 A recession doesn’t announce itself. It creeps in — through slower sales, tighter credit, or rising costs. By the time it’s obvious, most businesses are already reacting from behind.
At Baker CFO Advisory, we work with businesses across industries, and the pattern is clear: the companies that survive downturns aren’t always the biggest or the fastest-growing. They’re the ones that saw the risks coming and made simple, strategic adjustments before things changed. This article outlines three warning signs that your business might not be as recession-ready as you think — and what you can do to fix them.
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 You’ve probably heard the old joke: “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.”
Funny—but also surprisingly true. And maybe even more relevant to business than we realize. In hockey, fighting is more than just tolerated—it’s built into the rhythm of the game. It’s not because players are naturally more aggressive than athletes in other sports. It’s because of the ice. Hockey is played on a frictionless surface. When tempers flare, it’s physically difficult for teammates or officials to intervene quickly. So when tension builds, it often has nowhere to go but into a brawl. The ice, in a way, invites it.  For medical groups operating across multiple departments or specialties, financial clarity is often elusive. Tax returns may confirm how you did, but they rarely help you understand why. This case study follows how a regional healthcare provider used tax season as a pivot point—turning compliance into a launchpad for smarter planning, physician alignment, and long-term investment strategy.
From Tax Return to Margin Control: How a Contractor Turned Financial Data Into a Scalable Strategy5/2/2025  Construction contractors often leave tax season with a completed return—but little clarity on what’s working, what’s costing too much, or how to fund future growth. This case study follows a mid-sized contracting firm that used its tax data as a springboard to rebuild its job costing model, fix equipment debt inefficiencies, and develop a sustainable project pipeline with stronger controls.
 Dentists often focus on delivering exceptional patient care, but without proactive financial systems, it’s easy for tax season to become a reactive exercise. This case study follows how a multi-location dental practice used their year-end financial data to shift from backward-looking compliance to forward-focused strategy—streamlining costs, rethinking compensation models, and positioning for scalable growth.
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