Cash Flow Is Culture: What Every Manufacturer Must Know About Working Capital

In manufacturing, most conversations around employee retention and culture focus on recognition, leadership, and engagement. Those are crucial, but here’s an angle we don’t talk about enough:

Cash flow is culture.

When money is tight, stress goes up. Maintenance gets deferred. New hires are delayed. Promises go unfulfilled. And the best people? They start quietly checking out or walking out.

That’s why my recent conversation with Marshall Lebovits was so captivating. Marshall is a 35-year finance veteran and the president of Asset Based Funding Solutions . He helps growing companies untangle one of the most common and costly problems they face: too much cash tied up in receivables and inventory.

Listen to the episode here: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/402d0ace-838a-4d5b-898f-4cf7a127430a/

Let’s break down some of the real-world insights from that conversation and how you can use them to build a healthier, more stable business (and workforce).

The Problem: Cash You Can’t Use

Marshall put it simply:

“Any money you have tied up in receivables and inventory is money you can’t use to grow your business.”

That includes:

• Launching new product lines
• Entering new markets
• Maintaining or upgrading equipment
• Hiring and retaining top talent

When working capital is locked up, it has a direct impact on culture. Leaders get reactive. Employees feel the squeeze: training, appreciation, and forward motion stall.

The Myth: “If the Bank Says No, I’m Out of Options”

One of the biggest misconceptions Marshall sees is that once a bank says no, a business owner believes they’ve hit a wall.

Not true.

There’s an entire ecosystem of alternative financing options, including:

• SBA and USDA loans
• Asset-based lending
• Private credit options
• Sale-leasebacks on equipment
• Non-bank lenders who can offer structure and creativity without the red tape

The key is not just finding capital—but finding the right capital. That takes clarity, planning, and proactivity.

Three Moves You Can Make This Quarter

Marshall shared a few simple steps any company, regardless of size, can take to improve access to funding and business resilience:

1. Get Your Financial House in Order

If your reports aren’t accurate or readily available, you're dead in the water. Before seeking capital, ensure:

• Your books are clean
• You have monthly (not just annual) financial statements
• Your reporting systems reflect current receivables and inventory in real-time

2. Know Who You Are On Paper

Marshall recommends analyzing your financial ratios as lenders would. Ask:

• What’s our current cash flow?
• What’s our debt-to-equity ratio?
• How strong is our balance sheet?
• How are we managing collections and inventory turns?

If you don’t know how a lender sees you, you can’t improve your positioning.

3. Build Relationships Before You Need Them

This was a powerful takeaway: Don't wait until you're desperate to call a lender. Have conversations early. Build trust just like you’d nurture a long-term customer or employee relationship.

A Real-World Result: From $15M to $45M Without Giving Up Control

One of Marshall’s clients, a beverage manufacturer, used the strategies above to:

• Grow from $15M to $45M in revenue in four years
• Triple the size of their revolving credit line
• Avoid major equity dilution
• Diversify their lender base through a sale-leaseback on critical equipment

The result? More control. More confidence. More room to invest in people, products, and long-term growth.

Bottom Line: Finance Isn’t Just About Money, It’s About Freedom

When we discuss culture, let’s broaden the conversation.

Access to capital determines whether you make decisions out of vision or fear. Cash flow shapes whether people experience stability or chaos. Your financial strategy is an integral part of your overall retention strategy.

Here’s your challenge: Are your financial systems serving your people or silently undermining your culture?

Now’s the time to find out.

#CrackingTheRetentionCode #ManufacturingLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #CashFlowStrategy #WorkingCapital #EmployeeRetention #Grategy