In more than two decades of working in the finance industry, Ana M. St. Louis has picked up a lot of titles: MBA graduate; financial strategies specialist; business coach; keynote speaker; founder and president of VISE Bridge Financial Services.
And now, with the publication of her first book, “Where’s My $8M USD?,” she has added author to her list of titles.
Ana is both a Dracut resident and a Dracut business owner. VISE Bridge is based at 2100 Lakeview Avenue, Suite 2, with additional offices in Rhode Island, Florida, Kansas and Texas. (VISE stands for Values, Integrity, Service, Excellence.)
With her 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Ana decided it was time to take the next step and put her knowledge into a book.
But this isn’t just a book of technical ideas and figures. It reads more like a story – one Ana says is true.
“I don’t want to be boring,” Ana says. “You’re going to feel like you’re inside the situation with me, and that’s exactly what I wanted.”
Ana says the books shows how even the most successful entrepreneurs can improve their cash-flow management. A book-launch celebration will be held Thursday, January 25, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Chateau Merrimack Resort & Spa, 160 Pawtucket Boulevard, Tyngsborough. (Sign up for the party at www.eventbrite.com/e/youre-invited-to-a-celebration-of-knowledge-and-networking-tickets-779464478237.
In “Where’s my $8M USD?,” Ana helps Jack, a successful business owner, to better understand and utilize cash-flow management, thus helping him save $8 million over the course of a year.
In her story, Jack’s business has posted $10 million in revenue, with a net profit of $2 million. But Ana’s question to Jack is, basically, “That’s great, but where’s the other $8 million?” Jack says his CPA knows where the money is, but her next question really piques his curiosity.
“I have no doubt your CPA is top-notch,” she says. “But what about leveraging those numbers to improve your cash flow?”
She makes a deal with Jack: Give her a year, and she’s confident she can increase his company’s cash flow by 5% to 15%. Thus begins the book’s journey. (Spoiler alert: She finds the $8 million, but it wouldn’t be much of a book if she didn’t, would it?)
“I’ve been working in finance for over 20 years, and with businesses the last 10,” Ana says. “Cash-flow management is something that everybody knows about but not everybody does.”
She says hiring a financial planner can be the right choice for small businesses that don’t have the budget to create a full-time position.
“It’s like a CFO function without having a CFO,” she says. “Small businesses and entrepreneurs don’t have the capital to hire a CFO.”
“Where’s My $8M USD?” is a mere 62 pages and can be read in one sitting. Ana says it’s the first in a series of three books she has planned, with book 2 dealing with more cash-flow strategies and book 3 dealing with the more technical aspects of cash-flow management