Libsyn Directory

Ep 288 Your P&L Is Lying—Here’s What to Track with Laresa McIntyre

Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

Release Date: 09/18/2025

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Ep 295 How to 4X your Revenue in 4 Years with Alexis Sikorsky

Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

How to 4X your Revenue in 4 Years with Alexis Sikorsky Most business owners dream about growth, but few know how to scale without chaos. In this episode of Profit Answer Man, Rocky Lalvani talks with Alexis Sikorsky, a strategic advisor who helps founders scale fast and exit strong. Alexis doesn’t speak from theory—he built and sold his own Switzerland-based software company, New Access, in a $100M+ private equity deal. He learned firsthand what it takes to go from exhaustion to exponential growth—and how the right strategy, mindset, and systems can help you 4X your revenue...

Ep 294 Scale Smarter: Use EOS to Add Another Zero with Rick Benton

Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

Scale Smarter: Use EOS to Add Another Zero with Rick Benton When business growth starts to feel like chaos, it’s time to add structure. EOS (the Entrepreneurial Operating System) gives you a clear roadmap to align people, processes, and profit — but when you combine it with the right financial systems, that’s when the real transformation happens. In this episode, Rick Benton, EOS Implementer and former multi-state business owner, joins Rocky Lalvani to unpack how EOS helps entrepreneurs simplify, scale, and create freedom. Together, they explore how visionaries can step...

Ep 293 From Bankruptcy to 60 Million: The Systems Behind a Successful Exit with Jason Sisneros

Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

From Bankruptcy to 60 Million: The Systems Behind a Successful Exit with Jason Sisneros Most business owners think success means more sales and more hustle. But Jason Sisneros discovered the opposite — freedom comes from systems, not speed. After crashing three businesses and digging himself millions into debt, Jason rebuilt from scratch. Over time, he created, scaled, and sold 26 companies with 6,800 employees for more than $60 million — all without investors or partners. Today, through his company Built to Exit, he helps business owners do what he finally mastered: design a...

More Episodes

Your P&L Is Lying—Here’s What to Track with Laresa McIntyre

Stop Chasing Revenue: How Fractional CFOs Clear the Financial Fog

Most business owners measure success by one thing: revenue growth. The problem? Revenue isn’t cash—and it doesn’t always translate into profit.

In this episode of Profit Answer Man, I sat down with Laresa McIntyre, founder of Rockbridge CFO, to uncover the blind spots that keep owners stuck in financial fog. Laresa brings over 15 years of CFO experience and now helps service-based businesses scale smarter with fractional CFO insight—without the six-figure price tags.

Key Lessons:

Profit Lives in Margins, Not Revenue. Chasing top-line growth without tracking margins is a recipe for burnout. Know which products and clients actually contribute to the bottom line, and be willing to cut or reprice the ones that don’t.
A CFO Looks Forward, Not Backward. Bookkeepers and controllers record history. A CFO interprets that history to help you forecast the future and make smarter decisions 6–24 months out. That’s where clarity—and profit—comes from.
Cash Forecasting Prevents Panic. Revenue timing rarely matches expense timing. A 12-week rolling cash forecast shows when money will actually land in your account and when bills come due, so payroll never sneaks up on you.
Growth Can Be Dangerous if Mis-Timed. Hiring ahead of sales is one of the fastest ways to destroy profitability. Use metrics like revenue per employee or labor efficiency ratio to know when it’s safe to add headcount.
Dashboards Need Action, Not Pretty Charts. Software may give you colorful graphs, but what matters is knowing which levers to pull: raise prices, renegotiate vendor terms, or shift client mix. Insight beats aesthetics.
Benchmark Yourself, Not the Industry. Industry averages often include failing businesses. The best benchmark is your own improvement over time—measured by profit, not just revenue.
Financial Fog Is Optional. Most founders walk around in a financial fog because the numbers feel intimidating. The cure? Honest conversations with someone who can translate financials into simple, actionable steps.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation:

The P&L Is Not Cash. Your profit and loss statement is an important report—but it leaves out distributions, debt payments, and sometimes even taxes. Use it in context with your balance sheet and cash forecasts, or risk flying blind.
Margins > Revenue. A “big client” may look impressive on paper, but if their gross margin is weak, they’re draining your business. Focus on products, services, and customers that actually add to the bottom line.
Forecast Cash Like Payroll Depends on It (Because It Does). A 12-week rolling cash forecast helps you avoid Friday panic. It reveals not just what’s in the bank today, but what’s coming in and going out over the next three months.
Hire After Sales, Not Before. Scaling too fast with payroll is one of the biggest traps. Track revenue per employee and labor efficiency to know when it’s really time to bring on the next hire.
Dashboards Are Useless Without Insight. Pretty graphs won’t grow your profit. The value is in translating numbers into action: what’s working, what’s broken, and what needs to change this month to protect your margins and cash flow.

About Laresa McIntyre:

Laresa McIntyre is the founder of Rockbridge CFO, where she helps service-based businesses scale smarter by providing executive-level financial insight without the cost of a full-time CFO. A Certified Management Accountant with an MBA and Master’s in Accounting, Laresa specializes in turning financial chaos into clarity, improving margins, and bringing calm to growth.

Links:

https://www.rockbridgecfo.com/

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

Conclusion:

Too many business owners work harder and harder for revenue, only to wonder why their bank balance never seems to catch up. The truth is, profit clarity comes not from chasing sales but from mastering margins, timing cash, and knowing when to grow.

As Laresa McIntyre reminds us, the P&L isn’t cash, growth without discipline creates fragility, and dashboards without insight are just noise. When you cut through the fog with the right forecasts, metrics, and financial guidance, you finally get what every business owner craves: calm, control, and consistent profit.

#ProfitFirst #BusinessFinance #CashFlowFix #FractionalCFO #FinancialClarity #Profitability #SmartScaling #EntrepreneurFinance

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman

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.

TOPICS