147. Advice FROM Fractional CFO Clients (PLOT TWIST)
8 Dec 2025 · 7 min
Fractional CFO clients share why they work with the firm: accountability, relationships, and better business outcomes. The host reveals three things he needed to scale: training, community, and periodic reinvigoration. He's running the 2025 CFO Accelerator Live conference May 21-23 in Orlando.
Questions this episode answers
January 14, 2025.
CFO Accelerator Live: May 21–23, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
Text 'live' to 1-469-515-8087.
Eight years.
"Well over 40 hours a month."
Chapters
Foreign.
There's nothing special about us when it comes to education and curriculum and things like that. It's all perspectives and mindsets. It's all how we show up and how we lead.
I feel like they're part of my team based on the language that they use when, when we win or when we're at, you know, not necessarily winning sometimes too.
Whatever. You're ahead of the curve already, so stick with what you're doing, know what you're doing, and keep that personal relationship with your customers the best you can.
You'll.
You'll do well.
Thank you for what you're doing. Keep doing what you're doing and it is making a difference in lots of people's lives out there.
Do you have any advice for other.
Fractional CFOs that are looking to serve clients like you all?
Keep doing what you're doing. You are making a difference. It may not feel like it sometimes. It may not feel. Feel that you're able to break down that wall, but every time you run up and bump up against that wall, it's putting a crack in it. And once you break that wall down and show them what you can do, it truly does make a difference, not only professionally, but personally as well. Professionally? Yes. The whole keywords in the CFO nerd world over here that we hear every week, that's super, super important. It's not, I bet. No. But, but teaching us and, and, and showing us. Not just telling us what it is, but teaching us and showing us and staying on top of us. Letting us ask questions six or seven times month after month after month, and not making us feel this big and finding ways to communicate with us, but personally too, the difference that you guys are making. I can go home and sleep at night and spend time with my wife and kids without thinking about, are we going to make payroll? Are we going to meet our gross profit numbers? Are we, what are we doing this month? Yes, that's there, but it's not, it's, it's not where we were to two and a half years ago. It, it. You guys are making a difference in my life personally that I didn't even know that was existed two years ago. So thank you for what you're doing. Keep doing what you're doing. And, and it is making a difference in lots of people's lives out there.
Yeah.
I would probably echo anything anybody says. And Nathan's already picked on Mike for his hair. I was going to say he had hair on his head and mine wasn't gray when this started, but I wouldn't buy either one of those. But anyway, it's hard work. They told us in 2021, I think it was April's when I think we got him over early April 21, my recollection. And it was like, we can get it done, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and we're going to have to buckle down and have that accountability and, and get there. And we did, we worked through it. And I think this past year actually is probably proof of that. And you're still a little bit going, are, is this real? Is this really happening? But yeah, don't get frustrated with us. We're technicians. I've said that already, but we don't, you know, you can train us up. And that heart of the teacher that Mike, he uses that every time I, I hear him. They're going to ask you, we're going to ask you for some things that may not be, you know, shouldn't they know that? Well, no, we don't. But yeah, just, just keep doing it because it's. You will make. I mean, there's what, 120 of you guys in here. If all of you affected one company next year, how would that, how would that work? And all of you probably have more than one. I know one of the ladies that was with us at lunch back here said she's, she's capped out. What if you made. What if you make a difference in two that we're talking about? So anyway, just keep doing it. We appreciate what you're doing. You're making a difference in the world.
I know how hard it can be to build a fractional CFO firm. We spend our entire careers learning the technical side of things. But not enough people talk about how to build a business around it. The work is hard and I know that it can get lonely. And if we're not careful, we can end up losing our passion for the work and ultimately we just burn out. For me, I realized that I needed three things in order to get my fractional CFO firm to the next level. I needed next level training from somebody who had been there and done that before to show me how to get my firm off the ground and how to scale it up. I needed to be around a community of other fractional CFOs that shared my energy and passion for the work. And third, every so often, I just needed a jolt of energy, a fresh spark to reignite my own passion for building a fractional CFO firm. If you're looking for that next level training, the amazing community and that jolt of energy to get your fractional CFO firm unstuck and on a new trajectory. Then I'd like to invite you to join our industry's only conference in the world, the 2025 CFO Accelerator Live, happening in Orlando, Florida, May 21 through 23, 2025. Over three days, you'll hear from me and some of the other most successful FR CFO firm owners is we share the lessons that we've learned in building and scaling firms. You'll get to network and collaborate with hundreds of other fractional CFOs from all over the world. Firm owners that serve every niche you can think of and with every type of firm business model you can imagine. You'll walk away from our three days together with a renewed passion and excitement to get you back to your office and start scaling your firm and your impact. Click the link below to grab your tickets and here's my promise. The price shown in that link is the absolute lowest price we're going to offer. If you wait, you will pay more. So grab your tickets today and enjoy me in Orlando, Florida, May 21st through 23rd for the CFO Accelerator Live. If you have any questions, just text live to 1-469-515-8087. I cannot wait to see you in May, my friend.
I would say really looking at the way that Mike infused the human element into their business and it's like all the things that we've touched on before, like the way that I feel like they're a part of my team based on the language that they use when we win or when we're at, you know, not necessarily winning sometimes too. And also, you know, we've had some rough time. We've had a lot of really rough times the last four years. And you know, around the pandemic, it's such an intangible thing that you can't put on paper. But I think your clients will feel that and that's why I refer, I refer them out. Anybody I know that's ever looking and I don't really take referrals. I don't take them lightly because it's a reflection of what's working for me and people really trust that and I just really trust Mike. And I think that is something very rare.
I would say it's more than just the numbers of it. It's the relationships that they build individual they find the way to push you, to pull you, to keep progressing you forward, as they've echoed many times it's just that they want to feel part of your team, and they do. So to me, it's more the relationship than the numbers.
I got the short end of the stick. Everybody's kind of giving all the thoughts, and I've got them on here. I think the biggest thing, and this is not just in this industry, but kind of society as a whole right now. When you're working with somebody, it's hard to get somebody to do what they say they're going to do and then follow through and, and stick with it. And I feel like if you do that as a CFO or appliance people or electrical people, whatever, you're ahead of the curve already. So stick with what you're doing, know what you're doing, and keep that personal relationship with your customers the best you can. You'll do well.
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