The rise of a CFO expert : Daryl La Fountain? 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 LaFountain‘s tricks on improving your firm financial situation: With the advent of modern technology in the field of accounting and finance, organizing your business finances is much easier. Instead of doing the calculations and analysis of financial transactions manually, you can automate everything with the help of must-have tools and software intended for keeping track of your business finances. Also, you can better organize your company’s finances if all your financial records are automated and can be accessed digitally. For example, you can use the relevant accounting software to do online invoicing. Instead of going through the physical copies of the transactions, which is time-consuming and a bit of a hassle, using technology will allow you to automate and organize your finances better.
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.
Yup, taxes! Taxes are annoying, but they’re certainly not going away anytime soon. So make sure your long-term income projections include taxes. Not planning for taxes can impact your cash flow in a major way. In addition, you definitely want to look into tax savings investment options and stay up to speed on any relevant tax deductions you can apply to help you save money on tax payments. You can plan to sit with a tax accountant or financial planner to help ensure your plan for taxes is adequate. You should also check out our blog post on how to reduce your taxable income! Estate planning is not something a lot of people like to think about, but it’s essential! It allows you to determine exactly what happens to your assets after you are gone. It involves listing out all your assets, creating a will, and making it accessible to the people who need to have access to it. A financial planner or estate lawyer can help you set things up correctly.
About Daryl La Fountain: 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.
