They say that moving house is one of the biggest stresses in life.
If so, I’ve just been through its younger sibling – moving offices!
After years working on our company’s main floor, surrounded by our team, I’ve moved upstairs to the penthouse suite (it’s actually a loft conversion but we thought this grandiose title sounds better!).
It’s a bigger space, which gives me more privacy and quiet, away from the hubbub of activity.
But it’s not just a matter of convenience. It also reflects a change in my role.
For many years, I was directly involved in almost everything that happened at Insight Associates, from client work to staff issues. It helped to be physically in the centre of things.
As we approach our 30th anniversary, my role is far more strategic.
I spend more of my time planning Insight’s growth and developing our services. The day-to-day work is increasingly left to our strong team.
So, it doesn’t really matter anymore if I know who’s in the office on a particular day, or if I’m unaware of the status of a routine project. That’s someone else’s job now.
Of course, to make sensible decisions about our future, I can’t be completely cut off. I need to understand what’s working best for our clients, the obstacles hampering our growth, how all this is reflected in our finances – and more.
This means regular meetings with our senior management team, so they can fill in the blanks. I’m also getting more reports.
The lines of communication have changed…
Most business owners see their role become more strategic, as their business matures.
If you don’t, it’s often a sign that your business is stuck. Your growth will be limited as long the company owner is still handling most of the work!
So I’m hoping this sounds familiar.
If so, I’m wondering whether you’ve noticed that you’re growing increasingly out-of-touch with the day-to-day business?
The challenge is, this can creep up on you. Unless you’ve physically moved to the penthouse like me, you might not even notice that it’s happening until far too late.
One day you’re immersed in the detail of the business. Before you know it, you’ll start wondering whether your decisions are right, because parts of your business are now a mystery to you.
That’s why you have to methodically put in place mechanisms to keep your finger on the pulse of your company.
Take your company finances – the beating heart of your business!
In the early days, your gut instinct probably told you which clients and services were most profitable and what your cashflow was like, because you dealt with all these issues directly yourself.
But as your company grows, other people will manage the client accounts and specific services, and deal with payments. It will become harder to make accurate judgements.
You need to fill in this gap with information and data.
Two examples…
You should be commissioning monthly management accounts to show how your company is performing financially. These set out your general turnover and profit, but also delve into the performance of different products, services or offices so you can get a sense of the detail.
There’s no set format to these bespoke monthly reports. They are designed to give you the data you need to manage your business effectively.
Frequent cashflow reports show how much money is going to be in your bank account next week, next month and next quarter.
This information allows you to predict when you might be short of money and take action if you’re going to fall short. And when you have a forward-looking view of your finances, you can also make more sensible spending decisions.
This is where Insight Associates can help.
We work with business owners whose companies are turning over £1-2 million. This is the exact point where that transition in your business role typically takes place, and the way you manage your finances must change.
We ensure that you have all the information you need to understand the financial aspects of your business thoroughly, even if you’re doing less of the client work.
And we help you use that information to make better strategic decisions about your future, so you maximise your profitability and can grow faster to £10 million – and beyond.
->To find out more about our Outsourced Finance Department service, click here: https://insightassociates.co.uk/outsourced-finance-department
Then hit ‘reply’ to this email or call us on 01279 647 447 to talk to us about your needs – and how we can help.
Warmly,
Garry ‘Up in the penthouse’ Mumford
