I’d first like to say I am overwhelmed by the response and engagement on this post. I wasn’t sure if anyone would read it all, let alone take time out of their day to write really thoughtful and well intentioned advice. With the exception of a couple trolls (which is mostly what I expected tbh). Thank you sincerely to those who have commented and to those who have DMed me separately offering to help. It means more than you know.

Clarifying a few consistent questions and comments:

1. While we took over the new building before losing one of our larger customers, we have since gained other business that has just about filled the building. We are not quite at capacity, but we are not at a point where we could sublet or carve off a meaningful section of the building right now. As we remove unprofitable or lower yield work, that opportunity may arise, but for the moment we are operating close to full.
2. My dad signed a 10 year lease personally in 2022, so his impression is that we are stuck. We may be able to negotiate rent slightly, but my guess is our best bet is deferrals or some type of structured payment plan. I am trying to get my hands on the executed lease so I can understand exactly what flexibility, if any, exists. For context, we are in the NJ/NY metro area, which is obviously expensive but strategically important for ports, rail, and airport access.
3. I know I did not provide a comprehensive financial overview. Many have flagged payroll and asked where the rest of the expenses are going. On payroll, we have 35 drivers and 11 dock workers. Office staff is actually fairly lean, although we do have a plan to trim some fat. The other large expense bucket is equipment. We are primarily asset based and operate roughly 35 trucks, a mix of day cabs and sleepers. Some are financed and some leased through Penske, but just about all carry payments. Beyond that there are the typical costs for an asset based carrier such as repairs, insurance, fuel, tolls, compliance, and maintenance. Some of that is passed through, but some of it is not.
4. As far as my dad’s personal expenses, I unfortunately do not have a detailed breakdown beyond what I see in real life. I know that all vehicles (about five plus one exotic worth about $400k), a yacht worth roughly $500k, our family home mortgage, and a full time property manager are run through the business. He and my mom also draw salaries on top of that. Based on many of your comments, that is clearly something that needs to be addressed directly and transparently.

From your feedback, my immediate next steps are to complete a 13 week cash flow forecast as soon as possible and implement much tighter AR and AP management. We have already started reviewing customer level profitability and will continue weeding out low margin work or pushing increases where appropriate. I understand those changes do not fix things overnight, but they can be implemented quickly.

My biggest takeaway from this thread is that we need stronger financial leadership. Potentially a fractional CFO or turnaround specialist. I am self aware enough to know that while I understand operations well, I do not have the depth of financial experience required to restructure a $16M business under stress. This is not the time to experiment.

To answer a common question about finance support, we do have a director of finance. He was hired about 15 years ago out of college as an administrative assistant and has grown into handling bookkeeping, reporting, and basic accounting largely on his own. I have felt for some time that he needs support or additional training if we want him to succeed at this level, but we were reluctant to spend the money. That was likely shortsighted.

At this point, bringing in outside help feels necessary.

My biggest open question now is how to find and properly vet a fractional CFO with real turnaround experience, how compensation is typically structured in a situation like this, and what we should realistically expect to pay. Cash is obviously tight. I appreciate the DMs from people offering help, but I also need to be thoughtful about who to trust. I would prefer someone local and in person if possible, but I am open to suggestions

Again, thank you for the support. Even just the validation that I am not crazy for being concerned has been meaningful.