The growth of a financial and political operations leader : Daryl LaFountain? In the early stages of a company, CEOs get involved in everything. As your growth ramps up, however, you must become strategic with your time. You need to put systems in place for building and scaling a financially viable business while preserving your attention for mission-critical items. As a fractional CFO for growth companies, I help clients navigate this shift on a daily basis, and I’ve found the following tips useful in nearly every situation. Every business leader understands they need a strategy for attracting and converting new leads into customers. But when you’re growing sales on a budget, you need to be creative. Instead of costly ad campaigns or branding strategies, I’d recommend you build strong, reciprocal partnerships first and that you do so as soon as possible. I’m not referring to simple networking. I’m talking about identifying companies with business models that complement your own and approaching them with a win-win proposition. The relationship can be formal or informal, but the key is to offer something valuable in exchange for inexpensive exposure to your target audience.
Daryl La Fountain‘s advices on improving your business financial situation: As a business owner, managing and organizing finances can be a great challenge. With all the things that need to be done, including your business’ day-to-day operations, it may be easier for you to slip into bad financial habits that can harm your company one day. For instance, when you have disorganized financials, your entire organization may be unable to create financial stability. So, if you want your business to thrive and become financially successful, below are five tips to help you organize your finances.
To make sure that all of your hard-earned money doesn’t vanish, you’ll need to take steps to protect it. Here are some steps to think about, even if you can’t afford them all right now. If you rent, get renter’s insurance to protect the contents of your place from events such as burglary or fire. Read the policy carefully to see what’s covered and what isn’t. Disability income insurance protects your greatest asset—the ability to earn an income—by providing you with a steady income if you ever become unable to work for an extended period of time due to illness or injury. If you want help managing your money, find a fee-only financial planner to provide unbiased advice that’s in your best interest, rather than a commission-based financial advisor, who earns money when you sign up with the investments their company backs. The latter has a potentially divided loyalty (to their company’s bottom line and to you), while the former has no incentive to guide you down a wrong path.
After working so hard to earn your money, the last thing you want is an unplanned occurrence to wipe you out. Insurance is essentially your backup plan that will protect your assets in the event a life circumstance happens that requires a large amount of money to resolve. Your insurance coverage should include health, auto, disability, life, home or rental, and business. Basically, you want to protect anything of major importance that has a high value to ensure that you (and your loved ones) are protected financially. Having the right insurance can turn what could otherwise be a major disaster into a mere inconvenience. In order to have the lifestyle you dream of in retirement, you need to plan adequately for it. You’ll need to determine how much you are going to need to retire, of course taking inflation into consideration, and how you plan to save and invest in advance for that period of your life. While retirement might seem like a lifetime away, it’s never too early to start!
About Daryl LaFountain: Daryl is an energetic professional CFO with a background in politics. Daryl has done fundraising, been a candidate, and worked in politically appointed positions in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Daryl has worked for Democratic candidates and nominees in 18 additional states. Reach out to Daryl about Political work if you: Are running for local office and are having trouble with ballot access.