The team behind The Numbers Edge is a talented group of individuals who love being part-time CFOs for small businesses. We work for lots of companies, usually in relationships that last for many years. A relationship with a CFO is very personal for most business owners. Most business owners keep financial information close, and share their numbers with very few others. I'm a business owner also, so I get it.
As consulting CFOs, we work in relationships of all sizes. At small company with under $1 million in revenue, it might be optimal for a part-time CFO to spend 50 - 100 hours a year, while a larger company might be well over 500 hours a year.
In an attempt to support smaller businesses on more of a budget with the type of guidance that is very helpful to larger companies, we started our Virtual CFO program with a fixed price and a smaller scope of about 30-45 hours per year. For all of the businesses we see, that has an incredibly positive impact to business owners compared to having no CFO support at all.
This membership program was created for businesses that currently have zero hours of CFO support a year, as an introduction to the monthly rhythm that businesses develop when a CFO is involved.
The membership program is designed to take a business from zero hours of CFO support a year to about one hour a month. Your business might not need 50 hours a year of CFO support, but zero is definitely not the number of hours that maximizes success to the business owner.
One hour a month isn't a very deep dive - that depth starts to expand more in the Virtual CFO program. But it's a start. Sometimes the first step is the hardest. The CFO Membership program is designed to make the first step as easy as possible.
One hour a month:
- Motivates the CEO to think about how accounting and finance is running at their company once a month, and to consider about how to improve it.
- Adds a step of accountability to move in the planned direction regarding the goals for a company's accounting and finance, because the progress towards these goals is going to come up as a discussion topic at the next monthly meeting.
- Provides an outlet for the CEO to ask any accounting or finance related questions each month that have come up since the previous meeting.
- 'Forces'... or maybe I should say 'encourages' the CEO to look at his or her numbers once a month, at least briefly, to prepare to have a conversation with a numbers-oriented person about the company.
- Enriches the CEO with ideas about how other companies in similar situations operate, and how other businesses use numbers to improve company performance over time.
The CFO Membership program increases peace of mind significantly for most CEOs, as they receive guidance from an expert who understands their struggles and opportunities, and who pays light attention to identify issues and opportunities that non-CFO team members might not notice.
As with everything on The Numbers Edge, the CFO Membership program is here to help you. Running a business can be challenging, frustrating and stressful. Employees will never understand how frustrating and lonely it can be at the top. Business owners need all of the help, support, ideas and expert guidance they can get - certainly in the area of finance, where less than 10% of CEOs we meet understand how to read a balance sheet, which is widely understood to be one of the top two most important financial reports ever created for businesses.
If you're still at the stage that you prefer to keep everything about the finances, bookkeeping and numbers of your business close, and you aren't interested in talking about any of that with someone you haven't developed trust with yet, then that's okay. We aren't here to change you... yet. You'll be ready whenever you're ready.
However, if you're interested in the first step to developing a relationship with a CFO you grow to trust, who can share experiences from other businesses and provide tips and guidance about how to manage your own company, all you need to do is register and we can guide the next steps.
Our CFOs have been riding in the co-pilot seat with a lot of business owners for a long time. We're great at it. From a business owner's perspective, it's nice to have an experienced co-pilot to talk to instead of having the front passenger seat sit empty all the time. Many of the CFOs on our team also are, or have been, small business owners. We're great sounding boards, and great thought leaders. We care passionately about seeing YOU make more money and accomplishing your goals.
So, if your business currently has zero hours a month of CFO support, walk before you run. Let's start with 10-15 hours a year and you can judge how it goes. The relationship is month-to-month. There are no commitments and no pressure. Our motto is "stay as long as you love it, leave if you don't." If you find that it is helpful and you want more, you can upgrade to our Virtual CFO program when you feel like the time is right.
If you have any questions about our CFO Membership program, feel free to send an email to: care@TheNumbersEdge.com.
Cheers to your success,
Wes Lindquist
Founder of The Numbers Edge