The Meru Experience Blog ⋆ Your Savings Pro

Financial Impact due Covid-19

January 5, 2021July 29, 2020 by Meru Hunter McMahon

All Businesses across the U.S. are trying to survive the financial effects of COVID-19. As a SCORE mentor and a business owner in the consulting industry myself, I am seeing the current financial struggles that many businesses are facing first hand. Sadly, many are now considering forms of bankruptcy or permanently closing their business doors. How is your business overcoming the struggle? A while ago, I came across a story about a small fly burning out the last of its …

The Blind Spot Money Talk

January 5, 2021July 24, 2020 by Meru Hunter McMahon

The first step to building a financially successful business is knowing the financial blind spots. In my professional experience, I see a repeating pattern that the majority of businesses regardless of their size – have a blind spot. Despite the best intentions to observe the ever-changing world around us blind spots can quickly take businesses off the growth track, even as we work harder and harder. Most statistics show that about 82% of businesses fail due to poor cash flow …

Reducing Expenses Without Making Cuts

January 5, 2021October 8, 2019 by Meru Hunter McMahon

How can a business increase profits without painful spending cuts? Most common “go-to” strategies in business for reducing business expenses called for either doing with less or taking something away from someone, involving pain. Here are the most common strategies listed… Cutting Travel Expenses Hiring Freeze or Hiring Reduction Layoffs Cancelling holiday parties and events Reducing “perks” Salary Freeze or Salary Reductions Reducing or Eliminating Year-end Bonuses Cutting Workers’ Hours Forced Unpaid Vacations or Furlough Program Increasing Telecommuting Four-Day Work …

What is Specialized Tax Incentives?

January 5, 2021September 22, 2019 by Meru Hunter McMahon

The complexity and length of the federal tax code hide many great opportunities for businesses to save money. The length and complexity that allows the largest corporations with their army of attorneys and accountants to take advantage of tax incentives that small businesses might be missing. Most small businesses rely on CPAs to get their tax prepared and filed but most CPAs may not have the proper expertise and experience to help their clients capture complicated tax incentives. What are …

Savings is the Easiest Path to Profit

January 5, 2021September 3, 2019 by Meru Hunter McMahon

What is overlooked when it comes to improving profit? Reducing cost is vastly overlooked in many organizations when they want to be more profitable. This is due to: The lack of expertise in specific areas of the business Budget constraints i.e outsourcing the project Busy personnel primarily focused on top-line growth There are many wasteful activities and spending happening continuously that could be streamlined to enhance profit. The bigger the organization, the bigger the opportunities. For example: A typical business …

Healthcare cost is depleting our pockets

January 5, 2021August 28, 2019 by Meru Hunter McMahon

We are all aware that the United States currently ranks highest in health care spending among the developed nations of the world. Lack of transparency in pricing can cause inflated billing, especially in emergency situations. Houston Business Journal did a survey asking business owners: “What keeps them up at night?” where 75% of business owners are concerned about the costs of health insurance. An executive order There might be some hope for the future with improvements like the newly signed …

What is Cost Reduction Anyways?

January 5, 2021June 5, 2019 by Meru Hunter McMahon

As a Cost Reduction Advisor, I get asked this question a lot. Most fear that cost reduction is about making drastic cuts, kind of like getting on an extreme diet to lose weight. Who loves that? Personally, I do not. Anything extreme always ends in failure. Cost reduction is the process used by companies to reduce their costs and increase their profits. Depending on the company’s products or services, their strategies can vary. Why cost reduction strategies fail The majority …