I speak to many Founder CEOs who can\u2019t sleep at night.\u00a0In fact, one CEO, after the successful divestment of his company, confided to me that this was the first Christmas he\u2019d be able to take a real break without wondering if he would have to do some last minute fancy footwork in order to make payroll.\u00a0Two thoughts struck me 1) I love how concerned he was that no staff member would be caught short over the festive period and 2) Wow.\u00a0By any measure the business was really successful and yes cashflow had been tight in the past, but we\u2019d done a lot of work in getting it to a place where it was well managed and there was really no need for that type of stress.\u00a0But still that feeling stayed with him until he was no longer the owner of the business.<\/p>\n
Over the years I\u2019ve had many similar conversations with business owners who were struggling with having no one to confide in about the risk, the pressure and the options available for the business.<\/p>\n
There are a few ways business owners can tackle this.<\/p>\n
Co-founders<\/strong><\/p>\n When starting a business having a co-founder can be invaluable.\u00a0You\u2019re in this together, you have a sounding board and someone to stress test ideas with.\u00a0There can be draw backs however, make sure that you have a clear shareholder agreement that sets out, amongst other things, how equity will be split, how decisions will be made and what happens if one founder wants out.\u00a0A business pre nup if you will.\u00a0But a business marriage, like any other, really rests on the ongoing communication.\u00a0Differences can be great, and I\u2019d argue essential for co-founders as bringing different skill sets to the table is key, however ensure that any disputes or issues are aired quickly so they can be resolved and move on.\u00a0If disputes get contentious an objective third party can be helpful to mediate the issue.<\/p>\n Advisory board\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n An advisory board, whether informal or a formal non exec board can be extremely useful in providing sound counsel whilst remaining one step removed from the day to day weeds of the business.<\/p>\n Often minority shareholders in the business, they have an interest in the long term success of the business.\u00a0The key is selecting an advisory board with skills different or complementary to yours and ideally with deeper experience in business.\u00a0The old adage of not wanting to be the smartest person in the room is definitely applicable here.<\/p>\n Mutual trust with your advisory board is vital, however it can sometimes be nerve wracking to be too open with concerns and uncertainty with your board which can in turn decrease the value you get from them.<\/p>\n Independent business advisors<\/strong><\/p>\n Virtual C-suites are growing in popularity for smaller businesses.\u00a0Whilst a business is too small for a permanent CFO, CTO or legal counsel they can benefit hugely from having these roles \u201con tap\u201d.<\/p>\n The fact that these roles are not employees of the CEO also makes it easier to have more frank conversations about the risks inherent in business options being considered and any uncertainty being felt.<\/p>\n A virtual CFO in particular can help you sleep at night knowing that your financials are under control.<\/p>\n And once you outgrow the virtual support a good advisor will help transition you to permanent onsite support which fits your growing business.<\/p>\n In my next article I\u2019ll explain how Lantern Partners are helping business owners sleep at night…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I speak to many Founder CEOs who can\u2019t sleep at night.\u00a0In fact, one CEO, after the successful divestment of his company, confided to me that this was the first Christmas he\u2019d be able to take a real break without wondering if he would have to do some last minute fancy footwork in order to make […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n