Real experiences from leaders in Australia

Stories from inside Meinsalonspace Academy

Every organisation enters the academy with a different story: stretched cash, confusing board packs, or finance meetings that drift. These examples show how leaders used the program to create calmer, more grounded conversations about money.

Names and some details have been lightly adjusted to protect confidentiality, while keeping the core situations and outcomes true to life.

See how the program works Explore your situation with us

Group of business leaders sitting around a table reviewing financial charts

Different sectors, similar patterns

From creative studios to construction and e-commerce, the core questions around cash, margin and capacity often look the same.

When a creative studio turned finance into a weekly practice

Emma’s team was running a successful design studio in Melbourne — but every quarter the numbers still came as a surprise.

Emma R.

Founder, creative studio – Melbourne

“Our accountant would send through the quarterly pack and it always felt like opening exam results. We saw big swings in profit but couldn’t connect them to specific decisions.”

Inside the academy, Emma used the cash map and margin ladder tools to separate the studio’s project types into three categories. That made it easy to see which work was consistently profitable and which was quietly eroding margins.

They introduced a 30-minute weekly numbers check-in using a simple Meinsalonspace template. Within two months, they re-scoped one service line and adjusted their pricing on rush work. Quarterly reports stopped being a surprise — they became a confirmation of choices the team had already made.

How a construction company aligned site managers and finance

Josh’s construction business in Brisbane was growing, but each new project added complexity to already tense finance meetings.

Josh K.

Managing Director, construction company – Brisbane

“Our site managers are excellent operators, but financial language felt foreign. Every month we’d go back and forth over the same numbers and leave with different interpretations.”

During the program, Josh and his leadership team built a capacity and margin story for three representative projects. Instead of walking through full spreadsheets, they used one-page summaries with three key metrics that mattered to everyone on site.

Over time, site managers started bringing their own short updates to review calls: expected margin, current risks and next actions. Finance stopped feeling like a separate department, and became part of how projects were run.

What changed in practice

Monthly reviews shifted from 90 minutes to 50 minutes on average.
Site managers could explain margin drivers without needing a finance team member on every call.
One project type with consistently low margins was redesigned rather than quietly extended.

From “too many dashboards” to one clear e-commerce story

Priya’s e-commerce brand had grown quickly. Tools were in place, dashboards were everywhere – but nobody felt the numbers told a simple story.

Priya S.

COO, e-commerce brand – Sydney

“We had more dashboards than we could count. Marketing watched one set of numbers, operations another, and finance a third. Everyone was busy, but it was hard to say what the numbers were really telling us.”

Within the academy, Priya worked with her leadership team to create a single monthly “numbers story” for the board. Instead of copying screenshots, they used the Meinsalonspace template to summarise what changed, what stayed steady and what they were experimenting with next.

They still use their dashboards, but as inputs rather than destinations. The main value now comes from the conversations sparked by a one-page narrative everyone can understand.

Other shifts leaders describe

Not every story involves major restructuring. Often the biggest wins are small, repeatable changes in how numbers are discussed.

“Less surprise” Finance packs confirm patterns leaders already understand.

“Clear next steps” Every review ends with 1–3 documented decisions or experiments.

Write the next chapter for your own numbers story

You do not need a “perfect” reporting setup to start. Most leaders join with messy dashboards, incomplete reports and a sense that they should already know more than they do.

The first step is a simple one: a short conversation about where you are now and what you would like to change in the next six to twelve months.

Explore a cohort for your context

Share a few details about your organisation and we will suggest a cohort format, timing and investment range.

Book an intro call Review the program outline