Hey, quick message here before we get into the issue...

Every week, I talk to business owners who feel in the dark when it comes to their numbers. Whether business is booming or cash is tight, the common thread is the same: they don’t feel confident in their financials.

And that lack of confidence has real consequences: stalled growth, risky decisions, and sleepless nights.

After seeing this over and over again, and getting asked time and again to help owners translate their numbers, I decided to create SMB Financial Fundamentals, a 5-week live cohort designed to help you finally understand your financials and use them to run a better business.

Today we announce... enrollment is now open for Cohort 3!

Over 5 weeks, we:

• Learn how to decode your financial statements
• Identify key results drivers for your situation
• Select, track, and act on your key metrics
• Use your numbers to make confident, data-driven decisions

It’s practical, hands-on, and focused on your numbers, not generic case studies.

​Enrollment is live at $995, but for this week only, I'm offering 50% off with code EARLYBIRD, bringing your investment down to just $497.50.

That includes four weeks of:

• Two interactive live sessions per week (hands-on, breakout format)
• Pre‑recorded lessons for flexible async learning
• Direct access to me, interactive projects, and a community of peers

The EARLYBIRD code expires Wednesday, and spots fill fast. Take control of your financials and run your business with confidence.

Hope to see you inside!

ENROLL NOW

Without further ado... this week's newsletter.

QUIT WINGIN IT: A RULEBOOK FOR SMARTER BUSINESS CASH & CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

You’ve now walked both sides of the money street: CashOS showed how to manage near-term liquidity, CapitalOS mapped the long game of allocation. This week we fuse them into a practical rule-book.

Rules transform “I think we should…” into “We already decided.” They:

• Strip emotion from big checks and dry spells.
• Create repeatability so all decisions go through the same filter.
• Let you delegate spending (and even go on vacation) without losing control.

I’ve identified five different types of rules. First, I’ll define these rules, then we’ll walk through some examples of what the rules will look like. Treat it like a menu: pick the dishes that fit your palate today, modify the recipe to your liking, use it to get new ideas, and swap in new ones as the business matures.

THE FIVE RULE TYPES AT A GLANCE

Rules get a bad rap, but hopefully you've read enough of this newsletter to know the point of these rules. That point being: we want to achieve our larger goals.

And while your no-rule approach may have worked when you started, as you grow, rules often become necessary.

Through my practice, I've identified five types of rules that all have distinct purposes.

Let's dive in to what each of these rules accomplish and some examples.

RHYTHM RULES

We’ve talked about the rhythms of reviewing cash in the past, but it’d can’t be reiterated enough: some things in your business are important enough that you need to create a regular review process to keep it top of mind.

Here are some daily, weekly, or monthly habits you can implement to stay on track with cash and capital.

As a Fractional CFO, we create a 13-week cash flow forecast for new clients. Out of all the things we do, it has by far been the most impactful. Business owners find themselves having an understanding of their business like never before. Learn more about them here, or reach out if you want some help.

These simple rhythms alone can change your relationship with your business.

ALLOCATION RULES

We need to give every dollar a job. This process we’ve gone through over the last quarter is doing just that: creating the framework to think about the different needs of the business.

Now that we understand our needs, we need to create habits of allocation that align with those business needs.

We talked about the allocation of cash here and here, so go back and read it to go more in depth.

GATES & BUFFERS

We talked about gates & buffers in the past in relation to KPIs and your financial reports, but this concept can also be applied to cash and capital decision making.

Let’s walk through a few examples.

Read more about gates and buffers here and here.

APPROVAL RULES

Most small to medium business have non-existent approval processes. It’s a tricky proposition, because early on, the lack of processes allows you to act more quickly and win. But as the business grows in complexity, approval processes can be a great way to offload some decision making so you can focus the next best highest use of your time.

When we think of approval, it’s often easy to focus on the restrictions it places on your team, but approvals should also be a way to protect you from you.

When we make decisions rashly, they’re often poor in hindsight. By looking at where we’ve made mistakes in the past, we can implement approval rules that protect you from repeating the same mistakes.

Some example rules are below.

REVIEW RULES

Once we’ve setup our rhythms, allocations, gates & buffers, and approval rules, we’ve got a great system. But to top it off, we’re going to talk review rules. These rules are here to catch the things that get overlooked in the regular rhythm of things.

These are more periodic and less regularly, but provide the oversight to make sure things aren’t being missed. While these can sometimes be run by the same people responsible for the rhythm or allocation rules, they’re often better handled by someone outside that regular rhythm. This provides cover to make sure things aren’t being overlooked in the current process or missed by the process as a whole.

NEXT STEPS

Cash & capital rules shouldn’t be shackles; they’re lane markers that keep momentum pointed at your vision.

Over this next week, draft one rule per rule type. Ultimately, you don’t want more than 2-3 per rule type, but let’s start slow.

Steal any from the menu above or create your own. Again… these are just examples. Hit reply and tell me ONE rule you are choosing to implement.

I’d love to be able to circle back in a few months and tell the “before-and-after” stories of those who implemented them and saw it change their business.

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