I’ve worked with many many dozens of clients on Profit First. I guide them as they install their Profit First systems. And we work together to customize the Profit First method to suit them and their business.
It’s an open secret that Profit First is a simple system. BUT it’s also daunting to put in place. And it’s a daunting proposition for business owners who are already up to their necks in all the things. As you contemplate opening up a bunch of bank accounts. As you try to figure out how much to move into them and when, a lot of resistance comes up.
Plus changing how you handle cash in your business can feel risky.
Trying new things can be scary, even if we know they are a good idea.
We can all use some motivation to get through the scary stuff. So today, I want to share with you the top 5 coolest changes I’ve seen in my clients who use Profit First.
I have seen these changes in everyone I help with Profit First. It may take 3 or 4 quarters. But in every case, they look at their current experience and can’t believe how far they’ve come. And how different they feel.
To find out what they are, read the post on our website.
#1 Lowering Anxiety as a Business Owner
When you can see exactly what cash you have to work with for your expenses or your tax payment, you have less anxiety. When you’re no longer hemming and hawing about financial decisions, you are SO much less anxious.
The lower your confusion, the lower your anxiety.
When you know you are preparing every day for your future financial needs. When you’re preparing with cash in the bank, not just sales goals and aspirations. Then the compulsive ‘what if’s’ and ‘how am I gonna do this?s’ quiet down SO much.
Your emotional state as a business owner impacts your own performance. It impacts the performance of your team. And shows up in your client relationships.
Reducing anxiety is the most powerful change I see for my Profit First clients.
#2 Getting Financially Strategic
Being strategic means putting off that larger investment by 6 months because you know it would destabilize the business.
Getting strategic means knowing exactly what to do with that cash building up in your business account. Or means having the confidence you’re ready for your new hire next month.
Getting strategic means having a strong framework for decision-making. A framework that doesn’t rely on financial reports – which are always last month’s news.
Profit First is that framework. My clients use it to plan for future spending or borrowing with clarity that’s UP TO DATE.
#3 Better Pricing
When implementing Profit first, there’s always a “come to Jesus” moment. And it’s about pricing. Most business owners start off with incorrect pricing. It’s completely normal. But it also has to change asap.
Profit First makes it crystal clear when more revenue is not the answer to your problems. Profit First shows you when your pricing is the culprit, and has to change.
We help our clients price for sustainability and growth.
#4 Pay themselves SIGNIFICANTLY more
This is one of the core gifts of Profit First: business owners pay themselves more.
Sometimes it’s because they’ve freed up more cash. They free that cash by cutting the operating expenses that don’t make sense for their revenue level.
Sometimes they finally have adequate cash to pay themselves. And they have that cash because they’ve altered their pricing structures! Or because they were motivated by actually knowing the goal revenue that would allow their needed salary.
Sometimes it’s because they’ve identified how much they should be paying themselves.
Or sometimes it’s a combination of all those.
But whatever the reason, the fact remains. Profit First allows business owners to pay themselves more, woohoo!
#5 Financial Confidence Sky-rockets
In areas where we’re anxious and uncertain, we can be reactive or have a scattershot approach. We find ourselves second-guessing our choices and constantly seeking outside guidance. Often that guidance is conflicting too. We listen to different sources on the same topic, and it gets overwhelming. And when we’re overwhelmed, we get stuck. We question ourselves, our choices, wonder if we could have done better or differently.
What I see in my Profit First clients is that they become SO much more confident around finances in general. They know what they know, and they know what they don’t know. They are grounding their financial decisions in solid financial knowledge. Solid financial knowledge of their business and current cash status.
It’s not that all their decisions are perfect forever more. Nope, they’re still human! But now they’re filled with the knowledge that they’re deciding from their strongest possible position. That strong position is clear financial knowledge, given all current factors. And that’s a super power, and gives huge confidence!
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Have you wanted to use Profit First but are dragging your feet?
Did you have an Introduction Call with us but our $12,000 program doesn’t fit your current budget?