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.

I recently read “The Top 10 Mistakes That Keep Women Entrepreneurs From Scaling to $1 Million” published on Women / Entrepreneur.

Not surprisingly, several of the mistakes on the list are related to money + finances and offer important takeaways for good food business owners (whether you identify as a woman or not...and regardless of your personal revenue goals).

Here are the money-related mistakes from the article, with a few of my added thoughts specifically for food business owners:

Mistake #6: Insufficient financial know-how

“We don’t need to have finance degrees or MBAs to run our businesses, but we do need to educate ourselves in order to create a cash runway, steward our money better and effectively raise capital when necessary.”

MY THOUGHTS:
You do not have to have a financial degree or an MBA to run your business, and you don’t need to shoulder all of the financial responsibilities, but you MUST educate yourself on the financial realities of your business. Some must-know info includes...

• What your cash flow / cash runway looks like

• How profitable your products and your business lines are, and

• How the decisions you make will affect your bottom-line

Mistake #7: Not having a cash runway

...women are twice as likely as men to shut down their businesses because they run out of cash. You can better avoid this issue by working with an advisor on your cash flow projections or finding a great accountant who can walk you through your numbers. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or say you don’t understand, and be sure to look at what you owe and what is owed to you on a weekly basis so you can have a healthy cash balance.”

MY THOUGHTS:
Agreed! I’ll add that you should also be aware of your vendor terms. Many new businesses are required to pay COD, or are given short net-10 or net-15 terms when they’re getting started, but after consistent on-time payments you are eligible to request them.

If you’re working with a new vendor make sure you are clear on your starting terms and when you can request an extension of terms. Then make those on-time payments, set that calendar reminder, and follow up for longer terms!

Mistake #9: Improperly tracking marketing spend

...marketing is one (of the) biggest expenditures for fast-growing companies. There was a time at Little Pim where we didn’t track where our customers were coming from and didn’t know which marketing channels were performing and why. Eventually, we started keeping a closer eye on our marketing spend — that way, we were able to avoid falling into the money pit that marketing can be and begin getting excellent ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). Figuring out which marketing channels work for you and rigorously tracking your spend is a key part of scaling up.

MY THOUGHTS:
It’s no secret that marketing is an important part of growing your food business, but not having a strategy and not tracking your spend can lead to inefficient spending and take funds away from other important investments.

I had a great conversation about this very topic with Marketing Strategist, Christie Lee of Nourishing Foods Marketing, that will be airing on the Good Food CFO podcast very soon! Click here for updates on the podcast launch, and this episode.

Interested in reading more?
Find the full article on Women / Entrepreneur here.

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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.

I know… You want your prices to be competitive. 

You may be thinking...
They are a successful business at the top of their game, so if I model what they are doing I’ll be heading in the right direction. Right? 
Wrong. 

NOTHING is as rosy and perfect as it looks on the outside.  
Take it from me - there are lots of  “successful” businesses with awesome products, killer sales numbers, and not a penny of profit to show for it. 

Pricing your products based on what the “top” brands in your market are doing puts you on the fast track to financial struggle. 

To achieve long-term, sustainable financial success you need to price your products right for YOUR business. 

Here’s a little story for you…
New clients of mine recently pivoted their business model to offer weekly meal delivery service. 
The changes to their business model were quick - they needed to create menus, price them, build a new webpage and start promoting FAST. 

To set prices they looked at other businesses making the same pivot and mimicked the pricing of the company that everyone respects and admires in their industry….

“We saw their pricing and figured they know what they are doing (they are super successful) let’s match their pricing and we should be good.”

Well, two weeks later that successful company was raising their prices!  
The message that sends is that they DIDN’T have it all figured out. 
They were likely losing money at the low price point they set and needed to make adjustments. 

Now my clients were seeking help to set prices that were right for their business, and stop chasing what others were doing. 
Smart Move! 

The time and money lost over the first few weeks can’t be recovered, but corrections can be made. 

Pricing your products based on the competition, your gut, or an industry-standard is one of the biggest mistakes I see food business owners make. And it costs you a lot of time and money. 

But, don’t feel bad if this is a mistake that you’ve made or are making. 
It’s an easy fix and I’m here to help you get it right. 

Building a financially sustainable and profitable business starts with knowing YOUR Financial Success Formula.  

If you’re eager to learn more…

Visit our products page here

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 and is the host of the Good Food CFO Podcast. To learn more about Sarah and opportunities to grow a more profitable food business Click Here.

No two food businesses are alike… BUT the financial struggles you experience and the solutions to those struggles are very much the same. 

There is no doubt about it - you WORK HARD. 

But if it feels like no matter how hard you work, 
no matter how consistent your sales are, 
or how much your sales grow...

...You aren’t achieving the financial results you desire
...You’re anxious about the day to day availability of money to pay your vendors, your team or yourself
...Or you simply don’t know what the right next step is for your business

You are NOT ALONE.  

And you don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

Together, our conversations will help you identify SOLUTIONS to your struggles and implement STRATEGIES so you can start to see FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT.

I invite you to:

• Join other food + beverage business owners in THE PROFITABLE FOOD BUSINESS COMMUNITY and meet me on Instagram

  
  Listen in on educational talks + conversations with food business owners in The Conversation Series, where we talk about all things related to food business financials and building a profitable business.

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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. 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.