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Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

By: Rocky Lalvani
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 Hi, I'm the Profit Answer Man! The Profit Answer Man podcast is a weekly show hosted by Rocky Lalvani, a business coach and Certified Profit First Professional. In each episode, Rocky shares his expertise on how to scale profit and cash flow for 7-8 figure businesses. Episode 1 is the why, 2 - is Mike Michalowicz, and 3-13 are Rocky's take on each chapter in the book. The Profit Answer Man podcast is designed for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone else looking to improve their financial management skills. Rocky covers a wide range of topics, including how to prioritize profit, manage cash flow, and grow your business. One of the things that sets the Profit Answer Man podcast apart is Rocky's engaging and entertaining style. He uses anecdotes, humor, and relatable examples to make the concepts he's discussing easy to understand and apply. If you're a small business owner looking for practical advice on how to improve your financial management and increase profitability, the Profit Answer Man podcast is definitely worth a listen. Whether you're just starting out or have been in business for a while, you'll find plenty of valuable insights and tips that can help you take your business to the next level. Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available! http://bit.do/profitblueprint More about making profitability simple: http://profitcomesfirst.com/ Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/496018144624882/ My podcast about living a richer more meaningful life: http://richersoul.com/ Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.2022 Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Ep 300 The Referable Client Experience with Stacey Brown Randall

    Ep 300 The Referable Client Experience with Stacey Brown Randall
    Dec 23 2025
    The Referable Client Experience with Stacey Brown Randall Most business owners say they want more referrals. Very few are actually drowning in them. The default strategy is to do good work, hope people notice, and maybe ask for introductions when things get slow. In this episode of Profit Answer Man, I sit down again with referral expert and author Stacey Brown Randall to talk about why that approach does not work and how to build a truly referrable client experience. Stacey has spent years helping small business owners generate referrals without asking, without incentives, and without feeling manipulative. Her new book, The Referrable Client Experience, dives into how your day to day client journey can become your most powerful referral engine. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Referrals, Introductions, and Word-of-Mouth Are Not the Same Thing. One of the first big shifts Stacey brings is simply defining our terms. A referral happens when a referral source connects you directly to a prospect, clearly identifies a need, and positions you as the solution. An introduction is just a connection. There is no identified need. Word-of-mouth buzz is when someone talks about you or gives out your name, but you are never actually connected. Most business owners lump all three together. The problem is that only one of them consistently leads to new clients. If all you are getting is introductions and vague "I mentioned you to someone" comments, you are not really running a referral strategy.Your Small Size Is Your Superpower. When we talk about "client experience," most people picture big company initiatives, software, and dashboards. Stacey defines client experience more simply as how your client feels while they work with you. That is where small business wins. You can: Make clients feel seen and remembered, Adjust quickly when something is off, Add personal, human touches that big companies could never scale, If you want to go from a good client experience to a referrable one, you have to understand the emotions you are creating along the way and be intentional about them.The Science Behind Why Referrals Happen. Referrals are not magic. Stacey frames them through three lenses: What happens in the brain of the referral source. When someone makes a great referral, "feel good" chemicals fire in their brain. They get to be the hero who solved a problem for someone they care about. It is about them helping the prospect, not about you. The psychology of trust. Referral sources do not need to know every credential or detail about you. What matters is that they trust you as a person and do not forget you. That trust is nurtured by consistent, human touch points, not by dumping your resume on them. Behavioral economics. Instead of manipulating reciprocity, Stacey focuses on the positive side: using surprise, delight, and variety in your touch points so people remember you and feel connected to you.Gifts, Touch Points, and What Actually Lands. Gifts can be powerful but they are often used poorly. Stacey's guidance: A gift should not be tied directly to a single referral, or you train people to expect a payout each time. For each referral source, build a plan of five to seven touch points over the year that happen whether or not referrals come in. Use gifts sparingly, and make them meaningful, humorous, or heartfelt enough to be memorable. If it took you two seconds to choose and send, it probably will not stand out. For actual referrals as they happen, Stacey recommends something simple and powerful: a handwritten thank you note.Be Strategic, Not "Spray and Pray". When owners want more referrals, they often default to more networking. More coffee dates, more events, more people. Stacey calls out the problem with this "spray and pray" approach. Instead, she encourages business owners to: Identify their ideal referral sources by asking, "Who regularly sees my ideal client before I do?" Focus on building real relationships with those few instead of trying to convert every person in the room. Accept that it is a numbers game, but a strategic one: you may meet a hundred people and end up with three or four true referral partners. Key Takeaway: Referrals are not a mystery reserved for the lucky few. They are the predictable result of a client experience that makes people feel seen, cared for, and confident enough to put their reputation on the line for you. When you understand the science behind referrals and build a simple plan around your best referral sources, you can stop chasing cold leads and start welcoming more ideal clients who already trust you. Bio: Stacey Brown Randall is the author of the new book, The Referable Client Experience, and the multiple award-winning book, Generating Business Referrals Without Asking. She is also the host of the Roadmap to Referrals podcast. Stacey teaches business owners how to generate referrals naturally…without manipulating, incentivizing, or even asking. She has ...
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    44 mins
  • Ep 299 How to Build a Business You Can Actually Sell with Saul Cohen

    Ep 299 How to Build a Business You Can Actually Sell with Saul Cohen
    Dec 16 2025
    How to Build a Business You Can Actually Sell with Saul Cohen Most business owners say the same thing: "I want to grow as big as I can." But when you press them on what they really want—time freedom, a great income, flexibility with their family—they're actually describing a lifestyle business, not a high-growth scale-up destined for a huge exit. In this episode of Profit Answer Man, Rocky Lalvani talks with Saul Cohen, an accountant and advisor who helps ambitious entrepreneurs grow through acquisition and prepare for a successful exit. Together, they unpack the difference between chasing revenue and deliberately building assets and wealth inside your business. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Lifestyle Business vs Scale-Up: What Are You Really Building? Saul explains the critical fork in the road most owners never consciously choose. A lifestyle business is built to deliver strong income and flexibility now; a scale-up is built to reinvest profits into assets for a bigger exit later. The decisions, trade-offs, and timelines are totally different.Why Hustle Isn't a Strategy—and Maturity Wins. Saul shares the story of his first business, launched in his early twenties, and how a competitor with more experience and maturity quietly built a far more valuable company. The lesson? Execution, focus, and intention beat hustle and blind optimism every time.How Wealth Is Really Built: Assets and the Balance Sheet. Rocky reminds us that profit is only part of the story. Real wealth shows up on the balance sheet—in assets, not just income. The problem? Most owners never read their balance sheet as a series and have no idea whether they're actually building wealth or just spinning their wheels.Where Acquirers Find Hidden Profit After the Sale. When a "mediocre" business is sold, a new owner often finds profit quickly—not because they're smarter, but because they're less emotionally attached and more objective. Saul explains how strategic add-on acquisitions (like buying a supplier or complementary service) can boost margins, cross-sell opportunities, and overall business value.The Investor Mindset: Working On the Business, Not Just In It. Both Rocky and Saul emphasize the need to step out of firefighting mode, take time away from the office, and think like an investor. When you step back and ask, "What are my real opportunities and threats? Where's the biggest payoff for my time and capital?" the path to better cash flow and a stronger exit becomes much clearer. Key Takeaways: Most owners are accidentally building lifestyle businesses while pretending they're building scale-ups.Wealth is created by assets, not just hustle or revenue.Gross margin and business model clarity matter far more than top-line bragging rights.Your second business will often scale faster—if you integrate the lessons from your first.Taking time out to think like an investor is one of the highest-ROI activities you can do. Bio: Saul Cohen is a chartered accountant and founder of SC Digital Advisory, a boutique firm helping business owners grow through acquisition, optimize profit, and prepare for successful exits. With more than 20 years in finance and entrepreneurship, Saul blends hands-on operational insight with deep financial acumen to help owners turn complex challenges into scalable systems. He's advised seven- and eight-figure founders across sectors on strategy, M&A, and value creation. Links: https://www.scdigitaladvisory.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saulcohenuk Conclusion: You don't need to copy the tech unicorns or chase a nine-figure exit to win. You just need to be honest about the kind of business—and life—you actually want, then align your decisions with that reality. For some, that's a highly profitable lifestyle business with strong margins, great clients, and plenty of free time. For others, it's a focused scale-up strategy, reinvesting profits to build assets and position for a major exit. Either way, the path runs through the same disciplines: knowing your numbers, understanding your business model, building real assets, and learning to think like an investor, not just an operator. If you're ready to turn your business into a true wealth-building engine—not just a stressful job with a logo—this episode with Saul Cohen is a powerful place to start. #ProfitAnswerMan #ProfitFirst #BusinessExit #LifestyleBusiness #ScaleUp #BusinessValuation #CashFlow #WealthBuilding #EntrepreneurMindset #FractionalCFO #FinancialClarity Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available! Profit First Toolkit: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/landing-page-page Relay Bank (affiliate link): https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=profitcomesfirst Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitanswerman/ My podcast about living a ...
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    43 mins
  • Ep 298 From Chaos to Cash Flow: How Business Owners Can Scale with Less Stress with David Forster

    Ep 298 From Chaos to Cash Flow: How Business Owners Can Scale with Less Stress with David Forster
    Dec 9 2025
    From Chaos to Cash Flow: How Business Owners Can Scale with Less Stress with David Forster "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." If you're stuck reacting all day, this episode with David Forster hands you the blueprint: clarify roles, codify the 80%, install scorecards that measure what matters, and make Profit First automatic so cash is where you need it—when you need it. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why "boring, repeatable systems" beat heroics—and how to build them for people who crave structure.The clarity–consistency–accountability trio: what each really means in day-to-day ops.The 90–180 day "adoption dip" and how to push through it.Scorecards: tie activity → ratios → results (and stop tracking vanity metrics).Onboarding that sets the fence lines (and uses QR'd micro-videos for field teams).The "Think Like Me" cheat sheet so crews can make good calls without you.Profit First with Relay: reducing "move-the-money" friction to near zero. Key Takeaways: Build for the 80%. Don't rewrite SOPs for one-off edge cases; keep them simple and usable.Adoption is a habit curve. Expect drop-off at 90–180 days; consistency wins.Scorecards must link effort to outcomes (e.g., calls → close ratio → sales). If it doesn't predict success, drop it."Fence lines" create safety. Reward following process; improve the process when outcomes miss.Systemize onboarding. Use bite-size clips + QR codes; new hires set the tone for the rest.Cash discipline ≠ harder work. Automate allocations (Relay) so Profit First happens without willpower. Bio: David Forster is the founder of Systems Over Sweat and a strategic expert in business operations for home service businesses scaling past $1M - $5M in revenue. With over 20 years of experience building, scaling, and exiting service companies, David helps owners escape the chaos by fixing the processes that are quietly draining their time, profit, and energy. He's not a theorist—he's a tactician. David works with business owners to eliminate inefficiencies, simplify operations, and build scalable systems that allow the business to grow without the owner needing to be involved in every little decision. He's the guy that makes sure your operations actually operate. Links: Website: https://www.systemsoversweat.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rdavidforster LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdavidforster/ Conclusion: Scale doesn't come from working harder—it comes from designing clarity, codifying the 80%, and reviewing scorecards with courage. Pair that with automated Profit First allocations and you'll stop firefighting and start compounding profit. #ProfitFirst #CashFlow #SmallBusiness #Trades #EOS #SOPs #Scorecard #OwnerPay #RelayBanking #Operations #Accountability #CFO Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available! Profit First Toolkit: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/landing-page-page Relay Bank (affiliate link): https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=profitcomesfirst Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitanswerman/ My podcast about living a richer more meaningful life: http://richersoul.com/ Music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.
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    40 mins
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