covered by a policy of insurance against claims by workers for injury on the job, or worker compensation … Continue reading →

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Insurance is always too expensive until needed.

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Dave Berkus

This insight seems obvious to most anyone.  But it is a fact that business insurance is one of the more poorly managed mitigation of risk in small and some medium sized corporations, often because of failure to assign the responsibility … Continue reading →

Posted in Protecting the business | 2 Comments

Stock options: Guard the Gold

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Dave Berkus

Use stock options and warrants to pay for service only rarely. Earlier, I stated that stock options are the currency of early stage business.  This truth is obvious when a start-up has no cash.  For this insight, we will assume … Continue reading →

Posted in Growth!, Raising money | Leave a comment