Free Guides & Downloads
Practical resources written from real operational and financial experience — not templates, real client work.
Seven downloadable guides addressing specific challenges owner-operators face. Each guide is written from actual client work, distilled into something you can read and apply this week.
Featured · Financing & Loan Readiness
The Commercial Loan Readiness Playbook
What lenders actually see that you don't. Walks through exactly what underwriters look for, what disqualifies applications before review, and how to prepare financials that hold up to scrutiny.
Request the playbookFinancial Systems
The Financial Maturity Ladder
Walks through the four stages of financial maturity and shows exactly where your business sits and what moves you from reactive to strategic. Includes the reporting and control changes that unlock each stage.
Request this guideExit Planning
Exit Architecture
From a team that has sat on both sides of the closing table. Walks through what buyers actually examine, the financial and operational gaps that reduce valuation, and how to build exit-readiness into current operations.
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Are You Buying Yourself a Job?
An owner's compensation audit walking through the four numbers every business owner needs to calculate to understand what they're actually earning and what the business is actually worth.
Request this guideOperations
The 80/20 Business Guide
Applies 80/20 thinking to business operations — identifying where your time and capital produce results and where they're being absorbed by noise. Real operational examples from 406 Consulting engagements.
Request this guideGetting Started
The Smart Start Guide
Covers entity structure decisions, banking, bookkeeping, payroll setup sequence, the reporting minimum every new business needs, and common first-year mistakes. The financial decisions in the first 12 months are the hardest to undo.
Request this guideTax Planning
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) Guide
Breaks down key OBBBA provisions affecting small and mid-size businesses, planning opportunities created by the legislation, and what to review with your advisor. Time-sensitive — reflects current understanding.
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A Business Readiness Review distills the relevant guides into a focused diagnostic for your specific situation.
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