Posts in Profit First
The Profit First Model: 6 Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Many people try Profit First on their own and hit some major roadblocks. And when it doesn’t work as expected, they’re left scratching their heads, wondering if it’s the system’s fault or theirs. 

Here are the top six reasons people fail at the Profit First model on their own—and suggestions for how to dodge these pitfalls like a pro.

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Financial Planning for Business: Is a Financial Coach Your Best Strategy?

Running a small business means wearing many hats, from overseeing operations and marketing to delivering exceptional customer service, all while keeping a close eye on finances.

However, for many small business owners, financial management can feel overwhelming or easy to push aside in the whirlwind of daily tasks. This is where financial coaching comes in.

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5 Tips on How to Have a Winning Hiring Strategy

Employees are the backbone of any business—they’re the driving force behind a business’ operations and long-term success. They’re trusted individuals who are skilled, creative, and dedicated, enabling a business to forge ahead, innovate, and grow.

As a small business owner, you know that the hiring process—knowing how, when, and who to hire—is a critical part of your business. Building the right workforce, at the right time, can strengthen the productivity and performance of your business, and ultimately help you to achieve your vision and goals.

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Business Optimization: Know When and Why To Coast, Grow, and Pause

Just like life, businesses also go through phases that are influenced by various internal and external factors. Understanding these phases can be key to the sustained success and longevity of your business. Whether your business is in a coasting phase, growth phase, or pause phase, each phase serves a purpose in moving your business forward. 

By recognizing and managing these phases, and moving intentionally through them, you can make the most of each phase and help to grow and evolve a successful, thriving business.

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Strength and Resilience: Why You Need an Emergency Fund for Your Business

A personal emergency fund can act as a savings buffer and help you face the unexpected without taking a significant financial hit. “Saving for a rainy day” and having emergency savings can give you peace of mind and offer financial security through uncertain times.

Just as unforeseen events can disrupt your personal finances, your business can also face unpredictable challenges that threaten its financial stability. It’s crucial to have an emergency fund for your business to help provide a layer of financial security — expecting the unexpected and being financially prepared can help your business survive any challenges that come your way.

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Profit All Year Round: Smart Financial Planning for Seasonal Business Owners

If you find yourself frantically slashing expenses, racking up debt on lines of credit, or worse, dipping into your personal funds just to stay afloat during the off-season, it's time for an intervention. Your finances shouldn't be at the mercy of fleeting trends. You need to take control and implement smarter planning.

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Finding Your Financial Freedom: How to Pay Yourself as a Business Owner

One of the most important (but often overlooked) aspects of running your company is addressing the question, “How much should I pay myself?” It’s crucial to pay yourself regularly to maintain financial stability. The whole point of starting a business is typically to create financial freedom and security for yourself and your family. But it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations and forget to take care of your own paycheck.

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Which One of These Small Business Owner Retirement Plans Is Right for You?

Similar to other decisions you’ve had to make on your own, retirement is another crucial financial topic you must diligently explore to set you and your business up for success. 

Small business retirement plans vary in terms of structure, benefits, and suitability, depending on the size of your business and team, your financial situation, and your goals. Choosing the right one for your business can feel daunting, but the sooner you decide which plan is right for you, the better handle you’ll have on your retirement planning. 

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Be Smart All Year Long: Tax Tips for Entrepreneurs

It's that time of year again — tax season is fast approaching! As a successful small business owner, we know you’re busy enough without stressing about gathering receipts, tallying up expenses, and rushing to file your taxes on time.

But fear not! With a few organizational tips and tricks in place throughout the year, you can reduce your tax prep stress and breeze through tax time next year.

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Ditch the New Year's Resolutions: Set Healthy Financial Intentions Instead

Jotting down your goals and visualizing their realization is exciting, but it's merely the starting point. Genuine progress happens when we dig deeper and adopt a mindset and lifestyle that aligns with our goals. 

This is where establishing financial intentions comes into play. Our intentions propel us forward, even if we temporarily veer off course from an ambitious goal we've set.

Hiring your first employee is like adding a new character to the story of your business. You want to ensure they're a perfect fit, someone who can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level. So, let's jump into the exciting world of small business hiring and the employee onboarding process.

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How to Scale Your Small Business: Conquering Challenges and Finding Solutions

Small business scaling is not just about growing your operations, expanding your team, and increasing your offerings, but doing it sustainably and effectively. If you try to grow your business too quickly or too haphazardly, you could find yourself stuck down the road facing burnout, a lack of vision, or even cash flow problems. Learning effective strategies for scaling your small business can help you anticipate common challenges and discover actionable solutions. 

Hiring your first employee is like adding a new character to the story of your business. You want to ensure they're a perfect fit, someone who can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level. So, let's jump into the exciting world of small business hiring and the employee onboarding process.

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Small Business Hiring 101: A Step-by-Step Guide for Your First Hire

You've reached a point where your small business is thriving, and you can no longer be a one-person show. Congratulations! It's time to take that next big step — hiring your first employee. This is a significant leap, and while it might feel a bit overwhelming, we’re here to give you some tips to help make the process more smooth and straightforward.

Hiring your first employee is like adding a new character to the story of your business. You want to ensure they're a perfect fit, someone who can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level. So, let's jump into the exciting world of small business hiring and the employee onboarding process.

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4 Time Management Hacks Every Small Business Owner Should Implement This Week

Ensuring that all of your resources are being maximized to their full potential is an essential part of managing your business well. Time management also helps you adapt to the ever-changing business environment, allowing you to keep up with new challenges and embrace new opportunities.

We want to share some of our favorite time management hacks that help keep our business (and personal lives) running smoothly and efficiently. 

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Growing a Small Business: The Financial Support You Need at Different Stages

As a small business owner, you are (by no official definition) a unicorn! Your business origin story is unique, your leadership style is unlike others, and you solve problems and handle challenges in your own way. 

So while we don’t want to discredit your uniqueness, we do want to point your attention to a common small business life cycle that most entrepreneurs experience. Knowing these stages can help you prepare for upcoming challenges, face current struggles, and be equipped with knowledge and skills for the future. 

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Start Tax Planning Now! How To Navigate Tax Strategies And Avoid Mistakes

The actions we take today can significantly benefit our future selves, whether it’s cleaning up our diet, investing in healthy friendships, or getting our tax paperwork in order.

Come early 2023, I want you to feel prepared — and relieved — that you had the foresight and knowledge to get you and your business ready for tax season. Planning early may seem somewhat insignificant in midst of all the work you’re busy with. But in reality, taxes are a huge part of your business's overall financial health and affect a lot of high-level business decisions.

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‘Tis the Season to Start Your Holiday Budget and Savings Plan

Having a budget as we head into the festive (and expensive) holiday season will allow you to enjoy exciting activities, delicious meals, and gift-giving. You’ll also spend less time scrambling and stressing over finances when you have a spending plan in place.

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6 of The Best Financial Books of All Time

If you follow me on social media, you know that I am an avid reader. I soak up all the information I can so that I can continue to grow and understand more for myself and my clients.

I thought it would be fun to compile and share the best financial books to read, both for personal and business growth.

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3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Investing in Your Business

As the old adage goes, “you need to spend money to make money.” But how do you know if you’re making the right decisions with your business spending?

Understanding expenses vs. investments is key. It’s important to be intentional about your business to keep your expenses from spinning out of control, but it’s also necessary to know when your business needs an infusion of capital to make meaningful strides forward. Keep reading to learn the 3 questions you should ask before every investment.

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How to Help Your Child Pay for College (Without the Debt!)

Planning for college costs in advance can reap tremendous benefits for your child. Instead of having an average of $28,950 in student loans to tackle when they graduate, they can put their money to work for their futures. Without college debt they can use the money they earn to start investing in their retirements, continued education, or even begin saving for a home.

If you’re interested in how to avoid college debt and want to make sure your child isn’t one of the 43 million Americans with student loan debt, read on to find out what you can do to help!

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5 Common Money Mistakes Small Business Owners Make (And How to Fix Them!)

When you first set out as an entrepreneur, being your company’s chief financial officer (CFO) may not have been top of mind. But even if you’re not a numbers person, have no fear!

We’re here to help you avoid common small business money mistakes — and figure out what to do if you’ve already made them.

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