BUILDING UP your business

Your business could be leaking money right now… and the expenses probably look completely normal. 👀

That’s what makes hidden costs so dangerous.

In the latest episode of the podcast, I sat down with Matt Dorband of ERA Group to talk about where businesses unknowingly overspend and how leaders can find those savings WITHOUT hurting the operation.

We get into:

💰 The vendor relationships where hidden savings often live

📑 How auto-renewals and annual increases can quietly push costs above market rates

📊 Why visibility into your expenses has to come BEFORE cost cutting

💻 How decentralized purchasing and duplicate software can add unnecessary costs

🚚 Why shipping, insurance and merchant processing deserve a closer look

⚖️ Why the cheapest vendor isn't necessarily the lowest-cost vendor

And one of my favorite takeaways from Matt:

Audit your top 10 vendors and expense categories every year.

You may find opportunities to renegotiate, consolidate or eliminate costs you didn't even realize were there.

But the goal isn't simply to spend less.

It's to make sure every dollar you're spending is delivering the right value to the business.

🎙️ The new episode is LIVE!

A huge thank you to Matt for joining me and sharing his experience and insights. This was such a practical conversation for any business leader looking to improve profitability without sacrificing performance.

Go give it a listen!

"Why your sales boom might be silently bankrupting you."It might sound counterintuitive, but trust me, it happens more often than you'd think.I've seen countless founders focus on boosting sales, assuming more revenue will magically stabilize their finances. But here's the tough reality—keep rushing down this road, and you'll find yourself on shaky ground sooner rather than later. Marika Ponton hit the nail on the head in our chat on Moving Operationally Up: without a tight grip on your financial ropes, higher sales could be digging the financial hole deeper.Think about it. Boosting sales without a solid understanding of your financial operations is like pouring water into a leaky bucket. It's not just the visible costs—it's the hidden spending and lack of proper financial reporting quietly eating away at your margins.Marika, who knows her stuff as both a business owner and CPA, pointed out a common blind spot—dodging financial education and staying away from the numbers is the kryptonite of many businesses.Often, the real breakdown is in the unseen costs and inefficiencies that go unnoticed. Not every sale is a win; the key is to zero in on what truly drives profit.I've witnessed high-growth companies get tangled in process inefficiencies as they scale. When they finally dive into their financials, it often unravels overlooked opportunities for profit.So, before you hunt down that next big client, ask yourself this: Are your financial processes as watertight as they should be to support that growth?Catch the full conversation with Marika on Moving Operationally Up to explore the mindset shifts you need. Continue the conversation.www.profittruths.com

SEO didn’t change as much as people think.

The expectations did.

🎙️ Our latest episode of Building Up Your Business is now live and this was one of my biggest takeaways from my conversation with Samuel Warren

Everyone’s talking about AI, search changing, algorithms shifting…

But when you zoom out, the core is still the same:

👉 Be the most useful, trustworthy answer

That hasn’t changed.

What has changed, and where I see a lot of growing businesses struggle, is this:

SEO is no longer something you “do”

It’s something your business builds into how it operates

If you’re trying to grow, here’s what actually matters now:

• Your website needs to be clear fast People shouldn’t have to figure out what you do

• Your content needs to answer real questions Not just exist to check a box

• Your brand needs signals of trust Reviews, mentions, consistency

• And it all has to work together Not random disconnected efforts

This is where a lot of founders get stuck

They’re either:

→ Treating SEO like a one-time project

→ Or expecting quick wins in a long-term system

And both lead to frustration

This episode breaks that down in a really practical way, especially if you’re trying to scale and need clarity on what actually matters vs what’s noise

That’s always the goal with this podcast

Take topics that feel complicated and make them usable for people actually running businesseswww.rankpay.com

Most businesses don’t fail because of bad ideas.

They fail because of bad decisions made early.

Underpricing.
Overdelivering.
Taking the wrong types of work.
Holding onto cash instead of investing in growth.

In the latest episode of Moving Operationally Up, I sat down with Kyle Duffy to break down what actually happens in those early years of building a business.

Not the highlight reel.

The real stuff.

The $500 projects.
The delayed “big win.”
The mindset shifts that separate surviving from scaling.

We talk about:

How underpricing quietly limits your growth
Why recurring revenue matters more than big contracts
The danger of overdelivering without boundaries
When you have to shift from working in the business to on the business
And how to start thinking like a true business owner

If you are building a business or thinking about starting one, this is the kind of conversation that can save you years of trial and error.

The episode is live now.

Listen here and let me know what resonates most.

Most marketing doesn’t fail because of execution.

It fails because it was built on assumptions.

New podcast episode is live: Turning Research into Revenue: The Art of the CMO Roadmap with Angelo Ponzi

In this conversation, we dig into something I see all the time with growing companies:

They jump straight into tactics — campaigns, ads, messaging — without truly understanding their customer, their market, or what actually drives buying decisions.

And then they wonder why it doesn’t work.

Angelo breaks down:

Why “build it and they will come” is a dangerous mindset

How to actually use research to drive revenue (not just collect data)

Why one-size-fits-all marketing doesn’t work

How to build a real CMO roadmap that connects strategy to execution

One of my favorite takeaways:

Research doesn’t have to be expensive… but not doing it is.

If you’re trying to grow your business and want your marketing to actually perform, this episode is for you.

HR is not boring… until you are sitting in a deposition.

🎙️ New episode of Building Up Your Business is LIVE.

In this episode, I sit down with Tonyel Thompson, founder of Real HR Hero, to talk about something most business owners avoid until it is too late: HR as a strategic partner, not the policy police.

We unpack:

• What at-will employment actually means

• The real risk behind misclassifying 1099s

• Why exempt versus non-exempt mistakes get expensive fast

• How to add structure without killing your culture

• And how to align policies with your company values

Here is the truth: navigating complex regulations is part of scaling responsibly. The companies that treat HR as a strategic function grow with less chaos, less risk, and fewer expensive surprises.

If you are growing your team or thinking about hiring this year, this episode is for you.

🎧 Tune in now and let me know your biggest HR question.

AI is not your competitive advantage.How you use it is.Our latest episode of Building Up Your Business is officially live, and Lael Sturm dives into one of the biggest misconceptions founders have right now about AI and remote teams.Everyone is chasing tools.New platforms.New automations.New “10x productivity” promises.But here is what we unpacked in this episode:AI alone does not scale a business.The right people using AI do.We talked about:• Why founders waste high-value hours trying to learn every new tool• How pairing skilled team members with the right technology creates leverage• Why daily 15-minute stand-ups can transform remote team performance• And how to stop spending $1,000 hours on $20 tasksIf you are growing, feeling stretched, or trying to stay competitive in this AI-heavy landscape, this episode is for you.The future is not humans versus AI.It is humans plus AI, managed well.

Marketing shouldn’t feel like a black hole where money disappears and “hope” is the strategy.

In the latest episode of Building Up Your Business, I sat down with Ted Lau from Ballistic Arts to break down how profit-driven marketing actually works—especially for B2B, manufacturing, and multi-generational businesses.

We cover:

Why most companies start marketing before understanding their true marginsHow to reverse-engineer growth using real numbers (not vanity metrics)

The difference between gross profit and what actually ends up in your pocketWhy data beats gut feel in marketing decisions

The 60/40 balance between content and paid ads that creates sustainable growth

This episode is practical, numbers-focused, and designed to help leaders stop guessing and start treating marketing like the investment it should be.

If you care about growth and profitability, this one’s for you.

The Two Ways Businesses Make Money (And Why Most Miss One)

Our latest episode of Building Up Your Business is officially live, and it’s one of those conversations that can fundamentally change how you think about growth.

I sat down with Mohamed Noohu, an entrepreneurial finance leader with decades of experience, to talk about why being profitable doesn’t always mean having cash and why many businesses struggle even when sales are strong.

In this episode, we cover:

• The difference between profit and cash flow

• The cash flow and working capital cycle explained simply

• The “second way” to make money most founders overlook

• Why banks care more about liquidity than profit

• How optimizing cash flow can unlock growth without selling more

If you’ve ever felt profitable on paper but stressed about cash, this episode is for you.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

What Happens If ICE Shows Up At Your Business

That’s not a hypothetical question anymore.
It’s something employers are actively worrying about.

🎙️ Our latest podcast episode is officially LIVE, and we tackle this topic head-on with HR and compliance expert Barry Cohn.

In this episode, we break down:
• what actually happens during an ICE visit
• the biggest mistakes employers make in the moment
• how I-9 recordkeeping plays a huge role in audits
• what employers are legally allowed to do (and not do)
• how preparation and good-faith effort reduce risk

This conversation is practical, calm, and focused on what business owners actually need to know—without fear-mongering.

If you employ people, this episode is worth your time.