Financial Planning for Start-Up success

Rent your very own CFO for critical business decisions

Would you ever think about building a house without hiring an architect?  Then, why would you ever think of starting business without first hiring a business financial planner to help you with the start-up phases of your business? After reading this post, you’ll realize a financial planner is one of the best professionals to guide you through the start-up phase. It’s like renting your own Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

My definition of start-ups below includes ventures led by entrepreneurs or brand new business owners. It also includes ongoing businesses who want to launch a new division. For example, I help out-of-state or international businesses who want to start-up operations in California.

Let’s define the type of financial planner who would be right for this CFO advisory role. Financial gurus who focus on stocks and mutual funds would not be your first choice. A planner who focuses on personal financial issues wouldn’t be your second choice either. An agent who focuses on selling insurance products may only give you a partial solution. You need a financial planner who works exclusively with businesses. Your best choice in this case is a financial planner who thinks like a CFO.

I’m sure you’d agree that starting up a business can be frustrating and confusing to make sure you’ve done everything you need to do to increase your chances for success. The rest of this post shares with you some key business areas in which your CFO planner can help your company.

I’m often asked what types of financial planning services I offer business owners. I typically reply that I help business owners cover their “assets.” Literally, that’s what a financial planner will do for you. In a “nut shell”, I help you:

• Make sure you don’t give away more value in your company than is required!
• Determine if you will make a profit.
• Capitalize your new venture.
• Minimize your personal and business taxes.
• Minimize risks (liability) to your business and to you personally.
• Incentivize your employees and key advisors.

Often, there are other start-up areas where a business owner wants me to help them save time and money. I help clients with setting up all aspects of the new venture. Here are a few bulleted categories to help you get a sense of what you must do to launch a business in the various phases of starting up and then growing your business.

Start-Up Business Services:

• Sign up for your business license
• File for your fictitious business name statement
• Help you develop your logo, letterhead, and business cards

Start-Up Marketing Services

• Define your vision, mission, and purpose
• Determine your target market
• Create your 30 second elevator pitch
• Identify where you need to network for generating leads and referral relationships
• Design your sales model
• Write powerful sales scripts
• Create your marketing plan

Online Marketing Services

• Create your social media plan
• Define your blogging plan
• Design your multimedia plan: podcasting, videos, and presentations
• Develop your lead generation strategy
• Create your sales pages
• Drive traffic to your online properties

Business Planning Services

• Write your comprehensive business plan
• Develop your financial model
• Conduct competitive analysis
• Prepare your financing package
• Construct your investor capital presentation

Financial Planning Services

• Decide how much to pay key advisors, board members, and employees, including incentives
• Understand tax advantages of how you bring capital into your business
• Determine the best organizational structure for your business (S corp., LLC, partnership, LLP, or incorporation)
• Decide on types of liability and business continuance risks and insurance
• How to buyout a partner upon dissolution of the partnership or death
• Depreciation recapture
• Buying and selling business use property (1231)
• Buying and selling depreciable personal property (1245)
• Buying and selling depreciable real property (1250)
• Taking section 179 expense
• Choose appropriate depreciation schedules
• Set up and plan for retirement plans for owners and employees
• Transfer of ownership strategies upon death or at retirement

Organizational Development

• Create your organizational chart
• Role development to make clear what you expect the role to produce
• Recruit key advisors and board members to fill your organizational chart
• Leverage hiring assessments to understand personality types and how interviewees will fit the role and the team
• Prepare interview checklists to discover interviewees’ strengths, weaknesses, goals, and personality fit
• Create recruiting strategies to locate superior talent
• Mentor employees to maximize their performance

Have you considered all of the various financial planning options I’ve laid out for you above? It is critical for you to think through all of these options to ensure you maximize your profits and minimize your costs and risks.

I snuck in some marketing and sales options for you too because without a clear marketing plan, it doesn’t matter how well your financial plan has been designed.

Organizational goals are important to get right the first time, as you grow your company. This is why I included the list of must do’s for hiring and team development.

There are many other steps to consider when defining and launching a new start-up company or division of an existing company. Seek expert advice to help you through this process to maximize your investment dollars and valuable time.

Rent A CFO

Rent me to get help on a business challenge you are currently facing. For more information on what I can do right now to help your business, you can call me at (866) 323-9123 or sign-up for a complimentary CFO Coaching Tune-Up session with me.

I developed a comprehensive financing report for business owners and entrepreneurs who need loans or investor capital. You can download my Business Survival report to get an overview of your financing options.

Donald Hunter Financial

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