Episode 146 - The Math Isn’t Mathing - What Small Business Owners Get Wrong About Growth with Jess Villegas

This episode kicks off Season 11 with a conversation that every small and mid-sized business owner needs to hear. We’re not talking hype—we’re talking real numbers, real friction, and the decisions that make or break your cash flow (and ultimately your success!).

Monique sits down with Jess, a seasoned executive turned small business advisor, who shares practical insights from his time managing companies from $15M to $250M—and now, helping small businesses operate smarter.

They unpack:

• Why gross margin isn’t enough if your cash conversion is broken
• The danger of discounting without strategy
• What it really means to track a 13-week rolling cash flow
• How small business owners can become both the biggest asset and the biggest risk in their companie
• A simple framework for locating the friction in your business and unlocking growth
• You’ll also hear how these lessons tie directly into what we do at Source to Scale—helping manufacturing companies find the cash hiding in their supply chain and procurement operations.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

TPM Focus – Strategy firm for innovation and sustainable growth: https://www.tpmfocus.com

Source to Scale (powered by TPM Focus) – Cash flow optimization for US manufacturing companies: https://www.tpmfocus.com/sourcetoscale

Become an Unpolished MBA Guest: https://unpolishedmba.com

Follow Monique Mills

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moniquemills/

Bio Website: https://moniquemills.biz/

TPM Focus - Strategy Firm for Startups and SMBs: https://tpmfocus.com/

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