Does money make the world go round?

We begin this New Year with renewed enthusiasm and heightened optimism.  While the economic illness of past years have diluted the happiness and threatened the peace of many Canadian businesses, 2011 is proving to be the year of new beginnings.  Every new year I personally adopt a few old maxims as my beacons to guide my future, and the future of my teams.  This self prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year we grow wiser, not older.  I invite you to join me in tapping into the financial wisdom of our elders and become financially wiser. Hard Work: All hard work will bring profit; however mere talk and poor execution only leads to poverty;
Complacency: A sleeping lobster is always carried away by the current;
Earnings: Never rely on single sources of income.  While it’s always important to do what you do “best”, one must always be diversified;
Spending: Buying things you don’t need will inevitably lead to you selling things you do need;
Savings: While any amount of money you have to save is worth saving, don’t save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving, and invest in the future;
Accounting: It’s no use carrying an umbrella if your boots are leaking;
Auditing: Beware of little expenses; the smallest leaks can sink the largest ships;
Risk-taking: Never test the depth of a river with both feet; venture one step at a time;
Investment: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

I’m certain that those who have already been practicing these principles continue to enjoy financial health.  And I’m equally confident that those who resolve to practice these principles going forward will quickly regain their financial health. 

At Shoeless Joe’s we have already begun our journey.  The opportunity clearly now exists for the finance team to position ourselves at the heart of the organization.  With the closing of fiscal year 2010 (and the many challenges that brings) to the development and implementation of our refined 2011 budget plans, quarterly business reviews, IT systems implementation, staff development, and many cost savings initiatives, we are well on our way to acting as a key change agent.  We are empowered to execute and monitor the necessary changes to achieve the overall strategic objectives of the organization by means of aligning the roles of steward, operator, and strategist in tandem; all the while ensuring accountability prevails.  Financial freedom is our goal; transparency and tenacity are our tools.

Malcolm Webb

Director of Finance

Shoeless Joe’s Ltd.