If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, or founder who’s scaling but still “flying blind” with your finances, this episode is essential listening. MentorBusiness.com features heavily in this conversation because we get practical about knowing your numbers, not just filing them.

Lewis Haydon sits down with John Charman, an accountant turned entrepreneur, to expose the financial blind spots that stall good companies: cash flow crunches during growth, VAT shocks, thin margins masked by rising revenue, and the “rear-view mirror” problem of waiting on annual or quarterly accounts. This is not theory, it’s from the trenches, with simple explanations (like what a balance sheet actually tells you) and a CEO-level dashboard you can implement now.

They break down how to build a weekly financial rhythm, which numbers must live on your dashboard, and how to forecast so you sleep at night, because most businesses don’t fail for lack of sales; they fail for lack of cash.

Takeaways:

• Revenue ≠ profit: Why confusing turnover with take home keeps founders stuck.

• The CEO dashboard (not 50 KPIs): Net profit margin, cash flow forecast (90-day), client profitability, break-even point.

• Cash gap math: How scaling from £10k to £100k/month creates a £90k working capital hole and what to do about it.

• Forecast or panic: The weekly cash rhythm that lets you see problems 8 weeks ahead, not 8 hours before payroll.

• Balance sheet demystified: A plain-English way to read what you’d be left with if you stopped today.

• Tools help, ownership wins: Xero/QuickBooks make data visible your leadership makes it useful.

• Culture and numbers: Financial clarity drives calmer teams, better client service, and real competitive advantage.

Chapters:

00:02 – Cold open: “Most founders are flying blind”

01:46 – Meet John Charman: from chartered accountant to entrepreneur

03:11 – The moment you realise “I can do this better”

04:09 – Leaping with a newborn on the way: pressure and commitment

05:33 – What really drives a founder (beyond money)

07:20 – Redefining success: happiness, team, and culture

10:47 – Why culture amplifies client results

11:23 – The biggest financial blind spots John sees

12:47 – Software shift: Xero/QuickBooks vs. rear-view accounting

14:20 – Two extremes: bank-balance CEOs vs. obsessive detailers

16:11 – VAT shocks and why “busy” can still be broke

19:26 – The help gap: advice, bookkeeping, and accountability

20:11 – Balance sheet explained in human language

22:23 – Dashboards and leading indicators (from marketing to LTV/CAC)

24:48 – Cash flow is king: why growth starves your bank account

26:19 – The scaling cash gap + 60-day terms reality (construction example)

27:40 – Case study: the agency owner who can see 8 weeks ahead

Keywords:

knowing your numbers, cash flow forecast, profit margin, break-even analysis, client profitability, CAC vs LTV, scaling cash gap, working capital, balance sheet explained, Xero, QuickBooks, VAT planning, SME finance, founder metrics, entrepreneur accounting, CEO dashboard, financial discipline, small business finance UK, John Charman, Lewis Haydon podcast

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