Strategy Meets Finance (Formerly Boosting Your Financial IQ)
Welcome to Strategy Meets Finance, the podcast for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to start, grow, and run a business that lasts.
Most business owners struggle because they treat strategy and finance as separate. But without a clear strategy, your finances won’t support long-term growth. And without strong financial planning, even the best business ideas fall flat.
On this show, we bring both sides together—so you can grow your business with confidence, improve cash flow, increase profit, and make better decisions.
Hosted by Steve Coughran, a former CFO and founder of Coltivar, each episode shares simple tools, real examples, and practical advice from working with companies of all different sizes. You’ll learn how to set smart goals, fix money leaks, build stronger teams, and create lasting value.
Episodes
258 episodes
Financial and Economic News: September 11, 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: Stocks...
•
13:10
What is Strategic Finance and Why Should You Care | Ep 186
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Free Financial Pro course: coltivar.com/byfiq W...
•
Episode 186
•
21:51
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...
•
9:42
Part 13: The Cash Flow Playbook | Cash Flow
This is Part 13 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 how to prioritize t...
•
9:34
Part 12: The Cash Flow Scorecard | Cash Flow
This is Part 12 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. Steve introduces the Cash Flow Scorecard—a simple framework to diagnose where your business is leaking cash across the seven key levers. By scoring each area, you can pinpoint constra...
•
9:10
Part 11: Lever #7 – Strategy | Cash Flow
This is Part 11 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 your strategy is wo...
•
21:47
Part 10: Lever #6 – Risk | Cash Flow
This is Part 10 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 investors, and th...
•
10:29
Part 9: Lever #5 – Capital | Cash Flow
This is Part 9 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 destroying value,...
•
17:30
Part 8: Lever #4 – Operating Expenses | Cash Flow
This is Part 8 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 the smart ways t...
•
11:12
Part 7: Lever #3 – Cost of Goods Sold | Cash Flow
This is Part 7 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 margins, and the str...
•
13:45
Part 6: Lever #2 – Price | Cash Flow
This is Part 6 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 will pay, and how ...
•
12:14
Part 5: Lever #1 – Volume | Cash Flow
This is Part 5 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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, and how the reve...
•
21:22
Part 4: Two Ways to Measure Firm Value | Cash Flow
This is Part 4 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 EBITDA multiples...
•
18:37
Part 3: What Creates Value in a Business? | Cash Flow
This is Part 3 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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 growth without str...
•
13:32
Part 2: The Cash Flow Mindset | Cash Flow
This is Part 2 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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, why it matters mor...
•
10:41
Part 1: The Foundation of Great Companies | Cash Flow
This is Part 1 of Steve Coughran’s book Cash Flow. 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, why free cash flow ...
•
22:45
How SBA Financing Really Works When Buying a Business with Sean Goggins | Ep 185
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth This week, Sean Goggins, SBA Commercial Loan Officer at Cadence Bank, joins Steve Coughran to break down...
•
33:09
Financial and Economic News: September 4, 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:Fed Faces Po...
•
14:04
Why Businesses Stall Between $1M–$3M and How to Scale Past It | Ep 184
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Most businesses stall between $1M and $3M in revenue. Cash gets tight, profit disappears, and owners fee...
•
Episode 184
•
17:03
Where Business Owners Should Start to Learn Finance | Ep 183
Want to grow your business? Download your free roadmap today: coltivar.com/growth Get free tools to grow your company, smarter: coltivar.com/tool...
•
Episode 183
•
18:14
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...
•
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...
•
Episode 182
•
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...
•
Episode 181
•
23:39