by Andy Weins and Lynn Corazzi, authors of “Stop Avoiding Your Numbers: The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Financial Confidence”
We’ve spent years working with small business owners in every industry you can imagine: waste removal, landscaping, graphic design, catering, consulting, construction. They are intelligent and competent people. They can close deals, manage teams and solve problems under pressure. We’ve also seen the same thing happen time and time again: as soon as a financial statement hits their desk, they freeze.
This is what we call the financial confidence deficit. It’s not a knowledge problem. This is not a math problem. It’s the gap between what business owners are told they need to know about their money and what they actually need to know. And it’s costing them income, sleep, and in some cases, their business. The good news is that closing this gap is easier than most homeowners think.
Here are five strategies we’ve seen work consistently.
1. Stop identifying yourself as “not a numbers person.”
This is the biggest obstacle we face. The owners tell themselves, and to anyone who will listen, that they are “not people who like numbers”. It’s part of their identity, and once there, it gives them permanent permission to avoid their finances.
Here’s the reframe: You’re a numbers man. You live by numbers every day in your personal life. You trust them because you know what they tell you. You’re going to be late. You are speeding. They work the same way in your business, except you haven’t shown them how to use them. All you need is a few tips to unlock wins and the warnings they give you. Let go of the label. It’s a defense mechanism, not a diagnosis.
2. Learn the difference between accounting and finance.
It’s one of the most damaging blind spots for small businesses, and almost no one explains it. Accounting is about accuracy and history: recording transactions, reconciling accounts, making sure the books are accurate and tax ready. Finance is about decisions and the future: using those numbers to determine where your money is going, where your opportunities are, and what actions to take next.
Accounting services are purchased by small businesses. Finance is integrated into large businesses. Most homeowners are told that having an accountant and filing their taxes means they are “covered” from an accounting standpoint. But no one talks to them about the financial side. And that’s where the real power lies. Every large company has a CFO who leads financial strategy and analysis. Small businesses need and deserve this same perspective. Once you understand that accounting looks backward and finance looks forward, you stop treating your financial statements like report cards and start using them as road maps.
3. Understand that profit and money are not the same thing.
This one constantly surprises owners. Your profit and loss statement shows that you earned $5,000 this month. Great. But you also made a $1,000 loan payment, paid off $2,000 on a credit card, and purchased $3,000 worth of equipment. You are profitable on paper and broke in practice.
We’ve worked with homeowners who were willing to dramatically cut their spending because they didn’t know where their money was going, only to discover that the real problem wasn’t overspending, but underselling. They couldn’t see it because they didn’t know how to connect their financial statements to what was physically happening in the business. They needed more salespeople! They invested in sales, which increased revenue and profits, which generated more cash.
4. Pay yourself like a real expense.
One of the most common things we see is that landlords pay themselves last, if at all. They take a little when the money looks good. They skip months when things seem tense. They cover personal expenses on the business card and call it compensation. It’s chaos and it’s hiding the true financial health of the company.
Your salary should be predictable, budgeted and non-negotiable, like rent or payroll. Not paying yourself is not noble; it’s the same scarcity mindset that says you can’t take a vacation or you can’t afford a day off. This keeps you in martyr mode and makes it impossible to assess whether your business is actually working. Set a monthly amount that you can count on, even if it’s not yet your dream salary. Your personal bills don’t care if your business had a good month. They are due anyway.
5. Build a finance team, led by the thinking of the CFO.
Most owners don’t think about a financial team. Just individuals. The accountant, CPA, and tax preparer have different responsibilities, even if they are the same person. The banker does something else. Their personal wealth advisor isn’t even involved in the business. At this point, the owner is missing two things. The first is strategic forward thinking provided by a tax planner and financial manager. Second, a team leader who translates accounting and financial language, as well as numbers, into actionable insights. This person is usually the financial director. When you are not part of the team, this leadership role defaults to the owner.
Split and outsourced options exist for all of these roles. Understanding what everyone does and what questions to ask each person is the difference between having people running your numbers and having a team helping you lead with them.
The trust is already there
Here’s what we’ve learned from working with dozens of business owners: Those who close the financial confidence gap don’t just run better businesses. They make decisions faster. They stop chasing every opportunity out of fear and start choosing the right ones with clarity. They plan for the future instead of just surviving the present. And they sleep better.
Financial confidence is not a personality trait you are born with or without. It’s a skill that any business owner can learn with a little awareness, the right information, and a willingness to examine what they’ve been ignoring. The gap is real and much narrower than most owners realize. The hardest part is not learning the numbers. It’s deciding to stop avoiding their numbers.
Andy Weins is a veteran and fourth-generation business owner known for bringing his “Bottom Line Up Front” mindset to growth-minded business leaders. Its workshops use data-driven methodologies and proven experiences to provide audiences with practical lessons. He is the owner of Green Up Solutions (consulting) and Camo Crew Responsible Junk Removal (solid waste disposal). Lynn Corazzi is a former Procter & Gamble finance executive, founder of Data2Profit and creator of Guided Money Tours™. He specializes in translating accounting jargon into plain English and showing owners how to use data to grow their business and personal wealth.
Together, they are co-authors of “Stop Avoiding Your Numbers: The Small Business Owners’ Guide to Financial Confidence.” Learn more about stopavoidingyournumbers.com.
