• Why did you want to become a fractional CFO? 

It might sound trite, but I love to help people by providing clarity on the journey to growth and greater peace of mind. After 40 years of business education, I have encountered many challenges and have learned how to efficiently solve a multitude of problems. Many business owners focus on working in their business, versus working on their business, because they do not have the time or expertise. I really enjoy helping business leaders move from where they are today to where they want to go in the future.

• What industries are you focused on?

I focus primarily on technology solutions providers, construction, manufacturing and nonprofits. I built and sold a network solutions business that I owned for more than 15 years. I also worked alongside my father who owned a construction company. And finally, I have served on boards and worked with several nonprofits over the past 25 years. 

• Why do you enjoy the industries you focus on and why do you bring value to those industries?

Technology services – I invested 15 years transitioning a computer reseller company into an operationally mature IT managed services provider that we sold to a $30M competitor. They adopted our internal processes across all their offices. I was in a peer-to-peer mastermind group for 12 years and learned a lot from other group members about what not to do!!  I have also assisted with several transactions and raising capital for these types of firms. 

Construction – Some of the same issues my dad had in his construction business over 40 years ago are still being encountered today. These issues primarily center around estimating, scheduling and project management. In order to scale and have greater peace of mind these tasks need to be completed outside of excel or email. Real systems need to be identified and effectively deployed. I really enjoy helping companies leverage technology to solve their everyday problems, leading to greater profitability and ability to grow. 

Nonprofits – Serving others by sharing our gifts is one of life’s greatest callings. I have served on several boards of nonprofit companies in the role of Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair. In this role, I have learned first-hand how important capacity and sustainability are to organizations that see unlimited needs but have limited financial resources.  Helping NPOs increase earned revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies has real world impact on their constituents and the community in general.  

• What are common challenges that you see in businesses?

Challenge #1: The business relies on the owner, or it all falls apart. 

Moving from a stage 1 business to stage 2 takes new thinking and a willingness to delegate with clear accountability for results. 

Challenge #2: The business owner is constantly battling a ‘catch-22’ situation. 

They can’t grow their business without more money. But they can’t get more money without growing their business  

Challenge #3: The business owner doesn’t have a simple way to understand what’s working – and what’s not – in their business.

The typical financial reports (like the P&L, Balance Sheet, etc.) are made for accountants…not business owners. They are downright confusing…and they don’t tell the whole story.

Challenge #4: The business owner does not have clear goals. 

How does a business owner know if they’re making progress if they don’t know where they want to end up? 

Challenge #5: The business owner does not have a clear path to follow to have a growing and more profitable business.

Most business owners don’t have a solid plan of what to do or how to do it so that they can achieve their goals.

• What other tips or insights can you share that you have learned in your work experiences?

Lots of companies want to grow (and usually very quickly), but they often have “holes in their boat.”   When they hit the gas and accelerate, they take on more water and are often very frustrated, even if they grow, the bottom line doesn’t improve like they think it should. Businesses have three major components: revenue generation, product or service delivery and the back office (IT, Finance, HR). Most owners specialize in one or two of these areas, but not all three, so the area of the business they don’t enjoy or know the least suffers from lack of attention. If all these areas aren’t strong, businesses don’t scale or thrive.

• Where was your favorite vacation and why? 

Earlier this year, my wife and I went on a tour of Europe that included stops in London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome. A huge fan of history and architecture, these cities provided an abundance of sites to see, great food, nice people, and fun shopping. We went nonstop for two weeks, had an excellent tour guide, and enjoyed fantastic weather. It was one of those trips where you hope on a scale of 1-10 it will at least be an “8”. Then it turns out to be an 11!