Applies To All Business Models

The business model canvas, the competitor matrix and sales forecast by channel can help visualize key aspects of food businesses as they seek to grow and get profitable, keeping important high-level business opportunities top of mind while allowing things to evolve.

If you can determine that the consultants you are looking at can ask the right questions and challenge you, including about your business model and financial plan, you can form a meaningful partnership with that consultant.

The reason to pay attention to cash flow is that when cash goes away from you it really starts to hurt in ways that maybe you didn’t anticipate. Brands must always have realistic forecasts for sales, revenue and growth.

These helpful templates help you build your financial projections, including, your sales and distribution forecast; cost of goods sold (COGS) and other expenses forecasts; capital expenditures forecasts; and your accounts receivable (AR), accounts payable (AP) and inventory forecasts. These projections can help inform your proforma financial statements.

Patents, branding, and copyright...  If you want to protect something, or to stop someone from doing the same thing that you’re doing in your food business, the only way to do that in the United States (and abroad) is through IP law. An IP attorney will help you ensure that no one has made it before, branded it in a similar way to yours, or created it before you did.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is a complicated sweeping reform of the way food safety is regulated. This video series outlines the history, reasoning and goals behind the legislation and what your business has to do to properly comply.

Sometimes certain products or certain classes of products make more sense in certain markets than others. For example, heavy or perishable food items make less sense to sell online due to the shipping costs and logistics involved. But unconventional markets could make sense if location or customer data suggests it is a good idea.

Sometimes certain products or certain classes of products make more sense in certain markets than others. For example, heavy or perishable food items make less sense to sell online due to the shipping costs and logistics involved. But unconventional markets could make sense if location or customer data suggests it is a good idea.

Good strategies are ones that reflect current relationships with customers/partners and current market realities, and thus, can shift as those things shift. Without a well-documented strategy, even well-meaning food entrepreneurs can get distracted or fail to execute on their business’ core needs and goals.

Access to high quality financial technical assistance is the biggest gap in accelerating the growth and success of more good food and beverage companies. Companies can transform, grow and thrive when they have access to this kind of assistance and when the founders surround themselves with the right people, including technical assistance providers.