Even if you’re not thinking about selling today, it’s worth considering how your business looks through the eyes of a potential buyer or investor. Because when customer concentration is high, most serious buyers will flag it as a risk—and discount accordingly.

Why?
Buyers aren’t just investing in what the business is today. They’re betting on future earnings. And if too much of your future relies on one or two customer relationships, the whole thing starts to look fragile.

Here’s what experienc…

The Hidden Operational Risks of Customer Concentration

Last week we introduced the idea of customer concentration—how too much revenue from too few clients can create unseen risk. This week, let’s look at how that plays out in real-time, every day, inside your operations.

Here’s the reality: when one customer makes up a big chunk of your income, your entire operation starts to bend around their needs.

• You prioritize their timeline.
• You adapt your systems and people to their processes.
• You…

Are You Relying Too Heavily on One Customer?

Let’s talk about something I see far too often—and that too many business owners ignore until it becomes a problem: customer concentration.

In our August session of Ask the CFO, we dug into what happens when a significant portion of your revenue comes from just a handful of clients. For some of the business owners I work with, it’s one client making up 50%, 60%, or even 70% of the total top line. That might feel like stability—but the risk is real, …

 Understanding Customer Concentration: A Quiet Risk for Small Businesses

For Family-Owned Business Owners

Let’s talk about something that doesn’t always make it onto the dashboard but quietly shapes your financial health: customer concentration.

Customer concentration refers to how much of your revenue is tied up with just a few clients. If more than 30–40% of your income is coming from one or two customers, your business is more exposed than you might think.

Sure, having big clients feels g…

Let’s call it like it is — most small and mid-sized businesses are held together by duct tape, good intentions, and a whole lot of spreadsheets.

Your CRM doesn’t talk to your accounting software.
Your online orders don’t sync with your inventory system.
And every department has a slightly different version of what’s actually going on.

This patchwork can work — for a while. But when it’s time to grow? That’s when the cracks start to show.

That’s where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) earns its s…

If you’ve ever walked into your warehouse and thought,
“Why do we have so much of this… and none of what we actually need?”
—you’re not alone.

Inventory can quietly become one of the biggest operational challenges in a business. And for small to mid-sized companies, it’s not just about space — it’s about cash flow, customer satisfaction, and the ability to grow without chaos.

Too much inventory? You’ve got money sitting on shelves.
Too little? You’re losing sales and disappointing customers.
Eithe…

This month’s Ask the CFO session was all about automation—and not just the futuristic kind. We focused on real, practical ways to automate and streamline processes in small and mid-sized businesses using tools that are already available and often underutilized.

For years, I’ve talked about shifting finance teams from being stuck in transactional work to delivering more strategic, value-added insight. The truth is, many businesses still run on spreadsheets, green bar reports, and systems that ha…

These days, speed isn’t just nice to have — it’s expected.

Customers don’t want to wait hours (or days) to get an order confirmation, invoice update, or shipping status. If they can get faster answers somewhere else, they will. And if your team is buried under a pile of emails and spreadsheets, even your rock stars can’t keep up.

That’s where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) steps in.
Not to replace your people — but to support them, take the pressure off, and make sure your customers hear back…

Let’s be honest — most mistakes in a small business don’t happen because people aren’t trying hard enough.

They happen because people are human.

They’re moving fast, juggling too much, switching between systems, answering calls, and trying to hit a deadline. Sooner or later, something slips. A number gets mistyped. A field gets skipped. A customer gets the wrong invoice.

It’s not about blame — it’s about reality. And unfortunately, those little human moments can start costing real money.

Tha…

We kicked off July’s Ask the CFO with a bit of classic irony — tech issues on a day I planned to talk about… tech. After a brief detour into split screens and microphone mysteries, we got rolling.

And honestly, it felt like the perfect metaphor.

Because when it comes to business operations, most of us are still dealing with a lot of “split screens.” Systems that don’t talk to each other. Processes that eat up valuable time. People working harder than they should just to keep things from fallin…