Cash Flow and the 5Cs of Credit - Overview

Contractors need strong financial partners, including banking, surety, and insurance to grow sustainably.

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They are putting their capital at risk, making a calculated bet on the business generating consistent financial returns at the lowest risk possible.  

Cash Flow: 5C's of Credit. Character, Capital. Capacity, Collateral, and Conditions.

Whether you are an equity owner in a contracting business, plan to be or are choosing to invest your professional “career equity” into the business, you should look at the same factors an outside financial partner does. This will truly align everyone’s interests and make the business run more successfully.  

Greg Martin does a great job of describing the 5 C’s of Credit in a series of articles below.  

Effectively managing cash flow is about balancing what you can do internally while building and maintaining strong external financial partner relationships.  

  • What are your internal capital management policies? 
  • Are they in alignment with your outside financial partners?  
  • How does this look over the next 5 years or during succession if that is on the horizon for you?

Cash Flow and the 5Cs of Credit - Overview
Great cash flow is a key driver of valuation and successful successions. Running out of cash is is the #1 reason contractors fail. Improving cash flow improves your Return on Equity. Protect yourself and never let cash flow be the limitation to your profitable growth....

Cash Flow and the 5Cs of Credit - Overview
Great cash flow is a key driver of valuation and successful successions. Running out of cash is is the #1 reason contractors fail. Improving cash flow improves your Return on Equity. Protect yourself and never let cash flow be the limitation to your profitable growth....

The Big Lie of Strategic Planning
Strategy and planning are two very different things requiring two very different mindsets. Calling it “Strategic Planning” is the first place that can send teams down the wrong path.
Lean Principle - 3 Enemies of Lean
Profitable growth comes from operating within a target capacity and capability range - and continually increasing those ranges. Operating with consistent overload, consistent under capacity, or with consistently high variability is not sustainable.
The Quit Option
Most people rarely quit in the middle when they can see the end. They just have trouble getting started because the overall “Big Goal” seems too complicated.