SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
Small business owners need helping seeing the forest.
The day to day demands of operating a small business are such that owners often “can’t see the forest for the trees.” In addition to lack of time, small business owners often lack in-house expertise on which they can rely for expert, objective analysis and advice when it comes to essential strategic planning and informed decision making. The result of this void can be: inadequate due diligence, procrastination and/or inaction.
Seeking advice from well known, Big 5 accounting firms is one option. This can not only be cost prohibitive but is not necessarily in a small business owner’s best interest. The reality is that the large corporate clients are assigned the best and brightest in the firm, while small businesses are relegated to the more inexperienced associates. Another option is free services offered by local and federal government agencies. While “cost effective,” these centers provide broad cookie cutter answers rather than customized solutions rooted in thoughtful analysis, real life experience and technical knowledge.
Doing It on Your Terms
A better option is Herman S. Cage & Associates. We offer small business owners professional, expert strategic planning and financial consulting services. Our goal is the same as with all our clients. We strive to give small business owners access to the same caliber of financial consulting and problem solving as their larger counterparts in industry.
We offer something else, too. Attitude. At Herman S. Cage & Associates, we get to know you, your business and your vision, and we work with you side by side, to be proactive, and to achieve your goals on your terms. Small businesses represent the last bastion of American economic enterprise. They bring the creativity, innovation and fuel that drive the U.S. economy. They deserve top-notch advice, and that is exactly what we provide.
Definition of Small Business Owners
At Herman S. Cage & Associates, we define a small business owner as an individual who operates a business or businesses on a full-time basis. In general, our services are geared toward clients that fall into one of three categories:
- An individual who owns a business grossing $250,000 – $3 million annually
- An individual who is the principal or majority owner of established family-owned business
- An individual who has or is in the process of purchasing an existing business or franchise
Small Business Owners Need Dual Track Financial Planning
Over the years, Herman S. Cage & Associates has developed specific strategies and approaches around the unique requirements of small business owners. The foundation of our consulting services is dual track financial planning strategy. As a small business owner, your firm serves two financial functions:
- Generate adequate income (a salary) to support your lifestyle and
- Serve as a source of capital for long-term wealth creation.
These two goals are achieved through sustained surpluses (profits) in the business.
Dual track financial planning works for small business owners of all kinds because it takes into account both sides of the equation. On the personal side, your age, risk tolerance and short- and long-term objectives. On the business side, the type of business, its life cycle, gross revenues, number of employees, products and services and short- and long-term business goals.
In practice, it’s not as complicated as it may seem. For example, personal goals may include: financing your children’s college education, purchasing a second home, or early retirement. Business goals may be launching a new product line, acquiring a competitor or being bought out by a competitor.
It’s simply developing a plan that synchronizes the two, and adjusting the plan as the situation warrants so that you stay squarely focused on the viability and profitability of your enterprise and the creation of long-term assets on the personal side. It’s a deliberate and well thought out plan that helps you to have the money you need to do the things you want, and that’s what we can help you do.
Some of the ways that we help small business owners focus include:
- Ensuring profit margins keep pace with growth
- Taking advantage of favorable tax provisions
- Analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT)
- Identifying and correcting operational inefficiencies
- Strategic planning for expansion, retirement and/or succession
- Designing employee benefit programs within available resources
Seeing the Forest and the Trees with Clarity
Once a plan is in place, the frequency of the meetings and the scope of work depend on the complexity and size of the business and your personal wealth and assets and unexpected obstacles and opportunities. But one thing you can count on is that we will help you see both the forest and the trees with clarity so that you can achieve your life goals and objectives.