14:10 She was a mess half the time it was hard to follow what she was talking about. I caught the ' botched' job. But how can you be in business and not know your numbers? how come you take a job that leave you with less money than when you started it? And how can they've been limbing along for 5 years, only to hit a catastrofic job that makes you lose your team. What the hell, let to this? I'm still lost for words.
16:08 they really should have just bit the bullet for an accountant to get their books straight. In business you would rather die than having messed your books. Just on my personal finances, i keep a weekly checkup. Just for the bookkeeping sake. They could have looked at odoo. But whatever they'd do, just get a pro in this mess.
I think many businesses are like this. It’s hard hearing that someone is working hard for nothing. I would rather do nothing and make nothing, than something and make nothing.
As a project manager I always thought what I was doing was just common sense...after listening to Dave do these entree leadership calls I see that it not something everyone has and can follow through on
In this simple but common sense reply I realize what a project manager does. 😅 And Dave gave 2 semesters of college courses in 2 replies but people talk over him. He explained what business IS and people think he is explaining their particular business. I think people got rid of workers thinking they can do their jobs. - Trying to save money. A business will cost money and risk but each employee should bring in more than they cost you to be there. 1st course: CostOfGoodsSold-Expenses=NetProfit (Capital gains) 2nd course: In marketing ... It costs more to get a new customer than to keep an old one happy. WORD OF MOUTH is still the best advertising. (Keep the customer happy) You break it - you fix it. I believe whatever you do you should do well. It can be house cleaning anything you need to stand out as different. This is like having a website that's only parked there you have to drive traffic to it. Then you have to keep them coming back. We are all talented and can learn from each other. But most don't want to be humble enough to listen to others. Maybe the caller said she doesn't want 14 employees because she couldn't trust them. It's harder to keep track of people. And this is what is happening 😔 in the World today. Anthony O'Neil just did a video on things he wished he knew about being in his own business.
The thing about accounting software is, if the person who’s operating, the software does not understand accounting principles the software is going to yield garbage. I have seen it time and again. I remember when my Church asked me to help them straighten out their books. The church was using QuickBooks, and the church secretary was doing all of the data entry. She had no idea what she was doing. The first thing I did was print out financial statements, a balance sheet and income statement. The balance sheet did not look like a balance sheet, and the income statement did not look like an income statement. That’s what happens when you put someone who knows nothing about accounting in front of accounting software.
So you're telling everyone that your church was too cheap to hire an accountant. Don't blame the secretary for secretary works. She didn't major in accounting or software engineering. That is not her job. People usually spend more money to get those degrees. Quit pointing the finger and point it back at your church. Garbage out is all they're gonna get.
Dave's providers don't know what they are doing. He doesn't have a process to vet them, but just keeps pushing them. I've never heard anyone give a testimonial about his preferred providers fixing anything.
It's funny you say that. I'm an accountant, and I HATE QuickBooks. Sure, I can use it, and sure I've worked with people who insist on using it and having me show them how to use it. But at the end of the day I much prefer to build as many of my own tools as possible. I can do WAY more with something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet than I can ever do QuickBooks. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things that QuickBooks does REALLY well, so if someone happens to need it for what it does well it can be a great alternative. But what went through my mind with your comment is if the person who's operating the software doesn't understand accounting principles the software is going to yield garbage, BUT if the person DOES really understand accounting principles they may technically not even need the software to get it done.
I had a small business - we used quickbooks and we had a fantastic accountant that specialized in startups and small business's. We cleared $1m our first year and $3M our second. Knowing where your money comes from, and where it goes is brutally important. You get it wrong and you'll find out how brutal.
Most small businesses below $10 million in revenue are better off using a local CPA to keep the books. Depending on the structure of the business and nature of the revenue, this model could work until revenue exceeds $25 million.
(1st caller) I would disagree, ran well for a long time with minimal books..... Unless the person running the business (AKA the husband in this case) knows the risks, the costs, and how to make money. That could be spreadsheet tracking. In my business I am a price taker, not a price maker once I accept that then I need to choose the correct jobs and avoid the duds. That's the art!
@@Richard-Burdett-Bow It is impossible to determine whether or not a business is making a profit without having an effective cost accounting system. Relying on the amount of available cash on hand or on deposit in a bank account is a recipe for financial disaster, for it does not consider the outstanding checks which have yet to be cashed. This lunacy is precisely why the caller ended up having to lay off all employees.
There’s a lot to learn as a business owner - financial knowledge, sales and marketing, correct pricing, customer service and conflict resolution, hiring well, people and organization management, which is probably the toughest part of owning a business, project execution, project planning and delegating work, holding yourself and others accountable, the list is endless. Being an expert in your field is not enough to operate a profitable, well-run business. Ofcourse, it’s not something most new business owners consider or realize. My husband and I were in the same place as the caller. Clueless about everything except our craft. That’s why we made a decision for me to enroll in an online MBa program to learn the fundamentals. The first fundamental that you learn is that having the best product or service is not enough to sustain a competitive advantage and a market share.
Not for Americans; just make money and spend money! Who cares about all the other stuff, as long as we can say we make 1 mil a year, drive a nice car, and live a false reality.
Business is the most interesting thing to build a podcast around. Listen to real businesses and their struggles, as well as Dave insightful solutions to them. Real concrete problems.
Brilliant solution for Simon! Wow, Dave. If they implement this, they will have SUCH excellent customer service. As a customer, I would LOVE to be treated this way.
My dad and uncle were in business together - My uncle handled sales/admin- My father handled Manufacturing - my cousin worked for my father, I worked for my uncle... it worked out well, as they made us adhere to the expectations of "regular" employees.
It’s a combination of ignorance plus overconfidence plus lack of capital. Ideally, someone with top notch technical skills has a partner or an advisor with stellar financial experience. Most don’t realize how much needs to be accomplished on the back end to operate a sustainable, profitable business. How many people know how to do cash flow projections, how to set a correct price, how to sell, how to create systems, how to hire well when they start a business relying solely on their one technical skill? Another problem is that while there are resources like business coaches and advisors, who charge anywhere from $250-$500/hr, most small business owners who are barely scraping by can’t afford the access to those resources. The access to peer groups starts at $10,000 annually.
News break...hire a bookkeeper or cpa and most of them don't know what they are doing. The business owner or his wife needs to take some business accounting courses so even if they hire professional help to do the work, they will know if it's done right before it's critical.
As a commercial lender, I’ve witnessed some really gifted craftsmen, tradesmen and physicians put themselves out of business because they didn’t manage the books and relied on CPA to make sense of at year end. Thats too late to realize the business isn’t making a profit.
I own 3 construction companies. I spent first 5 years learning how to manage a business while working side jobs that eventually grew into my first business. You are spot on.
You can win lots of jobs if you dont understand business and underprice your services. The big winner is the general contractor that hired them for that big job at a substantial discount to what the cost should have been
No one should call DR without having the pertinent info. She was so in the dark. I think her husband was there with her because someone came up with some numbers.
Someone said without Dave there is no Ramsey business. I concur, the business maybe generating enough revenue for him to retire but the reason Dave exists is to help people and these silly little happy hour shows don’t address real money problems and money management and probably aren’t real useful to people with problems not to mention those struggling with addictions. Just my thoughts, don’t retire Dave!
With the first caller it sounds like employees may have lost their jobs because of incompetent money management. She was completely lost. I’m willing to bet they have a large tax debt
I bet they didn`T let the people go but they just left when they didn`T got paid. Also they totally screwed up their vendors businesses when they owe them so much.
i have had a dozen people wanting to start a business with me. once i started asking questions, their answers were NO for most things. then they said "thats what I need you for, because you think of those things"
Ever heard of a deposit and change order? Big jobs pay 50% BEFORE JOB STARTS! It covers labor, materials, overhead, taxes and margin for incidental. At three-quarter completion 25% payment and final payment at completion. No pay no work, I’m in business to make money, not waste time.
A service manager will need to make the calls for repairs because service technicians are pretty young, don't understand following up with handymen and customer for satisfaction and completion. The company should give a small financial spiff to any technician who proactively brings a damage they did claim to the service manager. This can be mentioned in the sales process to suggest during sales meetings with customers that "you care". Also you'd be surprised how many handymen come and go, aren't reliable, go out of business, and need to be managed. You techs don't have the time or skillset to do this.
How does the first caller cry to Dave for help with some kind of bookkeeping software solution and leave Dave speechless only to hear him give an ad for one immediately after?
The free market will sift out the small businesses that “suck at bookkeeping”. You will stop feeling like you are constantly failing when you stop constantly failing. If you do not understand your cost structure there is no way to bid jobs competently.
Dave is way too nice to these callers or in particular the first caller. That person quite frankly was ignorant and possibly even somewhat of an idiot but more than likely just ignorance more than anything. I don't know if she was running the business or for her husband was or they both were trying to do it together but the reality is, neither one of them should be running the business and they need to have somebody else do it because they obviously don't know what the hell they're doing. Just because you have talent and you can do things and provide a service doesn't mean you should be running a business. If you're going to be running a business, then you have to understand how you need to run that business so you can actually make a profit at the end of the day. And the problem is, she made it sound like neither one of them knew how to actually do that and they were just winging things on the job. You can't do that if you want to have actual structure and manage a business. Need to know the costs of the goods or services that you are going to provide and what it's going to take to pay employees as well as what it takes to pay for other things like rent and utilities and the costs of operating your business as a whole. And then, at the end of the day, you need to figure out how you're going to have any sort of profit so you can have at least a little bit of extra left over for yourself at the end of the day as well. Otherwise, it's pointless to try to run a business because if you're running a business just to run a business but then you're paying more out than what is coming in, then you are constantly losing money which is just completely stupid. I'm sorry but that's kind of where I'm at with the first caller. They're not very bright. And I agree with somebody else that commented that said that her husband should have been the one calling and discussing things or at least both of them for sure. The basic reality is, they don't know what the hell they are doing and they aren't organized at all and it's just a complete debacle. At this rate, more than likely she needs to go and work for somebody else to try to provide an income and perhaps he needs to go and work for somebody else as well for a couple years so that he could get the debt paid off and then go back out on his own maybe later when they understand things better. They screwed themselves by getting themselves into as much debt as they did and not understanding how they got into that debt to begin with and just not saying no to certain things on the jobs. When that one job that was supposed to take about 9 weeks turned into 6 or 7 months ended up starting to take longer than it was supposed to, that is when she should have figured out what was going on right then and there and they should have put a stop to what they were providing for services until things got straightened out.
QB online is awful, Pro isn't much better. Premier and Enterprise weren't too bad, in my opinion, though it's been a few years since I had to use them.
Exactly. I never recommend Online. Desktop Premiere, and Enterprise if needed, are actually great programs for accounting even if you also have another customized software program for operations of your specific industry.
I would never pay a supplier 50% up front for work. Labor, materials, taxes overhead are normal business costs that you should finance yourself. In my country, you invoice a customer for work or products, when the services or products have been delivered. I am not going to provide my suppliers with working capitol by way of a 'deposit'. Financing businesses is what banks are for...I don't operate a bank.
When asked a direct question she answers indirectly. Her thinking is very disorganized hence the business operations and structure is extremely disorganized. The same mind that created these problems will be unlikely able to think differently enough to get out of the problem. A very close mentor or operations person will need to oversee this couple in setting up and overseeing the structures of business.
Some people are better off working for someone else...because the 1st caller should not be running a business...clueless about business.....can only imagine the other debt not mentioned...car payments ' mortgage ' student loans etc....they're beyond bankrupt and don't even realise it...very sad...
I'm tendering my notice to my current employer, they refuse to stop treating the business like a personal wallet. 14 people in a 1.4m business, welders make 45k+ that's 500k+ in payroll, holy shit
He was a teenager of 19 years old when he started his own business. I wonder if he had any guidance doing this. Being so young problems would happen if he had no experience with business.
Hi Dave! Thanks for all of your valuable financial/life information! I know that many years ago you were forced into bankruptcy by a bank that was worried about your ability to repay their loans. Can you please tell me if - in the end - they got all of their money back, or did their strategy backfire on them and cost them alot of money? If so that was not too bright, was it? Thanks!
She's just starting this year to get ahold of the paperwork. Dave said zero to help with a recommendation for the best accounting software to use which was her request.
All businesses end when they run out of money. There is definitely a cash-flow problem, based on a lack of basic business principles. If half of your prospects think you are too high, then you are probably doing it right . . .
And here folks is a perfect example of how important and critical is delegating a vital business task for a fairly small cost, that in turn provides a perspective vantage point on your business. ALL of this could have been easily avoided by proper accounting. DISCLAIMER: we don't do any type of accounting
This lady doesn't even know what the terms profit, revenue, expense, etc. even mean. She started the call with how much they make, but as she goes on, even a blind person can see they havent turned a profit EVER.
omg. i have a company. this call makes me feel like a super hero genius! maybe i am, 4 years in we have multi billion pound clients. Maybe i'm smart than i think I am
What should’ve happened here on this large job is it be done in phases? Take a deposit on the first phase and at the end of that phase you collect the money you take a deposit for the second phase so forth and welding business you have to build out each section to assemble it, each section is a phase lack of management because they lack of proper cash floor and budgeting… To phase this job properly should’ve taken a look at it that all right this this and this is phase 1. We gotta have ex amount down to do the job, which is a minimum of your material cost, then at the completion of that phase you get your labor cost plus the cost of the next phase which is this this and this at the end of each phase you’re good in your labor plus the cost of the next phase for customer materials. is that simple for people tend to make mistakes is under calculating time as discussed here and it’s just one bowl to couple of bolts there don’t worry about billing it all hardware everything has to be documented. Also in the welding business typically 50% down does not give you break even cash flow is typically between 70 and 75% with that being said, the next aspect we 25% to pay at the end of each phase and makes it more manageable for everybody at no time should you ever float the cost of materials ever on a job? I wouldn’t float the cost of materials or labor when the materials going out to a job site, if you float the labor, it should be that you make the parts the parts stay in the warehouse and you could float the labor until it’s paid for… Nothing should ever leave the workshop to go to a job site until it’s fully paid for unless there is pre-negotiated terms and you have a letter from a bankstating that they’re going to back any monies and you should be paid within 30 days of the completion of the job
It sounds like the 1st caller is saying that they were not paid for work performed. They need to get an attorney. She had to lay off employees because they were not paid for services rendered. Accounting doesn't seem to be the problem
They can certainly get an attorney. But I think Dave was trying to get to the root of the problem which is that without knowing exactly where you stand financially you cannot know how to proceed with clients or what jobs to take on. And can end up taking on a job costing much more time and money than you can afford, then you need to charge more than the estimated price, which seems to be what happened here.
Layoffs are abhorrent and are evidence of mismanagement. It is a business 101 practice that should require more third-party scrutinization and more owner/shareholder accountability (fines/taxes/etc). Responsible businesses hire with accounting for cost and consider layoffs to be an absolute last resort (and not as the first strategy for recovering from a mistake).
This response is evidence of what's wrong with the business world. Employees who accepted employment in good faith become "deadweight" and are cast aside. Employees who entrusted the financial security of their families become unemployed (typically without adequate warning and without sufficient severance). Businesses who favor the wealth of owners and supplier contracts over employees have poor culture and are mismanaged and are not businesses worth saving. If your business is cyclical or per-project, hire freelance or temporary employees within the bounds of the 1099 rules. Understand job costing, hire conservatively and responsibly, and make a commitment to your business and your employees. Self employment requires sacrifice. A business owner might have to delay or reduce their own compensation to make payroll and pay suppliers. But naive business owners use their businesses as personal bank accounts with draws, salaries, company cars, bogus travel, etc.
I wouldn't want to be employed by a company being run by a 19 year old. Maybe if his parents started the company and he's being eased into leadership while they overwatch but definitely not just the kid.
Business is tough sometimes.... employees sometimes cannot understand the owners' problems and vice versa! WHo will work and never complain ... a newly hired immigrant who really cannot speak the language.
I made kindle fire tho..so I was like protecting others from my product and it happened..like don't think about a woman trying to take down a brick wall.
The HVAC guy is a rookie. If your going into a 100 year old home, wood is like bones, and will break or snap. Boilers can be broken apart into sections, and customer can be made aware of this. Tell the customer, your bid will be cheaper, if we bring it in whole, but labor necessary if its going to be taken apart. The person signing the job should have client sign a damage waiver for the stairs on that job, and that the HVAC company is suggesting a better way to do it. This is a bit of a CYA. If things break, this should not be on the tech, or the person answering the phones....somebody there needs to be there to handle the damages, or go through insurnace, and the business owner should have relationships with furniture restorers, painters, etc. A business needs a fund so when things go wrong, you have the ability to fix it and make it right. If an employee is causing damage, and not reporting it, or not being clean, put them on performance management, and then bye bye. If the client is waiting three months to bring up an issue that is not related, kick rocks, and make sure the person selling job lets client to know to report property damage to said person in charge of handling it as employees will be sneaky....its not easy, but very straightforward.
I feel bad for Taylor as it isn't even her fault; seems like she was being told to call Ramsey while she didn't know the details. The owner of the company that knows everything should have done the talking...
I feel bad for the first caller, it sounds like her husband fell in to that all too common new business owner trap, he probably didn't like the last place he worked so he started his own business to "be his own boss" but in reality all he knows or wants to do is be a welder, so all he does is weld while they completely ignore the business and boss side of things. People should not encourage others to go into business for themselves, as much as they do. They mean well, but it's usually a terrible idea. Learning these lessons as you go is also a terrible idea.
@@CM-sy3to 100% wrong, completely absolutely wrong. You want to go to a dentist that bought a dremel from home depot and just stared drilling on teeth one day, or one who went to dental school? If you need your car fixed do you want some guy who just started taking things apart one day or someone who went to a trade school or went through an apprenticeship? Learn from others so you don't have to make dumb avoidable mistakes. That should be the first thing you learn, about how to learn, that most people who just "learn by doing" miss out on and why they fail.
How do you have employees but not at least one or two CPAs especially when you don't seem to understand the financials at all and yes you need some basic understanding of that and you should be meeting with the caps weekly to understand everything but that's why a lot of companies don't make it your a professional in your field but not in finance like isn't the 3rd or 4 th person you always hire after you get more work than you can do a CPA you'd think that's common sense....
I bid double expenses and 10% extra... if the customer is cool at the end there's a 10% discount if they hassle no discount... I call it azzhole tax.😂😂 The bid is 4 payable @ 30% 30% 30% 10% This keeps everyone honest. Since they know that 10% is on the end they know I'm gonna finish This soothe the little guy and homeowners They're nervous. Don't forget to estimate keep enough for 3 months overhead. I'd quit at 3 months so that's 6 months cash holding. Run on the 90 days and 10 day grace At 80 days of cash holding close the business. Stop operation and get a new plan for moving forward before you lose ur house and assets
With American situation rn.... buy a tow truck on payments and side hustle repo at night. There's a boom in repo. Hire a thug to ride with you at 40 bucks to look mean. 30 days Send the thug out with the truck... Now you have a repo business under a llc. Repos slow down ... when? Recession proof... second... hire a roofer to do repairs on apartment complex and commercial property management will hire you. Dude has a truck tools and exp he can't do paperwork... You find the guy by asking for the good roofer at various apartments. Recession proof. Investors are gonna fix the roof. This applies to every single skilled labor field. Monetize that buddy who knows how does excellent work and don't know business... Listen to these guy's Rent a management llc. Calm ❤
Nepotism. It's not just when a doofus has a job because of relation. It's special treatment like Dave describes his son recieves. His son may be a compitent guy, but no other person in the company gets unique meetings, mentorship, etc from other stakeholders and himself. No matter how great an employee is, if they aren't related or bringing in lots of outside revenue; they don't recieve the same treatment in an organization.
The problem is obvious, she has no clue about her business numbers. No accounting dept. don't know how much is coming in and going out.
Because people ONLY care about $$$. That directly reflects why Americans have a spending problem. Thinking "oh just make money money money."
14:10 She was a mess half the time it was hard to follow what she was talking about. I caught the ' botched' job. But how can you be in business and not know your numbers? how come you take a job that leave you with less money than when you started it? And how can they've been limbing along for 5 years, only to hit a catastrofic job that makes you lose your team. What the hell, let to this? I'm still lost for words.
16:08 they really should have just bit the bullet for an accountant to get their books straight. In business you would rather die than having messed your books. Just on my personal finances, i keep a weekly checkup. Just for the bookkeeping sake. They could have looked at odoo. But whatever they'd do, just get a pro in this mess.
To be fair, it sounds like she’s just getting involved in the business and is trying to get a grasp on everything more like a new business owner.
I think many businesses are like this. It’s hard hearing that someone is working hard for nothing. I would rather do nothing and make nothing, than something and make nothing.
As a project manager I always thought what I was doing was just common sense...after listening to Dave do these entree leadership calls I see that it not something everyone has and can follow through on
The problem is you can't define common sense. What's common sense to one person has to be taught to someone else.
In the long run, all common sense comes from something you’ve learned from life.
In this simple but common sense reply I realize what a project manager does. 😅
And Dave gave 2 semesters of college courses in 2 replies but people talk over him.
He explained what business IS and people think he is explaining their particular business.
I think people got rid of workers thinking they can do their jobs.
- Trying to save money. A business will cost money and risk but each employee should bring in more than they cost you to be there.
1st course:
CostOfGoodsSold-Expenses=NetProfit (Capital gains)
2nd course:
In marketing ... It costs more to get a new customer than to keep an old one happy. WORD OF MOUTH is still the best advertising.
(Keep the customer happy)
You break it - you fix it.
I believe whatever you do you should do well. It can be house cleaning anything you need to stand out as different.
This is like having a website that's only parked there you have to drive traffic to it. Then you have to keep them coming back.
We are all talented and can learn from each other.
But most don't want to be humble enough to listen to others.
Maybe the caller said she doesn't want 14 employees because she couldn't trust them. It's harder to keep track of people. And this is what is happening 😔 in the World today.
Anthony O'Neil just did a video on things he wished he knew about being in his own business.
ALL my bosses were inept slave whippers - PMs = best arse kisser. My opinion
The thing about accounting software is, if the person who’s operating, the software does not understand accounting principles the software is going to yield garbage. I have seen it time and again. I remember when my Church asked me to help them straighten out their books. The church was using QuickBooks, and the church secretary was doing all of the data entry. She had no idea what she was doing. The first thing I did was print out financial statements, a balance sheet and income statement. The balance sheet did not look like a balance sheet, and the income statement did not look like an income statement. That’s what happens when you put someone who knows nothing about accounting in front of accounting software.
Garbage in, garbage out!
So you're telling everyone that your church was too cheap to hire an accountant. Don't blame the secretary for secretary works. She didn't major in accounting or software engineering. That is not her job. People usually spend more money to get those degrees. Quit pointing the finger and point it back at your church. Garbage out is all they're gonna get.
Dave's providers don't know what they are doing. He doesn't have a process to vet them, but just keeps pushing them. I've never heard anyone give a testimonial about his preferred providers fixing anything.
But even accountants have employees that don’t know anything do the data entry as well
It's funny you say that. I'm an accountant, and I HATE QuickBooks. Sure, I can use it, and sure I've worked with people who insist on using it and having me show them how to use it. But at the end of the day I much prefer to build as many of my own tools as possible. I can do WAY more with something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet than I can ever do QuickBooks. Don't get me wrong, there are certain things that QuickBooks does REALLY well, so if someone happens to need it for what it does well it can be a great alternative. But what went through my mind with your comment is if the person who's operating the software doesn't understand accounting principles the software is going to yield garbage, BUT if the person DOES really understand accounting principles they may technically not even need the software to get it done.
I had a small business - we used quickbooks and we had a fantastic accountant that specialized in startups and small business's. We cleared $1m our first year and $3M our second. Knowing where your money comes from, and where it goes is brutally important. You get it wrong and you'll find out how brutal.
Business owners that don't take their Accounting & I.T Infrastructures seriously. Will always struggle.
Most small businesses below $10 million in revenue are better off using a local CPA to keep the books. Depending on the structure of the business and nature of the revenue, this model could work until revenue exceeds $25 million.
(1st caller) I would disagree, ran well for a long time with minimal books..... Unless the person running the business (AKA the husband in this case) knows the risks, the costs, and how to make money. That could be spreadsheet tracking. In my business I am a price taker, not a price maker once I accept that then I need to choose the correct jobs and avoid the duds. That's the art!
@@Richard-Burdett-Bow It is impossible to determine whether or not a business is making a profit without having an effective cost accounting system. Relying on the amount of available cash on hand or on deposit in a bank account is a recipe for financial disaster, for it does not consider the outstanding checks which have yet to be cashed.
This lunacy is precisely why the caller ended up having to lay off all employees.
I have a bookkeeper,financial budgeting guy and an accountant, and it's even still a job in itself to make sure you keep an eye on their work
There’s a lot to learn as a business owner - financial knowledge, sales and marketing, correct pricing, customer service and conflict resolution, hiring well, people and organization management, which is probably the toughest part of owning a business, project execution, project planning and delegating work, holding yourself and others accountable, the list is endless. Being an expert in your field is not enough to operate a profitable, well-run business. Ofcourse, it’s not something most new business owners consider or realize. My husband and I were in the same place as the caller. Clueless about everything except our craft. That’s why we made a decision for me to enroll in an online MBa program to learn the fundamentals. The first fundamental that you learn is that having the best product or service is not enough to sustain a competitive advantage and a market share.
Brilliant comment. So true
Not for Americans; just make money and spend money! Who cares about all the other stuff, as long as we can say we make 1 mil a year, drive a nice car, and live a false reality.
Without Dave there is no Dave Ramsey show!
Really? Einstein
Business is the most interesting thing to build a podcast around. Listen to real businesses and their struggles, as well as Dave insightful solutions to them. Real concrete problems.
The first caller gets an F for communication!!!! Frustrating listening to her
Even if she's stressed during the call. It has to be difficult to listen to her talking irl.
And Dave doesn’t always seem to understand contracting and some of the nuances of construction
you are so funny!!!! Love the comment.
She’s lying that’s why.
Brilliant solution for Simon! Wow, Dave. If they implement this, they will have SUCH excellent customer service. As a customer, I would LOVE to be treated this way.
My dad and uncle were in business together - My uncle handled sales/admin- My father handled Manufacturing - my cousin worked for my father, I worked for my uncle... it worked out well, as they made us adhere to the expectations of "regular" employees.
Good thing neither father got territorial over sons
If the welder isn’t making 2 times what he’d be making working for a welding company 8-5 then he needs to close the business.
Hell 5x-10x in my books
Do small business owners just open businesses for the vibes? Literally every small business owner just shrugs when it comes to their numbers.
They don't know how to run a business
It’s a combination of ignorance plus overconfidence plus lack of capital. Ideally, someone with top notch technical skills has a partner or an advisor with stellar financial experience. Most don’t realize how much needs to be accomplished on the back end to operate a sustainable, profitable business. How many people know how to do cash flow projections, how to set a correct price, how to sell, how to create systems, how to hire well when they start a business relying solely on their one technical skill? Another problem is that while there are resources like business coaches and advisors, who charge anywhere from $250-$500/hr, most small business owners who are barely scraping by can’t afford the access to those resources. The access to peer groups starts at $10,000 annually.
News break...hire a bookkeeper or cpa and most of them don't know what they are doing. The business owner or his wife needs to take some business accounting courses so even if they hire professional help to do the work, they will know if it's done right before it's critical.
As a commercial lender, I’ve witnessed some really gifted craftsmen, tradesmen and physicians put themselves out of business because they didn’t manage the books and relied on CPA to make sense of at year end. Thats too late to realize the business isn’t making a profit.
These businessmen should have paid the CPA to keep the books, too.
I own 3 construction companies. I spent first 5 years learning how to manage a business while working side jobs that eventually grew into my first business.
You are spot on.
On the first call I don't understand why the husband didn't make the phone call
Because he's a welder.
Because he doesn't want to hear Dave's insults.
I admire Dave’s patience. Very kind and measured.
You can win lots of jobs if you dont understand business and underprice your services. The big winner is the general contractor that hired them for that big job at a substantial discount to what the cost should have been
No one should call DR without having the pertinent info. She was so in the dark. I think her husband was there with her because someone came up with some numbers.
Someone said without Dave there is no Ramsey business. I concur, the business maybe generating enough revenue for him to retire but the reason Dave exists is to help people and these silly little happy hour shows don’t address real money problems and money management and probably aren’t real useful to people with problems not to mention those struggling with addictions. Just my thoughts, don’t retire Dave!
Listening to this show is like taking an MBA course
@ASouthernBoyCanSurvive yep! ❤
This is better than the crap they teach at the majority of universities.
When you call Dave, you know your answer but you want to hear it on a deeper voice :)
You already know the answer but you want a southern grandpa put it in scolding format.
Self help is a multi billion dollar industry
So interesting listening to Dave explain.
With the first caller it sounds like employees may have lost their jobs because of incompetent money management. She was completely lost. I’m willing to bet they have a large tax debt
I bet they didn`T let the people go but they just left when they didn`T got paid. Also they totally screwed up their vendors businesses when they owe them so much.
200k in vendor debt and you don't know if you make a profit or how much......
It was PAINFUL listening to that woman. Her thoughts are all over the place, no wonder their business is out of order.
Great show Dave. First time I’ve caught the show. Great stuff, thank you!
Just because you have a skill doesn’t mean you should own your own company🙄
i have had a dozen people wanting to start a business with me.
once i started asking questions, their answers were NO for most things.
then they said
"thats what I need you for, because you think of those things"
Ever heard of a deposit and change order?
Big jobs pay 50% BEFORE JOB STARTS! It covers labor, materials, overhead, taxes and margin for incidental. At three-quarter completion 25% payment and final payment at completion.
No pay no work, I’m in business to make money, not waste time.
1.4 million isn’t much with 14 people. I grossed 400k + regularly with just my brother and myself and a Van
A service manager will need to make the calls for repairs because service technicians are pretty young, don't understand following up with handymen and customer for satisfaction and completion. The company should give a small financial spiff to any technician who proactively brings a damage they did claim to the service manager. This can be mentioned in the sales process to suggest during sales meetings with customers that "you care". Also you'd be surprised how many handymen come and go, aren't reliable, go out of business, and need to be managed. You techs don't have the time or skillset to do this.
Guarantee hubby drives a $100k+ work truck
I posted virtually the same thing before I read yours.
I pick her for a sweet BMW.
And she has nails, eyelash, hair extensions etc on lol
If money/profit is 'missing' it sounds like the 1st caller needs a good bookkeeper.
100% parts 25% labor up front as a deposit before starting a job.
This lady is insane! 1.4 million with 14 employees Math doesn't add up. You had way too many employees for amount of work and sales!
Local welders are cheap though
She has no idea.
Yeah my Dad's business does about 1.5 mil a year and he only has 2 employees. 14 is insane.
I don’t understand how you can call in for help without knowing pertinent info
So cool for Dave's son, Daniel, he was really set up good!
Too bad for the daughters. At least one didn't even start in this business.
@@CM-sy3to His daughter Rachel is a powerhouse in the business.
I’m guessing they charge X amount of money for a job and when they get paid, they live off of that.
How does the first caller cry to Dave for help with some kind of bookkeeping software solution and leave Dave speechless only to hear him give an ad for one immediately after?
The free market will sift out the small businesses that “suck at bookkeeping”. You will stop feeling like you are constantly failing when you stop constantly failing. If you do not understand your cost structure there is no way to bid jobs competently.
So what they’re trying to say is they spent the rent money
They grew too large, too fast. Always ensure you are making profits first before adding more employees..then add them slowly.
Dave is way too nice to these callers or in particular the first caller. That person quite frankly was ignorant and possibly even somewhat of an idiot but more than likely just ignorance more than anything.
I don't know if she was running the business or for her husband was or they both were trying to do it together but the reality is, neither one of them should be running the business and they need to have somebody else do it because they obviously don't know what the hell they're doing.
Just because you have talent and you can do things and provide a service doesn't mean you should be running a business. If you're going to be running a business, then you have to understand how you need to run that business so you can actually make a profit at the end of the day. And the problem is, she made it sound like neither one of them knew how to actually do that and they were just winging things on the job. You can't do that if you want to have actual structure and manage a business. Need to know the costs of the goods or services that you are going to provide and what it's going to take to pay employees as well as what it takes to pay for other things like rent and utilities and the costs of operating your business as a whole. And then, at the end of the day, you need to figure out how you're going to have any sort of profit so you can have at least a little bit of extra left over for yourself at the end of the day as well. Otherwise, it's pointless to try to run a business because if you're running a business just to run a business but then you're paying more out than what is coming in, then you are constantly losing money which is just completely stupid.
I'm sorry but that's kind of where I'm at with the first caller. They're not very bright.
And I agree with somebody else that commented that said that her husband should have been the one calling and discussing things or at least both of them for sure.
The basic reality is, they don't know what the hell they are doing and they aren't organized at all and it's just a complete debacle.
At this rate, more than likely she needs to go and work for somebody else to try to provide an income and perhaps he needs to go and work for somebody else as well for a couple years so that he could get the debt paid off and then go back out on his own maybe later when they understand things better.
They screwed themselves by getting themselves into as much debt as they did and not understanding how they got into that debt to begin with and just not saying no to certain things on the jobs.
When that one job that was supposed to take about 9 weeks turned into 6 or 7 months ended up starting to take longer than it was supposed to, that is when she should have figured out what was going on right then and there and they should have put a stop to what they were providing for services until things got straightened out.
Nasty comment. Rich people with big contracts like to screw over their subcontractors who are used to dealing with honest folks.
Hope to hear more of this podcast.
yeah see, half the battle is knowing all the moving parts of a business.....been there done that....
QB online is awful, Pro isn't much better. Premier and Enterprise weren't too bad, in my opinion, though it's been a few years since I had to use them.
Exactly. I never recommend Online. Desktop Premiere, and Enterprise if needed, are actually great programs for accounting even if you also have another customized software program for operations of your specific industry.
I’m guessing the owner has a $120,00 Chevy truck, the wife has a new 5 series, and they refuse to downsize.
Why not take a few semesters of accounting and a semester of finance at college?
Isn't a business suppose to file taxes quarterly (paying ahead.)
Congrats to Simon for taking the vacation!!
I would never pay a supplier 50% up front for work. Labor, materials, taxes overhead are normal business costs that you should finance yourself. In my country, you invoice a customer for work or products, when the services or products have been delivered. I am not going to provide my suppliers with working capitol by way of a 'deposit'. Financing businesses is what banks are for...I don't operate a bank.
She can hire out a business accountant, right? She handled the grilling from Dave like a champ.
When asked a direct question she answers indirectly. Her thinking is very disorganized hence the business operations and structure is extremely disorganized. The same mind that created these problems will be unlikely able to think differently enough to get out of the problem. A very close mentor or operations person will need to oversee this couple in setting up and overseeing the structures of business.
I’m surprised Dave didn’t ask if they were both driving $100,000.00 vehicles?
The wife of the last caller will be very surprised when her husband tells her how much of a raise they just got! I’m happy for them 😊
Thank you for the information.
Some people are better off working for someone else...because the 1st caller should not be running a business...clueless about business.....can only imagine the other debt not mentioned...car payments ' mortgage ' student loans etc....they're beyond bankrupt and don't even realise it...very sad...
Horrible nasty comment!
Great choice of words…..you need an accounting autopsy.
I'm tendering my notice to my current employer, they refuse to stop treating the business like a personal wallet.
14 people in a 1.4m business, welders make 45k+ that's 500k+ in payroll, holy shit
He was a teenager of 19 years old when he started his own business. I wonder if he had any guidance doing this. Being so young problems would happen if he had no experience with business.
Hi Dave! Thanks for all of your valuable financial/life information! I know that many years ago you were forced into bankruptcy by a bank that was worried about your ability to repay their loans. Can you please tell me if - in the end - they got all of their money back, or did their strategy backfire on them and cost them alot of money? If so that was not too bright, was it? Thanks!
What exactly is her role in the company?
Who knows? She quit her real jon.
She's just starting this year to get ahold of the paperwork. Dave said zero to help with a recommendation for the best accounting software to use which was her request.
My husband company he works for does this very thing, brake it get it fixed!!!
Th customer needs not to even think about it
All businesses end when they run out of money. There is definitely a cash-flow problem, based on a lack of basic business principles. If half of your prospects think you are too high, then you are probably doing it right . . .
And here folks is a perfect example of how important and critical is delegating a vital business task for a fairly small cost, that in turn provides a perspective vantage point on your business.
ALL of this could have been easily avoided by proper accounting.
DISCLAIMER: we don't do any type of accounting
Absolutely.
This lady doesn't even know what the terms profit, revenue, expense, etc. even mean. She started the call with how much they make, but as she goes on, even a blind person can see they havent turned a profit EVER.
What percentage of businesses turn a profit their first 3-5 years?
omg. i have a company. this call makes me feel like a super hero genius! maybe i am, 4 years in we have multi billion pound clients. Maybe i'm smart than i think I am
What should’ve happened here on this large job is it be done in phases? Take a deposit on the first phase and at the end of that phase you collect the money you take a deposit for the second phase so forth and welding business you have to build out each section to assemble it, each section is a phase lack of management because they lack of proper cash floor and budgeting… To phase this job properly should’ve taken a look at it that all right this this and this is phase 1. We gotta have ex amount down to do the job, which is a minimum of your material cost, then at the completion of that phase you get your labor cost plus the cost of the next phase which is this this and this at the end of each phase you’re good in your labor plus the cost of the next phase for customer materials. is that simple for people tend to make mistakes is under calculating time as discussed here and it’s just one bowl to couple of bolts there don’t worry about billing it all hardware everything has to be documented. Also in the welding business typically 50% down does not give you break even cash flow is typically between 70 and 75% with that being said, the next aspect we 25% to pay at the end of each phase and makes it more manageable for everybody at no time should you ever float the cost of materials ever on a job? I wouldn’t float the cost of materials or labor when the materials going out to a job site, if you float the labor, it should be that you make the parts the parts stay in the warehouse and you could float the labor until it’s paid for… Nothing should ever leave the workshop to go to a job site until it’s fully paid for unless there is pre-negotiated terms and you have a letter from a bankstating that they’re going to back any monies and you should be paid within 30 days of the completion of the job
It sounds like the 1st caller is saying that they were not paid for work performed. They need to get an attorney. She had to lay off employees because they were not paid for services rendered. Accounting doesn't seem to be the problem
They can certainly get an attorney. But I think Dave was trying to get to the root of the problem which is that without knowing exactly where you stand financially you cannot know how to proceed with clients or what jobs to take on. And can end up taking on a job costing much more time and money than you can afford, then you need to charge more than the estimated price, which seems to be what happened here.
Layoffs are abhorrent and are evidence of mismanagement. It is a business 101 practice that should require more third-party scrutinization and more owner/shareholder accountability (fines/taxes/etc). Responsible businesses hire with accounting for cost and consider layoffs to be an absolute last resort (and not as the first strategy for recovering from a mistake).
So carry deadweight employees and squeeze your customers for higher income? That doesn't sound wise.
This response is evidence of what's wrong with the business world. Employees who accepted employment in good faith become "deadweight" and are cast aside. Employees who entrusted the financial security of their families become unemployed (typically without adequate warning and without sufficient severance). Businesses who favor the wealth of owners and supplier contracts over employees have poor culture and are mismanaged and are not businesses worth saving. If your business is cyclical or per-project, hire freelance or temporary employees within the bounds of the 1099 rules. Understand job costing, hire conservatively and responsibly, and make a commitment to your business and your employees. Self employment requires sacrifice. A business owner might have to delay or reduce their own compensation to make payroll and pay suppliers. But naive business owners use their businesses as personal bank accounts with draws, salaries, company cars, bogus travel, etc.
Cmon Dave, i dont have $5 million to implement NetSuite
I wouldn't want to be employed by a company being run by a 19 year old. Maybe if his parents started the company and he's being eased into leadership while they overwatch but definitely not just the kid.
Business is tough sometimes.... employees sometimes cannot understand the owners' problems and vice versa! WHo will work and never complain ... a newly hired immigrant who really cannot speak the language.
I loath when techs break something while they’re servicing my property and they leave without saying anything.
I made kindle fire tho..so I was like protecting others from my product and it happened..like don't think about a woman trying to take down a brick wall.
The HVAC guy is a rookie. If your going into a 100 year old home, wood is like bones, and will break or snap. Boilers can be broken apart into sections, and customer can be made aware of this.
Tell the customer, your bid will be cheaper, if we bring it in whole, but labor necessary if its going to be taken apart. The person signing the job should have client sign a damage waiver for the stairs on that job, and that the HVAC company is suggesting a better way to do it. This is a bit of a CYA.
If things break, this should not be on the tech, or the person answering the phones....somebody there needs to be there to handle the damages, or go through insurnace, and the business owner should have relationships with furniture restorers, painters, etc. A business needs a fund so when things go wrong, you have the ability to fix it and make it right.
If an employee is causing damage, and not reporting it, or not being clean, put them on performance management, and then bye bye.
If the client is waiting three months to bring up an issue that is not related, kick rocks, and make sure the person selling job lets client to know to report property damage to said person in charge of handling it as employees will be sneaky....its not easy, but very straightforward.
My God supplies all my needs according to His riches and glory-not afraid about this uncertain economy.
I'd be concerned the remaining 3 employees are going to jump ship.
The value of a country where ordinary people has no value is selfevident.
Do something on insurence day and see how it would be if it haooens on July 2-3
He should have asked how many bids they win. If they were winning them all, they were bidding way too low, and leaving profit on the table.
Watch the tv show "The Profit". Marcus meets many idiot business owners
They sell wrought iron custom work. The should charge by linear feet (including all their costs).. she need to practice her elevator pitch
Having Ramsey's son be the default pick for a top leadership role is messed up. Everyone else now knows they have no room to grow
“We’ve made a profit the first 3 years, it just all went back into the business.” 🤔
I feel bad for Taylor as it isn't even her fault; seems like she was being told to call Ramsey while she didn't know the details. The owner of the company that knows everything should have done the talking...
I feel bad for the first caller, it sounds like her husband fell in to that all too common new business owner trap, he probably didn't like the last place he worked so he started his own business to "be his own boss" but in reality all he knows or wants to do is be a welder, so all he does is weld while they completely ignore the business and boss side of things. People should not encourage others to go into business for themselves, as much as they do. They mean well, but it's usually a terrible idea. Learning these lessons as you go is also a terrible idea.
And an expensive one!
The only way to learn is by doing. 200k debt is very fixable and most successful business owners don't keep their own books skillfully.
@@CM-sy3to 100% wrong, completely absolutely wrong. You want to go to a dentist that bought a dremel from home depot and just stared drilling on teeth one day, or one who went to dental school? If you need your car fixed do you want some guy who just started taking things apart one day or someone who went to a trade school or went through an apprenticeship? Learn from others so you don't have to make dumb avoidable mistakes. That should be the first thing you learn, about how to learn, that most people who just "learn by doing" miss out on and why they fail.
My dad's friends friend saw me in jail and I have to get disability.
These dudes almost definitely owe a bunch in overdue taxes.
How do you have employees but not at least one or two CPAs especially when you don't seem to understand the financials at all and yes you need some basic understanding of that and you should be meeting with the caps weekly to understand everything but that's why a lot of companies don't make it your a professional in your field but not in finance like isn't the 3rd or 4 th person you always hire after you get more work than you can do a CPA you'd think that's common sense....
Not all pot users put people at risk. I know people who operate better when they use it for pain.
Numbers, numbers, numbers will dictate how you move
Numbers, numbers, numbers will
tell you how to groove
What poor communicator, that is why she is failing.
Not counting bent cart. With rags.
I see some large corporations operating about as bad as they run theirs.
Dude… I work for a GC and I though all this stuff was industry standard and basic
I bid double expenses and 10% extra... if the customer is cool at the end there's a 10% discount if they hassle no discount... I call it azzhole tax.😂😂
The bid is 4 payable @ 30% 30% 30% 10%
This keeps everyone honest.
Since they know that 10% is on the end they know I'm gonna finish
This soothe the little guy and homeowners
They're nervous.
Don't forget to estimate keep enough for 3 months overhead.
I'd quit at 3 months so that's 6 months cash holding. Run on the 90 days and 10 day grace
At 80 days of cash holding close the business.
Stop operation and get a new plan for moving forward before you lose ur house and assets
With American situation rn.... buy a tow truck on payments and side hustle repo at night. There's a boom in repo. Hire a thug to ride with you at 40 bucks to look mean. 30 days Send the thug out with the truck...
Now you have a repo business under a llc. Repos slow down ... when? Recession proof... second... hire a roofer to do repairs on apartment complex and commercial property management will hire you. Dude has a truck tools and exp he can't do paperwork...
You find the guy by asking for the good roofer at various apartments.
Recession proof.
Investors are gonna fix the roof.
This applies to every single skilled labor field.
Monetize that buddy who knows how does excellent work and don't know business...
Listen to these guy's
Rent a management llc. Calm ❤
Home Depot and Lowe's hires people like this all the time. This is a saf call😢
Idk I don't know
They wanted to be in business without knowing anything about it. It’s crazy. They probably never made a profit.
They were very young and ambitious. Too much ambition not enough knowledge.
Nepotism. It's not just when a doofus has a job because of relation. It's special treatment like Dave describes his son recieves. His son may be a compitent guy, but no other person in the company gets unique meetings, mentorship, etc from other stakeholders and himself. No matter how great an employee is, if they aren't related or bringing in lots of outside revenue; they don't recieve the same treatment in an organization.