I know people get tired of hearing me preach about the importance of knowing your numbers. I laugh when people mistakenly think I am an accounting or financial nerd. I actually am not a detailed accounting type, and that is one of the reasons I left my first job as a cost accountant. I did not want to spend the rest of my life beating on a calculator all day. I do, however, know the financial answers I need, even if I do not compile the information myself. I use this information to make strategic decisions and run my business. Running a business without the numbers is like groping around in a dark room trying to find a black cat.