On the Maintenance of a Small Business Essay

Creative Cuisine Concepts is a small business run by Sharon F. Johnson, employing twenty five staff members, and serving fifteen hundred meals at one of the cafeterias of America Hondo Motor Co. The company was going through severe financial trouble with its mounting debt, inability to make payments to vendors, and mismanagement of financial accounts. Johnson’s business partner left the company, and so she had to cash out her 401(k) retirement savings to save her small business. She also had to borrow money from the small inheritance of her husband so as to maintain her business. Nevertheless, the small business remained in financial trouble. This was before Johnson was advised by her mentor at American Honda to seek help for the financial statements of her small business. Subsequently, the lady hired an accountant for her business and opted for an accounting software program in place of the paper-based system. She also began to take a training course, sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the National Assn. of Women Business Owners, to improve her business and leadership skills. Johnson’s failing company began to recover soon after. She expects her business to breakeven in the near future. With the results that she has achieved thus far, she has additionally planned to grow her business from $1. 5 million to $50 million in revenue (Zwahlen). Zwahlen’s article, â€Å"Recovering from Financial Turmoil† about Creative Cuisine Concepts, describes many of the challenges faced by small businesses that are mentioned in the textbook. When Johnson’s business partner left the company, she became a sole proprietor of Creative Cuisine Concepts facing personal financial liability for all business debts. Moreover, the textbook mentions that the owners of small businesses have to be rather creative so as to maintain their businesses in the face of trials, such as mismanagement and cash flow problem. Johnson had to be rather innovative to save her business from the turmoil that it faced. She had to borrow from her husband’s inheritance, and cash out her retirement savings plan. Also according to the textbook, this is the usual route taken by the owners of small businesses who must use up their personal funds to maintain their companies. As compared to public companies, it is difficult for privately owned businesses to raise funds. Lastly, the textbook mentions management problems at small businesses that do not have the funds to hire a large number of competent people. Johnson had to take a business and leadership course to enhance her skills. The course was sponsored by an association of business women, who are known to head a large number of small businesses in the United States, according to the textbook. In my opinion, Johnson should also approach the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help her business meet its new goal of raising $50 million in revenue. As a matter of fact, the owner of the small business should have approached the SBA at the time her business was going through severe financial trouble. SBA could have provided her with a guarantee for a small business loan from a bank or private lender. It could also have helped her obtain a microloan. Furthermore, there are Small Business Investment Companies that Johnson could have approached. Although her creativity to gather the much-needed funds, apart from her motivation to gain new skills and put a new financial system into place must be applauded – the assistance of SBA could have saved her from the worries that she faced.