A financial advisor is great for business

Business owners are a hardy bunch and can be reluctant to turn to anyone for help, especially during the early days. Many believe they can do everything on their own and seeking advice is perceived as a sign of weakness, when in reality the reverse is true. Asking for advice from experts in their relevant fields can strengthen a business and could even be the difference between longevity and closure. One such specialist field is finance and an experienced financial adviser can be worth their weight in gold to a business.

What does a financial adviser do?

The value a financial adviser can bring to a small business is often overlooked. They have the necessary experience and expertise to help assess the commercial viability of your business model, analyse profit and loss and suggest strategies and timescales to accelerate and improve profitability and the long-term success of your business. They can evaluate market trends, help execute your business plan, help with investments, retirement and succession planning. They carry an extensive toolkit to cover every financial scenario.

Knowing this makes it even more alarming that approximately 60% of new business haven’t hired the services of a financial advisor, or even considered doing so. Here we look at the reasons why SMEs and startups should look towards such specialists to help their business achieve its goals.

Cashflow is the lifeblood of a business

Regardless of the sector you operate in it is always beneficial to invite an experienced professional from outside of the business for a new perspective. A financial adviser can identify areas and methods of improving efficiency and profitability. It’s all well and good trying to do most of the everyday tasks of running a business by yourself or with your inhouse team but there are certain areas where you need professional help and finance is one of those because after all, money is the lifeblood of every business.

 There are numerous things that can go wrong financially including, cash flow problems, mismanagement, overpayments, and delayed payments to name just a few. Any of which could have a devastating effect on a business. By working with a financial advisor you can ensure that your finances are healthy and the outlook for your business is positive.

Save you time and money

In the current economic climate where costs are increasing everywhere and margins are being squeezed, a financial adviser can hep business owners reduce costs and increase margins, which means the cost of hiring a financial adviser is outweighed by the savings made. They can save you time and money so you can focus on running your business and not worry about financial matters. When you work closely with a financial adviser you receive expert help and what you deem to be complex tasks can be resolved easily and quickly.

Future proofing your business

Owning a business is filled with emotion which can cause problems. A financial adviser will provide professional calm, calculated advice on any financial matters, completely devoid of any emotion. They will do what’s best for your business, which is also what’s best for you. They will help focus on your strategy for the business and make sure you make the right decisions for stability and then growth.

A financial advisor can offer accurate projections to help grow your business while offering valuable insights such as identifying any exposure to risk or highlighting opportunities for growth you weren’t aware of. In the case of a startup for example, an advisor can help devise and improve the business plan.

Get ready to exit

As well as identifying new niche markets and advising where to invest they can even plan your exit – something that many business owners fail to plan for and end up working well past the age they hoped to retire at. You may have ideas that you want to bounce off the advisor who will be able to give you their professional, impartial opinion on whether they are best forgotten or worth pursuing.

Personal financial advice

With business ownership being all consuming it is easy to purely focus on the finances of the business and forget about your personal finances. An experienced financial adviser can look after both your personal and business finances. Both are important for cash flow, investment and tax reasons.

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