Keep at it.

The more you try, the greater chance you will succeed. The chance of making a sale dramatically increases with each attempt.

Financial Statements

Things to look for on a financial statement. First of all, there are four financial statements that one should look out for. Income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and statement of stockholders' equity.

Basic Terminology

Assets are the things that can be sold off if a company starts losing money. Assets can be actual cash in the bank, inventory on hand (in the case of a retail operation, anything product that has been paid for by the company that is in the store), equipment and trade fixtures. Assets are typically recorded according to the price paid for it, and does not reflect any appreciation that may have taken place. For example, if a company owns undeveloped land that they bought years ago, the price on their books is probably the price they paid for it. Never mind if the local real estate market has been booming for the last decade. Basically, assets are sometimes recorded to be worth less than they really are, and people like Warren Buffett go around looking for this. They would invest in a company that has a lot of assets that can be sold for significantly more than the book value, so if the company goes bankrupt, the investors / stakeholders still make out like bandits. Liabilities are the debts that a company owes to mortgage companies, banks, vendors, employees, etc. The sad thing is that pensions are considered a liability. That is why airline companies and car companies cut those first when the company gets into trouble. They want to increase stockholder equity because assets minus liabilities is equal to stockholder equity. Assets that can be found in my personal life include the equity in my home, and my car. My liabilities include my mortgage and my credit card debt.