Ep 286 The Profit Pitfalls Most Business Owners Miss with Lisa Hennigar
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
Release Date: 09/03/2025
Ep 305 Mid 8-Figure Exit Lessons: How to Avoid Millions in Taxes and Regret After the Sale with Nathan Collins
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
Mid 8-Figure Exit Lessons: How to Avoid Millions in Taxes and Regret After the Sale with Nathan Collins Find Rocky Lalvani @ or email him at Most business owners think the hardest part of selling a business is the deal. But the real danger often shows up after the sale: the taxes you didn’t plan for and the identity shift you didn’t expect In this episode of Profit Answer Man, Rocky Lalvani sits down with , a former CEO who sold his business for a mid-eight-figure exit—and then realized he wasn’t personally...
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Ep 304 From Bankruptcy at 24 to $35M: Building Profitable Business Through Discipline and Purpose with Mike Chaput
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
Find Rocky Lalvani @ or email him at From Bankruptcy at 24 to $35M: Building Profitable Business Through Discipline and Purpose with Mike Chaput What if the worst business failure of your life became the foundation for 26 years of unbroken profitability? At 24, Michael Chaput bought a business that went bankrupt. At 50, he runs a $35 million company that hasn't had a single unprofitable month in 26 years—not through 2008, not through COVID, not ever. In this episode, Michael shares the hard-won lessons from hitting rock bottom and how financial discipline, tough...
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Ep 303 How to Legally Pay Less Tax as a Business Owner with Former IRS Agent Carlotta Thompson
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
How to Legally Pay Less Tax as a Business Owner with Former IRS Agent Carlotta Thompson With Former IRS Agent Carlotta Thompson Most business owners believe high taxes are just the price of success. They’re wrong. In this episode of Profit Answer Man, Rocky sits down with former IRS agent turned tax strategist Carlotta Thompson to reveal how the tax system really works, what actually triggers audits, and how profitable business owners legally keep more of what they earn. This is not about loopholes or risky moves. It’s about understanding the rules well enough to play the...
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Ep 302 The Financial Model Every 7–8 Figure Business Needs for Predictable Profit with Salvatore Tirabassi
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
The Financial Model Every 7–8 Figure Business Needs for Predictable Profit with Salvatore Tirabassi Most business owners don’t lack data. They lack clarity. They have a P&L, a balance sheet, maybe even a dashboard. But when a real decision shows up—Can I afford this hire? Should I scale marketing? Why did margins drop again?—the numbers don’t give a clear answer. That’s where growth starts to feel chaotic. In this episode of Profit Answer Man, Rocky Lalvani sits down with fractional CFO and former private equity investor Salvatore Tirabassi to unpack...
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Ep 301 How to Build a Business Fortress: Liquidity, Cash Flow, and Exit Readiness with David Barnett
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
How to Build a Business Fortress: Liquidity, Cash Flow, and Exit Readiness with David Barnett Build a Business Fortress: Why Liquidity Beats Leverage and Most Businesses Never Sell Most owners assume the big payoff will come when they finally sell the business. The hard truth is that roughly 80 percent of small businesses listed for sale never actually sell as going concerns. The real payoff is in the years of ownership: the cash flow you extract, the wealth you build outside the business, and the resilience you create so you can survive the next punch in the face. In this...
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Ep 300 The Referable Client Experience with Stacey Brown Randall
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
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...
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Ep 299 How to Build a Business You Can Actually Sell with Saul Cohen
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
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...
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Ep 298 From Chaos to Cash Flow: How Business Owners Can Scale with Less Stress with David Forster
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
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...
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Ep 297 Profit First with Megan Schwan
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
Profit First with Megan Schwan Most owners chase revenue and wonder why cash keeps disappearing. In this episode, Rocky sits down with Megan Schwan—CEO of Sidekick Accounting and a certified Profit First Professional—to unpack the simple systems that turn chaos into cash: clean books, pricing discipline, expense sweeps, and a short list of actionable KPIs. If you want fewer surprises and fatter reserves, start here. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Why “good books” are your #1 tax saver—and the foundation for pricing and fraud control. How Profit First creates...
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Ep 296 Simple Numbers, Big Profits with Greg Crabtree: How to Scale Without Debt or Chaos
Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond
Simple Numbers, Big Profits with Greg Crabtree: How to Scale Without Debt or Chaos Most business owners chase revenue—and lose sight of profit. In this episode of Profit Answer Man, Rocky Lalvani sits down with Greg Crabtree, author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits, to cut through the noise and talk about what really drives a successful business. A self-described “recovering accountant,” Greg shares how data—not opinions—can transform how entrepreneurs see their numbers, make decisions, and grow sustainably. If you’ve ever felt like your financial reports...
info_outlineThe Profit Pitfalls Most Business Owners Miss with Lisa Hennigar
Most business owners don’t lose profit because of one big mistake — it’s usually a thousand tiny leaks. From not knowing your why, to ignoring customer service, to failing to track the right numbers, the truth is this: profit slips away quietly while you’re busy working hard.
In this episode of Profit Answer Man, I sit down with Lisa Hennigar, Vice President of Franchise Development at ERA Group and a nationally recognized franchise strategist with over 22 years in the industry. Lisa has worked with everyone from household-name brands to emerging concepts, and she knows exactly where businesses get stuck — and how to turn things around.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why your “why” matters more than you think — and how it fuels resilience, team buy-in, and long-term success.
- The danger of ignoring your P&L — why most owners don’t understand it, and what metrics you actually need to track.
- Scaling without losing profit — why growing too fast, or in the wrong way, can turn you into an employee of your own business.
- Customer service as a profit driver — how fast response times and the right client mix can outperform bigger competitors.
- The hidden costs that eat your margins — from bad leases to auto-renew contracts, to discounting that destroys profitability.
Key Takeaway:
Profit doesn’t come from working harder — it comes from working smarter. That means knowing your numbers, understanding your why, and being intentional about both the clients you serve and the systems you build. As Lisa reminds us, “Doing simple is hard — but simple is where the money is.”
About Lisa Hennigar:
Lisa Hennigar is a nationally recognized franchise growth strategist with over 22 years in the franchising industry. She currently serves as Vice President of Franchise Development at ERA Group, an executive cost intelligence consulting firm, where she has been instrumental in helping ERA achieve its highest ranking in 30 years in Entrepreneur Magazine and secure the #1 Global Franchise Brand designation.
Her expertise spans franchise recruitment, operations, and unit economics—bridging the gap between sales and ongoing franchisee success. She has worked with brands from iconic household names to emerging concepts, creating scalable growth strategies, improving validation, and streamlining onboarding.
Lisa is known as a true change agent, keeping culture, unit economics, and KPIs at the forefront of every transformation she leads—powered by grit, resilience, and a relentless work ethic.
Beyond corporate leadership, Lisa served as Chair of SCORE in Michigan, sat on the YMCA Board in Michigan where she helped drive donor fundraising, and was active in Toastmasters, contributing to membership growth.
Earning a Certified Franchise Executive, with the International Franchise Association in 2011, Lisa has also been instrumental in attracting top-tier executive talent into franchising and converting independent businesses into thriving franchise locations.
Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisahennigar/
Conclusion:
Profit isn’t accidental — it’s the result of clarity, discipline, and intentional choices. As Lisa Hennigar reminds us, too many business owners ignore their why, overlook their numbers, or scale without strategy — and those blind spots quietly drain their wealth. The good news? Profit is always within reach when you track the right metrics, serve the right clients, and make simple, focused improvements.
Remember, your business should give you both time and money. If it’s not, it’s time to plug the leaks and reset your strategy.
#ProfitFirst #BusinessProfit #SmartScaling #EntrepreneurFinance #CashFlowFix #RevenueLeaks #BusinessClarity #OwnerPay
Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman
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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.