- Do you believe your business could operate more profitably and smoothly, but this has not happened yet?
- Do you struggle with a lack of time to focus on details, data overload and fatigue, or the complexities of operating your business that prevent meaningful improvement?
- Do you expect that doing more of the same things you have tried in the past will result in the change you want, or do you recognize the need to do things in new and better ways?
Smart Business Capital provides a rational, hands-on, data driven process to support the achievement of your business goals. This proven approach is based on the analysis, identification, reporting, and management utilization of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are specific to your business. We can help you through the entire process with our collaborative “copilot” approach so you don’t have to fly solo.
The Value of Key Performance Indicators
- What are the KPIs that drive the revenue and profitability of your business?
- Are you effectively using your KPIs to increase the financial health of your business?
- Are your company and departmental KPIs in alignment with your strategic and personal goals?
KPIs are measurements that indicate how well key business goals are being met. They are similar to the gauges on an airplane that enable a pilot to fly from one place to another in a specific time frame, even though the airplane is technically off-course more than 90% of the time. A modern jet has many dozens of gauges and indicators. A small number of them are normally sufficient for the pilot, while the others have critical value in less frequent, specific situations.
Similarly, there are hundreds of KPIs that can be used by businesses, but a relatively small number are essential for owners and managers and they are unique to the structure and needs of each business. Choosing the right KPIs and effectively using them to manage your business is the correct approach to improving your financial and operational challenges.
Too many KPIs can be distracting and detrimental to communicating with your team and managing your business (“we are focused on 20 things”). Good KPIs are measurable, simple, actionable, reasonable, and informative. They help assess the financial health of your business and identify opportunities for improvement.
Some KPIs are leading indicators, such as sales leads generated, proposals sent, closing ratio, etc. Other KPIs are lag indicators that include revenue volume, profitability, ROI, etc. There are also financial and non-financial indicators – both can be important in different contexts. It is important to establish KPIs that are clearly aligned with your strategy and goals.
Our Process
- With input from key executives and managers, we construct a Dynamic Financial Model (DFM) illustrating how your business works, then identify KPIs that are the control points that should be regularly measured and addressed to support your business strategies and goals. The DFM allows KPI inputs to be easily changed to illustrate growth opportunities, the impact of performance on departments, and as a result, the enhanced success of the entire company. This can be very helpful in communicating your vision and goals to your management team.
- Based on your DFM, we collaboratively agree on the most important KPIs for your business and for each department. We also address a process for adjusting KPIs as the business grows and evolves and more relevant KPIs are identified in the future.
- We identify processes that need improvement, either minor or major, and outline needed process improvements that are tied to KPIs. Effectiveness in achieving outcomes is first in importance, followed by becoming more efficient.
- We review and establish how data for each KPI will be derived or generated, with the goal of automating this ongoing process.
- We review alternatives for reporting, including the use of existing tools, dashboards, other software, etc.
- We can also provide transitional support as needed in implementing the regular review, analysis, and management of the business based on your new KPIs.
Business Process Expertise
The founder of Smart Business Capital is a business process veteran. He spent 15 years working with manufacturers of electronics, advanced materials, space shuttle tile and more – evaluating, identifying, selling and implementing process-oriented solutions worth hundreds of millions of dollars to his clients. For the past 15+ years, he has focused on developing a proprietary process that has helped hundreds of early-stage and growth companies secure more than $100 million in capital, while achieving a wide range of other positive outcomes.
Establishing, adhering to, and improving business processes is a common denominator across more than 30 years of success and a key aspect of the value Smart Business Capital brings to you. We have a proven track record of analyzing hundreds of companies and integrating intelligent processes with: KPIs to support successful analysis, management, financial performance, capitalization, business turnaround, and owner exits.
Business Turnaround
Sometimes companies experience difficult phases they can’t seem to overcome. The result can be a decline in financial performance, the loss of customers and market share, poor morale and more. Most of these situations can be resolved, enabling companies to resume or accelerate the path of growth, profitability, and success. This is one of our specialties. The process outlined above has resulted in many positive turnarounds. For example:
- Developed a training and mentoring program that enabled a manufacturing company to grow by 43% in a 2-year period while the industry was declining by 78%.
- Enabled multiple professional service providers with stable revenues to double their profit margins within 6-12 months.
- Advised a well-established technology company contemplating its sale on solutions for turning a 12% loss into a 17% profit, leading to the decision to make changes and keep the business.
- Helped a manufacturing company optimize its processes to turn a 20% loss into a 10% profit within 6 months.
- Helped a declining service business evaluate and enter a new market that within 6 months was generating 33% of all company revenue in a growth industry.
Subscribe to feed