Small Business

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Accountability for Small Business is Finance Strategy

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog Accountability, Small Business, Staffing

When examining their financials and watching their margins degrade month after month, business leaders often understand this as a purely financial issue. In very large businesses this may be the case, perhaps there is some accounting principle that is skewing the true profitability based on how transactions are being recorded and coded in the system. Perhaps there is an issue with how the revenue and costs accruals are happening, or what depreciation method is being used.

These financial principles can also impact small businesses, of course. Still, more often than not, the margin concerns for small and lower middle market businesses are connected to concerns related to accountability. We see it almost daily in talking with business owners about what they are experiencing, and struggling with, in their businesses.

Some key indicators that your business might be experiencing margin degradation related to concerns about accountability are:

There is often a CYA or pass the buck mentality on the staff around whatever is going on in the moment. The intention is more about getting the responsibility off their desk rather than solving the problem.
Staff members have overlapping responsibilities. When team members are unsure who owns part of the process, confusion about who is taking care of what can create a lack of progress.
Everyone is increasingly busy and burnt out, and yet there is not much measurable growth going on to justify this.
You’ve tried to implement software solutions to help streamline your processes and have failed at or stagnated with that effort.
You are stuck when you try to identify and implement metrics on which to measure the success of your management team members.
In general, management team members do not have significant compensation that is based on actual results they can largely own and control.

The thing about stagnation and margin degradation is, it generally does not get better without intentional strategic action. Waiting for things to improve on their own is more likely to result in continual decline in financial resiliency over time, until it becomes an emergency, and at that point, the resources you have to devote to turning it around have depleted as well.

In small and mid-sized businesses, focus on implementing systems that promote accountability is strategic finance work, and you should be engaging in that work if you want to drive value in your business.

Diverse Colleagues Gathered Around Laptop In Modern Office

Rethinking the Return to Office

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog HR, Small Business, Staffing

After the pandemic, many companies implemented return-to-office policies, but the outcome has been unexpected: 8 in 10 employers say they’ve lost staff because of RTO mandates. A recent survey backs this up, finding that while 44% of employees say they would comply with a five-day-a-week office mandate, 14% said they would quit, and 41% said they would look for another job. These numbers suggest that a strict RTO policy may do more harm than good.

It is not surprising then that many companies are choosing a more flexible approach. A 2024 Willis Towers Watson survey found that fewer than 1 in 20 employers expect workers to be in the office five days a week, and more than two-thirds now have official hybrid work policies in place.

Productivity isn’t the problem

Companies often cite productivity as the basis of their RTO policies. But the numbers tell a different story. According to recent surveys, remote workers are 35% to 40% more productive than their in-office peers. Factors such as reduced commuting time and flexibility in scheduling work hours contribute to the gains.

Furthermore, about 90% of mostly remote workers say they’re satisfied with their jobs, compared to 80% of those who work mostly in person. The difference is not huge, but it may indicate a factor leading to better retention.

Ultimately, companies can achieve better employee satisfaction and long-term results by focusing on performance and collaboration rather than on where people sit to work.

Building team culture

Company culture, shaped by shared behaviors, expectations and daily interactions, is key to performance and collaboration. Culture can be built and supported in person or online.

For example, some teams are building agreements that clarify how people will work together. These collaborative documents define roles, communication norms, accountability practices and when in-person meetings are most useful. A team might agree to meet in person to kick off a project but choose virtual meetings for routine check-ins. In-office time is built intentionally to add value to the work; it is not dictated by a calendar.

As the workplace continues to evolve, companies need flexibility and self-awareness. That might mean rethinking what “presence” looks like or reevaluating how performance is measured. For many, the right answer is a forward-looking model built on trust, clarity and choice.

Coffee shop, senior woman manager portrait with barista feeling happy about shop success. Female server, waitress and small business owner together proud of cafe and bakery growth with a smile

All in the Family: When Relatives Work in Your Business

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog Family, Small Business

Family-run businesses are part of the backbone of the American economy. Whether you are starting out or running an established business, it’s natural to lean on relatives. You know their work ethic and communication style, and they care about your success. But mixing family and business requires balance. The same closeness that makes relatives trustworthy can also make boundaries harder to maintain.

The upsides — and a few tax breaks

Hiring family can strengthen both your business and your relationships. You spend more time together, enjoy built-in loyalty and build a public image rooted in family values. These qualities often resonate with customers who like supporting local, family-owned enterprises.

Hiring family can also simplify staffing: There’s no long recruiting process and no worrying about cultural fit. Further, there may be tax advantages. You don’t have to withhold Federal Unemployment Tax Act taxes if you employ a spouse, a parent or a child under 21. You also don’t have to withhold Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes (Social Security and Medicare) if the business is 100% family owned. These exemptions, however, don’t apply if your company is legally structured as a corporation or partnership.

Where complications can arise

Working with family members can blur the lines between home and office. It’s important to communicate expectations clearly from the start and to hold family employees to the same standards as nonfamily workers. Unequal treatment or special privileges can erode morale and lead to resentment among the staff.

Similarly, you need to be able to stay objective when evaluating a relative’s performance. If you have other employees, how will they understand having your relatives as work colleagues? And if a family member isn’t a good fit, are you prepared to have that conversation professionally and on good terms?

You’ll also need to stay compliant with employment laws. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, minors under 14 generally cannot work for a business (limited exemptions include newspaper delivery, babysitting and acting). Many states also require minors to have work permits, limit their weekly hours, and be guaranteed specific breaks and mealtimes.

Keeping both relationships and the business strong

When family works together, it’s important to avoid bringing personal disagreements into work. Similarly, don’t let workplace frustrations spill into family time. Establish clear roles, including regarding who manages whom, who makes which decisions, and where home life ends and business begins.

If your business involves in-laws, blended families or plans to pass ownership to the next generation, it’s wise to think ahead about potential conflicts, especially financial ones. Prenuptial or shareholder agreements can clarify ownership stakes and prevent misunderstandings later; discuss these early and handle them with care.

A family business can be a powerful way to share values, build wealth and strengthen ties across generations. By setting professional boundaries, communicating openly and applying the same standards to family that you’d apply to any employee, you can protect your company and your relationships, and keep your family enterprise thriving.

Branding for Your Small Business

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog branding, Small Business

Your brand serves as the foundation for every marketing decision you make, promoting your products and services effectively. Additionally, your brand reflects what your company stands for and the promises you intend to keep. By developing a clear brand identity, you help customers understand your values, earning their trust and turning one-time buyers into loyal advocates.

Define your identity

Start by outlining your brand’s purpose. What do you do, and why does it matter? Research your competitors to see how they position themselves and determine who you want your brand to speak to. Next, gather your sales and marketing data. Engage with current customers through surveys and focus groups to understand what they value most. The more precisely you define your audience — by age, profession, interests and needs — the more effectively your message will reach those who will benefit most from your brand.

Finally, identify your brand’s personality. Is it playful or serious, traditional or bold? This tone should remain consistent across everything you do, from product descriptions to customer service interactions. A clear, authentic personality gives your business a voice that customers can recognize and relate to.

Many strong brands have a story. Share what inspired you to start your business, the challenges you’ve faced and the values that drive you. Connect that story to your products or services, allowing customers to see the meaning behind what you sell.

Now you are ready to create the visual identity that ties it all together.

Consider hiring a professional designer or a branding agency to help refine your visual identity and create brand guidelines that align with your market research. They can assist you in developing a logo that balances style with meaning, choosing a color palette that reflects your tone, and using consistent typography and imagery. Partnering with experts ensures that every element — from your logo to your customer experience — tells the same cohesive story wherever customers encounter your business, whether online, in print or in person.

Bring your brand to life

Integrate your brand across every aspect of your business. Align your brand with your website design, social media posts, customer service and even internal communication so your company feels consistent and trustworthy. Provide brand training for employees and include it in onboarding, helping your team act as brand ambassadors who naturally share your message.

Creating a clear, consistent brand identity lays the groundwork for marketing success. It shapes how customers perceive your company and builds recognition, loyalty and trust. When every message, image and interaction aligns with your purpose, your brand becomes both recognizable and memorable.

Senior executive collaborating with younger employees inside business workspace.

How To Retire Gradually From Your Business

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog Exit Planning, Small Business

Retiring from a business you founded isn’t like leaving a job. It’s a personal, financial and emotional process that takes time and coordination. Whether you want to sell, pass the business to family or simply step back, the best outcomes follow thoughtful preparation.

Start with a clear plan

Begin by asking key questions: When do you want to retire? Do you want to sell, transfer ownership or wind down operations at your business? Do you have a particular person in mind to take over? The answers will shape everything from your tax strategy to your lifestyle goals.

Get a professional valuation of your business, assets and investments so you know what you’re working with. If a sale is likely, make sure your financial records are clean and your management team is stable; buyers will pay more for a business that can run smoothly without you. You could also ask trusted employees to sign retention agreements to reassure potential buyers by protecting continuity.

Decide how you’ll exit

If you plan to sell, work with your financial and tax advisers to coordinate the sale with your broader retirement strategy. You’ll need a tax-smart withdrawal plan that covers both personal and business assets so that neither your retirement income nor your company’s value takes an unnecessary hit.

If you’d rather stay involved, consider scaling back instead of stepping away completely. Many founders shift into advisory or consulting roles, providing high-level insight without being involved day-to-day. This approach preserves connection and purpose while giving you more freedom, but your ongoing commitment may delay the financial rewards of a full sale.

Family succession is another path. Passing the business to children or other relatives can create a legacy, but it requires early and open discussions. Make sure potential successors want the role and understand its responsibilities. If multiple family members are interested, try to prevent conflict by establishing clear ownership and leadership structures. Remember that transferring ownership as a gift may trigger gift tax obligations for you and potential tax consequences for your successor, so plan these transitions carefully.

If no suitable buyer or successor emerges, closing the business may be the right option. Creating a realistic timeline lets you notify clients and employees, meet all legal requirements and extract maximum value from the remaining assets.

Take it slowly

Gradual transitions often work best. Reducing your work hours, delegating responsibilities and mentoring future leaders together ensure continuity for your team and your clients. A slow handoff lets you pass along institutional knowledge and ease into retirement emotionally as well as financially.

Outside the office, consider what you’re retiring to, not just what you’re leaving behind. Many founders find fulfillment by serving on boards, mentoring startups or investing in interesting ventures. Channeling your experience into fresh projects can replace the structure and sense of purpose your business once provided.

You’ve spent years defining yourself through your company’s success. A deliberate, well-planned transition allows you to preserve that legacy even as you build a new life focused on curiosity, connection and independence.

Coffee shop manager checking bills while doing the accountancy

Growing Your Small Business Strategically

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog Growth, Small Business

Small-business owners should recognize this sometimes-overlooked fact: Success often relies less on acquiring new funding and more on wisely utilizing existing resources. In other words, growth for its own sake isn’t always good business. By monitoring expenses, reevaluating pricing, and analyzing which products or services truly deliver value, you can strengthen your bottom line and maintain flexibility for the future.

Focus on the numbers that matter

Owners often focus solely on income statements, overlooking the balance sheet. Cash flow and the productivity of capital employed provide a clearer picture of your business’s health. Make it a habit to regularly review assets, liabilities and cash reserves to identify opportunities for smarter use of available funds.

Price your products to cover both direct costs and a fair share of overhead. Even fixed costs — such as rent, utilities, depreciation and salaries — can vary over time. Treating fixed costs as untouchable can make your operation fragile. Simplify where possible and reduce expenses that don’t directly contribute to profitability.

Operational stability also depends on resources and staffing. Make sure you have enough personnel and supplies to meet demand without overextending. For product-based businesses, implement a reliable inventory system that tracks sales, monitors shipping costs, and highlights trends in usage and replenishment. Well-managed staff and inventory help you deliver consistent quality while keeping expenses under control.

Evaluate what’s working — and what isn’t

Regularly assess your product lines. Are sales and profit margins increasing or decreasing? How do customers perceive your pricing, quality and service? Streamlining or discontinuing underperforming offerings may lead to higher returns even if total revenue declines. The goal is efficiency, not size.

You can also gain valuable insights by managing some aspects of credit yourself. Contacting customers with overdue balances can expose recurring billing or service issues that might be costing you money. Addressing these concerns strengthens both cash flow and customer relationships.

Subcontract specialized or occasional work to keep costs manageable and avoid unnecessary overhead. Periodically evaluate whether your current location effectively serves your customers and whether the cost of maintaining it aligns with your revenue and service goals.

Simplify to strengthen

If sales growth becomes a reflex rather than a strategy, your operation may become overextended. Your balance sheet can guide you toward better decisions by showing how much cash is available for investment, whether debt levels are sustainable and how assets are performing. If scaling back certain assets boosts return on investment, a leaner structure may position your company more favorably for the long term.

Running a small business requires balancing ambition with discipline. By managing cash carefully, simplifying operations and focusing on return rather than sheer growth, you can build a stable foundation for expansion when the time is right.

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Marketing to Gen Z

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog Growth, Marketing, Small Business

Companies that want to stay ahead of the curve need to pay attention to what Gen Z (those born between about 1997 and 2012) look for as consumers—especially since Gen Z, which is now entering the workforce, is a larger cohort than the Millennials. They are also the first generation whose parent can be members of so many generations, from Baby Boomers to Millennials, which makes them an eclectic group that is hard to define easily. Thus, it is even more difficult to find what will attract them as consumers.

What do they want?

Recent research from Snap, Inc. provides important insights into what Gen Z looks for in brand innovation:

affordability
better performance
greater accessibility
efficiency

Interestingly, the answers given were the same for brands the respondents used as well as for those they had not tried. Price and performance remain constants when making purchase decisions.

How can you reach them?

But Gen Z’s connectivity and reliance on the internet and social media as a source of information creates some markers that are quite different than those for previous generations. Perhaps the biggest difference is that Gen Z is the first generation that has grown up communicating via texting and messaging on mobile apps and online platforms, sometimes to the detriment of face-to-face meetings.

In many ways, Gen Z is more engaged than predecessor generations because the information they want is available 24/7 on their devices. The result of this access is evident in the impact social influencers have on the generation, 64% of whom say they’re constantly online, often on multiple devices.

The research supports this. Gen Zers feel strongly that brands should source ideas from the public and that they’re more likely to support a company if (1) they feel their feedback makes a difference (80%) and (2) the company actually makes changes based on customer feedback (82%). These findings make it essential to have a digital presence that expresses the company’s culture and values.

What is your strategy?

When strategizing for the future, companies need to integrate a strong digital marketing program that can speak to this diverse generation across the various apps and platforms they use.

The key to a strong digital strategy is identifying your ideal customer and targeting the right social media outlets you need to reach them. Do your due diligence: research where they get their information, analyze what your competitors are doing, and understand who the influencers are in that space. Once you have that information, use it to develop a plan that will work using your available resources. Don’t spread yourself too thin, and don’t be afraid to change course if something isn’t working.

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Bringing Adult Children Into the Business

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog, Exit Planning Exit Planning, Family Business, Small Business

What, in fact, constitutes a family business? The definition covers any enterprise operated by two or more family members, ranging from a local pizzeria to a newspaper empire. That description covers so much ground that 90% of businesses in the United States are considered family-owned, but according to Success magazine, fewer than 15% survive to the third generation. How can your family business beat the odds?

The good, the bad, and the challenges

There are ample benefits to involving your children if you apply realism and caution. In a best-case scenario, kids and parents can combine resources and capabilities to complement one another. The younger generation may bring energy, contacts and a technology-savvy approach. The parents can provide potential capital and a lifetime of work experience. At the same time, older generations may face age discrimination, while the younger ones struggle to find jobs and start their careers.

Both sides share the benefit of familiarity, trust and an understanding of overall objectives. It is noteworthy that today’s boomer generation typically experiences a more adult relationship with their children than previous generations did. Nowadays, for financial reasons, living at home with parents is common among the 18-34 age group.

But your own children may not fit the bill to take on the responsibilities of the business. They may appear to lack interest in following in the family’s footsteps, be ambivalent, or demonstrate no commitment. At this point, they may not have acquired the necessary credentials or qualifications, and there is no guarantee they will eventually do so. A conflict of interest might arise if they choose to sell the family business in order to reap a windfall sooner.

Some parents hope that a role in the family firm could provide a lifeline to wayward offspring and give them a head start to thrive. Sadly, that does not usually happen, especially if the child lacks the proclivity for hard work.

Setting up sons and daughters for success

Start the succession process as early as possible. First, you can sense who has the right aptitude and passion. If you are including your children at the early stages, be clear that you are still the decider-in-chief when it comes to planning your own financial future. By that point, hopefully, you will have inculcated the paramount values that matter most in life and business and schooled your kids in the importance of honesty, effort, responsibility, communication, organized planning, negotiation and compromise.

Encourage your children to work outside the family firm first to gain additional experience.

It is simplest if only one child is involved. Otherwise, you may need to select one — possibly, but not inevitably, the eldest. Letting multiple children compete it out might risk discord and postponements. Alternatively, you could establish a family board or council to encourage cooperation, especially if they display different skill sets.

Make sure to obtain an independent fair market valuation for the enterprise. One route is to separate buildings from the operating company, keeping the real estate as an investment for rental income. Another option is to spin off the equipment into a separate company and lease it back to the business.

To help finance your retirement, you might also sell the business to your child, or underwrite the sale yourself, and let them repay you over time. If you keep at least a 51% share in the business, you can maintain decision-making control. Spell out all loan details in writing and adhere to IRS interest rate rules. It’s best to hire professionals to handle all legal and financial issues.

Best practices

Document everything, from roles, responsibilities and partnerships to compensation and exit strategies.
Conduct all business at the office, not at the family dining table, which would be unfair to nonfamily employees.
Hire from outside the family too, but treat them like family and promote them based on merit with consistent standards and training.
Avoid perceptions of favoritism. Don’t allow your children to take advantage by working fewer hours or avoiding duties.

Show professional respect all around. A time may come when you have to defer to your child, but if you’ve invested the time and strategy systematically early on, the transition will be that much easier for all involved.

Pro Tip: Top Priority for Small Business Owners

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog, Pro Tip Small Business, Value Creation

A very important idea to remember as a small business owner is that not all sales are created equal. Not every sale creates the same ultimate value for your business. Not every sale uses the same amount of capacity of your resources. Being very intentional about how you deploy your resources to create value is the most important part of decision making in a business. Failing to be that intentional, and failing to adequately identify the value of how you go to market, inevitably will result in less value creation over time. Make it a priority in 2026!

Multi Ethnic People Holding The Word Loyalty

3 Ways to Increase Customer Loyalty

Nicole Sithithavorn Blog Small Business

How do you maintain customer loyalty? For businesses, the question involves when, how and how often to interact with customers.

According to the Harvard Business Review, the Customer Contact Council, a division of the Corporate Executive Board, conducted a study of more than 75,000 people who had interacted over the phone with contact-center representatives or through self-service channels such as the web, voice prompts, chat and e-mail. The survey asked these three questions:

How important is customer service to loyalty?
Which customer service activities increase loyalty, and which don’t?
Can companies increase loyalty without raising their customer service operating costs?

The results of the survey reveal that making things easier for the customer helps mitigate customer disloyalty. The top issues customers reported are:

62%: having to repeatedly contact the company to resolve an issue.
59%: being transferred between departments.
59%: expending moderate-to-high effort to resolve their issue.
57%: having to switch from the web to the phone.
56%: having to reexplain an issue.

And it does not stop there. There is a ripple effect: Forty-eight percent of customers who had negative customer service experiences told 10 or more people, while only 25% of customers are likely to say something positive about their experience.

What can companies do?

Here are three ways companies can bolster their customer service efforts:

Make it easy to use. Customers are looking for an easy, responsive process that does not necessarily include live phone service. Customers want their issues resolved quickly, without a lot of effort on their part. Attentive company leaders will use this information to revamp their systems. One of the simplest ways to do this is by taking the customer journey themselves: Where do they get frustrated or annoyed? Chances are customers are irritated by the same things.
Meet consumers’ needs. It seems counterintuitive, but the survey showed that consumers are only marginally more loyal to companies that exceed their expectations (e.g., by offering expedited shipping or a free product). For most, it is enough to have their needs met. The key here is ensuring that the customer service representatives who answer customer questions are well trained in the various aspects of the product or service and have the right communication skills to diffuse confrontational callers.
Measure the right metrics. This step can be challenging, but the results can be rewarding. For example, how often does the company review its website? The Customer Contact Council study found that 57% of customers went to the website before they phoned the company. Suggestions for improvement include reviewing the website’s help (also called FAQ) section to make sure it does not use jargon or language that is too technical and that areas are grouped properly and cross-referenced as appropriate. Companies that offer a follow-up survey should be sure to use negative responses to make positives changes.