An Environmental Services Firm Uses The Numbers Coach to Achieve Financial Results

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The Company

Sustainable Investment Group (“SIG”), founded by Charlie Cichetti and Jason Kiefer, provides sustainability services to commercial property owners.  SIG provides high quality services for LEED certification with commercial buildings.  A LEED certified building ensures the property uses sustainable activities to help protect our environment.  SIG offers LEED training, consulting, and engineering services domestically and internationally.  SIG has become an industry leader and expert in LEED practices.

Situation

In 2020 the SIG team wanted to enhance their financial management and reporting.  They were looking to create a platform to communicate the company’s key performance indicators (“KPI”) that drive its financial results.  In addition, the SIG team wanted a “road map” that could guide them as they made financial decisions impacting strategies for growth.

Solution: The Numbers Coach Leadership Service

The Numbers Coach (“NC”) financial leadership services were an ideal fit for developing SIG’s performance metrics.  NC developed a financial scorecard focusing financial drivers that give the team visibility into the profits and cash flow critical to sustained profitable growth.  The scorecard offers an “at a glance” view of results.  NC developed a financial model from its proprietary software the Numbers NavigatorTM that provides the road map for the SIG team to see where they were headed with profits and cash flow.  The model provides a rolling forecast during the year so that SIG team could make financial and operational decisions “on the go” to achieve their goals.

Results

NC pulled together financial and non-financial data to complete a customized scorecard and financial model.  Each month NC meets with the SIG team to methodically review results and provide the input and analysis from the Numbers NavigatorTM financial software.  Each monthly financial coaching meeting, the SIG team can take actions on activities that improve the company’s bottom line results.

For more information on Sustainable Investment Group visit www.sigearth.com

To learn more about the Numbers Coach financial leadership services, click here

“Mike has been an important part of our team.  His understanding of financial processes, cash flow, and how to explain our results gives our team the right tools to navigate our finances successfully and stay focused on our financial goals.”  

– Charlie Cichetti

Numbers Coach Helps Medical Firm Stay Financially Focused

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The Company

 Georgia Pain and Spine Care (“GPSC”), founded by Dr. Charles Brownlow in 2010, is a leading pain management medical services firm that provides comprehensive solutions to help restore each patient to their original lifestyle.  The company uses progressive approaches to pain management with education, counseling, and minimally invasive procedures.  Their mission is to relieve pain, increase productivity, and improve the quality of life for its patients using technologically advanced treatment regimens through is various metro Atlanta offices.

Situation

 In 2020 the GPSC team wanted to enhance their financial management and reporting capabilities.  They wanted to create a platform to communicate the company’s key performance indicators (“KPI”) and help educate its key team members on what drives its company’s financial results.  In addition, the GPSC team wanted a “road map” that could guide them as they made financial decisions impacting strategies for growth.

Solution: The Numbers Coach Financial Leadership Services

 The Numbers Coach (“NC”) financial leadership services were an ideal fit for developing GPSC’s performance metrics.  NC developed a financial scorecard to focus on the financial measurements that drive company profits and cash flow critical to sustained profitable growth.  The scorecard offers an “at a glance” view of results.  NC developed a financial model from its proprietary software the Numbers NavigatorTM .  The software provides a road map for the GPSC team to see where they are headed with profits and cash flow.  The software’s rolling financial forecast provides the GPSC team with a tool to make critical decisions “on the go” to achieve their desired results.

Results

NC pulled together financial and non-financial data to complete a scorecard and financial model.  Each month NC meets with the GPSC team to methodically review results and provide the input and analysis from the Numbers NavigatorTM financial software.  From the monthly financial coaching meetings, the GPSC team can take actions on activities that improve the company’s bottom line results.

For more information on Georgia Pain and Spine Care visit www.gapaincare.com

To learn more about the Numbers Coach financial leadership services, click here

“Mike has become an important part of our team.  His understanding of financial processes, cash flow, and approach to educating us on our results gives our team the right tools to help us understand how to navigate our finances successfully and stay focused on our financial goals.”  

Dr. Charles Brownlow, Founder / Medical Director
 

Every Business Needs a Plan. . . But it Doesn’t Need to Be Long

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When a business owner wants to attract a business partner or hopes to raise investment capital, he or she needs a way to show where the company is headed. A business plan is the right tool for the job.

Many entrepreneurs don’t have business plans because they are unsure about how to begin, and the process seems terribly time-intensive. But, a business plan doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, the trend is toward something simple.

Have you heard of a one-page business plan? It is certainly a far cry from a traditional business plan that often runs 15 to 50 pages. A one-page plan is specifically requested by some investors, because they find it difficult to read all of the investment proposals that come to them.

The One-Page Business Plan

Proponents of a one-page plan believe there’s a great deal to be said for brevity. Most investors have neither the time nor the inclination to read more than the absolute essentials.

For instance, a one-page business plan is likely to describe:

  • The customer needs that your business addresses
  • Your products or services
  • Your principal customers
  • Your chief competitors
  • Your competitive edge
  • How you make money
  • Your management team
  • A financial summary
  • Your funding request

If you provide all the information on the list above, it’s likely enough for the typical investor. So, let’s focus on how to get all of the facts onto a single page.

For starters, don’t worry about writing complete sentences, and don’t spend time trying to make your plan look stylish. Commit to simplicity. Waste neither words nor space. For example:

Customer Need that the Business Addresses: LED lighting solutions for a variety of manufacturing applications

Products Sold: LED assemblies customized to a manufacturer’s specifications

Principal Customers: Warning Lights of North Georgia — 13% of annual sales; no other customer is > 5% of sales

Once you have compiled all of the information, consider hiring a professional to improve the presentation. A talented graphic designer can turn your information into a much more attractive page in a couple of hours by using business-appropriate spacing, fonts and icons that provide some visual interest.

As an alternative, software packages are available that provide templates for one-page business plans. Just answer the questions at the interactive prompts. It’s an easy, albeit more expensive, way to get started.

With a 20-year record of success, The One Page Business Plan Company is a testament to the power of the single-page approach. Its software solutions are cloud-based. If your business is ready for something more than the bare essentials approach, its one-page templates can help you develop:

  • A vision for your business success
  • A mission statement
  • Objectives
  • Strategies
  • Action plans

If you would like to get an example of a one page business plan that Trillium has used for clients feel free to send us an email request and we will send it out to you in a Word template form.

Why a Slow Economy Doesn’t Have to Mean Dire Straits for Your Business

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Is the slowing economy adversely affecting Atlanta’s businesses, or is it a great time to be in business?

Well that depends mostly on your recent revenues. But even if those are in reverse, a slowing economy can be a great time to take advantage of some opportunities and position your business to come out of the gate at full speed when the economy takes an upswing.

We wanted to hear what local professionals in finance and business had to say about the current state of affairs. CFO service provider Mike Iverson and Vistage Chair Tim Fulton had some good tips for bad times.

Cash is King

The first step to understanding how to make sure your glass is half full is to assess your financial situation and understand exactly how much cash and credit you have. Even if cash flow is good, “Now would be a good time to go the bank,” says Mike Iverson, CPA and Principal of Trillium Financial, “before the economy gets worse or your company financials get worse. Go to the bank and make clear why you want a line of credit and what you will use it for.” It’s important to be proactive when it comes to having the cash stores ready. If you wait until you need it, your statements probably won’t look as good, and the bank may decline a loan or line of credit. Planning ahead is always a good thing. “The key to survival in an economic downturn is to out perform the market, and accumulate cash”, says Tim Fulton, a Vistage International Group Chair which works with over 14,000 chief executives in 16 countries.

Another aspect of understanding your capital position is modeling. How long can your business last with a certain amount of decline? What will you do to make sure you can weather the storm and start growing again? Imagine the various scenarios – even the truly ugly ones – and devise solutions before they come to fruition. You’ll be able to think more clearly in the face of adversity if you have a battle plan and, again, a line of credit to back you up. This doesn’t mean that you have to focus on the worst case scenario, just plan for it, then focus on your everyday business.

Modeling the tough situations is especially important if you are in a cyclical business; for example, the automotive industry. When the economy hits the skids, the average car dealership will probably see sales decline rapidly. Managers must have enough cash reserves to ride out the storm, and to pay for overhead and inventory so they can still be in business a year from now.

If you are a manufacturer, or a company that manages a lot of inventory, be mindful of your production capacity. You don’t want to continue to run at full capacity and end up with an overstock. Go to your clients and continually measure what they anticipate ordering from you in the next two to three months. For production purposes, you might have to scale back so the inventory on hand can be used, and not end up obsolete. On the positive side, manufacturers are usually the first to see orders are picking up. They’re not necessarily the canary in the mine shaft, but these businesses tend to provide a leading indicator.

The Positives of Slower Times

Once your cash situation is well-positioned, the glass is definitely half full. Now is the perfect time to expand your business through capital investments such as acquiring a struggling competitor. You can often take advantage of businesses being sold at fire-sale prices.

“When the economy bottoms out, there will be an abundance of great investment opportunities,” says Fulton. “The business owner with cash will be in a strong position to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Companies with cash can also get the upper hand over competitors by investing in the introduction of new products and in new technology that other business can’t afford. “If you can do any of these things”, says Iverson, “you’ll be in a different place than your competitors because you will be nine to twelve months ahead of them.  You will have something to offer customers that your competitors cannot.”

Companies who differentiate themselves in this way will be growing when everyone else is declining. Constantly look at opportunities to grow with products and services that will serve others struggling with hard economic times and continue to help them through good economic times,” says Iverson.

Another way to grow through a slowing economy is to ramp up marketing. While other companies cut their marketing budgets, Fulton recommends against this instinct. “Be very, very focused in your marketing strategies. This is not a time to be spending a lot of money on broad branding efforts. It is a time to be laser-focused on acquiring new clients and retaining profitable existing clients,” he says.

Iverson agrees. “Marketing is the last place you should cut back,” he says. “Marketing initiatives are priming the pump to create your sales engine. If you cut back on that, you cut back on future sales and opportunities. If everyone else cuts back on marketing, you will stand out even more, possibly turning that half-full cup to overflowing.”

Keep the Boat Afloat: Strategies for Securing Your Finances Through A Global Pandemic Storm

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By Michael Iverson

We are in an unprecedented time – one that is impacting most businesses in the United States and the world. And there’s no telling what the fallout will look like or even how long social distancing and company shutdowns will continue.

As a numbers coach for my business clients, many of them are asking for advice and guidance during this volatile and unpredictable time. I assure them that as a business owner or leader, a number of financial factors remain under their control. Here’s what I’m emphasizing:

Lead where you can: Communicate and Be Flexible

Change and uncertainty are all around us right now: How long shutdowns and isolating will last, the long-term macro- and micro-economic impact of this crisis on businesses, families, and communities around the world, or whether people will regret buying a year’s worth of toilet paper are unknown. We have little to no control over most of this.

What you can control is how you react.

No one knows exactly what to do – and that’s OK. Your strategic decisions can keep your company afloat through this crisis.

Communication: Transparent and honest communication isn’t a new concept, but it is more important now than ever. Explain to employees, customers, and other stakeholders that, like everyone else, your business is experiencing the ramifications of the coronavirus. Explain your challenges and your high-level strategy to overcome them. Everyone is more likely to empathize if you communicate honestly and authentically. The health and safety of your employees is the most important priority.

Keep the communication flowing – ask where they’re struggling the most, and where you can help. Offer a free brainstorming session. Remember – your goal is to maintain the relationship so it can grow after this crisis passes.

Flexibility:  As you’re asking for flexibility from your clients and employees, consider offering some in return. I always encourage my clients to have a 3- to 6-month cash reserve. Times like these are why you held that money. Offer customers a modified payment plan or if you can relax payment terms for products or services like ongoing license support or maintenance.

For employees, be flexible with time, productivity and deliverable expectations. People’s daily lives have been upended, from homeschooling and supervising children to caring for sick family members. And for the most part, they want to do their best for you while figuring out their situation. Consider staggered or flexible work schedules. Relax deliverable dates where possible.

If you have employees with a lighter workload during this time, give them the opportunity to shine when others are overwhelmed. Maybe ask for a volunteer to provide updated COVID-19 information both medical and financial. Dedicate someone to helping employees take advantage of cost- and time-saving benefits such as telemedicine, wellness programs, and EAP offerings.

But also remember as crucial as communication is, too much information, repeating the same message with minor tweaks, or asking employees to be constantly online or send hourly updates are all examples of actions that could provoke burnout and deeper anxiety. Remember, we’re all getting corona-related messages from companies we haven’t heard from in years. We’re all figuring out this out together. Don’t unnecessarily add to the cacophony.

Pivoting to new operational models

With office and business closures, we’ve shifted to working almost entirely online. Engage customers and prospects virtually through platforms like WeChat, Zoom, Skype. For those with whom you haven’t engaged with this way, the novelty may actually open doors. Use email lists and social media analytics to reach new leads. Try apps like Trello or Monday or dig out that intranet project you’ve been putting off, to organize and detail projects so everyone is working together.

Prioritize initiatives that require less capital, less risk, and have a proven positive impact on cash flow. It is possible to continue to operate debt free and maintain access to capital. For more cash preservation guidance, check out the “Preserving Cash in Uncertain Times” article I published last week.

If your company’s situation is looking dire and you’re considering layoffs, consider looking into a four- or even three-day work week to reduce costs. If employees are sitting on the bench due to loss of client work or decrease in demand, ask if they could use their PTO now or agree to work half time or take unpaid leave. Look into emerging government programs to cover salaries. The Cares Act is landmark legislation passed on March that has several key programs:

  • Paycheck Protection Program Loan with a forgiveness provision
  • Economic Injury Disaster Loan program as part of the Small Business Administration
  • Employer 6.2% payroll tax deferral program
  • The Unemployment supplemental insurance program

The following link provides more detail on the programs and what is offered:  COVID-Bill-3-Summary

If you need to consider across-the-board pay cuts, keep them in direct relation to job positions. Start first with voluntary cuts. Some employees are looking for ways to help others who can’t afford a pay cut. For example, the CEO should lead by example and take the largest pay cut, the highest paid employees take the next highest cut, and so on down the line.

Finally, if you haven’t already, postpone all travel and make every effort to allow employees to work from home.
Negotiate with vendors, who are undoubtedly making changes of their own. Look for extraneous expenses to eliminate, and lower cost alternatives to conventional advertising. Look into whether your insurance coverage can help. Leave no stone unturned when looking at ways to conserve cash.

Learn, grow, breathe. We’ll get through this!

It may be the last thing you want to think about, but now is the time to take note of practices that will prevent repeating mistakes in the future.

Take notes. If you didn’t have a solid disaster recovery plan ready this time, prepare one for the future using knowledge you acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And no matter how brilliant and detailed your plan is, expect things to continue to go awry. When this happens, stop, take a few deep breaths, remember your training, focus on the end goal, and make the most rational decisions possible.

If you’re looking for more guidance, I’m happy to talk. Give me a call at (404) 353-2148 or email me. I’m here to help.

With hope, gratitude, and cooperation, it won’t be long before we turn our TVs, smart phones, and laptops on and see nary a mention of pandemics.  Until then, stay safe and be well!

Keep Your Finger on the Pulse of Your Business

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There are plenty of ways to measure the financial success of your business: profit margins and revenue growth, for instance.  But do the old standby measures give you the whole picture? It’s never too early or too late to try out new ways of analyzing the financial health of your business.

I recently came across a 2017 Inc. magazine article written by entrepreneur and author Norm Brodsky. In “Pencil Power” he suggests an assessment method that would have been called “old fashioned” in the past, but today might be termed “retro.”  It involves—brace yourself—a pencil and paper.  (Yep, I’m coming back to the same pencil and paper I mentioned in a blog post a few months ago.)  Brodsky believes that tracking monthly sales and gross margins by hand is especially beneficial to new, or relatively new, business owners.

He says the practice will improve young businesses’ chances of success 100 times over:

“By writing the numbers down and doing the calculations yourself, you begin to have a feel for the relationships between them. Later on, when other people are reporting numbers to you, you’ll be better able to recognize when something’s wrong.”

Brodsky recommends a simple exercise to try at the end of each month: write down sales, cost of goods, gross profit, and gross margin of each product for both the month and year-to-date. Then write down the same information for each customer.  This is a quick way to see where you are saving money and where you aren’t.

If your business is already doing a good job tracking these metrics, there might be others that could shine light on an area that’s erratic or negatively trending. Try writing down monthly inventory holding costs or Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable totals. Maybe some cash flow metrics need attention.

It’s a painless, 30-minute exercise that just might surprise you by exposing a weak or strong area of your business that’s been hiding in the dark. Add it to your evaluation and decision-making arsenal. I suspect you’ll find it insightful.

Let us know if we can help you track your metrics.

Do You Know Your ROCE?

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How Measuring Your Return on Capital Employed is Critical for Financial Health

There are so many ways to measure a company’s financial success: profit margin, return on equity, and return on invested capital.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) is a lesser known but equally important financial indicator. ROCE is especially useful for evaluating your company’s macro level financials or other companies to invest in. It’s essential because it goes beyond simple profit margins to specifically assess how well a company runs, conducts its business, and returns value to investors.

ROCE is the total of a firm’s assets and revenues minus current liabilities. The ROCE ratio is simple:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)/Capital Employed

The higher the result of the formula, the more efficiently a company is utilizing its capital. If a company’s ROCE has gone up since last year or in the last few years, it indicates a company is going in the right direction. At a minimum, ROCE should exceed the cost of capital (financing costs), or the company can find itself in a bad financial state.

ROCE is especially useful in comparing how different companies in the same industry leverage their capital, particularly in capital-intense industries like energy, auto, and telecommunications that habitually hold a large amount of debt.

Don’t confuse ROCE with ROE (return on equity), even though both are profitability ratios that measure a company’s profitability as related to funds invested. ROE takes profits generated from shareholders’ equity into consideration, as opposed to ROCE, which uses all capital employed including the company’s debt.

ROCE percentage is one of the tools for judging the performance of managers and how effectively they are running a business. It’s a good idea to look at the industry average and the ROCE of competing companies.  The ROCE percentage is one of the few metrics that does allow you to compare across industries and within your industry.

If employed capital is not given in financial statement notes, it can be calculated by subtracting current liabilities from total assets. Watch for poor quality profits, such as the sale of expensive equipment that can’t be repeated regularly, as these can create an artificially high ROCE. Other factors such as leasing versus purchasing equipment can also lead to a slightly higher ROCE.

Despite the value of evaluating a company’s ROCE, it should not be the only factor used for an accurate assessment of financial stability; other probability ratios certainly contribute to the whole picture.  However, knowing your ROCE percentage is important metric for a business owner to keep track.  Your ROCE percentage provides the business owner the return they are getting on their investment in the company.

If you want to learn your ROCE percentage, feel free to reach out to Mike to get a free template at Mike@trilliumfinancial.com.

Small Business Matters: “The Importance of Financial Management”

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In this episode of the “Small Business Matters” podcast, Numbers Coach Mike Iverson discusses the importance of careful financial management for the long-term survival of your business:

How this “J” Can Help You Make Strategic Decisions Easier

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by Tim Fulton, Small Business Matters

How often do you get “stuck” on a big strategic decision? If you are like many small business owners, the answer is “too often”. It may be a key employee hire, a capital decision, the purchase of a large fixed asset, or may be a decision to exit the business. None of these are easy decisions and easy to get paralysed in making the final call.

One of the best tools I have found for making tough strategic decisions is the “J Curve”. A popular blog for mid-size businesses, ShortTrack CEO, said the following about J Curves:

“The process of identifying, prioritizing, and managing J Curves is the most important determinant of entrepreneurial success.”

By definition, a J Curve investment is any strategic decision to spend money today for a benefit tomorrow. Any hiring decision is a J Curve. Any significant new customer is a J Curve. Any major allocation of capital resources is a J Curve. A marketing decision such as the offering of a new product or expansion into a new market is a J Curve. The list goes on…

Here are the 3 phases of the J Curve:

  1. The first phase of the J Curve is the “investment. How much will we need to spend in time or money on this investment? If it’s a new piece of equipment; this would include the cost of the new asset, set-up and training time, and any costs associated with ramping up the new equipment.
  2. The second phase of the J Curve is “catch up”. We have now moved based the bottom of the curve and we are trying to move towards break-even as quickly as possible. We again measure this phase in time and money. If it’s a new hire, the employee has completed his/her orientation and training and now is moving towards achieving the results we have set expectations for this new employee.
  3. The third phase of the J Curve is “blue sky”. We have moved past break-even on our investment and we are now moving towards achieving a maximum return on investment (ROI) on this big decision. The new sales rep starts making big sales. The new customer starts placing sizeable orders. The new piece of equipment has doubled our production capacity.

There are several important rules for managing J Curves:

  • Measure the depth and width of the valley. It’s typically measured in either time or money or both. My experience is that we very commonly underestimate both of these as they relate to the decision. We expect the new sales rep to deliver new customers in three months and it takes six months. We anticipate the new customer to place an initial order of $100K and instead we get $50K.
  • Do not become emotionally attached to your J Curve. You may need to abandon it at some point in time. Your newly hired CFO has grossly overstated his qualifications for the job. Are you prepared to wait a year to see him grow into the position or cut him loose and start over?
  • Watch the number of J Curves you have at any given time. The average for small business executives is 5-7 at any given moment. My guess is that if I sat down at the desk of any of my clients I would find at least that many strategic decisions in the making. Any more than that is problematic. Any less than that is a cause for concern as well. I suggest you keep a J Curve register on your desk, which can be a legal pad with a list of your current J Curves just to keep score. What is the current status of each one?
  • Is there a plan for moving from Phase 1 to Phase 3 for each J Curve? There needs to be a unique course of action for moving efficiently thru each phase.
  • Watch out for “W” curves. You have reached Phase 3 and all of a sudden you find yourself back at Phase 1. What happened?

It’s time to get “unstuck” on your big strategic decisions. Thinking of each one as a J Curve is a great first step. You now also have a new vocabulary in which to think of these decisions and discuss with your key executives. Good luck!

Get a Feel for Your Business by Writing Down the Numbers

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In the era of smart phones, smart cars and smart homes, you might feel advice about tracking your business results with an old-school number 2 pencil is a little out of step.  You shouldn’t.

There is an old saying: “From lips to pencil tips,” which suggests that by physically writing your key figures you become more familiar with them.  Like a golfer who leaves the course saying, “I need to do better than a double bogey on number 7,” entrepreneurs who track their key figures by hand are extremely aware of what they need to improve.

Writing the key figures down month after month, you commit them to memory and become more focused on their importance to your success.  It’s a practice that is highly recommended for new business owners, and I know several veteran business owners who swear by it.

What you should track

Take a piece of paper and write your key performance figures (check out our Metrics for Success guide for more info on these numbers as well).  For most business owners, the common ones are:

  • Sales by month
  • Gross profit by month
  • Net profit by month
  • Cash flow by month
  • Accounts receivable
  • Accounts payable

Sales by month measures top-line revenue growth.  In business, either your company is growing or it has begun dying.  Watch this number closely.  Consider what is going on within your industry, both nationally and in the local market.  Set a sales goal each month that represents true, attainable growth.  If you fall short, take time to understand why and take corrective action as necessary.

Gross profit by month measures a company’s markup on its cost of goods (or services) sold.  This figure gives an indication of how well ownership has controlled its costs and, possibly, whether goods and services are priced in line with what the market will bear.  In times of inflation, it’s easy for cost increases to outpace increases in your selling prices. Committing this number to paper will help keep you abreast of the situation.

Net profit by month builds on the gross profit by month analysis.  While gross profit focuses on cost of goods or services sold, net profit also encompasses administrative expenses, interest and taxes.  If gross profit is optimal but net income is lagging, take a hard look at trimming administrative costs. Perhaps there is a way to manage interest costs. Consider hiring a tax expert who is knowledgeable of your industry.

Cash flow by month measures the company’s liquidity.  It’s how much cash is getting added to or subtracted from the bank in your bank account.  By recording this figure each month, you will naturally begin thinking about short-term, upcoming events that will impact your liquidity. Many service industry clients prepare for weak cash flow in the month of December, when people have holiday-related expenditures in mind. Conversely a retail business expects its best cash flow to occur in December.  Seasonal aspects to a business is a fact of life that should be considered in the business plan.

Tracking Accounts Receivable helps to see how much you expect to collect in the next 30 to 60 days.  Seeing this account grow can be either the result of sales growing or another issue like a customer slowing down their payments.  Understanding the reason for the growth will help you better understand your future cash flow.

Accounts Payable is the amount you owe vendors that must be paid within the next 30 to 60 days.  This balance can tell you how much cash will flow out of your business and thus plan the disbursements based on your inflows from Accounts Receivable.

Focus on important customers

In addition to tracking the numbers, it’s wise to use a second sheet of paper to track results on a customer-by-customer basis. This makes it very clear which customers are most important to your success. And, if an important customer starts slipping away, you will quickly become aware and might be able to salvage the relationship. Your second sheet will track:

  • Sales by month by customer; and
  • Gross profit by month by customer

If sales to a significant customer slip unexpectedly, learn what you can from the employee servicing the account. Then, follow up personally with the customer. It could be that the customer has fallen on difficult times. Maybe there is a competitor trying to make inroads.  Whatever the cause, do what you can to nip it in the bud.

When gross profit by customer increases or decreases from one month to the next, you want to know why. This is a very real measurement of where you are making money and where you are losing it. You need to understand what has happened to that one customer relationship. If gross profit for that customer is up, can you move other customer relationships in the same direction? If it’s down, can you prevent the cause from impacting other customers?

If you would like to get more detailed information on these metrics, download our Metrics for Success guide. If you have questions about how to get started or what your numbers are telling you, give us a call at (404) 353-2148 or email info@trilliumfinancial.com.

Solving Your Liquidity Crunch

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Sometimes business owners get into difficult situations because they don’t understand the likelihood of crisis and are unprepared when it strikes. One of the most likely kinds of crisis is a liquidity crunch.
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A liquidity crunch can occur as a result of a customer extending their time to pay you. This event may come unplanned, and therefore, put you in a cash crunch in the short-term. As the saying goes “cash is king.”
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Sometimes a liquidity crunch is the result of a business decision that doesn’t work according to plan. A business invests in a new product or service line, only to learn that market demand for the new offering is less than expected and the business needs some time to adjust. The money expended may eventually be recouped, but the payback period will be significantly longer than management had planned.
Lining Up a Credit Line
One way to prepare for a liquidity event described above is to line up a source of available cash while the business is flourishing. The best time to get a loan is when you don’t need it. However, in my experience, some business owners delay this process during good times because they are too busy to plan for lean times, then panick when trouble hits. The panic sometimes causes them to drain their personal bank accounts. This is a mistake that must be avoided. Nothing is worse than letting a business difficulty spill into the business owner’s personal life.
A far better option is to pursue a business line of credit, which is an agreement for a lender to provide a specified amount of short-term credit to a business owner for a period of one year or less. The maximum amount of the credit line typically depends on business revenues, the credit history of the business or its owner, their industry, and how long the business has been in operation.
The best thing about a line of credit is the flexibility it offers. I recommend using a line of credit prudently. You should not use it to shore up operating issues that are not getting addressed. It should be for a short period of time with a clear indication on how it gets paid back. You only borrow what you need, when you need it, and you are borrowing only for a short-term time horizon, less than 12 months. If you don’t see how you will be able to pay off the line of credit within the 12 months then it should not be used. Rather you should seek more long-term financing with your bank or other institution.
Where You Borrow and What You Pay
In years past, banks provided virtually all lines of credit. The documentation could be significant, but if you were approved the rate was usually very good. The interest rate charged on a credit line was generally stated as a standard rate like bank prime, plus a small spread for the lender.
Today, the process has changed some given new financial regulations. Many banks may not lend to a small business, unless the owner or business is a long-time customer with other banking needs (checking, savings…). But, it’s well worth asking banks if a business line of credit is available because of the competitiveness of their rates.
A whole new crop of online lenders has emerged to meet the needs of small businesses, including leaders like Kabbage, BlueVine and OnDeck. These lenders usually work with businesses seeking $10,000 – $200,000 as a line of credit. Rates are typically higher than those available from a bank. The range of APRs can easily exceed 18%. If you go down this path, find the right lender that is affordable for you. Be very careful taking on debt that is only “kicking the can down the road” and will ultimately result in a severely limited business operation.
Think of a line of credit as an insurance policy. You hope that tapping it won’t be necessary. But, when you face a liquidity crunch, you’ll be glad to have it. Remember, liquidity is a lifeline that might well save your business.
Have you considered a line of credit for your business? Call Trillium Financial. We can help you avoid the hazards and find the lender that best meets your needs.

Want to Lead the Pack? Create a New Category for Your Product

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by Michael Iverson

Every so often, I am surprised by a company that dramatically changes its industry. And, I wonder to myself: How did they do it?

My business reading list this year took me to a business classic called The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.  The authors, Al Ries and Jack Trout, provided an answer to my question.  They wrote about creating a new category for a type of product or service that’s already being sold.

How It’s Done

As an example, Ries cited the introduction of the Michelob brand of beer years ago.  For a number of years, American brewers envied the success of Heineken as a premium import brand commanding top dollar.  The marketers at Anheuser-Busch decided to develop a premium domestic brand category in hopes of replicating Heineken’s success.  Michelob became the premier domestic brand, and it transformed the way beer was marketed in the U.S.

Law 22 of The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is the “Law of Category.”  It suggests that if you can’t be first in your category, you ought to create a new category for which you can be first.  It sounds crazy, I know, but it works—and here’s why.  Marketing consultants will tell you that surprisingly few people are interested in a product that supposedly improves upon the established leading product in a category.  On the other hand, everyone is interested in what is new.

By creating a premium domestic category, Anheuser-Busch used its talented marketers to define the category and portray the lifestyle that went with it. They succeeded in a big way, achieving an upscale pricing structure that far exceeded the dreams of most domestic brewers.

A more recent example with which I am familiar is the Under Armour brand of athletic wear.  For years, I had used the products of a company called Pro Player, which made underwear and socks for athletic use.  Its products were used by football players and other athletes, but Pro Player never really became a household name with the general public.

Under Armour created a new category in the same market space by incorporating “wick and dry” properties into its products.  A challenge for athletes is to remove substantial amount of perspiration so it doesn’t hinder a competitor’s performance.  Cotton garments tend to trap that moisture. Under Armour developed a means of dissipating the moisture.  In doing so, the company became the leader in a new category: athletic wear that stays fresh and dry.

Its marketers made the most of the products’ functional advantages, but also began to describe the company’s apparel as “attitude clothing.”  Can wearing athletic gear really change a person’s attitude?  Yes, if the wearer believes it can.  Under Amour played up the idea of its customers being underdogs and fierce competitors.  It captured the company’s place in the broader sports apparel market, as well as the aspirations of its customers.

Can It Work Locally?

Okay, so there is evidence that creating a new category works at the national level. Do the same principles apply to a local or regional business? I believe they do.  In metro Atlanta, a dental practice created its own category years ago by re-branding as “The Gentle Dentist.”  It definitely captured the attention of people who were afraid of dentists.

Here’s another example:  After years of hearing about $30,000 kitchen renovation projects, along came Frugal Kitchens & Cabinets to meet the needs of homeowners who didn’t have big money but still needed to update their kitchens. The business reached a whole new group of buyers by focusing on the less affluent market sector.

The opportunity exists for any business to create its own category and improve its fortunes. If top-line revenue growth is your challenge, ask Trillium Financial how to re-position the business to attract new customers.