If there's one thing I've learned from working with over 150 startups and small businesses as a FracCFO and Finance instructor, it's this: Every company is unique But they also ALL have one thing in common: For every company (service businesses, product businesses, small businesses, large, local, international, high tech, mom & pop, and every business in between): Their Profit is equal to their Revenues, minus their Costs. In other words, Profit = Revenues - Costs. Here's why that's so powerful: For any action you are about to take in your business, every decision, every dollar spent, That action belongs somewhere along this equation:
If you can connect your actions in the business to impact in the profit equation, Then, you'll never be flying blind. Instead, you'll be operating with absolute clarity On what actions or decisions will result in your business thriving. You'll be doing math-based company management: Witnessing the control that comes from knowing How what you're doing Is creating your financial future. Your Daily CFO, Lauren |
CEO-turned-CFO & finance instructor, Lauren Pearl, drops a daily tip that helps startup founders grow their businesses and control their destinies. Learn why this growing list with a 60% open rate led to LP being named top 25 Finance Thought Leader and host of the #3 CFO podcast for 2025
Often, when I'm called in to help a new client, they aren't 100% sure what's broken. Sure, they may have theories, But often, the only thing they know for sure are the symptoms of a problem. The problem itself is still a little unclear. "We don't have enough revenue to hit our next milestone with investors." Isn't specific enough to be actionable; Are you not charging enough per seat? Are you not discoverable in the market? Are you targeting the wrong customers? Are you losing customers after...
As a startup leader, it can be incredibly challenging to balance time spent being strategic vs. executing. In particular, when you’re entering a new market or pivoting or evolving your product. Spend too much time on execution, and you’ll get no where fast. Spend too much time on strategy, and you’ll get no where slowly. How do you know you’ve reached the perfect balance? Be strategic for long enough to know which questions you should be asking your market. Then execute until you’ve answered...
Recently, I was chatting with a fellow CFO about the things required to build financial projections for a company. This person shared a belief that's highly common among finance folks: To do any kind of financial forecasting, you first need to build a solid financial operations foundation. The thinking goes... If you don't have excellent data on what's historically happened within the company, Then how could you EVER hope to possible predict what will happy in the future? What could you...