Most founders don't have a bad week and fail. They drift. Small things go unnoticed — an invoice nobody chased, a renewal that went through, a churn uptick, a decision put off one more week — and three months later the company is in a different place than they thought.
A weekly review is the simplest fix. Forty-five minutes, the same time every week, the same questions. It turns running the company from something that happens to you into something you do on purpose.
When and how long
Pick a fixed slot and protect it. Friday afternoon works well for looking back, Monday morning for planning ahead. Either is fine; consistency matters more than timing. Aim for 45 minutes. If it regularly takes two hours, you're doing work in the review instead of reviewing.
Part 1: The numbers (15 minutes)
Write the same handful of numbers down every week, in the same place, next to last week's. The trend matters more than any single value.
| Number | Where it comes from | What you're looking for |
|---|---|---|
| MRR or revenue this week | Billing system | Direction, not size |
| New customers / cancellations | Billing system | Is churn creeping up? |
| Cash in the bank | Bank | Matches what you expected? |
| Burn this month so far | Bank and cards | Any surprise spending? |
| Runway | Cash ÷ net burn | Shrinking faster than a month per month? |
| Overdue invoices | Invoicing tool | Anything over 14 days? |
| Upcoming renewals | Subscriptions list | Anything to cancel before it bills? |
If any number surprises you, write down why. That's often where the important work of the week turns out to be.
Part 2: What happened (10 minutes)
Answer three questions in a few lines each:
- What moved the business forward this week?
- What didn't go as planned, and why?
- What did I learn about customers?
The third question is the one founders skip, and it's the most valuable. One line a week adds up to a record of what customers actually say and want.
Part 3: Decisions (10 minutes)
Look at your list of open decisions: things you need to decide but haven't. For each one:
- Decide it now if you have enough information.
- Set a date if you need more information, and write down what you're waiting for.
- Drop it if it no longer matters.
Write down what you decided and why. In six months you'll want to know, and you won't remember. The free Decision Inbox is built for exactly this.
Part 4: Next week (10 minutes)
Pick three things that would make next week a success. Not twenty. Three, specific, and tied to what the numbers and decisions told you. If something urgent came up in the review (an invoice to chase, a renewal to cancel), it goes on the list.
A template you can copy
WEEKLY REVIEW – [date]
NUMBERS
Revenue / MRR: [ ] (last week: [ ])
New / cancelled: [ ] / [ ]
Cash: [ ]
Burn this month: [ ]
Runway (months): [ ]
Overdue invoices: [ ]
Renewals next 30 days:[ ]
WHAT HAPPENED
Moved forward:
Didn't go to plan:
Learned about customers:
DECISIONS
Decided (and why):
Waiting on (by when):
Dropped:
NEXT WEEK – THREE THINGS
1.
2.
3.Make it a habit
The first few reviews feel slow because you're digging numbers out of five different tools. That's normal. After a month you'll know where everything is, and the review gets quick. The real payoff comes after three months, when you can look back and see the trend of the business, not just this week's mood.