94: Why You’re Making Money But Still Not Profitable (And How to Fix It) w/ Susanne Mariga

Welcome with your host and business guru, Nakisha King. This podcast is the ultimate destination for women creative entrepreneurs who want to break free from burnout.

If you are overwhelmed by client demands and feel like you're doing this all alone, you, my friend, are in the right place. Now let's dive in for steps to take back your time and see, simplify your workflow. All right, Nikisha, take it away. Hi, guys.

Welcome to the Iconic CEO podcast, where creatives come to learn about systems. Today's conversation is for creative entrepreneurs who are tired of guessing about money, how to make it, how to manage it.

Today I have Susan and Suzanne is with us today and she's going to be speaking about some amazing things now, the ones who are booking clients, delivering great work, but you're still feeling unsure, reactive, or behind when it comes to finance. This is the podcast for you because here's the truth. Profit isn't about spirit spreadsheets alone.

It's about your leadership, your decision making, and designing a business that actually supports your life, the life you want. So today I'm joined by Suzanne Marika. I have a Spanish accent, so sometimes, excuse me.

A cpa, a certified Profit first professional, and the founder of Profit first for minority business enterprises. So if you're a woman, if you're a woman of color, this is the place for you too. Suzanne isn't here to talk at you about numbers.

She's here to help you understand what your numbers are trying to tell you. She works with creative entrepreneurs who want clarity, sustainability, and legacy.

Not just more revenue, but smarter money, calmer decisions, and a business that feels grounded instead of chaotic. My kind of human being. So in this conversation, we're talking about the real aha.

Moments that change how you lead your business, how you become the iconic CEO leading your business, the shift from survival mode to strategy, from reacting to money to using it as a tool for growth, confidence, and long term impact. If you ever thought I make money but I don't feel in control, then welcome to this episode of Iconic CEO. So, Suzanne, I am so happy to have you here.

I'm so happy we found each other because people like you are game changers to solopreneurs and entrepreneurs, especially women when it comes to finance. It's one of the things that I have to and still have to learn.

And, and what drew me to you was Profit first because it literally saved my design company during COVID So I would love for you just to say hi, tell everyone a little bit more about you outside of your intro that tell us Something that brings you joy. That would be a nice icebreaker to introduce yourself.

Oh, wow.

Thank you.

It's such a great intro. Thank you, Nikisha, for having me here. I'm excited to be here. Um, so, you know, just things that bring me joy. So. Wow.

I would say, you know, it's definitely. You know, you talked about creatives, and it's interesting. I'm not sure when this podcast will air, but I am actually.

And, you know, the great thing about building a scalable business, which Nikisha helps you guys do, is that it's an asset and it can sell. And so technically, I tell people that I retired at the age of 46. You know. You know, and. And.

And not many people can say that I technically retired at age of 46. So I. I do see some consulting. I'm a fractional cfo. And, you know, I decided to start my own venture, which is a different venture.

It's a creative venture, and I design handbags. So I have a designer line of handbags. Very high end, that when you smell that Louis Vuitton letter, you'll think about our handbags.

And, you know, it was. You know, it started with an obsession. You know, I was in New York City, actually, in your neck of the woods.

I was with my son about a year ago, and I took him, he was 14 at the time, to the Statue of Liberty. And, you know, you. You can't drive to the Statue of Liberty. You take a boat to the Statue of Liberty.

So we were on this boat, and there was this woman across from me, and she had this gorgeous handbag. I mean, like, leather. It probably was made in the 80s. It was, you know, that. That. That worn bag that looks like it lasts a lifetime.

And I wanted to ask her so bad, like, where did you get that bag? And I was too shy, you know, to ask her. And I think I must have made her uncomfortable. Cause I was, like, staring at her bag.

And as soon as the boat docks, she runs away. And I'm like, I didn't get to ask you, where's the bag? I need to know where that b. I can get that bag. Who made it? Coach, who made this bag?

And so, like, the whole day I was thinking about, where's his bag? We went to Fifth Avenue, couldn't find the bag. I went back to Houston, where I'm from, went to our local Mall, couldn't find the bag.

Went to our Galleria mall, which is our big mall. Couldn't find the bag. Went back to Newark, fifth Avenue looking for the bag. Still couldn't find the bag.

Went to Saks, Bertol, all, all those places looking for the bag. And finally I said, forget it, I'm just going to make the bag. And so literally I am making the bags now.

Oh, good. I love that you took action.

I took action. I love the bag too.

Outside your norm.

Exactly. Went all around the world looking for the bag. I mean, with the Paris looking for the bag. Went to Italy looking for the bag.

Even went to Florence, Italy looking for the bag. Couldn't find the bag. So yes, I'm going to have a whole bunch of bags soon because I made the bag.

So, so good. Oh. Oh my goodness.

I love how you are living your second chapter, which in my networking group sometimes we call it that when you do your first chapter, CPA and you move into your second and it's always interesting because the second could be your creative. I notice a lot of people in logical careers sometimes open to the creative, like me.

My first career was health care and then I moved into my creative. I just did it. I done it at a younger stage in my life and I like both sides of my brain being utilized rather than one.

There's something fun about it, challenging about it, and I think that's really good.

So what I want to do, I want to talk a little bit about the profit wake up call and I want to know when like many beautiful creative solopreneurs are making money. But in their making money, there's a lot of stress, a lot of reactions or being reactive or uncle clear about where it's all going.

Now, what's the most common aha moment you've seen in your business as a financial advisor? Not advisor, but helping with accounting. When someone first realizes that revenue and profitability are not the same thing.

You know, it's interesting because I think all of us start our businesses because we love what we do, right? My first business I started at accounting firm because I loved what I did.

I loved numbers, I loved like analytics, analyzing balance sheets and P. Ls and sorry if I'm making you guys eyes gloss over at this particular point. I love tax return preparation and I would have done it for free.

I mean, like I literally started my business to help entrepreneurs, you know, be able to look at their numbers. That's. And save money on taxes. And I mean I had friends constantly asking, so what would you do in this situation.

If I was in this situation and, and it was to the point I was, I was actually doing some tax returns for free because I loved it so much. And you know, and I think a lot of people are in that situation.

If you're a creative, you start your business because you like what you do, you've gotten lots of compliments, you're obviously very good at it. And most creatives are our craftsmen. I think that's just part of that DNA.

And, and at the same time, like you mentioned, Nikisha, we are taught humility, right? We're taught humility. We're taught, you know, if I want, how do I price for? First thing we do is we call our competitors.

We, we secret shop, we walk through their shops and see what they're selling it for. We browse the Internet, ebay, Amazon, what is it selling for? And we see how we can drop our prices as low to compete with them, right?

We, and even lower. That's what we do because we're tall. It's all about revenue. It's all about sales.

And you know, there are even programs out there that's all about revenue. They have a minimum revenue threshold to get into good programs. But, um, and so it's, we're taught early on it's all about the revenue.

I want to get seven figures. Once I get seven figures, I want to get eight figures, I want to get nine figures.

And the reality is, just because you have the revenue, it doesn't necessarily tie to profit. You know, when you compound negative growth, you just get more negatives. This doesn't become multiplication.

It's not negative times negative equals positive. No, you just get more compounded negatives. And, and that's any business.

So I would say if you're in a situation now and you don't have a profit, it's not going to get better until you change. And, and so that's the reason why you want to work with someone like Nikisha.

Work on those sales, work on that, that pricing, because that's going to be key with it. It's not. You know, I, I know in accounting, you know, they teach break even point.

You know, when you get to break even point, your life is going to change.

But the thing is it, the, when people are calculating break even, they don't calculate the fact that, okay, I'm broke even, but now I need a bigger warehouse, I need more staff, right. I need more admin support, right.

I need to get bigger, I need to spend more on advertising and there's all these fixed and variable costs that go in there. It's not a simple calculation. And so really, it starts with where you're at today.

And making that decision is, I'm going to run a responsible and profitable business.

So good. So, so true and so good. Is there something you use specifically to help people look at the revenue and plan for the profitability growth?

Like, is there anything you've helped people with in regards to that?

So I'm a big proponent of the Profit first method. Like, Profit first changed my life.

It created a business that was obviously sellable, and I even wrote a book about it because I'm so passionate about it. With the Profit First Family with Mike Michalowitz, Profit first for Minority Business Enterprises.

And even if you're not a minority, it's still a great book. And, and what makes Profit first different is that it's a cash management system. It's not an accounting system.

Please don't go to your accountant and be like, I found this amazing accounting system. You will have the guy roll over laughing. And, you know, most of us accountants are a little overweight. We don't need any extra strain in our heart.

So please don't call an accounting system. It's a cash management system, and it does just that. It creates intentional profitability. And it's built on this concept that's similar to.

You may have heard of Dave Ramsey and the old envelope system, right? As soon as you get your paycheck, money gets put into an envelope.

You know, you have an envelope for rent, you've got an envelope for groceries, you've got an envelope for dining out, maybe the movies, but you have an envelope for every purpose of your life. And that's what we're going to do for your business is we're going to give every dollar that comes in a specific task.

Now, we're not going to do envelopes because that's dangerous in this day and age, right? You go to the bank and somebody sees you walking out with cash, you've got followers instantly, right?

And I'm not talking about the Instagram ones, but what we're going to do is we're going to create bank accounts. And what's going to happen is all your money is collected in one bank account. So it's collected in what we call the income bank account.

This is going to be a checking account. And what you're going to do is, twice a month, you're going to allocate those funds to specific minor bank accounts based upon their purpose.

So one of the first accounts you're going to allocate to is going to be your profit bank account. And that's exactly what it is. It's your profit. It's literally your profile on day one. This physics, okay? This is physics, guys.

And I know you guys know how to do physics as, as a creator, because you're making patterns, right? You're measuring angles. You know, there's more math to creative than people think, right? And I know this now because I made a handbag.

And there's some. There are some physics there, right? I got to look at tension. I've got to look at, like, angles, you know, make sure things fall in the right places.

But you're going to allocate to the profit account, so you're going to create intentional profitability. The next bank account you're going to allocate to is going to be your owner's pay account, because you got to get paid, right?

You got to go home to your spouse and say, this is what I did at work today and this is why I deserve to spend my time there, right? And we all need to be proud that I spent my time there because I got a paycheck.

And I remember when I first started my business, I couldn't wait till I made six figures, right? That was. That was my goal. I wanted six figures owner income, right? That's what I want it.

And it got to a point that, you know, our revenue grew, but I stayed at a hundred thousand dollars, and I'm like, wait a minute, what's going on here, right? And the good thing about profit first is we're going to allocate a percentage of your revenue to owner's pay.

So that means that as your revenue increases, so should your owner's pay, right? Should increase, right?

And the reason why it needs to increase is because as an owner, as a founder, we need you to be rewarded based upon the work that you're doing. So as you're growing revenue, you're growing your paycheck too. The next account that we're going to fund is your tax account.

And this is an important account because I know a lot of entrepreneurs roll their eyes all the tax man. But the reality is, if you got profit, you got ta. You got owner's pay. You probably got taxes too. So let's not get upset with the accountant, right?

That's just the responsible thing. You use the highways, right? You go to the libraries, you use the school system. Let's just go ahead and put away money for taxes now.

You're going to use a great accountant who's going to help you with tax strategy. But, but you're going to have a tax account that we're going to reserve in just in case we need it for taxes.

And then after you fund it, your profit, your owner's paying your tax account. That last bank account that we're going to fund is going to be your operating expense account.

I like to call it the OPEX account, because that's the account that we're going to use to pay our bills.

And so that's the account that we're going to use to go, okay, I have this lovely OPEX account now, and this is what got funded into it for this transfer period. What expenses can I afford? Can I afford to bring on that new assistant? Can I afford to buy that new shop, you know, and expand into that big space?

Right. Or do I need to kind of stay on Etsy right now? Right. Or Shopify? And, and so that's the account that you're going to use to make those decisions.

And what's happening is, is something called Parkinson's law. And Parkinson's law teaches us that as humans, we're efficient, right? The more you give me something, the more I'm going to use of it.

You take me to the Golden Corral, I am not going to leave proud of myself, right? I'm going to be like, I'm not that hungry. I'm just going to eat a little bit.

But that little bit is going to be way more than what I would have ate if I just got a salad at the salad, right? So we're going to, we're. And, and that's exactly how that bank account is going to use.

It's like what I see in entrepreneurship is when money is flowing, when money is plenty, you know, everybody is running out and going, you know, I need that, that nice bonus depreciation on that 6,000 pound vehicle. Granted, I'm a doctor and I don't really need a vehicle, but you know, I, I heard I could write off like $50,000 if I get this vehicle.

Now when things are tight, you know, for example, now people are like, you know, what am I going to do? I really need to do that, right? Well, how am I going to make payroll next period?

I need to save money to make sure I make payroll because we're not gonna be open during Christmas.

And so it's a matter of really now you're working with your natural, biological and psychological makeup and in this restricted operating expense account versus how you're probably doing it now where you have one bank account, everything goes in, everything goes out and you hope that what's left.

Over is profit as yes, that's the norm now. Everything you shared in my world and yours can be seen as the theoretical like this is a great theory.

Now a lot of creatives struggle with making any amount like more than a hundred thousand. So they usually between I would say 40 to 70.

And half of the time it feels like they have an expensive hobby because their lead flow and conversions are a challenge for them.

Right.

These are things we work on in iconic CEO program. They're my the mastermind. So I've seen it.

So when it comes to allocating percentages, half of the time they have more expenses than they have money that they can actually allocate to those other accounts. I would like to know how do you help them create something practical that they can work with if they have higher credit card expense?

So operating or opex usually gets a majority of their money and they hardly have anything for profit. And think about it, if they're in that realm, they're not even trying to do owner's comp. That's not even an option.

Everything goes right back to the business for them to prove to someone that they can do this business. Because usually some people, someone's proving something to someone like I got my own business, I can make money. So help them in what you shared.

Start somewhere in making this profit first. Practical.

So I think there's different stages in business too, right? You've got your startup business versus your business that's been in business for at least a year or two.

So first of all, it's realizing where you're at in the journey. Because if you're a startup business and this is day one and you don't have any revenue, we're talking about a seed budget, right?

We're looking at what am I willing to lose in R D? Because we do research and development too, even in creative world. But deciding on what you can lose, what you're willing to fund up front.

Now, if this is your first after your first year in business, we're not a new company anymore, right? We need to be intentional about what we do. Hold on.

Before you continue, I want to also give you some point of reference. Some people could have been company like in business for five years and still be in startup.

So I wanted to tell the audience that because I promise you, the person listening has been in business for five years, but they're still working on seed money. Does that make sense? I just want to clear that. So when they're listening to you, they can be like, oh no, it still applies to me.

Because startup we look at as years, but in reality it's not. People make a certain amount and they could be five years in and still struggling.

Right, Go ahead. And that's where you have to stop the bleed. Right, Nikisha? And this is what I'm talking about. Like after year one, we don't really have an excuse.

We need to go as this inexpensive hobby like you call it, or it says I might end business to be in business. And so if you're in business to be in business, right, Which I think most of the listeners want to be.

It's starting with where you are and for you start for 1% profit transfer, just a 1% of your revenue going into profit, right. And making that pledge that I'm going to play the profit first game. And that's exactly how I approach it. It's a profit first game. It's a fun thing.

It's, these are the rules. I can't, I won't cheat on Monopoly, I won't cheat on checkers, I'm not going to cheat on the profit first game.

And I am going to fund my profit account starting with 1%. And that's all I'm going to do is 1% profit.

And I might have to cut something small, like maybe it's a subscription I'm not using to make that 1% profit. But I'm going to play that game the next quarter. I'm going to go, okay, I won, I played the game, I'm going to increase it another percentage.

What else can I change? Is it a price increase? Is it a, is it a something I can add additional on, justify that profit, that increase in my revenue, but.

Or is it something else I can cut? But you're going to make a game out of it, but you're literally going to start with where you are good.

So 1% profit is a good place owner's comp. Would I start? If your operating expense feels like it's 90%, do I start? The others like 1:1 tax is hard.

But then again these startup kind of concepts, they usually have a loss.

And some people, I don't know if it's conscious or subconscious or both, like go for a loss so they don't have to pay taxes because they think that's a bad thing. And I go, it's not. But that's just a whole nother reframing that has to go into play.

But how do they set up the other accounts when they're in that startup mode as well?

And I would start with, you know, like I said, 1% profit is where I would start. Just we'll start with that. Eventually you can fund the other accounts too. 1%, 1%, 1%.

And one of the things that I do is I have a site where you can actually download the target allocation percentages, that's what we call them, like where you should be based upon your revenue.

If you go to ProfitMap Co, you can actually log in and download that, that chart and we'll email that chart to you once you, once you register for it and you can actually see where am I at and where do I want to be and start to create that game plan on how to get there.

I love that. And we'll definitely add that in a show note. I would love to have that for them. So thank you on that. I think this was like really so good.

I have a question now. When hustle stops working and let's talk a little bit about that.

A lot of entrepreneurs believe that working harder will eventually make the numbers work. We've seen it everywhere on all the social media. You got to work hard, you got to have grit. All the things, right? All the things.

And at what point do you see people realize this isn't a work ethic problem, it's a system problem, it's a management of money problem. And what shifts for them when it clicks? Like what have you seen people do who have this problem?

What is an antidote that you can share for that problem? And have you seen someone shift? So a client story or something of that nature would be great.

Yeah. And I was going to say, Nikisha, I do work for a lot of creatives and you know, my clients are typically seven plus figure clients as fractional cfo.

And I would say the average profitability, average take home for them is probably about 600,000. So and that's their take home. So it profit first method can work for creatives and they're in a variety of different lines.

So it's just a matter of really honing in and adopting that mindset that I'm in this for business is what I'm going to say for there. And, and if you have a product that isn't viable, recognizing that too. And, and sometimes it's that come to Jesus moment.

You know, if, if I don't have a product that's viable and how do I change it so I can have a viable product? What do what do I need to be shifting into? I think it's important. Um, I think that hard work is a reality. You know, I think we.

I, I think that there's been a lot of, you know, I call it the, I don't know, woo out there about, oh, we don't have to work hard. Money just flows to me. You know, it's just going back to physics. You know, there's a reaction. For every action you make, there's a reaction.

And if you don't say what you do, nobody will ever know what you do. So there is some work ethic that is going to be required. But at some point, you know, we have to make a decision.

You know, I can only give 40 hours a week to this, to this business. I cannot physically go more. And so then it becomes, how do I compound more of me, right? How do I create more of me?

Is it hiring people that are great at what they do? Is it sourcing that to someone that's going to be better at that than you and you working on your zone of genius?

I think that every business is different with that and it's just going to be taking a realistic approach to where am I at today? What can I realistically give? Can I give anymore? Am I doing my best? What work?

You know, and if, and if you're in your blind spot, then it's hiring someone like yourself to be able to navigate that more clearly.

That's a really good point. And work ethic is great to have, but it's not the working hard part. It's the part of when I work, how do I plan?

Because you have to plan where you're putting the money, like managing. It's so interesting because this year I have a mantra and as I'm the master of money management, so the fact that we're speaking was meant to be.

Guys, as you know, when I have guests on the show, this is my first time meeting them. Like, I don't know their history, I don't know who they are. So the questions you hear me ask is not really just about, like, for you.

It's me getting to know them in the moment. And I love that. So I think that's a big thing and everything needs action. I just think we don't need to beat ourselves up about the action.

But it differs for everyone. I get it. I'm also a type A. I am really good at beating myself up, plus a perfectionist.

But I had to learn how to cultivate systems to make me better in what I'm doing. Hence the reason. It's why I teach it. Because when I can, I feel like systems is part of the compounding. How do you make yourself like?

Yes, because when you have a system, people run the system. Right now, a lot of solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who are in their development stage, I feel like people run them. They are the system.

They are the thing that has to think constantly to give an output. And that's, that's the change that we're trying to create from an iconic CEO program.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Thank you for that.

Definitely at some point to grow beyond, you know, I would say if you're growing beyond 300,000, at some point, you need to have other people with you.

Yes, yes. So many creatives operate in constant decision fatigue because they we are like 17 hats and so many things.

And they're usually reacting to their expenses, to clients, their income, swim swings, AKA feast or famine seasons. What changes when someone experience that their business can actually tell them what's safe to spend?

Like they're planning instead of guessing every month. And do you have a strategy for them on how they can do that?

How can they have what they normally spend, their expenses, and if they plan for something, how should they go about planning it? What's a little strategy that you may have shared with your clients?

Yeah, some profit first.

One of the things that we do is, let's say I'm budgeting to bring in an operations manager now, and I want to know if I can afford to bring in an operations manager.

And so what I'm going to do is I'm going to get my operating expenses down to, to a point that whatever's left over in the month, I'm going to start funding another bank account called my reserve account, maybe my. I'll call my operations management reserve account.

And I'm going to probably store up three to six months of that person's salary in there just to prove that I can make payroll every single month with this person on there. Because technically, if I'm ready to bring them on, I need to be able to afford them. And I'd like to have a little cushion too.

And so I'm going to start paying that account and as if I had that person there now, there might be that tension. There's a tension when you need somebody yesterday in the business for a while, a few months of tension. But we're building up for that point.

We're starting to interview different candidates because the point that you need that candidate, you know, it may take you nine Months to find that it's like birthing a baby when you're finding certain positions like a CEO or operations manager. And so. But in the meantime, I'm paying their salary into this bank account to prove that I can do it.

It's a really good point. And planning.

And it's not only planning, it's executing because you're actually moving the money into the account to see if this is something I can sustain. And when they start, you're ready ahead by three months. So you got another three months to accrue and it gets a little easier.

So I really do like that strategy. Thanks for sharing that. I think that's a really good one.

And I think everyone who listens to this have different economic income and revenue and profits.

But I think those, these are the simple things that no matter where you are on the financial spectrum or like level, you can implement and people do implement, there is a reserve account, just like the envelope might be called your reserve and profit first. So that's really good.

Now I know that you frame profit first as a path to sustainability and legacy and not limitations because some people might see limitations on that.

Like what's the biggest mindset shift you see when entrepreneurs realize profit isn't something that they earn later, but something they design for now, like some people were taught, profit is at the end.

So when we actually do a profit and loss statement, the bottom line after your expenses, your taxes, that I forgot what they call it, it's something with an E or something of that nature that even. Yes, that's what you're working with. That's your profit. But profit first is different because now you take it out first.

So what's the biggest mind shift? Shift someone has to experience to even fathom that concept and implement that concept.

I think it goes back to why am I working for this? Right. You know, there's a, A, a someone, an oratorist named Simon Sinek and he asks the question why? Start with why?

You know, and you know, and it's going back to why did I start this business?

You know, yes, I started this business to put beautiful art in the world, but I also started this business to be able to provide for my family, to be able to provide for myself. Right? And so when you start with why, what happens is you start, it's. There's something that happens on a psychological level.

You know, those dendrites synapse and start working together. Some people call the universe starts answering your calls.

But you know, something happens when you get to that foundation Level of why am I doing this? And I'm doing this to build a legacy, financial legacy, as well as an emotional legacy that I want to leave for my. My family.

And so when you start with why, it creates the path of the actions I need to take in order to get there.

That's so good. And it's true, because when I started, I. My.

Because in the first 10 years of my business and having two kids, and it just felt like, you know, I was figuring things out. Today I'm getting better at it.

But like I said, I want to be a master at money management because I feel like I have room to be better, especially since I have increased my revenue. It's like, you know how people think without money, they have problems. I don't think with money you have less.

I think the problems are just seen differently or they're experienced differently. And it's not really a problem because I don't want to give it a negative connotation, but I just think it's.

When I started to increase it, I was like, I don't know where this goes. As you know, I know it goes on my expenses because guess what? As a minority woman, I was always taught to pay my. My, my bills first.

That's where it always goes. My mom was adamant about that. Like everything went to bills or the extreme was you save all there was. There was one or the other.

There was no in between. So I think these are some of the things that I have learned, and I'm still learning.

And hence the reason I want to be a master in money management, because I want to be better at it. I want to just phenomenally do really well on how I have profits. And I consider myself to pay myself more as I grow.

So I really think that's something that's special, what you sharing with our community about profit first. Now I would love to learn a little bit more about one, how did you come into profit first? And two, how did it save your business? Tell us that story.

Yeah, so I found profit first. I was lucky enough to find it in my first business in the accounting firm. You know, even accountants need profit first.

You know, because like many of you guys, I started my business because I loved what I did.

You know, I remember I was proud, pregnant, my daughter, my first child, and I was working a corporate job And I was responsible for the Toronto operations. And I remember flying like every week from Houston to Toronto, Canada.

And I remember being like six months pregnant, not even supposed to be on the plane because it's the cat cut off your third trimester. I remember the airline steward is walking by and she's like, you need to put your armrest down.

And, and I was wide pregnant, so like my belly was in the way. And I remember like trying to move the belly over to put the armrest down and it hitting me that my, my life was going to change.

And I remember interviewing different daycares when she was born and I just like, could not put her in daycare. I was like, I'll never see her again. And so I decided to stay home with her.

But I didn't want to lose my skill set, so I decided to start my own practice. And immediately we were lucky on the revenue side.

We got government contracts because, you know, I had had big four accounting experience with Anderson and kpmg. Huge clients, SEC clients. We had a nice small business operation, but I was constantly chasing that advertising and bottom line.

So advertising needs expenses, you know, hiring people needs expenses and, and not seeing my fruits of my labor.

And I remember like going, okay, like, all right, we're, we're crossing, you know, I kept saying, when I cross, you know, a hundred thousand mark, this is going to change. When I cross a half a million dollar, this is going to change.

And as we were growing, you know, we were never crossing profitability in a way that was how it should have been, you know, according to the plan, you know, and, and, and I remember, like, I was like, you know, when I cross a million, I don't want to be like in this situation. And we eventually did, you know, grow to be a seven figure business.

And you know, and I remember like talking to like a group of business owners that I had met with regularly and they're like, yeah, you need profit first. I remember like devouring Mike McCallwood's book Profit first and devouring it on Audible as well as in books.

And I was like, yes, this is what I needed, but this is what the whole world needs, you know, So I started implementing it not just in my business, but in my client's business.

And, and you know, obviously, you know, you know, a decade later, it's changed my life, you know, first millionaire in my family, retired at 46, you know, and starting a manufacturing company just for the fun of it, right? So I mean, like, you know, it's, it's, you know, profit first works. It changes legacies. It changes, you know, spectrums.

You know, I used to live in Chicago, and I started out my career at Anderson in Chicago. And I remember like, having a conversation with one of my co workers before I moved up there. And I was like, where should I live?

Because I don't know anything about Chicago. And he's like, you know, Lakeview is good, Lincoln park is good, but whatever you do, don't live on the south side. And of course I moved there.

I got this beautiful apartment, like, right on Diversity in Sheridan, which is where Lincoln park ends and Lakeview begins. And it was so beautiful. You looked out the window, all you saw was blue, like between the lake and the sky, you couldn't tell where they ended.

It was just blue. And, you know, and I remember one day being bored and taking the bus to the south side just for the. Just to see what, what this taboo land was like.

And I remember taking the bus to Michigan Avenue and the bus driver's like, you need to get off now. The bus is where I'm about to turn the bus around. And so I got off the bus and caught the next bus going south.

And what I noticed is that Michigan Avenue changed. And it changed suddenly. Like, you saw these big white water tower malls and fancy shops, Bloomingdale's.

And then when you got on the second bus, you know, you started seeing boarded up windows, people pushing shopping carts, but you're like, they're not going to the store, they're taking a shopping cart home. You know, or maybe they live in a shopping cart, I'm not quite sure. And, and, and you started seeing this degradation in neighborhoods.

And the question that posed to me was, why do you, why does one side look so prosperous and the other part looks so sad? And it occurred to me the reason why the second part looks sad is because there's no entrepreneurship, there's no successful businesses.

I mean, they didn't even have grocery stores. And the reality is our communities need successful entrepreneurs.

They need to have viable businesses where we're employing people, but not just employing them, but paying them a fair wage for them giving up their lives to work in our enterprises. Because that's exactly what our employees do, is they give up their lives, they give up their every single days to come to work.

And in exchange, we have an obligation to pay them a livable wage that commensurates the work and sacrifice that they're making.

And so when you're thinking, I'm going to cut my prices, you're not just cheating Yourself, you're cheating your employee, you're cheating their family, and you're cheating the community they live in. And that's exactly how we need to look at it. And how do we make it so that our entire operation is equitable?

And so, because the reality is our communities depend on our success. And so we owe it to ourselves and to the next generation of people in society. It's a big part of building it.

And that's why I wrote the book Profit first for Minority Business Enterprises.

Yeah, we're going to talk about that too. You hit me in my heart because that is why I got into business.

Because my, my market was to help women, young girls, find their value so they can be of an impact and generate wealth for themselves. Because we didn't have that growing up.

I remember when I grew up, I called it a project, but my sister loved to say it's not because it was privately owned, but it was buildings that were six stories high and a stack of them, we had a slew. They were one of the biggest private apartment complexes in Brooklyn. And I live there. And the reason I call it projects is because there was crime.

If you're a tenant, you're seeing people murdered. That is, for me, the projects. If there's drugs, we can't go to the park. We have to go a different park. There's something wrong.

And when I was growing up, I had a mind of scarcity because I'm taught that. I'm taught to believe there is a limit to everything, especially money.

And it's always been, which is really weird because it was wedding invitations. But I knew when I was doing it, I didn't have any impact. I didn't feel anything. I just felt like I did something and I was done.

And yes, I was working with women because I was helping with invitations, but it didn't have power in it. Something I was missing. And then when I got into coaching and majority of my clients are women, I am just like, I can't explain it.

Even now, I tear up because the emotion is so high.

And I love that you share that because so many times I hear people speak about having contractors, employees, and they're like, I can't even fathom that. I don't want that. And I go, then why did you start a company? Because that's, that feels selfish to me.

You don't start a company just to be the business. That's like, you just started a company to be your employer. Like, it doesn't make sense. Because why then just go work a 9 to 5.

And that's even easier than this, because this is not easy.

Oh, yeah.

But I always think about the people I hire and the contractors who help me and my people around the world. They're not always local. I've done local, I've done international.

And every time I help them, I just want to help another woman succeed in her community and in her, her family life. And I think that's so important to have that mindset.

And I hope that someone who's listening, who may not have that mindset, has a little aha moment, a little shift of, huh, that makes sense. Because hiring people is asking them to give up their life to help you build your empire. It is.

And just paying them a livable wage and helping them build their community so we no longer have to live in places that's dangerous for ourselves and our family is a gift. So I thank you for bringing that forward. The other part I would like is can you share a little bit more about your book?

And in sharing about your book, tell me some of the transformation it has created for the readers that, you know, through your reviews or through speaking, share a little bit more about that.

Oh, yeah, it's interesting too. I, it, you know, I, I, I've received lots of messages over the years where people have said, oh my gosh, you gotta read this book.

You know, Instagram posts and things. People I haven't even met. So it's always neat when, you know, when you're an author and you get to see how it's impacted other people's lives.

But one of the things that I'm really proud of is one of the things that we did with the book is we earmarked a dollar for every book that's sold to go to an organization called Hope Worldwide. And it's a nonprofit organization, and we send it to them.

And the monies are specifically restricted to go to Zimbabwe, where we are sending girls to school. And, you know, it's interesting because in Zimbabwe, you know, you pay for your education it's not free like it is in America.

And, you know, if a family has limited funds, they send their boys, they can send a child, and. And then hopefully the girl will get married.

School.

Grab a copy of the book with it because, you know, when you give a girl an education, you know, now she doesn't have to get married, now she doesn't have to be a second wife. Now she might be a doctor. And so, you know, it's. It's really about creating a permanent legacy, really with that.

Not only changing your business, but also changing the lives of other people with that.

So true. So true. Thank you. I'm definitely getting a book just to let you know.

And we will have a link so that others can buy not only a book to help, because they are doing that, but a book to learn how to become masters in managing the money that they're making. I think that's such a great, great one. Suzanne, I appreciate you so much for spending the time with me in this recording. This is your busy season.

I'm excited to see and learn more about your bag. So we might have to have you back to talk about that business that you're generate curating and building and growing.

And I just truly am so happy that we found each other because I think there's more to come with us and I'm excited to even learn what that is. So thank you. And if you don't mind sharing verbally, we'll have it in the show note.

Where's the best place for someone to find you and let them know what the URL is or what that is?

Yeah, so the best way to find me is, you know, first of all, start your profit first journey.

You know, grab a copy of the book profitmap Co. Find out where you where your goal is, where is a good place based on where you're at today in revenue, what would your target allocation percentages look like? How much should go to profit, how much should go to owners pay or tax or operating expense. And it's okay if you're not there yet, but start small.

Start with the 1% profit transfer and start your journey.

I mean, I started with 1% and you know, I remember when it, when it my first distribution, I was able to get like a piano for my son to take piano classes. So it's you know, start with 1%. You'd be surprised how big that ends up being for your.

So good. Thank you so much. I appreciate it everyone who showed up today.

This was a special gift for you, especially if you're an entrepreneur solopreneur on this journey. And I truly, truly hope that this was a moment for you to have a shift on what you're doing, how you're doing it, and how to be better.

Especially when it comes to the thing that's the fuel for our business. I appreciate you. I am grateful to you guys for always listening, always coming to check us out and I will see you next week. Have a great one.

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