Operations

A client opened an email from his church asking for help. He clicked the link, filled out a form, and reset his password. Ten minutes later, a second email warned him it was fake. In this solo episode, Susan Finch walks through what happened next, what could have happened, and the one setup decision that kept it from reaching the rest of his firm. She talks about why church, school, shopping, and subscription sign-ups don't belong in a business inbox, why forwarding work email to a personal account causes trouble, and why outdated email programs need to go. She also makes the case for a written email policy that staff talk through, sign, and revisit once or twice a year. Listeners can download a free starter policy template with discussion questions built in.
Key Points
Trusted senders get spoofed. The fake email used the name and look of his own church, which is exactly why he clicked.
One login opens everything. In Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, the email password also opens Drive, OneDrive, shared folders, and client files.
Separate admin account matters. The firm's admin login was a different account, so the compromised inbox couldn't reach every other user.
Keep personal sign-ups out. Church, school, shopping, and subscriptions each keep a list that can leak your work address and who you trust.
No forwarding, no mixing. Forwarding to personal Gmail, or pulling one system into another, puts company mail where nobody controls it.
Write it, sign it, review it. A policy only works if staff understand it, sign it, and see it updated once or twice a year.

Q4 is a good time to find out where your money is going. In this solo episode of Rooted in Revenue, Susan Finch walks through a year-end cleanup most business owners skip. She starts with the subscriptions that renew quietly every month or once a year, from CRMs, MLS fees, and AI tools to the Amazon subscriptions that come back after you cancel them.
She also covers domains, which is where a forgotten renewal gets expensive. Five of her clients lost their websites in the last three months because a former marketing company registered their domains under its own name and credit card. Susan talks through what belongs on your list, who should be getting renewal notices, and why checking your own website regularly matters more than most people think.
If your business runs on tools and domains you haven't looked at in a while, start here.

Naming your company is not a job for a Friday night and a six pack. On this episode, Susan breaks down the naming mistakes she runs into constantly with DIY clients, names nobody can spell, names so long the URL wraps around a football jersey, and taglines that are just template filler nobody bothered to replace. She walks through real examples, including a flower shop called Petallica and a fish and chips stand called Frying Nemo, plus a client who brought in a domain without checking who already owned the .com. Susan covers what to check before you fall in love with a name, trademarks, state business licenses, WhoIs lookups, and why your tagline needs to come from a mission statement, not a mood. If you have not locked in your name yet, listen before you print anything.
6 Key Points
Spell it out loud test If someone can't spell your company name after hearing it once, you've already lost them.
Length kills the URL A name so long it barely fits a domain is a name people will never type correctly.
Check before you fall in love Trademarks, state business licenses, and WhoIs lookups all happen before you commit, not after.
Vague names say nothing A name that could belong to any industry does the opposite of what a name is supposed to do.
Domains carry hidden risk Not checking who owns the .com can land you next to content you never wanted your brand near.
Taglines need a mission first A real tagline gets derived from a mission statement, not pulled from a template.