The sweet smell of love is in the air…oh wait, no…that’s candy that I smell! The nation’s 1,700 candy manufacturers combine chocolate, sugar, and other raw ingredients to produce every imaginable variety of confection and chocolate-based product. And Valentine’s Day is one of their prime opportunities to shine.

December is the month when the nation’s 15,200 jewelry stores really shine! Indeed, winter holiday shoppers can make or break a jewelry store, which has highly seasonal sales in December and around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. Yet in recent years, jewelry stores have lost market share to a variety of channels, including department...

When it comes to gaining trust with small to mid-sized business (SMB) owners, absence definitely does not make the heart grow fonder. In fact, it’s much more likely that if you’re out of sight, you’re also out of mind. Not a good situation if you want business owners to come to you when they have a need for your services.

You’re pulling together a presentation for a new small to mid-size business (SMB) prospect. You have checked it again and again to be sure your i’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed. Your high school English teacher would be so proud! But perfect grammar likely won’t be enough to convince a prospect that you are the right fit for their...

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was developed as the standard for use by the U.S. federal government’s statistical agencies, replacing the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system in 1997. Industry-specific NAICS codes are assigned to each business in the country, classifying them for the collection and...

“Trigger events” are major changes that affect a business. They can be milestones achieved through the normal course of a business’ life such as buying new equipment or moving locations. Or, they can be through environmental happenings outside of the business’ control such as new laws. For a business owner, they can be joyful, such as a...

As a busy professional, you likely find yourself burning the candle at both ends much of the time. You know that you should do more to prepare for meeting with small business owners, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. 

In 2017, River Cities Capital Funds, a growth equity fund focused on healthcare and information technology, produced a study on software as a service (SaaS) companies. At the time, River Cities already had invested roughly $100 million in 16 SaaS companies, which had resulted in six successful liquidity events, including two IPOs. 

One of the fascinating things about working for Vertical IQ is learning about the structures of industries and why they have evolved that way. At the heart of what we analyze are the numerous facets that drive revenue—and factors that make businesses within that sector succeed or fail. Indeed, it’s every advisor’s job to understand how...