Financial gibberish - Exchange 1: Let's do this!
Just a note to help set the tone for this email exchange on financial gibberish!
Hey!
Hope you’re good. So excited to get this going!
I thought we might get about 10 folks interested in chatting about their finance function. Turns out, we're a group of 45 now - from a university student to a board member and from serial entrepreneurs to those in customer success and finance, among others. So cool!
So before we dive into it, I just wanted you to have a sense of what this email exchange is, isn’t and could be (at least in my head for now).
Think of this as a collection of my learnings gathered over 16 years of navigating the business world. The objective isn’t for you to become a finance expert; it’s for you to know enough to have confidence in your finance function and push your finance team to do better (now or in the future!). I just want to save a few people from a financial nightmare.
I’d love for this to be an email exchange, not a monologue. I’m keeping this via email for a reason. It’s personal, direct, and let’s us really talk. You've got a question? Hit me with it. Something doesn't make sense, or you want to dig deeper into a topic? I'm all ears. And if there's something specific you're wrestling with, let's unpack it together. I’ve closed new sign ups for now because I want us to be able to talk at length. Feel free to disagree or share sensitive info (I'll keep it confidential).
You get the email via substack but hit reply and I’ll get your email directly in my inbox where we can continue the conversation.
I might share your contributions with the others in the group (with your permission), so we can tap into our collective amazing-ness. So if you have an interesting resource or solution to a problem or even a question, don’t hesitate to send it to me. Make this exchange better, more meaningful.
There's no strict format here (although I have a list of things that I know can be super helpful). Let’s shape this email exchange together, based on your feedback, questions, and the directions you're curious to explore.
I’ll send out an email every Friday for 8 weeks, tentatively. We may extend this or cut it short depending on if there’s something valuable to talk about.
Some of you added questions and areas of interest to the sign up form. I’ve read each one. A lot of interesting questions; all very thoughtful; and some that go beyond the scope I had in mind. However, I promise to address each question as best as I can.
Will we open this for public viewing or do a podcast or a webinar at some point? Maybe. I’m not sure of the format but I’ll share the learnings from this email exchange for the public at some point. I’m just thinking what the best way will be.
My only ask is - if you find anything interesting in our email exchanges, share it on your socials and with other founders and CEOs. Helping more people navigate their financials confidently is a goal we can all get behind. I do request a tag or mention when you pass on the learnings.
Now, a bit about me – just so you know who's rambling on in your inbox: I'm not a finance expert but a business leader (I am partly ACA-qualified though). Think of me as a been-there-done-that business person who's had to navigate some pretty choppy financial waters. I've been involved in setting up, running, and growing businesses, turning them around - from loss making to profitability and from chaos to structure - when needed. From expanding a coworking space from 5,000 sq ft to a quarter of a million sq feet, to leading organisations and startups to profitability and sustainability, I've worn many hats. I've been in the trenches, faced financial crises head-on, and come out the other side with stories, solutions, and a bit of wisdom to share.
So, here's to starting a dialogue that, I hope, will be both valuable and enjoyable for us. Let me know if you have any thoughts. Meanwhile, I’m going to get started on the email for coming Friday!
Sana K
P.S. Seriously, don't make me talk to myself. Hit reply and let's start this conversation. What's on your mind?