Read your studio's numbers like a CFO.
Same three-statement CFO mindset — rebuilt around agency economics. Retainer mix, delivery margin, contractor leverage, owner-adjusted profit. For studio founders running $500K–$2M with 5–10 people and a mix of retainers and projects.
Best quarter ever. Owner take-home barely moved.
Alex runs a 6-person creative studio. Retainers are humming, two big brand projects just landed, Q3 revenue hit $340K — up from $260K the year before. The team is celebrating.
Then Alex opens the P&L. Owner take-home: barely different from last year. Contractor spend jumped. Two "quick" projects ran a month long. One flagship retainer client quietly ate 40+ delivery hours a month above scope.
"The numbers exist. I just don't know what they're telling me."
If you've felt that — revenue up, cash tight, no clear answer why — this course rebuilds the three financial statements around the way an agency actually makes (and leaks) money.
Three modules. One CFO mindset — for studios.
Each module blends a story-driven lesson, a CFO/Investor/Founder lens, and an apply-to-my-studio analyzer that turns your own numbers into diagnostics.
Retainers, projects, contractors, delivery salaries — see what's actually making money.
AR aging, deferred retainer, credit line, owner loans — the strength behind the studio.
Retainer MRR, project-cash gaps, payroll burn, and runway — for real studios.
Seven scenarios across a term sheet, a bank line of credit, and an acquisition inquiry. Respond like a CFO, earn the Capital-Ready Founder badge, and generate your Investor-Ready Snapshot.
Built around how agencies actually make — and leak — money.
Split recurring, project, and pass-through revenue. See real concentration on top 3 clients and what a lender or buyer would strip out first.
A client-margin mini-calculator surfaces scope creep on your top account before it eats another quarter of owner take-home.
See when contractors are protecting margin — and when they're quietly the reason profit didn't grow with revenue.
Strip out owner draw, add back the salary a hire would command, and see whether this studio is a business or a job with overhead.
Understand why cash in the bank isn't the same as profit — and how prepaid retainers can flatter (or hide) your real position.
The capstone puts you in front of a term sheet, an LOC decision, and an acquisition inquiry. Real founder decisions, CFO lens.
Walk into any financial conversation without the tight chest.
Studio founders, not accountants.
- • Creative, design, marketing, production, or consultancy studios
- • $500K–$2M in annual revenue
- • 5–10 people, mixed employees and contractors
- • Retainer + project revenue mix
- • Founders who own the P&L but don't feel fluent in it — yet
You'll get more from the broad edition if…
- • You run a product, SaaS, or e-commerce business
- • You're a solo operator with no team or contractor spend
- • You want deep GAAP accounting theory (this is founder fluency, not CPA prep)
The questions studio founders always ask.
How long does it take?+
Most founders finish a module in 45–75 minutes. The full course including the capstone typically lands in 4–6 focused hours. It's self-paced — pick it up between client calls.
Do I need my books in perfect shape first?+
No. You just need last quarter's P&L, a rough Balance Sheet, and a bank statement. The apply-to-my-studio analyzers work with approximate numbers — that's the point.
Do I need to be good at math or accounting?+
No. If you can read a client SOW and a bank statement, you can do this course. Every concept lands with a CFO / Investor / Founder lens so it's practical, not academic.
What do I actually walk away with?+
A working CFO mindset applied to your own studio's numbers, a completed capstone, and an Investor-Ready Snapshot you can hand to a lender, a partner, or a buyer.
Will there be live coaching or a done-with-you version?+
This is the DIY self-paced launch. A guided cohort and done-with-you tier are on the roadmap once the self-paced course has enough founders and testimonials behind it.
What you get from the quiz
Ten questions built specifically for creative-agency founders running $500K–$2M. No spreadsheets — and you learn something whether or not you ever buy the Agency Edition.
- An instant CFO-Readiness score
A 0–100% score calculated live from your answers across agency profit, financial strength, and cash.
- Your band, so you can self-identify
Flying Blind, Founder-Managed, or CFO-Ready — with a straight read on where your studio actually sits.
- Your top 3 blind spots, named
Retainer mix, agency net revenue, delivery margin, client concentration, DSO, deferred retainer, runway — ranked by the gap they create.
- A plain-English insight on each one
The agency benchmark, why it matters, and what an investor or lender reads into it.
- Your score in your inbox
Plus a short founder-CFO insight series for studio owners. Unsubscribe anytime.
10 questions → your email → instant score, band, and blind spots.
Stop guessing at your studio's numbers.
Start with the free 3-minute score, or jump straight into Module 1 — Agency P&L.