Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! Book Summary - Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! Book explained in key points
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Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! summary

Greg Crabtree and Beverly Blair Harzog

Four Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential

4.2 (27 ratings)
18 mins
Table of Contents

    Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
    Summary of 8 key ideas

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    Business owners should always pay themselves the correct market wage.

    Here’s a surprising figure: 90 percent of small business owners pay themselves less than a fair market wage.

    And in many ways, this is a rational choice: After all, by lowering their own wage costs, business owners can make pre-tax profits look much healthier.

    But despite this, business owners should always pay themselves the correct market wage. There are two reasons why this should be the case.

    First, not paying yourself (or your employees) a market-based wage actually undermines your business. Pre-tax profits and labor expenses are key figures which affect important financial measures such as labor productivity, or the percentage of pre-tax profits to revenue.

    As we’ll see in later blinks, these two metrics are crucial in defining the success of your business. And artificially altering them could affect your ability to grow your company.

    You should also know that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has included this tactic – that is, underpaying wages – in a list of “dirty dozen” tax scams used by closely held (or “S”) corporations. Accordingly, the federal tax agency is increasingly choosing to audit firms suspected of employing this practice.

    Second, paying yourself a market-based wage is crucial when it comes to selling your business or making an exit. That’s because a firm’s profitability is a key factor in determining its fair market value.

    So when an outside party looks at your books prior to purchasing your company, artificially lowered wages could cast doubt on your company’s value in the eyes of a potential buyer.

    Alternately, paying yourself a market-based wage from the outset will spare your business cash flow problems (and the nasty surprise of diminished profits) if you decide to make an exit and replace yourself with an outside CEO who’s expecting to earn market wages.

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    What is Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! about?

    Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! (2011) outlines the essential, interconnected elements you need to know that affect your company’s longevity and growth. Through a series of simple steps, you can create a more productive workplace to ultimately boost performance and build greater wealth.

    Best quote from Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!

    If you have debt, you wont even find opportunities. The people with cash always win.

    —Greg Crabtree and Beverly Blair Harzog
    example alt text

    Who should read Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!?

    • Entrepreneurs thinking about starting a new business
    • Business leaders working for companies in an early growth phase
    • Start-up founders

    About the Author

    Greg Crabtree co-founded a certified public accounting firm that advises and assists entrepreneurs.

    Beverly Blair Harzog is a credit card and debt expert, and a prominent public advocate in the area of personal debt and lending.

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