The Real Grind. The Sweaty CFO hits different.

Smart Finance for Sweaty Startups

Fractional CFO services for operators who get stuff done. What’s different about Ridgeline? Everything. We roll up our sleeves and join your crew to deliver real insights to grow your business. Who does that?

We are the partners you’ve been searching for.

We bring you immersive business consulting and accounting services, brought to you by the Sweaty CFO, Joe Minich.

We work alongside your crew, lunch pail and all.

We get our hands dirty. Then we dive into the spreadsheets.

The engagement goes like this.

You call us because you are facing the things all growing business owners face. Cash pinches. People problems. The Plan. It’s always the plan, that ineffable striving place. We get it.

And critically, you want to solve things, to move onward and upward. You just need that extra support to push the team to the next level.

You think bringing on a part-time Controller or CFO would be a good idea to level up.

You’re probably right. Problem is, every firm you interview is just another glorified bookkeeper that read some guru book and decided that makes them qualified to target blue collar business owners. All fluff and AI drivel.

Well, not all. We bring the meat with the taters.

We live it. We get our hands dirty. Know our way around a job site. We can back a trailer up like we back up what we recommend.

Ok. We agree that your situation is a good mutual fit, so we dive right in.

In the planning phase, we clean up the books, conduct a thorough organizational review, and get access to everything we need.

Next, we pack our gear and come join the crew for a week. We spend some long days completely immersed in your world. Not just standing around and taking notes, you put us to work. Heck, we’ll go undercover laborer mode if you want us to.

Together, we dive deep, a week long sprint, working on your business as well as in your business. All of it. From marketing and sales, operations, cash flow, margin, risk, capital, admin, our review goes way beyond the financials. Our scope is truly CFO level.

Your numbers don’t just appear out of thin air—they’re built from what you do every day. Real insights come from understanding the why behind the numbers. Selling Fractional CFO without ever stepping foot in your business? That’s a grift. Virtual CFO? More like Temu CFO.

When we wrap up fieldwork we provide a detailed report of our findings and schedule a series of follow up calls to track your progress.

Wrap up?

Well, this is often just the beginning. Most go on to become lifelong business partners through our CFO/Controller services.

The result?

Clean books. Smooth workflows. Financial leadership. Better insights into cash flow and profitability. A more valuable and marketable business. A business partner for life. A plan. Confidence and comfort.

We’re a Different Kind of Advisor

We’re Ridgeline Business Solutions.

We prefer to be called business partners because what we do is too impactful to be consulting.

We’re built on grit, good people, and going all in.

Sometimes called the Sweaty CFO, Joe Minich is a CPA with a unique background that includes owning a growing outdoor contracting business. With an admin finance team, tax partners, and a full rolodex of vetted business services rounding out the roster, we bring hard hitting, humble business people to your service.

We’re talking not just taxes and books, but forward thinking financial leadership.

Oh, and we also have walked the walk, bootstrapping our own businesses from zero. So we have some authority to review sales, marketing, and strategy too. Powerful synergies.

These services are for select business owners and groups that are a great fit. We would love to get to know you and learn what you’re all about.