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Oliver Buchannon
Sean Christman
The Discount Floor

Aug 9, 2026

•

2 min read

The Discount Floor

Your Black Friday number came from someone else's email.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Twelve months later. Same top line. Different businesses.

Jun 28, 2026

•

4 min read

Twelve months later. Same top line. Different businesses.

One founder is thinking about Q4. The other is thinking about next week.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Nothing went wrong, but the cash still wasn't there.

Jun 21, 2026

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3 min read

Nothing went wrong, but the cash still wasn't there.

On plan revenue. Behind on the buy. Welcome to the squeeze.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Both brands decided to scale. One of them could afford to.

Jun 14, 2026

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3 min read

Both brands decided to scale. One of them could afford to.

Scaling a profitable brand and scaling a cash-solvent one are different bets.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
The P&L said you're winning. Your bank account hasn't caught up.

Jun 7, 2026

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3 min read

The P&L said you're winning. Your bank account hasn't caught up.

Both brands had a great quarter, but only one of them knew what that meant.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
The ops hire didn't fix ops. Here's why it almost never does.

May 31, 2026

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3 min read

The ops hire didn't fix ops. Here's why it almost never does.

When the diagnosis happens in the job description, you're making your first mistake

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
One account. 40% of revenue. That's not a win.

May 24, 2026

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3 min read

One account. 40% of revenue. That's not a win.

The account that built your business could be the one to break it.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Dead Stock Is a Decision, Not a Circumstance

May 3, 2026

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3 min read

Dead Stock Is a Decision, Not a Circumstance

Dead stock is a symptom. Here's what it's a symptom of...

Greg Faustini
Sean Christman
Greg Faustini, +1
The Promo Habit That's Eating Your Margin

Apr 26, 2026

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3 min read

The Promo Habit That's Eating Your Margin

The discount worked. The margin didn't.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
The Mid-Year Forecast Nobody Believes

Apr 19, 2026

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3 min read

The Mid-Year Forecast Nobody Believes

The forecast exists. Nobody trusts it. That's the real issue.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Your top line looks fine. Your contribution margin doesn't.

Apr 12, 2026

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6 min read

Your top line looks fine. Your contribution margin doesn't.

More revenue, less cash. You've been here before.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Q2 inventory is locked. The assumptions that built it aren't.

Apr 5, 2026

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3 min read

Q2 inventory is locked. The assumptions that built it aren't.

Late is one problem. Early on bad assumptions is another.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
The Q1 Close Nobody Actually Runs

Mar 31, 2026

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6 min read

The Q1 Close Nobody Actually Runs

Q1 is done. Here's what most brands skip.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
You fixed the tariff problem. Your forecast wasn't updated to match.

Mar 22, 2026

•

6 min read

You fixed the tariff problem. Your forecast wasn't updated to match.

The gap is where the margin went.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Why Jim Valvano’s Philosophy Belongs in Your P&L

Mar 15, 2026

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10 min read

Why Jim Valvano’s Philosophy Belongs in Your P&L

The March Madness Edition

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
The hidden cost of emergency capital

Mar 8, 2026

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5 min read

The hidden cost of emergency capital

Desperation financing is the most expensive decision you'll never see on your P&L.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
The thing you're building is only as good as the thinking behind it

Mar 1, 2026

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7 min read

The thing you're building is only as good as the thinking behind it

A faster wrong answer is still a wrong answer.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Confident Enough to Expand. Undercapitalized Enough to Regret It.

Feb 22, 2026

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6 min read

Confident Enough to Expand. Undercapitalized Enough to Regret It.

The gap between commitment and payment is where plans fall apart

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
You Can't Hire Your Way Out of This

Feb 15, 2026

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8 min read

You Can't Hire Your Way Out of This

Before you increase your fixed costs, try this first.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Why Your Worst SKU Is Actually Your Most Important

Feb 8, 2026

•

8 min read

Why Your Worst SKU Is Actually Your Most Important

Before you get to cutting, first understand what the product does for you.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman
Finance drives the forecast. Ops builds the buy. Marketing shows up after.

Jan 18, 2026

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5 min read

Finance drives the forecast. Ops builds the buy. Marketing shows up after.

How siloed planning drains cash flow, erodes margin, and burns out teams.

Sean Christman
Sean Christman

The Proper Growth Newsletter

© 2026 The Proper Growth Newsletter.
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