Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

Mar. 3, 2004 — When it comes to dealing with small business clients, it's important to have the right kind of perspective. Like the kind Van Ballantyne brings to his Fiducial clients in Greenland, NH.

As a franchise member of the Fiducial Network, Ballantyne knows what it means to be a small business owner so he can better relate to his clients. As a sole owner with a staff of five, he shares common ground with them and realizes just what the challenges are of running a business on a daily basis. So it's reassuring for him and his clients that he doesn't have to recreate the wheel during the performance of his duties because he has the right kind of systems already in place. This allows him to spend more time advising his clients rather than having to create office procedures.

"We act as a part-time chief financial officer to our clients," said Ballantyne who came to southern New Hampshire 25 years ago and has been there ever since. "Nobody in the marketplace is getting the delivery, the services and the products that we're able to provide."

Intrigued by Fiducial's franchise opportunity on the USA Today web portal, he studied the proposition for six months. After spending 20 years in the corporate arena as an accountant, controller, CFO, financial officer and vice president of finance and administration, he was ready to take the plunge and be his own boss.

Knowledge is Power

"The idea of a franchise was very appealing to me," he said. "I had a certain lifestyle and income where I couldn't totally build a business from scratch and Fiducial had the systems, tools, training and procedures to be successful."

Joining the Fiducial ranks in November 2000, Ballantyne centered his operations in the heart of the small business market where 97.5% of New Hampshire's entrepreneurs are concentrated in the eastern part of the state on the Atlantic Coast. He believes the Fiducial model, as practiced by its growing list of franchisees, provides the right kinds of business services that are much needed in the market by offering "responsive, accurate reporting of financial information at a reasonable cost."

Fiducial's products and services have helped his clients gain a new level of understanding in operating their companies. "We find owners are very good in many areas of running a business, but they tend to lack in financial matters," he said.

This is among the areas where Ballantyne shines. He arms entrepreneurs with much greater knowledge to operate their businesses more efficiently, which adds up to some significant cost savings for many of his clients.

"Those clients that listen and follow the systems are the ones that are the most successful," he said. "They're savvy enough and we are complementary to what they are doing. The Fiducial model works if you use it. It makes a tremendous difference."

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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