Review and Takeaways of Books that can Influence, Assist, Motivate and Encourage in our Business and Personal Lives
Ray is a franchising industry expert with 30+ years of making entrepreneurs’ dreams of business ownership a reality. He is the founder and CEO of United Franchise Group (UFG), a family of affiliated brands and consultants with over 1,600 franchise locations spanning 60 countries. Ray is an avid reader who reads 40 to 50 books each year seeking the best advice on leadership, management and development from the leading voices in business. Each quarter, Ray will review one of the books he read that year and share essential takeaways. Ray is not only a voracious reader, but he is also the author of seven books, including the recently released Do you have IT? Do you have what it takes to be successful? Do you want to find it?
This Quarter’s Book Choice:
Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-
Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
By Mike Michalowicz
Premise: Profit is a habit, not an event.
Mike Michalowicz’s groundbreaking book puts profit at the beginning of the business equation: Pay yourself first, not last. Mike’s process suggests setting up different bank accounts for each “bucket” of a company’s expenses – such as taxes, insurance, payroll and mortgage – as well as an account for profit. When money comes in, a dedicated percentage is transferred to each bank account, which should include paying yourself hence the account you set up for profit. I know this is a hard concept for entrepreneurs to implement as I have been in the position where I put my business and employees first and gone years without taking a paycheck. You may have done the same, but it’s time for a shift if you want greater success. When I shared the lessons in Profit First with my CFO, and we began implementing Mike’s process, my company experienced even more success. It’s one of the books that has had the greatest impact on my business. There are three key takeaways for implementing the lessons of this book.
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Takeaway #1: Get your team to embrace it.
Encourage your CFO and everyone involved with the company’s finances to read the book, so they understand the process and the “why” behind it. Once they understand the process, set up a planning meeting to devise a financial plan that works well for your business. Getting everyone entirely on board with this new concept may take some time and patience. One of my best leaders was used to handling business finances via a traditional method he’d used for decades and naturally, he wasn’t convinced at first. However, after he read the book, he was enthusiastic about the new approach and got his whole team on board.
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Takeaway #2: Be Relentless
Stay true to the plan you map out with your team. Once the money is transferred, leave it there. Don’t move it around. This method is essentially cash flow management but in a new way, taking a proactive approach. Be relentless in your dedication to seeing your plan through. I highly recommend monitoring the plan once it is in action. This will look different for everyone. Your company may have daily reports, weekly reports or monthly reports. Our transfers are scheduled daily, and every morning I get a report that showcases all the transfers that happened that day – this includes all our investments, expenses, payroll, and more. It’s a snapshot of everything we do and provides line of sight of the state of our finances.
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Takeaway #3: Believe you can do it.
You will probably get push back – either from your team or from peers in the business and finance space. However, even though a lot of people will say you can’t do it, or that you shouldn’t do it, I want to assure you that it is possible, and you are capable. All you need to do is to shift your mindset from can’t to can. If you are disciplined, committed to the plan and invested in the process, you will achieve the most successful outcome. To believe is to achieve.
The Bottom Line: Get into a profit-first mindset.
You may not use every detail in this process, but you can get away from putting everything into one big bucket and hoping there’s something left for you after everyone else gets paid. You, as an entrepreneur, deserve to be paid just like everybody else and at the same time as everybody else. It’s time to shift to a profit first mindset.
Bonus Read: Do you have IT? Do you have what it takes to be successful? Do you want to find it?
By Ray Titus
Believe it or not, Britney Spears gave me the idea in one of my latest books, Do you have IT? Do you have what it takes to be successful? Do you want to find it? I heard someone say the pop megastar was not only talented and hard-working but “she just had it.” Many people have that certain “it” – a talent they’re born with – but I believe you can also bring “it” into your life with hard work and the right mindset. So, I came up with 13 principles, from finding “it” to being thankful for “it.”
Reinvesting in your “it” is probably the most important principle. You have to outwork everybody. If you’re always looking to improve and adopt a mindset of lifelong learning, then you will be more positive, and positivity leads to more success. I reject the old advice that you have to find something you love and do that. I love music but I can’t play an instrument. If I “followed what I loved,” I would not be successful. Do what you’re good at more, and that’s how you find your “it.”
To get your copy of Do You Have IT…
https://www.amazon.com/Do-you-have-takes-successful/dp/B0C9S5HG5G/