Jorge Segura
Strategy & Finance
SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
HOW CAN YOU HELP THEM TO HAVE ORDER AND CONTROL SO THAT THEIR BUSINESS SURVIVES OVER TIME?
Entrepreneurs work by intuition and are exceptional, but beyond a certain degree of complexity, they have difficulty in knowing whether their innovative ideas are profitable and how to make the growth they are experiencing sustainable.
The fundamental question is: “how do I grow while being profitable? Put another way, “I want to keep making money but I also want to grow”.
This difficult-to-balance equation is sustainable growth; maintaining margins to grow as organically as possible while managing cash flow correctly. It is the best way to maintain order, control prices and survive over time by allocating resources to innovation
1.
Strategic support
Some of the clients I worked for asked me to accompany them in their strategy that connected with the results. They wanted my judgement. Over time it has become my star service, the most valued. It is divided into 3 modules (they can be independent or together).
A
Improvement and evolution of the business model
It is targeted to digital projects, either small companies that need to monetise the digital part of the business or medium-sized industrial companies that are doing internal venture building because they have found that some internal solutions they have developed can be brought to market independently.
B
Economic strategy and metrics
Strategy connected to the results they are getting to the objectives; what is happening, what they should be doing, what they have to do if things are not going as planned, how to organise themselves, and what actions to take.
C
Work by objectives
Establishing objectives with the team to achieve the metrics we have proposed in the economic and financial strategy. This is the most operational part, which connects with the medium-term objectives and the general strategy.
Problem: traditional media (print) with a long history changes its brand and begins to move to digital, becoming independent from the more global media where it was before. How to make the investment profitable, how to be self-sustainable, when, how to orient the team towards economic objectives, how to make the investment profitable, how to be self-sustainable, how to orient the team towards economic objectives?
Solution: Development of the economic strategy, project finance to present to a supportive investor, working closely with the marketing agency and establishing work objectives with the team. After the first successful year, an annual budget sets economic objectives and monthly monitoring. It is positioning itself as a market leader in Spanish-speaking countries and is starting in the USA. The monthly monitoring allows the daily management to improve and the team itself to evolve while achieving self-sustainability (projected over 4 years).
Problem: an institution with training programmes wants to know the real cost per programme, as well as the profitability and how to play with pricing (discounts). The difficulty lies in the fact that most of the company's costs are fixed. How to distribute them fairly to each promotion of each programme?
Solution: development of analytical accounting that allows us to determine the real cost and estimate demand with different discounts.
2.
Pricing strategy and business valuation
A
Pricing
Pricing to optimise profits. Calculation by product, discounts and promotions.
B
Costing
Calculation of product costs for the management of the company’s resources based on actual results.
This is essential for digital product companies, where most of the costs are indirect and the products are heterogeneous. How to allocate costs to a product, what is the right price?
Specialising in digital product pricing, calculating the optimal price range to extract the maximum value from the customer.
C
Company valuation
Company and asset valuation reports as an independent expert. Normally for negotiation in the entry of new partners in the capital of the company. More info here (link).
3.
Business plan
A
Project finance
Financial modelling of projects, not only of the income statement (very simple) but also at the balance sheet level for a good understanding of the financial structure and a correct calculation of the cash flow statement.
Project finance is developed because the project needs financing. It is usually for 3 years, calculating the financial needs and the return on investment for the investor. When necessary, it is extended to a company valuation.
B
Economic viability study
Economic viability study of different initiatives. On many occasions, I work with other partners, for example, design and communication agencies, who propose more ambitious projects to their clients, so we give them the possibility of studying the return on this investment before carrying it out.
These viability plans may be required by the partners themselves, external funders, new partners or institutions that are granting aid and need to check that there will be a return to society (in the form of employment, taxes or own ecosystems).
Problem: An agency that develops augmented reality and metaverse projects all over the world decides to create an in-house venture building from the technology developed for different projects. They need funding from investors to drive the business units. How much are the projects worth, and how to make the projections?
Solution: Project finance of the whole project (agency + business units) and economic valuation. Assistance to different investors/ventures/institutions in updating projections, valuation and prospective financial information requirements.
Want to find out more about how I can help your project in an orderly way?