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eMacomb - Spotlight on Business, Spring 2012
Julie Oldham, Finance and Strategy Specialist
When your growing Macomb County business is looking for financial advice you need look no further than Julie Oldham, our Finance and Strategy Specialist for the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center office here in Macomb County. SBTDC is a statewide organization that provides no-cost assistance and counseling to second-stage businesses, which are defined as growing businesses that have revenues in excess of one million dollars and nine or more employees. Julie helps these companies by analyzing their financial performance to determine impending issues in the next stage of growth.
Assessing cash flow can help a company to determine both the positive and negative trends in their financial performance. Developing a three- to five-year plan can ease the transition by knowing what to expect in this next stage. And all of this data is what will impress bankers and investors who may be asked to supply funding for the venture.
In addition to her many years of experience in the financial counseling business, Julie holds two Master’s degrees from Walsh College, one in Management, and one in Public Accounting, as well as holding current CPA status in both public and private sectors. Her experience in the classroom as a college professor has proven valuable as she helps companies learn how to use financial data as a management tool.
While MI-SBTDC advises clients, it does not compete with private sector service providers. Julie’s role as a Finance and Strategy Specialist is to point the company in the right direction for the next stage of growth, first assessing the problem and then deciding on the right solutions to seek.
As an example, Julie recently worked with Belle Maer Harbor to help them secure financing for renovations to the aging marina facility. With Julie’s help, the company was able to invest over one million dollars in the bathhouses, rework some of the landscaping and added a heated storage building. Additionally, some of the paved bridge approaches were redone.
According to Eric Foster, General Partner, "Our amenities and landscaping are what separate Belle Maer Harbor from its competitors. I have taken the calculated risk that this reinvestment will maintain the loyalty of our existing boaters and help us to attract new boaters. I sincerely doubt that you will see this type of reinvestment at any of the other marinas on Lake St Clair."
With the individualized counseling provided by the SBTDC and Julie Oldham, this business was reinvigorated for their second stage of growth. Thanks to Julie’s specialized knowledge of financial strategies, Macomb County businesses are able to make the transition to the second stage.
Belle Maer Harbor
41700 Conger Bay Drive
Harrison Township, MI 48045
586-465-4534
With over 800 boat slips on 60 acres, Belle Maer Harbor was one of the first two marinas in Michigan to be certified under the Clean Marina Program in 2005.