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
Release Date: 12/22/2025
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
info_outlineThe 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 what separates “clean books” from a finance function that actually drives predictable profit.
The core insight is simple but uncomfortable: bookkeeping is not finance. And confusing the two is one of the biggest reasons growing businesses stall, leak cash, or scale problems instead of profit.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why clean books and tax-ready reports are not the same as decision-ready financials
- How a single, integrated financial model replaces disconnected spreadsheets and gut decisions
- What driver-based forecasting looks like and why it creates predictable profit at scale
- How funnel math, capacity planning, and cash flow must work together to support growth
- Why tracking customer acquisition cost by channel matters more than obsessing over lifetime value
- How private-equity thinking exposes hidden profit leaks in people, process, and culture
Key Takeaway:
If your financial reports are technically accurate but not helping you decide what to do next, the problem isn’t effort—it’s the model.
Upgrade from bookkeeping to real finance, and your numbers will finally start working for you instead of against you.
Bio:
As a seasoned finance professional with over 24 years of experience, his journey began with a passion for helping businesses thrive. After earning his degrees from Harvard and Wharton, he spent 15 years in venture capital, where he learned the ins and outs of what makes businesses successful. This experience provided him with a deep understanding of the challenges entrepreneurs face, especially in emerging and family-owned businesses.
Transitioning to the role of CFO in a high-growth company, he discovered his true calling: empowering business owners to take control of their financial futures. He founded CFO Pro + Analytics to provide virtual and fractional CFO services that demystify finance and make it accessible to all. His approach is built on a business owner-first mindset, where he prioritizes the unique needs of each client, helping them see their financial data not just as numbers, but as powerful tools for growth.
Throughout his career, He developed a methodology that combines strategic financial modeling with actionable insights. His goal is to simplify complex financial concepts so that entrepreneurs can make informed decisions confidently. Whether it's guiding them through capital raising or enhancing their operational efficiency, he strives to provide clarity and direction that drives real results.
He believes that every business has the potential to reach new heights with the right financial strategy.
Links:
Website: https://cfoproanalytics.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalvatoreTirabassi
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stirabassi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salvatoretirabassi/
Substack: https://salvatoretirabassi.substack.com/
Conclusion:
Chaotic growth is rarely a revenue problem. It’s a clarity problem.
As this conversation with Salvatore Tirabassi makes clear, most businesses don’t struggle because they lack effort or ambition. They struggle because their numbers are built for compliance, not for decisions. When financial reports are shaped by tax rules instead of business drivers, owners are left guessing, reacting, and hoping growth will eventually smooth things out.
Predictable profit comes from upgrading how you think about finance. One integrated model. One source of truth. Clear drivers that connect marketing, sales, capacity, and cash. When those pieces line up, the noise disappears. Decisions get easier. Teams align. And growth becomes intentional instead of exhausting.
Whether you plan to sell or simply want a calmer, more profitable business, running your company with CFO-level discipline gives you options. And options are what real freedom looks like.
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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.