Creative Counsel Episode 56: Creating a Profit First Creative Business with Aimee LaLiberte

Today we’re talking all about the money, honey. It’s a crucial part of business success and yet it’s an area that a lot of creative entrepreneurs feel all the emotions over. Learning to separate your income and expenses from emotions is an important first step and one that Amy Laliberte teaches to her clients. 

Amy is a virtual CFO for hire. Numbers are her jam and she provides bookkeeping services and CFO services for six and seven-figure business owners. But she also shares strategies that any business owner can put in place. So, if you’re not a six figurer earner, don’t worry—this message is still for you!

Today we’re discussing the strategy from the Mike Michaelowicz book, Profit First, and the positive impact it will make on your business finances. 

In this episode, you will learn:

• What the Profit First strategy is and how to implement it in your business
• The five bank accounts that your business needs to have set up right off the bat
• Why it’s crucial to address your money mindset in order to take control of your finances
• How to approach finances if you’re just working your side hustle right now and are thinking of going full-time
• The importance of separating your self-worth from your bottom line
• What professionals you want on your financial team 
• How all those courses and software free trials are eating into your profit (I know, I know—I love a good online course as much as the rest of you.)
• The importance of choosing your clients instead of simply letting them choose you (hint-hint: not everyone in your niche is right for you)

LINKS

Amy’s profit calculator: DOWNLOAD HERE

Check out the book Profit First: https://profitfirstbook.com/

Amy’s Website: https://myvirtualcfo.co/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewellnessbookkeeper/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myvirtualcfo/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alaliberte/

QUOTES

“If somebody claims that they don’t have a good relationship with money, I would argue that you need to take a timeout and really unpack what that’s about.”

“In order to grow, we need to turn around and examine what those thought patterns are and really decide, ‘Do we make money from and are we willing to step into an area of discomfort in order to become a better creative and to have a better relationship with your money.’”

“Whatever is in your bank account, or not in your bank account, doesn’t have any correlation to you. It’s just a number.”

“Oftentimes, people think that to get from their nine to five to their side hustle is something that has to take a very long time. If you’re really pragmatic and in relationship with your numbers, even if it’s just from a very simplistic way, to get there, it’s really not going to take that long. It’s just your limiting beliefs that are causing you to have that pause and question whether or not that’s possible.”

“If you know that you’re going to be working a good chunk of the time for six months out of the year, you can use Profit First to create a vault that will just tuck your money away so that you can then not be in a panic come January/February when you’re not getting paid.”

“So often, we’re telling the stories of our past when we really should be addressing them presently so that we can make better future decisions.” 

“I pay myself because I work hard and I provide a quality service for my clients. And as a result of that, I reward myself with deliberately providing for, mentally myself, but for my family.”

“It’s not about you having to pay yourself in order to be a contributor to your family, but it could be that I pay myself as a token of appreciation for the work that I do for my clients.”

“You are great, no matter what your bank account says. You’re human. You’re worthy of everything just as much as the next person ad the next person and the next person.”

“It’s not about, ‘Oh, I need to get to $100,000.’ It’s, what is this? What is the one step I can take today? That will get me closer to that destination.”

“I think it’s always smart for you to work with someone like a bookkeeper just to get you started. I’m not saying hold them on as a retainer because I think there are other ways that you can leverage your money from that. But if you have your books set up properly at the getgo, it will help you when you are ready to bring on that person on your team.”

“A bookkeeper is the person that’s working in your day to day business and can see all the different nuanced micro things that are happening. A CPA, an accountant, is really looking at your business from a tax lens.”

“One of my things is to not buy any course for the sake of buying a course. I only buy courses at the present moment that I’m actually going to utilize them.”

“You need to make sure that the people that you have in the bus are sitting on the right seats.”

“If you’re really digging into your numbers and you can’t tell yourself what that thing was for, then chances are, it’s probably not essential to the benefit of your business.”

“If you’re holding space with a client who isn’t the right fit, you are missing out on a chance to fill that space with a client who is.”

“You could very well be serving a niche, but there are people within that niche that are not a good fit for you.”