You don't need a finance degree to run a healthy business. You need three numbers, and you need to know them without opening a spreadsheet.
- Your break-even point
The minimum you need to bring in each month to cover expenses. If you don't know this number, you don't actually know if you're profitable — you're guessing.
- Your average cost to deliver
What it actually costs you — time included — to serve one client or sell one unit. I see business owners price off gut feel constantly, and it's usually too low.
- Your cash runway
How many months you could operate if revenue stopped tomorrow. This is the number that keeps you from panicking — or the one that should be waking you up.
I came out of county government and corporate finance before I built my own consulting practice, and one thing never changed: the businesses in trouble almost always had owners who were excellent at their craft and strangers to their own numbers. Know these three, and you're already ahead of most.
