If you cast your mind back to the first article in this email series, we looked at how successful finance managers build the dream.
If you’ve followed the ‘story’ in the consecutive emails you’ll see we have planned for a successful business and developed a strategy, created a great team and made the most of recruiting and onboarding to ensure happy staff who want to stay and build their career with your finance company.
As a senior finance professional, having created all this, you can reap the rewards of success. You’ve built a successful business, its financially prosperous and you’ve achieved credibility as an expert in your specialised area of finance.
Now it’s time to think about yourself and your plans for the future.
You may be thinking of going for a Directorship.
Or you may be thinking of scaling your successful business (before retiring to the golf course or perhaps a yacht in the Caribbean?)
You might even be considering expansion – buying up the competition.
Whatever your goals, developing a great partnership with a specialist finance recruitment company like Rebus Recruitment can help take you there.
Cultivate Your Personal Brand
If you’re thinking about attracting employers to consider you for your ultimate dream job role, you need to think about cultivating your personal brand.
So, what is ‘Personal Branding’? Well, it’s still a bit of a mythical beast to many finance professionals.
But building your personal brand will inevitably help you up the career ladder to your dream career goal. It’s how you present yourself to the outside world, and it’s your opportunity to cultivate your ‘persona’; helping people see you positively and showcasing your knowledge, skills and personality. It will also tie in with your company brand; as a senior finance professional, you are the ‘face’ of your company and contribute to its dynamic impact in the marketplace.
The skills you already possess include determination and drive, matched by your understanding of the financial marketplace and your clear vision for future goals.
These skills expand your stature as a leader and shape your personal brand, building your professional reputation and enabling you to market yourself.
A personal brand is an ongoing process, and you should enforce it visibly by leveraging your online profile on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Your personal brand should tell your story. It should also be authentic. In other words, you should live your brand – don’t create a fake persona because you will, for sure, be found out!
Carve a niche for yourself – be specific about your personal brand and keep your message memorable. The more focused you are, the more likely people will remember and associate you with that particular element or skill.
Scale your Current Business
Perhaps your goal is focused on the ‘onwards and upwards’?
As an ambitious finance professional, you want to improve and embrace progression and scale your business. The place to start with this one is on your own doorstep, as it were.
It’s a good idea to take a step back and consider your business – look at its current processes and objectives. Are they still relevant? Have you checked your goals against your strategic plan recently? Remember, a strategy isn’t set in stone – if it’s not working, change it.
Develop your staff. Are your team engaged and working to their full potential? If not, consider training and developing a company culture that will lift morale and encourage collaborative working.
Update your systems. Are you still working with an ancient software programme? You could streamline your business, saving your staff time and yourself money, by updating to a new one.
Add new services. You may always have specialised in a specific area of finance. Perhaps now would be a good time to think about expanding your services?
Expand into new territory. Have you considered relocating? Check the market trends and see if there’s scope for you to consider moving to a booming business area.
Cultivate customer loyalty. Some of your clients may have been with you for a long time. Recognition of their commitment could include special offers or deals such as a discount. You could further leverage customer loyalty by asking for a testimonial or case study from key clients, thus boosting your finance business to potential new clients.
Expand Your Company
In the long term, you may be considering the expansion of your finance business. However, how far can you go?
Acquiring other businesses is a rapid way to grow your own. They add instant diversity of service, more significant market share and economies of scale.
Identifying industry trends and financial forecasts are fundamental to the growth of your company. Take a look at business and commerce around you.
How are they doing in the current market? What are the predicted trends going forward?
The Northern Powerhouse, described by MP Jake Berry, the minister in charge of the project, as ‘the most powerful coalition of businesses ever seen’ is already starting to influence business, with expansion and opportunities it offers. Maybe now is the time to expand?
If you do want to expand, there are several points to observe in your plan.
- Firstly, the plan itself. You need to think about a detailed procedure that will provide a framework for how you want to expand the business.
- Are you only considering acquisitions, or would you think about merging with another finance company, creating a brand-new business?
- Think about who is going to carry the plan forward. You will need a team to handle any acquisition. Consider which of your current employees have the best skills and knowledge for this. They need to be forward thinking, creative and inspirational to push the plan forward. They also need to be able to keep the momentum going, be savvy as to the potential pitfalls and complications, and accountable.
- Do your research. Make sure your acquisition team investigate/audit a potential acquisition to confirm facts, such as financial records, assets and liabilities. This due diligence is a critical part of your team’s work and will enable you to avoid any potentially nasty problems surfacing later.
Whether acquiring another finance business or merging two companies – the critical issue is to ensure you have done your due diligence before making an offer and signing a contract.
If you’re reading this article because you are looking to secure the future growth of your company and explore your own career options – contact Rebus Financial Recruitment or call us on 01282 930930 and let’s have a conversation. With our help, you can achieve your goals.
Thanks,
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, which historically range from a wide variety of organisations including SME’s to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs; and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly. To find out more, get in contact with one of our team today, or you can call us on 01282 930930.
