Health Nut

Late in the afternoon on January 20, 2006, one of the owners of The Health Nut hung up the phone. Her account manager had just called to tell her that the bank was not going to extend any further credit to her small retail natural health products (NHP) store located in Grand Bend, Ontario. She and her life and business partner had owned The Health Nut since May 2003. While they had successfully grown sales, the business was not generating enough cash to sustain itself and provide the partners with adequate compensation. As a result, the business relied heavily on borrowing from the bank. Now that the bank was no longer a source of financing, the owners had a major problem on their hands. What should they do now? Something was going to have to change. They had about four weeks left before the business ran out of cash.
The students will learn:
1. The role of emotion in decision making.
2. The nature and importance of due diligence.
3. When to let go of the business.
4. The importance of having enough working capital.
5. The dangers of over reliance on debt.
6. The challenges of cash flow management.