Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Get started
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! summary
Greg Crabtree
Beverly Blair Harzog
Four Keys to Unlock Your Business Potential
18 mins
Brief summary
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! by Greg Crabtree and Beverly Blair Harzog offers practical financial advice for small business owners. It provides tools to make financial decisions easier, identify key performance indicators, and achieve long-term business success.
Table of Contents
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
Summary of 8 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 8
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.
Want to see all full key ideas from Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!?
Key ideas in Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
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.
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! Review
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! (2013) is an insightful book that provides practical guidance for achieving financial success in your business. What makes this book worth reading?
- It offers straightforward explanations of financial concepts, allowing readers to grasp important ideas without getting lost in complex jargon.
- Real-world examples and case studies bring the principles to life, showing how they can be applied to improve profitability in any business.
- The book provides actionable strategies and step-by-step instructions, empowering readers to implement changes and see tangible results.
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
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
Categories with Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
Book summaries like Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
37 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! FAQs
What is the main message of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!?
The main message of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! is to help business owners understand their financial numbers and make informed decisions for growth.
How long does it take to read Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!?
The reading time for Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! varies, but it typically takes a few hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in 15 minutes.
Is Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! a good book? Is it worth reading?
Absolutely! Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! is a must-read for business owners. It provides practical insights and strategies to improve financial performance.
Who is the author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!?
The authors of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! are Greg Crabtree and Beverly Blair Harzog.
What to read after Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!?
If you're wondering what to read next after Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
- Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
- Accounting Made Simple by Mike Piper
- Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz
- Business Execution for Results by Stephen Lynch
- Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter & Holger Rathgeber
- The 5 Types of Wealth by Sahil Bloom
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
- Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
- This is Service Design Thinking by Marc Stickdorn and Jakob Schneider