A gradual decline in corporate / franchisor revenues slowly drained operations of reinvestment capital and decelerated operations over a period of several years. Franchise agreement lacked an effective valuation methodology and information for exit strategies was non-existent.

Built a feasible valuation model for incorporation into revised franchise agreement. Incentivized owners to reinvest in capital equipment and penalized franchisees for failure to maintain equipment pool. Educated franchise investors in best practices for business operations. Concurrently ran a company owned and operated entity to drive acquisition of interested or failing franchises.

Augmented annual sales to $32 million generated from 300 routes operating out of 18 locations.

Due to substantial growth and customer development, an existing fully drawn $20 million term loan facility proved insufficient for the new state of operations. To sustain advancements, it was critical to secure a new term facility and working capital line of credit. The existing lender held the entirety of collateral encompassing liquid assets, receivables and inventory and prevented access to essential assets. Financial resources were critical to support manufacturing demands and newly added accounts.

Contracted external consulting firm to explore funding options including another term facility or formula-based line of credit to sustain rapid growth. Receipt of the new facility would take months leaving a financial gap. Extensive purchases of bulk chemicals from international players presented a logical solution to the need for short-term financial partners. Negotiated with various credit departments to extend terms from 30 to 90 days.

Expanding terms created $3.5+ million in working capital and served as a bridge loan.

The impact of COVID-19 on businesses compelled Congress to roll out first-ever loan products through the SBA. Challenged to track requirements for funding and accurately apply them to receive 100% loan forgiveness was difficult as regulations fluctuated, and applications needed to be filed directly through either the SBA or banking institutions. It was essential to maintain clear and precise records to unlock forgiveness prior to the maturity date.

Commenced researching qualifications for the program including eligibility and application processes gaining insight into rules for use of funds such as retaining documentation to support allocation to payroll and relevant expenses within a finite timeframe to be granted forgiveness.

Successfully applied for and received tens of thousands of dollars and subsequent loan forgiveness upon proving effective use of funds.

The need for revenue growth created a demand to win more contracts. The process of applying for awards is rife with opportunities for missed items, erroneous calculations, and a bevy of other surprises that impede success. The person responsible for administrating the bidding process resisted change. RFPs often went out without specific details and qualifiers critical to winning awards.

Revised the bidding process to incorporate granular details into quotes. Line items demonstrated the need and scope of the project, pricing, qualifiers, options, labor costs and other relevant information. The step separated the important services from the initial bid. Mentored personnel involved in the task to raise performance and improve understanding of how results impacted profit margins.

Boosted outcomes to yield $9+ million in contract awards within six years.

Slim margins across diverse product lines caused dismay among stakeholders. Members of the sales team lacked the requisite awareness to maximize profit margins as consumers desired more expensive ingredients. The extensive number of products hindered manual calculation of detailed costs resulting in averaged amounts.

Replaced manual pricing with an automated cost accounting function. Conducted a detailed product analysis to accurately price more expensive variations of the component. Launched price testing with several accounts selected by the sales team that had ended in less than stellar outcomes. Additional analysis revealed the individual products responsible for eroding margins. The findings generated excitement among the salesforce as members saw a clear to path to margin improvement and customer retention. The process enabled gradual price increases for the products negatively impacting profits.

Addressing blended margins allowed the company to expand margins by 7% during the first year.

Former management capitalized display racks based on the concept they were long-lived assets. Despite new graphics or design changes causing existing materials to become worthless, sales representatives continued to stockpile stands “in case of a sales emergency.” There was no clear method in place to disincentivize the practice.

Restructured internal reporting processes to include individual P&L for each member of the sales team with incentives tied to performance. Persuaded auditors the racks were of de minimis value, nearly impossible to track, and the appropriate method of accounting was to expense the units upon deployment. As this appeared as debit on sales P&L, the waste was automatically reduced.

Decreased racking expenses from $2+ million to $1.5 million annually without impacting revenues.

Administrative expenses were immense while distributor feedback indicated they found operating procedures overly compartmentalized and bureaucratic. The solution was to institute a dedicated customer service center, though the skills required to proceed were scattered across five states and craved leadership.

Designed a blueprint for consolidating seven sales divisions into three with a structure to merge sales, franchise support, and finance operations into multifunctional dedicated regional teams. Recruited a 20-year veteran division sales manager whose position was at risk to champion customer service center operations. Conducted coaching and training in area of customer relations with a focus on empathy and understanding engendered a successful partnership.

Started customer service center with 150+ employees. Even as attrition and promotions shrank staff to 77 people, the center realized an 150% jump in throughput utilizing a combination of automation, team efficiency, and improved systems.