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Transcript

🎙️ Why Your Ecommerce Business Is Broke (Even With Sales!) · The Ecommerce Revolution Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about cash flow as breathing.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: It has to be that natural.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: When you inhale, that's cash flow coming in.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: When you exhale, that's cash flow going out.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get things started.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to another episode of the eCommerce Revolution Podcast.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Ramin, your host.
• 0:46
  Today,
• 0:47
  we're diving into a topic that every eCommerce founder and
• 0:51
  entrepreneur needs to master.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: That is cash flow.
• 0:55
  Our guest is a former state trooper turned financial expert
• 0:59
  who's helped uncover
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: over 150 million
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: in hidden cash for small business owners.
• 1:07
  He is the creator of Clear Path to Cash System and the founder
• 1:11
  of Cashflow Mike.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: So without any further ado,
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: please welcome Mike Milan,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: also known as Cashflow Mike,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: to the show today.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: Mike, it is wonderful to have you here today.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for making the time.
• 1:25
  We had a great chat before this,
• 1:27
  talking about all things,
• 1:28
  podcasts,
• 1:29
  building businesses.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate you making the time today.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, live from San Antonio is Cashflow Mike.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ramin, I can't believe I'm here, man.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: We've been talking forever and now I'm part of this.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: I know, I know.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: You are gracious with your time and have taught me a lot of things,
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: even just in the 10 minutes that we just talked about building podcasts.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: You just, you clued me in on a better way to maybe do it.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate that.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: I am amazed at my wealth of wisdom.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: here's the great thing is that you're in San Antonio,
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in Austin,
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: but yet here we are online.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's the beautiful thing.
• 2:05
  I missed you by 10 minutes at the Small Business Development
• 2:11
  Center Conference back
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: in Atlanta last year.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: But if you come this year and if I'm there,
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to sit down with you and break some bread and chat.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm going to tell you what, I'll be in Orlando.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was just notified yesterday that I'm going to speak twice, right?
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: But believe it or not,
• 2:31
  this will be the third year in a row that they want me to do
• 2:33
  the seven-minute
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: conversation.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it's going to be really interesting.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: They say, hey, new people come or old people want to hear it again.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, okay, well, let's just do it again.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 2:42
  we're going to dive into the seven-minute conversation because
• 2:45
  I know that's a big
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: central point of what you do,
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: and I think it's awesome.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean,
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: as I said at the top,
• 2:50
  this is one of those topics where maybe people aren't jumping
• 2:54
  all the time like,
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: I've got to learn,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: but you've got to learn.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: It is so important, and I know you make it fun.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: You make it interesting and entertaining, and hopefully that's finance.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: We have to know our numbers, I think, at the end of the day, right?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: You've got to know them.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: You can't ignore them.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's really weird that it has to be a discipline.
• 3:13
  You would think that just managing money would be something
• 3:16
  that you just do.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: We're adults.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: We got to get through our lives and manage our money.
• 3:21
  For some reason,
• 3:22
  when the business switch clicks on,
• 3:24
  we forget how to do that.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you think?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: OK, so what do you think it is?
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Where's the fear?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Before we get into the details of cash flow,
• 3:30
  what is the fear that you've identified after all these years
• 3:33
  that entrepreneurs
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: just,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: something happens,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: they freeze up?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, it's the focus.
• 3:40
  First of all,
• 3:40
  people don't realize the amount of work that you have to do,
• 3:44
  right?
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: We call it working in our business.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's the daily things.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's the thousands of tasks that we do.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Keep a customer happy.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Keep the employee happy.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sell, sell, sell.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: All of these things.
• 3:54
  And then you forget that,
• 3:56
  well,
• 3:57
  it takes money to do all these things,
• 3:59
  right?
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: You just forget.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: You just push, push, trying to be successful.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you are, right?
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: When you're successful, it still takes more money to be more successful.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a good point.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: So at the end of the day,
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: you were building a business that needs to be sustainable,
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: live on forever.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: And you got to manage your money.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: So tell me like,
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: we deal,
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of people in our community are early stage e-commerce businesses.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: just talk to me about,
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: cash flow,
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: the importance of cash flow in those early stages.
• 4:29
  I know it's important all the way through the journey,
• 4:32
  but specifically the early part.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so let's just start with what cash flow is, right?
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it depends on who you're talking to.
• 4:40
  You're going to get a different answer,
• 4:41
  and that's one of the confusing things.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: We should all agree on at least what the definition is.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So if you talk to a business owner,
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: what they're really talking about is,
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: how much do I have in my banking account?
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's all they're really caring about.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's all they worry about.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: is how much I got.
• 4:55
  And I'll tell you something about the banking account or the
• 4:57
  bank account is it's
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: only going to tell you one thing.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Am I having a good or bad day?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do I have money or not?
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's all you're going to know.
• 5:06
  If you talk to an accountant,
• 5:07
  they're going to talk about cash inflows and cash outflows.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And what they're meaning is
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: When is cash coming in and when is it leaving the business?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: But then again,
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: if you talk to the banker,
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: that holy trinity of banker,
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: accountant and business owner,
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: they're going to use words like sources and uses.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Did money come from here or did you use money to do this?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Source and use.
• 5:28
  So if you start to aggregate that and we talk about lifeblood
• 5:32
  of the business
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: again,
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about cash flow as breathing.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: It has to be that natural.
• 5:38
  when you inhale that's cash flow coming in when you exhale
• 5:43
  that's cash flow going
• 5:44
  out i want cash flow to be so ingrained in your body it is as
• 5:48
  easy as breathing i
• 5:49
  love it what a great definition that is wow i mean you got very
• 5:53
  intense there i
• 5:54
  love the intensity around this is uh this is what you're
• 5:59
  supposed to get this is
• 6:00
  you got to get people excited right i think that's you know at
• 6:02
  the end of the day
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: uh to teach them get them excited about the topic right
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: to me,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm on a mission to eliminate cash flow as a reason that business fail,
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: right?
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  If you don't have a reason for your business,
• 6:16
  something that you're passionate about,
• 6:18
  right?
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  I want you to fail because you had a bad partner or you had bad
• 6:21
  product market fix
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: or,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: anything but running out of money.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the one thing that we should be able to control.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, that's absolutely true.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely true.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: All right,
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  SPEAKER_01: so let's go back to that critical,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: how critical is it for me to manage my cash flow in the early stages?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: of my business?
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: How long do you want to stay in business?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's the answer.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: So it's absolutely important.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: So walk me through.
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  SPEAKER_01: Just tell me how do I do it?
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  SPEAKER_01: How do I manage it?
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  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, you teach this all the time.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: What it's like in the simplest form,
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: what do I need to pay attention to when it comes to cash flow?
• 7:03
  Well,
• 7:03
  I mean,
• 7:03
  the first thing is that you need to have enough to stay alive,
• 7:07
  right?
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean, let's just start there.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, well, how much is that, Mike?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: What do I know?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if we just take a swag number, the scientific wild, a guess, right?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you just do that.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: You need three to six months worth of operating expense,
• 7:22
  which means if it takes you $10,000 just to run your business a
• 7:27
  month in your bank
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: account,
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: you should be trying to maintain between 30 and $60,000.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, oh, Mike, that's a big number.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: I know, but that's what we're working towards.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's bite-sized consumable chunks,
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: putting away a little bit each month to work yourself up to that.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, oh, why is it three to six months?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, think about it.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Three to six months gives you time.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you time to adjust.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you time to react to things.
• 7:52
  I mean,
• 7:53
  look what's happening in North Texas,
• 7:55
  Oklahoma right now,
• 7:57
  just with tornadoes.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 7:58
  you don't think that's not a huge disruption to business if
• 8:01
  your business gets
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: wiped away by a tornado or even huge storms or COVID or hurricanes.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be anything huge like COVID.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: any little disruption, you need time to be able to react.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what the three to six months gives you is that time.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And in some businesses,
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: there might be a such thing as seasonality,
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: which means,
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: people aren't buying as many swimsuits in December as they do in May.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: You might have a dip in sales.
• 8:30
  This three to six months lets you get through that period
• 8:34
  without having a lot of stress.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, OK, I can cover my rent.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: I can cover my
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: my cost of goods sold,
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: which is the inventory I need to keep up with my sales,
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: those type of things.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: So I have a follow-up question to that.
• 8:47
  Before I ask the follow-up question,
• 8:49
  tell me the difference between profit and cash flow.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Profit is what you make on paper.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Cash is what you see in the bank, right?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, there's an interesting statistic.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Before COVID, there was almost 50,000
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: bankruptcies a year, business bankruptcies.
• 9:04
  I mean,
• 9:05
  it's down to about 19,000 post-COVID because people started
• 9:08
  paying attention to cash.
• 9:10
  But of those,
• 9:13
  35% of the businesses that were filing bankruptcy showed profit
• 9:16
  on paper.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: So think about that for a second.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: They thought they were making money but couldn't pay their bills.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: So profit is, does my business model work?
• 9:27
  Meaning I have sales coming in and after I spend this much,
• 9:31
  this is what's left over.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: But cash is what you can spend.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: You can't spend profit.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 9:37
  So now that we understand that definition and the distinction
• 9:39
  between profit and
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: cash,
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: let's go back to that three months of holding on to having a runway,
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: basically.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: Where am I figuring out?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: I want to figure out that number if I'm a small business.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Am I looking at my profit for the month and saying,
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: I got to have that amount back in the business?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: Or am I looking at my revenue and saying, I need to have that much?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: I want to come to a number and make a decision on my three-month runway.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: So what's funny is that you said revenue and you said profit,
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: but I look at operating expense,
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: What does it take?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: What does it take to just stay alive?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: I got to pay utilities.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: I got to pay rent.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: I might have some employee salaries.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: I might have,
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: other things,
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: subscriptions,
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: software subscriptions,
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: just to keep the business running.
• 10:25
  If that's $10,000 a month to do that,
• 10:27
  then that's the 10,000 that you need three times of.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: So $30,000 of that.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So you can at least pay your fixed cost.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And most people get confused on what's fixed and what's variable.
• 10:39
  Believe it or not,
• 10:39
  I do this exercise during the course where most people get this
• 10:43
  wrong.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: What's the difference between a fixed and a variable cost?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll just ask people.
• 10:47
  I don't want to put you on the spot because if you get it
• 10:49
  wrong,
• 10:50
  you can look.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mind.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Something on the spot.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: So fixed costs, I mean, my rent would be fixed, right?
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: What about utilities?
• 10:59
  I feel utilities would be variable because I don't know the
• 11:02
  amount of electricity
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: that I'm using on a daily basis in my office or in my business.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the classic understanding of fixed and variable.
• 11:10
  But in the accounting sense,
• 11:14
  fixed and variable doesn't mean that the amount varies.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: It means that I only pay it if I make a sale.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's what makes it variable.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Fixed cost is I have to pay it even if I make zero sales.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: So your air conditioning bill in July in Austin is fixed.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: You still have to pay it.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you make zero sales that month, you still have to pay it.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: So everything that's fixed should be in your operating expense.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Stuff I have to pay regardless.
• 11:45
  Everything that's variable goes into the top,
• 11:48
  which is cost of goods sold.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: I only paid it because I made a sale.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: I paid sales commissions because I made a sale.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I paid the cost of goods sold, what it costs for this t-shirt.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: when I make the sale, right?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the difference.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: So if I have shipping,
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: if I'm an e-commerce entrepreneur,
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: shipping would be up there,
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: obviously,
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: in terms of your cost of goods sold.
• 12:13
  You've got the shipping revenue that comes in,
• 12:14
  but you've got the shipping expense.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a variable, right?
• 12:18
  Because you don't know what shipping is going to be like
• 12:21
  because you don't know how
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: many orders are potentially going out the door,
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: correct?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, yeah.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you only pay it when you ship something.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully, you're only shipping stuff when you...
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sell it.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: I hope so.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: I hope so.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, where's it going?
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you better find out.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody better keep tabs on that.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: So speaking of inventory, this is a big area.
• 12:43
  Just the management of inventory in e-commerce is an incredible
• 12:46
  challenge.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: But inventory drains cash, right?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: You're putting out capital, right?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: You're putting out money to buy a good.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: You have to move that through the cycle quickly,
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: get it out the door so you can get that revenue back in and continue.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of process is that just on cash flow?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: And how do I look at inventory?
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Just how do I look at it all when it comes to inventory?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, super interesting because that's a huge one, right?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Especially in e-commerce.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let me start by saying this.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is my philosophy on inventory.
• 13:18
  Do you know some families have this thing around Christmas time
• 13:22
  called Elf on the Shelf?
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: You ever heard that?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my God.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I've heard.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we participate.
• 13:32
  In fact,
• 13:33
  the folks from Elf on the Shelf were at,
• 13:35
  the founders were at the SBDC conference.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so they got help from the SBDC to build their business.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, I laugh, I chuckle because it's a lot of, the Elf on the Shelf,
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a big thing.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a big thing out there.
• 13:49
  And the whole thing is that this elf on the shelf is supposed
• 13:52
  to be mischievous,
• 13:53
  right?
• 13:54
  You don't want this guy running around your house creating
• 13:57
  mischief,
• 13:58
  right?
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's called elf on the shelf.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I have nicknamed inventory wealth on the shelf.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, man.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want that there either, right?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And people ask me, well, how do I know if it's too old?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: I said, well, that's really easy.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, inventory is too old if you go out there and blow on it.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they go, what?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:16
  If you blow on it and dust bunnies come off the top of it,
• 14:18
  it's been there too long.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, have you trademarked this?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: This is a great name, Elf on the Shelf.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_01: I love this.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: No, I don't know why.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: I've said it for a long time since Elf on the Shelf.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was funny.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing, right?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is that there is a such thing as the perfect amount of inventory, right?
• 14:39
  And you use a calculation called PAR,
• 14:41
  or it's periodic automatic reordering.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the basic calculation is this,
• 14:46
  the average number sold per month divided by the number of
• 14:51
  times I can get it per
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: month.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So let me give you an example.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: I used to run bars in St.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Louis.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just say I sold 200 cases of Budweiser in a month.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So there's 200 average sold per month.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if I divide that by the number of times I could get it per month,
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: which is once a week,
• 15:12
  because they would come in on Monday and I would order and the
• 15:15
  order would show up
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: on Wednesdays.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that's 200 divided by four.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: That means I need 50 on the shelf.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: At the beginning of the week, I need 50.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 15:24
  what most bar owners would do and what most business owners do
• 15:28
  is they go in,
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: they look at their shelf and go,
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: give me five of these and 10 of those and 40 of those.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they just kind of go with their gut what they think is gonna happen.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's how you end up with too much inventory.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because me,
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: what I did differently was I would walk in and go,
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: we've got 60 cases of Budweiser.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need 50, so let's not order any Budweiser.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Or I'd say, we got 30 cases of Budweiser.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'll order 20.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Only back to 50 because that's the thing.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: You want to keep up.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Inventory is supposed to keep up with the sales value.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Other than that, you have too much, so it sits longer.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 16:08
  In the course,
• 16:08
  I've got this whole master spreadsheet that helps you break it
• 16:11
  out by a skew.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: So when somebody says,
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: we need to reduce inventory,
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: I know exactly what items have too much just based on this spreadsheet.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I love that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's a huge because I think it's still,
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: this,
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: especially in the early stages,
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: it's a big mystery,
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: And you got to be careful because next thing you know,
• 16:33
  you're sitting on way too much inventory and you don't have
• 16:37
  wealth on the shelf in
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: that situation.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's the opposite of a wealth, whatever that word is.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure you'll come up with it.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know what's funny?
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Here's a story, right?
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: A story.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: I was working with a tire dealer.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you ever work,
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: if you're a consultant like me or whatever,
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: every time you go talk to a client at their location,
• 16:58
  all want to take you on a tour right hey come check out my
• 17:00
  stuff right and we go
• 17:01
  think about a tire dealer you've probably been to one of those
• 17:04
  things where there's
• 17:05
  a front lobby there's the desk where you make the transaction
• 17:08
  then there's bays
• 17:09
  where they do the work and then behind that is a small
• 17:12
  warehouse right yeah where
• 17:14
  they keep the tires so i don't know what it is every time i'm
• 17:18
  with a business owner
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: that has inventory as soon as they open the warehouse door it's like
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like a big glow comes out of it and they just love it so much.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Look at all this inventory I got.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not seeing the glow.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm seeing dollar signs just sitting there hanging all around.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm not big on tires.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's not my thing.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: I don't get jazzed up on tires.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: And to me,
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: The ones that stood out is that they were huge.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't spread my arms wide enough to get,
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: these are big tires and they were taller than I was.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: I said, oh my God.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: I said, how much do those cost?
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, well, it cost me $3,500 and I charged 7,000.
• 17:59
  a tire okay right because these are huge monster tires for big
• 18:02
  i don't know it was
• 18:04
  up pacific northwest a lot of snow a lot of things i mean like
• 18:07
  you know they have
• 18:07
  to move so i'm like going one two three and i start counting
• 18:12
  them said there's 16
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: tires here 16 times 3500 he's got fifty thousand dollars in tires
• 18:22
  just sitting on the shelf sitting there right in the warehouse
• 18:25
  yeah fifty thousand
• 18:26
  dollars in tires and i said well how many do you sell a month
• 18:30
  he goes sometimes two
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: maybe three
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so why do you got 15, 16 of them?
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, well, in case there's a run on them.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the only guy in town that has them in stock.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like going, yeah, but you can do that with four.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that with three, right?
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Running it down to the right level actually makes more sense.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, you'd put $35,000 in your pocket this quarter, right?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Two, two, two.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you sold two a month, there's six.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: You run it down.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: you know, or two or three a month.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: It ends up being about $35,000.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, how do I put that in my pocket?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: I said, first, you just don't do anything.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do anything.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it goes into your,
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: once you sell the two,
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: you get the money for the sale and then don't reorder.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then don't reorder until you get down to four.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 19:19
  And then you start to reorder only up to four and you keep
• 19:21
  about four there.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't, you got a safety amount.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how you increase cash flow by keeping at the right rate.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have too much, it's the easiest thing in the world.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: Through attrition, you get the money coming in and no money going out.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: So all he had to do was just look at past sales,
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: look at seasonality,
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: and see,
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: if there is a run,
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: having four in stock or five,
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: having six of these in stock would be enough.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that's it.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm good with that.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: And then not continue to order.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: But he probably continues to just add on.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: Every time he sells, he goes and gets two more, right?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: He keeps bringing them in.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we all do that.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: I sold five, I need five, right?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: You need enough to keep up with your sales.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: That determines your cadence.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: That determines your momentum.
• 20:10
  And I'll tell you,
• 20:13
  every vendor in the world is going to come in with some big
• 20:15
  offer.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: They say, hey, we got this special on cotton candy vodka.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Buy one case, get three free.
• 20:22
  Well,
• 20:23
  really what they're doing is they're pushing their inventory
• 20:25
  problem to you.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's sitting on their shelf too long and they go,
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care,
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: just get some cash for it.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Just get it out of here.
• 20:34
  And that's basically what they've done is they've shifted their
• 20:36
  own problem to you.
• 20:38
  And that's how I ended up with three cases of cotton candy
• 20:40
  vodka that I had to give away.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's a, that sounds very interesting tasting cotton candy.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's terrible.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: Don't even try it.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: that,
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: that,
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: that is,
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: that is interesting in the,
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: that,
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: that,
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: uh,
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: model.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: I mean,
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: first,
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: as soon as you sell five,
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: you feel like you got to get five in,
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: but the,
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: the vendor,
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: uh,
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: makes it making,
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: um,
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: inventory your problem by giving you an incentive,
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: And we all can fall for incentives very easily, right?
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, Oh,
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: That's such a great deal.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: If I do that now,
• 21:15
  I'm going to be the only person in town or the only person
• 21:17
  online that has that big
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: hoard of inventory,
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: but it may not matter.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Or by,
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: buy five cases of swimsuits at 25 or 30% off in December,
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: but you still got to hold them until May.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: That means cash is out for five months.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes,
• 21:35
  and you don't have enough for marketing now to run the
• 21:38
  marketing to sell the
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: product that you just acquired a massive inventory on.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 21:44
  Now,
• 21:45
  I don't want people to think that you should never take the
• 21:47
  discount.
• 21:47
  I actually built a calculator that tells you when you should
• 21:50
  take the discount,
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: and it takes into consideration
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: your operating cash member.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: We said how much cash to have on hand.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it will tell you if you do this,
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: your operating cash will go below the,
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: the level and you got to make a choice,
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: but it'll make a recommendation.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Take the discount or don't take the discount.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's great.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's so easy.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, so easy when you have that, that, you know,
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: technical assistance in making those decisions.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me about early warning signs with cash flow trouble.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: What would one be looking at,
• 22:24
  whether it's on a P&L or a cash flow report or simply talking
• 22:29
  to your accountant?
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: What are you looking for?
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing that's going to happen is you're going to feel it.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: And as the business owner, you're going to feel it.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to say, oh, my business feels clunky.
• 22:39
  Like I'm always waiting for money to come in before I can do
• 22:41
  something else.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's not smooth, right?
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're just always waiting.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: And mainly that's a timing issue.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, cash flow is all about the timing of money.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: There's two components to cash flow.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: One is cash generating activities.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: The other is cash conversion activities.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: And let me kind of explain the difference.
• 23:00
  And cash generating activities starts with sales and whatever
• 23:04
  you spend and how you
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: price it all the way to profit.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's how money comes into the company.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I look at that as vertical analysis.
• 23:12
  Start with sales and just start subtracting things out until we
• 23:14
  got the profit,
• 23:15
  right?
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's how much money we got.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: The other part of that is conversion.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: How long does it take for this to happen?
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Just because I made a sale,
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: if I'm collecting invoices in 30 days,
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: what I sell in January that shows up on the P&L,
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: the profit and loss statement,
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: I actually don't see the cash in the bank account until February.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: So understanding those two components run hand in hand,
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: but they're offset in a lot of cases,
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: meaning
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if I'm paying my bills in 30 days, same way.
• 23:43
  I might recognize the expense in January,
• 23:45
  but not write the check until February.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it's one of those things that you have to look at the timing.
• 23:50
  What bankers will look at is called mismatched accounts
• 23:54
  receivable and accounts payable.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's the difference between money coming in and money going out.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, I had a client that was getting paid in 34 days, right?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: So 34 days.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: I give you an invoice, 34 days later, you pay it, right?
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: Seems pretty normal.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: And he was paying his invoice in 56 days, on average, 56 days.
• 24:17
  So he would get the invoice,
• 24:18
  and then almost two months later,
• 24:19
  he would pay for it.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now, think about that.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: He's getting paid in 34 days, paying in 56 days.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's a red flag.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's called ARAP mismatch.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: The banker would say, you're getting paid.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: How come you're not paying?
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: What's happening in the middle?
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why are you waiting so long to pay?
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now...
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes sitting on your payables helps with your cash flow.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: It keeps money in the company longer.
• 24:45
  But that big mismatch also could indicate that you're doing
• 24:49
  something with cash in
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: the middle and you're waiting because you don't really have it.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: It came in, but something happened.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you bought a boat.
• 24:56
  I mean,
• 24:57
  you know,
• 24:57
  people just kind of guess at what they take out of the
• 24:59
  business.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: They go, I need money because I'm going to Cancun.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they take a vacation fund and go to Cancun.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, that's a, all right.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: So those are, those are the trouble signs that people look for.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: And,
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: and I get it,
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes,
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: that,
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: when you try to time it,
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen this happen to where you,
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: they feel like if I just sit on it a little bit longer,
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: sit on my cash a little bit longer,
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: everything will be okay.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: But
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 25:27
  I think the mentality is you're probably sitting on it because
• 25:31
  you don't actually
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: have it.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: You have put it elsewhere and you need to keep it in there.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: So what do you suggest somebody does in a situation like that?
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, setting up separate having.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: you know, multiple bank accounts.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: if I know that I owe my vendors this,
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: as soon as I get the,
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: I move money over and kind of build,
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: different,
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: have different bank accounts to track things.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of different techniques I use.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: One is called the fast money formula.
• 25:57
  And that kind of helps you balance how much inventory to have
• 26:01
  to how soon you pay
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: to how soon you get paid.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, and it's the concept called the financial gap.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: And every company has a financial gap,
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: and that's the difference between money coming in and money going out.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you want the gap to be small.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that in your mind.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, is it easier to jump over a big gap or a small gap?
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: So that's one of the ways that you can do that.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing is this notion of how much do you need, right?
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody kind of can figure out how much they have.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: And believe it or not,
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: in the finance world,
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: we call that working capital,
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: which is pretty much your current assets minus your current liabilities.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's called your working capital.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're new and these are kind of terms that are new to folks,
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: current assets,
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to think about your checking account.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's a current asset.
• 26:48
  Current liability,
• 26:49
  that's your credit card or your line of credit if you've got
• 26:51
  one of those.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a current liability.
• 26:54
  So if it's current assets minus current liabilities and I've
• 26:57
  got $100 in my
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: checking account and I owe $50 in my credit card,
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: 100 minus 50 equals 50.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: My working capital, what I got left to work with is 50 bucks.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that tells you about how much you have.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't tell you how much you need, right?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: And nobody's calculating that up.
• 27:13
  And that's what I teach people to do is how much does my
• 27:15
  business need to run smoothly?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the same calculation I teach.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: I probably didn't tell you this,
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: but I teach at the Graduate School of Colorado,
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: the Graduate School of Banking.
• 27:25
  And I'm the small business banking expert and I teach community
• 27:28
  bankers how to work
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: with small businesses.
• 27:31
  And this calculation is the one that a lot of banks use to
• 27:34
  calculate how much you
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: should have on a line of credit.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, interesting.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: So some business owners will go in and say, hey, I'm in trouble.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: I need a loan.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the banker will say, well, how much you need?
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: And the business owner will go, I don't know how much you give me.
• 27:52
  That's the first step in telling the bank you don't know what
• 27:54
  you're talking about.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: You don't even know how to run your business.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you're maybe not a good risk.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: So what I teach folks to do is calculate this up.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: You like, oh, this is how much I have.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is how much I need.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is what I need on a line of credit.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: Got it.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: To cover the gap.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: To cover that gap.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: So.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I know it's hard to talk about on a podcast like that,
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: but realize that none of this is gut.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: All of it is mathematical.
• 28:23
  There's a mathematical formula for all of it that you can use
• 28:27
  to make better
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: decisions and keep cash in your bank account longer.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's get into what you do and what you teach.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk, first of all, about the seven minute conversation.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: What is it?
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: How does it work?
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: How is it going to benefit me to understand cash flow management and just
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: financial,
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: I guess,
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: literacy?
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: There it is.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, during COVID, I wrote books.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: I watch TV and I wrote books.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: I originally wrote a book called Don't Be a Dumb Business Owner.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: I like it.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: The reason I'm telling you that, don't be a dumb business owner.
• 29:03
  And the title of that came through when I was running through
• 29:05
  my own cash flow problem.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: So my own cash flow problem,
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sitting at the kitchen table and I'm like going,
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: man,
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not dumb.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't understand my business.
• 29:13
  And you know how kind of lightning bolts go off in your head
• 29:16
  and you're like,
• 29:16
  oh,
• 29:17
  that fits.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, dumb, don't understand my business.
• 29:20
  But I got to write this thing that became the basis of the
• 29:24
  clear path to cash.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's eight steps to optimizing cash in a business, right?
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or eight different techniques.
• 29:30
  And chapter three was this technique I call the Home Run
• 29:34
  Financial System.
• 29:35
  And I call it the Home Run Financial System because it touches
• 29:38
  all the bases.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: You're like, what does that mean?
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, most business owners don't look at all three financial statements.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: They'll look at the income statement because that's their report card.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: They judge their whole business off of that one statement.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: But like the bank account is only a good or bad day,
• 29:54
  the income statement is only going to tell you if you have a
• 29:56
  good or bad month or
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: quarter or year,
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: and then it starts over,
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 30:01
  The reason it starts over is because the profit or the loss at
• 30:04
  the bottom gets
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: moved onto the balance sheet and the section is called retained earnings.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's really the accumulation of all your profit or losses.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the balance sheet is something that most people look at and go, uh,
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Those two numbers match.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's supposed to match.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's good.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's about it.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: But it is the culmination of every decision you've ever made.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:28
  It's what you own and where the money came from to buy the
• 30:31
  stuff that you own.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Did I take it in a loan?
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's the liability side.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Did I put it in myself or my investors?
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's the equity side.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: So what I have and where the money came from to do what I have.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: So.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: When I started to look at these things collectively,
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like,
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: that's too much to do all this financial analysis on a business.
• 30:52
  So I put together six calculations that showed the biggest
• 30:54
  problems on all three.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I take three calculations from the income statement.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: I take two from the balance sheet and one from the cash flow statement.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: There's six calculations.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's it.
• 31:06
  If you don't know how to analyze financial statements,
• 31:09
  start with this course.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Start with it.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's free, by the way.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you go to cashflowmike.com,
• 31:14
  you can get the video course and the spreadsheet that goes with
• 31:17
  it for free.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Just go to the top of the web page.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, enter here and get the course for free.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: We'll put a link in the show notes for that, for sure.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the reason this book came about,
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: The Sedimented Conversation,
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: is that when I wrote chapter three,
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like,
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: nobody's going to read a hundred page chapter.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I summarized it in the dumb book, right?
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I tell people, hey, you got my dumb book?
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 31:44
  I summarized it in the dumb book and then wrote the
• 31:46
  seven-minute conversation.
• 31:47
  And the reason I called it the seven-minute conversation is
• 31:49
  because I could do all
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: six of these calculations and learn from it in seven minutes.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: And believe it or not, it became one of the most popular seminars I did.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: People still ask me to this day.
• 32:01
  I've probably done it 500 times live where I just talk about
• 32:06
  the seven-minute conversation.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said,
• 32:08
  I'm going to do it for the third time at the SBDC conference in
• 32:12
  September this
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: year.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, all right.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Now I got to pause for a second and say, how did you get into this?
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: What brought you to this world of finance?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: What was the light bulb moment you had?
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think you said at the top of the show,
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: you're like going,
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: Mike was a state trooper for seven years.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: So you're like, oh my God.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: I tell people all the time.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: I said, you realize you're trying to learn math from a state trooper.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: But why not?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what really happened.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an MBA out of Baylor, right up the road from you.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sitting there writing a student loan check.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm seven years in to being a state trooper.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: And my wife says, our third daughter's on the way.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: So literally, my family outgrew my income.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: We used to have meetings.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: I had three daughters and a wife and a state trooper salary.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to say it's terrible.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to say that I can do better with an MBA.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I felt.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: I said, why am I struggling when I have other skills?
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: I've always been good at math.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: And believe it or not, being a state trooper made me better at math.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: It actually made me a better business owner.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: from a mathematical standpoint.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: And most people get confused by that.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do you mean?
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: They sent me to this.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: They sent me to this school.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's called Accident Reconstruction School.
• 33:43
  And what you learned in physics that maybe you didn't
• 33:46
  understand or what you
• 33:47
  learned in calculation geometry that maybe you didn't
• 33:49
  understand when you see the
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: evidence of an accident on the roadway,
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: the skid marks,
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: the gouges in the in the concrete or the gouges,
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: where a car went down into the ditch and then went airborne.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden, math becomes real life, right?
• 34:04
  Because you can determine how fast a car went just based on how
• 34:08
  sticky the surface
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: is,
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: like ice is slicker than asphalt,
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or also how long the skid mark is, right?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to slide farther on ice than you will on asphalt.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: So those type of things made math come to life for me.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, my God, I can see it.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now I know what X and Y means.
• 34:29
  Now,
• 34:29
  you know,
• 34:30
  because it was still D and coefficient of friction and these
• 34:33
  type of things.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I could put a real life thing on it.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: I could touch it.
• 34:38
  And that's what I brought into the business world was I can I
• 34:41
  can succeed at business.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: I just got to understand how these components move.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 34:45
  And so I built this cause and effect chart that helped me
• 34:48
  understand the movement of of of
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_00: The actual evidence of the business.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: Man.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, crazy.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: You were building content.
• 34:59
  I mean,
• 35:00
  well,
• 35:00
  you were building content back then,
• 35:02
  basically,
• 35:02
  for yourself,
• 35:03
  right?
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: To get better at what you do.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, this was only for me.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: Up until I sold.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I left the and I built 14 companies.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is what's crazy to me.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: For a while, I think I was just a company flipper.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of a house flipper, I was just flipping companies.
• 35:23
  My first company was a janitorial company that became a hotel
• 35:26
  staffing company.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: I just had a better opportunity.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: There was a seam that opened up, and I started...
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_00: to work in hotels.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like a mix between temporary staffing and full-time labor.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: It was like a hybrid, right?
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: Which means you could get the same person over and over and over again.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Believe it or not, that took off.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: Marriott loved it.
• 35:49
  And I opened 27 offices in nine states in three years and had
• 35:53
  about 500 people working for me.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was crazy.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: It was just crazy growth that you wouldn't expect.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: But there's such a phenomenon as growing broke.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where this cash flow came into play, is that...
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: Believe it or not, on paper, oh, I had all kinds of money.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: In my bank account, I had nothing, man.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact, I had maxed out credit cards.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: I had to dip in the savings from the estate trooper.
• 36:16
  I took a second home equity line on the house just to keep up
• 36:20
  with payroll.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because Marriott was paying me in about 90 days.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: Guess what happens every two weeks in a staffing company?
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: Payroll.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: You're paying out.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, payroll.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: So it was being forced to learn how to use the line of credit.
• 36:36
  And if there's one message I could give people if they're using
• 36:38
  the line of credit,
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: take the money first.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: If you sell something,
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: if I use the money to make payroll,
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: as soon as my client pays the invoice,
• 36:47
  pay the line of credit first and then use whatever is left to
• 36:49
  run your business.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing with inventory.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you use the line of credit to buy inventory,
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: as soon as you sell the inventory,
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: take the customer's money and pay off the line of credit.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you do that, you're going to keep up with it.
• 37:03
  Other than that,
• 37:04
  it's going to be a steamroller,
• 37:05
  a big wave that just crashes down on you.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's interesting.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_01: So you mentioned Marriott paying in 90 days.
• 37:13
  I mean,
• 37:14
  are they playing the cash flow game correctly or are they
• 37:17
  playing it incorrectly?
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's a normal thing.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's a normal thing for people.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's a long time.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: Marriott in 90 days, right?
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: So they were playing cash flow games, right?
• 37:26
  But they're beating up on the vendors and it's normal for
• 37:30
  bigger companies to do that.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: one of the things I had to do was go back to Marriott and say,
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: listen,
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that that's doing business.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: You're stretching your payables out as far as you can get away with.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: I said, it's okay.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to be okay for a paper towel company, right?
• 37:49
  I said,
• 37:50
  I want you to look at my company as payroll because this has to
• 37:55
  be done.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_00: This is your people's paychecks.
• 37:57
  And if they were your own employees,
• 37:58
  you would have to make payment in two weeks.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: 90 days is a little bit long for payroll.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: So with that, I got them to at least shorten it down to 45 days or so.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was about 45, 50 days.
• 38:10
  And that timing,
• 38:11
  just getting paid about 30 days faster,
• 38:14
  made a world of difference.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're talking about not being able to sleep to being able to sleep.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's exactly what happened to me.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you've ever,
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 38:21
  worried if you're going to make payroll and you're staying up
• 38:23
  all night and maybe
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: there's a panic attack associated with it.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me, shortening the time to get paid alleviates that stress.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: no,
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: that's a great,
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: so,
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: that's the art of negotiation,
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_01: negotiate with your vendors.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean,
• 38:38
  you're not going to probably have that in the beginning because
• 38:40
  you're new to a
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_01: vendor,
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_01: but over time,
• 38:43
  you should absolutely have some leverage because maybe you're
• 38:45
  selling more of their
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: product.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: They need you.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_01: They need you to succeed.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, getting out there.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: Tell me,
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: where do you see,
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_01: e-commerce founders,
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs,
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: anybody commonly leaving cash on the table?
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like where are you know,
• 39:01
  what kind of levers can we pull and where can we pull them in a
• 39:04
  business to get
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: that cash into the business?
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: especially for e-commerce,
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: we've talked about the three big,
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: the three big levers,
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_00: The amount of inventory you carry.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: And believe it or not,
• 39:15
  I worked with an e-commerce provider that was using the Amazon
• 39:20
  inventory system,
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: And they were just kind of, it's not a set and forget type of thing.
• 39:25
  And that's how my client was doing it,
• 39:26
  was just setting it and forgetting it.
• 39:27
  And they were,
• 39:29
  I mean,
• 39:29
  losing all kinds of money just sitting on an Amazon shelf.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: because it just wasn't,
• 39:34
  it was too much because they were using their calculations to
• 39:37
  say how much they
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_00: should have.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it was way too much.
• 39:41
  It was like in Amazon's favor because it was there and they
• 39:44
  could just pull from it and go.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, I think there's a better way to use it.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I would take my PAR calculation, compare it to Amazon's calculation.
• 39:55
  And we were like tens of units off,
• 39:58
  like tens to hundreds of units off in some cases.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_00: of how much they should have to keep up with the sales.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 40:03
  the cool thing about Amazon is that they didn't have a minimum
• 40:06
  requirement,
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: so we could actually lower it down.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: But if you use their system,
• 40:10
  make sure that they're telling you or you've got it set to your
• 40:15
  actual sales value
• 40:16
  or else you're going to be buying too much inventory to put on
• 40:19
  Amazon's shelf.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: OK.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_01: Anywhere else that you see entrepreneurs leave cash on the table?
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, we do it all the time.
• 40:28
  I mean,
• 40:29
  if you just look at your...
• 40:30
  I mean,
• 40:30
  I did it this morning,
• 40:31
  as a matter of fact.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still going back and reviewing subscriptions because,
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: subscriptions,
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: things like that.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you've got the way you're paying your vendors.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: I probably pay a little fast on,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_00: like,
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: commissions,
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: but that's how people keep selling my stuff,
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: They go out and sell my stuff because...
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: My rule is instead of making you wait 45 days after a sale,
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like,
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: when I get the money,
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: you get the money.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I may pay more often.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm violating my own rule.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: I should keep that cash in the company longer.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time,
• 41:02
  it encourages the person to go sell my stuff because they know
• 41:05
  if they need money,
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: all they got to do is sell something.
• 41:07
  And two days later,
• 41:07
  they got money or three days later,
• 41:08
  whenever it hits the bank account.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's interesting.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: Subscriptions, and I'm a big proponent.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_01: In fact,
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_01: I keep a list of every subscription that I have because it's so easy to,
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: nine here,
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: 10 there,
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: 15 over here,
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_01: 20 over here.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_01: Next thing you know,
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_01: you're up to like $200,
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: $300 and you forget that you even have these tools,
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what happened to me this year, right?
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: In January, I'm like, what happened to my bank account balance?
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: It got below the amount that I had set for myself, right?
• 41:39
  And I'm like,
• 41:40
  oh man,
• 41:41
  I had four annual subscriptions hit in January,
• 41:45
  right?
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: The ones that I'd forgot,
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: like from last year I'd picked up,
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: like going,
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: I want this and that and that.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, when you do annuals, it's really hard to remember that.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: If I see it every month, it's not that big a deal.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes I'll take the annual deal because it saves me, you know,
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: 20 or 17% or something like that.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_00: It saves me actual cash.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: if you do that,
• 42:05
  remember the next year that you did that or you won't have
• 42:07
  enough money to make it
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: count.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: Put that on your calendar, right?
• 42:12
  Give yourself that 10-day grace period to evaluate if you need
• 42:16
  that piece of software again.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: So speaking of software and tools, you have a lot to offer on your site.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: You have a whole program.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: tell,
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs out there,
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: what should they,
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: when they come to your site,
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_01: and they're ready to learn cash flow,
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: they're ready to learn this,
• 42:35
  what should they be signing up for and taking to quickly get
• 42:38
  the information they
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_01: need?
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think a great first step is just go to my website,
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: cashflowmike.com,
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: right underneath the big header video,
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: right,
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: where the headline is,
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: it'll say,
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: stop,
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: start here,
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's a seven-minute conversation.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that's not all about cash flow.
• 42:55
  that's actually about learning how to understand the financial
• 42:58
  statements because
• 42:59
  some of the cashflow techniques that you learn rely on the
• 43:02
  financial statements.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm saying,
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: start with the financial statements,
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: understanding,
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: get used to how they're set up and how they're used.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you want to go further,
• 43:11
  I have memberships that give you kind of a three-pronged
• 43:14
  approach to your business.
• 43:17
  And believe it or not,
• 43:17
  it's like hiring me for $200 a month or $250 a month.
• 43:22
  Because the three-pronged approach is I got the video courses
• 43:26
  with about 80
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: different resources,
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: spreadsheets,
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: worksheets,
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_00: those type of things.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: And probably,
• 43:30
  I'm going to say almost 20 hours or more of video that teaches
• 43:35
  you some techniques
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: at your own pace.
• 43:38
  then you get access to what's called the live coaching calendar
• 43:41
  and i do something
• 43:42
  every day i have like open office hours like a professor where
• 43:45
  i'm either teaching
• 43:46
  more about the subject or i'm working with you on your problem
• 43:49
  you can come and go
• 43:50
  hey listen i i see this in my financial statements what should
• 43:54
  i be doing so it's
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: like having a me on your team guiding you towards you know a strategy
• 44:00
  And then lastly is this new app that I built the last two years
• 44:02
  called the Clear Path to Cash.
• 44:04
  The Clear Path to Cash gets you out of the spreadsheets and
• 44:07
  into a web-based app
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: that actually not only does the work for you,
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: but it gives you analysis on what you should do next,
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 44:14
  So if you're new to financial analysis and want a little help
• 44:18
  or a little crutch,
• 44:19
  get the Clear Path to Cash app because it tells you when it
• 44:22
  sees something in the
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: charts,
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: it gives you the advice on what you should be looking at or doing next.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like having a coach in your office.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: Are there,
• 44:31
  outside of the tools that you have built and the programs that
• 44:34
  you've built,
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: are there any other tools that you like out there that,
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 44:39
  maybe something as simple as what accounting system do you
• 44:42
  personally use and what
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: would you recommend to others out there?
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of great accounting systems.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: I personally,
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: this is weird because,
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've done a lot of work in the past with like QuickBooks or,
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: Xero or FreshBooks.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: I use Wave, right?
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_00: Wave seems to be for the young.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: I love Wave.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: I use Wave.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 45:03
  So,
• 45:04
  yeah,
• 45:04
  I use Wave because I think for a solopreneur or small company,
• 45:08
  it's easy.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: It connects to all your bank accounts, does most of the work for you.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_00: Even my CPA goes, oh, this isn't bad at all.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, yeah, it actually does a decent job, right?
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: And Mike, it's $16 a month.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_01: it's 16 bucks a month.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: No offense to QuickBooks,
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_01: but that gets up there to 35,
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: 40,
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: maybe even high as $70 a month,
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_01: depending on which one of their programs you have.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_01: And listen, we're talking about cash here.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about preserving cash.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: Let's not overspend on tools when we don't need to.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing that I did as a solopreneur,
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: we'll say,
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: I went ahead and became an LLC taxed as an S Corp.
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I go, why would I do that?
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I can pay myself a salary and withhold taxes.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's the biggest benefit is I can withhold the taxes.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: It gets paid out by waif.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even touch it.
• 46:04
  So I don't have to put as much away in estimated taxes because
• 46:08
  I know that most of
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: my salary is taken care of.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, with the payroll taxes.
• 46:12
  So that's just one of those things where I'm leveraging their
• 46:15
  payroll service.
• 46:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like 45, 46 bucks a month, but it's all taken care of.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's really super easy.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: That was one of the things I would suggest to do.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing I did,
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: and I don't know if this is probably in the forum for it,
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: but I set up what's called a solo 401k.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't done something like that,
• 46:35
  it is better than what you're probably doing or an IRA or 401k
• 46:39
  because it increases
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: your limits instead of seven or eight thousand dollars for the year.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: you can go upwards of sixty nine,
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: seventy thousand dollars put away tax deferred into the solo 401k.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't looked into it,
• 46:54
  it might be a way for you to do that and reduce your taxable
• 46:57
  income at the same
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: time.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, great, great, great advice here.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: so I think,
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: today we've covered,
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_01: we've disclosed the secrets behind Elf on the Shelf.
• 47:11
  We have discovered that there's something called Wealth on the
• 47:13
  Shelf,
• 47:13
  which I love.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_01: You got to do something with that.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you, that's a great idea.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: And really diving into, you know, I think fear is probably the number one
• 47:23
  reason from my perspective,
• 47:25
  because that's what I used to go through before I got into it.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, I don't want to look at those things.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to go make more money.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_01: If I make more money, it'll all be okay.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: But that's not the answer.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's not the way to operate a business.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: Sure,
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: go make more money,
• 47:37
  but you better know your books and you better understand your
• 47:40
  cash position and
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_01: don't take on
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_01: you know, especially inventory.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want that.
• 47:45
  You don't want Mike to walk in and the place to,
• 47:48
  you know,
• 47:49
  you don't need that.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: You need to be smart about your inventory.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, so many lessons.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_01: So what else,
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_01: just in closing statements here,
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: is there any,
• 48:03
  are there any AI tools out there that we should know that are
• 48:06
  helping cash or is AI
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: not a thing that we're going to play with when it comes to finances?
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, AI is something that I'm looking into very heavily.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: Matter of fact,
• 48:15
  we have some of it built into the Clare Path to Cash and I'm
• 48:18
  expanding it as I get
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: more comfortable with it,
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: So just make sure right now that some of them are a little,
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 48:24
  you got to do the math because as good of an English professor
• 48:30
  that the chat GPT or
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: AI is,
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a math professor, right?
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I still find errors in it.
• 48:37
  So be careful with math-related problems or things like that
• 48:41
  with AI at this point.
• 48:42
  But it's moving in that direction fast because we're in the
• 48:45
  background training it
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: with my books,
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: with my trainings,
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: with my videos.
• 48:49
  We're trying to train it to understand the financial models a
• 48:53
  little bit better.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: as you're doing this and as you're diving in personally to AI to kind of
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_01: investigate this,
• 49:01
  is there something you've come across recently that you did in
• 49:03
  AI and it can be
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_01: anything,
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_01: your personal life,
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_01: your business life,
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: that you may just stop in your tracks and say,
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_01: wow,
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_01: that's pretty amazing.
• 49:12
  Yeah,
• 49:12
  I've seen some data come back from AI that I can show ripple
• 49:17
  effects.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's something that nobody's really doing right now,
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_00: and that's something that I've been working on,
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: is if I make this decision,
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: Most people do it on a singular line.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_00: If I make this decision,
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_00: I cut expenses by 20,000,
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: I can put that right to bottom line.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_00: But are there other ripple effects?
• 49:34
  Are there other things that are attached with that expense that
• 49:37
  we don't think about?
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so unintended consequences.
• 49:41
  That was the thing where I got to see how some decisions
• 49:44
  impacted other factors like
• 49:47
  debt to equity ratio or the line of credit use or how different
• 49:51
  decisions actually impact.
• 49:52
  And that's one of the cool things about AI is that it can do
• 49:55
  that type of analysis
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: a lot quicker,
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: a lot faster than we can.
• 50:02
  So it's the ripple effects and predictive insights that I don't
• 50:05
  think I would have ever got to.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: If I'd have got there, it would take me a week.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's great.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_01: I love that you're training AI on,
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_01: what you do and,
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_01: all the programs you have,
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_01: because,
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think,
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: maybe incorporating that into your,
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: into your work,
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: personal workflow,
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_01: but also helping others out there is going to be huge.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_01: But check the math.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm with you 100%.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen it, you know, plenty of errors.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen it in
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_01: I've had it read an article the other night and analyze the article,
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_01: and it came back with something that was not even in the article.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, wow, that was a new one.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_01: All right, now we're getting a little bold there with what we say.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hey,
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: when I use ChatGPT on myself,
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: I found out that I won a Grammy,
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: and I didn't know that either.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_01: Well, congratulations on that Grammy.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you have it up on a shelf somewhere.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_01: Grammy on the shelf.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_01: I hope your voice, you keep your throat nice and get some tea in there.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_01: You don't sing too much.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, I've never done a podcast around
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_01: uh, around finance and laughed so much.
• 51:16
  So I appreciate you,
• 51:17
  you know,
• 51:18
  making this,
• 51:18
  making it fun to talk about it.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly,
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: at the end of the day,
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_01: when I first met you,
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like,
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: this is why you,
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: this is why things are working for you.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_01: Cause you make it fun and you're just,
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: you're like,
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_01: all right,
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_01: let's not kill ourselves over this.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, let's just have fun and learn it.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I love that.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well, appreciate you.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: Learn it and use the language that we all use, right?
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's one of the big things I want to do.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I really appreciate you.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you reached out.
• 51:41
  I mean,
• 51:41
  this is a great opportunity for me to get to know you better
• 51:44
  and see what you do.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: I've even listened to the other podcast.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: I just listened to the last one about eat.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: And trust me, I don't know anything about that stuff.
• 51:52
  So,
• 51:52
  I mean,
• 51:53
  I'm learning all about marketing and SEO,
• 51:55
  and I really appreciated that.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_01: I thank you.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well,
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_01: when we're in this creator world,
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_01: content is a lot of work and you put a lot of work into.
• 52:06
  So,
• 52:06
  you know,
• 52:06
  thank you for doing that and tell everybody where they can find
• 52:10
  you online.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_01: We will put everything in the show notes.
• 52:14
  uh you know you showed a copy of the book i love that and uh
• 52:17
  people should take
• 52:18
  absolute advantage of it go get it it's free right it's free
• 52:21
  don't uh don't wait
• 52:22
  too yeah you don't if it's free there's no cash going out the
• 52:25
  door folks no cash is
• 52:27
  going out the door so love it so tell me yeah come see me at
• 52:31
  cash on mike.com the
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_00: cool thing about my name
• 52:34
  Is that you Google Cashflow Mike and I'm the only guy that
• 52:37
  shows up,
• 52:38
  right?
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's no competition for that name.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_01: You have covered that market.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_01: You have covered that market.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: But I mean, YouTube, LinkedIn, I mean, Facebook.
• 52:49
  I mean,
• 52:49
  I've got a free Facebook group with lots of other resources and
• 52:52
  stuff.
• 52:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's called the Clear Path to Cash.
• 52:53
  So any of these places,
• 52:55
  I mean,
• 52:56
  I want to put as much knowledge in your pockets as I can.
• 53:00
  And if you do need that little bit of extra help,
• 53:02
  I'm there for you as well.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I will say the newsletter that you guys put out is great.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_01: Quick little tips, tip information.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's,
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_01: in bite-sized pieces,
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes it's the best way to give it,
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: give people,
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_01: especially around this topic,
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_01: there may be some hesitation or,
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_01: like,
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_01: ah,
• 53:20
  You know,
• 53:21
  I just I just need to know some I need to learn and bite size
• 53:24
  works really well.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, Mike, I appreciate you coming on again.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I look forward to seeing you in Orlando and talking some more about,
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 53:33
  what's what this world looks like of content creation and
• 53:36
  helping small businesses
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_01: out there grow and manage their their businesses better.
• 53:41
  And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and I
• 53:44
  appreciate you coming on.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: You're the best.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you very much, everybody, for joining us today.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_01: Subscribe to us on YouTube and join us at ecomrevolution.co,
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_01: where we put out a weekly newsletter.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_01: Also, our podcast is over there as well.
• 54:01
  And if you need more information and more help on e-commerce,
• 54:04
  just join us and start learning.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much, everybody.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_01: See you.
• 54:10
  All right,
• 54:11
  that brings us to the end of another episode of the e-commerce
• 54:14
  revolution podcast.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_01: Don't forget to check out past episodes,
• 54:18
  which are all available on demand on YouTube and wherever you
• 54:22
  listen to your
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_01: podcast.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_01: Ready to join the revolution?
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_01: Become an exclusive part of our growing community of emerging e-commerce
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs at ecomrevolution.co.
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, see ya.