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Focusing on profits within your food business is vital and not just because you’re a business, but because you’re a Good Food Business.

I know that some of you reading this might be thinking, or saying out loud, “We’re a mission-driven business, we’re not focused on Profit!”

I hear you, I felt the same way when I owned my food business.  But here’s the deal, if you want to achieve the mission of your business long-term you have GOT to be financially sustainable and profitable. 

Profits are the funds that you’ll use to invest in growth, efficiencies and other improvements. Maybe you’ll use profit funds to develop the new product you’ve been dreaming of.  Or perhaps it’s your goal to donate a portion of your profits to a charity.  Maybe you’ll celebrate with that money, or maybe you’ll do what I do and do a little bit of all of it, PLUS take a share for yourself and offer a profit-share with your employees. 

You started a business to do good, create change, earn a living doing something you love... No matter what your WHY is, Financial Sustainability and Profitability ensures that it becomes and remains a reality.

Do not be ashamed of profitability, do not be ashamed of wanting to make money.  If you’re struggling with this, if you’re having strong feelings right now, I recommend you go back and listen to The Good Food CFO Podcast Episode 06 with Caroline Snyder of Verdi Advising, I encourage you to read “We Should all Be Millionaires” by Rachel Rodgers  or “You’re a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero, and listen to The Good Food CFO Podcast Episode 20: Profit First:: Will it Work For Your Good Food Business?

These will all help you along the journey of eliminating the guilt and limiting beliefs you have around money and financial success. 

Doing this work is a great gift to yourself and your community.

Discover how to become a Financially Sustainable and Profitable Good Food Business!

I’m here to support you - so join us in the Profitable Food Business Community to share your questions.

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Profit First Certified Food Business Financial Consultant and Coach with over 8 years of food industry experience. She received her MBA from Rollins College, and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program as well as the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

“Setting your prices to achieve Product Profitability does not guarantee that you’ll achieve Business Profitability.”

If there is one critical concept that I want every food + beverage business owner to know, understand and accept this year, it’s the one I’ve written above. 

I’ve talked about it on The Good Food CFO podcast, The Real Food Brands podcast, The Food Biz Wiz podcast and even on a few webinars like the one I did with WeStock.

We’ve been misled on how best to approach our pricing. 

I got it wrong in my food business...

And when businesses get it wrong they can hit or exceed their sales goals but struggle to achieve profitability and they aren’t sure why.  When the cause goes unresolved or the source of the problem is unidentified, losses start to mount and the result can be the closure of the business.

So how do you ensure that you’re pricing your products for BUSINESS profitability? 

Follow my 3 rules for pricing:

1. Don’t calculate your prices using your per unit labor cost

2. You CAN’T successfully price your products in a vacuum

3. You CAN price your product with a simple formula, and your target ingredient cost %

Ready to learn more and get your products priced right? 

Click here to listen to The Good Food CFO podcast. 

Watch the video version of the podcast on YouTube, complete with helpful slides. 

I’m here to support you - so join us in the Profitable Food Business Community to share your questions.

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program as well as the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

"Setting your prices to achieve product profitability does not guarantee that you'll achieve business profitability."

I was recently invited to host a webinar to discuss how to price products for profitability on WeStock™

If you haven't heard of WeStock™ now is the time to check them out, but not before you know how to price your product for profitability!

“WeStock™ helps your brand grab the attention of buyers, increase sales for underperforming stores, and ensure that you own the customer journey for your brand in retail. WeStock converts customers that love your product into authentic and actionable data that helps your brand get on shelf and stay there.”

Attend the pre-recorded webinar and learn how to price your products for business profitability!

In the webinar We cover:

• The "Accounting"

• Common Misguided Approaches to pricing

• Potential problems and outcomes of using incorrect pricing methods

• MY 3 Rules for Pricing

• Steps you can take to ensure that you've got your products priced for Business profitability

Click here to watch now!

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program as well as the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

We all know that the quickest way to achieve our goals is to have a plan.

You identify where you are right now, and where you want to be.
Then you connect the dots and detail the steps for getting from point A to point B. 

Except when you’re running a growing food business, it’s not quite that easy... 

You’re likely implementing multiple strategies to achieve your business objectives - most or all of which will cost money to implement - and you’ve got your eye on increasing sales. 

There are a lot of people, information and money to manage! 

Profit Planning helps you see the big picture of your business and keep you on track to reaching your goals. 

Here are just some of the ways that Profit Planning can benefit you in your business: 

1. Helps you get clear on your business objective and goals (if you haven’t already). 

2. Allows you to see if increased sales, decreased costs, or both are your keys to higher profitability. 

3. Helps you establish what the right monthly sales target is for our business.

4. Provides a baseline + the ability to monitor your progress toward your goals, as well as the success of the strategies + tactics you've implemented. 

5. Enables you to get detailed on how you’ll grow sales (and the costs associated), get clear on when and how to hire, what your cash runway forecast looks like, and allows you to run financial scenarios to assist in decision making.

Inside the Profitable Food Business Community we’re talking about Profit Planning and how to set the right goals for your business.  In fact, the first Tuesday of every month I do a LIVE Q+A session to answer your questions and support you on your Food Biz Financial Journey! 

Join the community and our next Q+A session here

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program and the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

Did you know that in January 2020 I transitioned from project-based work to 12-month programs? 

The decision came after working with several clients in 2018 and REALLY wanting to stay connected to them, to their progress and their business outcomes.  I had a hunch that long-term working relationships could produce better results (and that I’d like that type of work better too). In 2019 I continued my project work, and started beta-testing 12-month programs/services. 

The longer programs allowed for consistent check-ins, accountability and support that produced better financial and business outcomes for my clients, and gave them confidence around their numbers and decision making that simply couldn’t come with shorter project-based work.

In December 2019 I made it official and announced the new service. Two business owners signed on right away and worked with me monthly throughout the year. 

Additionally, in late February, our first member began the Financial Success Formula Program. 

Last week I compared the 2019 vs. 2020 financial outcomes for these 3 businesses, and… 

The results are pretty incredible! 

Some facts about the businesses:

1. 1 is a CPG brand utilizing a co-packer, 2 are food producers selling wholesale and direct to consumer

2. They are all young brands with 2019 annual sales between $60,000 - $140,000

3. 1 producer had consistent revenue across both years, the other two businesses had revenue growth of $95k and $172k.

4. ALL businesses had individual profit margin increases of 18% or more! 

The Stats! 

Average Revenue Increase 2019-2020 across all three businesses: $89,120

Average Year over Year Revenue Increase: 86.7%

Average Reduction in Cost of Goods Sold: 10% 
(from 48.64%-38.18%)

Average Profit Dollars earned:
2019: -$1,080.78
2020: $52,582.25

Average Profit Margin:
2019: -3.09%
2020: 23.80%

Average Year over Year Profit Margin Increase: 26.88%

I am looking forward to tallying new data each month as additional members complete their 12-month programs!

An important note:

2020 was not without its hardships, and Sarah Delevan Consulting saw clients and members struggle due to Covid-related restrictions and the harsh effects of the wildfires in Northern California.  A few members of our community closed their doors, moved their families, and paused to sort out IF and when they could return to business and what that business would look like. 

So much of what happened last year was out of their control, and it’s important to me that we acknowledge that as well as celebrate the successes of these three business owners.  

This data provided within this post is based on three business owners that actively worked with us monthly throughout 2020. 

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program as well as the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

Have you heard business coaches say things like… 

“Cutting out your lattes and brunch isn’t gonna suddenly increase your savings account. Instead, I want you to recognize your ability to earn a whole heck of a lot more.”

It’s true that cutting out lattes won’t suddenly increase your savings… but cutting out those lattes (like getting rid of unnecessary expenses in your business) might be a good idea if you’re struggling with cash flow. 

For the record - I love business coaches, and have one of my own. But as a financial consultant, I want to assure you that understanding + controlling expenses, and striving to earn more revenue, are not mutually exclusive

We've been taught to believe that bigger is better, that selling more is the main objective, and that at a certain point all that revenue WILL result in profits. But it's simply not true.

If your million dollar business has million dollar expenses, hitting that sales goal doesn’t mean anything.

Stories of start-ups with tons of funding and BIG sales numbers that never turned a profit are not uncommon.  Emerging food businesses forced to close their doors despite having amazing products + ravenous fans is the primary reason I do this work! 

As CPA Melissa Houston and I discussed in Episode 2 of The Good Food CFO Podcast…

“A 1% savings in one area of your business

can amount to a lot of dollars on your profit line... 

When you know that, and you can implement a small change that creates that 1% savings, the results can be really, really big.  Making small financial changes can really add up!” 

BIG revenue does not mean business longevity. 
Consistent profitability + financial sustainability does.
And that comes from understanding and controlling your costs now, and as you grow. 

If you’re ready to take the next steps toward understanding your numbers, gaining confidence in your financial decision making, and achieving consistent profitability we have tools + resources to help you do it.

1. The FREE Profitability Roadmap will help ensure that you’ve got a solid financial foundation in place.

2. The Financial Success Formula Program will help you understand your business financials, see the road to profitability, and create the Profit Plan that will help you get there.

And of course, the Profitable Food Business Community is always open! 

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program as well as the host of The Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

The work of building a successful food business isn’t glamorous…

Talking about numbers isn’t sexy... 
Photos of spreadsheets on instagram don’t garner a lot of attention...
The work that I ask business owners to do is not glamorous, but it’s required to build a profitable business.  

I know it’s fun to think about branding + marketing, to interact with your customers, to score a new wholesale account. And all of those things are important for a successful food business!

But the reality is that you can’t achieve your long-term business goals without financial sustainability + profitability. 

I meet food brands all the time that have stellar sales months… matched by BIG losses.  
I don’t want that for you!

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if we’re going to change our food industry, we’ve got to build sustainable good food businesses. 

WE CAN build financially sustainable businesses By cultivating a mindset of CONSISTENTLY reviewing your data, correctly identifying inconsistencies, and creating strategies to correct them.

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The more you get acquainted with this mindset, the easier the work becomes, and the less stress you have around the money in your business.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s how you reach your goals. 
Ready to get started? 

Download the free profitability roadmap, join the Free Profitable Food Business Community, and let’s go!

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

By now you know that the first step in building your most profitable food business is getting a solid financial foundation in place.

Still Working to Build a Solid Financial Foundation?

Or maybe you’re not quite sure what building a financial foundation entails?

Click here to download the free Profitability Roadmap.
It’ll help ensure you have each important pillar in place and are ready to move on to maximizing your profitability.

Got your financial foundation in place?

Great! The next step is to carve out 1 hour per month (yep, that’s it!) to work through the 4 steps for maximizing your profitability.

4 Steps for Maximizing Your Profitability:

1. Get Timely + Accurate Monthly Financials

Your Bookkeeper should provide you with completed financial reports by the 7th of each month, for the month prior. This allows you to see how your business is performing and make timely business decisions.

If you’re doing your bookkeeping yourself, it is imperative that you hold yourself accountable to sitting down at the end of each month to input your financial data and then review your essential financial reports.

2. Create a Profit Plan

Much like a budget, a Profit Plan lays out your business financials for the next 12 months and helps you stay focused on achieving your Financial Success Formula - the revenue goals and cost targets that will help you achieve maximum profitability. You can get detailed in your plan, or just start with the 4 key food business metrics.

3. Track Your Actual Outcomes vs. Profit Plan

Each month, when your financial reports are available, update your profit plan so you can see how your actual revenue, costs and profitability compare to the goals you set.

4. Identify + Implementing Key Strategies

The information in Step 3 can offer amazing insight into how your business is performing and where to focus your attention in order to achieve your business and financial goals.

For example...

• Are your costs on target, but sales lower than projected and affecting profit dollars? You know to focus on growing sales.

• Hitting your sales goals, but your labor costs are too high? Focus your attention on ensuring your labor is allocated correctly and that there are no bottlenecks or backlogs in your workflows that are driving up costs.

• Food Cost % higher than you hoped? Tracking your food costs, or implementing a budget for your purchasing team may help you reach your goals.

Remember, you don’t need to be a financial wiz to build a profitable food business. And I’m here to support you in your work!

The Financial Success Formula Program offers our custom Profit Planning template and hands-on workshops, plus daily support and monthly coaching calls to help you hone your CFO skills.

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Consultant + Freelance CFO with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

Earlier this year when the pandemic had just forced us all indoors and flipped our worlds upside down, I turned to yoga in hopes of finding an indoor workout that would also (fingers crossed) help relieve some of the stress I was feeling. 

To my surprise and delight the daily yoga practice produced sore muscles (the good kind), a stress release that I could literally feel about 15 minutes into a yoga flow, and ideas that would help me in my business! 

Somewhere around month two the teacher posed the question,

“Where are you working harder than you need to?”   

At that moment I was in a plank pose trying to be mindful of the straightness of my neck and my spine, attempting to lift my knees up (whatever the heck that means) and actively push away from the ground while keeping a slight bend in my elbows... and she was asking where I was working harder than I needed to?! 

Then she said… 

… relax your face, that’s not helping you hold this pose any better.  And she was right. 

… relax your shoulders, that’s not helping you hold this pose any better.  And she was right.

… take a deep breath and realize where in your body you are exerting energy that you don’t need to in order to achieve the desired outcome. 

Holy crap. 

I took this question “off the mat” and thought about it as I went about my daily tasks. 

It started out with me realizing where I was holding tension in my body..

then transitioned to me noticing the actual energy that I was feeling inside when I had a long to-do list, was running behind schedule, or doing something out of my comfort zone - feeling anxious and like I needed to hurry wasn’t actually helping me move faster or perform better. I could let go of that anxiety. 

Then I applied the question to my business. 

It helped me re-focus on my goals and put my efforts toward the things that would have the biggest impact.

Asking that question gave me clarity to see what is mine to do, what could (and should) be automated, what should be delegated, what could be put on hold until the future, and what I could let go of completely.

And now I want to ask you…

Where are you exerting energy in your food business - mentally or physically - that is not ACTUALLY helping you reach your goals? 

Where are you working harder than you need to? 

Share your answer in the comments below, or join us in The Profitable Food Business Community!

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Consultant + Freelance CFO with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

Building something strong and sustainable requires a solid foundation, right?

What does the foundation of your food business look right now? 
Does it need strengthening?

I’ve learned that in business, it’s NEVER TOO LATE to start building that foundation. 
It’s the work I’m passionate about and I invite you to do!

Here are three things you can do to create, and solidify, the foundation of your business so you can achieve financial sustainability and profitability.

1. Record your financial data.

Yes, ALL OF IT.
Your revenue, your expenses, your costs. Make sure to update this information monthly.

2. Track your key metrics

Your key metrics include your revenue, cogs, operating + labor expenses, and review them as a percentage of your revenue. 

Check out my IGTV video on how this small change causes a big impact!

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3. Find your Financial Success Formula

This formula helps you see the revenue and cost target goals specifically for YOUR business. 
Watch The Conversation Series on Finding Your Financial Success Formula!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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You started with your dream and are working hard to create a successful business.
Your hard work + a strong foundation will lead to profitability and sustainability so that you can continue to do this for years to come! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

find more details + support in building the foundation for a profitable food business in the the free Profitability Roadmap,

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

You’ve got big goals for your food business, I know you do! 

Whether you want to build a local family business, a national brand, or a rapidly growing biz that you can sell in a few years…

The path to reaching your goals, and doing so WITHOUT burning yourself out, involves achieving financial sustainability and consistent profitability. 

What exactly is financial sustainability?

Simply put, it’s consistent cash flow within your business that results in no more worrying about if you’ll have enough money to cover the bills, pay your employees and pay yourself. 

why focus on Profitability? 

Profits are the amount of money leftover after you pay for your COGS, operations and labor.  

You can reinvest them to grow your team, expand your operations, hang on to them so your business has cash on hand during slow months…you can use them however you’d like!  The point is that there is money left over for you to put toward reaching your goals. 

how do you achieve financial sustainability and profitability in your food business?

The way you achieve these things is NOT by doing more + selling more.  It’s by understanding, optimizing and maximizing the financial efficiency of your business.

Looking for a hands-on consulting experience?
Fill out this form and we'll set up a call to discuss your goals and how I can help you reach them!

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About the Author: Sarah Delevan is a Food Business Financial Coach and Consultant with over 7 years of working in the food industry. She received her MBA from Rollins College and In 2017 she founded Sarah Delevan Consulting based in Los Angeles, CA and serving clients across the United States. She is the creator of the Financial Success Formula and the founder of the Profitable Food Business program. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.