Keith Kohler, who has spent more than 15 years helping entrepreneurs manage their companies’ finances, is launching a series of retreats beginning in January to help small business owners.
As president of K2 Financing, Kohler has worked with hundreds of clients across multiple industries, including CPG and food and beverage companies. He recently spoke with SFA News Daily about the retreats and the services he offers small business owners.
Can you tell me about the new financial program you are launching?
The original reason that financing was important to me was that after I was diagnosed Celiac in January, 2005, I was the first business development director of the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. As part of that role, I was reaching out and selling certification programs to gluten-free companies, many of whom were quite small at that time. Founders were sharing with me their struggles in managing their businesses, and nearly every one of them talked about financing. So, that began a journey of trying to figure out how to best help folks.
I had been helping people with their PPP and EIDL loans, and many of these people were opening up about their hopes and their fears. Many companies were shut down for the first time and never had any level of financial stress before that. As I listened to these stories, and worked with people on getting financing for their businesses, I started to create a lot of original content, and I started thinking about, how can I help founders get comfortable with the finance function of their business?
The main flagship program I'm intending to launch in January 2022 is a three day retreat, and then I'll probably have it three or maybe four times a year.
The goal is meet people wherever they are, in their knowledge and their mindset and their motivation, and help guide them along their specific finance journey. I’m hoping to create a community, because it's not just a retreat program, it's also for those who wish to work with me on a more ongoing basis.
What are the particular financing issues that specialty food companies face?
A lot of specialty food companies may be thinking about what financing is available to them at a particular time in the development of their businesses. There’s always an opportunity to learn more about the broad array of offerings available — loan options, lines of credit, and the ever-expanding fin-tech options. It can be hard to navigate through all of those and determine which one is the best for a company at any particular time.
The way I work with people is that I take a look at what they've done, and I also try to understand where they think they're going — looking at historical financials and also looking at projected financials.
A lot of specialty food companies that are just starting out are going to be in the red, and they're going to be looking at higher cost of capital and a more finite set of working capital options than the companies that are profitable. Now that many more companies are going the ecommerce or direct-to-consumer route, and they’re not paying certain expenses associated with distribution or retail, they can be profitable right from the get-go.
Based on what I see in their historical and projected financials, I can always come up with a thoughtful, detailed strategy of what would be the right mix of debt instruments that they can go after now and into the future. And, I also help them think about equity as a component of that as well.
I find that with a lot of specialty food companies, and natural/organic companies, I have yet to meet a founder that says, “Hey, I started my company because I really love finance.” What has always drawn me to this industry is the passion that founders have for their food and their products. They are very sales and marketing focused, and can't wait to take all their gifts to the world. So, usually the finance side, whether it's raising capital or going after debt financing, can be low on their list of priorities.
A promise I'm making to specialty food manufacturers, and really to anyone who works with me, is that this doesn't have to be hard or overwhelming or intimidating. A concept I have is “15 for finance” — which means if you can give me 15 minutes a day and maybe not even every day, you could be on the road to really mastering your finances and getting into a rhythm, so it doesn't have to be a struggle anymore. It may be even something that people look forward to because they see how finance can be a tool in helping them understand their strategies, helping them make timely decisions, and eliminating anxiety. That's really the promise of the retreat — that I'll help them with all of those areas.
Visit makingthenumbersworkforyou.com to learn more about the Making the Numbers Work for You retreat.
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