Alex Engar, PT, DPT
Co-Founder and Fractional CFO, CEO Finance Academy
Alex helps business owners understand their numbers well enough to make confident decisions about cash, pricing, hiring, and growth. He has worked with more than 100 construction and home service companies, along with healthcare practices and professional service firms across the country.
Book a Free Cash Flow CallFrom Physical Therapy to Fractional CFO
Alex grew up in Utah and took a winding road to finance. He worked at a TV station planning to be a meteorologist, then studied for the MCAT on the way to neurosurgery, until he realized he cared more about being a present dad than having MD after his name. He earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Utah instead, but by the middle of PT school he already knew he wanted to build a business of his own.
While still a student, Alex met Will Boyd in a Facebook group for PT students. The two started sharing everything they were learning about marketing, and people started asking to pay for it. They launched their first online course on Black Friday 2017, made $10,000 in two days, and passed six figures in their first year. That business became Healthy Funnel, a marketing agency and consultancy.
"We realized really quickly that making money didn't mean keeping money."
Alex Engar, on the Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcastThe turning point came after an $80,000 product launch. Alex expected a $40,000 payday for his half. Once payment plans, affiliate payouts, software, taxes, and reserves were accounted for, it was closer to $7,000. He spent the next few weeks digging into business finances and taxes, and he never stopped.
Running the agency then gave Alex a look inside hundreds of small businesses, and he kept seeing the same gap. Owners were great at their craft and growing their revenue, but very few understood their own finances. They had a marketing coach and a sales coach, but nobody helping them read their numbers, plan their cash, or pay themselves on purpose. After helping a few dozen of them, the referrals came in faster than the marketing work, and Healthy Funnel became CEO Finance Academy. Today Alex works with clients as a fractional CFO and helps shape the financial training behind the firm's coaching programs.
Money brings up a lot of stress and avoidance for business owners. Alex and Will's therapy background shapes how they coach: meet owners where they are, take it one step at a time, and get their head out of the sand before a small problem becomes an expensive one. Alex also learned these lessons running his own businesses, so he knows what it feels like when the P&L says one thing and the bank account says another.
How Alex Thinks About Business Money
Start with what the owner needs
Before looking at the business, Alex looks at what the owner needs to live on. That number sets the targets for everything else, from pricing to how fast the business has to grow.
Taxes come from profit, set aside every month
He has clients set aside a share of profit, not revenue, for taxes each month in a separate account, so tax season is a non-event instead of a scramble.
A steady salary, with bonuses from the reserve
Lumpy months are normal. Alex pays himself the same baseline salary every month, banks the big months into reserves, and looks at a bonus each quarter. Stability at home is what lets an owner make clear decisions at work.
Build reserves before you jump
He isn't a fan of burning the boats. Whether it's going full time, hiring, or scaling ads, Alex builds the cash cushion first so a bad month doesn't turn into a crisis.
Spend where it makes your time more valuable
The best reinvestments buy back the owner's time or bring in more than they cost, like the right hire, a coach, or advertising with a proven return.
What Alex Works On With Clients
Cash Flow Forecasting
Rolling forecasts built around a company's real pipeline, seasons, and payment timing, so owners see a cash gap months before it reaches payroll.
Margins and Job Costing
Finding which jobs, services, and customers actually make money, and fixing the pricing on the ones that don't.
Owner Pay and Profit
Setting a real salary, building reserves, and setting aside taxes every month, so the owner gets paid on purpose instead of last.
Debt and Growth Decisions
New hires, trucks, equipment, a second location, or paying down debt. Alex models the decision before the owner commits.
Who Alex Works With
Alex works with owner-led businesses that have outgrown what a bookkeeper alone can give them. His deepest experience is in construction and home services, including general contractors, roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and excavation. He also works with dental, chiropractic, and physical therapy practices, agencies, and other service businesses.
- Fractional CFO services for construction companies
- Fractional CFO services for HVAC companies
- Fractional CFO services for dental practices
- All fractional CFO services
"It's been phenomenal working with Alex & Will with my business finances. Before them, I didn't have a systematic way of handling it or even truly understand what impact it was having on my personal life. If you are looking to scale your business, have more peace of mind, and find more profit in your business don't wait."
Guides and Case Studies by Alex
Alex writes most of the guides on the CEO Finance Academy blog. A few of the most read:
Profit margin benchmarks
Guides for owners
Alex also co-hosts the Just Figuring It Out podcast with Will Boyd and Ian Hogan, where they talk through the money problems owners actually run into. Watch it on the CEO Finance Academy YouTube channel, or connect with Alex on LinkedIn.
Outside of Work
Alex is a husband to his wife, Sarah, and a dad to three daughters and a son. Sarah worked as a nurse for years before the business made it possible for her to come home and homeschool their kids. Long term, Alex invests in real estate, and he is still, by his own description, a big nerd at heart.
Want Alex's Team to Look at Your Numbers?
Book a free cash flow call. We'll look at your numbers together and show you what a fractional CFO would fix first.
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Building better Business Owners through personalized Financial Coaching.