Mary owns a business that makes geometric shaped lamps called Mobilelights. The Mobilelights are made from plastic panels that fit together like puzzle pieces. The pieces make lamps of different shapes, patterns and colors. The Mobilelights come in a variety of shapes and sizes with the largest ball lamp being 4 in diameter, or 4 x 4 square. The largest lamp sells for $125 while the most popular model, a 15 diameter model sells for $49.99. People who purchase more than three Mobilelights get one free. The choice can be hanging lamps or sit on a desk or a table. Mobilelights are popular with children and teenagers for room decor. Party planners like Mobilelights because they can set a mood in the room and they can be use again in different ways supplementing the patterns or colors from time to time. Mary first started the business in a kiosk of a local mall. The overhead was low and sales varied. She broke even almost immediately. By the end of the first year; she was making a profit. Mary expanded to another mall by the end of second year doubling sales. Encouraged by the success, Mary thought it may be time to open a shop. She looked for a spot in a small strip of stores but not in a strip mall. She found a place on the main street of Old Town in Ellicott City, Maryland. It was a small store with questionable parking. Mary began doing lighting for party events and sales skyrocketed. Yearly sales went from $200,000 to $500,000. Thrilled with her success, Mary began to take on help. She even considered opening a shop or kiosk at the Baltimore Harbor Pier thinking she would have a lot of foot traffic. Mary was constantly thinking of ways to expand the customer base of the company. She opened a kiosk in the Harbor Building housing Philips, a popular Maryland landmark restaurant. Sales were far from stellar but the business still showed growth. The company was now looking at over a million dollars in sales with expenses of just over $500,000. The business had 18 employees. At this point, Mary had not really explored internet sales or social media. Unbeknownst to Mary, who had been very busy growing the business, You Tube was showing instructional videos on how to make the lamps and included online websites where people could purchase the panels and other materials needed to make the lamps. One day, a downtown employee spoke with Mary about the videos. Mary was shocked. The employee said she overheard someone say to a friend, Yes I think they are cute too, but you can go online and buy the panels and make it yourself for half the price. Within six months of this conversation, Mary, found that sales were dropping in the various kiosks, but not in the party business. Mary closed two of the kiosks, the Baltimore and the location at the first mall. She stuck with the store and the second mall location. Sales were doing well at both locations although profits were flat. One year later, Mary closed the remaining kiosk. She kept the party business in the store front. Later, Mary would close the party business as well but continued to work out of her house. Her million-dollar business had reverted to $300,000 in the span of three years.

• Research the best tips for managing cash flow and create a checklist for Mary to use in the future. Try not to just pick the most common ideas; look for those that are different as well.
• To go with the checklist, make another checklist of the things to avoid doing when managing cash flow.
• Explain to Mary how and why she must correct her immediate problem with accounts receivables if she hopes to get financing in the future.
• Create a table that describes all ways small business owners can obtain financing. In the column, section use the following headings: description of the finance type, who can benefit most from this type of financing, recommendation. The rows will contain various types of financing possible for Mary. Explain to Mary that you have started the table for her but she should carefully examine the recommendations the firm has made to see if they work for her in light of her plans to grow.
• Review part two again and explain to Mary how her downsizing might affect her financial future. Be sure to identify what stage in the life cycle she is in and how that will play into the financial plans she should consider in growth.