In order to know if you will achieve your goals you first have to know where you are right now. In this episode, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert, Evelyn Aucoin talks about identifying your Total Owner Benefits and then reverse engineering your way there.

Evelyn stresses the importance of working with a tax strategist to maximize fringe benefits while staying compliant. Law firm owners should define their TOB targets proactively rather than letting them happen by chance.

To attain your desired TOB, Evelyn outlines the following steps:

She shares several examples of lawyers who are empowered and selective of the types of clients they serve as part of their Total Owner Benefits of happiness and success.

• Define your TOB goals in the context of your financial, personal, and professional aspirations

• Know where you are today in order to create a realistic road map toward your goals

• You manifest with your feet so take action by breaking down your goals into smaller micro-actions

In this segment, Evelyn shares insights on a core “Profit First for Lawyers” concept: the idea that a law firm should be a self-sustaining entity that works for its owner. She points out the valuable mindset shift of referring to your law firm in the third person to transition from “having a job where you are your own boss” to being an entrepreneur with a freestanding business.

This shift in perspective is crucial and ties in well with a powerful piece of advice from RJon that has impacted Evelyn’s life: “Your life is a reflection of your choices. You are the collection of what you do and what you do is a choice.” This advice emphasizes the importance of aligning actions with goals and taking responsibility for one’s circumstances.

12 Days of Law Firm Growth

Buy your copy of the Profit First for Lawyers book

In this episode we look at how to define, measure, and quantify the success of your law firm using RJon’s own definitions of success.

RJon breaks down how he defines a successful business into three key areas:

He stresses that success in all three areas is essential, and that focussing on just one or two areas is not enough.

In the clip, we hear RJon walk through an exercise with a How To MANAGE a Small Law Firm member, demonstrating how to create quantifiable definition of success. He emphasizes the importance of setting specific, measurable goals in each area, such as:

By setting clear, quantifiable goals you can track your progress and make informed decisions about your business and life.

Profit First for Lawyers Workshop

In this episode, Sherri Mansell, Director of Bookkeeping That Does Not Suck shares reliable and actionable bookkeeping practices that will help law firm owners become more profitable. Sherri shares her passion for numbers and how understanding the story behind the numbers empowers law firm owners to make data-driven decisions.

Sherri outlined the seven essential reports every law firm (and small business) owner should examine monthly regardless of their practice area or billing model.
1. Balance Sheet

2. Profit and Loss (P&L) Statement

3. Budget Variance Report

4. Accounts Receivable (A/R) Report

5. Work in Process (WIP) Report

6. Cash Flow Forecasting Report

7. Three-Way IOLTA Trust Reconciliation

She emphasized the importance of looking at Balance Sheet and P&L Statement on a rolling 12-month basis to identify trends and spot areas for improvement. Sherri shared three of the most common questions and stressed the importance of receiving timely reports from your bookkeeper, ideally by the 8th business day of the month and no later than the 20th of the month.

Sherri shares cautionary tales of law firm owners who put off dealing with their finances, leading to stress, panic, and potential loss of their license when faced with a bar audit. She encouraged listeners to schedule a regular time each month to review their numbers.

In this segment, Sherri introduces a clip from the audiobook studio recording that addresses the distinction between cash flow and profitability. In this clip, RJon recounts a story of a multi-million dollar law firm with positive cash flow that was actually losing money. This is an all too common example of how cash flow can be misleading.

Sherri expands upon this story by comparing two hypothetical companies to illustrate the difference between cash breakeven and profit & loss breakeven. Some expenses, like loan payments and owner distributions, affect cash flow but do not appear on profit & loss statements, underscoring the importance of understanding financial reports beyond bank balances.

Both Sherri and RJon emphasize the importance of law firm owners asking questions, being curious about their finances, and working with financial advisors who are able to explain these concepts in simple terms.

Podcast episode resources

Reserve your seat at the Profit First for Lawyers Workshop 

Bookkeeping That Does Not Suck

Ep 36 Take Flight: Elevate Your Mindset

In the first episode of season two, we answer your biggest questions from last season — “What are Profit First accounting principles?” and “How do they help law firm owners become more profitable?”

To answer those questions, RJon explains how Parkinson’s Law, the Primacy Effect, and Plate Size are foundational frameworks for Profit First methodology. Understanding these key concepts is a must for law firm owners ready to kick the ‘profit last” mentality to the curb and embrace profit first.

Parkinson’s Law: The demand for resources will always expand to match its supply. Which is why adopting Profit First accounting principles forces businesses to creatively operate within smaller operating expense budgets by allocating profit first.

The Primacy Effect: We pay more attention to what comes first and ignore the rest. As business owners traditionally put profit last, Profit First reverses the order from:

Sales/Revenue – Expenses = Profit

to

Sales/Revenue – Profit = Expenses

Thus making the act of taking profit a habit rather than an event.

Plate Size: Portion control refers to more than just a meal. Using an analogy of plate size affecting food portions, RJon explains how Profit First uses separate income accounts to control profit “portions”, limit expenses, automatically set up reserves for annual expenses like taxes, and more.

Listeners of the Profit First For Lawyers podcast are invited to attend an upcoming Profit First for Lawyers Workshop.

The free one-day events are for law firm owners who are serious about making their law firm more profitable. Join us at our next live workshop.

Podcast episode resources

Reserve your seat at the Profit First for Lawyers Workshop

Mike Michalowicz and the Primacy Effect (Ep. 42)

This bonus episode of the Profit First For Lawyers podcast was originally featured on The Managing Partners Podcast hosted by Kevin Daisey. This interview with RJon Robins is the second in a two-part series. Part one of the series can be heard on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and watched on YouTube.

RJon picks up the conversation from last week’s episode by discussing How To MANAGE a Small Law Firm’s definition of a successful law firm – one that serves the owner in at least three ways:

RJon focuses on the importance of hiring experienced lawyers who can hit the ground running, rather than lower cost inexperienced lawyers who require more training. The cost of onboarding and potential turnover make hiring experienced lawyers more profitable in the short and long term. As part of a path to overall growth, RJon also emphasizes the importance for law firms to support their team members’ personal and professional goals.

RJon provides an overview of his new book Profit First for Lawyers, which he wrote as a rallying cry for law firm owners to put their profits first. He explains that even if you’ve read the Profit First book by Mike Michalowicz, this book builds on the Profit First methodology with specific applications and insights for lawyers. He walks through the table of contents touching on key topics like why CPAs may resist Profit First, how GAAP accounting standards differ from law firm needs, tracking Total Owner Benefits, and more.

How To MANAGE a Small Law Firm https://howtomanageasmalllawfirm.com

The Managing Partners Podcast with RJon Robins Ep 281 https://thisisarray.com/managing-partners-podcast/episode-281-rjon-robins

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

This bonus episode of the Profit First For Lawyers podcast was originally featured on The Managing Partners Podcast hosted by Kevin Daisey. This interview with RJon Robins is the first in a two-part series.

RJon shares his transformative journey from financial adversity to profitability. This episode focuses on the critical mindset shift law firm owners should embrace as entrepreneurial professionals who sell legal services. RJon’s insights into ethical profitability and strategic business management serve as a guide for law firms seeking sustained growth and success. Look for the second episode of the two-part series next week.

A new season of the Profit First For Lawyers is coming soon! Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the latest episodes the moment they are released. Visit https://profitfirstforlawyers.com/subscribe

How To MANAGE a Small Law Firm https://howtomanage.com

The Managing Partners Podcast https://thisisarray.com/managing-partners-podcast/episode-280-rjon-robins

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

The curtain closes on a sensational season for the Profit First For Lawyers podcast. We thank you for joining us each week for episodes filled with actionable insights.

This podcast was launched in advance of the Profit First For Lawyers book publish date. All while RJon was in Paris. The surprise reveal about the podcast to RJon at the July Live Quarterly Meeting (LQM) made for some fun moments on stage.

In a never before seen video from Paris, RJon filmed his experience at a chocolatier. In true RJon fashion, a cup of hot chocolate turned into an insightful teaching moment.

As we wrap-up the season we sat down and spoke with members of Team RJon who shared their favorite moments. We also look back on the promises and goals we had for the podcast when it launched in June 2023.

Putting together a podcast with Team RJon and featured guests from distances near and far made for informative and sometimes humorous moments captured on video.

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and co-founder of Profit First Professionals talks all things Profit First.

Mike shares the story behind Profit First, which he developed after nearly losing everything when his business collapsed. This experience prompted him to study what makes companies profitable. His revelation? Apply the same personal finance “pay yourself first” principle to business finances.

Thus, Profit First was born. Now over 800,000 companies use Mike’s approach of taking a percentage off the top for profit before paying business operating expenses. Mike simplifies profitability to this truth – you must be profitable to get out of debt. Taking profit first builds momentum and fuels growth.

Beyond emphasizing mindset shifts, Mike provides three tactical tips for getting started with Profit First:

We share the forward from Profit First For Lawyers written and read by Mike Michalowicz about an experience he had with RJon and a Tesla.

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

As we approach the end of the season, we look back on RJon’s promise to readers of his book Profit First For Lawyers.

“If you implement what I’m going to be sharing with you in this book, your law firm will definitely become more profitable.”

RJon Robins, Profit First For Lawyers, Chapter 1

In this episode, Karli speaks with law firm owners who share personal and professional results after implementing Profit First. We hear from lawyers new to Profit First and lawyers who have followed Profit First principles for years.

Personally, many saw profits accumulate into substantial savings. Others took dream trips or were able to profitably transition to remote work so they could spend more meaningful time with family.

Professionally, featured lawyers grew revenues exponentially in months or saw consistent monthly profits after years of breaking even. A few shared how this newfound profitability has given them more confidence and peace of mind. All shared how Profit First changed both their business and personal lives.

To see each of the lawyers featured in this episode visit our podcast on YouTube.

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

This episode packed with Profit First insights features Ron Saharyan, co-founder of the Profit First Professionals. Ron shares practical insights about Profit First fundamentals. He gives actionable tips for law firm owners who want to build a healthy, sustainable, and profitable business by following the Profit First methodology.

We also hear about how Ron’s childhood friendship with Profit First author, Mike Michalowicz turned into the Profit First Professionals which is approaching a 10-year milestone.

“Profit First does not care what your current financial situation is. It is a framework that will allow you to build the financial muscle memory to help you get out of that financial situation and also prevent you from falling back into it.”

Ron Saharyan
Co-Founder
Profit First Professionals

RJon shares his own Profit First journey from nearly going under to running a multi-million dollar business. He explains in a Facebook Live clip why the typical excuse of “I’ll begin Profit First once I become profitable” is invalid – Profit First principles lead to profitability.

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!