So, what is a Fractional CFO?

Newsletter #8

Traveled back to the Netherlands again this morning. Finally time again chill with my family and friends and meet some new people in the Ag space!

This is one of the biggest benefits since I left my banking job: no more asking for permission to travel.

Freedom tastes sweet 🌷.

This week I just want to give a candid proposition of what a “Fractional CFO” can mean for your business.

In the words of Steve Jobs, this is about the message:

Agriculture is a difficult industry: dealing with animals, crops, rollercoaster markets, seasonality, and political uncertainty is very different than writing some code in your office or moving numbers in a spreadsheet.

It's no small feat to stay in farming. So if you managed to still be in business, you clearly know how things work.

You’re likely pretty used to keeping your own Excel models, analysing your finances, managing your cash flows, making investment decisions, and negotiating with your banker and suppliers; all on the side of the “real” farm work.

But I bet you are spread pretty thin.

And that things can feel chaotic. Especially during harvest or lambing or whatever your busy period is.

This is when burnouts, injuries, and loss of quality happen.

But you still run a business. And a business won’t just wait on things to slow down. So ask yourself if it is worth your time to do everything yourself.

What if somebody else could take some of this number crunching off your hands and make sure your cash flow is managed, year-round- so you can keep farming with confidence?

Or if you already got someone else doing it, do you really understand and use the information? Do you feel in control? And like your business is on the right path?

If any of this resonated, that likely means it’s time to consider hiring a CFO.

First, to save you time and free up mental space. When you realise you don’t have to do everything yourself, you free up valuable time to work on your business.

Second, you must realise that a CFO lives and breathes numbers and strategy. A good CFO will not just provide you with a budget every month. A good CFO will:

• Challenge you to find cost savings

• Calculate your true cost of production

• Will answer the specific questions you have

• Think about the best debt structure and terms

• Search for unique ways to drive your business forward

But until you reach a size of £10 to £30 million in revenue a year (depending on the complexity), you don’t need a full-time CFO yet (who will easily cost you anywhere from £80K to £500K a year).

What you might need is a Fractional CFO, someone who gives you the insights you need, at a fraction of that cost. It is very rare for a Fractional CFO to not “earn its cost back”.

And you have it that that is exactly what I do.

Feel free to browse a bit more on my website if want to see more about what I do: http://perennialcfo.com/

Or if you are someone that takes action, you can reply to this email or schedule a call directly at https://calendly.com/joeydewit/call

Next week I’ll be back with an ‘actionable’ newsletter on how to drive your operation forward!

Till then 🌷.

Best,

Joey