All Things Financial Planning & Analysis - The FP&A Guy

Team Subkit -

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in financial services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Paul Barnhurst, Founder of The FP&A Guy, located in South Weber, UT, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My company is called The FP&A Guy, and I provide three primary services to my customers.

  1. Training - I provide FP&A, Excel, and Data visualization training in various formats to individuals and companies.
  2. Consulting - I provide FP&A consulting services, including FP&A support, financial modeling, data analysis, etc.
  3. Content Creation - I work with several software vendors to provide content creation and influencer marketing services. I host a podcast called FP&A Today, write educational content, and host educational webinars for FP&A professionals, and these events are sponsored by various software vendors. I also provide daily content about FP&A on LinkedIn to my 37,000+ followers.

Tell us about yourself

I first got started in 2016 when I offered someone on LinkedIn a Starbucks gift card for 30 minutes of their time; instead, they asked me to write an article for the FP&A website they managed. This led to me getting involved in writing articles and creating content on LinkedIn. This eventually led to me being in webinars and building an audience to the point where I could start my own business.

What motivates me each day is seeing people learn from my training. I love teaching someone something that will make their professional life easier. I also love working with CEOs of startup planning tool companies and learning about the product they have created and how they think about making the lives of FP&A professionals easier with the software they are creating. Finally, I love hosting guests on my podcast from all over the world to talk about all things FP&A.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I would have to say my biggest accomplishment was creating a 3rd Generation FP&A Market Guide highlighting 15 new FP&A tools. This included meeting with roughly 20 software vendors, conducting surveys, and receiving product demos. The most challenging part was doing write-ups and comparisons on all the vendors. It was such a big accomplishment because several hundred thousand people on LinkedIn have viewed it. It has also shown up in news articles/PR in places as far away as Croatia and Australia. It has helped springboard my business forward by establishing me as an expert in the FP&A planning tool space.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

The hardest thing for me is managing my time. Owning a business can be a 24/7 venture if you let it, and remembering to take personal time for my family and myself can be hard.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Love this question.

  1. Find your Niche and then niche down, do not try to be too broad. Focus on your specialty and be the best at it.
  2. Learn to say no - Sometimes, the right answer for even a good opportunity is no, so be willing to say no.
  3. Above all, ensure you are providing value to your customers.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thefpandaguy.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefpandaguy/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheFPandAGuy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguy/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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