What happens when your accountability partner is a competitor

Welcome to my LinkedIn corner!

If we haven’t met yet, my name is Admira. I am an NY-based CFO, a mother, a wife, an entrepreneur and on some days, when I catch a minute ?? a woman trying to stay on top of her health and wellbeing.?

With this newsletter I plan to bring you into…

?? The journey of building my business?

??? My CFO work with my own clients

?? The funny, sad or mad episodes I get on a daily basis as a mother?

??The balancing act of how I try to make time for my health goals???

The point of it all is to break down the stereotypes of the cold, unapproachable CFO, while also sharing with you some of my own goals for a little accountability along the way!?

?? Behind the Scenes of My Business

Set it and forget it!?

That's how most of us run our business, until something (usually bad) happens.?

I was recently reviewing the structure of my business to see what makes sense in line with our growth and financial goals in 2023.?

Every so often, we have this conversation with our clients too:?

?? Does it still make sense for your business to be an LLC??

?? Is your size suitable for sole proprietorship?

?? Based on the growth projections this year, should you keep this structure?

I don’t ever advise on tax. I have a brilliant partner that can do that.?

But based on figures, I can advise the business owner to ping the CPA and have a think of what makes the most sense for their business.

And it’s not just about the setup of your business, but how many times do we forget about payments that go out… like insurance for example?

I was once inspecting an insurance monthly payment of $300 that had been set up years ago, when the company was tiny. I asked a friend to look into this and he came back with a quote of $3000 because in 17 years ?? the company’s headcount increased a lot:

“There’s no such thing as $300 insurance for you” ?? “Oh and by the way, the company had not been correctly insured ALL this time”?

In short, if you run a small business, you won't have a department to help advise you. So my no. 1 advice:?

1. Build a solid network around you - HR, legal, CFO, CPA, marketing, sales, insurance
2. Have people you trust in all these areas?
3. Be curious and ask “what’s my options”?

In the long term, it will be the best thing you will have done!

??? CFO Corner for Your Small Business

Here’s a little secret.

Every 6 weeks or so I meet up with my friend and fellow business owner.?

We have a good chat about work, goals, challenges and what’s happening in the industry

You see, my friend is also a CFO!

? We talk about our growth plans for the year and hold each other accountable

? We share any challenges and /or possible solutions

? We make useful connections or recommend networking places

Now, the reason I don’t see competition, just collaboration, is because there is no competition for my service:

I don’t sell the tool, I offer financial transformation with my coaching. So I have no problem sharing my methods

That means that I will speak, collaborate and support any CFO, bookkeeper, accountant, tax or financial advisor.?

And that just makes my network even richer ??

?? Keeping A Tight Grasp on Motherhood… Or At Least Trying To?

You know when you’re a mother

And you wanna make a plan

But your baby has a different idea… ??

Well March had some long weeks for me!

So one blissful Sunday comes around and I decide I am doing nothing!

Morning gym session ? Done!?

Bath ? Done?

Ready for sofa and films all day long ??

Except ??

Ari had his own plans for Sunday. And they did not coincide with mine as it were ??

He woke up from his nap.?

Into a flat-out screaming spree?

He’s teething (badly!) and was uncomfortable for the rest of the day ??

By late afternoon, both of us exhausted with the screams, so I decided to put him in our bed and cuddle up next to him hoping that will soothe him

It did ?? He even fell asleep.?

But so did I.?

Which left me frustrated that my Sunday plans didn’t come to happen.?

Business is the same.?

You might have a whole year planned

These clients are signing up by X date

These clients are billing this much…

The key isn’t in planning for things to work out. That’s easy.?

It’s what you do when they don’t.?

Whether it’s counting on your baby boy to stay asleep so that you can have a relaxing day. Or whether you’re counting on hiring this year and all of a sudden your client billings are going down!

In all fairness I didn’t plan. So I woke up frustrated knowing that the week ahead is gonna be crazy busy again… And my Sunday just got spent on sleep.

(I think that’s how my clients feel when the saving nest goes on an unexpected tax bill)

If I had planned I could have asked my mother-in-law to watch Ari for a couple of hours

Could have asked my husband

Could have “budgeted” some down time on a different day?

But I didn’t have a CFO to calculate my risk margin for the chilled Sunday projection ??

Don’t make my mistake! Call up your CFO today ?? Work out some scenarios

Because life is what happens when we’re busy making plans.

??Staying Balanced

If you remember last month I talked about reaching my weight goals and wanting to PUSH a little EXTRA! Call me crazy, I know I did ?? but I wanted to see how far I can push my limits!

So the next step was stepping back into the gym and hiring a PT.?

I did. His name is Paul?

On my first session I told him I am a CFO and he asked what does it all mean:

“What do you actually do?”

As I explained and started talking about cashflow and projections I realized he wasn’t really into my financy-lingo. So I switched to fitness talk:

“Think of a cashflow problem like an overweight problem. People become aware that weight is an issue when?

?? Their doctor says blood pressure is high?

?? ?? There’s too much fat around the heart?

?? They feel less comfortable in their own skin”

Paul: “Ah, I understand. So how fast can you help them get their cash in order?”

“Fastest we’ve been able to help someone was 4 months. But this person?

?? Showed up in calls every single week

?? Implemented everything we told him to implement?

?? Saw results very fast and kept going

Different story for a client that’s on a slower pace. So 6 months in we’re not even halfway through getting the company in shape.”?

Paul: “Hah! That is exactly how my work goes!?

When a client shows up consistently they get to their weight goals much faster. But when I have a client that keeps canceling last minute I know it will be a much longer journey”

In the end, Paul and I agreed that our work is actually quite similar.

Except mine is in cash and his in weight ???

Speaking of ready to get your finance muscles in shape? ?? DM me!

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??? For coffee chats to talk about any of the above (I am always? open to learning new tactics that have worked with your 5 year old ??) you can catch me here: https://calendly.com/admira

?? If you have someone in mind that could benefit from CFO mentorship, drop me a line and let’s see if we’re a good fit! If I can’t help, I have an extensive network ready to find the right support ?? My DMs are open!