With more than 250,000 businesses expected to fold this year, according to the Federation of Small Businesses,* an Essex finance director has launched a new book to help businesses develop a simple plan to become more profitable.
The Profit Mindset aims to give small to medium size businesses the four basic principles of how to get to grips with the finance side of their business to help them become more profitable even during the current economic crisis.
It’s written by consultant finance director Andy Cristin who has over 25 years of experience providing financial advice to a broad range of organisations from FTSE-listed companies to start-ups in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Andy’s experience has taught him that no matter what sector, entrepreneurs struggle with the same four areas:
- Managing cash flow
- Improving profitability
- Growing the business
- Planning an exit
Andy Cristin says: “Most entrepreneurs excel at sales and service delivery, but very few went into business because they were good at accounting. This vital third element of the business – finance – is often under-resourced and under-appreciated which leads to poor growth and low profits.
“Over the last twenty years I’ve been involved in eleven start-ups all of which grew from nothing to become significant businesses. Three of them went on to have annual sales in excess of £50 million. All eleven of them saw their fifth birthday and between them they employed over 1,000 people and each one was profitable.
“The founders of these businesses took the finance function very seriously from the start. I believe that was a key element in their success.
“Now more than ever businesses need to get to grips with their finances. That’s why I wrote The Profit Mindset to help entrepreneurs recognise potential problems, focus on the profit and continue to grow, even during a pandemic.”
Andy’s book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Profit-Mindset-numbers-ahead-business/dp/1781334927.
Andy’s also designed a free online tool for businesses to discover their profitability score in less than five minutes and how they measure up against four key areas. Take the Scorecard test here: https://www.pareto-fd.com/score-card/.
