It took me years to realize that running a profitable professional services firm made me a capital allocator. Not just a founder, not just a CEO, but someone responsible for making deliberate decisions about where profits go and what kind of future those decisions create.
A close friend reached out to me after the company she founded failed its second due diligence. The buyer’s reasoning was harsh. “We don’t understand your numbers. And we think you don’t understand them either.”
Ouch.
Frustrated and anxious, she asked me: what does it take?
Only four things, I told her. Do this and I guarantee it won’t happen next time.
IAs founders of boutique professional service firms, you understand the delicate balance between providing exceptional service and maintaining profitability. In an industry where client satisfaction is paramount, it’s natural to want to go above and beyond to meet every client’s expectation. However, there comes a time when over-servicing can have detrimental effects on your firm’s bottom line. In this article, we’ll explore when to over-serve a client and when not to, with a focus on profitability and client relationships
Since joining C54 I’ve loved hearing all the revenue growth stories, but the different ways profit is put to use is more reassuring. “Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity” often seen as being trite, but in boutique PS firms, sticking to the mantra is a game-changer.
The root-cause to declining margins & profitability lies in the deep, dark, spreadsheet-laden abyss of your project financials & resourcing… “The Operations black hole”. A place where hard-won project dollars shall never, ever, return from… and high-flying consulting space-ships can disappear forever.
How do you make a big impact on a huge audience? World-class content and intelligent distribution.
Ever wondered how to create a bulletproof forecast for your revenue, profit, and staffing needs in your professional service firm?
Equity splits can end up being multimillion-dollar decisions. So how do you decide if you’re going to give employees equity, and how much equity to give them?
Discover the 9 common revenue sources for a successful professional services firm.
