Ian Hogan
COO and Fractional CFO, CEO Finance Academy
Ian helps business owners find the money that's leaking out of their business, build systems that hold up without them, and figure out what all the growth is actually for. He spent the better part of a decade owning and running a massage practice, a gym, and a clinic before he started advising other owners.
Book a Free Cash Flow CallFrom Record Deal to Running the Back Office
Ian's first business wasn't a business at all, at least not on purpose. In his early 20s he was the lead singer and guitarist in a Brooklyn band that signed with a major record label. Setting up the LLCs and working through a contract worth real money was his first crash course in business, and he learned it with a "for dummies" book in one hand. He also learned how much one clause can matter. When he left the band, a single line in the contract cost the group its deal.
Around the same time his father, who was a paraplegic, passed away. Ian had watched the physical therapists who came to the house make a real difference in his dad's quality of life, and he wanted to do work that helped people that directly. He went to massage therapy school, opened his own practice, and filled it to capacity within about a year and a half. Then he hit the problem every growing owner hits: he couldn't take on another client himself, so he had to learn how to hire.
From there Ian partnered on two more businesses in New York, a CrossFit gym and a chiropractic clinic. He ran both for years, kept the gym's member churn under 3 percent, and sold the clinic at the end of 2019 and the gym during COVID. While he was stepping back from them, he started consulting for other wellness businesses, and later for online businesses, on client experience, retention, and the systems behind them.
"It's fun to build a million dollar business. But what's it for? How does it actually help your life?"
Ian Hogan, in a podcast interview with Will BoydAlex and Will met Ian while they were building a program for clients who had finished their first round of coaching. He kept showing up on their calls with ideas, and he eventually joined the team. Today he runs operations at CEO Finance Academy and works directly with clients as a fractional CFO.
Most of Ian's financial instincts came from owning the business, not studying it. He has hired and managed a team, dealt with insurance billing, partnered in and sold businesses, and lived through the months when revenue looked fine and the bank account didn't. That's why his advice tends to start with how the business actually runs, not just what the spreadsheet says.
How Ian Thinks About Business Money
Ask what the money is for
Before he talks about growth targets, Ian asks owners what they want their life to look like and what it really costs, in money, time, energy, and stress. Once that number is clear, it gets much easier to see which growth is worth chasing and which isn't.
Look at what happened before you plan
Owners who move fast tend to jump straight to strategy. Ian starts by pulling together what's already there: the last couple of years of spending, which offers actually make money, and where the patterns are. He does it without judgment. The goal is to see clearly, not to assign blame.
Growth adds, keeping it removes
Getting to a new level usually means adding things. Staying there usually means taking away what no longer helps, whether that's a subscription, a service line, or a process nobody uses. Ian once found about $100,000 for a former business partner in a couple of days just by going through their systems and payments.
Build guardrails that protect you from yourself
He doesn't ask owners to stop exploring new ideas. He helps them set limits, like a cash threshold that triggers a second look before new debt or a big purchase, so the experiments never put the reliable part of the business at risk.
Make money a weekly habit, not a crisis
Ian and his wife hold a 20 minute meeting every week that always starts with money: anything unusual coming up, then the calendar. He coaches owners to do the same with their partners and teams, so financial conversations stay collaborative instead of turning into fights.
What Ian Works On With Clients
Finding Wasted Cash
Going line by line through software, vendors, payment processing, and payroll to find money the business is spending without getting much back.
Systems and Operations
Building the processes, roles, and reporting that let a business run without the owner holding every piece of it.
Owner Pay and What's Enough
Working out what the owner's life really costs, setting pay around it, and building reserves so the business supports the owner instead of consuming them.
Hard Decisions
When the numbers say a business is overstaffed or a service line isn't working, Ian helps owners make the call and handle it with care.
Who Ian Works With
Ian works with owner-led businesses that are growing faster than their systems. He has a soft spot for healthcare and wellness practices, since he ran one, and he works across the same industries as the rest of the CEO Finance Academy team.
- Fractional CFO services for construction companies
- Fractional CFO services for HVAC companies
- Fractional CFO services for dental practices
- All fractional CFO services
- Client case studies
Ian also co-hosts the Just Figuring It Out podcast with Alex Engar and Will Boyd, where they talk through the money problems owners actually run into. Watch it on the CEO Finance Academy YouTube channel, or meet the rest of the team.
Outside of Work
Ian is married to a yoga instructor who leads her own teacher trainings, and they have two young sons. A few years ago they sat down, worked out what enough looked like for their family, and rebuilt their schedules around it. These days Ian picks the clients he works with and spends most days with his kids. He also tells terrible dad jokes, on purpose.
Want Ian's Team to Look at Your Numbers?
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