Strategy Meets Finance

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 2 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve explains why profit doesn’t protect a business from failure and why free cash flow is the real survival metric. He breaks down how to calculate free cash flow, why it matters more than revenue or profit, and how companies wi...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 3 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve reveals what truly creates value in a business: generating more cash flow than the cost of your investments. He explains return on invested capital (ROIC), why growth without strong returns destroys value, and how to measure...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 4 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve breaks down the two main ways businesses are valued: the income approach, based on free cash flow, cost of capital, and growth, and the market approach, based on EBITDA multiples. He explains why understanding both is critic...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 5 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve introduces the first lever of cash flow: volume. He explains why selling more only creates value if it’s profitable, how to fix weak sales and marketing systems, and how the revenue flywheel drives sustainable growth without...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 6 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve unpacks the second lever of cash flow: price. He explains why price is the most powerful driver of profitability, how perceived value determines what customers will pay, and how businesses can raise prices confidently withou...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 7 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve covers the third lever of cash flow: cost of goods sold (COGS). He explains why lowering COGS directly boosts profitability, how throughput matters more than margins, and the strategies businesses can use to cut waste, impro...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 8 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve explains the fourth lever of cash flow: operating expenses. He shows why cutting costs blindly destroys value, how to eliminate waste without hurting growth, and the smart ways to optimize overhead while protecting employees...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 9 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve introduces the fifth lever of cash flow: capital. He explains why EBITDA isn’t cash flow, how invested capital and ROIC reveal whether a business is creating or destroying value, and the hidden cash traps in receivables, inv...

Ready to see how much cash is hiding in your business? Get your free Financial Health Check now: coltivar.com/check   This is Part 1 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow . Steve lays the foundation of why so many businesses struggle with cash even when they look profitable on paper. He explains the stages of a hidden cash flow crisis, why free cash flow matters more than revenue or profit, and intro...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   This week, Sean Goggins, SBA Commercial Loan Officer at Cadence Bank, joins Steve Coughran to break down how SBA loans really work when buying a business. They cover how much cash you actually need, when seller financing helps, what banks look for in cash flow, and the...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including: Fed Faces Political Turmoil Ahead of Cuts Buffett Bets on Build-to-Rent Housing Gap and Old Navy Enter the Beauty Market Kraft Heinz Splits Up to Refocus Strategy Elliott Targets PepsiCo for a Shake-Up Tune in for smart co...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Most businesses stall between $1M and $3M in revenue. Cash gets tight, profit disappears, and owners feel stuck doing everything themselves. In this episode, Steve Coughran explains why the “death zone” happens and what you need to change to push through it. If your com...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Get free tools to grow your company  Sign up for the free Financial Pro course   If you had to start from scratch and get smarter with money fast, where should you begin? In this episode, Steve Coughran breaks down the three financial statements every owner must underst...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including:  Nvidia’s “New Normal” Still Looks Strong Venture Debt Firms Tilt Toward Bigger, Later-Stage Deals Cracker Barrel Retreats After Logo Backlash AI’s Big Leaps Are Slowing—And That Might Be Good News AI-Skilled 20-Somethings...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Growing fast feels exciting—but grow too quickly without enough cash and you’ll find yourself in big trouble. In this episode, Steve breaks down the simple formula every business owner needs to know: how to figure out the maximum speed your company can grow before you r...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Levers of Profit Calculator   Most business owners look at their income statement but don’t really know what it’s telling them. In this episode, Steve breaks it down so you can see where profit is really made and where it’s slipping away. He explains how to read revenue...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including:  Jobless Claims Signal Cracks in the Labor Market  Fed Holds Back on Rate Cuts at Jackson Hole  Blackstone Bets on Power Infrastructure  Walmart Walks the Tariff Tightrope  Housing Market Gives Buyers New Leverage  Corpora...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Buying or selling a business can go wrong fast. Pay too much as a buyer and you’ll regret it. Sell too soon and you might leave millions on the table. In this episode, Steve Coughran shares a CFO’s perspective from years of buying, building, and selling companies worth...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Benchmarks   Most people assume a $5 million business must mean big money for the owner. But in this episode, Steve breaks down the real numbers behind a $5M landscaping company, from revenue to actual cash in hand. Spoiler: it’s not what you think.  Whether you're...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including: Producer Prices Pop to a 3-Year High Bessent’s Bold Push for Big Fed Cuts Fast-Casual Chains Lose Their Sizzle Southwest Ends Open Seating, and a Strategy Amazon Doubles Down on Grocery Domination Ulta and Target Break Up...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Most people think entrepreneurship is a young person’s game. But the data says otherwise. In this episode, Steve breaks down why your 30s, 40s, and even 50s might be the best time to launch or buy a business—and how real-world experience gives you a massive edge over th...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including: Blackstone Drills into Data Apple’s $100 Billion Hedge Margins Are the Meal at McDonald’s The Fed’s September Fork in the Road NFL and ESPN: A Streaming Power Play FinWeekly has the latest updates on market-shaping headlin...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   We’ve been sold a story: save 10% of your paycheck, invest it in the market, and one day you’ll retire rich. But is that really how wealth is built? In this episode, Steve breaks down the math behind that promise—and explains why the numbers don’t add up like you think...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Netflix and Spotify may look similar on the surface—massive platforms, global audiences, subscription models—but dig into the numbers, and the differences are hard to ignore. In this episode, Steve breaks down both companies’ financials in plain English and reveals why...

How much cash is hiding in your business? See if you qualify for a Free Financial Health Check   Financial Intelligence Toolkit   Mentors can change your life—or waste your time. In this episode, Steve shares what he’s learned about finding the right kind of mentor, why most people get it wrong, and a story he’s never told before that will make you rethink who you take advice from.  He also breaks...