Banking & Finance

Is the world of finance finally shaking off the blues? There are signs of hope – if you can ignore the regulations heaped on banks, not to mention occasional political raids on their cash flow, and if you are unfazed by surging gas prices and concern about the accuracy of recent government jobs data. Full Story 

Lexy Frautshy has done pretty well for himself. As majority owner of Ian’s Pizza on State in Madison, the young entrepreneur has already snagged a Dane County Small Business Award and helped spark a media firestorm after Ian’s started delivering pizzas to protesters at the Capitol last spring. Full Story 

Their expectations are usually higher than most, but Dane County business managers did not report much change in their companies’ overall performance in 2011, and most said they did not meet their own expectations, and they have somewhat subdued expectations for 2012, according to the annual First Business Economic Survey of Dane County. Full Story 

Calling to collect unpaid bills is a time-consuming exercise for established businesses, so imagine the headache it could be for entrepreneurs. Since start-up business owners usually don't charge enough for their services, they are usually behind the cash flow curve to begin with. Any timidity in dealing with "slow pays" further restricts their ability to generate the cash they need to fund their operations. Full Story