Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Abby Richards. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Abby, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

As I worked my way up in consulting, execution was important. Those execution skills are less important as you move from a high-performing individual contributor to team leader, especially in a cross-functional capacity. I would find myself in meetings that were going off the rails, ending without consensus, progress, or concrete goals, and grew increasingly frustrated. I talked to my therapist about this, because as my anxiety grew, my first instinct was to pop off. That isn’t how I work, though, so, at times, would stay silent. It didn’t feel functional and although we as a team would eventually meet our goals, I knew we could be faster and more effective. My therapist helped me put a different lens on the situation and showed me how I could redirect the team and get back on track in a calm and helpful way. I would say something like, “We are discussing X, but we originally scheduled the meeting to discuss Y. Can we table X for our next call, or is that something we need to hash out now?” It sounds so incredibly simple (and it is), but when you are a go-getter and “in your feelings” about not making progress, simple isn’t always easy. Getting the opinion of a qualified third party, whether that’s a coach, mentor, or therapist, can be very helpful as you progress in your career.

Abby, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I worked in many different industries in consulting and fell in love with CPG, to the point that it was all I wanted to do. Despite being in finance and accounting, I like to work in an industry with things I can touch. I always say that I enjoy supporting people doing “the real work” – moving physical objects around, creating products that people can enjoy and feel good about buying. I have always been very interested in the larger systems that are responsible for much of what we eat and use in our homes and on our bodies. I left my consulting job in 2023 because I found myself looking outside my firm for the growth I wanted in CPG, finance, and strategy. I am a fractional CFO to emerging brands and meet them where they are in their journey. For very early stage brands, I help them onboard with a bookkeeper and plan their pricing and cash flow. For later stage brands, I lead the finance and accounting team and come alongside them throughout the month to help scale the company, keeping tabs on cash flow and margins by channel and partnering on the capital allocation strategy. I am most proud of teaching founders about concepts like cash flow and accrual accounting – partnering with them along what I call the “CEO maturity curve” and their growth as a leader. One way that I differ from others in the finance and accounting world is my focus on mindset. I am a certified yoga instructor and recognize the importance of the gut-heart-head connection. Money is emotional, and ignoring that fact will cause problems. Uncovering unhelpful money mindsets is one aspect of my work that can be very transformative, and I love helping founders change that lens to have more profitable and sustainable businesses.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built my social media audience with consistency and genuine connection. A lot of service providers do things like cold DMing with an immediate pitch, but I have said from the beginning that I don’t want to sell services to the CPG founder club – I want to be IN the club. I genuinely love CPG founders and admire the work that they do. I feel so lucky that part of my job is rooting for and being a friend to them! My core values are growth and community, so giving founders actionable advice is the primary goal of my social media presence, and I post every single day. I keep an eye on industry publications, blogs, posts, etc., about CPG founders that are launching or doing exciting things, and invite them to connect with me. I connect offline with founders and other service providers in the community as often as I can, which leads to more connections and engagement. There is no secret to my success in this area – I did it the hard way.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Managing a team means managing people. People behave the way that they do because of emotion, not logic. One of the most important aspects of leadership is communicating the vision you have for your company. Say it so often that your team could recite it in their sleep. Second, show them what’s in it for them. Why should they care about where the company is going? What is their role in it? Finally, hold them accountable – everyone should have a number that they own – and please, don’t make it billable hours. Whether it’s newsletter signups or client satisfaction scores – hold people accountable to their results. The final step is addressing “what’s getting in the way”. This doesn’t require blame or shame – have an open and honest conversation about how and why they are or aren’t meeting their goals. What I see most often is addressing (or becoming frustrated and ignoring) specific behaviors coming first. That is a recipe for death by micromanagement. Instead, share the vision, get your people bought into it, hold them accountable for their results, and execution should take care of itself – otherwise, if they need help, you can coach them and HELP them improve those. If you lead this way, much of morale should take care of itself. People want to be successful, and if you define success and help them reach it, while supporting their growth, morale will increase. Also find ways to help your team genuinely connect and support each other – in-persons can be a game-changer here if you are a remote company.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.thecpgcfo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecpgcfo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbyjuner/

Image Credits

Personal photos, no professional photographers to credit