Most owners of growing companies can’t say which jobs or customers actually make money.
Every owner can tell you revenue. Few can tell you which jobs make the profit. We find it, in dollars, before the next big call is made on a guess. We take no piece of any transaction, so your mandate and your relationship stay yours.
Email [email protected] with the owner copied. We reply the same day.
You need to meet Russell when an owner says…
- “We had a record year and I don’t know where the money went.”
- “We’re growing and I’m always short on cash.”
- “I’m about to make a big hire, or buy a building, and I’m going on gut.”
- “My biggest customer is killing us, but I can’t lose them.”
- “A PE firm called.”
- “I want out in two or three years.”
- “My partner wants to sell his half.”
- “We’re looking for a CFO.”
- “Our biggest vendor just raised prices.”
Most owners call after the fire. These lines are the six months before it.
Two questions. Four places to start.
Running it or selling it, the first move depends on these two answers.
For advisors
Which of your clients sit in the bottom right?
Three reports in. Two days later, the leaks in dollars.
The owner uploads three reports through your link. Monthly P&L and balance sheet for 24 months, plus the sales or margin report they actually read. Nothing to schedule to start.
In 48 hours, we’ve found the two or three biggest places money is leaking. Russell reviews and signs every read. Files stay private and are deleted after 30 days.
Then an hour with the owner, putting a dollar figure on each one. It’s how we decide who we work with, and how the owner decides whether to work with us.
If there’s money on the table, 14 days. The Decision Diagnostic, or the Sellable-Numbers Scan if the owner is selling. At least 3x the fee in owner-accepted value, in 14 days, or the client pays nothing. Then the 90-Day Decision Resolution puts the Financial Rhythm System™ in place.
Each partner gets their own link, so every read that comes from you is credited to you.
Fixed fees, set by revenue band.
| Owner’s revenue | 14 days | 90 days | Ongoing |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5M to $8M | $10,000 | $30,000 | $7,500 a month |
| $8M to $25M | $15,000 | $45,000 | $10,000 a month |
| $25M to $50M | $20,000 | $60,000 | $12,500 a month |
The 48-hour read has no charge. Ongoing work adds 5% of realized value, validated quarterly. A 90-day engagement signed within 7 days of the Day 14 readout credits the 14-day fee in full.
What your client sees on Day 14.
Who to send, and who not to.
Send them
- Owner-led operating company, $5M to $50M revenue
- Growing with flat profit, a cash squeeze, or a big call coming
- A sale, PE approach, succession or partner exit in the next three years
Not a fit
- Under $5M revenue
- Wants bookkeeping on its own
- Wants someone to sell the company or promise a price
What owners have found.
- A $15M manufacturer whose largest customer was its least profitable; margins moved from 15% to 22%.
- A $30M services firm: $380K of working capital recovered and the monthly close cut from 22 days to 3, in 90 days.
- A $25M consumer products manufacturer whose owner didn’t trust the P&L behind the bankers’ estimate; the work roughly doubled the modeled exit value.
Client results anonymized.
Two intros. Send either as is.
Put the owner on the To line and [email protected] on cc. Fill the brackets.
When the owner is curious
Subject: Where your profit is going
[Owner], I’d like you to meet Russell Fette at Decisive Finance. He works with owners of growing companies who can’t say which customers or jobs actually make money. The easy version: you send him three reports, and in 48 hours he’s found the two or three biggest places money is leaking. Then he spends an hour with you putting a dollar figure on each one. Nothing to schedule to start. Here’s the link: [your private link] Russell, over to you.
When you know they need help
Subject: Russell Fette, Decisive Finance
[Owner], meet Russell Fette. [One line on why you trust him.] He’s the CFO I’d call if I were growing and not keeping the profit, or thinking about selling in the next few years. His firm guarantees at least 3x the fee in owner-accepted value in 14 days, or the client pays nothing. I’ve told him a bit about what you’re facing. Grab 30 minutes here: calendly.com/russell-decisive/30min
Or send the one-pager.
Running the company (PDF), for chairs, implementers, CPAs and bankers. Selling the company (PDF), for M&A advisors, brokers and transaction attorneys: fix the financials before the mandate, not after the QoE.
Bring Russell to your group.
60 to 90 minutes for a Vistage group, an EOS session or a webinar. Each owner brings three reports. Russell finds where the money’s leaking and puts a dollar estimate on plugging each leak. Each owner’s numbers stay private.
Ask about a dateBefore you make the intro.
What does the owner have to send?
Three reports: monthly P&L and balance sheet for the last 24 months, plus whichever sales or margin report they actually read. They upload them through your private link. There’s no charge for the read.
What happens to their files?
They go to private storage that only we can open, and they’re deleted 30 days after upload. Nothing the owner sends is used to train any model. Russell reviews and signs every read before it goes out.
Why the hour after the read?
It’s how we decide who we work with, and how the owner decides whether to work with us. We take the findings one at a time and the owner tells us whether each number holds up. If we can’t find real money, we tell them that too.
What does it cost after that?
The 14-day Decision Diagnostic, or the Sellable-Numbers Scan if they are selling, is $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000 by revenue band. At least 3x the fee in owner-accepted value, in 14 days, or the client pays nothing. Fees are fixed before we begin.
Will I hear how it went?
Yes. Same-day acknowledgment when you make an intro, and the outcome within the week, with the owner’s OK.
Do you pay referral fees?
No. We never charge you, never pay you, and never go around you.
What don’t you do?
We don’t sell companies, find buyers, or promise a price or a multiple.
Make an intro.
Email [email protected] with the owner copied. We reply the same day.
Make an introDecide from the numbers. Prove it in the cash.