Business acronyms can frustrate new investors. Vicinity is here to help. Read this article and discover the power of ICP, USP, and PMF.
There’s nothing like the Upstate highlands. A green canopy of trees covers the Appalachian slopes like a blanket over the body of an old warrior. ‘Tis a noble region besieged by Big Business and Corporate America. But no more. Communities are rallying around a war cry: “They may take our downtowns, but they’ll never take...
One of the main financial statements you can use to analyze a business is the Profit and Loss statement (aka the income statement, the P&L, or the statement of financial results). What does it do? The P&L measures the revenues, costs and expenses of a business over a period of time. You start at the...
I’m the type who turns buying apples into an arduous process. I’ll skeptically compare the fifty-cent difference between apples, assuming the proper scrutiny stance: arms folded, a slight lean to the torso, and eyes narrowed. Once I’ve established the type and price of the apples I want to purchase, I’ll thoroughly inspect each item. The...
Before we talk about the future, let’s mention a bit about the past. Business owners, sales leaders, finance executives and other stakeholders are all tasked with monitoring basic financial statements. Tools like the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Statement of Cash Flows tell stories about business results in the past. These stories contain lots of...
I’ll never forget pitching two angel investors with my first fully thought-out business plan. I’ve always been a dreamer, a creator, and an aspiring visionary known for the verbal tick, “What if…” But this was the first time I had put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard), pulled out my calculator (iPhone), and drawn up...
First, the disclaimer: If you can’t afford to lose 100% of your investment, then you shouldn’t invest – hard stop. Now the TLDR: When comparing the two, a debt investment can be less risky, provide regular paybacks, but also has less upside than an equity investment. If you are looking to make an equity investment...
Two weeks ago, we discussed some reasons to invest local via the JOBS Act and Reg CF. Last week, we answered how to invest in local SMBs through Investment Crowdfunding. So let’s say you’ve done your due diligence and you’re on board. You decide to flap your angel investing wings and place some dollars in...
If we’re talking about new and innovative ways to invest, we have to talk about Robinhood. Robinhood has become synonymous with the democratization of finance, aka making investing easily accessible to unaccredited investors. While Robinhood laid much of the foundation for the idea of taking personal ownership in investing, there are fundamental differences you should...
Let’s be honest for a moment. When we eat out, 99% of us (disclaimer: fake stat we made up) don’t go beyond leaving a standard tip if we were impressed with our meal and service. And for places like auto shops, there’s a slim chance anyone leaves a tip at all. Say their service or...