EP11: Case Study - The Importance of a CFO with Danielle O'Conner
“If you don’t know where you’ve been and where you are, it’s really hard to figure where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there. You can’t course correct if you don’t know where your course is taking you.” - Danielle O’Conner
Hey, CEOs! You do not want to miss this episode of The Part Time CEO. If you’re like me, keeping up with your business finances can be daunting to say the least. It can be so easy to ignore the books, and hope they stay in the black. Join me in a priceless conversation with Danielle O’Conner, my Virtual CFO. She has revolutionized my view of finances and has a wealth of knowledge to share. We spend the first half of the episode discussing her work as my CFO. In the second half, she shares her experience as one of my clients, and how her work with me has transformed her business, increased her value, and helped her to recognize the worth of her offer.
“Just because you have a lot of money coming in, doesn’t mean that it’s yours.” - Janelle
Often we have a general idea of the finances of our business. If you have a steady stream of clients, chances are, you are doing well. However, Danielle shares that if you aren’t keeping a close eye on the numbers, there’s a really good chance that you are losing money. Hidden, unnecessary expenses could be taking a chunk out of your profit margin, without you even knowing! Furthermore, if you haven’t taken the time to analyze your costs per client, you may be undervaluing your services. Listen in to hear more about the importance of allocating your funds, and how a CFO can be invaluable when it comes to optimizing your tax situation.
“The biggest mistake business owners make with their finances is ignoring them.”
- Danielle O’Conner
In the second half of this episode, Danielle shares how the work she did with me took her from “bookkeeper” to Virtual CFO. It is so crucial to identify your target client, and reconcile that ideal with the clients you currently take on. Danielle realized that her low price point was attracting clients who were unwilling to recognize the value that she offered. As she gained clarity on her ideal client, her offer, and how to present the offer clearly with confidence, she has recouped her investment, and then some!
Only good things can come from having someone take a bird’s eye view of your business. Whether you’re feeling off-track with your finances, or you’re realizing that perhaps you haven’t been positioning your offer at the price that it is worth, bringing others around you to support you in your entrepreneurial endeavors will make all the difference!
Some Topics we talk about in this episode:
Introduction // Danielle O’Conner - 3:03
What is CFO? - 5:17
Why are the Numbers Important? - 7:02
CFO and Tax Season - 9:15
Working with Janelle - 14:32
Most Important Lesson Learned - 25:03
Wrap-up/Takeaways - 31:05
How to get involved
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For more resources, information on my coaching services, and a whole community of Part-Time CEOs, find me on Facebook at The Part-Time CEO® Group, my website, or email me at janelle@janellelara.com.
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For more information about Danielle and Simple Balanced Bookkeeping, you can visit sbbreno.com.