December 11, 2024 • 47 mins
Discover how Leslie Hassler, the powerhouse behind Your Biz Rules, transforms the often-daunting entrepreneurial journey into a pathway to success—guided by faith and inspired by her belief in God's role in her journey. As a seasoned business owner from Texas, Leslie shares her transformative story of moving from a draining enterprise to a fulfilling business coaching venture, offering invaluable insights into personal growth and overcoming imposter syndrome. Her unique approach, rooted in her faith, promises to guide business owners through challenges with incremental steps toward sustainable success.
We dive into the hard-earned lessons of entrepreneurship, where mindset and faith are as crucial as financial acumen. Sharing personal stories, Leslie underscores the importance of building robust systems, cultivating a positive culture, and establishing strong boundaries to avoid costly mistakes of the past. She emphasizes the necessity of financial literacy, advocating for a deeper understanding of profitability and cash flow beyond mere revenue, while also reflecting on the privilege of paying taxes as a hallmark of profit.
Our conversation also unpacks the complexities of profitability and scalability, essential to any thriving business. Leslie expertly breaks down key financial documents like balance sheets and profit and loss statements, guiding us through strategies to maximize profitability and align growth with cash flow. With faith as her compass, Leslie highlights the critical difference between growth and scalability, revealing how repositioning cash within a business can prevent financial pitfalls. Tune in for practical, faith-centered advice to ensure your business doesn't just grow but scales sustainably, avoiding the common traps that lead to high-revenue struggles.
Leslie Hassler: CEO and Founder of Your Biz Rules
Website: https://www.yourbizrules.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliehassler/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leslie.hassler/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeslieHassler
Blog: https://www.yourbizrules.com/blog/
#Entrepreneurship #BusinessCoaching #SmallBusinessTips #God #Faith #LeslieHassler #YourBizRules #FinancialAcumen #Profitability #CashFlowManagement #ScalableBusiness #EntrepreneurJourney #MindsetMatters #BusinessGrowth #OvercomingChallenges #SustainableSuccess #BusinessFinance #StrategicPlanning #LeadershipDevelopment #Profits #Taxes #SmallBusinessSuccess #BusinessAutomation #EntrepreneurMindset #GrowthStrategies #SmallBusinessGrowth #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessStrategy #BusinessSuccess #BusinessPodcast #PodcastEpisode #SmallBusinessPivots #Success #BusinessOwners #MichaelDMorrison #OklahomaCity #BOSS #EntrepreneurAdvice
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, welcome to Small Business Pivots.
Again, we have another specialguest from around the world and,
as I always say, no one canintroduce themselves or their
business like the business owner.
So tell us a little bit aboutyourself, your business, where
you're from.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, howdy, I'm Melissa.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Howdy.
We got a howdy Howdy.
Anybody can guess where that'sfrom.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
The great state of Texas, right?
Yeah, Anybody can guess wherethat's from the great state of
Texas, right?
So my name is Leslie Hassler.
I own your biz.
Rules business coaching.
What we do is we work withbusiness owners to get them cash
forward, produce profitspredictably so you can grow and
scale, but do so that in a waythat improves the owner's
quality of life and really givesyou something that's
(00:43):
sustainable and healthy in yourlife through business.
So that's a bit of what we do.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Just a little bit.
Well, I know there's a lot totalk about, so would you
consider yourself a type ofbusiness coach as well?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, I just we don't use the coach moniker because we
tend to do a little bit more.
So while that is a part of whatwe do, we also work pretty
deeply with our clients andwe'll get into the nitty gritty
or into the trenches with themto kind of work alongside them
to help them get out.
(01:19):
We have just found that if ourowners knew what to do, they
would have already been doing it, and so telling somebody what
to do sometimes isn't enough.
You have to get down there andshow them what it looks like you
know and and teach them how todo it themselves and then pass
the dahan back to them so theycan be successful long term.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Very cool.
Well, listeners, you betterbuckle up, because you have a
business coach, and one thatdoes a little bit more.
So let's introduce the show andwe'll be right back.
Welcome to Small BusinessPivots, a podcast designed for
small business owners.
I'm your host, michael Morrison, a small business coach and
founder of BOSS, where we makebusiness ownership simplified
(02:02):
for success, so that you can owna business that runs without
you.
To learn more, go tobusinessownershipsimplifiedcom.
All right, welcome back toSmall Business Pivots, leslie,
where do we start?
I mean, there's so much to talkabout there.
You know, I always say businessowners, we don't know what we
(02:23):
don't know.
In fact, you know, I'm mid-50sand I'm still learning.
So where do we start?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Mid-50s?
No, I'm early 50s, how's that?
I'm just a little bit behindyou and I still joke.
My team is like, well, whatshould we do?
And I was like I don't know,let's just go figure it out.
And they're like you don't know.
And I'm like, no, I don't know.
And they're like, well, how doyou know what to do?
And I'm like I'm just going toput one foot in front of the
other.
It will come.
I have faith.
I've been doing it long enoughto know I don't.
(02:51):
I need to know where I'm going.
I need to know what the end is.
You know're talking about.
But when you've got all of thatin place, you don't really need
to know how.
You just need to take a stepright and that step will inform
the next step and the next stepand the next step.
(03:12):
And as you can be strategic,sure, do we know what we're
doing in a lot of places?
Sure, but do we explore as well?
Most definitely, that, I got toadmit, is one fun thing for me
about being an entrepreneur.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Well, I know with a lot of entrepreneurs we have
imposter syndrome and sometimesthat's from mindset of something
that we grew up with a trial, atribulation, anything like that
.
So we can kind of get in yourhead and kind of how you got
into this putting one foot infront of the other, because a
lot of us have a problem gettingover something and it kind of
(03:48):
holds us back so I won't.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I will say I have moments of imposter syndrome, um
, but I also have a verydifferent take when it comes to
imposter syndrome.
I have learned to internalizethat when I feel that moment of
doubt and I'll tell you about areally big moment in my
entrepreneurial life but whatI've learned is when I have that
(04:13):
moment of doubt, I choose tosee it as a high level of
integrity, desire to do well,desire to be successful, and
that part I lean into and Ihonestly just let go of the rest
.
But I will say my firstbusiness was an entirely
different business.
I ran it for seven or eightyears.
(04:35):
I will be honest, it sucked mysoul dry.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I think a lot of people can relate to that.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah.
So, as I was in a couple ofyears of exploration, going,
okay, god, if it's not this,then what?
What is it that I like?
What do I not like?
What do I want?
You know, all these questionsyou ask yourself I was getting
the nudge to come into thisbusiness and I was like, who am
I Right?
Who am I?
(05:03):
I'm leaving a business that'sgoing to suck my soul dry.
Who am I?
And that was probably thebiggest moment of imposter
syndrome, and it just I keptgetting nudged to do this and I
said, okay, fine, this is theway I work Sometimes in my
conversations with God.
I will give it a try, but youare going to have to give me
(05:24):
signs.
I need blinking arrows, give mesigns.
I need blinking arrows, cautionsigns, like make it super clear
.
I don't know why.
I think I can get these things,but this is where I went.
And so what I started doing is Idid my first three clients for
free, three months, a limitedengagement.
I just wanted to see could I begood at this, and what I found
(05:45):
was that I could and truly.
It's the same way for everybody.
We discount the things that areeasiest for us, the things that
are like breathing to us oftenare our greatest assets, and it
was in that moment that Ilearned I actually had a lot
more going for myself than Igave myself credit for.
So I think, the way you know Iuse that word exploration I'm
(06:10):
exploring.
Sometimes I find dead ends, butif I don't have, if, like, what
I'm going to do doesn't have tobe heavy with, am I right or am
I wrong?
Am I going to succeed or am Igoing to fail?
You know, if I don't have tocarry that weight, I can walk
into things and situations androoms where I don't feel the
(06:31):
most comfortable, but I can showup because it's just I, I it
doesn't matter to me if it failsis where I'm at.
You know, sure, I don't like tolose money any more than
anybody else.
Sure, I don't like to waste mytime any more than anybody else.
And you and I were talking, andI think you and I have the same
patience gene, which is kind oflow.
But I also know that if I don'texplore, I don't learn.
(06:55):
If I don't learn, I don't grow.
If I don't grow, I can't reachmy goals, and I'm just so much
more attached to that than I amsometimes to the mindset trash
that we all go through.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So you mentioned the business that sucked your soul.
We don't have to go into thatbusiness.
But you said eventually I justgot out of it.
So did you?
Was that a pivot?
Or because I know a lot ofbusiness owners feel that way,
they feel like this is justtaking the juice out of me Can
you kind of explain, like howyou God obviously was part of
(07:33):
that, but what were some ofthose signs, of signals, like
running that business?
I mean, when did you know that?
Okay, it's literally time.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
When I hated going to work, that's probably a good
signal.
When the boss hates going towork, that's a really good
signal.
But I'll be honest, I didn'tset up enough systems, I didn't
work on the culture of thebusiness, I didn't set enough
boundaries in my company, so itsecretly tore me apart because
(08:06):
it wasn't supporting the lifethat I wanted.
So I had horrible issues withteam.
In fact, that experience withteam would scar me enough that
it wasn't until 2021, 2022, thatI actually got serious about
hiring a team again.
And because I didn't feel likeI was a good manager, I hired
(08:32):
the wrong people.
I hired toxic personalitiesthat nearly killed my business
from internally, if you will,and I was too busy and I stayed
too busy.
If you know, I'm using airquotes for those of you that are
listening to do something aboutit.
And the truth was I didn't dosomething about it because I
(08:53):
didn't know what to do about itand I didn't have the energy
level to deal with it.
So I basically let the toxicitygrow and, honestly, I didn't
fully understand how bad it wasuntil like three or four years
after that business had closedthat I really started to see the
(09:15):
signs.
So I call that.
First business was my MBA in theSchool of Hard Knocks of
Entrepreneurship.
I failed some courses.
I got to repeat them.
I at least barely passed someand excelled in others.
So it was very much my learningground for the work that we've
(09:35):
been doing for the past 12 yearsin this business.
But I won't even call it apivot, because a pivot, you know
, to me is like a stick yourheel and turn and go a different
direction.
No, I jumped off this cliff.
I really just remember therewere a couple of years there
that I was just like I'm justgoing to burn it all down.
(09:55):
I'm just going to burn it alldown.
That was the only path forwardthat I could see Hindsight, you
don't have to burn it down, butyou do have to do something
right.
The today me would go back andtell the then me that it's okay.
(10:16):
It's okay to be where I was.
I was actually at a pivotalgrowth moment.
I did not even realize and if Iwanted to key, if I wanted to,
I could change every rule in thebusiness and turn that business
into something I loved.
I just didn't know it at thetime.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I often say one of my favorite quotes is until I
change, nothing around mechanges.
I mean, you are hitting.
It's almost like we talked orhave a script, because you
mentioned systems and boundariesand culture and toxic, and I'm
like business coaching, businesscoaching, business coaching
that you know, but we hear itover and over.
(10:51):
But for business owners,sometimes we still don't do what
we know to do.
So let's talk about yourbusiness today, because I feel
so emotionally bad for businessowners that use their bank
account for the health of theirbusiness.
In other words, if I have moneyin the bank, things are going
(11:12):
well.
If I don't, I can't sleep.
Everybody get out of my way,I'm going to chop your head off.
So let's talk about yourbusiness today and how that's
applicable to business ownersand why they need to know what
you do and how that can bebeneficial to them.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
What's the definition of a business, a commercial
enterprise right, a commercialenterprise and I like to say
that can work without you, butit's really about producing a
profit and what we don'tunderstand.
One of my favorite phrases thatI love to use is revenue is
vanity, profit is sanity, butcash is king or queen, depending
(11:51):
on who you are.
So you could have a $2 millionbusiness right and you could
have a three quarter of amillion dollars business 750,000
, which do you want?
Most people say 2 million.
I said great.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
I'm shaking my head.
If I can be profitable in thatsmaller one, yes.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
So and that's the key is what we can't see looking at
a business outside, is what'sthe bottom line, what's the net
profitability?
If both of those business havethe same net profitability, then
you have a lot of logisticalballs to keep in the air with a
$2 million business that youmight have at the $750 level.
(12:28):
So that's where revenue isvanity.
Profit is sanity Beautiful.
So you're sitting with your CPA, right, it's at the beginning
of the new year.
He goes congratulations, youposted a profit.
You're surprised that youposted a profit and you're like
I'm so excited.
And he goes oh, and, by the way, you have a X tax bill to pay.
And your number one thought isbut I don't have X in my bank
(12:53):
account.
Profit, right, you can haveprofit on paper, but it not be
real because you have to produceenough profit to produce cash.
That is why cash is king orqueen, depending on what you
want to adopt.
Most business owners come intosmall business ownership with
(13:14):
the financial literacy ofbalancing a checkbook, right,
making sure that balance isaccurate.
Yeah, that doesn't work so well.
It takes something more.
Uh, most business centers comein or at least in the year, with
our favorite two-letter phrasebreak even.
(13:34):
And why do we want to breakeven?
Because we don't like payingtaxes.
Profits or taxes are aprivilege of profit.
I will get it out there youhave to be okay with paying
taxes, period.
If you're not okay with payingtaxes, you'll never have enough
(13:55):
profits.
If you don't have enoughprofits, you'll never have
enough cash flow and you'llalways be on that feast and
famine that is ever so popularride in the amusement park of
business ownership.
So we have to change ourrelationship with money.
We were talking about mindsetearlier.
Mindset pours into it.
(14:16):
There are a lot of traps thatpeople fall into when it comes
to mindset, but it's also wehave to have different habits,
and that's one of the things.
Like we just released a bookFirst this, then that, and then
we spend like four chapters justtalking about either the
mindset, the habit and then themodel.
(14:36):
Did you even set up yourbusiness to produce profits in
the first place?
So yeah, it's not reallycomplicated, but it is
multifaceted.
The solution is simple, but youhave to want to be different
enough first.
If you're okay being just likeeverybody else and complaining
at the latest networking tableabout how much you need money to
(15:01):
buy something or grow somethingor do that.
If you're still okay with it,you're not ready to change.
If you're wanting somethingdifferent, then these strategies
work.
They work really well.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Sometimes, until it hurts enough, we won't change
right.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
So that's how business owners are I mentioned
a quote earlier and when yousaid that quote what I?
I sent this to one of my sonswhen they were younger.
I said you'll never changeuntil you get sick of yourself,
getting sick of it or thesituation for you to be able to
want to change.
And unfortunately that's thetruth.
If you're comfortable, you'renot going to change.
(15:39):
It almost always has to beworse before people will change
and unfortunately you can waittoo long.
You can wait too long, so justchange.
I mean, the sooner you do it,the easier it is.
I'll just let you know.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
And then, as time goes by, you'll go.
Why didn't I do this sooner?
We've all been there listeners,I promise, leslie and I both
we've been there, we know how itfeels.
So if I'm a business owner let'stake one of our listeners, for
example and I'm a contractor,let's say I'm an electrician and
I start a little businessbecause where I worked at they
(16:16):
didn't know what they were doing.
But here it is, year two, yearthree, box of receipts, and now
I'm so deep into this I'm alittle embarrassed to even come
to somebody like you.
What are those first steps ofokay, I want to get serious, I
want to get on track.
What do those steps look likefor someone like that?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
So, first off, if you want to get serious and want to
get on track, be okay gettinghelp.
If you want to get serious andwant to get on track, be okay
getting help.
There is no gold star inentrepreneurship for going alone
, period.
I have a team, you have a team,you need a team.
Whether they're a W-2 to 99subcontractor, it doesn't matter
.
Team is a very broad concept inour world today.
(16:56):
So, first off, be okay to dothat.
Second off is if numbers isn'tyour thing, then hire a
bookkeeper, please.
We don't do bookkeeping, but wework very, very closely with
bookkeepers and CPAs becausewe're more the entrepreneurial.
Cfo type of role is one of theroles we play for our clients.
(17:18):
But you've got to be okay withyour numbers and I and I say
this is almost like most peopleavoid the numbers we look at it,
um, like there's three personasthat we talk about in first
this and that there's theostrich, and we all can
visualize the ostrich with theirhead in the ground Right.
Um, I'm not a numbers person.
Don't talk to me about numbers.
(17:39):
All I'll do is work harder.
There's the rhino and if youknow anything about rhinos, one
of the world's most dangerousanimals because they get spooked
and they charge right.
So if you're constantly puttingout fires, and especially
financial fires, oh, the pieceof equipment broke, so now I got
to pay for that.
Oh, I lost the key employee andnow I got to spend you know
(18:00):
money getting a new one back.
Oh, you name it, you're a rhino.
We want to get people to theplace of Al, and Al is about
knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
When you have knowledge, youhave an ability to make a
strategic decision.
So you've got to start off bybecoming acquainted with your
numbers, with the money in yourbusiness.
Think of it as dating, withyour numbers, with the money in
(18:21):
your business.
Think of it as dating.
Hi, how are you?
What's your name?
Oh, operational expenses.
What do you?
Speaker 1 (18:29):
have to tell me.
I know.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I'm being cheesy, but I think that's what we have to
do.
We have to really break it downto something that's not scary.
The way we explain a financialstatement and what we're trying
to do is like look, thefinancial statement is your
house, and in your house youhave rooms, right, and in your
rooms you have cupboards and youhave drawers and you have, you
know, boxes.
(18:50):
We just want to make sure thatthe right stuff is in the right
place, so we don't want yoursocks ending up in your kitchen
utensils, right.
That's kind of gross.
We also want to make sure yourlaundry is not in your toilet.
That is what the purpose ofbookkeeping is.
It's just to make sure thatthings are put into the right
place.
When they're put away, you canlook at the numbers and they'll
(19:12):
tell you a story.
Now, most business owners don'tknow this.
That's why I say get help.
A good bookkeeper can help, agood CPA can help, we can help.
You can have multiple financialpartners looking into this.
But then it's about what to donext, and that's where the
strategy comes into place.
Once we know what the numbersare saying, what they're telling
(19:32):
us, then we can make thestrategic decisions of what
systems do we need?
What boundaries do we need?
Do you need a cash flowmanagement tool?
Are you constantly worriedabout paying payroll?
Let's give you the systems inthe future that take away that
worry.
And ultimately, when we findthat business owners are worried
about the money, they makebetter decisions.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Wow, that's pretty powerful, Because many business
owners can't decide because theydon't have the numbers, they
don't have the knowledge.
So should I buy this, should Iinvest that, should I hire this
person, should I not?
Can I afford it?
And on and on.
That cycle goes.
In the meantime, yourcompetition is passing you
(20:17):
because you're sitting therestill trying to decide.
So can you give us an exampleor two?
Because I know, when I firststarted my business, well over
two decades ago, I didn't knowwhat financial statements were.
I used my bank account, justlike what we're talking about.
Can you give us a couple ofexamples?
So like on a P&L, like what's acouple of things, like I don't
(20:38):
know, let's say, back then Ididn't know what it was for, but
I also didn't understand howpowerful it was or what you
could read, what story you couldget out of that, like even if
it was how to decide if you canafford this or that, or kind of.
Give us a couple of examples ofwhen you know your numbers,
when you understand what storiesthey can tell.
Here's a couple of examples.
You're listening to SmallBusiness Pivots.
(21:00):
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Now let's get back to ourincredible guest.
Can you give us a couple ofexamples?
So, like on a P&L, like what'sa couple of things?
Like I don't know, let's say,back then I didn't know what it
(22:04):
was for, but I also didn'tunderstand how powerful it was
or what you could read, whatstory you could get out of that,
like even if it was how todecide if you can afford this or
that or kind of.
Give us a couple of examples ofwhen you know your numbers,
when you understand what storiesthey can tell.
Here's a couple of examples.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
There are three that your financial advisors and your
CPAs like to look at.
There's the balance sheet.
That's about sets andliabilities, so what you have
and what you owe.
Then you have the profit andloss statement.
This is truly about more thedetail, operation of the
business and the incomeproducing.
So obviously at the end you'llproduce a profit or a loss,
(22:45):
hence profit and loss right.
And then cash flows, andstatement of cash flow is about
really money in and money out.
I will say we probably use thatthe least.
We really focus in on balancesheet and profit and loss
statements.
Let's talk about the profit andloss statements because there's
a couple of terms that peoplewill hear and it all has to do
with the word line.
(23:06):
So there's above the line andbelow the line, and then there's
bottom line We've heard thesephrases right.
So let's explain those reallyhigh level.
So, above the line, this isabout the money coming into your
business and the cost of doingthat business.
So these typically are thingswe call direct costs, and direct
(23:28):
costs just mean they areexpenses that you incur because
you're doing the work.
So these tend to be COGS.
If you're a material-basedcompany we actually do we have a
mix of materials or service andproduct-based businesses.
Everybody we put something intoCOGS.
If you hire an outside projectmanager and you're a digital
(23:49):
marketing firm, that's a COG.
It's a variable direct expense.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Can you explain the COG?
It's just an acronym.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, an acronym is cost of goods sold.
Sometimes you'll see is cost ofgoods sold.
Sometimes you'll see it cost ofgoods sold and labor.
They'll say C-O-G-S-N-L COGS.
So that's above the line.
The line, though, is a reallyimportant thing to know.
The line is your gross profitor your gross profit margin.
(24:20):
This is how much money is leftover the direct cost of doing
the business that you do.
It's a really important numberthat a lot of people don't pay
attention.
If you're in a service-basedbusiness, it's going to be
really high, high in terms ofmargin, and margin just means
percentage.
So, typically for servicebusinesses, we see those in the
(24:42):
90s somewhere, oftentimes 98%,99%, sometimes 100%, it's
possible.
Conversely, for products, theproduct gross profit margin as a
percentage is typically lower.
However, there's a baseline,especially for businesses that,
let's just say, under $5 million.
(25:02):
There's a baseline that youneed to make sure that your
business is performing, and ourfavorite sweet spot is 60% or
more.
We want to see 60% of what youbring in flowing down your
profit and loss, and if you wantto figure out how to do that
percentage, you're going to seea.
If you get your profit and lossstatement, it's going to say
(25:23):
gross profit or gross income.
Take that number and divide itby your total sales.
That'll give you a percentageThat'll tell you where you're at
, whether you're on target oroff target.
Our next segment is below theline.
So below the line isoperational expense, or FX as we
shortcut it, because there's alot of words to say and when it
(25:44):
comes to your financialdocuments, this is all.
This is the cost of runningyour business.
These typically are a littlemore fixed.
They're going to happen whetheror not you have work, your rent
, your phone, your internet,your QuickBooks subscription.
These things happen regardlessof whether or not you're having
sales.
So those typically are in OpEx.
(26:05):
What we want to do is then makesure things are flowing through
to the bottom line.
The bottom line is net income.
This is typically one of thelast six lines on your profit
and loss statements.
Everyone's statement looksslightly different.
Everyone's statements can useslightly different words, but
for the most part it honors thestructure.
(26:27):
The net income that's yourprofit at the bottom line.
Your net profit margin is againanother ratio of what that
number is divided by the totalsales that came in.
That's the kicker.
I think too many businessessettle down here.
I looked it up one time I waslike okay, what is a good profit
(26:48):
margin?
And there's an organization, afinancial advisor's organization
, that says good is 20%, thatyour net profit margin is 20% is
(27:10):
20%.
Our client average is 36.
We have some as high as 45, 46%, 53 at times.
Our product-based businessestend to be a little slightly
below our client average.
That is where you have fun,right, and what we're trying to
do when we're looking at abusiness, we're trying to
maximize that bottom in there,so we're maximizing the.
When we're looking at abusiness, we're trying to
maximize that bottom in there,so we're maximizing the amount
of profitability in a business.
Let's talk about your profitintention.
(27:31):
Here's the problem.
Most business owners treatprofit as a reward.
When I am big enough, goodenough, have enough clients,
have done whatever, then I willhave profit.
The kicker is there's no profitfairy.
There's no.
You know fairy godmother,flying around going Michael,
(27:55):
michael, you're good enough, youhave earned enough.
Today you have profit.
Has that fairy visited you?
Speaker 1 (28:08):
No, that's like finding the money tree.
I mean, it's the same thing.
It's not.
It doesn't exist, it's justtalked about.
It's still being sought after.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, so think about it this way.
What if profit wasn't a reward?
What if it wasn't about howhard you worked or how long
you've worked or how long you'vebeen in business?
What if it was an intention?
What if the name of the gamewas to be profitable the
(28:38):
smallest possible business size,not the biggest.
The smallest possible businesssize, not the biggest.
The smallest possible businesssize.
What would you be doingdifferently in your business?
What if I told you that youneed to be profitable by the
time you hit 200,000 or 100,000,or 80,000?
(29:00):
Or 80,000?
What choices would you make inthe structure of your business
in order to produce profit?
Speaker 1 (29:11):
that's a big question .
Speaker 2 (29:13):
It is a huge question , isn't it?
So that's what we consider theMVP, the minimum viable
profitability.
That's the game we should beplaying, because when you're
profitable and you're profitableat a low level you start to
produce cash.
And when you produce cash, youpay your taxes.
Heavens, let's pay taxes.
We put some away for a rainyday because we all have them and
(29:38):
oftentimes we don't see themcoming, and then we get to play.
Maybe it's you get to take abigger salary.
Maybe it's I'm going to write abook and I'm going to pay for a
ghostwriter.
Maybe it's I'm going to go to aconference and I'm going to
learn a new skill.
When you have the money to makethe choices in a business, that
is freedom, and that's thenumber one reason that people
(30:04):
even choose to open up abusiness is for freedom.
Yet we're not giving it toourselves.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, that's, and whatever you do when you have a
profit, don't go buy a boat forthe business Okay, which I see
so many businesses don't begoing buying toys from the
business.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Let me be clear your business is not your piggy bank,
exactly.
Well, if you want to buy a boat, pay yourself the money in your
personal account and go buy themoney with that.
But uh, yeah, that opens up alot of problems, guys, yeah,
problems yes.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
So one of the most asked questions is on that line
that shows I have a profit.
Yeah, made a profit.
Let's just what kind of numberwould you like to throw out?
Just name a number.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Name a number, like as in dollars.
How much profit would I want?
Speaker 1 (31:03):
or should somebody else Just you?
How much would you like to see.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
The game I'm playing right now is 2 million.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Okay, so 2 million.
So for most business ownersthat might be $2 or 200 or
20,000, but let's say it's20,000, reduce it a little bit.
But they wonder why don't Ihave that?
Can you explain?
Just?
I know that's a big question,but that is one that is always
asked by us.
(31:32):
It shows I made a profit, sohow come I don't have it?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah, because profit isn't cash right and at 20,000,
chances are your profit iswrapped up in your cashflow and
by the time we realize we haveprofit let's say profit you get
a profit and loss statement on amonthly basis.
You get it on the 15th of themonth.
(31:57):
Your statement ends on the 31stof the prior month, so you have
two weeks that you likely havespent it.
And this is what happened to mein my first business.
I remember we got in a reallygreat project, I mean like huh
kind of a project, right.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
The profit fairy came and saw you the profit.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Fairy came yes, or at least the revenue.
Fairy came and I had a list ofall the things I was going to do
with the profit.
I knew how much profit we weregoing to have all this thing.
Well then the project itselfran long.
We had something called timeslippage, my word that we use.
It should have been six weeks.
(32:38):
It ran 12 weeks and I rememberwhen I got the final check I put
it in the bank.
I let it clear.
The bank opened up my bankaccount and I was like where is
it?
Like, where's my $20,000 inprofit I thought we were going
to have and I was so convinced Iwent through and I was like did
somebody hack my account?
Do I have any fraudulentcharges?
(33:00):
I went through three monthsworth of all the expenses and I
was like, no, I whittled it away, I nickel and dimed myself and
time slippage eroded the profit.
That's why we're very cautiousabout compression.
We call it compression puttingtension on our project timelines
(33:24):
.
If we take a project, we wantto compress that because I know
the longer a project goes,especially if it's a fixed fee,
the less and less and less andless profit will be left over
because it gets absorbed by yournormal operational expenses,
payroll, blah, blah blah.
And if you're managing yourbusiness, do I have money in my
bank account?
Cool, I can write a check.
(33:44):
Then you're making a decisionbased on today, but you're not
making a decision based on whathappens in two weeks, two months
and two years, and that is thedifference that we're trying to
get people into understanding.
We use a tool it's a third-partytool, it's called PocketSmith
Out of New Zealand.
It is a personal financemanagement kind of software,
(34:07):
kind of like Mint used to be andthings like that.
But we use it for every singleone of our clients.
I use it personally and forbusiness because it has one
little feature it gives you acalendar.
It shows you on a daily basiswhat your anticipated balance is
.
So you were just saying how canI make a financial decision
today and know what is gonnahappen in three or four weeks?
(34:30):
Well, imagine I go in today andI say oh, I'm gonna sign up
with Michael, let me put a$5,000 expense on this day and
know that it's going to happenevery month, whatever it is
Right, and so I can put thatinto my plan, and then I scroll
out and I can see when do I do?
I stay okay.
I can even factor in.
Well, michael's going to helpme with sales and I know where
(34:55):
I'm pretty confident we couldearn by month three $8,000.
So I can put that $8,000 in.
I can see what happens to mymoney.
Let's say, in two days afterpaying Michael, I'm $10,000 in
the hole.
Am I going to pay Michael?
Probably not, because I don'twant to bounce, right.
Let's say that $10,000 in thehole is four months out.
(35:18):
Would I make the same decisionMe, I'd probably go four months
out.
I can do something about that.
I always have the ability tomake more money, right?
So you start to have adifferent kind of
decision-making power when youstart to be intimate with your
money, when you start to knowyour money, when you use tools
(35:41):
and systems that show you yourmoney, so that you're not just
saying, do I have the money inmy account today, but actually
you're looking forward andyou're managing your money.
So I don't do 10 years, not formyself.
I mean, 10 years is a lot ofvariables, but I can see out for
a good year and a lot of ourclients like I was looking at
(36:01):
one of our clients, pocketsmiths, this week and they've got
money in the bank, like theycould not take on any more work
than the work they have in thenext three months, and they have
money in the bank for I thinkit was four months after that,
wow, so at the end of the yearwe get to have some fun.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Yeah, that's, that's what we call a runway around
here.
So I know a lot of clients sowe do business coaching and a
lot of clients that come to us.
You you touched on earlier andthat is would you rather have
more money making less?
In other words, $100,000 annualrevenue, business making more,
(36:42):
versus a $2 million making less.
Well, most business ownersshocking listeners, I know,
because you probably had a lotmore money when you were smaller
and now you're in themulti-million dollar and you
have less.
I promise you, I've been there,I know I went from a you know X
to like $40,000 profit and wewere doing like 6 million.
(37:03):
I don't know, it wasn't quitethat, but you know what I'm
saying.
So can you explain?
Cause you mentioned the wordscale on your website and that
has something to do with scalinga business properly.
So can you kind of explain why,when you start making more,
because of a lot of businessowners they think if I want to
grow and scale, I need moresales and that's all they focus
on.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Yeah, let's talk about that, because I think the
problem that in your situationis why I say we've seen more
broke millionaire businesses,million-dollar businesses, than
people would like to admit.
Here's one of the issues thatwe see at play.
So let's take the term growthand let's take the term
scalability.
Growth is necessary,scalability is necessary.
(37:46):
Growth, though, and scalinghave different impacts on your
cash flow.
Growth, you have to do it,let's be honest, and you're not
ever, you're not done, becausegrowth and scalability are like
two partners on a dance floor,right, they feed off each other
and they turn.
And let's say, sometimes it'sgrowth leading and sometimes
(38:09):
it's scalability leading.
You do a period of growth andthen you go into a period of
scalability, and after you'vemaximized your scalability,
you're going to actually go backto growth.
This is important to realize,because too many people are like
, oh, it's day two, I'm going toscale, and you're like, yeah,
but you haven't put thefoundations in place for growth
(38:30):
first.
And that's really what growthis about is about building
something that can be scalable.
So you have to have thefoundations.
Growth, though, when it comesto cash, devours cash.
It eats it up like CookieMonster.
It just devours it.
Growth also has a longer returnrate.
(38:50):
So a growth investment that youmake today is likely going to
take 90 days, depending on howbig your moves.
The longer you're in business,the longer that return cycle
tends to be.
The more you chase some sexybells and whistles and shiny
objects type things, probablythe longer your return cycle is
(39:12):
going to be.
But it will eventually comeback.
It just takes time.
And I was talking about thisconcept with a fellow business
owner.
Gentleman owns a distributioncompany, bought it from his dad,
got into it, said we, ourtechnology was stunk, it was
stuck in the fifties, so Idecided to invest.
It's like how much was thatinvestment?
And six figures.
(39:33):
And I was like, oh my gosh,yeah, that's a big investment.
And he goes yeah, I said, okay,I'm gonna bite.
How long did it take before yousaw the return of that
six-figure investment?
He goes 18 months.
Most business owners have, onaverage, nine to 21 days worth
(39:54):
of cash on hand.
You can't wait 18 months, whichis why you also need to align
the strategy of your growth tothe cash flow of your business.
Maybe you have to start smallerwhen you're on that low end
there so that you can build cash, so you can do the bigger
things.
Scalability is really aboutexponential.
(40:19):
It is the thing that createscash.
But if your growth foundationis broken, it ain't going to
work.
I don't care how many times youtry, but you can do all the
right things all the right way,and if your business isn't ready
, it won't work period.
This is where people get reallyfrustrated.
So what we try to do is changethe position of cash in the
(40:40):
business so that you'reself-funding growth, so you can
allow for growth to give areturn.
Then, once it gets a return, wewant to maximize your
productivity, your capacity,your revenue generation in the
business so that you'rehyper-accelerating your profits,
which is going to produce a lotof cash which we put to purpose
(41:00):
.
You have to put it to purposeor you're going to be buying
boats and then go broke in sixmonths.
And that's an important thingto note is, I think even in one
of Jim Collins' book he talkedabout, there is a statistical
high percentage of businessesthat post their fear filing for
bankruptcy within 18 months.
(41:22):
That is growth devouring cashand nothing there to sustain the
business.
So I think you can, by sheerwill, get your business into
seven figures.
I have seen people do it.
You can do it.
You will be very tired by thetime you get there and chances
are you won't have a whole lotto show for it.
(41:43):
So it's really that's why I saylike I don't care where you are
in your journey, because it isa journey.
The zeros are just zeros.
Don't pass judgment on them,but really and truly think
strategically about how you'reallowing cash to grow in your
business, because without cash,you don't have fuel.
You can't drive around theblock if you don't have a tank
(42:07):
of gas.
And that is where I think weget out of alignment is we use
growth for money to generatecash, but we don't.
We forget growth devours it, itdoesn't generate it.
So to your point it's, it'softentimes, by the time we get
in there, it's like a veryentangled, knotted ball of yarn
(42:29):
that we have to like pick apartone strand at a time until we
can make it into something thatactually has some some legs that
can.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
That was very well said and I want to piggyback on
that, for because I know forbusiness owners, some think well
, I'm just going to grow, I'llget to that point and then I'll
worry about it.
And friends, I promise you youwill have to make some emotional
, hard decisions because youwill have made some bad ones to
(43:00):
get there.
In other words, you're probablygoing to be extremely
overstaffed, which means youhave to come in and cut
workforce maybe in half thosecould be friends and family, and
nobody likes to let people goand you've probably got yourself
tied into some long-termcontracts on big equipment.
I mean, the list goes on and on.
So please heed this warningDon't try to get there and then
(43:20):
figure it out, because it'sharder to untangle, like you
said, one thread at a time.
So you have been a wealth ofinformation.
How does somebody get a hold ofyou so they can turn their
business around?
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Thank you.
Well, first off, we have kindof a special page set up for
your listeners.
What we're going to put outthere, it's yourbizrulescom
forward.
Slash the initials of the show.
So SBP I believe I didn't writeit down, but I believe that's
correct.
But you're going to go there.
We're going to do a free gift,correct?
(43:55):
But you're going to go there,we're going to do a free gift.
So the first gift I'm going togive you is 21 ways to self-fund
your own business growth, andthis is an article that I wrote
for entrepreneurcom, so it has alot of just really practical
ways.
If you've got to activate somecash, here's some ideas.
Also, if you go there, you canget access to our book.
First, this and that.
Like I said, we half the book.
(44:16):
It's just about being better inthe money side of things and
your profitability.
We go into how to price andthen how to build the marketing
around your business to supportall of that so that you can get
growth right.
And then, if you love to chatwith us, there's a way that
you'll be able to do that there.
So again, yourbizrulescom.
(44:36):
S.
B as in boy, p as in.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
Paul, are you active on social media at all?
Oh, I'm everywhere.
What's your favorite channelwhere people can really engage
with you?
Speaker 2 (44:48):
So I would say LinkedIn's probably where we
have our thriving audience, andwe do have a LinkedIn newsletter
.
It's called Profitable Growthfor Businesses, so you can
always join us there.
But yes, it's Leslie Hassler onLinkedIn and lots of good stuff
that we share in the arena Allright?
Speaker 1 (45:09):
Well, I always end with a question, and that is if
you were in front of a lot ofbusiness owners doesn't matter
what industry, what size ofbusiness what's something
applicable that you could sharewith them that works for all of
them.
It could be a quote, it couldbe a book, it could be just a
don't do this or do that typesituation.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
We share that Chances , we'll do the Spider-Man quote.
How's that All right?
With great power comes greatresponsibility.
Ooh yeah, you have the powerperiod.
You have the power to have thebusiness that you want.
You just do.
It's just that you have to takeresponsibility for that power
(45:52):
and actually do something withit.
Be constructive, be positive,be an influence, have impact.
Don't be afraid to be seen.
You know, at the end of the day, I listened to a podcast you
actually did for someone elseand you're like I'm an introvert
and I go guess what?
I am too Guess what.
Most of the entrepreneurs outthere are introverts, but
(46:15):
they're taking theresponsibility for their power
and they're recognizing whatthey need to do to show up.
So just show up.
You don't have to be perfect.
Take imperfect action.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Great advice.
If you are an introvert, Iencourage you to invest in
Toastmasters or something likethat, because that will help you
.
It helped me.
I used to be a big timeintrovert.
I could not do this right now,40 years ago.
But Toastmasters or somethingthere's plenty of courses and
things out there that can helpyou, but you've got to be out
there as a business owner,you've got to be available, and
(46:48):
that will really help you.
Well, thank you so much, leslie.
You've been a blessing to many.
Thank you so much, leslie.
You've been a blessing to many.
Thank you so much for sharingyour time and your insights.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Thank you for having me.
This is an absolute blast.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
My pleasure.
Thank you for listening toSmall Business Pivots.
Please don't forget tosubscribe and share this podcast
.
If your business is stuck, youneed help creating a business
that can run without you, or youneed a fast business loan or
line of credit, go to ourwebsite
(47:21):
businessownershipsimplifiedcomand schedule a free consultation
to learn why small businesssuccess starts with boss.
If you want to talk anythingsmall business related, email me
at michael atmichaeldmorrisoncom.
We'll see you next time onSmall Business Pivots.
All right, welcome to Small Business Pivots.
Again, we have another specialguest from around the world and,
as I always say, no one canintroduce themselves or their
business like the business owner.
So tell us a little bit aboutyourself, your business, where
you're from.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, howdy, I'm Melissa.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Howdy.
We got a howdy Howdy.
Anybody can guess where that'sfrom.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
The great state of Texas, right?
Yeah, Anybody can guess wherethat's from the great state of
Texas, right?
So my name is Leslie Hassler.
I own your biz.
Rules business coaching.
What we do is we work withbusiness owners to get them cash
forward, produce profitspredictably so you can grow and
scale, but do so that in a waythat improves the owner's
quality of life and really givesyou something that's
(00:43):
sustainable and healthy in yourlife through business.
So that's a bit of what we do.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Just a little bit.
Well, I know there's a lot totalk about, so would you
consider yourself a type ofbusiness coach as well?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yes, I just we don't use the coach moniker because we
tend to do a little bit more.
So while that is a part of whatwe do, we also work pretty
deeply with our clients andwe'll get into the nitty gritty
or into the trenches with themto kind of work alongside them
to help them get out.
(01:19):
We have just found that if ourowners knew what to do, they
would have already been doing it, and so telling somebody what
to do sometimes isn't enough.
You have to get down there andshow them what it looks like you
know and and teach them how todo it themselves and then pass
the dahan back to them so theycan be successful long term.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
Very cool.
Well, listeners, you betterbuckle up, because you have a
business coach, and one thatdoes a little bit more.
So let's introduce the show andwe'll be right back.
Welcome to Small BusinessPivots, a podcast designed for
small business owners.
I'm your host, michael Morrison, a small business coach and
founder of BOSS, where we makebusiness ownership simplified
(02:02):
for success, so that you can owna business that runs without
you.
To learn more, go tobusinessownershipsimplifiedcom.
All right, welcome back toSmall Business Pivots, leslie,
where do we start?
I mean, there's so much to talkabout there.
You know, I always say businessowners, we don't know what we
(02:23):
don't know.
In fact, you know, I'm mid-50sand I'm still learning.
So where do we start?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Mid-50s?
No, I'm early 50s, how's that?
I'm just a little bit behindyou and I still joke.
My team is like, well, whatshould we do?
And I was like I don't know,let's just go figure it out.
And they're like you don't know.
And I'm like, no, I don't know.
And they're like, well, how doyou know what to do?
And I'm like I'm just going toput one foot in front of the
other.
It will come.
I have faith.
I've been doing it long enoughto know I don't.
(02:51):
I need to know where I'm going.
I need to know what the end is.
You know're talking about.
But when you've got all of thatin place, you don't really need
to know how.
You just need to take a stepright and that step will inform
the next step and the next stepand the next step.
(03:12):
And as you can be strategic,sure, do we know what we're
doing in a lot of places?
Sure, but do we explore as well?
Most definitely, that, I got toadmit, is one fun thing for me
about being an entrepreneur.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Well, I know with a lot of entrepreneurs we have
imposter syndrome and sometimesthat's from mindset of something
that we grew up with a trial, atribulation, anything like that
.
So we can kind of get in yourhead and kind of how you got
into this putting one foot infront of the other, because a
lot of us have a problem gettingover something and it kind of
(03:48):
holds us back so I won't.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I will say I have moments of imposter syndrome, um
, but I also have a verydifferent take when it comes to
imposter syndrome.
I have learned to internalizethat when I feel that moment of
doubt and I'll tell you about areally big moment in my
entrepreneurial life but whatI've learned is when I have that
(04:13):
moment of doubt, I choose tosee it as a high level of
integrity, desire to do well,desire to be successful, and
that part I lean into and Ihonestly just let go of the rest
.
But I will say my firstbusiness was an entirely
different business.
I ran it for seven or eightyears.
(04:35):
I will be honest, it sucked mysoul dry.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
I think a lot of people can relate to that.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah.
So, as I was in a couple ofyears of exploration, going,
okay, god, if it's not this,then what?
What is it that I like?
What do I not like?
What do I want?
You know, all these questionsyou ask yourself I was getting
the nudge to come into thisbusiness and I was like, who am
I Right?
Who am I?
(05:03):
I'm leaving a business that'sgoing to suck my soul dry.
Who am I?
And that was probably thebiggest moment of imposter
syndrome, and it just I keptgetting nudged to do this and I
said, okay, fine, this is theway I work Sometimes in my
conversations with God.
I will give it a try, but youare going to have to give me
(05:24):
signs.
I need blinking arrows, give mesigns.
I need blinking arrows, cautionsigns, like make it super clear
.
I don't know why.
I think I can get these things,but this is where I went.
And so what I started doing is Idid my first three clients for
free, three months, a limitedengagement.
I just wanted to see could I begood at this, and what I found
(05:45):
was that I could and truly.
It's the same way for everybody.
We discount the things that areeasiest for us, the things that
are like breathing to us oftenare our greatest assets, and it
was in that moment that Ilearned I actually had a lot
more going for myself than Igave myself credit for.
So I think, the way you know Iuse that word exploration I'm
(06:10):
exploring.
Sometimes I find dead ends, butif I don't have, if, like, what
I'm going to do doesn't have tobe heavy with, am I right or am
I wrong?
Am I going to succeed or am Igoing to fail?
You know, if I don't have tocarry that weight, I can walk
into things and situations androoms where I don't feel the
(06:31):
most comfortable, but I can showup because it's just I, I it
doesn't matter to me if it failsis where I'm at.
You know, sure, I don't like tolose money any more than
anybody else.
Sure, I don't like to waste mytime any more than anybody else.
And you and I were talking, andI think you and I have the same
patience gene, which is kind oflow.
But I also know that if I don'texplore, I don't learn.
(06:55):
If I don't learn, I don't grow.
If I don't grow, I can't reachmy goals, and I'm just so much
more attached to that than I amsometimes to the mindset trash
that we all go through.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
So you mentioned the business that sucked your soul.
We don't have to go into thatbusiness.
But you said eventually I justgot out of it.
So did you?
Was that a pivot?
Or because I know a lot ofbusiness owners feel that way,
they feel like this is justtaking the juice out of me Can
you kind of explain, like howyou God obviously was part of
(07:33):
that, but what were some ofthose signs, of signals, like
running that business?
I mean, when did you know that?
Okay, it's literally time.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
When I hated going to work, that's probably a good
signal.
When the boss hates going towork, that's a really good
signal.
But I'll be honest, I didn'tset up enough systems, I didn't
work on the culture of thebusiness, I didn't set enough
boundaries in my company, so itsecretly tore me apart because
(08:06):
it wasn't supporting the lifethat I wanted.
So I had horrible issues withteam.
In fact, that experience withteam would scar me enough that
it wasn't until 2021, 2022, thatI actually got serious about
hiring a team again.
And because I didn't feel likeI was a good manager, I hired
(08:32):
the wrong people.
I hired toxic personalitiesthat nearly killed my business
from internally, if you will,and I was too busy and I stayed
too busy.
If you know, I'm using airquotes for those of you that are
listening to do something aboutit.
And the truth was I didn't dosomething about it because I
(08:53):
didn't know what to do about itand I didn't have the energy
level to deal with it.
So I basically let the toxicitygrow and, honestly, I didn't
fully understand how bad it wasuntil like three or four years
after that business had closedthat I really started to see the
(09:15):
signs.
So I call that.
First business was my MBA in theSchool of Hard Knocks of
Entrepreneurship.
I failed some courses.
I got to repeat them.
I at least barely passed someand excelled in others.
So it was very much my learningground for the work that we've
(09:35):
been doing for the past 12 yearsin this business.
But I won't even call it apivot, because a pivot, you know
, to me is like a stick yourheel and turn and go a different
direction.
No, I jumped off this cliff.
I really just remember therewere a couple of years there
that I was just like I'm justgoing to burn it all down.
(09:55):
I'm just going to burn it alldown.
That was the only path forwardthat I could see Hindsight, you
don't have to burn it down, butyou do have to do something
right.
The today me would go back andtell the then me that it's okay.
(10:16):
It's okay to be where I was.
I was actually at a pivotalgrowth moment.
I did not even realize and if Iwanted to key, if I wanted to,
I could change every rule in thebusiness and turn that business
into something I loved.
I just didn't know it at thetime.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I often say one of my favorite quotes is until I
change, nothing around mechanges.
I mean, you are hitting.
It's almost like we talked orhave a script, because you
mentioned systems and boundariesand culture and toxic, and I'm
like business coaching, businesscoaching, business coaching
that you know, but we hear itover and over.
(10:51):
But for business owners,sometimes we still don't do what
we know to do.
So let's talk about yourbusiness today, because I feel
so emotionally bad for businessowners that use their bank
account for the health of theirbusiness.
In other words, if I have moneyin the bank, things are going
(11:12):
well.
If I don't, I can't sleep.
Everybody get out of my way,I'm going to chop your head off.
So let's talk about yourbusiness today and how that's
applicable to business ownersand why they need to know what
you do and how that can bebeneficial to them.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
What's the definition of a business, a commercial
enterprise right, a commercialenterprise and I like to say
that can work without you, butit's really about producing a
profit and what we don'tunderstand.
One of my favorite phrases thatI love to use is revenue is
vanity, profit is sanity, butcash is king or queen, depending
(11:51):
on who you are.
So you could have a $2 millionbusiness right and you could
have a three quarter of amillion dollars business 750,000
, which do you want?
Most people say 2 million.
I said great.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
I'm shaking my head.
If I can be profitable in thatsmaller one, yes.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
So and that's the key is what we can't see looking at
a business outside, is what'sthe bottom line, what's the net
profitability?
If both of those business havethe same net profitability, then
you have a lot of logisticalballs to keep in the air with a
$2 million business that youmight have at the $750 level.
(12:28):
So that's where revenue isvanity.
Profit is sanity Beautiful.
So you're sitting with your CPA, right, it's at the beginning
of the new year.
He goes congratulations, youposted a profit.
You're surprised that youposted a profit and you're like
I'm so excited.
And he goes oh, and, by the way, you have a X tax bill to pay.
And your number one thought isbut I don't have X in my bank
(12:53):
account.
Profit, right, you can haveprofit on paper, but it not be
real because you have to produceenough profit to produce cash.
That is why cash is king orqueen, depending on what you
want to adopt.
Most business owners come intosmall business ownership with
(13:14):
the financial literacy ofbalancing a checkbook, right,
making sure that balance isaccurate.
Yeah, that doesn't work so well.
It takes something more.
Uh, most business centers comein or at least in the year, with
our favorite two-letter phrasebreak even.
(13:34):
And why do we want to breakeven?
Because we don't like payingtaxes.
Profits or taxes are aprivilege of profit.
I will get it out there youhave to be okay with paying
taxes, period.
If you're not okay with payingtaxes, you'll never have enough
(13:55):
profits.
If you don't have enoughprofits, you'll never have
enough cash flow and you'llalways be on that feast and
famine that is ever so popularride in the amusement park of
business ownership.
So we have to change ourrelationship with money.
We were talking about mindsetearlier.
Mindset pours into it.
(14:16):
There are a lot of traps thatpeople fall into when it comes
to mindset, but it's also wehave to have different habits,
and that's one of the things.
Like we just released a bookFirst this, then that, and then
we spend like four chapters justtalking about either the
mindset, the habit and then themodel.
(14:36):
Did you even set up yourbusiness to produce profits in
the first place?
So yeah, it's not reallycomplicated, but it is
multifaceted.
The solution is simple, but youhave to want to be different
enough first.
If you're okay being just likeeverybody else and complaining
at the latest networking tableabout how much you need money to
(15:01):
buy something or grow somethingor do that.
If you're still okay with it,you're not ready to change.
If you're wanting somethingdifferent, then these strategies
work.
They work really well.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Sometimes, until it hurts enough, we won't change
right.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
So that's how business owners are I mentioned
a quote earlier and when yousaid that quote what I?
I sent this to one of my sonswhen they were younger.
I said you'll never changeuntil you get sick of yourself,
getting sick of it or thesituation for you to be able to
want to change.
And unfortunately that's thetruth.
If you're comfortable, you'renot going to change.
(15:39):
It almost always has to beworse before people will change
and unfortunately you can waittoo long.
You can wait too long, so justchange.
I mean, the sooner you do it,the easier it is.
I'll just let you know.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
And then, as time goes by, you'll go.
Why didn't I do this sooner?
We've all been there listeners,I promise, leslie and I both
we've been there, we know how itfeels.
So if I'm a business owner let'stake one of our listeners, for
example and I'm a contractor,let's say I'm an electrician and
I start a little businessbecause where I worked at they
(16:16):
didn't know what they were doing.
But here it is, year two, yearthree, box of receipts, and now
I'm so deep into this I'm alittle embarrassed to even come
to somebody like you.
What are those first steps ofokay, I want to get serious, I
want to get on track.
What do those steps look likefor someone like that?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
So, first off, if you want to get serious and want to
get on track, be okay gettinghelp.
If you want to get serious andwant to get on track, be okay
getting help.
There is no gold star inentrepreneurship for going alone
, period.
I have a team, you have a team,you need a team.
Whether they're a W-2 to 99subcontractor, it doesn't matter
.
Team is a very broad concept inour world today.
(16:56):
So, first off, be okay to dothat.
Second off is if numbers isn'tyour thing, then hire a
bookkeeper, please.
We don't do bookkeeping, but wework very, very closely with
bookkeepers and CPAs becausewe're more the entrepreneurial.
Cfo type of role is one of theroles we play for our clients.
(17:18):
But you've got to be okay withyour numbers and I and I say
this is almost like most peopleavoid the numbers we look at it,
um, like there's three personasthat we talk about in first
this and that there's theostrich, and we all can
visualize the ostrich with theirhead in the ground Right.
Um, I'm not a numbers person.
Don't talk to me about numbers.
(17:39):
All I'll do is work harder.
There's the rhino and if youknow anything about rhinos, one
of the world's most dangerousanimals because they get spooked
and they charge right.
So if you're constantly puttingout fires, and especially
financial fires, oh, the pieceof equipment broke, so now I got
to pay for that.
Oh, I lost the key employee andnow I got to spend you know
(18:00):
money getting a new one back.
Oh, you name it, you're a rhino.
We want to get people to theplace of Al, and Al is about
knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
When you have knowledge, youhave an ability to make a
strategic decision.
So you've got to start off bybecoming acquainted with your
numbers, with the money in yourbusiness.
Think of it as dating, withyour numbers, with the money in
(18:21):
your business.
Think of it as dating.
Hi, how are you?
What's your name?
Oh, operational expenses.
What do you?
Speaker 1 (18:29):
have to tell me.
I know.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I'm being cheesy, but I think that's what we have to
do.
We have to really break it downto something that's not scary.
The way we explain a financialstatement and what we're trying
to do is like look, thefinancial statement is your
house, and in your house youhave rooms, right, and in your
rooms you have cupboards and youhave drawers and you have, you
know, boxes.
(18:50):
We just want to make sure thatthe right stuff is in the right
place, so we don't want yoursocks ending up in your kitchen
utensils, right.
That's kind of gross.
We also want to make sure yourlaundry is not in your toilet.
That is what the purpose ofbookkeeping is.
It's just to make sure thatthings are put into the right
place.
When they're put away, you canlook at the numbers and they'll
(19:12):
tell you a story.
Now, most business owners don'tknow this.
That's why I say get help.
A good bookkeeper can help, agood CPA can help, we can help.
You can have multiple financialpartners looking into this.
But then it's about what to donext, and that's where the
strategy comes into place.
Once we know what the numbersare saying, what they're telling
(19:32):
us, then we can make thestrategic decisions of what
systems do we need?
What boundaries do we need?
Do you need a cash flowmanagement tool?
Are you constantly worriedabout paying payroll?
Let's give you the systems inthe future that take away that
worry.
And ultimately, when we findthat business owners are worried
about the money, they makebetter decisions.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Wow, that's pretty powerful, Because many business
owners can't decide because theydon't have the numbers, they
don't have the knowledge.
So should I buy this, should Iinvest that, should I hire this
person, should I not?
Can I afford it?
And on and on.
That cycle goes.
In the meantime, yourcompetition is passing you
(20:17):
because you're sitting therestill trying to decide.
So can you give us an exampleor two?
Because I know, when I firststarted my business, well over
two decades ago, I didn't knowwhat financial statements were.
I used my bank account, justlike what we're talking about.
Can you give us a couple ofexamples?
So like on a P&L, like what's acouple of things, like I don't
(20:38):
know, let's say, back then Ididn't know what it was for, but
I also didn't understand howpowerful it was or what you
could read, what story you couldget out of that, like even if
it was how to decide if you canafford this or that, or kind of.
Give us a couple of examples ofwhen you know your numbers,
when you understand what storiesthey can tell.
Here's a couple of examples.
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Now let's get back to ourincredible guest.
Can you give us a couple ofexamples?
So, like on a P&L, like what'sa couple of things?
Like I don't know, let's say,back then I didn't know what it
(22:04):
was for, but I also didn'tunderstand how powerful it was
or what you could read, whatstory you could get out of that,
like even if it was how todecide if you can afford this or
that or kind of.
Give us a couple of examples ofwhen you know your numbers,
when you understand what storiesthey can tell.
Here's a couple of examples.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
There are three that your financial advisors and your
CPAs like to look at.
There's the balance sheet.
That's about sets andliabilities, so what you have
and what you owe.
Then you have the profit andloss statement.
This is truly about more thedetail, operation of the
business and the incomeproducing.
So obviously at the end you'llproduce a profit or a loss,
(22:45):
hence profit and loss right.
And then cash flows, andstatement of cash flow is about
really money in and money out.
I will say we probably use thatthe least.
We really focus in on balancesheet and profit and loss
statements.
Let's talk about the profit andloss statements because there's
a couple of terms that peoplewill hear and it all has to do
with the word line.
(23:06):
So there's above the line andbelow the line, and then there's
bottom line We've heard thesephrases right.
So let's explain those reallyhigh level.
So, above the line, this isabout the money coming into your
business and the cost of doingthat business.
So these typically are thingswe call direct costs, and direct
(23:28):
costs just mean they areexpenses that you incur because
you're doing the work.
So these tend to be COGS.
If you're a material-basedcompany we actually do we have a
mix of materials or service andproduct-based businesses.
Everybody we put something intoCOGS.
If you hire an outside projectmanager and you're a digital
(23:49):
marketing firm, that's a COG.
It's a variable direct expense.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Can you explain the COG?
It's just an acronym.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Yeah, an acronym is cost of goods sold.
Sometimes you'll see is cost ofgoods sold.
Sometimes you'll see it cost ofgoods sold and labor.
They'll say C-O-G-S-N-L COGS.
So that's above the line.
The line, though, is a reallyimportant thing to know.
The line is your gross profitor your gross profit margin.
(24:20):
This is how much money is leftover the direct cost of doing
the business that you do.
It's a really important numberthat a lot of people don't pay
attention.
If you're in a service-basedbusiness, it's going to be
really high, high in terms ofmargin, and margin just means
percentage.
So, typically for servicebusinesses, we see those in the
(24:42):
90s somewhere, oftentimes 98%,99%, sometimes 100%, it's
possible.
Conversely, for products, theproduct gross profit margin as a
percentage is typically lower.
However, there's a baseline,especially for businesses that,
let's just say, under $5 million.
(25:02):
There's a baseline that youneed to make sure that your
business is performing, and ourfavorite sweet spot is 60% or
more.
We want to see 60% of what youbring in flowing down your
profit and loss, and if you wantto figure out how to do that
percentage, you're going to seea.
If you get your profit and lossstatement, it's going to say
(25:23):
gross profit or gross income.
Take that number and divide itby your total sales.
That'll give you a percentageThat'll tell you where you're at
, whether you're on target oroff target.
Our next segment is below theline.
So below the line isoperational expense, or FX as we
shortcut it, because there's alot of words to say and when it
(25:44):
comes to your financialdocuments, this is all.
This is the cost of runningyour business.
These typically are a littlemore fixed.
They're going to happen whetheror not you have work, your rent
, your phone, your internet,your QuickBooks subscription.
These things happen regardlessof whether or not you're having
sales.
So those typically are in OpEx.
(26:05):
What we want to do is then makesure things are flowing through
to the bottom line.
The bottom line is net income.
This is typically one of thelast six lines on your profit
and loss statements.
Everyone's statement looksslightly different.
Everyone's statements can useslightly different words, but
for the most part it honors thestructure.
(26:27):
The net income that's yourprofit at the bottom line.
Your net profit margin is againanother ratio of what that
number is divided by the totalsales that came in.
That's the kicker.
I think too many businessessettle down here.
I looked it up one time I waslike okay, what is a good profit
(26:48):
margin?
And there's an organization, afinancial advisor's organization
, that says good is 20%, thatyour net profit margin is 20% is
(27:10):
20%.
Our client average is 36.
We have some as high as 45, 46%, 53 at times.
Our product-based businessestend to be a little slightly
below our client average.
That is where you have fun,right, and what we're trying to
do when we're looking at abusiness, we're trying to
maximize that bottom in there,so we're maximizing the.
When we're looking at abusiness, we're trying to
maximize that bottom in there,so we're maximizing the amount
of profitability in a business.
Let's talk about your profitintention.
(27:31):
Here's the problem.
Most business owners treatprofit as a reward.
When I am big enough, goodenough, have enough clients,
have done whatever, then I willhave profit.
The kicker is there's no profitfairy.
There's no.
You know fairy godmother,flying around going Michael,
(27:55):
michael, you're good enough, youhave earned enough.
Today you have profit.
Has that fairy visited you?
Speaker 1 (28:08):
No, that's like finding the money tree.
I mean, it's the same thing.
It's not.
It doesn't exist, it's justtalked about.
It's still being sought after.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, so think about it this way.
What if profit wasn't a reward?
What if it wasn't about howhard you worked or how long
you've worked or how long you'vebeen in business?
What if it was an intention?
What if the name of the gamewas to be profitable the
(28:38):
smallest possible business size,not the biggest.
The smallest possible businesssize, not the biggest.
The smallest possible businesssize.
What would you be doingdifferently in your business?
What if I told you that youneed to be profitable by the
time you hit 200,000 or 100,000,or 80,000?
(29:00):
Or 80,000?
What choices would you make inthe structure of your business
in order to produce profit?
Speaker 1 (29:11):
that's a big question .
Speaker 2 (29:13):
It is a huge question , isn't it?
So that's what we consider theMVP, the minimum viable
profitability.
That's the game we should beplaying, because when you're
profitable and you're profitableat a low level you start to
produce cash.
And when you produce cash, youpay your taxes.
Heavens, let's pay taxes.
We put some away for a rainyday because we all have them and
(29:38):
oftentimes we don't see themcoming, and then we get to play.
Maybe it's you get to take abigger salary.
Maybe it's I'm going to write abook and I'm going to pay for a
ghostwriter.
Maybe it's I'm going to go to aconference and I'm going to
learn a new skill.
When you have the money to makethe choices in a business, that
is freedom, and that's thenumber one reason that people
(30:04):
even choose to open up abusiness is for freedom.
Yet we're not giving it toourselves.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Yeah, that's, and whatever you do when you have a
profit, don't go buy a boat forthe business Okay, which I see
so many businesses don't begoing buying toys from the
business.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Let me be clear your business is not your piggy bank,
exactly.
Well, if you want to buy a boat, pay yourself the money in your
personal account and go buy themoney with that.
But uh, yeah, that opens up alot of problems, guys, yeah,
problems yes.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
So one of the most asked questions is on that line
that shows I have a profit.
Yeah, made a profit.
Let's just what kind of numberwould you like to throw out?
Just name a number.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Name a number, like as in dollars.
How much profit would I want?
Speaker 1 (31:03):
or should somebody else Just you?
How much would you like to see.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
The game I'm playing right now is 2 million.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Okay, so 2 million.
So for most business ownersthat might be $2 or 200 or
20,000, but let's say it's20,000, reduce it a little bit.
But they wonder why don't Ihave that?
Can you explain?
Just?
I know that's a big question,but that is one that is always
asked by us.
(31:32):
It shows I made a profit, sohow come I don't have it?
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Yeah, because profit isn't cash right and at 20,000,
chances are your profit iswrapped up in your cashflow and
by the time we realize we haveprofit let's say profit you get
a profit and loss statement on amonthly basis.
You get it on the 15th of themonth.
(31:57):
Your statement ends on the 31stof the prior month, so you have
two weeks that you likely havespent it.
And this is what happened to mein my first business.
I remember we got in a reallygreat project, I mean like huh
kind of a project, right.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
The profit fairy came and saw you the profit.
Speaker 2 (32:18):
Fairy came yes, or at least the revenue.
Fairy came and I had a list ofall the things I was going to do
with the profit.
I knew how much profit we weregoing to have all this thing.
Well then the project itselfran long.
We had something called timeslippage, my word that we use.
It should have been six weeks.
(32:38):
It ran 12 weeks and I rememberwhen I got the final check I put
it in the bank.
I let it clear.
The bank opened up my bankaccount and I was like where is
it?
Like, where's my $20,000 inprofit I thought we were going
to have and I was so convinced Iwent through and I was like did
somebody hack my account?
Do I have any fraudulentcharges?
(33:00):
I went through three monthsworth of all the expenses and I
was like, no, I whittled it away, I nickel and dimed myself and
time slippage eroded the profit.
That's why we're very cautiousabout compression.
We call it compression puttingtension on our project timelines
(33:24):
.
If we take a project, we wantto compress that because I know
the longer a project goes,especially if it's a fixed fee,
the less and less and less andless profit will be left over
because it gets absorbed by yournormal operational expenses,
payroll, blah, blah blah.
And if you're managing yourbusiness, do I have money in my
bank account?
Cool, I can write a check.
(33:44):
Then you're making a decisionbased on today, but you're not
making a decision based on whathappens in two weeks, two months
and two years, and that is thedifference that we're trying to
get people into understanding.
We use a tool it's a third-partytool, it's called PocketSmith
Out of New Zealand.
It is a personal financemanagement kind of software,
(34:07):
kind of like Mint used to be andthings like that.
But we use it for every singleone of our clients.
I use it personally and forbusiness because it has one
little feature it gives you acalendar.
It shows you on a daily basiswhat your anticipated balance is
.
So you were just saying how canI make a financial decision
today and know what is gonnahappen in three or four weeks?
(34:30):
Well, imagine I go in today andI say oh, I'm gonna sign up
with Michael, let me put a$5,000 expense on this day and
know that it's going to happenevery month, whatever it is
Right, and so I can put thatinto my plan, and then I scroll
out and I can see when do I do?
I stay okay.
I can even factor in.
Well, michael's going to helpme with sales and I know where
(34:55):
I'm pretty confident we couldearn by month three $8,000.
So I can put that $8,000 in.
I can see what happens to mymoney.
Let's say, in two days afterpaying Michael, I'm $10,000 in
the hole.
Am I going to pay Michael?
Probably not, because I don'twant to bounce, right.
Let's say that $10,000 in thehole is four months out.
(35:18):
Would I make the same decisionMe, I'd probably go four months
out.
I can do something about that.
I always have the ability tomake more money, right?
So you start to have adifferent kind of
decision-making power when youstart to be intimate with your
money, when you start to knowyour money, when you use tools
(35:41):
and systems that show you yourmoney, so that you're not just
saying, do I have the money inmy account today, but actually
you're looking forward andyou're managing your money.
So I don't do 10 years, not formyself.
I mean, 10 years is a lot ofvariables, but I can see out for
a good year and a lot of ourclients like I was looking at
(36:01):
one of our clients, pocketsmiths, this week and they've got
money in the bank, like theycould not take on any more work
than the work they have in thenext three months, and they have
money in the bank for I thinkit was four months after that,
wow, so at the end of the yearwe get to have some fun.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Yeah, that's, that's what we call a runway around
here.
So I know a lot of clients sowe do business coaching and a
lot of clients that come to us.
You you touched on earlier andthat is would you rather have
more money making less?
In other words, $100,000 annualrevenue, business making more,
(36:42):
versus a $2 million making less.
Well, most business ownersshocking listeners, I know,
because you probably had a lotmore money when you were smaller
and now you're in themulti-million dollar and you
have less.
I promise you, I've been there,I know I went from a you know X
to like $40,000 profit and wewere doing like 6 million.
(37:03):
I don't know, it wasn't quitethat, but you know what I'm
saying.
So can you explain?
Cause you mentioned the wordscale on your website and that
has something to do with scalinga business properly.
So can you kind of explain why,when you start making more,
because of a lot of businessowners they think if I want to
grow and scale, I need moresales and that's all they focus
on.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Yeah, let's talk about that, because I think the
problem that in your situationis why I say we've seen more
broke millionaire businesses,million-dollar businesses, than
people would like to admit.
Here's one of the issues thatwe see at play.
So let's take the term growthand let's take the term
scalability.
Growth is necessary,scalability is necessary.
(37:46):
Growth, though, and scalinghave different impacts on your
cash flow.
Growth, you have to do it,let's be honest, and you're not
ever, you're not done, becausegrowth and scalability are like
two partners on a dance floor,right, they feed off each other
and they turn.
And let's say, sometimes it'sgrowth leading and sometimes
(38:09):
it's scalability leading.
You do a period of growth andthen you go into a period of
scalability, and after you'vemaximized your scalability,
you're going to actually go backto growth.
This is important to realize,because too many people are like
, oh, it's day two, I'm going toscale, and you're like, yeah,
but you haven't put thefoundations in place for growth
(38:30):
first.
And that's really what growthis about is about building
something that can be scalable.
So you have to have thefoundations.
Growth, though, when it comesto cash, devours cash.
It eats it up like CookieMonster.
It just devours it.
Growth also has a longer returnrate.
(38:50):
So a growth investment that youmake today is likely going to
take 90 days, depending on howbig your moves.
The longer you're in business,the longer that return cycle
tends to be.
The more you chase some sexybells and whistles and shiny
objects type things, probablythe longer your return cycle is
(39:12):
going to be.
But it will eventually comeback.
It just takes time.
And I was talking about thisconcept with a fellow business
owner.
Gentleman owns a distributioncompany, bought it from his dad,
got into it, said we, ourtechnology was stunk, it was
stuck in the fifties, so Idecided to invest.
It's like how much was thatinvestment?
And six figures.
(39:33):
And I was like, oh my gosh,yeah, that's a big investment.
And he goes yeah, I said, okay,I'm gonna bite.
How long did it take before yousaw the return of that
six-figure investment?
He goes 18 months.
Most business owners have, onaverage, nine to 21 days worth
(39:54):
of cash on hand.
You can't wait 18 months, whichis why you also need to align
the strategy of your growth tothe cash flow of your business.
Maybe you have to start smallerwhen you're on that low end
there so that you can build cash, so you can do the bigger
things.
Scalability is really aboutexponential.
(40:19):
It is the thing that createscash.
But if your growth foundationis broken, it ain't going to
work.
I don't care how many times youtry, but you can do all the
right things all the right way,and if your business isn't ready
, it won't work period.
This is where people get reallyfrustrated.
So what we try to do is changethe position of cash in the
(40:40):
business so that you'reself-funding growth, so you can
allow for growth to give areturn.
Then, once it gets a return, wewant to maximize your
productivity, your capacity,your revenue generation in the
business so that you'rehyper-accelerating your profits,
which is going to produce a lotof cash which we put to purpose
(41:00):
.
You have to put it to purposeor you're going to be buying
boats and then go broke in sixmonths.
And that's an important thingto note is, I think even in one
of Jim Collins' book he talkedabout, there is a statistical
high percentage of businessesthat post their fear filing for
bankruptcy within 18 months.
(41:22):
That is growth devouring cashand nothing there to sustain the
business.
So I think you can, by sheerwill, get your business into
seven figures.
I have seen people do it.
You can do it.
You will be very tired by thetime you get there and chances
are you won't have a whole lotto show for it.
(41:43):
So it's really that's why I saylike I don't care where you are
in your journey, because it isa journey.
The zeros are just zeros.
Don't pass judgment on them,but really and truly think
strategically about how you'reallowing cash to grow in your
business, because without cash,you don't have fuel.
You can't drive around theblock if you don't have a tank
(42:07):
of gas.
And that is where I think weget out of alignment is we use
growth for money to generatecash, but we don't.
We forget growth devours it, itdoesn't generate it.
So to your point it's, it'softentimes, by the time we get
in there, it's like a veryentangled, knotted ball of yarn
(42:29):
that we have to like pick apartone strand at a time until we
can make it into something thatactually has some some legs that
can.
Speaker 1 (42:39):
That was very well said and I want to piggyback on
that, for because I know forbusiness owners, some think well
, I'm just going to grow, I'llget to that point and then I'll
worry about it.
And friends, I promise you youwill have to make some emotional
, hard decisions because youwill have made some bad ones to
(43:00):
get there.
In other words, you're probablygoing to be extremely
overstaffed, which means youhave to come in and cut
workforce maybe in half thosecould be friends and family, and
nobody likes to let people goand you've probably got yourself
tied into some long-termcontracts on big equipment.
I mean, the list goes on and on.
So please heed this warningDon't try to get there and then
(43:20):
figure it out, because it'sharder to untangle, like you
said, one thread at a time.
So you have been a wealth ofinformation.
How does somebody get a hold ofyou so they can turn their
business around?
Speaker 2 (43:34):
Thank you.
Well, first off, we have kindof a special page set up for
your listeners.
What we're going to put outthere, it's yourbizrulescom
forward.
Slash the initials of the show.
So SBP I believe I didn't writeit down, but I believe that's
correct.
But you're going to go there.
We're going to do a free gift,correct?
(43:55):
But you're going to go there,we're going to do a free gift.
So the first gift I'm going togive you is 21 ways to self-fund
your own business growth, andthis is an article that I wrote
for entrepreneurcom, so it has alot of just really practical
ways.
If you've got to activate somecash, here's some ideas.
Also, if you go there, you canget access to our book.
First, this and that.
Like I said, we half the book.
(44:16):
It's just about being better inthe money side of things and
your profitability.
We go into how to price andthen how to build the marketing
around your business to supportall of that so that you can get
growth right.
And then, if you love to chatwith us, there's a way that
you'll be able to do that there.
So again, yourbizrulescom.
(44:36):
S.
B as in boy, p as in.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
Paul, are you active on social media at all?
Oh, I'm everywhere.
What's your favorite channelwhere people can really engage
with you?
Speaker 2 (44:48):
So I would say LinkedIn's probably where we
have our thriving audience, andwe do have a LinkedIn newsletter
.
It's called Profitable Growthfor Businesses, so you can
always join us there.
But yes, it's Leslie Hassler onLinkedIn and lots of good stuff
that we share in the arena Allright?
Speaker 1 (45:09):
Well, I always end with a question, and that is if
you were in front of a lot ofbusiness owners doesn't matter
what industry, what size ofbusiness what's something
applicable that you could sharewith them that works for all of
them.
It could be a quote, it couldbe a book, it could be just a
don't do this or do that typesituation.
Speaker 2 (45:28):
We share that Chances , we'll do the Spider-Man quote.
How's that All right?
With great power comes greatresponsibility.
Ooh yeah, you have the powerperiod.
You have the power to have thebusiness that you want.
You just do.
It's just that you have to takeresponsibility for that power
(45:52):
and actually do something withit.
Be constructive, be positive,be an influence, have impact.
Don't be afraid to be seen.
You know, at the end of the day, I listened to a podcast you
actually did for someone elseand you're like I'm an introvert
and I go guess what?
I am too Guess what.
Most of the entrepreneurs outthere are introverts, but
(46:15):
they're taking theresponsibility for their power
and they're recognizing whatthey need to do to show up.
So just show up.
You don't have to be perfect.
Take imperfect action.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
Great advice.
If you are an introvert, Iencourage you to invest in
Toastmasters or something likethat, because that will help you
.
It helped me.
I used to be a big timeintrovert.
I could not do this right now,40 years ago.
But Toastmasters or somethingthere's plenty of courses and
things out there that can helpyou, but you've got to be out
there as a business owner,you've got to be available, and
(46:48):
that will really help you.
Well, thank you so much, leslie.
You've been a blessing to many.
Thank you so much, leslie.
You've been a blessing to many.
Thank you so much for sharingyour time and your insights.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
Thank you for having me.
This is an absolute blast.
Speaker 1 (47:00):
My pleasure.
Thank you for listening toSmall Business Pivots.
Please don't forget tosubscribe and share this podcast
.
If your business is stuck, youneed help creating a business
that can run without you, or youneed a fast business loan or
line of credit, go to ourwebsite
(47:21):
businessownershipsimplifiedcomand schedule a free consultation
to learn why small businesssuccess starts with boss.
If you want to talk anythingsmall business related, email me
at michael atmichaeldmorrisoncom.
We'll see you next time onSmall Business Pivots.
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