You’re Probably Leaving Free Cash on the Table

Playing to Win

November 11, 2025

newsletter-title

Welcome to the latest newsletter
of Playing to Win!

My newsletter is designed specifically to help business owners like you grow your companies with tried & applied bits of business knowledge, all communicated in actionable, bite-sized chunks. I will share insights and advice aimed at enhancing your business operations, boosting your success, and allowing you to focus more on what truly matters. Let's work together to achieve your goals and make your endeavors a reality.

Key Points of the Newsletter

  • Renegotiating vendor terms, even slightly, can add serious cash to your business.
  • A few days here and there, compounded quarterly, turns into real free cash flow.
  • Top operators use timing and discipline to go from decent to dominant.

You’re Probably Leaving Free Cash on the Table

Here’s a hard truth:
 
If you’re not revisiting vendor agreements every quarter, you’re leaving money on the table. Real money.

I’m not talking about massive renegotiations. I’m talking about a quarter-percent here, a couple extra days there. The kind of things that most business owners overlook because they seem “too small to matter.”

But here’s the reality, the pros don’t overlook the small stuff. They stack it.

Say you pay vendors on 30-day terms, but you renegotiate and start paying on day 33. Maybe you snag an extra 2–3 days each quarter. Doesn’t sound like much, right? Multiply that across the year and you’ve just created an extra 15 days of float, free cash sitting in your business instead of someone else’s pocket.

That cash gives you breathing room. Optionality. The power to pivot when others are stuck.

It’s not about being stingy. It’s about being strategic.

You don’t need a 20% swing to make a massive difference. Sometimes, it’s a half-percent tweak on margin or a couple days of delay in payment terms that separate a 23% net income business from one sitting pretty at 30%, with a fat chunk of free cash flow.

This is what elite operators do. They obsess over the details because they know that’s where the margin lives. And when you multiply those micro-adjustments over a year? That’s the difference between surviving and scaling. Between “good” and untouchable.

The timing of your cash matters. The discipline in your operations matters. You might not feel the impact of a few days... but your balance sheet will.

So here’s your move: go back through your vendor terms. Push for a little more. Pay attention to the stuff that seems too small to change.

Because it’s not small.

It’s what separates the amateurs from the empire-builders.

Stay tuned for more insights in our next newsletter. Remember, it's the small adjustments that often make the biggest impact on your business's profitability. Here's to your continued success!

Stay driven to push your business forward,
Ryan Niddel