Monthly Archives: March 2021

How to Avoid Driving Down the Interstate Blindfolded

How to Avoid Driving Down the Interstate Blindfolded 
Our Kick-Off to National Financial Literacy Month  

Mindy Barker | Barker Associates

April is National Financial Literacy Month, and I personally cannot think of a better time to discuss the importance of understanding financials. You don’t have to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company to have a healthy grasp on your numbers. In fact, I sincerely hope that many others do. Financial literacy is important whether it’s for yourself and your family, as the owner of a small business, as a non-profit director, or in any capacity where you have some control over money coming in and money going out. This month presents a timely opportunity to review and upgrade not only your financials, but equally as important, your financial knowledge. 

First, some history. National Financial Literacy Month had its beginnings over twenty years ago, and has since evolved into a month-long observance. The idea of dedicating a month to this topic has broad support – the House and Senate have issued joint resolutions in support of National Financial Literacy Month, and the U.S. Department of Education promotes its observance. 

What is Financial Literacy and How Does it Affect Business? 

According to Investopedia.com, “financial literacy” is the “ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.” And unless the business you’ve started or are otherwise running is a financial services firm, accounting, budgets, and numbers may not be your strong suit. That’s okay – they’re not a lot of people’s favorite things either (we are a select few)!  

Yet, understanding your business’s finances, including cash flow, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and budgets, is essential to understanding the overall health of your business. In fact, according to a study by U.S. Bank, as reported in Business Insider, 82% of small businesses fail because of cash flow problems. That’s why every for-profit and non-profit organization owner, officer, and director should prioritize financial literacy in their continuing education. And it’s also why we’re going to help you do just that. 

For the next few weeks, we are going to observe National Financial Literacy Month in the best way we know how. You can expect our own version of financial tutorials right here in our blog. We will talk about everything from the terms you need to know to common misconceptions to why it’s so important to review some basic concepts, such as EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization), Working Capital (Cash and other Current Assets less Current Liabilities), Aged Accounts Receivable, and many more. 

Where Do You Stand? 

For this week, let’s start with some basics. Take this financial literacy quiz to see if you’re on the right path to financial brilliance, or if maybe you have some brushing up to do.   

1. Do you have a financial professional on staff? 

Having the expertise of a CPA or internal (or outsourced) CFO can save you time and money in the long run. 

2. How often do you forego infrastructure development to save money?  

Saving money is, of course, important, but so are efficiencies.   

3. Do you have an annual budget?  

Navigating the fiscal year without a budget is just like driving down the interstate blindfolded! By reviewing past revenue and expense flows to forecast future income and expenses you can create a budget to see clearly where you are going. 

4. If yes, do you monitor actual vs. budget?  

The annual budget is a living, breathing document, meant to be part of your monthly financial review process – planned versus actual expenses. It’s okay to make periodic adjustments, a process that helps you know if the company goals are on track. 

5. Do you firm grasp on your profit and loss statement and balance sheet? 

Both documents are crucial, but each provides its own benefits. A balance sheet provides a snapshot as to how effectively a company’s resources are used. A profit and loss (P&L) statement provides a summary of the company’s revenue and expenses incurred during a specific period of time. 

6. Is your G/L infrastructure meeting the need?  

If your monthly financial reporting: (a) is either non-existent or (b) is not helping you run your business, consider a review and restructuring of your GL. Make it work for you – not the other way around. 


How many “Yeses” did you score on the Financial Brilliance Meter?
0 – 1 – Financial Dunce 

2 – 3 – Financial Aptitude 

4 or more – You are on the road to Financial Brilliance! 

No matter where you scored, we’ve got you covered. Stay tuned for the best ways to increase your financial literacy this month, so that a perfect score is waiting for you the next time you take the quiz. And if you scored perfectly now, congratulations! But, as you know, as a leader, professional, and human being, there is always room for growth. 

If you need additional assistance, we’re only a phone call or email away. Barker Associates has extensive experience working with organizations to better understand their financials and help them drive into their future blindfold-free. Use this link to my calendar to choose the best time for your free 30-minute financial analysis consultation. 

Leading with Trust Affects Your Team and Your Bottom Line

Leading with Trust Affects Your Team and Your Bottom Line 
A Little Trust goes a Long Way 

Mindy Barker | Barker Associates

We talked last week about the concept of being lonely at the top and more importantly, how not to be lonely at the top. And we found that one of the best ways is to increase collaboration with your team. However, to do so effectively, we need to earn their trust first. 

Do you remember a time when you didn’t fully trust your leader? Maybe you could sense they weren’t authentic or credible, or you felt like you had to have your guard up for another reason. Your levels of performance and productivity were probably lower than usual. You also likely felt disconnected not only from your leader, but also from your team and even your own work. It may have led to internal conflict, poor communication, and decreased productivity. Overall, it wasn’t a thriving relationship. All because you didn’t trust them. 

The Importance of Trust 

Trust is a crucial component of any meaningful relationship, including those with our subordinates and colleagues. To be an effective, successful leader, you must have your team’s support, which can only happen after you have earned their trust. Earning trust is not necessarily an easy thing to do and not something that happens automatically. It takes work, authenticity, and consistency.  

When you earn your team’s trust though, almost magically, amazing things begin to happen. It increases their commitment not only to you, but to the organization and its goals. They become more comfortable with change and more willing to embrace a new vision. Communication also improves with trust, increasing collaboration, creativity, and productivity. Trust even fosters smoother conflict resolution. And it’s a two-way street. When the synergy of trust flows both ways, leaders will empower their employees to do their own work and make their own decisions more, and employees will have the confidence and trust to do so. 

According to a Harvard Business Review article, “Without a foundation of trust, people in the organization may comply outwardly with a leader’s wishes, but they’re much less likely to conform privately — to adopt the values, culture, and mission of the organization in a sincere, lasting way. Workplaces lacking in trust often have a culture of ‘every employee for himself,’ in which people feel that they must be vigilant about protecting their interests.” 

So, the question becomes … how do we build trust as a leader? 

One of the easiest and most effective ways to build trust and strong relationships is to give our full attention to others when they are speaking. Active listening tips include – 

  • Silencing the distractions (physical, digital, and mental). 
  • Eliminating interruptions. 
  • Repeating what they said and asking if you heard it correctly. 
  • If not, asking them to repeat it. 
  • Using verbal and non-verbal cues that your attention is on them only. 
  • Listening with empathy and trying to meet them where they are. 

Building trust also requires authenticity and transparency in your leadership methods. While transparency does not mean that you have to divulge everything to everyone, it does mean that what you do divulge is true and accurate. In this way, you are also modeling the behavior you expect from them. Another tip is to resist the urge to micromanage. Nothing screams, “I don’t trust you or your work” like micromanaging. Set parameters and expectations and hold your team members accountable. Overall, it creates a better working environment and increases the levels of success.  

Building trust at work is not all about a mere feel-good initiative. Trust actually has also been found to enhance the bottom line. Trust Across America (an organization that tracks the performance of America’s most trustworthy public companies) found that the most trustworthy companies outperformed the S&P 500. Additionally, an Interaction Associates study showed that trustworthy companies are “2½ times more likely to be high performing revenue organizations than low-trust companies.” 

Ultimately, it goes back to the old adage, “treat others the way you wish to be treated.” To build and maintain trust, treat your team members with integrity and respect, fostering open communications and a productive, efficient team. Trust is the glue that binds a leader to his or her team. And nothing provides the capacity for success and credibility more … trust me.  

Barker Associates has extensive experience with collaborative management styles, assisting organizations as they achieve increased productivity and efficiency. Use this link to my calendar to choose the best time for your free 30-minute consultation. 

Leadership: If it’s Lonely at the Top, it’s Time to Make a Change

Leadership: If it’s Lonely at the Top, it’s Time to Make a Change 

Mindy Barker | Barker Associates

“It’s lonely at the top!” We’ve heard that phrase circulated amidst leadership conversations for years. But what exactly does it mean? Is the perception different from the reality? And, more importantly, what does it say about our own leadership styles? 

Clearly, it’s not a literal statement. As leaders, we are surrounded by other people (often more so than we may like). Rather, it is a statement born out of one’s personality, emotions, and ability to shift perspective. Loneliness in these terms is not referring to physical isolation, but from an inability to make connections at work due to the position itself. Maybe you’re not invited to lunch anymore. Maybe you’re not on the inside track of the office jokes that everyone else seems to get. But that’s okay. Ultimately, you’re not there to make friends.

Some leadership aspects lend themselves to justifying the phrase. Whether you’re the CEO, the CFO, or in another management position, leaders are the ones who bear much of the responsibilities in a constant attempt to balance the ever-increasing demands from both sides – higher management and staff. There are deadlines, operational issues, risk management issues, financials to be filed, and problems to be solved. This is particularly true for women leaders, who often struggle to find support from like-minded women who have the same abilities and the same challenges. It is also particularly true for financial leaders.

Financial leaders often struggle with discovering the right combination of leadership responsibilities and deadline based tactical responsibilities. They find it difficult to stay engaged with the professionals they lead, because, well, some deadline is usually fast-approaching. Yet, they understand that it is no longer possible to focus solely on the tactical aspects of their jobs. If they want to move up to the CFO level, they cannot do it alone. Rather, they must engage with those whom they lead.

Are We Doing Something Wrong?

Despite the reasons, the idea of being lonely as a leader still doesn’t sit right. In fact, John Maxwell has noted, “If you are lonely at the top, then you are doing something wrong.”

Consider this: if you are alone, it could be concluded that no one is following you. And if no one is following you, how can you lead effectively? Our job, as leaders, is to build relationships, build trust, and make those we lead better at what they do, helping them ascend, as we have. Once we fully accept those responsibilities, we understand that in order to achieve our goals, we must connect to those we lead in more impactful ways, including coaching and collaboration (with little time to be lonely). 

The most obvious impacts of loneliness as a leader are on those we are leading, who may feel abandoned. However, it may also affect our own ability to do our jobs effectively. For example, good decisions never arise out of negative emotions, including loneliness. As such, decision-making, a crucial component of leadership, could also be affected when we shut ourselves off. 

Lonely at the Top No More

While some of the physical circumstance may be unavoidable – you do have a separate office, you’re not privy to some of the same conversations, you may struggle to find support, strategies to stay engaged with your team abound. In their implementation, not only will you be less isolated, you’ll ultimately be leading in more effective ways. 

Top Five Tips to Staying Engaged (and to not being lonely):

1. Be Visible. Your team needs to know you are there and accessible. Have an open-door policy and encourage others to use it. 

2. Collaborate. No leader operates alone. You don’t have all the answers. None of us do. Increasing collaboration among the team not only increases creativity, it also increases the value placed on relationships and productivity. 

3. Coach. Much of your responsibility as a leader rests with the development of others. Embrace that responsibility. Remember that in order for you to move up, others must do so as well. 

4. Actively listen. Your team is valuable and so are their voices, whether they are in consensus or have diverse points of view, show them that you care about what they have to say.  

5. Accept Change. Understand and accept that relationships will shift based on your leadership position, but those relationships still need cultivation. 

Leaders shouldn’t sit in detached isolation at the top of the organizational chart. Rather, we should immerse ourselves into the organization’s culture and people. With bonding comes energy and with energy comes relationships. And only through those relationships can we bring out the best in others. Loneliness dissipates because we are highly engaged with those around us, not sitting alone behind the closed doors of a corner office. 

Barker Associates has extensive experience with collaborative management styles, assisting organizations as they achieve increased productivity and efficiency. Use this link to my calendar to choose the best time for your free 30-minute consultation. 

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day 
The Past, Present, and Future of Women Leaders and Founders  

“We need women at all levels, including the top, to challenge the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.”  
– Sheryl Sandberg 

Yesterday, we celebrated International Women’s Day, highlighting the accomplishments of social, economic, and political achievements of women around the world. It’s no coincidence that we celebrate this day as a part of Women’s History Month. How can we celebrate the achievements of today and look forward to the progress of tomorrow, without acknowledging the determination and sacrifices of the past? While there is no shortage of influential women leaders today, they stand on the shoulders of hundreds of others who paved the way.  

A Look into the Past 

Unfortunately, we cannot list every courageous woman leader from the past (not to mention those we each have within our own families and friends), but here is a celebration of a few, intended to honor all: 

  • Sojourner Truth, after being born into slavery and escaping with her infant, became an abolitionist and women’s rights activist. She later became known for her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech regarding racial inequalities in the year 1851.  
  • As a young girl, Louisa May Alcott worked in the mid-1800s to support her family financially, something unheard of at the time. She later wrote “Little Women,” one of the most treasured novels in American history. 
  • In the mid-1900s, Marguerite Higgins became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Foreign Correspondence after working as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune during WWII, The Korean War, and the Vietnam War.  
  • Rosa Parks became one of the most famous, influential women of the civil rights movement when, in 1955, she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. Today, she’s known as the “Mother of the Freedom Movement.” 
  • Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female justice on the Unites States Supreme Court (1981-2006). 

The list, of course, goes on in all government and private sectors, industries, and facets of life. These women and thousands more played prominent roles in advancing women to where they are today. And, as we celebrate women this month, we share in our gratitude for them all. 

The Here and Now 

There is no doubt that progress continues for women leaders and founders. There have been great successes in the government, sports, finance, and corporate worlds. Women are breaking records every day, but there is still a long way to go. In 2019, the proportion of women in senior management roles globally grew to 29%, the highest number ever recorded (same percentage in 2020). On the one hand, we love breaking records. On the other, at only 29%, there is much room for improvement and many more glass ceilings to crack. 

The gap doesn’t just exist within the boardroom. It is also very apparent in female founders and funding. We need improvement in women led companies locating and securing the funding they need to scale their companies. 

While there was already a significant gap in funding, according to Crunchbase, global venture funding to female-founded companies fell further in 2020. Whether this is the result of COVID-19 is unclear; however, there is data that suggests the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women in the workforce. 

Through mid-December, 800 female-founded startups globally had received a total of $4.9 billion in venture funding in 2020, representing a 27% decrease over the same period in 2019. 

Mindy Barker | Barker Associates Image Credit: Crunchbase

Optimistically, early 2021 Crunchbase data shows improvement. In fact, 30% of investments in U.S. companies at Series A and B stage between January and mid-February went to teams with female or Black founders. While it is a brief study period, this trend is worth watching over the coming months.  

Overall, while female entrepreneurs are still far underrepresented in startup funding tallies, at least there are some signs of, and initiatives to, continue that progress. In fact, there is a new target set by All Raise (an organization that advocates for female investors and founders) of growing seed and early-stage funding amounts from the current 11% to 23% by 2030 for U.S. companies with a female founder. 

Tomorrow 

So much has been accomplished, yet, it’s clear we still have a long way to go. According to the World Economic Forum, global gender equality is not estimated to be achieved until 2133. So, as we celebrate the great women leaders of yesterday and today, we do so with an understanding that thousands more women will be standing on our shoulders tomorrow. And the forward momentum that is women’s leadership continues on. 

Are you a woman founder looking for funding? Are you ready to be a part of that 23% target? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with this link to my calendar to talk about how we can work toward getting you the investment money you need.  

A Successful Pitch May Come Down to Your Words

A Successful Pitch May Come Down to Your Words  
What to Say and What to Avoid 

Mindy Barker | Barker Associates

Lately, we’ve been talking a lot about pitching investors. We talked about the importance of your story coming through loud and clear and why you need two pitch decks. And with all this “talk,” it now comes down to your actual words.  

You have a limited time to tell your story and make the best impression. Knowing what will resonate with potential investors, and perhaps, more importantly, what will not resonate with them, can make all the difference in whether you receive funding. Even if your pitch deck is perfect, it can easily be derailed by poor word choice. How you choose your words says a lot about you, your views on your business, and how you would fare as a potential partner.  

Overall, your pitch will tell your story, including information about the problem (briefly), target market, revenue or business model, early successes and milestones, customer acquisition, team, financials, competition (briefly), funding needs, and exit strategy. As you’re talking about each, there are words and phrases you should avoid, as what the investor hears when you say them will be entirely different than what you intend. Take the following chart as an example of some of those situations. 

Words/Phrases to Avoid What the Investor Hears/Thinks 
Buzzwords (i.e. disruptive, visionary, innovative)  Disingenuous; insincerity 
Solo entrepreneur No one can do it alone. This person will burn out. 
No competition  No market or you have not done your   research 
“No brainer”  Arrogance 
Guarantee  Amateur – there are no guarantees in investing. 
Any word or phrase you cannot explain well Unprepared 

A Quick Note on Buzzwords  

People tend to use them because they think it will make them sound like they know what they’re talking about. But those people aren’t fooling anyone, particularly sophisticated investors. A “buzzword” is defined by Merriam Webster as “an important-sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used chiefly to impress laymen.” By the definition alone, you should see why you should exclude them completely. You want to impress the investors (who are not laymen) the right way – with legitimate numbers and proven strategy, not by trying to sound impressive. 

Powerful Words/Phrases that Strengthen Your Story 

Instead of the above words and phrases, focus on the following powerful ones that show you mean business: 

  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – explain how much your customer acquisition strategy costs and how it can be reduced over time. 
  • Lifetime Value – explain how your customers will eventually cover the cost of operations. 
  • Churn – explain how efficient you are about retaining your existing customers (eventually generate enough value to pay back their acquisition cost and help you generate a profit). 
  • Burn Rate – explain how much cash you have remaining to operate and how efficiently you are operating your business.  
  • Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) – explain the sum of all costs that go into offering your product. 
  • Gross Margin – explain how well your business is performing. 
  • EBITDA – understand what this means and have projections to back it up. 
  • Use of Proceeds – explain how the investor’s money will be spent and make sure it is not to increase the existing C Suite or Founder’s salary. 

These are the terms investors want to hear. Not only do they demonstrate that you know your business inside and out, but they also give more credibility to your numbers. A win-win for investors! 

Other Pitching Tips 

Now that you understand the words and phrases to avoid and those to focus on, other pitch tips include: 

  • Stay professional 
  • Be on time and respectful of your time limit. Show that you value the investors’ time. 
  • Be confident, but not arrogant. 
  • Focus on the solution, not the problem. 
  • Don’t attack the competition. Instead, focus on your strengths. 
  • Think and talk long-term. Investors are not interested in quick wins. They’re looking for companies that are going to make an impact on their industry. 
  • Communicate your “why” passionately and infectiously.  
  • Understand that there is a difference between creating a great pitch deck and creating a great pitch. 

Going into any pitch is a nerve-wracking experience. Even with practice, you may struggle to find the right words, which is why focusing on them from the start is so important. There are many available pitching tips out there, but word choice alone can make or break the deal. At the very minimum, they can give some extra positivity, and who doesn’t need that on pitch day?  

Barker Associates has extensive experience with assisting companies in preparing their pitches, including the keywords they want to use (and to avoid). Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with this link to my calendar to talk about how we can work toward getting you the investment money you need.