B2B CFO^®    (877) 4-B2B CFO

Dave Davenport is a trusted friend of the highest order.  From a personal perspective of character and integrity I could not recommend anyone more strongly.

Bruce Adams
National Sales Manager
WaveLight Studios
www.wavelightstudios.com

Dave Davenport is the consummate CFO in that he is very knowledgeable, hardworking and the most trustworth guy you will ever meet.  He does not hesitate to take the initiative to get the job done in addition to providing concise and meaningful analysis of the data.

Larry Jaynes, Owner
Fashion Glass and Mirror, LLC
www.fashionglass.com

As a consultant and someone who has daily contact with business owners, I truly understand the outsourced CFO business model of B2B CFO® and what they offer to a business owner.  Stu’s broad financial and business expertise coupled with his engaging personality translates into a valuable commodity to his clients.  He would be a strong addition to any company’s management team as their part-time CFO.

Bill Hogan, President

Alan Arvin

It has been a privilege to know and work with George on a referral basis for the past 2 years. George is seasoned professional with a proven track record as can be seen by his resume. I highly recommend George and B2B CFO!

In my previous article, I explored the first half-dozen behaviors that I have observed in successful business owners.  This article explores a second half dozen of those behaviors.  As stated in the previous article, unsuccessful business owners may do some of these, but successful owners consistently perform all these behaviors.  

Successful business owners:

7.     establish a comprehensive system of internal controls.  They understand that it is managements responsibility to create an environment that discourages employees from doing the wrong thing - such as stealing from the company, whether it be time, money or property.  In particular, successful business owners NEVER, NEVER, NEVER allow persons with access to accounting records to handle cash or sign checks.

8.     maintain focus.  They concentrate on the areas in which they are skilled - looking to the future, determining the products and services to be provided, building relationships with customers, etc.  Successful business owners hire others to do the jobs they don’t need to do, i.e.  performing in the present those day to day tasks that support operations and monitoring the past to determine financial results of the outcome of business operations. 

9.      monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  Gut reactions such as, “our membership is growing” or “our sales are increasing,” must be validated by relevant measures of performance.  Often the “gut” intuition is wrong.  Successful business owners establish key indicators for each significant aspect of the business.  

10.    establish clear guidelines for their company.  They strive to ensure that all who perform work within of for their company have a clear understanding the standards of behavior.  Successful business owners ensure that the guiding principles of the company are known, understood and obeyed.  They establish policies that guide behavior and processes that serve as roadmaps for “what” needs to be.  They also ensure that procedures are established for each process step, answering “how should this step be done” and clearly state their expectations for “how well” the task should be performed.  Expectations examine the outcome or result of each process.  

11. recognize that revenue is key.  While it is important to manage expenses, successful business owners realize that one can’t save their way to wealth.  They must develop, cultivate and harvest revenue streams.  Intense focus must be placed on ensuring that the products and services being offered are attractive to buyers.  

12.   take time to plan.  Successful business owners embrace the adage that  “fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  They plan at multiple levels.  They plan their daily, weekly and monthly schedules.  They establish a culture of planning within the organization.  They plan the revenues and expenses - this is known as the budget.  The don’t leave things to chance, but anticipate possible surprises in all business areas.     

In the last two articles I have presented a dozen behaviors that I have observed in what I would call successful businesses.  I confess, that I did not conduct a scientific study.  I have developed that list by reflecting back upon businesses that I have encountered and have attempted to recall what made those businesses “successful.”  I have no doubt that others might come up with a different list.  The question the reader might asked is, “are theses practices likely to lead to enhanced success my business?” If they agree that they might, I suggest they give them a shot.    

Over the years, as a student of business and then as a advisor, I have noted varying degrees of success.  While there is no one behavior or practice that has resulted in  success or the absence of which has resulted in failure, I believe that successful business owners behave differently.  This article explores a half-dozen of those behaviors. 

Successful business owners:

1.             are totally committed to their business.  Running a business is often inconvenient and demanding.  Successful business owners accept that it takes hard work, long hours and in the beginning, little pay.  The are generally the first to arrive and the last to leave.  They are focused on doing all that is necessary, within the bounds of moral, ethical and legal acceptability, to achieve success in their business. 

2.             accept responsibility for their business.  Successful business owners don’t make excuses when things don’t go according to plan - they don’t play the victim card.  As a President once stated, “the buck stops here.”  But, if there is something that really goes well, they are quick to recognize employees that have performed in a superior manner.

3.             pay their taxes when due - payroll, property, estimated, etc.  There is a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard monies collected from employees and there can be severe criminal and financial penalties for failing to do so.  Successful business owners are compliant with local, state, and federal tax requirements.

4.             demonstrate financial intelligence.  Owners know precisely where their money comes from and are intimately familiar with where the money goes.  They monitor cash flow daily and conduct a weekly review of projected cash demands in order to anticipate short falls or extra funds that could be put to use.  Successful owners pay close attention to the Balance Sheet and the Income Statement.

5.             pay all bills when due.  Just as customers are expected to pay according to agreed upon terms, successful business owners fulfill the commitment to their vendors by paying them on time.  Successful owners monitor expenses and take steps to avoid financial commitments for which they can’t pay.  

6.             don’t expect their employees to field angry calls from vendors.  Successful business owners would not expect an employee to have to apologize and make excuses on their behalf because there are insufficient monies to pay the debts the business has incurred.  Should money be “tight,” successful business owners preempt the angry calls by contacting vendors to arrange a payment schedule.

This article has examined just six behaviors that, in my observation, are characteristic of successful business owners.  Unsuccessful business owners may do some of these, but successful owners consistently perform all these behaviors.  While others may come up with a different list, I believe these are behaviors that would be beneficial to the success of any business.  

I have had the pleasure of seeing Stu represent his company and demonstrate his excellent financial knowledge and understanding of business issues to a number of business owners and managers in a variety of business environments. He is consistently responsive to questions, knowledgeable and thoughtful in his answers, and professional in his discussions. I am confident that he will bring an outstanding and useful skill set and produce substantive business benefits in any engagement on which he works.‎

I consider Dave Davenport to be a good friend and a trustworthy person.  I could always trust that what he recommended to do would be the best for me.  I would highly recommend Dave for any work you would need done.

Gary Sodd, Owner
Sodd Electric
www.soddelectric.com