Profit Consulting for Small(er) Engineering Firms
Your small firm has built some big successes – in fact, it can feel like you are mired in that success! Before you consider scaling your company, scale your profit… at the same time, this leads to increased employee engagement, tightening up project management and communication, clear differentiation and business development – all the ways your firm can be more rewarding.
Is your firm performing to its highest potential?
How would you know?
The reality is this:
High-performing small engineering firms (in the top quartile) are operating at 26%+ profit/EBIT (& 60-65% gross margin).
Those in the top decile are seeing profit of upwards of 40%.
Let’s Benchmark Your Business Against Industry Standards
What is a high-performing firm, anyway?
It all comes down to the numbers (though we all know those numbers are driven by an engaged and empowered team). High-performing engineering firms are those consistently landing in the top quartile for profit per industry standards.
If you’re hovering around the 19% EBIT average, you probably feel relatively comfortable financially, but operations are running less smoothly than you wish they were, and you might be struggling to get high level performance from your team.
If you’re much below the average, in the 12% EBIT range, you know it. You’re afraid of losing key clients. You’re taking on projects you that are outside your sweet spot. You’re afraid of your employees leaving even as you’re frustrated by their under-performance. Everything feels just a little too precarious and outside your control.
High-performing firms, sitting at a profitability of at least 25%, are generally feeling pretty good about it. They’re experiencing…
- Higher employee engagement
- Increased discretionary compensation and distributions for owners
- Increased bonus compensation for staff
- Attracting and keeping top talent
- Receiving realistic acquisition offers—even if you’re not ready to take them yet
- Profitable enough to turn away the projects (and clients) that just don’t fit
- Taking worry-free vacations
That laundry list of high-performance perks isn’t unattainable, and it won’t require a complete overhaul of your already successful business.
The key to next-level performance that calms the chaos… isn’t bigger clients or growing your business, the key is scaling your profit to industry standard.
All it takes is the right strategic adjustments, some internal “working on the business” projects tailored to leverage your success.
Figuring out what those projects are, and how and where to apply them, is the real magic of effective profit consulting.
"Everything I didn’t know about business, Tradewinds Group knows! I finally have a grip on my business and know where I am at in a measurable way that ties directly to my goals. I also know that I have experts in my corner to help when I need them – to tackle any obstacle or opportunity and to help me make wise financial decisions with my business and my wealth."
Profit consulting is not about a “consultant” droning best practices at you and then handing you a report of one-size-fits-all suggestions you could find on the internet. (Or at least it shouldn’t be.)
And it’s not how we do it at Tradewinds Group.
Tradewinds Group works in a done-with- you format and specializes in Consulting Engineering, Consulting Science, and Land Surveying business development…
Knowing the industry is essential when you’re digging into finances and determining what is possible. From financial benchmarks to business model design, having an advisory team who actually knows the business you’re in, not just business in general is essential.
… While recognizing every business is unique and in its own position on the path to success.
Equally important is taking the time to know your business. Generic advice doesn’t cut it. The principles are important, but understanding how they can best be applied to your business is essential.
Meet Our Lead Business Strategy Coach and Fractional CFO/Financial Consultant:
Cher Cunningham is an NLP Master Results Coach, Take-Action Strategist, and Communication & Leadership trainer.
Armed with deep coaching wisdom, 25 years of business experience, and a business planning framework that works, Cher helps clients step into their CEO identity, be a great boss, and execute on goals that build measurable results. So that you can create a business that loves you back, and a life you have time to live.
Jim Pelot has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, and CPA and CA designations, but his greatest education comes from more than 30 years’ experience in corporate planning and as CFO, COO, and co-founder of 3 successful start-up tech companies.
With a knack for uncomplicating the complicated, Jim’s passion is bringing high-level financial wisdom and strategy to local small businesses so they can deftly navigate the complexities of their financial success.
Together, we’re driving value for small(er) engineering firms by turning our finance, leadership, and business wisdom to the inner workings of your business.
We always offer a free Sounding Board session that provides an opportunity to connect and see if there is a fit – you can book this through the Calendly link now! Book My Sounding Board
Our first Profound Profit step is a NorthStar Session – and many people are excited to jump into this right away as a “taste test” of what it is like to work shoulder-to-shoulder with a CFO and High-Performance Coach – and that really is what this is… a powerful experience of Executive eyes on your business, collaborating with you to determine your next steps. This is where we will help you Benchmark Your Business Against Industry Standards: Revenue per production employee; and per Total head count; Gross margin; EBIT; and Utilization Rate are some of the key ratios with which you drive your success.
Here’s how it all works:
1. Get expert eyes on your financials
You start by answering a few questions and then uploading your corporate financials to our secure drive, and our financial consultant will analyze the data against business standards and industry benchmarks to identify core strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
2. Meet with us for a 90 minute coaching-consulting session
We’ll sit down and get to know you and your business on an individual basis to provide context to the data. Then, using that understanding of what’s really going on in the numbers, and what goals and vision you hold for your business, we’ll walk through our findings and identify which profit levers will best serve you and together map out a series of next steps that will effect real increases in your profit, starting now.
(We call this a NorthStar Session because its core goal is to give you the next-step clarity and focus you need to navigate the next steps toward improved profitability.)
3. Receive a follow-up email with all the details of what we talked about
Often people leave a NorthStar session a little overwhelmed by the potential profit in their business (we’ll give you a concrete number based on actual math!) and all the nuances of the financial strategy we discuss. That’s why you’ll receive a post-session email summarizing everything we talked about so that you can get other stakeholders (partners, spouses, key employees) on board with your goals.
"I attended the NorthStar Session with Tradewinds and was truly blown away by the valuable, actionable advice I received in just a few short hours. I appreciated the detailed follow up email as well – I’m not one to take notes but I didn’t have to because the follow up email included all the pertinent information.
The next day I implemented one of their suggestions which has increased my annual bottom line profit by $55K. The work we are doing together now is helping me apply wise business modelling and financial acumen, thus providing me with the confidence to truly turn my business into an asset. I just didn’t know what I didn’t know."
Attain the Competitive Profit of High-Performing Firms
Book Your NorthStar Session
Are you ready to give your firm owners the return on investment that they deserve? Your employees the compensation that will retain them? Your clients the attention and level of service that they need?
Let’s dig into your business model and financials together to uncover your opportunity and most vital needs.