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Finance leaders are often expected to have all the answers, but who do they turn to when they need another perspective? In this episode, Jaime Staley talks with Theresa Lauer, Senior Director of Finance for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley, about professional development in accounting and why technical expertise is only one part of becoming an effective finance leader. Theresa shares lessons from public accounting, business ownership, virtual CFO work, and nonprofit finance leadership. They discuss the role of organizational culture, the pressure of making final decisions, the value of an experienced thought partner, and why asking for help is a leadership strength. Theresa also explains the three areas that shape her professional development: technical education, industry connections, and relationships within her local community. If you are a CFO, controller, accounting professional, or business owner carrying complex decisions alone, this conversation is a reminder that strong leaders build support around them. Learn more about Willow's Ask a CFO community or schedule a Clarity Call at https://willowcfo.com/.

A software investment includes much more than a monthly subscription. Implementation, data migration, integrations, employee training, and temporary productivity losses can all affect software ROI. Katina Peters is joined by Brian Zielinski and Mark Kennedy of ShapeConnect to discuss how business owners can identify the problem they need technology to solve, compare platforms and vendors, involve employees in the selection process, and measure results after implementation. They also explain why companies frequently buy more software than they need, how disconnected technology stacks develop, and why a limited-time discount should never determine such an important long-term decision. Learn more at https://www.shapeconnect.com/.

Creating a culture of accountability is essential as your business grows, but holding people accountable doesn't have to mean micromanaging their work. In this episode, Megan Spicer and Jaime Staley discuss how business owners can build a team culture rooted in clarity, ownership, communication, and follow-through. They explore why accountability often breaks down as a team expands, how leaders can address mistakes without resorting to blame, and why employees need to feel safe speaking up when they encounter challenges. You'll also hear practical ways to improve accountability, including setting clear expectations, addressing problems as they happen, holding regular priority meetings, and using project-management tools to create visibility without constantly checking on your team. Creating a culture of accountability starts at the top. When leaders take ownership, communicate openly, and follow through on their commitments, they give their teams a model to follow. Learn more and explore additional business resources at https://willowcfo.com.

What if the biggest threat to your business isn't the market; it's burnout? In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Jaime Staley is joined by Amy Vetter, CPA, CEO of the B3 Method Institute, author, and leadership expert, to discuss how business owner burnout and leadership burnout quietly impact profitability, decision-making, employee retention, and long-term business growth. Many business owners assume burnout is simply part of entrepreneurship. But as Amy explains, burnout often affects the highest performers; the leaders who care deeply about their businesses and continue taking on more until exhaustion begins affecting both their wellbeing and their company's performance. Together, they explore: Why high-performing leaders are more likely to experience burnout The hidden financial costs of business owner burnout How burnout impacts leadership, productivity, and decision-making Warning signs that burnout may already be affecting your business Practical strategies for building a healthier, more sustainable organization Whether you're leading a growing team or simply feeling stretched too thin, this conversation offers practical insights to help you recognize burnout early, strengthen your leadership, and create a business built for sustainable success. Connect with Amy Vetter: Website: https://amyvetter.com Business Balance Bliss: https://businessbalancebliss.com Learn more about Willow Virtual CFO: https://willowcfo.com

Many business owners appear successful on the outside but feel uncertain, overwhelmed, or anxious when it comes to their finances. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Jaime Staley welcomes back Dr. Barbara Provost and Maggie Nielsen, founders of Purse Strings, for a candid conversation about financial confidence. Together, they discuss why so many entrepreneurs struggle with money decisions, how a lack of financial confidence can impact business growth, and practical steps owners can take to better understand their numbers. You'll learn why financial confidence isn't about knowing everything, the importance of cash flow awareness, common mistakes business owners make, and how building the right support team can help you make smarter decisions with greater clarity. Whether you're just starting your business or looking to scale, this episode will help you take the next step toward feeling more confident and in control of your finances. In this episode: What financial confidence really means Why successful business owners still struggle with money Signs you may be avoiding or misunderstanding your numbers The difference between profit, cash flow, and bank balances Practical habits for improving financial awareness How to overcome financial overwhelm and embarrassment Why the right financial partner can make all the difference Connect with Purse Strings: Website: pursestrings.co Instagram: @pursestrings.co Podcast: Women and Money: The Sht We Don't Talk About*

Feeling overwhelmed in your business, even when you're getting things done? It might not be your workload. It might be your decisions. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, we break down how to reduce overwhelm in your business by improving your business decision making process and understanding how decision fatigue impacts business profitability. As a business owner, you're responsible for constant decisions: pricing, hiring, client management, and more. Over time, that mental load can lead to slower execution, poor choices, and reduced margins. We walk through: What decision fatigue is and why it affects business owners more than employees How overwhelm shows up in your financials (and impacts profitability) The types of decisions that drain your time and energy the most A simple framework to eliminate, automate, and elevate decisions How to build decision filters and empower your team If your business feels reactive, chaotic, or mentally exhausting, this episode will give you practical tools to regain clarity and protect your profitability. Ready to get support? Book your CFO Clarity Call with Willow Virtual CFO to identify your next best steps.

The aesthetics industry is growing fast, but many med spa owners are discovering that growth alone doesn't guarantee success. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, we sit down with Abby Honaker of Pink Sky to break down what effective med spa management really looks like behind the scenes. While many practitioners excel clinically, scaling a business requires systems, structure, and strong operational leadership. Abby shares how practices can move from chaos to clarity by building better processes, improving team accountability, and shifting from reactive to proactive management. We also discuss the warning signs that your practice may need operational support, and how ignoring them can lead to burnout, lost revenue, and stalled growth. If your practice feels like it's constantly putting out fires, this episode will help you understand what's missing and how to fix it.

Many business owners assume that increasing sales is the key to improving profitability, but that's not always the case. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, we explore how to improve profitability in a business by focusing on what truly drives results: improving profit margins, increasing efficiency, and strengthening cash flow. If your business is growing but you're not seeing the financial progress you expected, this conversation will help you identify where the gaps are and how to fix them. We break down practical, actionable strategies to help you: Improve profit margins through pricing and cost awareness Increase operational efficiency by reducing manual processes and inefficiencies Strengthen cash flow with better invoicing, collections, and forecasting You'll also learn why profit and cash flow are not the same, and why understanding both is critical to long-term success. If you're ready to stop working harder and start building a more profitable, sustainable business, this episode is a great place to start.

Many entrepreneurs spend years building successful businesses but don't always connect their business growth with their personal wealth strategy. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Katina Peters speaks with Katherine Dean, CFP® of Opal Wealth Advisors about why financial planning for business owners requires a different approach than traditional wealth management. Together they explore how holistic financial planning helps entrepreneurs align their personal finances, business growth, and long-term goals. The conversation covers the realities of fluctuating income, planning for a future business exit, building wealth outside the business, and why having advisors who understand entrepreneurship is essential. They also discuss common red flags business owners should watch for when working with financial advisors and why a collaborative advisory team, including CPAs, financial planners, and legal advisors, can create stronger outcomes. If you're a business owner who wants greater clarity around your financial strategy and long-term wealth planning, this episode will give you practical insights to help you think beyond revenue and taxes toward a more integrated financial future.

If a client brings in revenue but drains your team, disrupts your processes, or creates constant stress, are they actually profitable? In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Megan Spicer is joined by Willow Virtual CFO partner Jaime Staley to tackle one of the most difficult decisions business owners face: when it's time to fire a client. Many business owners hold on to clients longer than they should because they're focused on the revenue coming in. But true client profitability goes far beyond the top-line number. Jaime walks through how to evaluate the real impact a client has on your business, including hidden costs, team capacity, operational drag, and payment behavior. Together, Megan and Jaime break down a practical decision framework that helps remove emotion from the process and allows leaders to evaluate both the math and the mess behind a client relationship. They also share how to approach difficult conversations and how to fire a client professionally while protecting your reputation and relationships. If you've ever wondered whether a difficult client is worth keeping, or how to walk away when they're not, this episode provides a clear and practical framework to help you decide. In this episode, you'll learn: How to evaluate client profitability beyond revenue Warning signs that a client relationship is becoming unhealthy The hidden operational costs that can drain your team How to use a simple decision framework to evaluate difficult clients How to fire a client professionally and exit the relationship cleanly If you're feeling the pressure of difficult client relationships or wondering whether your current client mix is truly profitable, this conversation will help you approach the decision with clarity and confidence. To learn more about working with Willow Virtual CFO, visit: willowcfo.com

If your firm says business development is everyone's job, but no one owns it, this episode is for you. In Episode 180 of Cultivating Business Growth, Megan Spicer is joined by Neil Barrow, founder of Enabled BD and host of I Hope This Email Finds You Well, to unpack what business development really looks like inside professional service firms. Neil explains why business development isn't a soft skill, how to build consistent habits around growth, and how to create a practical business development plan focused on strengthening relationships first. He also shares how to build a referral network using your existing clients, why culture and structure both matter, and what firms should clarify before hiring a business developer. In this episode, we cover: – What business development actually is (and why we overcomplicate it) – How to make business development feel authentic instead of salesy – The four core areas every business development plan should include – Using the 80/20 rule to focus on what drives results – Why your current clients are the foundation of referrals – One actionable step you can take this week to strengthen your business development efforts This episode is ideal for CPAs, consultants, attorneys, and service-based business owners who want a clearer, more human-centered approach to growth.

Adding a second location is often treated like a milestone, but it's one of the fastest ways to put pressure on a healthy business if it's done too soon. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Megan Spicer is joined by Willow Virtual CFO partner Katina Peters to break down a practical expansion framework designed to help business owners decide when growth makes sense, and when it doesn't. We introduce the Second Location Scorecard, built around three critical areas every owner should evaluate before signing a lease or hiring a team: Demand: Is your growth repeatable and sustainable, or is it temporary pressure? Cash: Can your cash flow absorb fixed costs, upfront expenses, and a slower-than-expected ramp? Capacity: Do your systems and team support growth without burning out the owner or leadership team? You'll learn why expansion should be treated as a strategy, not a reward, how to spot red flags before they become expensive mistakes, and what to fix first if the answer is "not yet." If you're feeling busy, maxed out, or considering opening a second location, this episode will help you make the decision with clarity instead of pressure. 👉 Learn more or book a strategy call at willowcfo.com/contact

Growing your business means adding vendors, cloud tools, and systems, but it also means increasing your exposure to data risk. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Jaime Staley sits down with Timothy O'Hara, VP of Data Risk at The Hack Ninja, to break down data protection for small business in a way non-technical owners can actually understand and act on. You'll learn why small and mid-sized businesses are often more vulnerable than large enterprises, how vendor and third-party risk quietly creates exposure, and what "minimum viable" cybersecurity really looks like for growing companies without internal IT leadership. This conversation reframes cybersecurity as a leadership and growth issue, not just an IT problem, showing how strong data controls can reduce risk, speed up deals, improve valuations, and protect your reputation as you scale. In this episode, we cover: Why growing businesses are prime targets for data breaches The biggest misconceptions about cybersecurity and vendor responsibility How third-party tools and vendors create hidden risk What questions to ask vendors to protect your data Zero Trust explained for small business owners Practical first steps to improve data protection this quarter How strong security controls can actually accelerate growth Resources mentioned: Learn more about Tim's work at The Hack Ninja: https://thehackninja.com Access a complimentary cybersecurity education session for small business owners through The Hack Ninja website If you're scaling your business and relying on software, vendors, or cloud tools, this episode will help you understand where your risk lives, and how to address it before it becomes a costly problem.

If job costing only tells you what went wrong after a project is complete, it isn't protecting your margins; it's just record keeping. In this episode of Cultivating Business Growth, Megan Spicer is joined by construction industry expert Katina Peters of Willow Virtual CFO to break down how construction job costing should function as a real-time leadership system, not post-mortem accounting. They discuss why lack of job visibility shows up as profit problems, where job costing typically breaks down, and the job costing best practices contractors can use to protect margins while a job is still running, not after it's too late. If you're tired of surprise overruns, delayed billing, and jobs that look profitable on paper but not in reality, this episode will help you rethink how job costing supports profitability, cash flow, and smarter decision-making. 👉 Learn more or book a conversation at willowcfo.com/contact

As your business grows, so does your HR risk. In this episode, we're joined by Andrea Herran, CEO of Focus HR, to break down the most common compliance pitfalls small businesses face, and how to avoid them before they become expensive problems. Andrea shares why HR compliance for small business is essential to sustainable growth and how outsourced HR services can give owners expert guidance without the cost of hiring a full-time HR manager. We explore hidden risks that surface as your team expands, the red flags that signal it's time for HR support, and practical steps you can take today to strengthen your policies, protect your business, and set your team up for success. Whether you're building your first HR foundation or realizing you've outgrown your current process, this episode offers clarity, direction, and confidence for your next stage of growth.