What is your business worth?

We made a decision to manage our business profit centers separately this year. That means I have three (soon to be four... oh wait, five) sets of financial statements to close & review monthly PLUS the consolidated metrics for all entities. Being the implementation optimist I am (aka horribly unreliable at estimating the time it takes to bring a new project to completion) I thought pulling apart 3 separate divisions would take a month tops. All we needed to do was create classes within our system, separate out our recurring transactions, split the revenue by service line, go through every transaction and decide which entity it belongs to, set up intercompany payable systems, etc., etc., etc.

Needless to say, I was wrong about how long it would take to get a clean & useable set of financials. I finally have them in hand, I got them in late April. Before we made the split I had my financials and trend metrics in hand by the 10th business day of the month, every month. It was clockwork. Not only did I have my prior month data, but my leadership team was also impressively accurate at forecasting the month every week as well. I felt confident in my data, in my ability to make decisions, in the health of my business. So even when things felt like they weren't going well (or sometimes too well), I never felt out of control.

I am an incredibly privileged business owner. I was brought up in a business that was fully transparent in our financial data, had easy-to-understand dashboards already built, and a solid system for using data to enhance our decision-making. I mean, this is what we do for a living so it better be good. But I never knew until this year how the other half lived. I have never felt the feeling of falling off a cliff without a parachute, not knowing how far you'll fall or if there will be a soft place to land. Until this year, I didn't know sleepless nights worrying about what I didn't know. Making up worst-case scenarios in my head. Until this year I didn't know the feeling of unease that settles into a business where financial data isn't shared, and how quickly it can create cracks in your culture. I didn't know how scary it felt out here doing this business ownership thing alone and blind. I didn't know how stressed and scared the owners who come to us for help truly were, I mean even they didn't until they started working with us and felt the type of support data systems and decision-making models can give you.

The fear and stress of this high-stakes venture known as small business permeates everything. And it builds ever so slightly. So slowly that we can't detect the ways it changes our lives.

I have a short fuse with my children

I cancel plans because I can't make one more decision

I disconnect from my spouse because I've overcommunicated all-day

I am physically present but mentally absent to the small joys of everyday life

I hustle through our bedtime routine and forgo snuggles to get to the point in my day where my brain can shut off

I disengage from friends because my well is empty and there's not much left to give

Is your business worth this? Is mine? I've got to tell you, before these last 4 months of navigating the unknown, I would have given you an unequivocal HELL YEAH. And I am sure once we get all the kinks out of this new system I'll get back there. But, right now, it doesn't feel worth it.

However, this lapse in good data & the support that comes with it has given me a gift. It has given me the gift of perspective. Of a deep understanding of our value proposition. Of why we are needed in this world now more than ever. Small business is changing the world for the better, and if we can help those leading the charge to have more clarity, more confidence, less worry and less doubt I AM HERE FOR IT.

If you are wondering what my financial support system looks like at a glance, click the button below to watch a brief overview of how we do what we do at MACKEY for ourselves and for our clients.

Prosper for Business Overview