Written in Partnership with Joey LeeLeading the charge in transforming the financial landscape for growing businesses, John Hannum and his company, PPS Solutions, have set their sights on enabling entrepreneurs to achieve their business goals through the power of Fractional Finance. With well-established corporate experience in finance and operations, John now brings his skill set to growing businesses of all sizes, championing success for entrepreneurs and business leaders ready to change the world.
To fully appreciate the mission John is on, one must trace his entrepreneurial journey back to its roots. When he was a child, his parents bought their first business – a SCUBA diving store in Florida. He watched the struggles they encountered by working with them in the shop, learning the value of hard work and keeping a good set of books. Both in the business and at school, he developed an interest in numbers and systems which ultimately lead to a remarkable finance career and a passion for entrepreneurship.
Following this passion, John embarked on a successful corporate journey marked by rapid growth. His exceptional track record began with a regional tire retailer, where he grew his early career along with helping to grow the company from $175 million in annual revenue to an astounding $2.8 billion through a combination of corporate acquisitions along with greenfield expansion – ultimately making it the largest independent tire retailer in North America. Fuelled by this early success, John continued to make his mark as a valuable asset to subsequent organizations, consistently guiding them toward substantial expansion utilizing his problem-solving and team-building skills to overcome obstacles in fast paced environments and difficult situations.
Over the course of his corporate career, John has held significant positions in reputable corporations such as HD Supply and Home Depot, and has worked in portfolio companies for many prestigious Private Equity firms such as Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, Trive Capital, and Vance Street Capital. He has worked for companies of all ownership structures from small, founder-led organizations to publicly-traded, multinational entities doing business on 6 continents. He has had the honor to ring the bell at both the NYSE and NASDAQ. He has played a pivotal role in many acquisitions, including the sale of the Crown Bolt division of HD Supply to Home Depot, the purchase of National Tire and Battery (NTB) by TBC Corporation from Sears Roebuck, and many dozens of others from $5 million to $250 million in size. With his professional expertise in handling everything from due diligence to operational integration and purchase accounting, each acquisition has been seamlessly integrated into its destination, contributing to its new parent’s vision of success.
Motivated by his successful track record of combining operations and finance, John made a pivotal decision in 2020. After advising a smaller company on a partnership issue, he came to a stark realization – The immense power of finance that has long benefited larger companies is mostly absent in smaller, founder-led organizations! Through speaking with many entrepreneurs and business leaders, and also remembering his own parents’ struggles in business, he began to understand that this was caused by two unique challenges: Firstly, the budget of small companies could not support hiring a “heavyweight” CFO. Secondly, most entrepreneurs were out doing the things that will ultimately make them successful – they aren’t inherently financial people and would ultimately need to be educated on what Finance is and what a CFO does.
Acknowledging the issue, John makes the observation “The entrepreneurs I encountered early in my journey to creating PPS Solutions told me they didn’t have anyone to ask for guidance in finance matters in their businesses. When they needed help, most would ask their tax person, or perhaps they had hired a bookkeeper or clerical person. However, these people didn’t have the right experience to give strategic operational business advice, so the end result was usually incomplete or even unproductive to the business. I spoke with a number of organizations that had more difficulty in obtaining loans than they should have given their cash flow just because they didn’t have someone in their organization who could speak to the banks with the financial acumen required. These businesses were paying way more than they had to for financing, insurance, and so many other areas just because they didn’t have the ability to negotiate financial terms.” Grounded in his belief that sound financial guidance is fundamental to making informed business decisions, John founded PPS Solutions.
With this mindset, he set out on a mission to support and to educate business owners and leaders, bringing the same level of financial expertise to small and medium size businesses that big business already enjoyed by making those services available in fractional doses which drastically reduced the cost of hiring top-tier financial professionals. Focusing similarly on the livelihood of his staff, he puts together enough businesses for each CFO or other team member to have a regular, full-time income making the relationship a win-win for all parties.
As a trusted partner to businesses of all sizes, PPS Solutions offers a variety of specialized services to meet a wide range of needs in many industries, but all with the simple message of using the power of large-company financial know-how in fractional doses. The company’s main offering of fractional CFO services allow companies to basically have a CFO working with them monthly for a standard fixed charge, similar to a subscription. The finance professionals at PPS solutions can also perform on an interim or project basis, from simple business analytics to interim projects such as process optimization or system implementation. PPS professionals are capable of stepping seamlessly into executive vacancies or navigating strategic shifts. Through their extensive experience and professionalism, John and a team can facilitate the smooth operation of businesses through any transition, ensuring continuity and efficiency during critical periods.
Under John’s leadership, PPS Solutions is growing its own brand and expansion by growing the earnings of its clients. Through their continued dedication to fostering equal opportunities for businesses of all sizes and types, John and his team are driving the expansion of businesses everywhere allowing entrepreneurs and business leaders to visualize and achieve their goals.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.