Free to Grow CFO

Happy Thanksgiving from the Free to Grow CFO team! We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for our incredible clients and partners. Your trust and collaboration are the foundation of everything we do, and we’re truly thankful to be part of your journey. Wishing you a joyful Thanksgiving filled with warmth, happiness, and plenty of reasons to celebrate! 🦃🍁

Hiring an accountant and expecting them to handle CFO responsibilities is a HUGE mistake—and can be catastrophic for your DTC brand. Accountants are critical to keeping your financial records accurate, compliant, and audit-ready. They are the backbone of your financial operations, ensuring every number adds up and that you're staying on the right side of tax laws and regulations. But here’s the thing: accountants focus on historical data—what’s happened in the past. CFOs? They look to the future. A CFO doesn’t just keep the books; they provide forward-looking guidance. They create financial strategies that align with your business goals, optimize cash flow, and identify opportunities for growth. They help you navigate complex decisions, like scaling ad spend, securing financing, or planning a new product launch. So, if you're serious about scaling, you need both. An accountant to keep you grounded in reality, and a CFO to help you reach for what's possible. Don’t confuse the two roles—your business depends on it. -- Did you find this post helpful? If so, consider resharing it and giving me Jon Blair a follow.

When was the last time rejection made you want to give up? Yesterday, I witnessed a moment with my daughter that brought home a lesson every entrepreneur knows too well—rejection is inevitable, but it doesn’t define us. My 5-year-old mustered up the courage to approach a classmate, only to face rejection. Her reaction made me think of all the times we, as entrepreneurs, face similar setbacks. It’s easy to let that voice inside tell us to stop trying, but it’s in pushing past that discomfort that real growth happens. While watching my little daughter get her feelings hurt was hard to watch as her dad, I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach her (and honestly remind myself) that rejection is just an event—not a reflection of who we are. -- Did you find this post helpful? If so, consider resharing it and giving me Jon Blair a follow.

Super excited to share my recent conversation with Tana Cofer, founder and CEO of RosieRai, on the latest episode of the Free to Grow CFO Podcast! Tana didn’t hold back—she laid out exactly what DTC brands need to do when scaling across major marketplaces. One thing that really hit home? Strategic product selection when expanding to a new channel. Tana made it clear: it's crucial to focus on gateway products that not only represent your brand well but also draw customers in to explore more of your offerings. First impressions matter, and they can make or break your success. Whether you're just starting out on Amazon, Walmart, or Target, or looking to optimize your existing presence, this episode is packed with actionable insights that can help you navigate the complexities of marketplace expansion with confidence. 🎧 Check it out now! Find it where you get your podcasts! 📺 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eWzBJnJg 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eKsJzCfK 🎙️ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ey_mn7QQ

Worried about hitting the launch button for your DTC brand on Amazon with no traction? Don't worry, I've got you! Getting your first 100 reviews on Amazon can feel insurmountable, but it doesn't have to be! I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Tana Cofer, the founder and CEO of RosieRai, an e-commerce growth agency that’s making waves in the DTC space. Tana brought some next-level insights on scaling DTC brands across major marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and Target, all while keeping profitability at the forefront. During our chat, we dive deep into strategies for marketplace growth and the common mistakes brands make when expanding into new channels. 3 key takeaways you'll want to hear if you're looking to expand your brand into new channels: 1. Strategic Product Catalog & Pricing: The critical importance of having a well-thought-out strategy for your product offerings and pricing. 2. Organic Presence: How building a strong organic presence is key to standing out in a crowded marketplace. 3. Customer Reviews: The essential role that customer reviews play in driving success on platforms like Amazon. Keep an eye out for the full episode drop, where Tana walks us through her step-by-step strategy that helped her brand, GlitterFaced, secure 100 reviews on Amazon within just the first 90 days. --- 👉 Want more? Subscribe to our podcast on YouTube or where you get your podcasts to be the first to know when the full episode drops. 🔗 📺 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ei3nz_MH 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eKsJzCfK 🎙️ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e5DcS9zn

Happy 4th of July! Wishing you all a safe and fun holiday!

Brand founder, do your thoughts, feelings, and actions align with those of a successful person? Distinguishing between success and stagnation often boils down to distinct mindsets and behaviors. Here's a breakdown: 1. Thinking - Successful people think realistically about their problems and come up with positive solutions, instead of letting it negatively impact and disempower them. 2. Feeling - Successful people let their behavior determine their feelings, not the other way around. 3. Actions - Successful people possess the initiative to start and the willingness to see it through to the end. -- Did you find this post helpful? If so, consider resharing it and giving me Jon Blair a follow.

You can't have a long-standing profitable business without having a solid story. 🎙️ The latest episode of the Free to Grow CFO podcast is live! This week on the Free to Grow CFO podcast, I chat with Chris Lang, co-founder of Fresh Chile and we dive into the importance of connecting with your audience on a deeper level through the power of messaging. Chris shares his entrepreneurial journey, from struggling to find his path through multiple universities to launching a successful creative agency and several businesses, including Fresh Chile. In addition to the importance of storytelling, we chatted about various strategic aspects of running a DTC brand, such as insourcing versus outsourcing production and marketing, addressing seasonality in business, and integrating personal faith into business operations. I'm excited for this episode to drop and to share with you! It offers deep insights into the importance of storytelling, authenticity, and creating a DTC brand that stands out in the market with a profit-first mentality. You're going to want to have a listen! 🎧 Tune in to the full episode where you get your podcasts! 📺 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eFBZGQej 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eBrF9A43 🎙️ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eyPQUQ2t

DTC Brand Founders, are your finance and marketing teams operating blindfolded? The synergy between marketing and finance is not just a choice, but a necessity for e-commerce businesses aiming to thrive in a competitive landscape. 🎙️ The newest episode of the Free to Grow CFO podcast is officially live! This week on the pod I chat with Thomas Gleeson, co-founder of StoreHero and we do a deep dive into the challenge of marketing efficiently, profitability, and cash flow for scaling DTC brands. Thomas shares his journey from growing up in an e-commerce environment, working at Shopify, to eventually co-founding StoreHero, a revolutionary product helping brands pinpoint their successes and pitfalls in ad spending. He offers practical advice on calculating and analyzing contribution margins and highlights the benefits of using tools like StoreHero for informed decision-making as you scale. I’m super excited to share this conversation with you! From discussing the landscape of e-commerce and targeted marketing strategies to exploring the significance of contribution margin this episode is packed full of insights and knowledge that DTC brand founders and marketers are not going to want to miss! 🎧 Tune in to the full episode for actionable insights! Watch here: https://lnkd.in/eunKU9YB #dtcbrand #founders #scaleyourbusiness #freetogrowcfopodcast #ecommerce

DTC brand founder, whoever is driving your ad spend strategy cannot do so in a vacuum... Marketing and ad spend strategies cannot operate in isolation--they must align closely with operations and finance teams to ensure sustainable growth. Here's why cross-functional collaboration  🤝 is your secret sauce to unlocking growth: Holistic Insights: When teams from marketing, finance, sales, and product development come together, you get a complete picture of your brand's performance and market opportunities. The result? No more blind spots! Data-Driven Decision Making: Pooling data resources means smarter decisions. Marketing data combined with sales metrics and financial projections paints a comprehensive picture of ROI and allows for agile adjustments in real-time. Agility in Execution: In the fast-paced DTC world, agility is critical for brands. Cross-functional collaboration enables swift execution, with teams seamlessly coordinating tasks and adapting strategies based on real-time feedback. This nimble approach allows you to capitalize on emerging trends and respond quickly to market changes. Above is a clip from my recent chat with Bryan Cano, on our Free to Grow CFO podcast. Click here to watch the full episode 📺 : https://lnkd.in/ekngE5xC -- Find this post helpful? Consider reposting or giving me, Jon Blair, a follow. #dtcbrands #scaleyourbusiness #founders