Finance Director for owner-managed businesses
Every successful business starts with cash.Where it goes from there is up to you.
I’m Simon Kramer. For around thirty years I’ve helped owners build businesses that generate reliable cash, grow on purpose, run without them, and one day sell on their terms. I also work with owners to put AI to work across their business, from the finance team to the front line.
- 1CashConsistent, reliable cash
- 2GrowthPlanned and paid for
- 3SuccessionRuns without you
- 4ExitOn your terms
The journey
Four pillars, in order.
Each one is built on the one before. A business that doesn’t generate reliable cash can’t fund its growth, and a business that can’t run without its owner is hard to hand on.
-
1
Cash
A business that generates consistent, reliable cash. Everything else is built on this.
More on cash -
2
Growth
Growth that’s planned and paid for, so the next step up strengthens the business rather than stretching it.
More on growth -
3
Succession
A business that runs without you every day. From here it can become a lifestyle business, if that’s what you want.
More on succession -
4
Exit
Leaving on your terms, whether that’s to your family, to your employees or to an outside buyer.
More on exit
Where are you now?
Most owners know which of these keeps them up at night.
You might be checking the bank before the wages go out. You might have the work to grow and no clear plan to pay for it. Or you might be wondering who runs the business when you step back, and what it’s worth if you sell.
Wherever you are, the same thing holds: a pillar that isn’t secure holds back the next one. So we start with where the business is today, make that solid, and build from there towards what you want from it.
Take the Four Pillars Scorecard to see where your business stands.
AI in your business
Thirty years of judgement. The tools of now.
Alongside the numbers, I work with owners to implement AI across their business: where it will pay back, how to build it, and how to get the team using it.
The book
The Cash Gap
The SME Death Trap: Why Profitable Businesses Fail and How to Make Sure Yours Doesn’t
I wrote The Cash Gap to start at the beginning of the journey. It follows four real businesses, a printer, a mortgage company, an agency and an owner who ran everything on instinct, and shows why each was profitable and still ran short of cash.
It’s short, practical and written for owners rather than accountants.
The Four Pillars Scorecard
Where is your business on the journey?
Twelve questions across cash, growth, succession and exit. About three minutes. Your results come straight to your inbox.
Book a call