MC SMALL-OAK PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
Business Planning & Strategy
Built on Real Financial Data
Most strategic planning fails because it's disconnected from financial reality. At Small-Oak, strategy and finance are the same conversation. We combine the business planning rigor of a management consulting firm with the financial depth of a CPA practice. The result is a plan that's both ambitious and achievable — one that you'll actually use beyond the first week.
Business Planning
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Business Plan Development — Comprehensive business plans for SBA loan applications, investor presentations, commercial real estate lending, or internal strategic clarity. Includes executive summary, market analysis, competitive landscape, operational plan, and 3-year financial projections built from your actual data.
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Financial Projections & Modeling — 12-month, 3-year, and 5-year financial models. Revenue forecasting, expense planning, break-even analysis, and scenario modeling (base case, upside, downside). Built in Excel or Google Sheets — format you can actually update yourself.
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Cash Flow Planning & 13-Week Forecasting — For businesses navigating a growth phase, funding gap, or seasonal fluctuation, we build a 13-week rolling cash flow model that gives you week-by-week visibility into your cash position. Then we build the strategy to fund operations through it.
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Startup Advisory — For new business owners, we cover the decisions that matter most in year one: entity selection, accounting setup, initial pricing strategy, cash reserve planning, break-even analysis, and the financial milestones lenders and investors look for.
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SBA Loan & Commercial Lending Support — We prepare the financial documentation packages lenders require: tax returns, financial statements, projections, and narrative support. We've helped clients get funded who were initially turned down elsewhere.
Strategic Advisory
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Fractional CFO Services — Ongoing strategic financial leadership for businesses that need more than a bookkeeper but aren't ready for a full-time CFO. Monthly or quarterly engagement includes: financial review and interpretation, cash flow monitoring, pricing and margin analysis, vendor and contract reviews, and participation in owner-level financial decisions. This is our highest-engagement service.
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KPI Development & Performance Dashboards — We define the 5–10 metrics that actually predict success in your specific business, build a simple monthly dashboard, and meet with you to interpret it. Most business owners are managing by gut feel — this changes that.
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SWOT & Competitive Analysis — A structured, data-driven assessment of your business's position: where you're strong, where you're exposed, where the market is moving, and what your competitors are doing. Delivered as a written strategic brief.
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Pricing Strategy & Margin Analysis — Review your current pricing against costs, market rates, and positioning. We've helped clients increase margins by 3–8 percentage points without losing clients by restructuring how they package and price their services.
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Growth Planning — Revenue growth strategies, new market entry analysis, service/product expansion, and capacity planning. We work backward from your target revenue to identify the specific changes needed to get there.
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Exit Planning & Business Valuation — Whether you're planning to sell in 2 years or 10, early planning dramatically increases your eventual sale price. We provide working valuations, buyer-readiness assessments, deal structure analysis, and tax-efficient exit strategies.
Workshops
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Small Business Strategy Workshop — Half-day group workshop for Stockton-area business owners. Covers: business model review, financial baseline assessment, 90-day priority setting, and action planning. Offered quarterly. Limited to 8–10 participants for quality of discussion.
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Financial Literacy for Business Owners — A 3-hour workshop covering the three financial statements, cash flow vs. profit, break-even analysis, and how to read your own financials. Designed for owners who avoid their numbers because they feel intimidating.
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QuickBooks + Financial Management Bootcamp — Half-day practical workshop: QuickBooks setup, chart of accounts, month-end close, and how to produce and interpret your financial reports. Hands-on, small group, results-oriented.
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1-Day Business Planning Intensive — Full-day one-on-one session with Scott to build a complete strategic plan: market analysis, financial baseline, goal setting, strategy development, and 90-day execution roadmap.
Frequently asked questions
Who is business planning consulting for — startups or existing businesses?
Both, but with different objectives. For startups, planning is about building the foundation: entity structure, initial financial projections, and a clear roadmap for year one. For existing businesses, planning is about stepping back to assess where you are, identifying what's holding back growth, and building a concrete strategy for the next 12–36 months. Both benefit from someone who can connect the vision to the financial reality — which is exactly what we do.
How is this different from just hiring a business coach?
Business coaches typically focus on mindset, accountability, and general frameworks. We focus on the actual numbers: your real financials, your real cash flow, your actual market position. Our planning work is grounded in data, not just frameworks. And because we're also your CPA, we can show you exactly how each strategic decision translates to tax impact, profitability, and cash. That integration is what makes the difference between a plan you execute and one that sits in a drawer.
Do I need a business plan if I'm not seeking funding?
More than you might think. A business plan — even an internal one — forces you to test your assumptions, quantify your goals, and think through the steps needed to reach them. Business owners who operate without a plan tend to make reactive decisions; those with a plan make proactive ones. That said, we calibrate the depth of planning to your needs. A startup seeking SBA funding needs a full plan. An existing business doing strategic planning might need a much shorter, action-focused document.
What does a fractional CFO do and does my business need one?
A fractional CFO provides the financial leadership of a Chief Financial Officer — cash flow oversight, financial interpretation, strategic financial decisions — on a part-time or as-needed basis. If you're running a business with $1M+ in revenue and finding that your financial reports tell you what happened but not what to do about it, a fractional CFO is likely worth it. We typically engage monthly or quarterly: reviewing your financials, interpreting the story behind the numbers, flagging risks before they become crises, and advising on financial decisions as they come up.
How long does a typical strategic planning engagement last?
Initial strategic planning engagements typically run 4–8 weeks, depending on the scope. A business plan with full financial modeling is usually a 6–8 week project. A strategic review and 90-day planning session can be done in 2–3 weeks. Ongoing fractional CFO engagements are monthly retainers with no fixed end date — they evolve with your business.
Do you work with nonprofits or only for-profit businesses?
We work with both. Nonprofits have distinct financial needs — fund accounting, Form 990 filing, grant reporting requirements, and board-level financial reporting. If you're a nonprofit looking for financial management support or strategic planning, we can help.
Can you help me prepare financials for an SBA loan?
Yes, and this is an area where working with a CPA is especially valuable. SBA lenders require specific financial documentation: 3 years of tax returns, YTD financial statements, a detailed projection with assumptions, and often a narrative explanation of your business. We prepare all of it, make sure your historical financials match your tax returns (a common problem that kills applications), and help you present your business in the most compelling way possible.
I'm thinking about selling my business in the next few years. Where do I start?
Start with us at least 2–3 years before your target exit date. The value of your business is largely determined by the financial picture you've built — revenue trajectory, margin, customer concentration, and documented systems. We'll provide a working valuation today, identify the gaps between where you are and what buyers want to see, and build a plan to close those gaps before you go to market. Waiting until you're ready to sell is the most common and costly mistake business owners make in exit planning.