Profit First

Oooof. This book made me take a long, hard look at my finances and I did not like what I saw. Some books are life-changing, and I think this is one of them. I loved it. Because, like many business owners, I often don’t really know what’s going on with my numbers... and that’s a problem. Maybe this sounds familiar to you: “You’ve done great! You’ve made a profit of [lots of moolah] after taxes and expenses!” And you do a little jig, because how cool is that? Only... where is that money? It’s certainly not sitting in a fat pile in your bank account, is it? So you look at your accountant, perplexed, and say, “Wait. I’ve made all that profit... but where is it?” “Oh, it’s gone,” she says airily. “You’ve spent it.” “What? How can it be profit then?” At which point your head explodes. Well, this is the book you need to read. It helped me understand exactly what's going on. The author has been in exactly our position – and much, much worse. He’s gone from millions in the bank to his last few quid – then lost that. And he’s been as confused as the rest of us. So he wrote this book to come up with a system that works for real humans. Because (sorry accountants!) most of us business owners do not and will not ever think like accountants. We will not sit for hours poring over statements and spreadsheets and profit and loss calculations. We just won’t. So the author came up with the Profit First system. My accountant tells me it’s the accounting system under another name, but that’s the point. He uses normal-people words, ideas, and examples. He takes accounts and puts them in a format I can understand – and gives me a system I can not only understand but will actually use. When you’ve read the book, do the things the author tells you to do. Do the instant assessment of your business. It’ll hurt, but only briefly – then you can start to fix things. This is one of those things you won’t want to do because it’s scary. But once you face the music and know exactly what’s what, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted. This is a beautifully simple book that takes a complicated subject and makes it easy to understand for those of us who can't get their heads around traditional accounts.

Nice read very informative

Dank der Sichtweise und genauer Vorgehensvorschläge von Mike im Buch konnte ich nach jahrelangem Ausprobieren, Schimpfen und Stressen mein Unternehmen finanziell gesund pflegen! Und das ist auch gar nicht schwierig mit den vielen Ansätze aus dem Buch, ich war nur als nicht BWL-er nicht darauf gekommen. Absolut empfehlenswert!

this is the kind of book that you don't read. It makes you implement and take a long hard look at your financial situation. A real eyeopener that has taken my company for being in debt to almost debt free. It helped me cut 50% of my overhead without touching things that were profitable to me. I have read it, studied it, implemented it and made it an important part of my life.

Ótima leitura, estimula a encarar os pequenos e médios negócios de outra forma.