Why Don’t You Open Your P&L?

The email from your bookkeeper lands in your inbox. Your financials are ready.

You see it. You mean to open it. Maybe you even star it.

And then you go back to whatever feels more urgent, which is almost everything.

If that’s you, I want you to hear this first. It’s not because you’re lazy.

You built a business from nothing. Lazy people don’t do that.

What you’re feeling has a name: financial avoidance.

Why Financial Avoidance Is a Safety Problem, Not a Discipline Problem

At ProfitCon, Todd Herman put up a slide I haven’t stopped thinking about since.

“People don’t act on their thoughts. They act on their feelings towards their thoughts, and most people are conditioned to seek safety.”

Let that sink in for a second.

You know you should look. That’s the thought, but the feeling underneath it is closer to dread.

What if the number is worse than I think? What if it means I’ve been doing this wrong?

Not knowing feels safer than knowing.

So it isn’t a discipline problem. It’s a safety problem, and safety problems get solved differently.

You don’t push through them. You build a little safety in before you start.

How to Make It Safe to Open Your P&L Every Month

Give it a place and a time.

Use the same chair, have the same coffee, on the same morning each month.

Making it a ritual tells your body this is ordinary, not an emergency.

Then give it a limit. Plan twenty minutes and one number. Start with net profit as a percentage of revenue. That’s it.

Decide ahead of time what you’ll do with what you find.

If it’s good, you’ll celebrate it. If it isn’t, you’ll make one phone call. That way no number can ambush you.

Bring in your bookkeeper, your partner, or us.

Scary things shrink when someone is sitting beside you, and you can bring someone with you on the inside, too.

Let Your Alter Ego Open the P&L

You’ve met Annie O, my alter ego. She’s part Anne Lamott and part Georgia O’Keeffe.

When something feels scary, I let her walk into the room first.

Todd calls the object that switches an alter ego on a totem.

Mine is a drawing pencil.

When I have a tough task in front of me, I pick it up. Annie O shows up with it.

So who in you can open the P&L?

Maybe it’s the version of you who negotiates with suppliers without flinching.

Give this version something physical to hold. Then let them look at the P&L.

You Just Have to Look

You don’t have to have this figured out yet. You just have to look.

Hit reply and tell me what makes it hard for you, personally.

Cyndi

Quick Summary

• Not opening your P&L isn’t laziness. It’s financial avoidance, a safety response where not knowing feels safer than knowing.
• As Todd Herman taught at ProfitCon, people act on their feelings toward their thoughts, and most are conditioned to seek safety.
• Make reviewing your financials a monthly ritual: same place, same time, same coffee.
• Set a limit of twenty minutes and one number: net profit as a percentage of revenue.
• Decide in advance what you’ll do with the result: celebrate if it’s good, make one phone call if it isn’t.
• Bring in support, from your bookkeeper, partner, or advisor, and call on an alter ego with a physical totem to help you look.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do business owners avoid looking at their P&L?

Most owners avoid their P&L because of financial avoidance, not laziness. The thought is “I should look,” but the feeling underneath is dread about what the numbers might say. Since people act on feelings and are conditioned to seek safety, not knowing can feel safer than knowing.

What is financial avoidance?

Financial avoidance is the habit of putting off looking at money matters, like your P&L, bank balances, or bills, because they trigger anxiety. For ecommerce owners, it often shows up as unopened monthly financials from the bookkeeper.

How do I make reviewing my financials less stressful?

Build safety in before you start. Review your P&L in the same place, at the same time each month, limit it to twenty minutes and one number, decide in advance what you’ll do with the result, and bring in your bookkeeper, partner, or advisor.

What number should I look at first on my P&L?

Start with net profit as a percentage of revenue. It’s a single number that tells you whether your business is actually keeping money from what it sells.

How can an alter ego help me face my finances?

Based on Todd Herman’s The Alter Ego Effect, an alter ego is a confident version of yourself you can call on for hard tasks, switched on by a physical object called a totem. Cyndi’s alter ego, Annie O, shows up when she picks up a drawing pencil. You might call on the version of you who negotiates with suppliers without flinching.

Related reading: Why Is My P&L Showing Profit When There’s No Cash in the Bank? · How Does an Introvert Win the Cheerleader Award? · How Do I Find the Support I Need as a Business Owner?