About

I've Been on Both Sides of the Table

The banker deciding whether to approve your loan, and the CFO responsible for the numbers a banker like me used to judge. Not many people can say both. It's the reason this site exists.

Joshua R. Bohlke

How I got here

I spent over a decade in commercial banking, eventually managing a loan portfolio north of $100 million. I read hundreds of small business financial statements from the bank's side of the desk — the side that decides yes or no, and has to explain why.

Then I built a business myself. I took a title company from escrow-only to a full agency and grew commercial transaction volume by $200 million along the way. That's where I found out firsthand what it feels like when the numbers in front of you don't match the confidence you need to have.

From there I moved into the CFO seat — full-time for a construction and electrical company, then fractional CFO for more than fifteen companies, $1 million to $50 million in revenue, across construction, healthcare, equipment rental, real estate, engineering, trades, and retail. Different industries, same pattern every time: the business is usually fine. The owner just can't see it clearly yet.

$100M+
Loan Portfolio Managed
15+
Companies Advised as CFO
5.5x
Value Growth, Near-Bankruptcy to Acquisition Offer

MBA, Washington State University. Co-presenting on AI, SQL, Power BI, and Trimble Analytics at the Trimble Dimensions Conference in Las Vegas, November 2026.

Why I do this

Here's the part that doesn't show up in a normal bio: small businesses are the backbone of this economy, and most of them are flying without instruments. Not because the owners aren't smart — because nobody ever taught them how to read what their own numbers are actually saying.

I've watched good, hard-working owners lose sleep, lose leverage with a bank, or lose the business itself over something that was fixable — if someone had just shown them what to look at. Closing that gap stopped being just a business for me a while ago. It's closer to a mission field, or a life purpose, than a job description. Every owner who works with me, downloads the guide, or runs a Health Check should walk away seeing their own business more clearly than they did five minutes earlier. That's the whole job.

What people say

"Our company wouldn't be as stable and successful without him. One of the best decisions we've ever made."

— Layton

"Very knowledgeable about finance, banking and commercial lending."

— Cody

"Knowledgeable, creative, and a great sounding board. I appreciate being able to bounce ideas off of him knowing that he cares about my business and its success."

— Jeff

Curious what your own numbers would say?