9-Figure Family Business and Cash Management

Dave Thrasher joined the podcast to talk through his growing family enterprise.

This Week on Think Like an Owner

My guest on this episode is Dave Thrasher who along with his family in Omaha owns Thrasher, a foundation repair business with three core business units: a wholly owned foundation repair brand, an acquisition strategy of non-Thrasher branded services businesses, and Supportworks which sells industry products and offers training to customers on running more successful businesses. It’s a fascinating collection of family-owned businesses with no intention of selling.

We talk about how their never-sell mentality influences the use of debt, and profitability while scaling, and how it’s changed Dave’s role as CEO over time. Please enjoy my episode with Dave Thrasher.

This episode is sponsored Ravix Group, a fraction CFO, outsourced accounting, and HR consulting firm led by former podcast guest Timi Okah serving small and large businesses alike. To learn more about Ravix Group, send Timi an email at [email protected].

CEO Reading List

A.J. Wasserstein’s latest paper is on a vitally important topic: cash management. This new paper seeks to understand two questions:

  1. Why CEOs underperform in the cash management function.

  2. How CEOs can improve their cash management skills.

Wasserstein likens cash management to “plumbing on cruise ships. When the plumbing works well, water flows in and out on demand without hiccups, and nobody cheers. However, the moment the plumbing is disrupted and water is unavailable or dirty water cannot be eliminated, a real tinderbox is at hand. This is the case with cash flow and cash management in a company – it is expected to work, and there is an uproar if it does not.

Wasserstein identifies six ways for CEOs to improve their cash management skills, as shown in the screenshot below:

This skill is incredibly important to understand, and is the job of the CEO to ultimately manage and be responsible for. With all the economic uncertainty we are experiencing now, I can think of few skills more valuable to master.

Think Like an Owner is sponsored by:

Ravix Group - Ravix Group is a fraction CFO, outsourced accounting, and HR consulting firm serving small and large businesses alike. Whether you or someone you know is getting started, searching to buy a business, or building out an organization, Ravix will help on the journey. To learn more about Ravix Group, head to their website and tell them Think Like An Owner sent you.

Hood & Strong, LLP – Hood & Strong is a CPA firm with a long history of working with search funds and private equity firms on diligence, assurance, tax services, and more. To learn more about how Hood & Strong can help your search, acquisition, and beyond, please email one of their partners Jerry Zhou at [email protected].

Oberle Risk Strategies – Oberle is the leading specialty insurance brokerage catering to search funds and the broader ETA community, providing complimentary due diligence assessments of the target company’s commercial insurance and Employee benefits programs. If you are under LOI, please reach out to learn more about how Oberle can help with insurance due diligence at oberle-risk.com. Or reach out to the CEO, August Felker, directly at [email protected].

Interested in sponsoring? Reply to this email and let’s chat.