Libsyn Directory

Ep 296 Simple Numbers, Big Profits with Greg Crabtree: How to Scale Without Debt or Chaos

Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond

Release Date: 11/12/2025

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

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 are confusing or your growth isn’t showing up in profit, this conversation will show you exactly where to look and what to fix.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

Why accounting data is often misleading—and how to use “simple numbers” instead.
How to measure labor efficiency so your team drives profit, not just revenue.
The power of gross margin as the real top line of your business.
Why debt-free growth is possible with strong cash discipline.
What Greg’s 100-company study reveals about the real state of today’s economy.

Key Takeaways:

Gross Margin is King – Stop paying attention to revenue. Profit lives in the margin.
Know Your Labor Efficiency Ratio – Every $1 in labor should create $2 in gross margin.
Cash is a Strategy – Keep two months of operating expenses in the bank—your safety net for growth.
The Economy is Shifting – Growth won’t come from the market; it’ll come from taking share from weaker competitors.
Simplify Your Dashboard – If a number doesn’t drive a decision, take it off the report.

Bio:

Greg Crabtree, speaker, author, entrepreneur and financial expert. Greg founded his own firm Crabtree, Rowe and Berger to focus on helping entrepreneurs build their economic engine. After being named to the INC 5000 list for 2019, Greg’s firm merged with Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPA’s and Advisors, a top 20 U.S. Accounting firm to help broaden their impact on the entrepreneur community. Greg serves as the Partner in Charge of the Simple Numbers Consulting unit.

In 2011, Greg’s first book “Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits” shares his core principles of how to turn your business into a wealth building engine. In 2014, Greg contributed a chapter to Verne Harnish’s book, “Scaling Up” on how to improve profits though labor efficiency. In 2020, Greg released his newest book, “Simple Numbers 2.0: Rules for Smart Scaling”. Greg is a frequent speaker to groups like EO, Scaling Up (Gazelles), Metronomics, Bloom Growth, Vistage, ACETECH and many Mastermind groups and has presented in over 15 countries.

Greg also chairs the EO@Wharton Executive Education program for the last 7 years and serves as an EO Accelerator trainer since inception of the Accelerator program.

Both books are available on Amazon, Kindle and Audible.

Links:

Simple Numbers - https://www.simplenumberscri.com/

Greg Speaking - https://gregcrabtree.net/

Conclusion:

Greg Crabtree reminds us that business success isn’t about how much you sell—it’s about how efficiently you turn effort into profit. The future belongs to entrepreneurs who understand their numbers, make decisions from data, and lead with discipline. As Greg says, “You don’t need more data—you need the right data.”

Whether you’re running a $1M or $10M business, this episode will help you stop guessing, start measuring, and finally take control of your profits.

#ProfitFirst #SimpleNumbers #GregCrabtree #BusinessProfitability #CashFlow #Entrepreneurship #FinancialClarity #FractionalCFO #ProfitAnswerMan #SmallBusinessFinance #GrossMargin #BusinessGrowth #CashManagement #LaborEfficiency #ProfitabilityMatters

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.

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