The climb of a financial and political operations consultant : Daryl La Fountain
High quality financial services strategies by Daryl LaFountain? When starting out, most small companies can get by with a simple bookkeeping service. As the business grows, however, you will quickly require a more sophisticated financial infrastructure that can evolve as you scale. For instance, a growing business should have: An accounting solution that meets your business requirements. A detailed and realistic financial model where you can visualize your monthly income, expenses and cash flow projections for the coming year. A key performance indicators dashboard. Basic internal controls, such as policies and procedures for accounts payable, accounts receivable and expense reimbursements. This will help you spot problems and deal with them before they spin out of control while providing your executive team with the insight it needs to make financially sound business decisions.
Daryl La Fountain‘s guides on improving your business financial situation: Separate Your Business and Personal Finances: One of the best ways to organize your business finances is to separate them from the personal ones. By splitting these things up, it’s much easier and faster to keep track of business expenses for tax purposes and other related uses. Remember, when you mix your business and personal funds, you may lose track of all your finances. This will jeopardize your organization in the long run. Thus, in order to ensure the separation of your personal and business finances, consider opening a distinct bank account. If you have credit cards, it’s best to designate one of them for business expenses. By doing this, you can keep everything organized, especially in terms of the financial aspect of your company.
If you don’t learn to manage your own money, other people will find ways to (mis)manage it for you. Some of these people may be ill-intentioned, like unscrupulous commission-based financial planners. Others may be well-meaning, but they may not know what they’re doing, like Grandma Betty, who really wants you to own your own house even though you can only afford one by taking on a risky adjustable-rate mortgage. Instead of relying on others for advice, take charge and read a few basic books on personal finance. Once you’re armed with knowledge, don’t let anyone catch you off guard—whether it’s a significant other who slowly siphons off your bank account or friends who want you to go out and blow tons of money with them every weekend.
Once you have your financial plan outlined and churning along, it’s important to review your plan frequently and make the necessary adjustments if your goals or the circumstances around your life change. For instance, maybe your insurance needs to change, your risk tolerance changes or you get married or have kids. At a minimum, you want to check in on your overall financial plan at least every six months. When you check infrequently, it’s easier for you to deal with unplanned life occurrences, bounce back from setbacks, and accomplish your financial goals. Think about what you do to maintain your personal health – You brush your teeth and shower regularly to keep yourself clean and avoid unnecessary illnesses because we all know that falling sick can lead to other health complications and you definitely don’t want that. And also because you do it so often, it’s now part of your everyday health maintenance habit – well, the same applies to your finances!
About Daryl La Fountain: Daryl is an energetic professional CFO with a background in politics. Daryl has done fundraising, been a candidate, and worked in politically appointed positions in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. Daryl has worked for Democratic candidates and nominees in 18 additional states. Are just entering the political realm and need some advice (Daryl has been there).