Strategizing the Future and Analyzing the Past
As a business owner, you know your business is constantly changing. You may be frequently asking yourself, “How is the current state of my business? Am I on track to meet my goals?” To effectively answer these questions, it’s vital to look at how the decisions you’ve made in the past affect you now as well as where you’d like to be in the future.
This multi-directional mindset enables you to formulate a plan that you can routinely review and subsequently adjust to keep your business on track. That’s why our team emphasizes both the “front windshield” and “rearview mirror” approaches, as the former incorporates strategies and systems for the future while the latter analyzes, cleans, and updates past and current data.
The “Front Windshield” – Roadmap to Help Achieve Goals
Getting lost in the day-to-day of running your business and moving forward without a proper plan in place can have financial consequences. It can drag your business down and cost you resources, which will make it harder to succeed and force you to spend valuable time regrouping your efforts and repairing the damage. With our Business Advisory Services program, our goal is to set you up for success and create a roadmap to help achieve your specific objectives. We implement a forward-thinking approach that focuses on analyzing the financial elements needed to run your business efficiently. These include income shifting strategies, investment and tax strategies, understanding cash flow and financial statements, making sure your accounting system is in place, setting up a retirement plan, and more. Breaking these strategies down into a series of consultations with our Business Services team, we examine the trajectory of your business, analyze your current state, and identify necessary steps to help achieve your business and personal goals. Taking these crucial steps is like peering through the “front windshield” of your business, allowing you to plan for the future and avoid costly mistakes. Click here to learn more about Business Advisory Services.
The “Rearview Mirror” – Routine Analysis to Make Decisions
On the other hand, it is necessary to take a look in the “rearview mirror” on a routine basis. Reviewing monthly statements, adjusting your budget, and applying appropriate tax-saving strategies is key to maintaining profitability. Without a solid understanding of financial statements, it’s nearly impossible to make accurate projections or important business decisions for the next year. Additional risks include not having the cash flow to meet short-term or long-term obligations, hiring more employees than the business can support, and being crippled by debt if certain ratios are off. With our compliance related services, we help you address these aspects of your business with services such as month-to-month bookkeeping, tax preparation, or other recurrent business operations required by banks, the IRS, and the Department of Revenue. When it comes to making business decisions, maintaining accurate records, analyzing financial statements, and having tax projections completed periodically are essential elements that should be addressed routinely. Otherwise, you run the risk of accruing penalties, devaluing your business or deviating from your overall goals. Click here to learn more about our Business Services.
The plan that incorporates both the “front windshield” and “rearview mirror” approaches will equip and empower you to analyze and manage your business as a whole, not just one section of it. We incorporate both programs for your full benefit creating a comprehensive plan that tackles your various pain points. Our end goal is help you stand on your own two feet by optimizing your performance, overcoming challenges, and preserving the longevity of your business.
Interested in learning more about how to get started? Contact us now to schedule an introductory call. (Click here for contact information.) Or interested in learning more about other Business Services? (Click here to learn more.)
Blog by Erika Lewis – Business Services Director
Learn more about Erika and the rest of the Storen Financial team here.