- Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

I bought Profit First because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews I'd read from other people, not including the many positive reviews here on Amazon. Phrases like "life-changing," "it changed my business," and "pure genius" were among the many accolades heaped on this little book. So I took the plunge.How much you get out of this book will probably depend entirely on 1) your personality and 2) the health of your business. If, for example, your business -- and your sanity -- is on financial life support, or you really struggle with maintaining spending discipline in your business, then this book really can be useful. He lays out a fairly meticulous case, early on, that many entrepreneurs are so fixated with growth that they fail to see the opportunity for profit right in front of them ... and thus find themselves sitting on the brink of ruin despite having a massive cash flow.The solution, he explains, is to essentially set profit (and taxes) at non-negotiable levels and bend the rest of the budget to accommodate that. To get there, he prescribes what is basically a business-version of an envelope system. (In my head, I immediately thought, "this is basically Dave Ramsey for businesses.") By piecing out your various expenditures among separate bank accounts -- his version of envelopes -- you can start to re-prioritize your spending, moving toward a business that is better balanced for making a profit. In the later chapters, he gets more specific about percentages and how to nudge toward a healthier balance without upsetting all the moving parts, and people, of an existing business. There are elements of the book that feel more like filler than substance, but I can also see where despairing readers may need some of that cheerleading, and I give the author props for having some decent support materials over at his website to help implement the book's advice.There is still another class of entrepreneur, though, and that's one who is disciplined, purposeful, and has a steady vision for their business. Those sorts of people are probably not going to get as much out of Profit First. They may glean some things (including, perhaps, some affirmation that they're on the right track) but a lot of the book is going to be, at best, not for them. At worst, some people may look at the Profit First system as an unnecessary, time-consuming hassle of financial gatekeeping, not unlike how an individual who uses their credit card responsibly and with discipline might decide the extra financial hurdles of the Dave Ramsey cash-only envelope system isn't for them. Do some people benefit from having their assets in seven accounts across two different banks, the way Profit First suggests? Sure. Does everyone? I'm not so sure about that at all.So is Profit First for you? In my opinion, the best way to figure that out might be to go and check out some of the author's resources on his site first, and see if that resonates with you. The book may have particular value if you're in a place where you're generating a lot of revenue but you don't have much to show for it. On the other hand, if you're a meticulous soul who has a clear grasp of where your business revenue should be going -- and you've got the self-discipline to get there -- I would be wary about getting this book unless it was deeply discounted.

I feel like a convert to a new religion after reading this book. I have told everyone I know who owns their own business about it, and here's why:A friend/colleague recommended it to me, and I ordered it on that gateway drug, Amazon Prime. It came that night (!), and I devoured it like a T Rex that hadn’t eaten in a year.It was an easy thing for me to commit to because I already had a separate tax account and knew how that benefitted me. It only made sense that others would be a good idea as well. I travel a lot for my work, and I’ve really struggled with balancing that reimbursement.I own an educational consulting business, and I've really struggled with handling the ebb and flow of the money. I make 70% of my income in two months out of the year, and that's always been a stress to me.Friends, the answer is in this book. It took me less than half an hour to set it all up, and it's as smooth as a freshly shaved leg with really good moisturizer on it.The biggest difference, really, isn't even in the numbers: the biggest difference for me is in the weight off of my mind. I KNOW what will happen. I don't have to think about everything all of the time (Where will this go? When should I pay that? Okay, if I they pay that invoice, I can pay for this upcoming travel.. and on and on).It's no coincidence the name Michael means "like unto God." His ideas have transformed my business - quite literally overnight as I was reading at 3am. Is a finance crush a thing???This book is for you if you:- run your own business- have thought about starting a business- struggle with cashflow- feel like something is always chasing you in your business- feel like you're never ahead, you can never breathe- want a super simple way to end that in manner of Charlie from Charlie's Angels ("But I took them away from all that, and now they work for me...")Seriously, read the book. Read the book. Do the exercises. Implement the plan. You will have a financial awakening that will be the best thing since, I don't know, something really good.A must, must read.

I did not like this book. It was super repetitive saying the same things over and over and over. I could not even finish it. I wish I could return it! Also this book is strictly written for business who do not profit at all. I thought it would be helpful for any business to help have more profit but it's only for business who don't ever make a profit and even then it's a hard read. I then tried listening to the pumpkin plan mentioned in his book and it's completely written for a male audience as if women don't have business. The gross jokes were enough for me to not like this author.

TLDR: x - y = z and therefore z - y = xincome minus expenses equals profit and therefore profit minus expenses equals income.viola, you've read the book.The only truly actionable advice fond inside is as follows: if the profit you take is unsatisfactory, take a tiny bit more now and a little bit more later and it will add up.Wow. Speechless.That amazing gem is backstopped by enough thought to fully flush out a bi-fold brochure, but somehow spread across some 150 pages.Some of that pap that fills the rest of the space is downright terrible advice about how to cut overhead down to a nub, fire your employees and your "bad" customers.In the end it's one tiny nugget of an obvious idea surrounded by fluff that is spiked with downright bad advice.It's a sales brochure for Mike's misguided services.Most books of this stripe AT LEAST put some punch into their "You TOO can be rich soon!" anecdotes. The personal and business stories in here are truly bad, even for inspirational business books.Awful. Truly Awful.

I LOVE this book! I've been following the work of T Harv Eker and Ann Wilson regarding how to manage my personal finances for a number of years, and this book takes the simple idea of Paying yourself first to another level, specifically for your business.I trained with KPMG Chartered Accountants in the 80's so I'm familiar with the idea that Revenue - Expenses = Profit, but the simple idea of rewriting this as Revenue - Profit = Expenses, seems so simple and yet it's a huge paradigm shift.I bought the book initially on Audible, read it in two days, then bought the hard back on Amazon, and then signed up for the course with Creative LIve. I also wrote to Mike with a question, which he responded to within hours, twice. The one thing that surprised and delighted me this morning was that someone who I perceive as being an expert, could be so approachable, and so freely respond to my question, with no agenda. I feel extremely grateful to Mike for his work and his prompt, thoughtful reply. I've been recommending the book to all my friends and fellow entrepreneurs. It is now one of my favourite finance books. A must read for anyone in business.

Oooof. This book made me take a long, hard look at my finances and I did not like what I saw.Some books are life-changing, and I think this is one of them. I loved it. Because, like many business owners, I often don’t really know what’s going on with my numbers... and that’s a problem.Maybe this sounds familiar to you: “You’ve done great! You’ve made a profit of [lots of moolah] after taxes and expenses!” And you do a little jig, because how cool is that?Only... where is that money? It’s certainly not sitting in a fat pile in your bank account, is it? So you look at your accountant, perplexed, and say, “Wait. I’ve made all that profit... but where is it?”“Oh, it’s gone,” she says airily. “You’ve spent it.”“What? How can it be profit then?”At which point your head explodes.Well, this is the book you need to read. It helped me understand exactly what's going on.The author has been in exactly our position – and much, much worse. He’s gone from millions in the bank to his last few quid – then lost that. And he’s been as confused as the rest of us.So he wrote this book to come up with a system that works for real humans. Because (sorry accountants!) most of us business owners do not and will not ever think like accountants. We will not sit for hours poring over statements and spreadsheets and profit and loss calculations. We just won’t.So the author came up with the Profit First system. My accountant tells me it’s the accounting system under another name, but that’s the point. He uses normal-people words, ideas, and examples. He takes accounts and puts them in a format I can understand – and gives me a system I can not only understand but will actually use.When you’ve read the book, do the things the author tells you to do. Do the instant assessment of your business. It’ll hurt, but only briefly – then you can start to fix things. This is one of those things you won’t want to do because it’s scary. But once you face the music and know exactly what’s what, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted.This is a beautifully simple book that takes a complicated subject and makes it easy to understand for those of us who can't get their heads around traditional accounts.

The problem is that the 'programme' of Profit First involves opening a bunch of extra bank accounts (one for profit, one for tax, one for expenses etc etc) so that you are putting money aside and not over-spending what you don't really have. And - that's a huge ask and I'm not going to do it. In a nutshell. The palaver involved in changing direct debits and standing orders, setting up new ones, dealing with 5 extra cheque books and bank cards for my 5 accounts... Phewie, there's just no WAY I'm getting into all that!I get the basic premiss: Put the focus on profit. Know what your profit really is, after expenses, so you don't over-spend and go from elaborate spending to scrimping and saving, backwards and forwards...But I think I prefer the simpler system, which is: Constantly try to save more money. Reduce expenses as low as they can go. It's working for me anyhow.In short: If you're not prepared to do some pretty radical stuff involving your finances and bank accounts, don't bother getting the book.

Well. What can I say. Some books leave imprints on your heart and you are never the same. And, Profit First is one of those books.This year am committed to understanding and managing my finances and making a profit in my business.By staying open and listening to my heart and taking the first steps, reading Profit First and watching the YouTube videos...and opening my Profit First account...I feel confident in achieving my heart's desire.Mike has written a gem of a book which shows you how easy it is to manage your finances. I am excited and will be 're-reading and applying the techniques and mind set shifts as I go along.Highly recommend this book if you are looking for ways to reduce your debt and live a profitable and fun life, without stress or struggle. Thank you.

Wow, this is the book I've been searching for since I started my business nearly 10 years ago!Finance has always been one of the biggest challenges of growing a business and I've always found it way too complex.The other big problem is that all you focus on is making profit, and you only find out if you've made a profit retrospectively.What I love about the Profit First system is that you focus on ensuring you make a profit from day one.We've also believed in the idea that you need to re-invest to build the business and while that has been a success, I can now see that we could have continued to grow the business, provide a great service to our clients and achieve what we wanted, while still making a healthy profit along the way.I honestly wish I'd read this 10 years ago... It's a top 10 must read business book for me and I've read a lot.Focus on making a consistent profit and the rest becomes a great deal easier...