Small Business Today Magazine MAY 2014 CUSTOMIZED REAL STATE SERVICES | Page 36

EDITORIALFEATURE »Continued From Page 19 Why Organizational Culture Is Important The other primary function of culture is that it determines how the organization meets goals and deals with outsiders.  The right cultural values can help the organization respond rapidly to customer needs or the moves of the competitor.  Culture can encourage employee commitment to the core purpose of the organization, its specific goals, and the basic means used to accomplish goals.  The culture should embody the values and assumptions needed for the organization to succeed in its environment.  If the external environment requires extraordinary customer service, for example, the culture should encourage good service.    Strong cultures are important because they bind the employees together, making the organization a community rather than just a collection of individuals with no shared values and ways of thinking and acting.  A positive organizational culture emphasizes building on employee strengths, rewards more than it punishes, and emphasizes vitality and growth.  All employees, not just leaders and managers, shape the culture of an organization and create a positive work environment.  You can do as much to shape your organizational culture as the culture of the organization shapes you. Aaron Kaplan, Founder/Director of the Kaplan Project LLC, can be reached by phone at 832-831-9451, by email at [email protected], or visit his website at www.thekaplanproject.com. »Continued From Page 20 Getting Organized: Why Bother?  You don’t have to get organized if you don’t see the benefit or payoff.  As a normal part of your business, you should always be assessing what’s working for you and what’s not.  You should also recognize the costs – ALL the Costs – of how you act in your business life every day and make decisions about which costs you’re willing to pay and which you’re not.  If you’re willing to pay all the costs associated with being disorganized then you don’t need to change a thing. Office Organizers, founded in 1993 by Holly Uverity, is The Entrepreneur’s Organizer.  They work with business people to create solutions for their organizational challenges.  Contact them at 281-655-5022, www.OfficeOrganizers.com, or www.fb.com/OfficeOrganizers. 34 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ MAY 2014 ] »Continued From Page 21 Inventory... Should it Be Included or Excluded When Buying or Selling a Business? In the event the purchase and delivery lead time requires inventory levels to be greater than one month, the average monthly inventory will need to be adjusted for the number of weeks or months needed to support the lead time.    Weight Average Monthly Inventory – The concept of this method is to weight each month’s inventory based on its proportion to total inventory.  This method works well when the monthly inventory significantly varies throughout the year.           Industry Ratios - Use of Industry Ratios is yet another way of determining normalized inventory.  RMAs financial ratios report inventory turnover ratios for most industries.  This ratio can be utilized by dividing Cost of Sales by the Inventory Turnover Ratio.    No one wants surprises at closing due to the miscalculation of the inventory amount needed to operate the business.  The above methods of determining the normalized amount of inventory to be included in the price of a business can be effectively used in conjunction with an analysis of the company’s financial statements, consultation with the owners, and input from their financial advisors.  Additional adjustments to the inventory may be needed to account for damaged, non-salable, outdated, or excess inventory. Jeff Jones is the President of Certified Appraisers, Inc. and Advanced Business Brokers, Inc. located at 10500 Northwest Frwy., Suite 200, Houston, TX  77092.  He can be contacted by email at [email protected]. Visit his website at www. advancedbb.com. »Continued From Page 28 3, 2, 1 - How to Be Your Best on Video!    Never wear a white jacket.  Wearing white, in general, makes you appear ten pounds heavier on camera.  You also need to be aware if there will be a green screen behind you when you are filming; if so, you can not wear green because it won’t show up on camera. If at all possible, it is a good idea to get an approval in advance about what you are wearing from whoever is in charge of production. Whenever you are asked a question on camera, carefully take time to think out the answer for each one of your responses.  Don’t become distracted in anticipation of the next questions. Remain calm, because, above all, it’s vital that during every interview or when recording a product that the TV viewer identify with you, like you, and trust in the message you are sharing. Pilar Ortiz, President of Pilar Ortiz Enterprises, is a TV & Video coach, bilingual speaker, & on camera talent.  She is can be contacted by phone at 727-557-5656, by email at [email protected], or visit her website at www.PilarOrtiz.com.