The Startup Sessions with Michael Knouse

Episode 91: Achieving Budget Nerdvana with Mark Butler

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Do you have trouble tracking your business finances? My guest this week is Mark Butler and he’s the Founder of Budget Nerd.

Mark honed his financial skills as a result of constantly feeling broke in his previous businesses. Back in 2008, Mark and his partners started three successful online businesses, offering everything from high-end coaching to subscription-based software.

While these businesses brought in close to $2 Million in total revenue, too often Mark felt the pinch of not enough cash. After he sold his businesses in 2012, he spent a year studying a financial management system and in 2013 he adapted that system for small business owners. As a result, Budget Nerd was born.

“Budgeting is not a diet – it’s a plan for what your money is going to do for you.”

Today, Mark is the “money guy” for over 30 small businesses. He spends his time performing as bookkeeper, CFO, and financial confidante to help entrepreneurs determine the best way to spend their money and manage their costs for optimal business growth.

No matter what stage your business is at, Mark has some compelling advice for having your money work harder for you and shifting the way you think about money in your business.

Here are some of Mark’s­­­­ favorite things:

Most Influential Book
  • Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
    • Business Super Power
    • Looking at the numbers and seeing the truth – understanding what’s going on in the business owner’s mind better than they can.
      • Most Effective Strategy for Growing Your Business
      • Word of mouth
        • Favorite Business Tool or Resource
        • Asana
          • Most Recent Exciting Adventure
          • About a month ago, Mark went to Zion National Park in Southern Utah. While he was there he hiked “The Subway,” which includes swimming through several deep pools and repelling down caverns. If you’re an outdoor person, you may want to put this one on your bucket list!
            • Show Highlights
            • The problem with thinking you can earn your way out of financial problems.
            • Understanding the 4 main competitors for your cash: paying yourself, hiring a new team member, investing in education and investing in marketing.
            • The challenge of managing revenue creation and cost management at the same time.
            • Why emerging entrepreneurs tend to overpay for new hires.
            • Understanding all the options for your cash and learning how to make financial decisions from a place of perspective rather than out of fear.
            • Are you doing $10/hour work when you could be doing $1000/hour work?
            • Mark encourages seeking out a trustworthy mastermind partner to review your business finances so that you have another data point.
            • Mark describes the “hassle per dollar ratio” and why this is so important to every emerging entrepreneur.
            • The difference between having passive income and having work you love.
            • Work towards getting 1 to 3 months of revenue in the bank so that you can control your decisions (like firing clients that aren’t a good fit).
            • Mark talks about structuring his business around health and lifestyle and his plans for scaling Budget Nerd.
              • Links for Mark:
              • Budget Nerd
              • Contact Mark
              • Say hello to Mark on Facebook or Twitter
                • Mentioned in this episode:
                • You Need A Budget
                  • Question: Are you on track with your business finances? I would love to hear where you’re are at with handling the money part of your business.The post Episode 91: Achieving Budget Nerdvana with Mark Butler first appeared on Michael Knouse.
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                  The Startup Sessions with Michael KnouseBy Michael Knouse: Empowering Visionary Entrepreneurs to Create a Life of Meaning Through a Business with Soul
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