Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine (Entrepreneurship Simplified)

Just finished this book and WOW! The knowledge nuggets in here are phenomenal and game changing. I own my own cleaning business and I’m so excited to implement profit first into our financial success!

Update: May 11, 2019 ***I was just browsing Amazon and came across this book again. I thought it would be helpful to give an update. My first review was probably October 2018. The advice / method in the book really worked for us and it has helped us so much that I tell every business owner about the method.I went back and reread the book in December to make sure we were doing it right. We were but we tweaked some things in Feb. (Like I take profit out every month - 100% of what I saved) We still do our cash flow and pay bills 3 times a week - doesn't work for us to do it 2 times a month. Too many bills since we do a lot of manufacturing. Although we are now starting to get ahead of bills by a week or two so when that happens we reduce how often we sit and do cash flow and pay bills.We started out doing 3% profit and now were are up to 8.5%For the first time ever I wasn't angry about paying taxes. Having a separate account to save for that is brilliant. We save for end of year taxes, payroll taxes and estimated taxes. We had $8000 or $9000 extra in the account after April 15 so we moved that money to pay off our Line of Credit (taken out a few years ago when we owed so much in taxes and had not saved)I don't wake up with the sick feeling every day wondering if enough money is coming in to pay the bills.We made some other changes to stop the roller coaster since we do manufacturing we get a lot of money in and then a lot of money out.We pay payroll every week - not every 2 weeks.We moved other things to pay once a week instead of every month or 2 weeks. Justhelps us (having payroll taxes in another account that is saved for helps as well since that was a big expense once a month)Personally we also set up accounts differently. I pay my car payment once a week (1/4th of a payment), my line of credit also once a week. I also put in 1/4 of my mortgage into a savings account since they only let me pay them once a month. All of that reduces strain and the roller coaster balances.Union bank is trying to charge me fees for so many transfers per month. I've been in talks with them as I'm not happy that they are charging me when it is in between my own accounts and it isn't a cost to them however since we are far more stable and profitable now, I am starting to reduce how often I transfer the funds out of income into Profit 1, Taxes, Sales Tax, Profit 2 (college account) and then to Operating expenses. It was every day before but now we are getting down to 2 times a week.Hope this helps! By the way, I'm still shocked it works or makes a difference. I thought we were frugal before so I'm not sure how we are seeing more profit but we are.______My husband and I have had a business for over 14 years. We first read and started implementing the plan in the book about 2 weeks ago. I found the book helpful. Some solid new ideas that I've not read anything else. It did help us to pull out taxes and a small amount of profit first before putting the rest into an operating expense account. We used to take an owners draw when we had a large positive swing in cash flow. Later we'd be scrambling to pay payroll or sales tax . Now I feel like I have a bit more control over our income and expenses. Basic premise is about changing human behavior. When you make more you tend to spend more. You wonder where the cash went at the end of the year and you're upset that you owe a lot in taxes and dont' have the money. Overall I feel like we have a better pulse on our cash flow and can do something immediately if we notice that it has dropped too far. The Author recommends doing bills on the 10th and 25th. I think that might work for us in 6 months or a year but for now 2 times a week is better while we get things back under control. Hope to finally get into a habit of once a week in the next month. We pay ourselves and our employees once a week now because it made cash flow more even and our employees appreciate seeing a check once a week too.Dont' expect the author to be. an accounting genius - you'll be disappointed however the ideas he has come up with do seem to help. It is about human behavior and changing it by putting some checks and balances in place.

Profit First is hands down one of the most impactful books for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Mike Michalowicz breaks down financial management into a simple, actionable system that ensures you pay yourself first—rather than waiting to see what's left over.The biggest takeaway? Stop running your business check-to-check and start prioritizing profit. The step-by-step approach makes budgeting easy to follow, and the psychology behind the method is eye-opening. Implementing Profit First has helped me gain control over cash flow, reduce financial stress, and actually see my business grow sustainably.If you're struggling to make sense of your business finances or feel like you're working too hard for too little return, this book is a must-read. Practical, engaging, and truly transformative!

Really good for starting entrepreneurs. Profit first is nothing complex but simple and efficient

This has changed the way we run our small business, just the first chapter of this book really has helped us stash away the most important profit and taxes. My only regret is not doing this sooner for my business, really is so powerful and actionable book. Some books are so high level that they don't really help you out much but this book is so granular that if you put the steps in action then you will see immediate results.Don't wait, buy this book right now!

Already implementing most of these processes with great results.My clients like the results and find it easy to understand.

Amazing book! Highly, Highly recommend!!!