C-Suite IMPACT CFOs

You never know when you are about to meet your next client. I live in NewYork and my home is in walking distance from my office. On Tuesday last week I stopped into my favorite coffee shop on the walk to the office and I noticed a woman sitting alone at a corner table. Her laptop was open, papers were strewn about, and she looked kind of worried. I’m pretty gregarious so decided to introduce myself. "Rough morning?" I asked. "Is it that obvious?" she said. She told me her name was Jessica and invited me to sit with her. Then she shared that she owned a small design firm and was trying to decide if it was the right time to expand. She had come to the coffee shop to try and think because she couldn’t seem to focus on planning while also dealing with the day to day at her office. "I feel like I'm drowning in spreadsheets and second-guessing every decision,” She told me. I had to laugh. You’re not going to believe this I told her but I work with business owners on this exact problem. "Have you ever considered working with a CFO?" I asked her. Jessica said no she hadn’t. "I do have an accountant and he’s great she told me besides I thought CFO’s only work for big companies. " Here’s the thing, I told her, your accountant is great for helping clarify what has already happened in your business. Like how you got to the point you’re at today. A CFO is a person who can help you map out your next moves in terms of the numbers. You are trying to figure out when and how to expand, a good CFO is a strategic partner who can help you see your business in terms of the future numbers. We chatted for a while longer and then sat up a time to meet for a more in-depth conversation about how my team could help her make her decision. Not every client ( actually no other client ) has come to me via the coffee shop but a couple key things stuck with me from that meeting. First, keep your eyes open all the time because you never know when you are going to meet the next person you can help. And second, the courageous people who go out on their own and launch small businesses work very hard and usually feel very alone. The conversation with Jessica reinforced for me that our ability to offer such high level, expert financial support is indeed a valuable service.

We did it! The ink is dry on Tom's dream deal. My journey with Tom started a year and a half ago when we were introduced by Cristine O'Keefe, our Impact Strategic Funding partner. Initially Tom was very uncertain about how to proceed. In our first meeting he shared, "I've built this company from the ground up. But now? I'm thinking it might be time to step back. Over the last 25 years Tom had built a successful firm and he was ready for the next chapter but he was deeply concerned about the legacy he'd leave behind. "I want to exit," he explained, "but I can't bear the thought of disrupting everything we've built. This isn't just a business; it's a family. And those employees who've been with me through thick and thin? They deserve to be part of the future." As we talked more about Tom's desires for his exit strategy, it became clear that a traditional sale wouldn't suffice. He wanted more than just a good price; he wanted a solution that would preserve the company culture, maintain its growth trajectory, and reward the team that had been instrumental in its success. That's when Cristine floated the idea of an ESOP - an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Tom lit up. This was the perfect solution. The journey wasn't simple, but it was deeply rewarding. We started by conducting a thorough valuation of the business, ensuring we had a solid foundation for the transition. Next came the intricate process of structuring the ESOP to meet both legal requirements and Tom's specific goals. One of the most crucial steps was assembling the right team. We brought in an ESOP legal specialist who understood the nuances of this type of transaction and together with our crack CFO team we navigated the complexities of setting up the trust, determining share allocation, and ensuring compliance with ERISA regulations. Throughout the process, communication was key. We worked closely with Tom to keep employees informed, addressing their questions and concerns. Watching the excitement build among the staff as they realized they were becoming owners themselves was truly inspiring. Fast forward to last Wednesday. The papers were signed, hands were shaken, and a new chapter began for Tom's company. I couldn't be prouder of our team for the part they played in creating this wonderful outcome for Tom and his company. #cfo #esop #exitplanning

In an initial appointment with CFO Sam B., his new client Allen admitted "I can see where I want the company to be in five years, but the path from here to there is a bit foggy." In our experience at CFO C-Suite Impact, entrepreneurs typically have a clear vision and likely a plan. But that plan is based mostly on intuition and rarely lays out a detailed financial scenario for how to turn that vision into a viable operation. Sam B. told Allen the same thing we tell all of our clients, "Our job is to translate your vision into numbers by creating a financial model that bridges the gap between your current position and your goals. For instance he was able to show Allen how investing in the advanced machine learning algorithm he was passionate about could impact revenue over the next three years. And also how it would impact cash flow. Allen was amazed at the details and admitted that he was operating more from his gut instinct than from a well thought out plan of action. Having worked with other start-up operations, Sam B. was not surprised. He shared that gut instinct is valuable but backing it up with solid financial modeling turns a good idea into a great business. Allen is a smart guy and he used the modeling that Sam B had created for him. Several months later when a potential investor asked about growth projections, he had clear, data-driven answers. And when he needed to decide between two promising research projects, the numbers guided his choice. The CFO's at C-Suite Impact have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs create financial plans that map out the financial development of the business. If your business needs a critical numbers review, give me a shout and we will make time to discuss your specific circumstances.