Don’t Let April Sneak Up on You Again 🧭
If you’ve been busy building and serving customers and pushed the books to “later”, you’re not alone.
That’s why we’re running the 14-Day ProfitNest Tax-Ready Challenge.
No rushing. No guessing. No last-minute scrambling.
Just short, focused steps to turn a year of activity into clean, reliable numbers you can actually trust.
We start on February 10th. ☺
→ Join the 14-Day Challenge
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One Step Past the Decision
Article 41 was about picking the right tool.
This is about endurance.
Once the choice is made, borrow / self-fund, founders mentally move on.
They assume momentum kicks in.
In reality, there’s a gap:
work starts
money goes out
results wait their turn
During that gap, cash flow doesn’t hold steady.
It turns negative. Month by month.
This is the phase most founders never fully model, not because they’re reckless, but because the danger lives between the lines.
The 3 Numbers That Decide Survival
Most founders evaluate decisions by outcome:
“Will this be worth it?”
But survival depends on a different perspective.
It requires modeling time, not just totals.
1️⃣ Pre-Revenue Exposure
Ask: “How much cash leaks out before anything improves?”
This includes:
operating burn
loan payments
all the unglamorous, unavoidable stuff
This is your oxygen window.
If you can’t survive this phase, the project doesn’t matter, no matter how good it looks later.
2️⃣ The Valley Floor
Next question: “What’s the lowest my cash balance ever gets?”
This is the number founders feel but rarely calculate.
It tells you:
How close you get to panic
Whether borrowing protects you or tightens the squeeze
How much optionality do you actually have
If you don’t know this number, you’re guessing when pressure is highest.
3️⃣ Post-Launch Reality
Finally: “Once this thing is live, what’s left after debt?”
Many projects look healthy before obligations.
Reality shows up after them.
What matters isn’t the revenue a project generates, it’s the cash still standing once every payment is made.
If that number is positive, you recover.
If it’s negative, the runway keeps shrinking, even after the project “works.”
Growth that doesn’t restore calm isn’t growth.
It’s drift.
Tactical Moves
Add “months until cash starts” to every capital decision
Treat pre-revenue months as guaranteed negative, not neutral
Include debt payments in survival math from day one
Track your lowest cash balance, not just your ending one
Resize or delay projects that push cash below your panic line
This is how disciplined founders stay deliberate under pressure.
Funding Corner
Quick heads up: I’m starting a new weekly section where I share funding opportunities (grants, loans, programs) and how to approach them without the overwhelm.
1) Amber Grant
💸 Amount: $10,000 (monthly) + larger annual grants
👤 Best for: Women-owned businesses at any stage
📅 Deadline: Jan 31 (monthly, rolling)
🔗 Apply: https://ambergrantsforwomen.com
👉 Tip: This is a story-driven grant. Focus less on polish and more on clearly explaining why this money matters to your business right now.
2) Breva Thrive Grant
💸 Amount: $5,000
👤 Best for: Small businesses focused on stability or growth (especially underrepresented founders)
📅 Deadline: Rolling
🔗 Apply: https://www.breva.ai/thrive-grant
👉 Be specific about how the funds will be used (e.g., marketing, inventory, software). Vague “growth” answers tend to fall flat.
3) Intuit QuickBooks x Mailchimp Small Business Hero Program
💸 Amount: $20,000 + tools and exposure
👤 Best for: Businesses with a strong customer or community impact story
📅 Deadline: Rolling / phased cycles (check site for current window)
🔗 Learn more / Nominate: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/small-business-heroes/
👉 Tip: This isn’t just about revenue, it’s about impact. Frame your application around who you help and why your business matters.
Community Note
Every founder wrestles with this.
The confident ones just learned it the hard way once and took notes. You’re doing the smarter version, thinking before the leap.
👉 Reply and tell me the next expense you’re debating.
I’ll send you our Borrow vs. Burn Decision Sheet, a one-page tool to sanity-check the call before money leaves the nest 🪺.
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