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Your Small Business CFO Framework

Know Your Numbers

Every business has a CFO. In yours, that’s you. Know
what’s making money, what isn’t, and exactly what to do next.

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  • Connected Framework Pillars
  • Business Operations
  • Marketing
Why this pillar matters

The three things every CFO delivers

Clarity. Consistency. Visibility.

Clarity

Knowing your revenue, margins, cash, and conversion well enough to make decisions. Not someday. Right now. A CFO doesn’t wait for the quarterly report. 

Consistency

Reviewing the right numbers on a regular rhythm instead of reacting emotionally or waiting until something breaks. Consistency is what turns data into decisions.

Visibility

Healthy numbers support the investment required to drive growth. Financial clarity and external discoverability are connected. You can’t extend into paid marketing if you can’t afford it.

Small businesses grow when they create clarity, build consistency, and earn visibility. These three pillars work together. Know Your Numbers is where clarity starts.

Is this you?

You're working hard.
You're just not sure it's working.

  • You don't know your profit margin off the top of your head
  • You set prices based on what felt right, not what the numbers say
  • You've never built a revenue projection and aren't sure where to start
  • You avoid looking at the numbers until something goes wrong

How Clarity in Your Financials Drives Growth

The framework

Forecast. Track. Decide.

Three steps. In order. Most founders skip the first two and wonder
why the third one feels like guessing.

  • 01

Forecast: decide what should happen

Revenue drivers, pricing, margins, break-even, what it costs to get a customer, what they’re worth over time, cash position. Set the targets before the month starts, not after it ends.

  • 02
Track: monitor what is happening

A simple review rhythm. The same numbers, every week or month. Not every metric. Just the ones that tell you whether the business is on track.

  • 03
Decide: use the numbers to act

Adjust pricing, cut spending, double down on what’s working, or stop what isn’t. Numbers are decision tools, not reports you file and forget.

Hard Truth – Marcela Shine

“The issue isn’t that you’re bad with numbers. It’s that nobody
ever translated them for you. Bookkeeping records
transactions. Knowing your numbers explains your business.
Those are two completely different things.”

Marcela Shine

Co-founder, Ready, Plan, Grow!

What it looks like in practice

Real scenarios. Real consequences.

  • The symptom
A founder thinks the problem is not enough sales. They push harder on marketing, run ads, post more.
The real problem is a margin issue. More revenue at the wrong margin just creates more work for the same result.
  • The symptom
The business is hitting revenue targets but cash is always tight. Every month feels like a scramble.
The issue isn’t revenue. It’s cash timing. Profitable and cash-poor are two different problems with two different fixes.
  • The symptom
A business increases ad spend to grow faster. Results are inconsistent and the founder can’t tell if it’s working.
Without knowing what it costs to get a customer and how long until they pay that back, every dollar spent on marketing is a guess.
  • The symptom
A founder sets prices based on what competitors charge. Some months are good, some aren’t.
Pricing without knowing your cost to deliver means you may be working for less than you think.
Your starting plan

90 days to financial clarity.

  • Days 61 to 90
  • Make one real decision
Use the numbers to make one concrete business decision. Reprice a service, cut a cost, reallocate time. This is what the framework is for.
  • Days 31 to 60
  • Build the rhythm
Set up a simple weekly or monthly review. Same numbers, same day, every time. Consistency in tracking is what turns data into decisions.
  • Days 1 to 30
  • Get the baseline
Identify your core metrics. Pull your revenue drivers, margin, and fixed costs. Build your first baseline so you know what you’re actually working with.
What founders say

Real businesses. Real clarity.

Sunny Barja

President, Foodesign Associates

“What initially felt like difficult findings became a constructive plan I could confidently share with our team.”

Tiffani Dickerson, RN

The Breast Choice Lactation Services

“We looked at pricing, time, and revenue potential and suddenly the numbers made sense. I walked away with clarity.”

Kasi Nayles

Founder, For The Few

“For the first time I understood not just what my numbers said. I understood what they meant for my business.”

How it works inside RPG

Ready. Plan. Grow!

You get the frameworks. You run them in your business with your
preferred AI doing the heavy lifting. Learn how to apply them with
our team during office hours.

Ready

  • Get set up
Get the frameworks and tools. Upload them to any AI. Type one prompt. The AI walks you through your actual numbers. No course to finish first.

Plan

  • Learn by doing
Workshops on projections, pricing, and financial planning. Weekly office hours with Marcela and the community. Bring your actual numbers. Get real answers.

Grow

  • Run your CFO role
Premium pre-built prompts for ChatGPT mean your AI runs the RPG financial framework with your actual business data. Your numbers. Your decisions. Right now.

Premium

$50/mo

Full Skills library and pre-built prompts for ChatGPT. Your AI runs the RPG financial framework with your actual business data.
  • Complete Skills library for ChatGPT
  • Pre-built prompts - your AI runs them
  • Everything in Free
  • Your numbers, your business, right now
Join Premium

Free

$0

Frameworks you can upload to any AI. One prompt and it walks you through your actual numbers. No course to finish first.
  • Know Your Numbers templates
  • Community access
  • Office hours and workshops
  • Start doing, not just learning
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For founders who want Marcela in the room

Do It With Me

Work through your numbers directly with Marcela. We build
your projections, review your margins, and walk away with a
financial picture you can use and defend. Start with a free
15-minute conversation.

Book a free 15-min call
Your other C-suite roles are waiting.

Numbers don't exist in isolation.

The CFO works with the COO and the CMO. In your business, all
three are likely you. Here’s how they connect.

  • Your COO Framework
Business Operations

If your systems are broken and your tools are fragmented, your numbers are wrong. The COO builds the foundation the CFO depends on.

  • Your CMO Framework
Small Business Marketing

Without knowing what it costs to get a customer and what they’re worth over time, you can’t make a single smart marketing decision. The CFO’s numbers drive every CMO decision.

Go deeper

The blog posts that teach the details.

What actually drives revenue in your business

Why business projections matter more than you think

Driving without headlights: your business without projections

How will this business actually make money

How do I calculate CAC for a new business

Planning for scale: LTV and loyalty metrics

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Step into your CFO role.

Join free. Grab the frameworks. Show up to office hours.
Your numbers will make sense by the end of the month.