subject: Championship Finance: Does Your Small Business Roster Have These 7 Essential All-stars? [print this page] Championship sports teams carefully evaluate talent for each position on the roster. A winning small business must fill important roles on its team to increase the likelihood of achieving success. Fortunately you can find great outsourced talent to fill these key financial functions on your business team.
The Executive Coach: This position is responsible for providing objective guidance and feedback for the small business leader. A good executive coach will have deep experience in a narrow range of business topics. There are few people that can be all things to all people. In fact I can't think of one. But there are great executive coaches that are very good in certain fields for select clients. Find a good coaching relationship where personality, expertise and expectations match. The executive coach will help you get out of your own way and tend to the causes that move your business toward the desired successful outcome.
The Management Consultant: A management consultant works IN your small business with hands-on participation in design, implementation and measurement of a business solution. The consultant is much more involved in the actual processes and procedures of your day to day operations. An executive coach facilitates your work in the business whereas a management consultant will do much of the work for you. The potential for conflict exists because the consultant is married to his proposed solution which may or may not match your expected solution.
The Bookkeeper and Accountant: Every business needs organized financial records. The small business owner gets great value out of the ability to provide timely, consistent and reliable financial reporting to stakeholders. Lenders make credit decisions, investors make equity contributions and the government assesses tax compliance based on financial reporting. A good bookkeeper and accountant relieves the small business owner from the burden of financial record keeping. The businessperson can make informed strategic decisions and plans using complete and accurate financial information. Be sure to stay engaged in your financial performance by periodically checking the financial reports produced by your bookkeeper and accountant.
The Loan administrator: Few small businesses operate solely on equity. Most small businesses have some debt on the balance sheet. Your lender expects compliance with the covenants in your loan agreement which include reporting requirements, financial benchmark hurdles and the associated calendar dates. A good loan administrator can help the small business owner avoid default by keeping an accurate compliance calendar. The small business owner can delegate the tracking of and application for interest rate and guaranty reductions to the loan administrator. Timely application to the lender for these reductions, if contained in the loan agreement, will save debt service expense and financial exposure.
The Tax Adviser: Corporate and personal income taxes are complicated. The local, state and federal tax codes are enormously complex and well beyond the skill set or free time of the typical small business owner. Engage a competent tax adviser to make sure you are capturing all the available business deductions and paying the correct tax owed.
The Attorney: A qualified attorney is essential for business. Every business owner will face contracts which require sound legal advice from a licensed attorney. Shop for a lawyer that has business contract and loan document experience. The legal fees are a small price to pay to avoid a potentially large mistake down the road.
The Banker: Would you like to have a consistently reliable source of loans for your small business? Then you must learn how to invest in your lending relationships. Only then will you have a stronger and more durable partner for business financing. A close and fruitful business lending relationship requires years of nurturing by you and your banker. Stay close to your lender, be honest and open, foster mutual understanding, be a peacemaker, be loyal to each other and promote your banker at every opportunity. You can be a more durable borrower and less vulnerable to shifting credit markets by following this relationship advice.
The executive coach, management consultant, bookkeeper, accountant, tax adviser, attorney and banker play critical roles in your business success. Fill your business roster with these outsourced experts to avoid the overhead of in-house talent and help with the heavy lifting as you move toward your business goals.
