Boosting Your Financial IQ
The Boosting Your Financial IQ Podcast helps business owners fix cash flow problems, grow profits, and build a business that lasts.
Hosted by Steve Coughran—finance expert, former CFO, and founder of Coltivar—this show is about solving the financial challenges that keep owners up at night: cash flow problems, disappearing margins, underpriced work, and growth that looks good on paper but drains the bank account.
Steve shares the same tools and strategies he’s used with $3M–$100M+ companies to protect cash, price with confidence, grow profits, and increase business value. You’ll hear real stories, practical strategies, and simple ways to get control of your numbers, protect profitability, and create lasting value. If you want a stronger business and a clearer path forward, this podcast is for you.
Episodes
252 episodes
Part 14: The Cash Flow Formula for a Thriving Business | Cash Flow
This is Part 14 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In the conclusion, Steve shares the personal lessons and turning points that shaped his obsession with cash flow. He emphasizes why business leaders have a fiduciary duty to master it...
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9:42
Part 13: The Cash Flow Playbook | Cash Flow
This is Part 13 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve introduces the Cash Flow Playbook—a step-by-step plan to apply the seven levers, use the scorecard, and build a resilient, cash-generating business. He shows ho...
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9:34
Part 12: The Cash Flow Scorecard | Cash Flow
This is Part 12 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve introduces the Cashflow Scorecard—a simple framework to diagnose where your business is leaking cash across the seven key levers. By scoring each area, you can ...
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9:10
Part 11: Lever #7 – Strategy | Cash Flow
This is Part 11 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve covers the seventh lever of cash flow: strategy. He explains why profit is just the result of a good strategy, how ROIC is the scoreboard that proves whether yo...
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21:47
Part 10: Lever #6 – Risk | Cash Flow
This is Part 10 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve unpacks the sixth lever of cash flow: risk. He explains how uncertainty lowers valuation multiples and raises the cost of capital, the biggest risks that scare ...
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10:29
Part 9: Lever #5 – Capital | Cash Flow
This is Part 9 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve introduces the fifth lever of cash flow: capital. He explains why EBITDA isn’t cash flow, how invested capital and ROIC reveal whether a business is creating or ...
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17:30
Part 8: Lever #4 – Operating Expenses | Cash Flow
This is Part 8 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve explains the fourth lever of cash flow: operating expenses. He shows why cutting costs blindly destroys value, how to eliminate waste without hurting growth, and...
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11:12
Part 7: Lever #3 – Cost of Goods Sold | Cash Flow
This is Part 7 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve covers the third lever of cash flow: cost of goods sold (COGS). He explains why lowering COGS directly boosts profitability, how throughput matters more than mar...
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13:45
Part 6: Lever #2 – Price | Cash Flow
This is Part 6 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve unpacks the second lever of cash flow: price. He explains why price is the most powerful driver of profitability, how perceived value determines what customers w...
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12:14
Part 5: Lever #1 – Volume | Cash Flow
This is Part 5 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve introduces the first lever of cash flow: volume. He explains why selling more only creates value if it’s profitable, how to fix weak sales and marketing systems,...
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21:22
Part 4: Two Ways to Measure Firm Value | Cash Flow
This is Part 4 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve breaks down the two main ways businesses are valued: the income approach, based on free cash flow, cost of capital, and growth, and the market approach, based on...
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18:37
Part 3: What Creates Value in a Business? | Cash Flow
This is Part 3 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve reveals what truly creates value in a business: generating more cash flow than the cost of your investments. He explains return on invested capital (ROIC), why g...
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13:32
Part 2: The Cash Flow Mindset | Cash Flow
This is Part 2 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve explains why profit doesn’t protect a business from failure and why free cash flow is the real survival metric. He breaks down how to calculate free cash flow, w...
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10:41
Part 1: The Foundation of Great Companies | Cash Flow
This is Part 1 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. In this section, Steve lays the foundation of why so many businesses struggle with cash even when they look profitable on paper. He explains the stages of a hidden cash flow crisis, wh...
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22:45
Financial and Economic News: August 28, 2025
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including: Nvi...
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13:43
How Fast Can You Grow Your Business Without Going Broke? | Ep 182
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Growing fast feels exciting—but grow too quickly without enough cash and you’ll find yourself in big tro...
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Episode 182
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12:29
How to Read an Income Statement for Business Owners | Ep 181
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Levers of Profit Calculator: coltivar.com...
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Episode 181
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23:39
Financial and Economic News: August 21, 2025
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Major moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including: J...
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11:32
What to Look For When Buying or Selling a Business | Ep 180
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Buying or selling a business can go wrong fast. Pay too much as a buyer and you’ll regret it. Sell too s...
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Episode 180
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22:21
How Much Does a $5M Landscape Company Really Make? | Ep 179
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growthcoltivar.com/benchmarks Most people assume a $5 ...
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Episode 179
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15:57
Financial and Economic News: August 14, 2025
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growthMajor moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including:Producer Prices Pop...
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22:35
Too Old to Be an Entrepreneur? Think Again | Ep 178
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growthMost people think entrepreneurship is a young person’s game. But the data says otherwise. In this episode, Ste...
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Episode 178
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19:13
Financial and Economic News: August 6, 2025
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growthMajor moves and market momentum in this week’s top financial stories, including:Blackstone Dr...
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19:25