From Finance to Strategy to Bottom-line Results!
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Lea Strickland
CMA CFM CBM

F.O.C.U.S. Resources
104 Barcelona Court
Cary, NC 27513-4201

919. 234.3960

Email Lea Now

Administration

FOCUS IMPLEMENTATION TEAM (F.I.T.™) PROGRAMS 

F.I.T.™ Programs are for YOU, the client.  They have been developed to minimize the disruption to running your business and maximizing the time to work ON the business.

Taking time out of your day to drive to a workshop or seminar to learn about concepts is tough.  Those hours spent in the car (caught in traffic) are better spent DOING a program.  F.I.T.™ Programs  provide more information AND guidance on applying it to your business via teleconferencing.  You have the opportunity to bounce ideas and share experiences with others working on their own businesses and doing the same tasks.

These programs are a combination of you working on your business with your own team AND the added dimension of peers from other companies that are engaged in the same process.  Learn from shared experiences and through interaction with the group leader, Lea Strickland, MBA CMA CFM CBM, President of F.O.C.U.S. Resources.

Each session is based on specific assignments and tasks that include materials, reading assignments, and other activities that you apply to YOUR business as you are learning.  Real-time, real results!

Programs vary in length depending upon the topic - ranging from 10 weeks to 6 months.  These intensive, real-time action-oriented programs are about getting results in your business NOW!

Programs:

  • Government Funding Compliance - Grants and Contracts
  • Vision, Strategy, and Structure for Established Businesses
  • Business Plans - Strategic to Funding
  • Enterprise Self-Diagnostics
  • S.T.A.R.T.™ Your Business
  • On-Shoring - Doing Business in the United States
  • Financial Strategy and Budgets

Resources include:

  • Tele-clinic
  • Recommended reading
  • Web resources
  • The F.I.T.™ Programs Weekly Newsletter
  • Tip Sheets, Reports, Case Studies, etc.
  • Group interaction and communication

Requirements:

  1. Complete and submit F.I.T.™ Programs Application.
  2. Receive authorization to register
  3. Complete registration, newsletters sign-ups, and make first payment
  4. Download program materials
  5. Get STARTED!

Logistics:

These programs are consulting and tele-clinics combined.  Via bridge line technology, participants are engaged in working on their business issues. Pre-arranged conference lines with password access are utilized, so that less time away from the business and life is achieved.  Participants may call in from anywhere in the world!  No commuting, traffic, or other geographic challenges. Materials related to sessions are provided prior to each call and are part of the assignments, resources, and tasks utilized during the work periods between sessions. (The call may be a long distance or international call depending upon the participant's location and phone service.)

The programs are designed as resource, advisory, and working sessions.  Participants engage in application of concepts, information, peer reviews, and discussion on the topics and how their businesses are impacted.  Participants are provided with resources, assignments/tasks, and support on how-to implement activities.

Programs consist of 12 sessions over a 6-month period.  The first three (3) sessions are monthly sessions, subsequent sessions are held three times per month.  This format provides participants time to read and review resource materials, and then work on specific deliverables and projects utilizing the information.  Assignments and resources are made available via the FOCUS Resource website.  Sessions are 1 1/2 hours in length.

ENROLLMENT in each program is limited to a MAXIMUM of 12 participants.  Applications are reviewed and accepted on a first come, first served basis.  If applicants meet the program requirements and the current program session is filled, they will be placed upon a waiting list for the next available session.  In the event that the waiting list contains a sufficient number to fill another session, FOCUS Resources may elect to add another offering of the program with different dates and times.  In the event that an additional session is added, wait list members will be notified and given preference to filling that session prior to it being made available to new applicants.

Confidential Information:

Program participants are asked to use their best judgment on what information to share within the groups.  Proprietary, confidential, and financial information is not covered under any specific written agreement amongst program participants.  All information shared is expected to be maintained under strict confidentiality and non-compete guidelines.  FOCUS Resources does not warranty, represent, nor guarantee the behavior of any of the programs participants.  FOCUS Resources staff, agents, and employees adhere to strict confidentiality, non-disclosure, and non-compete practices.  All information disclosed to FOCUS Resources that is not readily available through public record or from third party sources is handled under stringent policies, procedures, and rules.

Government Grants and Contracts Compliance

Government grants and contracts require compliance with very specific terms and conditions related to employment practices, security, financial and accounting systems, recordkeeping, and other critical business processes.  These requirements are determined by the contract or grant documents, federal regulations, and agency specific guidelines.

Identifying and understanding the operational and financial implications of your agreements is critical to getting paid for your work, maintaining eligibility for additional programs, and passing future audits.  To get it right, companies need to understand all the specialized requirements related to the contract, AND the requirements that are incorporated by practice, reference, or through other means.

Content includes:

  • Accounting system design/setup (QuickBooks and other applications)
  • Travel expense
  • Compensation
  • Program income
  • Procurement
  • Cost policies
  • Indirect rate development
  • Budgets
  • Forecasts
  • Cash management
  • Asset tracking and control
  • Subrecipient monitoring

For F.I.T.™ Government Grants and Contracts Compliance Program Dates and Times, please see our Events page, call or email us:

919.234.3960 or fit@focusresourcesinc.com

Application for program. 

Financial Strategy and Budgets

Companies with a need to improve bottom-line performance will engage in analyzing, diagnosing, designing, and implementing tools, processes, and systems that address the needs of their specific organization.  This program covers strategic plans, budgeting, financial forecasts, and making the connection between operational activities and financial results.

If you are looking for answers to improve your bottom-line, are an existing business that believes that financial performance can be improved, or are trying to take your organization to the next level of revenues and results, this program will enable you to:

  • Develop strategic financial and operational objectives
  • Set performance targets
  • Develop budgets and forecasts
  • Align your organization for results
  • Define the who, what, when, where, and how much of all operational activities

Are you ready to make the connection between activity and the bottom-line?

For F.I.T.™ Financial Strategy and Budgets Program Dates and Times, please see our Events page, call or email us:

919.234.3960 or fit@focusresourcesinc.com

Application for program.

Business Plans

Defining the business to achieve results that is what a business plan facilitates.  A business plan isn't just a document. A business plan is the vision, operations, structure, and projection of future financial success.  Business plans enable the organization to communicate expectations and potential to interested investors, debtors, employees, and other stakeholders.  Business plans also serve as a means for aligning the organization to maximize the return on investment by developing an integrated approach to all levels of activities.  The organization knows what to work on, what outcomes are being sought, and what the timing needs to be.

For F.I.T.™ Business Plans Program Dates and Times, please see our Events page, call or email us:

919.234.3960 or fit@focusresourcesinc.com

Application for program.

On-Shoring - Bringing Businesses to the United States

For companies looking to enter the United States markets, it is critical to understand how the United States business, regulatory, and markets function.  Before establishing a physical presence in the U.S., companies considering the opportunities that U.S. markets hold need to understand:

  • U.S. Business Legal and Tax Structures
  • Implications of federal, state, and local regulatory jurisdictions
  • Regulations
    • Employment Practices
    • Fair Trade
    • Interstate Commerce
    • Sales and Use Tax
    • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
    • Uniform Commercial Code
    • Other
  • Intellectual Property Ownership and Protection
  • Accounting Practices
  • U.S. Markets and Demographics

The United States has tremendous resources and opportunities for companies with new technologies, products, and services.  Understanding how to establish your business, set strategic direction, and develop business alliances and customer base before you enter the market establishes a sound foundation for making the right moves at the right time.

For F.I.T.™ On-Shoring Program Dates and Times, please call or email us:

919.234.3960 or fit@focusresourcesinc.com

Application for program.

Vision, Strategy, and Structure for Established Businesses

Periodically, every business needs to reassess its direction and determine where it intends to go in the future.  It is especially true of businesses that have not been achieving the degree of success desired.

Businesses that realize continuing as they have been operating will get them more or less of the same results belong in this program.  If your business has had revenues/sales below expectations. If you are competing for customers and losing them to the competition.  If you are frustrated with a lack of results, then it is time to clarify what is going on in your organization and what needs to change.

Vision, Strategy, and Structure are key components in business success.  Clear vision, an executable strategy, and a business structured for financial success are elements that many businesses need to put in place or refine. 

Are you ready to clarify your vision? Find the right strategy? Establish or adjust your existing business structure to support your vision and strategy?  

For F.I.T.™ Vision, Strategy, and Structure Program Dates and Times, please see our Events page, call or email us:

919.234.3960 or fit@focusresourcesinc.com

Application for program.

Guarantee:

FOCUS Resources guarantees that as a participant in our F.I.T.™ Programs you will receive cost-effective advisory services that are timely and effective.  You will be able to develop skills that are immediately usable in your business.  If you aren't satisfied, please inform us promptly, so that we may resolve the issue to your satsifaction.

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