Consumers are increasingly conscious of what they eat and what’s in their food – gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, and vegan diets are becoming mainstream.
Over the last 20 years, Chalmers Organics has slowly grown their business from a small, family-based tofu producer, to a business that supplies a wide range of organic products.
But the team wanted to speed up their rate of growth. They knew they had the potential but needed help with the financial details. That’s where Ascension RCA Group came in.
Managing Director Jesse Chalmers explains:
“We wanted support with growth. We’re really good at moderate growth and keeping tight control of the business, but it’s a whole new concept to think about growing quickly, and the challenges that arise doing that. So, we just needed help.”
Keeping financial control in the family
The Chalmers team is led by sister/brother team Jesse and Dan. They wanted to grow the business without seeking outside investors. They knew that this approach risked growing too rapidly and running out of capital, so they wanted to establish an acceptable rate of growth.
After working with a business coach who recommended Ascension RCA Group, the Chalmers team reached out to Grant for help. They felt that he shared their values and liked his practical approach. Most importantly, he gave them the tools to manage their own growth.
“What they offered was unique. Similar values to us, trying to set up companies to do their own thing – he’s not there to charge exorbitant rates forever more and have us rely on him. He’s there to make New Zealand businesses more successful generally.” Jesse Chalmers.
Details and drivers
The Ascension RCA Group team started by delving into the state of Chalmers Organics’ financials – from big picture to gritty details.
From there, they moved into the Virtual CFO programme. Unlike most results-focused accountancy programmes, Grant and the team look at the drivers of financial performance. They developed key drivers aimed at boosting turnover and promoting growth, while maintaining profitability and quality.
This means the management team can now tell their salespeople exactly what to do to increase sales and work towards their financial goals. They’re able to make accurate projections for the upcoming year so they can manage cash flow and work around potential ‘holes’ in the budget.
Jesse explains: “We have a financial system where to make a decision we just plug in the numbers, and then we know what the next 12 months are going to look like. If you’re going to run out of money, you know in advance when it’s going to be, so you can get bridging finance.”
Specialist help for the future
The Chalmers team has retained full control of their finances, but that doesn’t mean they no longer need help with growth. They’re working with Ascension RCA Group’s in-house accounting team on an ongoing basis and working with Grant as a business advisor.
Because Ascension RCA Group is aligned with The Catalyst Collective, a high-growth business accelerator, Chalmers Organics also has access to a wide range of financial and business specialists.
For example, when the business is ready to rebrand, they’ll have access to The Catalyst Collective branding team. Because they’ve established a high level of trust in the team, they know they’ll get great work that fits in with their goals.
That trust is essential – business owners need to know that they’re getting good advice and moving in the right direction. Jesse says that throughout their growth process, they’ve been able to rely on Grant and the team to get things right.
“They respond quickly, and they get the basic stuff right as well as the big overview. They know what they’re talking about – their advice is always good. We have confidence in Grant – everything he recommends we know will be well thought out.”
Rewarding results
After working through the Ascension RCA Group growth programme, the Chalmers team has achieved their growth targets and they’re making more profit than ever before. In the past, profits were marginal at best. Now, they’re achieving excellent margins on sales, and giving significant returns to shareholders – something they’ve never been able to do before.
Jesse credits Grant and the Ascension RCA Group Team for this success and recommends them to business owners everywhere.
“We think that everyone should work with them. Stop what you’re doing and do this.”