Pay Play Profit

Whether you're starting a business or you've already been growing and scaling your business, it might get to the point where it becomes challenging to deal with the complexity of its growth, all of the things you need to measure, and keeping things simple, practical, and powerful. Reducing complexity is challenging but you can keep things simple yet powerful by having the right KPIs and data cadences in place.

In this episode, we're going to dive into financial KPIs and data cadences for your online business.

KPI stands for key performance indicator, which refers to the metrics that you should be hitting. Now, your company should have different KPIs that are specific to every part of your business (i.e. marketing, sales, HR, finance, etc). Today, we're going to tackle financial KPIs.

Now, data cadence simply means how often should you look at your numbers? Companies have different intervals and may do it weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually. By having those data cadences, you're able to stay on track most of the time and identify problems you need to solve before they become a real issue in the future.

Ultimately, you have to decide on what financial KPIs you should have. This can be super stressful if you're not sure what you're tracking. And if you don't have the things in place to pull it, that becomes part of the problem you're trying to solve as well. The key is to track things that mean something to you.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The 5 essential financial KPIs
• Defining your available cash
• Understanding your cost of goods
• The importance of tracking your gross profit and net income
• Making sure things are easy to track
• Deciding what "on-track" looks like for the season

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Supporting Resources:

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Payroll is part and parcel of any company structure, but there's more to it than just processing payroll – and that's People and Culture.

In today's episode, we're going to dive into how People and Culture in HR is bigger than processing payroll.

The HR function should not just be cutting checks for payroll or signing off on a handbook. It's more about finding ways to communicate with your employees how important they are and letting them know and feel how much you appreciate them.

People and Culture starts with payroll because that's where the trust-building starts. Sure, you can have the best intentions. But if you can't get that one right, your people aren't going to see anything else, and that's what's going to create the kind of culture within your team. At the end of the day, you can't have a fully functioning HR department when you can't get the basics down, payroll included – but then again, it's more than just payroll!

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why people and culture starts with payroll
• Why HR is a trust-builder
• How to create your people and culture process
• Why a handbook is very important
• Recognizing the difference between leadership and management
• The hiring piece
• How to create your own culture of connection

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

We are not promised tomorrow. If you died or were disabled, how much would your loved ones have to invest in figuring everything out while they're also grieving your loss?

If you're an entrepreneur or a business owner and you have children, having a last will and testament is one of the things you need to prioritize. You want to make sure your assets are treated the way you want and that all those things flow while people are also trying to send you off to your "next" adventure.

In today's episode, we're going to talk about how you can be as prepared as possible for when bad things happen as well as some things you should be thinking about earlier or sooner than later. A lot of people love to push this topic off because it's tough, but it's a very important, practical conversation to have.

It's important to be proactive because this is one area that families tend to fight about. If you can set things up to dictate how your assets are going to go and flow, then that takes it out of the hands of your children and your family, so there's less fighting.

The more complicated your situation is and the more assets you have, the more you're probably going to need an attorney. Now, you may have the best intentions but intentions are not legal. And so, your best intentions could go by the wayside if you die before they're instilled.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why you need to have this conversation
• Why an operating agreement is critical in your business
• It's not too small to have a last will and testament
• The Young Adult Power of Attorney

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

Mama Bear Legal Forms - Last Will & Testament

Mama Bear Legal Forms - Young Adult Power of Attorney

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

Can you make a deductible contribution to an HSA (Health Savings Account)? Will the distribution in the HSA be tax-free or penalty-free? In today's episode, we're sharing these two flowcharts which you can use as a tool to help determine if this is going to be the right path for you to implement for yourself personally, or in your business (for yourself and your employees).

This is only a 30,000-feet view because there are a lot of people involved before you actually buy into this decision. We're talking about your insurance company, tax professional, and even your financial planner.

If you feel like this doesn't apply to you, then just think again. It's always good to be prepared for when it does. And so, the point of our podcast today is just to inform, educate, maybe inspire you to think beyond your working years, and how a tool like an HSA might benefit you now, and at retirement.

If you have medical issues or if you need another investment strategy because you're relatively healthy, the HSA is a nice little vehicle that you can add to your long-term planning and your retirement in the future.

There's something you can do to take care of yourself and your people. And if you're scared or intimidated about taking care of people, just think about how that's not allowing you to grow. That being said, it's never too early to start to think about the long-term plan because we are all aging every single day.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The benefits of HSAs
• How the HSAs benefit you at retirement
• The need to take advantage of your insurance plans
• How much you're saving on taxes

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

Gusto for Payroll - https://gusto.com/?referral_token=tbl283&utm_source=inapp

HSA 2022 Flowchart on Tax and Penalty-Free Distributions.pdf - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zubM_lPTh9PNIwvZpYVFE7TmOudAvHiv/view?usp=sharing

HSA 2022 Flowchart on Deductible Contributions.pdf - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wc68uPDZz6otRjz8x8-S2xQLiMxsvRjE/view?usp=sharing

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

If you have a limited liability company, an S Corp, a C Corp, a partnership, or anything that's formal and a legal entity, you need to hold an annual meeting in your business and document certain things that have been decided.

In this episode, we will give you a framework to think about for your next annual shareholders' meeting. The first quarter of the year is an excellent time to host this meeting because a lot of times, it's an opportunity to prove the financials for the prior year along with any decisions you've made for the current year. Then you're documenting those decisions through your meeting minutes which matters a lot to the IRS.

Your business is not you. It's a separate entity, and the IRS sees it as separate from you. So you must do this as an agreement between you and your company. This lets the IRS know that you understand what you're doing and that you're treating it that way so you're not breaking that "corporate veil." If you don't do it, it could very well harm you with your taxes and your legal entity because the IRS could see it as a fault or a breach.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Why you need to hold a shareholders' meeting
• How to do it internally and where to do it
• The benefits of holding it in the first quarter
• Why titles matter
• Things to discuss during the meeting
• Getting approval of actions
• What the presentation of the financial statement report looks like

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

RocketLawyer.com

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com. Let them know we sent you.

Do you have a proven process? If yes, do you have a visual form of your proven process? And does 20% of the process drive 80% of your results? If you answered no to any of these questions, then you must listen to today's episode as we dive into our proven process here at The Bottom Line.

In fact, it took us almost nine years to get a proven process. Although we've had processes all along, we didn't clearly understand what a proven process was and what it could do for us until we started the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

If you are struggling to scale your organization or you have a growing team and you need a manual that you don't have to create, EOS' proven process may just be what you need. The tools we have been using are just amazing in helping us lead, manage, recruit, and encourage people. And so, we hope it does the same for you.

At the end of the day, managing is all about getting people on the same page – making sure you get their buy-in, they get it, they want it and they have the capacity for it. That's when you know you have the person in the right seat because they exhibit your core values.

In this episode, you will hear:

• What is a proven process?
• The five stages of our proven process
• The three key things that happen at each stage
• Tax planning and tax compliance are two different things
• What our year-round client support looks like

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

TBL Proven Process: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NKK10WuJTlEmknH1hbBeFGPmKr2mlwgA/view?usp=sharing

Book: Traction by Geno Wickman - https://amzn.to/3dwejaS

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

In this episode, Kevin Rogers and Rachel Mazza share their EOS journey and how, together, they have created a rocket-fueled business. With Kevin as the visionary of Copy Chief, and Rachel Mazza as the integrator, they have clearly defined their roles, allowing them to approach their business with clarity and accountability.

Created by Gino Wickman, the Entrepreneurial Operating System or EOS was based on his book Traction, which serves as the nucleus of this program.

The EOS focuses on function, not titles. It's not the label, but more about what it is that you're owning and what you're driving inside your businesses as they're growing and scaling. Instead of being focused on positions and titles, it's focused on the responsibilities and success metrics. It's about who owns what and what numbers do those people get to obsess over. As a result, there's clarity and it gives people permission to own their seats.

Ultimately, when you put who you are and the heart behind the work and the vision behind what you do, there's magic that happens in your business and your team.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The freelancer's journey
• How the EOS works
• Clarity as the big driver of EOS
• How EOS creates an intrapreneurial environment
• What makes the Level 10 Meeting effective
• Celebrating the wins
• Assessing the key metrics in your business
• The Rocket Fuel
• How the system supports your culture and how your culture is your DNA
• Living and breathing your core values

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

Copy Chief: https://copychief.com

Books

Traction by Geno Wickman - https://amzn.to/3dwejaS

What The Heck Is EOS by Gino Wickman + Tom Bouwer - https://amzn.to/3k58q7h

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

If you still haven't been planning for retirement, there's no better time to start than now. Maybe you're a spender and not a natural saver or maybe you're too much of a saver and don't spend money when you should. Either way, this can cause issues down the road because there's a difference between spending, investing, and stewarding.

Whether you have a spending problem, you haven't been brought up to prioritize planning for retirement, or you lack education on all of this, you can always start now. Today, we're going to dive into the common retirement plans for small businesses in 2022. We hope to inspire you on what you can do right now and with exactly what you have to plan for retirement and save on taxes.

Before we get into the technical stuff, don't come with a mindset that you have to have a retirement plan because you're using it as a measuring stick of your worth. People have different sets of circumstances than you and they're prioritizing things differently than you at this point.

Retirement is the least of many people's worries. Maybe there's a reason why this hasn't been part of what you've done up to this point. However, when it's the right time for you, it will be the right time for you, even as a business owner. The least you can do is to equip yourself with some knowledge right now so you can use it whenever you're ready.

Just listen to this episode with an open mind because even the smallest movement in this area will make a big impact on you down the road. It's never too early. No amount is too small. Start the process. And don't do it alone!

In this episode, you will hear:

• The trauma many people have with money
• Six common retirement plans for business owners
• Why you need partners and some key people involved
• Having a vision for retirement

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

2021 Common Retirement Plans for Small Business

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

When was the last time you took a day off?

It's every entrepreneur's dream to have the freedom, flexibility, and discretion to take time off whenever they want. A lot of entrepreneurs want that freedom but they never get around to taking it.

As we get older, we need time off even more than we did when we were younger. We also need to play more than ever. After all, what's the point of hustling so hard if we're not taking the time to play and rest?

Today, we dive into scheduling your success with time off in 2022. You're in a business to grow. You're in a business to do big things. Therefore, time off should be your thing.

When you are in a leadership role, there are even more reasons for you to care of yourself. If you enjoy work and taking time off isn't your idea of freedom, then choose what freedom looks like to you. Use this time to identify what it is you want to do, what it is you want to work on, and how you want to grow this year.

Just to put things in perspective, there are no emergencies in accounting. It's not life and death stuff physically, though it can be emotionally and mentally. You have to figure out how to play both sides.

Ultimately, you can't define your success by what you accomplish. You're worth it just because of who you are. That alone is enough reason for you to take care of yourself. If you don't think you need it, just try to reconsider. What you do in your time off can vary; regardless, you need that pause button to regenerate yourself. You just have to start small and start somewhere.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Defining freedom for yourself
• Tracking your time and using your calendar
• Protecting your time off
• Developing your ONE thing commitment, protecting it, and honoring it
• Developing the muscle of delegation and trust
• The importance of rest and paying people to get things off your plate
• Planning and scheduling your time off for the whole year

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

www.fullfocusplanner.com/

www.rescuetime.com

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com

1099 in early 2022 is a hot topic. It's all over the news and the world is freaking out about 1099s. In this episode, we want to lay the foundation again and remind everyone, whether you're new or old, whether you've been in business for a while or are just getting started, what a 1099 is. We want to talk about what it's for, the basic requirements we all need to understand about 1099s, and when to report them.

Remember, the IRS changes the rules all the time. They send whatever letters they want, whenever they want, and for any reason they want. They have what it takes to take what you have. This includes your sanity and peace of mind, not just your money. That's why you're supposed to always report all your income, no matter how you earned the income or who you earned the income from.

The IRS is not your boss. You shouldn't let the IRS freak you out. At the end of the day, when those IRS notices come, it's your responsibility – it's your return, your forms, and your reporting. Tax pros and companies can help keep it all straight for you but, ultimately, you have to have a clear understanding of everything that's happening. At the end of the day, you're going to be the one who has to stand up for it or deal with it.

In this episode, you will hear:

• The common types of 1099s
• The role of 1099s
• The need to report all your income
• When to report 1099s and why you shouldn't miss deadlines
• The new law in 2022 related to 1099s

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love for you to subscribe if you haven't yet.

We'd love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources

Track1099 - https://tblcpa.co/track1099

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, coaches, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com