# Stop the Bleeding, Then Double Your Growth

Taking over a mid-sized services firm in difficult circumstances requires immediate action, not analysis. Your roadmap:

**First 90 Days: Find and Keep Cash**
- Free up $3-5M by collecting aging receivables within 30 days
- Cut 15% of non-client-facing costs without touching delivery teams
- Identify your 3 least profitable service lines for immediate restructuring
- Secure short-term credit facilities before lenders see declining metrics

**90-180 Days: Fix What's Broken**
- Turn your top 10 accounts into multi-year contracts with upfront payments
- Move 25% of workforce from underperforming to high-growth service lines
- Implement weekly cash forecasting that actually predicts problems
- Eliminate the bottom 20% of clients draining resources with minimal return

**Beyond 180 Days: Build the Growth Engine**
- Convert 40% of project work to recurring revenue streams
- Launch 2-3 high-margin digital service offerings requiring minimal staff
- Target acquisition of distressed competitor to gain their client base
- Establish performance-based compensation tied to cash generation metrics

The board expects results, not excuses!

CEO Crucible Half-Day 1-on-1 Session $47k

Hi, I'm John Corr - Investor + Business Mentor.

Assumptions:

Typical EBITDA Margin:
In the business services sector, EBITDA margins can vary widely, but let's assume a starting point of somewhere between 5% to 15%. This means, at $500 million turnover, the company's EBITDA could range from $25 million to $75 million annually.
Areas of Potential Improvement:
We'll focus on the areas on delivering Quick Wins in 90 days to:
SG&A (Selling, General, and Administrative) expense reduction.
Working capital improvements.
Direct cost reductions.

Potential Hard Number Improvements (Within 90 Days):
SG&A Expense Reduction:
A 10% to 20% reduction in SG&A is often achievable.
If SG&A is, for example, $150 million annually, a 10% reduction is $15 million, and a 20% reduction is $30 million.
In a 90-day window, this could translate to $3.75 million to $7.5 million in EBITDA improvement.
Working Capital Improvements:
Improvements in accounts receivable and payable can free up significant cash.
For example, if the company has $100 million in outstanding receivables, a 10-day reduction in days sales outstanding could free up approximately $2.7 million in cash.
This cash flow improvement directly impacts the companies liquidity, and indirectly improves EBITDA.
Direct Cost Reductions:
Vendor renegotiations and process improvements can lead to direct cost reductions.
Even a 3% to 5% reduction in direct costs (e.g., service delivery costs) on a $300 million cost base could yield $9 million to $15 million annually.
In a 90 day window, this would be 2.25 million to 3.75 million dollars.

Overall Potential Range:
Combining these factors, it's plausible that a turnaround firm could achieve an EBITDA improvement in the range of $6 million to $11 million within the initial 90 days.
It is very important to remember that these are estimations. The actual numbers could be much higher, or lower, depending on the specific circumstances.

Key Considerations:
The speed of implementation is critical in a 90-day engagement.
The quality of the company's data and the cooperation of its management team are essential.