A small-business owner with the mindset of a chief financial officer can succeed

FALLBROOK – Some businesses stay on track while others run off the rails. Often the fate of the business hinges on the main person running it – the owner – especially in the small business arena.

A small business typically has a slimmer margin for error, giving the owner a wide area of responsibilities. But sometimes the owner doesn’t embrace all of those responsibilities, and that failure to grasp other roles – and one in particular – can lead to a company’s demise.

Many people have businesses that run them. They work for the business rather than work not on the business; they lack basic fina...