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Take Five #078: How to optimize business cashflow, and more

1. Interview: The Self-Funded Search Model

Search Investment Group (SIG) partners Robert Graham and Jordan Carter discuss recent search study findings, financial outcomes, search lengths, terms and costs, seller relationships, and more.

2. Why acquisition is a marathon, plus some lessons learned along the way

Most internet entrepreneurs think we can operate multiple businesses and perform exceptionally in the process, but the reality is different.

You need those shower thoughts and constant attention in order to build momentum online. Spreading yourself and your business managers too thin kills the business.

So with all that in mind, I want to circle back to the main topic of this newsletter:

The idea that acquisitions are something that you get better at over time, and that you can programmatically execute on.

Many of you reading this won’t be sitting down thinking you’re going to go out and buy dozens of businesses just for the sake of getting it right the 13th time.

But if you acknowledge that it’s going to take you some time to get good at it, you’ll be halfway there.

If you just want to buy one business, you probably shouldn’t.

You definitely shouldn’t PG something with a high-interest loan.

But if you understand it’s going to take time and you need to keep getting better, and can do make mistakes without getting wiped out, then acquisitions might just be for you.

Find the rest of Onfolio’s post here.

3. SMB due diligence deep-dive with QOE expert Elliott Holland

Hosts Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson talk with Elliott Holland about SMB financial literacy, why completing a detailed Quality of Earnings (QOE) report is essential, how deals get derailed, and more.

4. What to consider when valuing a business (long thread, lots of insights)

5. How to optimize business cashflow, including metrics and reporting methods

Left to their own devices most businesses will not optimize cashflow on automatic.

Sure, it will become a pet topic every now and then. But you never know when you’ll need that cashflow muscle.

It’s not a light switch. Once it's gone, it takes time to re-establish.

It was a lesson. From now on, any finance team I led would make cashflow the lead finance performance measure.

Cashflow would always be a priority. Even when it wasn't.

KPI dashboards or balance scorecards don’t tend to incorporate cashflow well. Or weight it properly.

If you want cashflow to get a seat at the table, you as CFO will have to make it so.

Today's post covers how to do that.

Specifically we will discuss how to deliver Maintainable Free Cashflow (MFCF). The best sort of cashflow.

Read the rest of CFO Secrets’ rundown here.

Loved what you read? Subscribe to Take Five to get our top quick reads every week from the team at Kumo. Kumo aggregates thousands of sources into one easy-to-use platform so that you can spend less time sourcing, and more time closing deals.