Beginner's Guide to Small Business Finance
Your business is busy. So why is the bank account empty?
Most small businesses don't run out of customers. They run out of cash. It happens to good owners, with good work and a full schedule, because nobody ever showed them how the money actually moves.
Big companies pay a CFO six figures to watch that. This book gives you what a good CFO would tell you, if you could afford one.
You'll follow Mike Ridgeline from a napkin budget to a $1.2 million landscaping company. Every chapter, Mike sits down with Dr. Paul and works through the next money question the business throws at him: what it really costs to open, why a record month leaves nothing in the bank, how to price a big bid, when to borrow, and when to wait. Sometimes the fix works. Sometimes it half works. You see all of it, in real dollars.
Inside, you'll learn how to:
- Figure out what it really costs to open, and to stay open until customers pay you
- Read your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement in plain English
- Build the bridge from profit to cash, and stop spending your tax money
- Price every job for the margin you need, not the markup you guessed
- Know which customers make you money, and which ones just keep you busy
- Borrow, buy or lease equipment, and grow without running out of cash
- Pay yourself a real wage and set aside taxes without the April panic
- Build a 13-week cash forecast that warns you before trouble hits
Every number adds up. Ridgeline's statements run from opening day to Year 5, and every table in every chapter ties back to them to the dollar.
Whether you're about to open your doors or you've been running a business for years and still can't explain where the money goes, this is the CFO conversation you've been missing.
About the author: Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, is a business consultant and fractional CFO who has worked with more than 1,000 small-business owners across all 50 states and Canada.