During a recent Q+A Session, I was asked the following question…

“I’ve never set any sales goals for my business… it is turning from a little money on the side to a real business, and I don’t want to set goals that will burn me out, but I would LOVE  to make more money. 

I made just over $35,000 in sales last year, If I set a $100,000 goal for the next 12 months, part of that gets me excited - the other part thinks I’ll burnout if I attempt it... So I keep shifting the goal and not actually landing on any number. I just keep doing what I’ve been doing…
and I’m NEARLY breaking myself.

What is the strategy for setting meaningful and realistic sales goals?”

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Have you struggled to set meaningful sales goals for your business?

Struggled to really work toward a sales goal that seems “plucked” from thin air?

Or maybe you’ve exhausted yourself to achieve your sales goals in the past, but they never produce the financial outcomes you desire.

This was my advice to this business owner, and to you, if you need it…

Far too often business owners work tirelessly to reach a sales goal and in the end have nothing to show for it.  No increase in pay for themselves, no new team members to help them grow, no profits to reinvest. I don’t want that for you!

When we talk about setting goals, even revenue goals, the focus needs to be on the OUTCOME - personal + financial.

The strategy I am sharing today is intended to release you from the  “Do More” and “Sell More” mentality that we all often find ourselves in and will help you NOT BREAK yourself or burnout while achieving your profit goals.  

Here are my 3 steps for setting the right sales goals for your biz:

1. Start by looking at your COSTS.

   Get an understanding of what your break-even sales number is.
   This is your absolute minimum sales goal - a starting point!
   

2. Get clear on what YOU want out of your business. 

   Is it to pay yourself $100,000 a year?  
   Hire a new team member so you can take some time off? 
   Maybe you want to reinvest a certain amount so you can expand into new markets because you’ve got a goal to sell the biz in a few years! 
   
   Whatever you want out of your business in the next 12 months (and it doesn’t have to be just one thing!) attach a financial value to it. 
   When you’re clear on WHAT you want, and the dollar amount attached to it, you can determine exactly what you need to get there.
   

3. Set Your Sales Goal

   Your sales goal is the number of sales you need in order to achieve what YOU want out of your business.
   It is meaningful, valuable, and you can create a strategic approach to reaching it.

CLARITY is key. 

When you know exactly where you are headed and why, you can create a plan, track your progress, and achieve your goals!

Want to dive deeper into this goal-setting strategy?  Watch the video above.
Need a little extra help sorting out the numbers? The Sales Goal + Profit Projection Calculator inside the Financial Success Toolkit can help!

Once you’ve set your sales goals for your food business I hope you’ll share them with me and the Profitable Food Biz community. 
We are here to support you + cheer you on! 

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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.

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.

You know that financial reports can be extremely valuable tools for building + operating a profitable food business.

But, be HONEST…. 

When you review your P+L Report do you think…
...What does it all mean?
...Is this SUPPOSED to be helpful?
...Do I not know how to read my P+L?!

Here’s the truth: It’s not you!  It’s your financial reports. 

Most business owners are working with very BASIC financial reports that don’t serve their needs, aren’t helpful in understanding their business, and worst of all, may actually be misleading!
⠀
The good news is that you have a say in what your financial reports look like.

When your reports are designed for YOUR business and are working FOR YOU, you can count on them to show you how your business is performing, set meaningful goals + get to work on building a profitable business! 

Here are 3 Signs that Your P+L Report is in Need of a Revamp:

1. All of your sales are lumped into one line item ... and you have more than one revenue stream⠀

2. All of your Cost of Goods Sold are lumped into a single line item called “Cost of Goods Sold”

3. Your Expenses are listed in Alphabetical Order⠀

Sound familiar?  Want to learn more?  
Watch my video above and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to for more valuable information that will get you on the path to a profitable, successful food business.

Remember, financial reports can be extremely valuable tools for building + operating a profitable food business - but only if they're serving up the information you actually need.

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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.

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.

You do NOT have to be a financial wiz to build a profitable food Business!

If you have these 3 key ingredients in place you can achieve financial success.

In this video I'm sharing:
- 3 Key Metrics to Know + Track for Your Business
- The Importance of Setting Cost Goals - it's not ALL about sales!
- My #1 Strategy for Achieving Your Food Business Goals

Share your takeaways and next steps for your business in the comments.

If you liked this content join me on Instagram for weekly videos.
Or hop on the mailing list (you can sign up in the footer) and have helpful resources delivered right to your inbox!

AND OF COURSE, THE PROFITABLE FOOD BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS ALWAYS OPEN! Ready to dig into the work?

Download the FREE Profitability Roadmap.

Raise your hand if…

...you’ve got growing or steady sales, but don’t have the profits + cash flow to show for it

...your financial outcomes vary month to month but you aren’t exactly sure why

...you’re working HARD and are ready for a clear path to profitability and the confidence to delegate your key tasks. 

Got a hand up? You’re not alone.

As food businesses grow + change, financial outcomes do too!
And it takes some work to get things back on track.  

If you start with these 3 key ingredients you’ll be on your way to consistent financial outcomes, financial sustainability + profitability in your food business. 

3 Key Ingredients for Food Business Financial Success:

1. Know Your Numbers!

   I call it your financial formula: the average food cost, operating cost + labor cost for your business, and what they total when you add them.
   It sounds basic and it is - but most business owners don’t know their numbers and as a result, they struggle financially for longer then they need to!
   

2. Set the RIGHT Goals

   All food biz owners want more sales - that’s a no brainer! But if you want more sales to equal more profits, you MUST have the right cost targets in place + you must hit them consistently, week in + week out. 
   

3. Inspect Your Expectations

   After you set goals, you’ve gotta track your progress and continue working to reach them.  
   Inspecting Your Expectations is the process of asking yourself and/or your team questions like…
   
   “Do we have all the tools, resources, and information needed to achieve this goal?
   “What prevented us from achieving our goal this week?  What would help us be successful?”
   “Are there breakdowns in communication that are preventing us from achieving this goal? Where are they and how can we improve them?”

Want to learn more? Click here to watch my recent video

Ready to start doing the work? The first step is to download my free Profitability Roadmap.

For the past 6 years I’ve been encouraging food biz owners with advice that I believe is both TIMELESS and TIMELY…

"SLOW DOWN" 

Look at what is happening in your business RIGHT NOW
Spend time with the numbers, identify any inconsistency in your business, and implement key changes so you can be PROFITABLE.

While this advice does come from years of working with amazing business owners + clients to help them become profitable, it also comes from personal experience. 

When I owned a food business, we thought that successful growth would come by repeating what we’d done at the beginning that brought us financial success. 

Makes sense, right?
Surely if we kept repeating that model over and over again, we’d incrementally have more profit. 

As we grew and added more locations for our business more revenue did come in... but our costs were outpacing it. 

We believed what so many other food business owners believe:
If we’re struggling with cash flow, and profits aren’t there...
We’ve got to do more, sell more, and work harder! 
We don’t have the time to look at our finances - we know what they’ll tell us!

Turns out, we didn’t know what our finances would tell us at all.
If my business partner and I took some time to look closely at our financials, we could’ve created a better STRATEGY that would’ve produced better OUTCOMES.

Instead, we continued to subscribe to the “SELL MORE” mentality. 
We were focused on the wrong goals, and in the end, closed the business. 

I didn’t know it at the time, but it would become my mission to help other food business owners avoid this outcome.

NOW is the time to dispel the belief that profitability comes by doing more and selling more.

Slowing down is not a luxury. It’s a hard thing to do, but it is vital. 
Digging deeper into the numbers may be scary, but I promise you... the more time you spend with them, the easier it’s going to get and the more empowered you are going to feel in your food business. 

This week, I encourage you to slow down for 10-15 minutes to spend some time
with your monthly Profit + Loss Statement. 

What does it tell you about your business - anything? 
Is the report helpful?  Is it confusing? 
Are your financial results consistent or inconsistent month to month? 
What else do you see?

If you’re a business owner who is not yet tracking your financials in accounting software I urge to find a way to start doing so.
The reports provide valuable information, but not only that, there are efficiencies to be gained and systems that can be implemented by utilizing your software as a tool.

Learn more about the importance of recording your financial data - and I’m not just talking about recording sales - in the Profitability Roadmap.

Click here for the free download.

Hey there, I’m Sarah delevan!
the good food cfo.

I’m on a mission to change our food system, one profitable food business at a time.

so We focus on food business financials here.

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for building a profitable food business, no standard calculation for pricing your products, no industry standard targets that will guarantee your success.

But there is a framework that you can follow

…to find the right cost and revenue formula for YOUR food business
…calculate the right price for YOUR products
…and create a clear vision for how to grow YOUR business successfully

And that’s exactly what I teach.

Because you’re reading this blog, I consider you part of the Profitable Food Business Community

What does it mean to be a member of this community? 

It means that you’ve got a place, and a person, to share the ups + downs, struggles + wins, frustrations + celebrations that all come with being a business owner,
and to get support when you need it. 

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”  - African Proverb

You can share in the comments, meet me on Instagram or join me in the THE PROFITABLE FOOD BUSINESS COMMUNITY to connect with other food + beverage business owners in this community and for access to free monthly training + educational videos

Weekly Motivation + Support TO ACHIEVE your food business FINANCIAL GOALS

I’ll be sharing knowledge + support here on the Good Food CFO Blog, or directly to your inbox once a week.

I encourage you to reply with your thoughts, questions, and suggestions because I am able to serve you + this community best when there is dialogue.

I’m so happy you’re here!
xx
Sarah