Talos Strategic Partners

Talos Strategic Partners Fractional CFO firm specializing in small business efficiencies via automations, AI tools, and financial expertise.

We help manage all the accounting needs and the financial strategies for your business, allowing you to focus on operating the business. We offer a free tax analysis to show how much we can save you on your taxes. Our core services revolve around long-term management of all your finances, operating as a “CFO as a Service” (or our clever spin “GFO as a Service”). This means we not only do all the w

ork a traditional CPA would do (ex. Bookkeeping, Tax Filing, Payroll, Reporting) we additionally focus on the strategic financial positioning to grow your business. This could be through lowering taxes, analyzing product profit margins, new product market size and potential margins, mergers and acquisitions, etc. We see ourselves as a strategic financial partner, not just an accounting service most small-business owners are used to. Our unique experience gives us the greatest advantage for gym financials. Our founder and Principal Financial Strategist, Michael Conklin, owned and operated small-businesses for years, including gyms (Anytime Fitness franchise locations). Additionally, Michael has been a consultant at the IRS for over 4 years, literally building and designing the “IRS Exam” software, also known as audit. This gives him a massive advantage to create our approach to analyzing taxes and financials focused on small-businesses in the fitness industry. Let us meet with you, familiarize with your financials, and propose to you, first, how much we can save you on your taxes (both present, future, and potentially past), and second, how we can immediately begin impacting your financial strategies for greater growth and higher margins. We have so much more to offer and would love to get to know your unique situation.

A common reason “busy” businesses still struggle: pricing that covers the work, but not the business.Direct costs (mater...
03/30/2026

A common reason “busy” businesses still struggle: pricing that covers the work, but not the business.

Direct costs (materials, labor, subcontractors) are only part of the equation. Your price also needs to carry overhead like software, rent, insurance, admin time, marketing, and your own pay.

Simple approach:
1) Total your monthly overhead
2) Divide by billable hours or number of jobs
3) Add that overhead amount into each quote
4) Then add a clear profit margin

Reality test: If you doubled sales next month, would cash increase—or would you just be busier?

One of the fastest ways a growing business gets into trouble is using the wrong type of debt.Working capital (inventory ...
03/30/2026

One of the fastest ways a growing business gets into trouble is using the wrong type of debt.

Working capital (inventory and unpaid invoices) is short-term by nature—it’s supposed to turn into cash and repeat.

When you fund that with a fixed-payment term loan, the risk is simple:
• Cash gets stuck in inventory/receivables
• Payments still come every month
• If sales slow or customers pay late, liquidity disappears

A cleaner structure:
- Use a revolving line of credit for working capital swings
- Use term loans for long-life assets like equipment or build-outs
- Monitor how long cash takes to come back (inventory time + time to collect)

If you want, reply “WORKING CAPITAL” and I’ll share a quick way to map your cash cycle on one page.

A common (and costly) mistake: using short-term financing for long-term projects.Example: funding a 12–24 month expansio...
03/25/2026

A common (and costly) mistake: using short-term financing for long-term projects.

Example: funding a 12–24 month expansion with a line of credit.
It can work—but it often creates unnecessary stress:
- Bigger monthly payment pressure
- More frequent renewals/refinancing
- Higher interest expense if rates change

A simple way to sanity-check your financing:
1) When does this investment start paying you back?
2) Can you still make payments in a slower month?
3) Are you keeping short-term funds available for short-term timing gaps?

Best practice: match the financing term to the timeline of the investment. It’s one of the easiest ways to protect cash flow while you grow.

Term loan vs. line of credit: a quick clarity check for business owners.A term loan and a line of credit solve different...
03/23/2026

Term loan vs. line of credit: a quick clarity check for business owners.

A term loan and a line of credit solve different problems. When they get mixed up, you can end up with payments that don’t match your real cash flow.

Term loan:
• Best for one-time investments (equipment, renovations, big projects)
• Fixed monthly payment
• Great when the benefit lasts for years

Line of credit (LOC):
• Best for short-term cash flow gaps (inventory timing, payroll timing, receivables delays)
• Pay interest only on what you use
• Best when the need clears in weeks or a few months

Before you sign, ask:
1) How long will it take this money to pay for itself?
2) What happens if sales dip for 1–2 months?
3) Do I need flexibility (LOC) or a fixed plan (term loan)?

The right financing should fit your cash flow, not fight it.

One of the fastest ways a healthy business turns into a cash-flow emergency: losing (or getting delayed payments from) a...
03/20/2026

One of the fastest ways a healthy business turns into a cash-flow emergency: losing (or getting delayed payments from) a major customer.

That’s customer concentration risk.

A practical guideline: if your biggest customer is more than ~25–30% of your revenue, you’re exposed.

What to look at monthly:
• Top-1 and Top-3 customer % of revenue
• Profitability by customer (some “big” accounts aren’t worth it)
• Payment speed by customer
• How much pipeline you have that could replace revenue

Ways to reduce the risk without damaging relationships:
• Improve payment terms (deposits, milestone billing, tighter due dates)
• Build one additional lead source (partner, referral, outbound, content)
• Run a simple “what-if” forecast: what happens if your top customer pauses for 60 days?

Diversifying customers isn’t just about growth—it protects your business.

If your business is growing but cash still feels tight, you may not have a profit problem—you have a timing problem.Here...
03/18/2026

If your business is growing but cash still feels tight, you may not have a profit problem—you have a timing problem.

Here’s the mismatch:
• Customers pay you in 30–60 days
• Payroll, rent, vendors, and taxes get paid on schedule

A few practical steps:
1) Build a weekly cash view (expected cash in vs. cash out)
2) Invoice immediately and follow up sooner than you think you need to
3) Adjust terms where you can (deposits, milestone billing, shorter payment terms)

Cash flow gets easier when your payment timing matches your expense timing.

A lot of cash crunches don’t come from “bad months.” They come from not seeing timing gaps ahead of time.When you’re gro...
03/16/2026

A lot of cash crunches don’t come from “bad months.” They come from not seeing timing gaps ahead of time.

When you’re growing, it’s common to spend based on sales trends (hiring, inventory, marketing)… but cash may arrive weeks later.

A simple weekly cash flow forecast helps you avoid surprises:
1) Start with cash in the bank today
2) Estimate cash coming in each week (be realistic about when customers pay)
3) List cash going out each week (payroll, taxes, rent, vendors, debt)
4) Set a minimum cash balance you won’t drop below
5) Review and update weekly

That’s it. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s visibility.

If you want, reply “forecast” and I’ll share a one-page format we use at Talos Strategic Partners.

Revenue growing but debt staying the same (or rising)? That’s a common pattern that can quietly increase risk.Growth can...
03/15/2026

Revenue growing but debt staying the same (or rising)? That’s a common pattern that can quietly increase risk.

Growth can mask leverage because the income statement looks strong while monthly payments keep piling up.

A practical approach:
1) Total your required monthly payments (loans, leases, minimum debt payments)
2) Stress test it against a typical slow month
3) Set a simple rule: as profits increase, automatically direct a percentage to debt reduction until you reach a comfortable cushion
4) Decide ahead of time how you’ll use “big months” (split between reserves and paying down principal)

Growth is powerful. Pair it with a debt plan so your business gets stronger, not just bigger.

If your business is profitable but cash still feels tight, the issue is often your Cash Conversion Cycle.Cash Conversion...
03/14/2026

If your business is profitable but cash still feels tight, the issue is often your Cash Conversion Cycle.

Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) = how long your money is tied up from the moment you pay suppliers to the moment customers pay you.

When CCC gets longer, businesses feel pressure even when sales look strong.

Three practical levers:
1) Receivables (getting paid)
- Send invoices immediately
- Follow up weekly on past-due invoices
- Tighten terms on new customers

2) Inventory / work-in-progress
- Stop reordering slow movers
- Reduce “just in case” buying

3) Payables (paying vendors)
- Use the full payment terms you have
- Align payment dates with your cash-in dates

Simple next step: pull your accounts receivable aging report and focus on the 10 largest overdue invoices first.

More sales doesn’t always mean more money.A common small business trap is assuming revenue growth = profit growth.It’s e...
03/13/2026

More sales doesn’t always mean more money.

A common small business trap is assuming revenue growth = profit growth.
It’s easy to miss because sales numbers look great… while the bank balance tells a different story.

Here’s what’s often happening:
• Expenses rise as you scale (people, software, fulfillment, overhead)
• Cash gets tied up in receivables or inventory
• Taxes and loan payments come due regardless of when customers pay

A quick way to spot it:
Look at your last 3 months and compare:
1) Profit after direct costs (gross margin)
2) Profit after overhead (operating margin)
3) Actual cash left after taxes, debt payments, and growth-related cash needs

If revenue is up but cash is tight, it’s a signal to improve margins and your cash cycle before pushing harder on growth.

Address

1036 E Iron Eagle Drive Ste 168
Eagle, ID
83616

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm
Thursday 8am - 5:30pm
Friday 8am - 5:30pm
Saturday 8am - 5:30pm
Sunday 8am - 5:30pm

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