No matter how you slice it, a company needs cash to survive. It's like air to a human. Cash is an essential basic element. Most small business owners know this, but still, end up focusing on the income statement to determine their success. Yes, sales and profit are important, but cash is critical. This lesson focuses on three phases of business and evaluating the cash needs around each. Here are the basic objectives you will learn. Be sure to download the resources to follow along with the lesson.

1. Understand the basic difference between profit and cash. Paper profits do not always equate to cash in the bank
2. Learn the 4 ways to make more money in a company
3. Discuss the 4 most common ways business owners finance their company to get up and running or fuel growth plans
4. Learn the most commonly missed step in forecasting growth - the impact on the balance sheet. You will learn to forecast the balance sheet in order to determine future funding needs
5. A technique to find hidden cash opportunities within the company using the financial impact worksheet and the cash impact map