The Email Library
Updated Whenever I Remember
Thoughts on the Y Combinator email that’s floating around
The economy hasn't been stellar these last few years. We've had to deal with the COVID pandemic, constantly changing regulations, the entire world suddenly working from home (and, many clients/vendors not being prepared for it), confusing grant applications, and...
Trust but verify (aka how to spot check a Profit & Loss report)
Profit & Loss reports are one of the most common small business financial reports. They are relatively easy to understand, can be generated with a few clicks in your accounting software, and are the starting point for your financial decisions, tax returns, bank...
Invoicing starts during the sale and client onboarding
Invoicing is usually an afterthought in many small businesses. It's seen as a simple formality like getting a receipt at the store. And, sending an invoice is nothing more than the very last step in getting paid (short of cashing them checksss 🤑). You just...
Review your project profitability to learn better pricing
Profitable project pricing is unassumingly difficult. You need to accurately do client discovery, assess the scope, plan employee capacity/labor, figure out how much overhead and direct expenses will cost you, and build some profit into your proposal, all while...
Test your client-facing tech (instead of assuming it works)
Technology is great and can be an absolute gamechanger,... until it isn't. Then, there's all sorts of frustrating little hiccups, glitches, and weird UI bugs where the software that you bought to make your life easier, now makes your life much much harder. And, when...
Writing a mission statement that doesn’t suck
Traditional, structured business plans usually include business descriptions, SWOT analyses, market research, financial projections, and various strategic breakdowns (eg sales strategy, marketing strategy, etc). And, at the veryyy beginning, in the executive summary,...
Reader question: “How can I intelligently cut back my recurring software subscriptions?”
It seems like everything is a subscription nowadays. You used to buy software once, use it for 3+ years, then maybeee buy an upgrade if you really needed it. Now, you gotta pay a subscription fee every month just to keep the software running. And, all those little...
Systemize your invoicing to prevent mistakes and improve your cash flow
Invoicing is a core aspect of small service business cash flow. It's how you let clients know what they owe, how they should pay you, and how long they have to pay you. Without invoicing, you wouldn't get paid and money wouldn't flow into your business (which is...
Things to consider when setting revenue-based goals
Basic revenue and profit targets are some of the most common business goals. They're straightforward, unpretentious, and easy to make. They don't need any fancy software to track or assess progress. And, you can keep them as simple as a sticky note on your screen, a...
How to constructively think about your business without totally ruining the holidays
Great business planning (and New Year's resolution-ing) involves a lot of intentionality, self-reflection (on both yourself and your business), and reviewing business stats (like financials, CRM data, etc). You need to take a hard look at your business, what's...
Late fees aren’t the answer to your cash flow problem
Every business owner has been burned by a late payment (or even nonpayment) before. You followed up, sent emails, and left voicemails, but your client was still full of excuses and the payment was late. And, while you were still upset with your client, you may've...
Systemize your owners’ bonuses for more predictable cash flow
There's a variety of reasons why you may've become an entrepreneur and started your own business. You might've wanted a better work/life balance, more flexibility, to be your own boss, you were laid off, etc. But, money is always part of the equation. (You have bills...
Getting more value out of a SWOT analysis
Everyone's first experience with a SWOT analysis is terrible. It's typically your first real exposure to business strategy and you just don't have enough experience in your business yet (because you're a business student, new entrepreneur, new to business...
The symptoms of disorganized cash distributions (and how to correct them)
Small business cash flow is an incredibly complex topic with lots of nuances. Every single aspect of your business impacts your cash flow. That's what makes rooting out the core cause of your cash flow issues and fixing them such a difficult process. It can take...
An intentional, targeted mini-budget is better than a half-assed full-business budget
Budgets play a vital role in big businesses and startups. They keep everyone on the same page in those hectic or unwieldy environments where there isn't one point person (like the owner, a controller, CFO, or director of operations) calling all the shots and approving...
Reader question: “Should I send clients gifts during the holidays?”
Halloween is behind us, everyone is gearing up for the holidays, the radio is playing entirely too much Mariah Carey, and business owners everywhere are wondering if they should send client gifts because "that's what real businesses do". But, like most other "that's...
What you can learn from ranking your clients
"Rank your clients then fire the bottom-tier ones" is classiccc business advice. And, it's relatively good advice (as far as soundbites go). You shoulddd periodically prune your client list and fire the clients that are causing excessive hardship, stress, and internal...
You need to do a pre-goal-setting assessment
There's all sorts of goal-setting frameworks and theories (eg SMART criteria, OKRs, BHAGs, OGSMs, etc)*. They're supposed to help get your rough goals & dreams out of your head, onto a piece of paper, and into a standardized structure that makes sense which can...
The flaws with ROI and other things to consider when making decisions
I won an award! 🥳 CPA Practice Advisor named me on their annual '40 under 40' accounting professionals list. I've "emerged as [a] future leaders in the profession." Whoop! 🙌🎉 There's two sides to every finance/accounting measure and the...
Business savings isn’t just for emergencies
Most small business owners don't have an extensive finance background before starting their businesses. You're good at a particular skill (eg, marketing, design, writing, coding, law, whatever), you saw an opportunity to open a business, and you went for it. This...
How to rank your clients
All clients aren't created equal. Some clients are easier to work with, more profitable, send referrals, or just have more interesting projects than the rest. Then, others are a royal pain, take up too much of your (and your team's) time, drag down profitability, hurt...
Your personal finances affect your business profit and cash flow
Legal nuances aside, you and your business are intertwined. Your business provides for your family, stresses you out, helps you feel fulfilled, and occupies most of your waking thoughts. It's very clear what our businesses give us. But, it's a little less clear what...
How to start saving for retirement (as a business owner)
Saving for retirement is much harder for business owners than regular old employees. When saving for retirement, all employees have to do is sign 401k paperwork with HR, set a contribution amount, and pick from a list of preselected investments. Then, it's taken care...
Different kinds of emergency funding
The best time to plan for an emergency is when things are going well. That's when you have a clear mind, time to really think thru your plan, and won't be pressured into making snap decisions. You don't need to have a fully fleshed out wartime-CEO document, but you...
‘Profit’ can mean different things to different people
One of the biggest problems when trying to understand small business accounting & finance is the terminology. The rules that define accounting (yeah, there's rules. They're called GAAP and IFRS and are just as lame as you'd think they are) very specifically define...