The Dispatch
Written for owners who are already doing the work. No jargon. No recap of things you already know. Just the question the room wasn't asking — and the answer that makes the business worth more.
New essays and case studies when they land. No cadence promises — just worth reading when it comes.
Owner Advisory
At $20M, most owner-led businesses are flying financially blind. Here's exactly when you need a CFO, what they should do, and why a fractional seat is the right answer for most.
Read →Exit Planning
The 18-month roadmap to exit-ready: clean books, strong multiples, and a business that runs without you. Most owners start too late and leave millions on the table.
Read →Exit Valuation
The most common reason a business sells for less than it's worth. What it is, how buyers measure it, and the exact steps to reduce it before you go to market.
Read →All Posts
Capital Allocation
Most CFOs tell you what already happened. But the question that actually changes a business — the one almost nobody is asking — is where the next dollar should go. That's strategy. Where the next dollar goes — and why — is the real work.
Read the essay →Why this one first
Capital allocation is the differentiator. AI is eating the scorekeeper CFO. The judgment seat is what's left. This essay explains the gap — and what it means for your business.
"The question isn't what happened. It's where the next dollar goes."
The Lane
Not a consultant. Not a board advisor. Not a traditional fractional CFO. The seat right beside the owner — in the room, in the numbers, in the decision. What it is and why it requires operator experience.
Read →The Edge
I spent years thinking my neurodivergent brain was a problem to manage. Then I started running finances under pressure and realized it was the whole edge. Why I don't hide it — and what it means in practice.
Read →Systems & ND
The operating system I built for how my brain works — and why I build it into every business I touch. Systems don't replace willpower. They make willpower unnecessary.
Read →Agency
A teaching story about pricing, scope, and the hidden leaks that drain agency margin — told through a fictional 12-person shop. The fix wasn't headcount. It was clarity.
Read →Exit Strategy
The businesses that sell for the most are the ones that don't need to sell at all. How to build for both outcomes — and why the two goals are less in conflict than you think.
Read →Manufacturing
A teaching story about job-costing blind spots. The owner knew his revenue. He had no idea which jobs were making him money. Plain-English finance for owner-operators.
Read →A composite case study: a business worth selling that nearly got retraded in diligence — and the three things that saved it. What exit prep actually means.
Read the case →All case studies use composite examples. No real clients, ever — even anonymized.
A composite look at an events company with a serious owner-dependency problem — and the three levers that changed it. This is what the second chair work actually looks like.
Read the case →All case studies use composite examples. No real clients, ever — even anonymized.