You built a real business. Understand it like one.
Most business owners run their company from their bank balance. Money comes in. Money goes out. The numbers never quite add up the way they should. Every major decision, a hire, a new investment, whether to take on debt, gets made on instinct because there is nothing else to go on.
That is not a personal failure. It is a gap in financial education that nobody ever filled.
This program fills it.
You are running a business. But your finances feel like a black box.
You know your revenue. You know roughly what you spend. But somewhere between those two numbers is a story you have never fully been able to read.
Maybe you have had good years on paper and still wondered where the money went. Maybe you have hired someone. Taken on equipment. Signed a line of credit. All major decisions, made on instinct. Later you wished you had known what the numbers would actually say. Maybe you have thought about what your business might be worth someday and realized you have no real answer.
What most owners are missing
A clear picture of their margins. Not just revenue and expenses but what is actually driving profitability, where margin is eroding, and what to do about it.
A forward-looking cash view. Not just what happened last month but what the next six months look like, where the gaps are, and how to plan around them before they become crises.
A budget that reflects a real plan. Not a spreadsheet someone else built but a twelve month plan built from your own data that tells you exactly what needs to happen for this to be a good year.
A number. When someone asks what your business is worth, you should be able to answer with confidence. Most owners cannot.
You are not alone. And the problem is not your business. The problem is that nobody ever gave you the tools to understand it.
Financial clarity is not complicated. It is just not taught.
The Owner’s Financial Playbook walks you through your own financial statements, step by step, over nine modules. You load your own data. You build your own model. You answer your own questions about your margins, your cash, your decisions, and your value.
By the time you finish you will not just have a set of financial tools. You will understand your business in a way that changes how you run it every single day.
This is the same framework, the same tools, and the same questions Mali Richlen uses with her advisory clients. Built for self-directed use so every owner can access it, not just those who can afford a full advisory engagement.
Four tools you will use for the rest of your business life.
Monthly Management Report
A one page dashboard reviewed in the first week of every month. Revenue versus budget. Expenses by category. A six month cash projection. Pipeline. Everything you need to know about your business in under an hour. Owners who run this report every month stop being surprised by their business.
Annual Budget
A twelve month plan built from three years of your own historical data, distributed across months using your actual seasonal pattern, and updated once a year. Not a template someone else built. A plan that reflects how your business actually works.
Decision Framework
A structured model for any major business decision. New hire, new equipment, new debt, new product line. Run the numbers before you commit. See the base case and the downside scenario side by side. Make the decision with your eyes open.
Valuation Model
Your current enterprise value range, calculated from your own EBITDA and industry multiples. Know what your business is worth today. Know what drives the number up and what holds it back. Whether you are planning to sell in two years or twenty, this number matters now.
One model. Built from your data. Yours to keep forever.
The Master Model is a 16-tab Google Sheet that you build progressively as you work through each module. You paste in your QuickBooks data. You map your line items into standard categories. From there the model does the work: calculating margins, distributing your budget across months using your seasonal pattern, projecting your cash six months forward, and calculating your valuation range.
By Module 9 you have a complete financial operating system built entirely from your own numbers. Yours to keep and use forever.
A foundational Module 0, then nine modules in sequence. Each one compounding on the last.
Built by someone who does this work every day.
Mali Richlen is an enterprise value advisor whose advisory practice serves owner-led businesses generating between $5 million and $20 million in annual revenue. Before founding her advisory practice she started her career at Dimensional Fund Advisors, one of the world’s leading institutional asset managers, where she built her foundational knowledge. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
She built The Owner’s Financial Playbook because every owner deserves access to this framework, not just those who can afford a full advisory engagement.
Learn more about MaliBuilt for Owners.
This program was built for you if
- You own a business generating between $500,000 and $10 million in annual revenue. The framework works at any size in this range. The model scales with your business.
- You use QuickBooks for your accounting. The Master Model is built around a QuickBooks CSV export. The program includes a step by step export guide for both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop.
- You have at least 12 months of clean QuickBooks history. Twelve months is the minimum. Three years is optimal.
- You are ready to spend approximately five hours per week for nine weeks. This is a serious program. It requires real engagement with your own numbers. If a module takes longer because you are doing the work carefully, that is exactly right. Mastery is the goal, not speed.
- You want to understand your finances deeply, not just hand them off to an accountant. This program will not replace your accountant. It will make you a much more informed client and a much better decision maker.
This program is not right for you if
- Your books are not current. If your QuickBooks data is more than six months behind, get current before you start. The model is only as good as the data you put into it.
- You are looking for a quick fix. There is no shortcut here. The program is built to take time because understanding takes time. If you want something fast and surface level this is not it.
- You are not willing to do the work. The Master Model does not fill itself in. The budget does not write itself. This program requires you to show up, engage with your own numbers, and make real decisions. That is also why it works.
The Owner’s Financial Playbook
Immediate access. Yours to keep forever.
- ✓A foundational Module 0 to get you ready to start
- ✓Nine self-directed modules with full written teaching content
- ✓The 16-tab Master Model built from your own QuickBooks data
- ✓The QuickBooks CSV Export Guide
- ✓Direct email access to Mali for questions throughout the program
- ✓Lifetime access. Work through it at your own pace, return to any module at any time.
- ✓Yours to keep and use every year going forward
- Single advisory session with Mali
- $1,500
- Three session advisory package
- $3,500
- The Owner’s Financial Playbook
- $5,000
The Owner’s Financial Playbook gives you the complete framework for a fraction of advisory cost, and unlike a conversation, the model and the tools stay with you forever.
Enroll NowCommon questions.
Do I need an accounting background?
No. The program is designed for business owners, not accountants. If you can read a bank statement you can do this. The teaching content explains every concept in plain language before asking you to apply it to your own numbers.
What accounting software do I need?
QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Desktop. The program includes a step by step export guide. If you use a different accounting platform reach out before enrolling and we can discuss whether the model will work with your data.
How long does it take?
Module 0 prepares you to start; the program proper is nine modules at approximately five hours per week. Some modules will take less time. Others, particularly Module 1, Module 6, and Module 7, may take longer. Mastery is the goal. Take the time the material requires.
What if I get stuck?
You have direct email access to Mali at hello@northstarbusinessmethod.com throughout the program. Include your name, which module you are on, and what you are working through.
Can I do this if my business is a service business, not a product business?
Yes. The program is built for both product and service businesses. Module 1 specifically addresses how COGS works differently in a service business. The model accommodates both.
What if my business is less than three years old?
The Master Model needs at least 12 months of clean monthly P&L data. Three years is ideal because you get the strongest trend analysis. With 12 to 24 months of history, you will see partial-period flags on certain metrics; that is correct and honest. The valuation, monthly management report, and decision framework all work as long as you have at least 12 months populated.
Can AI just do this for me?
No. Only the owner has the full institutional knowledge of the business and the subtleties that come with running it day after day. Nothing can replace that. AI can interpret financial data, summarize patterns, and draft analysis, but it cannot replace the owner who knows the business well enough to verify whether the AI is right.
Owners who do not know their fundamentals become hostages to whatever system interprets their numbers for them. The owners who get the most out of AI are the ones who built the underlying literacy first. This program teaches that literacy. Once you have it, AI becomes a multiplier rather than a crutch.
Will this work if my revenue is below $500,000?
The framework works at any revenue level. The $500,000 threshold is a guideline, not a hard rule. If your business is below that and you are committed to doing the work, the program will still give you meaningful insight into your finances.
What if I want more support?
After completing the program some owners choose to work with Mali directly. A single advisory session, a three session package, and ongoing advisory engagements are all available. Details are in the More Help section of the program.
You built something real. Understand what it is worth.
Most business owners spend years building something significant without ever truly understanding the financial engine behind it. This program changes that. Nine weeks of focused work. A complete set of tools built from your own data. Clarity about where your business stands and what to build toward.
The owners who do this work do not regret it.
They wish they had done it sooner.
Last updated · May 2026 · Immediate access upon enrollment. The Master Model link will be delivered to your email and available in your member dashboard.