Welcome to The 6 a.m. CFO, where finance chiefs share how they jump-start their days and engage with the tasks that are in front of them.
Today, DUDE Wipes’ CFO, Jeff Klimkowski, shares how he structures his morning and his favorite leadership lesson.
Be sure to check out the entire 6 a.m. CFO series, and if you’d like to be featured in a future post, please email us here.
DUDE Wipes
- A flushable and hypoallergenic toilet wipe product manufactured by personal care brand Dude Products.
- Year founded: 2011
- Number of employees: Approximately 40
- Annual growth: +$40 million revenue YoY ($110 million in revenue in 2023, up from $70 million in 2022)
MORNING ROUTINE
Morning wake-up time: Given I have three young kids (ages 7, 4 and 1), I typically keep my mornings very structured and wake up at 5 a.m. every day, even on weekends.
Morning beverage: A large glass of water first thing when I wake up, then three to four glasses of cold brew coffee that I brew myself in my refrigerator overnight.
Non-work-related morning activities: My routine on a typical morning includes:
- Meditate for 10 minutes
- Read a book that interests me for 20 minutes
- Read emails and review cash and PO sales that came in overnight until my kids wake up
- Get my kids ready and take them to school
- Go to the gym by 7:45 a.m. – 8 a.m. and work out for about 40 minutes
- Get to the office by 9 a.m.
How I spend the first hour of my day: As described, I usually spend the first 30 minutes on myself and then the next 30 minutes focusing on the business by reviewing cash and sales reports to track how the business is doing before my kids wake up.
Time I send out my first email: Typically, around 6 a.m., but I always use the schedule send function to send at 9 a.m. to not distract others from their personal lives in the morning. Just because that time works for me, does not mean it works for others.
Best advice for writing an effective email: My best advice is to keep it direct, short and to the point. Also, use bullet points if it’s addressing several issues/topics.
First dashboard I review: The first dashboard I review is our Netsuite sales dashboard which displays what customers have ordered and amount of orders.
How I structure my morning meetings: There is no typical structure for my morning meetings vs. afternoon meetings as it all depends on the topic and who is responsible for running the meeting.
Mid-morning snack of choice: My favorite lately has been Righteous Felon turkey jerky sticks, or I will run to Starbucks and get the kale and mushroom egg white bites.
How do you adjust when a morning doesn’t go as planned: When I have a morning that doesn’t go as planned, it usually means my wife will get the kids ready by herself and take my kids to school and/or I skip my morning workout. Life is busy, so I am pretty flexible if things don’t work out the way I’ve planned, but I try to stay disciplined and not skip meditating or reading in the morning.
LEADERSHIP AND INSPIRATION
Favorite quote or mantra: It’s a Bill Gates quote, but finance folks will understand the power of compounding: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years.”
Favorite leadership lesson: Focus, focus, focus. “Where your attention goes, energy flows.” Staying focused has been one of the most important things DUDE Wipes has done well and enabled our brand to continue to experience strong growth.
Something important to know about you that you wouldn’t know from your business bio: I grew up playing baseball and am a big baseball fan. I live down the street from the Chicago Cubs stadium Wrigley Field and have half-season tickets, so I am typically able to make a decent amount of games every year. We have two tickets, so it is nice to rotate taking my kids and getting to spend some one-on-one time with whichever kid decides to go to the game.
Favorite number: 24 – it’s my wedding anniversary and has been a lucky roulette number for me too at the casino.
Most noteworthy items in my workspace: At my home office, I would say the legacy packaging of the DUDE Wipes that I have on my shelves. It shows how far we’ve come and also that perfection is the enemy of progress. When looking at our old versions of products, it’s amazing to me how far we’ve come in terms of product improvement, branding and overall product quality. However, it took those learnings to get to where we are today.
Do you have a pet, and are they with you right now? Yes, we have two cats and no they are not with me at the office. Although, one of our cats hangs out with me all day when I work out of my home office.
Favorite app on my phone not related to business: Headspace – highly recommend for anyone who wants to kick start a morning meditation habit.
The year, make, and model of your first car: My first car in high school was a 1994 Dodge Shadow. Picture here is not the actual car, but it looks exactly like the whip I was driving.
Most influential/famous person you’ve ever met: Mark Cuban. He’s an investor of ours and has been a great partner for our business. He’s been a great mentor for my partners and me to be able to bounce strategic ideas off of him as they arise while we are operating our business.
Most inspirational person/people in your life: Definitely my parents. I am very grateful for the sacrifice they made for me and our family to make sure we had a great childhood and everything we needed growing up. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without their help and support.
