Scouting for Growth Colin Sanburg: From Financial House of Cards to Thriving Enterprise
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On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Colin Sanburg, a seasoned entrepreneur & the Founder of FinElevate, an innovative strategic finance firm that is changing the game for small businesses.
On this episode, we dive into Colin's entrepreneurial journey, explore the challenges faced by small business owners, & learn how FinElevate is revolutionising small business finance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- If there were 10 things that could kill a company, the very first business I got involved with was doing 9 of them! It was in really rough shape. But, from the hardships of figuring out how to stop it being so bad & eventually getting better, I became obsessed with finance & how to build a better business.
- Now there are a lot more entrepreneurial groups & masterminds, but earlier in my career I went years without knowing other entrepreneurs. They were the hardest years where I was trying to figure things out. Luckily, I got turned on to a couple of books. After I got through that & connected to other entrepreneurs, the second stage of my career began.
- When people hear “fractional CFO” they think of a really experienced person who is C-Suite level who’s going to give them a complicated 12-page plan of all the things they should be doing that they don’t have the time to do. That doesn’t work for entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs want freedom, their business to do better than ever & live a better lifestyle. It’s hard to do that, but we get in your business to help improve it
- The reality is, most businesses need to do some of the same things. We can train your team & get in your business &, instead of giving you a 12-page plan, we can say for the next quarter we’re going to focus on these areas based on your goals, thus making progress.
BEST MOMENTS
‘You can get trapped in a bubble of small business & limited mindset, but once you break out of that & work with other entrepreneurs it’s so exciting.’
‘We’re training your leadership team. The fear when you ask them to make more profit is that the team hears: “Make me more money”, when we come in we teach them how to grow their career as well as the company.’
‘The goal is not to do 450 things at once, it’s to have 450 things mapped out so that we know the next thing to focus on.’
‘You need to understand how your business makes money & you can describe that on a napkin.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Colin Sanburg is the Founder & CEO of FinElevate, an innovative strategic finance firm that helps small business owners leverage their financial data to drive profitability & growth. With an MBA & extensive experience as an owner & CEO of manufacturing, distribution, & service businesses, Colin has developed a passion for demystifying small business finance & empowering entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams.
Colin's passion for connecting with & supporting fellow entrepreneurs led him to start several mastermind groups, where he became the go-to person for financial strategy & advice. He pursued an executive MBA to further enhance his skills & knowledge. Through his experiences, Colin has gained invaluable insights into the financial challenges faced by small business owners & is dedicated to helping them navigate the complexities of business finance to achieve long-term success.
ABOUT THE HOST
Sabine is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Managing Partner of Alchemy Crew a venture lab that accelerates the curation, validation, and commercialization of new tech business models. Sabine is renowned within the insurance sector for building some of the most renowned tech startup accelerators around the world working with over 30 corporate insurers, accelerated over 100 startup ventures. Sabine is the co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, a top 50 Women in Tech, a FinTech and InsurTech Influencer, an investor & multi-award winner.