Making money, making business, making something for money and even selling money – it’s called business. As I speak, some diehard stockbrokers are probably nearing the window sill in preparation to jump out in some of the world’s worst trading sprees ever, where even a large multinational-billion dollar money trader Merrill Lynch goes under into bankruptcy.

Closer to home, the venerable Hudson Bay Company sold out months back to an American interest. Even closer to home, electricity generated in James Bay sells out wholesale and lower priced to the States. In our backyard, softwood lumber is taking a beating and causing our own agreement to slow down in supposed revenue-sharing in logging.

At home, trying to make it to pay for every increase in living, energy, transportation and entertainment (which is totally necessary up north, because we’re bored enough already with bad news from the south) is taking its toll on your everyday Joe and Jane meagre pocketbooks. What’s a guy got to do today to make ends meet?

To start with, take a good long look at the successful entrepreneur, and an even harder look at the unsuccessful entrepreneur. To make it easier for those who cannot understand financial matters, bottom lines (I said bottom lines, not tan lines), breakeven points and balance sheets, inventory turn-over and debit and credits, I made a comparative analysis to differentiate between success and failure in business.

Successful entrepreneurs do the following:

– Save every penny, while the other laggards sweep the pennies into the garbage at clean-up time;

– Put their bills in accounts payable, then pay them as soon as they can, while others wait for the creditors to come knocking before paying up or inventing some absurd story, like the dog ate all the notices;

– Make daily reports and deposit their funds immediately, when the others spend their money before depositing the leftover change;

– Keep a wary eye out for thieves, five-finger discounters and other vermin; the failing business welcomes them in over and over again to rip them off with open arms;

– Don’t believe in credit; while credit customers seem to be the only ones at the losers’ counter;

– Open and close on time every business day while the other poor dude still has one eye open and is yawning a full hour after opening time, complaining about no one to do the work for them;

– Take some time off for families (albeit it is a very worrisome time for them), when family time is the only time all the time, and no time for business for those who dared take a stab at business with eight children all under the age of 10;

– Stay in business longer and for years before selling out or closing; while the others have going out of business sales and signs declaring closure for years;

– Are able to retire young or old, when the others have tried several times to start their business and now near retirement age penniless.

Making money successfully just means taking good care of business!