Strategic Finance For Growth

Strategic Finance for Growth explores the intersection of strategy and finance in the pursuit of business growth. This comprehensive guide provides entrepreneurs and business leaders with the tools, frameworks, and insights needed to navigate each stage of the business lifecycle.

Whether you're launching a startup, scaling through rapid growth, managing a mature business, or navigating decline and renewal, this book offers practical guidance grounded in decades of corporate finance and entrepreneurial experience.

The most important considerations for whether a fractional, virtual or part-time CFO is right for you is the stage of growth you are at and your vision for where you would like to take your business. The general business lifecycle generally follows four stages. This is a derivation of an original model presented by Churchill and Lewis in 1983 whereby they highlight stages of growth that all startups pass through during the business lifecycle.

Important Note: There isn't one path that a company can travel or a length of time that it will take a firm to pass through these 'checkpoints'. It could be that some firms never reach some of the later stages but instead cease operations. It could also be the case that a company passes through all of the stages within a 12 month period. There is no set path forward for any one company nor is there set guidance for a company to need XY or Z at any given stage.

Each of these stages require a heightened level of financial support as the scale of the business changes from a fledgling operation to a large operation with many external stakeholders. As each stage is discussed, I'll add additional color and commentary regarding the varying aspects of Strategic Finance and the Pursuit of Growth.

The start-up phase of business growth has the highest number of businesses entering and exiting as they bring to market their new product or service. This makes sense as there are far more 1-year businesses in the world than 100-year businesses. The goal for each firm is to reach the growth phase as quickly as possible to have a higher probability of long-term survival.

Cashflow and Breakeven to Growth Stage

Through this segment of the business lifecycle you may be spending more in cash (often through invested capital) than you have coming in through organic sales. This negative cash flow is dangerous financially but you have developed a business plan where you have identified your cash burn rate and are motivated to move the needle in a positive direction, according to your plan, to reach positive cash flow in short order.

Your spending is focused on the absolutely critical requirements of the operation which might include additional labor to fulfill customer orders but little else. Building a financial nest-egg through profitable sales is probably on your mind and anything that might compromise that is deprioritized. Each business eventually reaches a crossroads whereby they either breakeven or else options are depleted and they decide to exit.

As the CEO of your startup it's your responsibility to decide how your organization is going to function on a daily basis and the strategic direction that will ensure its survival. You continue to shape this direction by looking into your business to identify what aspects are strong or weak and looking externally to what opportunities might be available to help you grow or what risks are present that would prevent its success.

Start-Up Business Plan is Your First Strategic Plan

One of the first tasks of the startup CEO is to create a written business plan. Your initial business plan should set the strategic direction of your firm. Although you likely have already created one before for your firm, I've included a quick synopsis of a generic business plan structure with basic elements below:

• Executive Summary: A brief combined summary of the entire business plan on one page
• Company Description: What makes your company different, the competitive landscape, your leadership and expertise
• Market Analysis: The nature of the market, competitors, target customers, and market size
• Legal and Organizational Structure: Entity type and internal organizational structure
• Service or Product Line: Description and value proposition to customers
• Sales and Marketing Plan: How you will attract and retain customers
• Funding Request: Amount needed, how it will be spent, and expected returns
• Financial Projections: 3-5 year projections to persuade investors

This is an excerpt from Strategic Finance For Growth. The complete book includes detailed coverage of all four business lifecycle stages, strategic frameworks (SWOT, PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces, Blue Ocean Strategy, etc.), financial management tools, operational excellence methodologies, and practical case studies.

For the complete book with all chapters, frameworks, worksheets, and detailed implementation guides, please contact the author.