Daryl La Fountain and the rise of a CFO expert? In the early stages of a company, CEOs get involved in everything. As your growth ramps up, however, you must become strategic with your time. You need to put systems in place for building and scaling a financially viable business while preserving your attention for mission-critical items. As a fractional CFO for growth companies, I help clients navigate this shift on a daily basis, and I’ve found the following tips useful in nearly every situation. Every business leader understands they need a strategy for attracting and converting new leads into customers. But when you’re growing sales on a budget, you need to be creative. Instead of costly ad campaigns or branding strategies, I’d recommend you build strong, reciprocal partnerships first and that you do so as soon as possible. I’m not referring to simple networking. I’m talking about identifying companies with business models that complement your own and approaching them with a win-win proposition. The relationship can be formal or informal, but the key is to offer something valuable in exchange for inexpensive exposure to your target audience.
Daryl La Fountain‘s tricks on improving your business financial situation: Organizing your business’ finances means ensuring that it won’t run out of money. In order to do this, it’s essential to plan for your expenses by establishing an emergency fund to cover them. By doing this, you have some money ready to pay your bills when they’re due and demandable. Indeed, it’s a challenging job to get your business finances organized. However, by following the tips mentioned above, there’s no doubt your company will reap many benefits. One of them is the creation of a stable financial future for you as a business owner, your employees, and partners.
If you’re lucky, your parents taught you this skill when you were a kid. If not, keep in mind that the sooner you learn the fine art of delaying gratification, the sooner you’ll find it easy to keep your personal finances in order. Although you can effortlessly buy an item on credit the minute you want it, it’s better to wait until you’ve actually saved up the money for the purchase. Do you really want to pay interest on a pair of jeans or a box of cereal? A debit card is as handy and takes the money from your checking account, rather than racking up interest charges. If you make a habit of putting all your purchases on credit cards despite not being able to pay your bill in full at the end of the month, you might still be paying for those items in 10 years. Credit cards are convenient and paying them off on time, helps you build a good credit rating. And some offer appealing rewards. But–except in rare emergencies–make sure to always pay your balance in full when the bill arrives. Also, don’t carry more cards than you can keep track of. This financial tip is crucial for creating a healthy credit history.
Once you have your financial plan outlined and churning along, it’s important to review your plan frequently and make the necessary adjustments if your goals or the circumstances around your life change. For instance, maybe your insurance needs to change, your risk tolerance changes or you get married or have kids. At a minimum, you want to check in on your overall financial plan at least every six months. When you check infrequently, it’s easier for you to deal with unplanned life occurrences, bounce back from setbacks, and accomplish your financial goals. Think about what you do to maintain your personal health – You brush your teeth and shower regularly to keep yourself clean and avoid unnecessary illnesses because we all know that falling sick can lead to other health complications and you definitely don’t want that. And also because you do it so often, it’s now part of your everyday health maintenance habit – well, the same applies to your finances!
About Daryl LaFountain: Daryl is an energetic professional CFO with a background in politics. Daryl has done fundraising, been a candidate, and worked in politically appointed positions in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Daryl has worked for Democratic candidates and nominees in 18 additional states. Would like someone to do bundling and fundraising for you.