Confessions of a Portfolio FD

What’s it like?

I’ve been a Portfolio FD since late 2009. It is very satisfying professionally and personally, and it is possible to earn well. You get the privilege of working with really interesting and driven business owners, people who have taken risks to develop substantial businesses from nothing.

Your efforts make a direct impact on their personal lives as you work to make their lives easier. Your efforts can reduce their financial worries, from making payroll through to realizing life changing amounts of money through recurring profits and dividends, or from the sale of their business.

In the lives of the SME owner the results are very personal given their association with their company and how the economic benefits flow to them personally.

What do you do?

In 2009, I had 26 years of business experience, 12 of those at Board level. In the ten years from early 2010 through to March 2020 (Covid 19), I worked with 10 clients in a significant way, each from two to seven years, with a further 15 clients on projects that lasted under a year.

I helped the owners and their top team achieve many things. Inputting to key decisions and strategies, challenging the things that didn’t look right and sound right.

To help explain what I did these are some of the achievements that I helped my clients with:

• Seven clients doubled their profits or much more. In two cases the base line profit was over £1m and in one case a company’s profit went from circa £250k to £1.5m.
• We made seven acquisitions.
• I helped three clients Exit their businesses.
• In three cases I helped settle Minority shareholders, which are tricky Win/Lose situations.
• I worked on incentive plans for key staff or to help with recruitment five times.
• Set up contribution centres to help drive profit, seven times.

Two specific things helped us to generate these results:

• I always helped improve tracking and reporting, in terms of both quality and speed.
• Change finance leadership and key resources.

Often the head of finance in an SME lacks the experience needed to look after a fast growing company with an ambitious owner. Sometimes the owner can see the gap, but they need help to make the change. I always carry out a review and train and coach the existing staff. On fifteen occasions I had to help recruit a new leader or change the main service provider.

If you are interested in becoming a Portfolio FD OR if you are interested in hiring a Portfolio FD please do get in touch by emailing me at david@fd4.co.uk.