👇 GET ACCESS TO OUR FREE CASH FLOW 101 COURSE

https://mailchi.mp/freetogrowcfo.com/ftg-cash-flow-course-sign-up

👇 GET A FREE CFO ANALYSIS

https://freetogrowcfo.com/free-cfo-analysis

📧 JOIN OUR WEEKLY FREE TO GROW CFO NEWSLETTER

https://freetogrowcfo.com/newsletter

🧔‍♂️ WHO IS FREE TO GROW CFO

Outsourced CFO and Bookkeeping services for profit-focused DTC brands.

Scaling a DTC brand is stressful.

With messy books and no CFO on your team you run the risk of…

-Hiring too quickly

-Buying too much inventory

-Scaling ad spend unprofitably

-Running out of cash

And that leads to stressful, sleepless nights. We don’t want that for you.

Free to Grow CFO has given hundreds of DTC brands a plan for scaling alongside healthy profit and cash flow. Our plan will work for you too.

📈 WANT TO INCREASE PROFIT AND CASH FLOW AS YOU SCALE?

Book a Call Now → https://freetogrowcfo.com/book-a-call

🤝 CONNECT WITH JON BLAIR ON LINKEDIN

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathon-albert-blair/

🎥 FOLLOW FREE TO GROW CFO ON YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/@FreetoGrowCFO

🎤 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Most founders rely on the P&L to run their business. The real risks—and the real truth—live on the balance sheet.

In this episode, Jon Blair sits down with AJ Stockwell, founder of Climb CFO, to break down how messy books quietly distort cash flow, margins, and decision-making in growing DTC brands. They unpack the most common red flags they see in cleanup projects—from cash-in-transit and merchant clearing errors to inventory mistakes that make gross margins meaningless.

This conversation gives founders a practical framework for knowing when a cleanup is necessary, how to think about the ROI of fixing historical financials, and why accurate balance sheets are non-negotiable once a brand starts scaling or pursuing outside capital.

What You'll Learn

-The #1 red flag that signals revenue and cash are likely misstated

-Why the balance sheet—not the P&L—is the fastest way to spot broken books

-Why inventory is the hardest account to clean up (and the most dangerous to ignore)

-The difference between light cleanups vs. heavy cleanups—and how to evaluate ROI

Episode Links

Jon Blair - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathon-albert-blair/

AJ Stockwell- https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajstockwell/

Free to Grow CFO - https://freetogrowcfo.com/

Climb CFO - https://climbcfo.com/

Transcript

~~~