SECAF Educational Forum Delivers Strategies To Effectively Build an Emerging Business Infrastructure - Expert Panel Outlines Roadmap to Help Drive a Small Business From Startup to Grown Up
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Amy Talley
atalley@jeffersoncomm.com
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SECAF Educational Forum Delivers Strategies To
Effectively Build an Emerging Business Infrastructure
Expert Panel Outlines Roadmap to Help Drive a Small Business From Startup to Grown Up
December 16, 2013, McLean, VA – The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF), the premier organization for the small and emerging government contractor, held its most recent Educational Forum– From Startup to Grown Up: Building Small and Emerging Business Infrastructure – on December 12. The expert panel included Kevin Mills (chief financial officer and co-founder of DELTA), Larry Skok (attorney with Grossberg, Yochelson, Fox & Beyda, LLP, a Washington-based boutique real estate firm) and Glen Todd (principal in the firm of DeLeon & Stang).
Speakers addressed how a company should get started on the right foot. This includes solidifying common goals among the founders and stakeholders, determining growth objectives, establishing exit strategies and timelines, creating compensation expectations, effectively allocating a legal budget and defining the business’ culture and ethics. From there, the components of building a solid foundation were highlighted: information systems, strategic planning, tax reporting, banking needs and other external requirements that insure compliance and a reasonable growth trajectory. Beyond that, the panel drilled down on key factors in moving a company into the planning and managing growth phase. This consists largely of physical space consideration, selecting a scalable accounting solution, tapping an adept talent pool, enacting billing accountability and fulfilling the necessary industry requirements, such as job costs.
“This panel delivered excellent guidance for starting a business that some of us wished we had heard when we began our own companies,” said Frances Craig, CEO of Unanet and SECAF Board Member. “For example, one of the key take-aways for me was the concept of getting everyone’s assumptions written down and then having a lawyer codify these expectations. Another metric that was useful is that for every $8.00 of Direct Labor, one could spend $1.00 for Indirect Labor.”
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About The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum
The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF) enables the small and emerging government contractor to achieve maximum growth rates in a highly competitive marketplace. Arming members with business resources, access to influencers, government agencies, advocacy opportunities and education, SECAF is an important resource for a growing company. SECAF also serves the medium to large government contractors, providing invaluable introductions to specialized small businesses that enable the overall contracting community to work successfully in tandem. For more information, visit www.secaf.org.