Create a Robust Financial Plan MasterClass

The Financial Plan MasterClass will not only prepare you to pitch your business to banks and investors but also help you get your business finances in order. This MasterClass contains all the tools you need to work out your cash flow, profit and loss, staffing projections, as well as a full set of financials and a complete financial model to apply to your business.

Making money is the very reason your business exists – but often, entrepreneurs don't pay enough attention to the financials that drive the bottom line. Sound financial planning documents can not only win over investors; they're valuable tools for monitoring the company's progress toward profitability. In this course we'll examine and counteract common mis-perceptions about financial planning, learn about different models for revenue and cost projections, and use worksheets to build the statements that matter most.

We have included a full financial model that you can use to build a complete financial model for your business. Please note this course does not walk you through how to use the model. This course is intended to create a solid foundation so you can move on to create a financial forecast for your business.

Introduction

Entrepreneurs tend to avoid financial planning. Don't wait until you run out of cash or find yourself unable to pay employees—learn basic business financials today. This Microcast provides an overview of tools and considerations that will enable you to create a financially successful business.

Justifying Your Financials For Best Results

The single most important thing you can do is to substantiate your financial model, especially your revenue model. You can't just guess and hope it happens. You need to prove exactly how you are going to drive your revenue, and we will show you how to do that.

Nothing is more important than having a control over our financials. Most companies that go out of business is not because of a bad product or service but they lose sight of their financial situation. Keeping your financial model updated and in control will help prevent this. Also no investor will invest in your company unless you have a financial model that makes sense.

Let's walk through some of the most important keys to success when it comes to creating your financial plan. 

If you plan to get any investor to invest in your business, it is mandatory that you have a financial forecast. This video will walk you through exactly what is important for investors to see in your financial statements.

Your financials are not just for investors — they are the backbone of your business. Having a grasp on your business' financials helps you qualify for funding, yes, but also creates a benchmark for your business, helps you monitor cash flow, provides predictability, and guides business decisions. This video details basic financial building blocks: Three financial models (revenue, staffing and expense) and three financial statements (P&L, cash flow and balance sheet).

Overcome Roadblocks to Financial Planning

We will give you some handy tips and tricks to build up your financial resolve, which you will need for your business to become a success. 

Create Your Financial Plan

Estimating revenues and growth is not only the hardest thing for entrepreneurs to do, but also one of the most important.  We will explain the benefits of using the Top-Down and Bottom-Up approach to revenue forecasting. We will review the pros and cons of each revenue forecasting methodology so you can pick the best one for your business (or even use both if needed).  

Let's dive deep into the different revenue models. There are four primary models that we will analyze, and several variances of each. You will learn how to choose the right one (or ones) for your business. Let’s also take a walk through of the financial statements normally included in a financial plan.  

You would be amazed at how many entrepreneurs create a financial plan that is not based in reality and becomes unbelievable to investors as they look into year 3 and beyond. You must make certain your financials are believable and achievable. This will go a long way with investors, and we will show you how to do that in this video. 

Create Your Revenue Model

Your revenue forecast anchors your entire business model. Your revenue model supports your management of cash flow, scaling, growth, staffing, expansion, and seasonal fluctuations. This video provides an overview of revenue drivers, tips for forecasting, and business-specific models for estimating your revenue.

Revenue Model Walk-Through

This walk-through takes you right into the Financial Models Worksheet — spotlighting the Revenue Worksheet tab. This covers the four models you can work with to estimate revenue: A billing-based model, unit-based, subscription, and the "no model" model. Ken explains how to complete all fields in the spreadsheet so that you can confidently estimate business financials on your own. 

We will explain:

1. How to use a unit based pricing model, which is typically used for product based businesses such as retailers, brands and manufacturers. 
2. How to use the billing based pricing model, which is typically used for service based businesses. 
3. How to use the recently popular subscription based pricing model (also known as recurring revenue model). This can be used for any business that has an ongoing service or product offering. Used extensively by tech companies. 

Your Staffing Model

How much do you plan to spend on your employees and/or contractors — and how do you make that decision? This video provides an overview of your staffing considerations, such as costs, salaries, timing, and business goals. Let's take a look at the differences between contractors and employees. We explore the pros and cons of each. Since our model supports both, we will also walk you through how to forecast for each. Your model will not work unless you classify your employees and contractors by expense category. This is required to create your income statement.

Your Expense Model

Your expense model captures all of your non staffing-related expenses. To create accurate financial statements, and for tax compliance, you must classify all of your expenses properly. This video provides an overview of the four classification groups: G&A, COGS, product development, and sales & marketing — along with which ones to use for your business.

Income Statement Explained

Your income statement (or P&L) tells the entire financial story of your business at a glance. The income statement is also an industry-standard statement, so it's readily understood by banks and investors. The story it tells? How realistic your business is based on your forecasts, how many expenses you have, your product, sales & marketing costs, and your staffing projections.

If you don’t how to read an income statement and explain each number to your investors, then you must watch this lesson. We will walk you through our entire income statement and explain each line. Your income statement tells a story and you need to know how to interpret and articulate that story to your key stakeholders and investors.  

Cash Flow Statement

Understanding cash flow can mean the difference between being in business and going out of business. This video provides an overview of managing your cash flow on a monthly basis as well as understanding your max negative cash flow — all so you can avoid the pitfalls that could lead to unnecessary bankruptcy.

Let's walk through how to go about creating different scenarios for your financial plan. This will really help when it's time to talk with investors, and will also ultimately create a more accurate financial forecast.

Financial Model: Worksheets

This courses included a full blown financial model you can use to create a revenue forecast (and financial plan) for your business. In addition, we have included a collection of completed sample worksheets that are referenced in this course.

Please note: The password to unprotect the spreadsheets allowing you to change formulas and insert rows is: Success.

Course Guide

I recommend that you download this handy course guide to aid your journey through the course as well as great reference materials for the future.

1. Anyone who is running a small business.
2. Anyone who wants to start a business.

1. Very comprehensive - even without any financial knowledge. Very good examples ~ Mirjam
2. Very complete and useful course ~ Andrea A
3. It is so informative and easy to understand I am so glad I’m doing this now ~ Garry C
4. I'm not graduate from economic bachelor and English is not my mother tongue. But this course and how Mr. Ken explained the content is really easy to understand for beginner like me. Thanks to Mr. Ken for answered all of my question with a fast and easy understandable answer! ~ Diantini S
5. Such an amazing course. You'll be able to understand and create your own business plan and you'll get a lot of valuable advices. Strong recommendation! ~ Alen C
6. Very detailed explanation from the instructor. Using nice and simple examples. Plus he gives you free set-up excel sheets for all the financial models you need, so you cant mess anything up. Amazing job! ~ Stefan M
7. I have learned how to model the business finances after this course. To be honest, I had no idea how to do that before, but now, I feel confident to give it a first try! ~ Esteban G
8. Lots of info in this course. Ken really takes you from A to Z . Just what I needed for my business to take off. Thanks ~ Mendonca G

1. Why can’t I outsource financials?
2. What numbers do investors care about, and why?
3. How do other parts of my business plan affect financial projections?
4. What do I need to make sound financial planning assumptions?
5. How could I be getting in my own way when it comes to financial literacy?
6. Which is better – a “top down” or “bottom up” planning approach?
7. What should I include in my revenue, staffing, and expense models?
8. How do my projections tie into the overall P&L?
9. What is COGS, anyway – and what’s so important about it?
10. Why do I need to track cash flow?
11. What does a balance sheet show that a P&L doesn’t?

1. Basic knowledge of Excel or Google Sheets. We provide the complete financial model so all you need to do is input your data.
2. A basic understanding of business accounting.