Maryland Businesses Struggle with 'Growth-Induced Cash Crunch'

Sustain CFO develops framework to help growth-stage companies manage cash flow during expansion

Published on Feb. 8, 2026

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Many Maryland businesses are seeing revenue rise while feeling increasingly constrained by cash flow, a phenomenon known as a 'growth-induced cash crunch'. To address this issue, Sustain CFO, a fractional CFO firm, has developed a financial resilience framework to help growth-stage companies scale without undermining liquidity. The framework highlights operational factors like receivables timing, inventory investment, vendor terms, and payroll cycles that can quietly strain a company's cash position as it grows.

Why it matters

Growth-related cash strain is a common but often misunderstood problem, as expenses can accelerate immediately while cash inflows lag behind. Sustain CFO's framework aims to help businesses proactively manage this challenge by translating it into a specific, solvable set of financial mechanics before expansion decisions are made.

The details

Sustain CFO's framework encourages businesses to adopt a 'cash flow operating system' approach, using rolling cash forecasts to anticipate upcoming obligations and understand how growth decisions affect liquidity over time. This helps leadership teams determine which initiatives can move forward, which should pause, and when additional capital may be needed - before urgency forces rushed choices. The firm provides fractional, CFO-level support to growth-stage businesses, applying the resilience framework to key decisions using rolling cash forecasts.

  • Sustain CFO developed the financial resilience framework in February 2026.
  • Recent data from the Fed Small Business' 2025 Report on Employer Firms shows businesses are reporting increased operating costs (74%), weak or uneven sales (61%), and inconsistent cash flow (51%) as their most pressing challenges.

The players

Sustain CFO

A fractional CFO firm in Maryland that has developed a financial resilience framework to help growth-stage companies manage cash flow during expansion.

Josh Notes

The Managing Partner and CEO of Sustain CFO.

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What they’re saying

“Maryland's economy now rewards operators who treat finance like an operating system. Tighten receivables, protect gross margin, and build a forecast you trust so you can hire and invest with confidence.”

— Josh Notes, Managing Partner and CEO of Sustain CFO (businessinsider.com)

“Across Maryland, uneven cash flow is squeezing good businesses. The next move is simple: know your weekly cash position, price to true costs, and tie sales incentives to collected revenue.”

— Josh Notes, Managing Partner and CEO of Sustain CFO (businessinsider.com)

What’s next

Sustain CFO plans to continue working with growth-stage businesses in Maryland to help them implement the financial resilience framework and proactively manage cash flow during expansion.

The takeaway

Growth-induced cash crunches are a common challenge for expanding businesses, but can be addressed through a proactive, data-driven approach to cash flow management. Sustain CFO's framework provides a roadmap for growth-stage companies to scale sustainably by translating cash flow impacts into specific, solvable operational factors.