Episode 282: Melissa Houston: How to Become Cash Confident as an Entrepreneur

Hi, guys, it's Tony Robbins.

You're listening to Habits and Hustle, Gresham.

So, we have a special guest today because not only are you an author, Melissa Houston, but you're also my friend.

And Melissa is a contributor at Forbes and also wrote a fantastic book called Cash Confident, which is, I think, what I love about it.

It is very simple to understand and grasp.

And And it basically gives people a blueprint for how to manage your money within your business, basically be more confident about cash, right?

Yes.

Thank you for saying that because that's exactly what I aimed for.

There's so many accountants who write books, but they can only be understood by other accountants.

Right.

And I real, yeah, and it's like, that's not very helpful for the average entrepreneur because you're not an accountant.

Right.

Nor do you want to be, right?

Well, yeah.

And also, it's like, this is what I love about it also is that like it can save people who are entrepreneurs so much money by learning very basic things that they could be doing and looking out for.

Yes.

And so what, okay, why, why did you name it cash confident?

What is what is it to be cash confident?

Yeah, that's such a good question because

My whole premise of She Means Profit is I really want to empower entrepreneurs and business owners with business financial literacy.

And once you have those skills, you feel like so confident and so unstoppable.

So, you know, to the point of cash confident, it's getting you confident with the numbers in your business because like you said, there's so much money, there's so much profit to be made when you look at your numbers and you tighten things up in your business, right?

People think, I don't want to look at my numbers, they scare me, whatever, but there's so much value in knowing what's going on in your business and knowing your numbers.

It's so true.

In fact, actually, what's so interesting, so many big brands, people look from the outside.

Perception is not always reality, right?

Like, I know a lot of big brands out there.

They look like they're worth billions of dollars.

People, it has the perception of so much success.

And the truth is, they are drowning in debt.

They are actually going to be on the brink of bankruptcy because they're not managing their numbers properly.

They're overspending.

They don't know what's really going on.

Even within their own, like within the own company, they don't know what's going on.

And you talk very much about you know what is it like about why businesses fail what is the number one reason I think it's 80 you said 82% of businesses fail what is that number one reason for it the number one reason is cash flow

running out of cash because people mistake profit from cash flow and they're two very different things and when you run out of cash you're basically out of resources and you're forced to shut down at that point it's too late yeah totally true Profit and cash flow are so different.

And people, that's what happens.

People mistake one for the other.

They think it's synonymous with each other.

You can have a huge profit year.

A lot of people I know, like on my podcast, or

a lot of people like my friends who had huge businesses, but they weren't managing their cash flow and they ran out of money.

And next thing you know, it was goodbye.

It was bankruptcy.

Exactly.

Right?

It's like if you're not doing a point-of-sale business, which is, you know, tap the card and you get the money right away.

So if you're invoicing and you're waiting for, you know, big payments to come through and stuff, that's especially important for managing your cash flow because there's a lot of timing differences.

So your profit statement may say, you know, let's just say you've got a million dollars of profit, but if $900,000 of that profit is tied up, you're still waiting for the cash.

and you run out, that's a problem.

So you have to be very careful managing your cash, even though you're high profit.

Totally.

So then can you give us a few tips of how we can be much more cognizant of our cash flow that is simple for people who are not financially astute or number astute like me yeah or a lot of people to be honest because you could have a great idea and just this can be your the that that linchpin that that that basically drowns you so yeah yeah exactly and for smaller businesses it tends to be a little bit more difficult for them to understand how to manage their cash large corporations they've got their cash management systems or they should nailed down So, when you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, medium-sized, what have you, it's important to be proactive with your cash.

So, what you're going to do is you're going to forecast at least six to eight weeks ahead of time.

So, you're looking into the future, you're looking at where your bank balance is now, but you're also forecasting what you expect to come in and out for the next six to eight weeks so that you can identify if there's any timing issues and you've got like a shortage in cash.

So, when you've got that shortage in cash, it's also important to have reserves ready to use that short, like that, that cash, you know, bucket, whatever you want to call it that you're at.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So it could be like a line of credit.

It could be cash that you've saved up in your business, like whatever, but you need to be prepared because it's the cycle of business.

You're always going to have, you know, low cash months.

It happens frequently.

Business is a constant challenge and ever changing, especially during hard economic times.

Right.

So ensuring that you've got the cash and you've got the resource to cover it when you're short it allows you to sleep well at night yeah i mean i i i agree so what you you put together this like five step framework right to be cash confident do you want to break it down for people yeah absolutely because the five steps they all complement each other right so the first step is your money mindset and the reason why i put that number one is because i find with a lot of small business owners and medium-sized like like just managed, owner-managed businesses, that there's something holding them back into making more money, right?

We all have money stories, we all have money mindset issues, and a lot of, especially women, are afraid to start making profit because they're afraid of what people are going to think or how their life will change or whatever.

So, you don't want to have a money mindset that's going to hold you back from being the best and most profitable business that you can be.

And then, the second step is to know your financial statements.

Because if you're not reading your financial statements every month, like you're doing your business a disservice.

And then the third step is to ensure that you've got a business financial plan created.

So what that is, is it's looking at where your business is currently, and then you're forecasting the next 12 months.

And if you've got goals, like if you want to increase your, the size of your business, increase revenues, what have you, you can map these out each and every month so that you can achieve your goals, right?

And it allows you to grow your business in a managed way.

So then you can see, you know, when you put it on paper and you plan it out, you can see at that point when you can afford to bring in extra team members, or if you can up your advertising budget, or what have you, whatever's going on in your business.

And then the fourth step is: okay, it's great that you made that plan, but you need to be sure that you monitor what's going on each and every month to make sure that you're staying on track for that plan.

And when you look at your plan, like your results every month, you're also going to look at your profit and you're going to estimate how much taxes you need to put aside, right?

Because so many entrepreneurs are forgetting that part.

It's great to make profit, but if you're not planning for your taxes, then you're going to get a big surprise, right?

So I'm so glad that you said that.

That is so true.

Right.

Because people do not, I mean, I'm a victim of that myself, right?

Because I forget that sometimes I'm like, oh, I made this money and

I am really resentful at the end of the year when I'm like, oh my God, I didn't didn't realize like all that money that I did make and actually it's not actually my money.

I have to then pay such a big piece.

So then what people do is they overspend with not knowing this.

Exactly.

And then that turns into the you know the fifth step, which is the cash management side.

Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

And it's like all of a sudden you're short on cash because you've got this bill to pay to the IRS and you don't have any money to pay.

So what I always recommend is having two accounts for your business.

One for your operating expenses you know your your everyday in and out stuff and then that special account for your taxes so once you calculate how much you should be putting aside you put it into your tax bank account and it's like gone and paid so you don't have to worry about it so when you do get your tax bill you've got that reserve ready to go and pay and if you're the type of person or if if there's a listener that's the type of person because i hear this often they get resentful because they have to pay taxes right and of course nobody loves paying taxes.

Who does?

But I mean, a great way you can reframe it is thinking, you know, this is actually a privilege because I'm making money in my business.

If you're not paying taxes, you know, making money.

I know.

But somebody, my husband always tells that, says that to me because I get so mad.

And he's like, listen, it's better than the alternative, right?

Like, if you were, if you wouldn't be paying anything, if you weren't making anything, right?

But you know, a lot of times, like, I feel like we get in our own way.

And I don't, like, we can have all the opportunity.

this is again I'm talking from from my own experiences you know you know you may know how to make money but you're you're you're leaving a lot of money on the table if you're not managing it well and making it work for you and I've learned that so many times the hard way and you know how do we even like I guess my question always comes down to actionable like actionable things like you gave us our five like a brief summary of the five-step framework but yeah if someone is just overwhelmed with the idea of all those things, right?

Like, how do we kind of get over our own anxiety?

And do we find somebody to help us with it?

Like, I feel like a lot of times we, even I think you talk about it, this idea of imposter syndrome when it comes to the money, right?

Like you don't even understand, like you don't believe that this is something that you can even, like, this is not you.

What do we do about it?

Yeah, well, that's such a great question.

And that, first of all, is why money mindset is number one.

Because when you're feeling overwhelmed, that's your money mindset that's speaking, right?

And it's saying, Oh my god, I don't know what to do, how am I going to handle this?

But the thing is, it's broken down into the following four steps, right?

It's step by step.

And if you need help, if you feel overwhelmed with that, I personally have courses out there, I have programs, and I have coaching.

And then there's other business financial coaches out there that you can seek help from and assistance to guide you through those steps to ensure that you can, you know, get a handle on your finances and get that financial confidence.

But the thing is, people think when they come to get coaching from me, they're like, you're telling me it's going to be an eight-week program, and I'm telling you it's probably going to be at least three or four months.

And I hear that often, right?

People think it's so overwhelming.

They're a slow learner.

They're not going to get it.

And I have yet to have a client who's taken more than eight weeks.

Really?

Really?

So, a lot of times, again, we just have so much self-doubt around it, or we don't give ourselves enough credit.

And that's what's, you know, the truth of the matter is, again, this is like life, right?

We basically steer away from anything we don't think we're good at.

We don't even give ourselves a chance to even see what our potential is.

And you know what I mean?

And so I feel like, is that why you wrote this for, I feel like this is a very women-friendly book.

It's more for women, right?

Than it is for men.

Yeah, I mean, men can certainly read it and get tons of value out of it.

But I really wanted to focus on women because that's what what I'm hearing out there with a lot of women is that there's so many additional challenges that we have to face and additional like even mindset issues women in particular I hear often when I ask them how much money do you want to make in your business they're like well this is my most common response I just want to make as much as I need to survive and I'm like why

is that really the number one thing that you hear from women that is the number one thing that women tell me And I challenge it every time because I'm like, you were not put here on this earth to build a business just to scrape by.

Yeah.

Why is that acceptable to you?

And then it gets a little deeper.

Well, I feel like if I get wealthy, people will judge me.

They won't like me.

They'll think I'm greedy.

All sorts of stuff.

There's so many stories tied up with money, right?

There's so many.

But also, we're Canadian.

By the way, I mean, if you haven't heard it, guys, she's Canadian, like me out.

Now, is it mostly Canadian people, women saying this, or is it women across the board?

I work in Canada and the U.S.

Actually, most of my clients are from the U.S.

I'm teasing you.

I'm teasing you because we always, women in general, though, but I mean, women can be

like that as Canadians.

We feel conservative.

We are.

We feel bad, guilty, whatever.

But

I do feel like there is this thing with women like feeling guilty and that they're not worthy or they should just be just, you know, more of a supporter role.

But think that it's what's interesting, a lot of research and data now talks about how women are way more even, they're going to college more than men.

They're more educated than men.

They're actually more the breadwinners than men now, a lot of times.

It's actually insane how the tables have turned.

We're living in a in a society that it's not how it used to be.

But yet you're still saying of the masses, that's what you hear more than ever.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And we have that big, I don't know if you've heard of the wealth transfer that's coming up.

No, tell me.

The next decade.

Yeah.

So right now with the boomer era and, you know, men are the majority of boomers are wealthy men who have wealth that they need to pass down.

And since women outlive the husbands and, you know, all that,

I can't explain all the economics of it, but basically as the boomers, you know, die off, the money is going to be transferred into women's hands.

So the majority of this trillion dollar amount of wealth that's floating around out there will be owned by women.

Wow, which is great.

Yeah.

And that, well, that's why I guess it's even more important for women to understand the inner working

of money.

Yeah.

And I do also see a lot of women who, especially business owners, who leave all the finance and the financial planning to their husbands or their spouses.

And I'm like, that's not a good partnership.

Partnerships are meeting each other halfway, both being involved.

First of all, it's unfair to the spouse that they've got the entire burden of carrying that.

And secondly, it's unfair to the woman who's handing over her power.

Yeah.

Well, I feel with that, though, like in any partnership, right?

Like, I don't know, you get, you kind of do what you're good at and someone else takes the stuff that you're not great at.

And then like it can balance itself out, really.

But I do know what you mean because like I

go ahead.

Sorry, what I was going to say is, you know, like your finances are your financial health.

Yeah.

So you need to know what's going on with your financial health right so i i putting it in charge of somebody else yeah that's when you get in trouble that's when you get in trouble i think that's when you start getting in trouble i do believe that though i do believe that a lot of women don't feel confident in it and so therefore they just pass it on to somebody like you said their husband or whoever and then they don't know what the hell is going on and it actually would behoove them to figure like to learn basics and understand and to know this because that's how a lot of people get in trouble right like later on in life and then you feel indebted to someone else based on the fact that you don't think you you know you don't you don't know about money you can't support yourself you don't know this you don't know that there's so many other things that happen with it and how about in terms of like understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a business how do we kind of diagnose those that is a really good question and The best way to understand what's going on in your business is looking at your profit and loss statement.

That statement is the number one most used statement in the business.

And knowing, first of all, how many sales you're bringing in each month and what your expenses are and what your net profit margin is is imperative to knowing what's going on in your business.

That's where you're going to see the results, right?

Seeing, like, okay, if my sales were down, I'm going to see that when I look at my income statement or profit and loss, however you call it, they're interchangeable.

And if you see that you're overspending on your expenses, and that's that's a very general way of looking at it.

You can get more finite information when you start digging into your finances, right?

Like most of us have QuickBooks or whatever, and you can drill down on your reports when you're using accounting software.

It makes it so much easier.

So, then when you drill down on the accounts, like your sales, well, where did my sales lag?

Was it in the products that I'm selling?

Is it the services that I'm selling?

Like, you have that information at the tip of your fingers.

You just have to go and find it.

It's really easy once you understand, and you can create you know past month compared to this month or last year same month compared to this month quarter yearly whatever when you know what you're looking for which really doesn't take long to learn then you know what's going on in your business and what's working well and what isn't working well so you know you said something earlier that i i wanted i didn't want to interrupt you but you mentioned something about like direct sales or different types of businesses in your experience because you've done you work with lots of different entrepreneurs who are doing lots of different things, have you noticed some business, what businesses are more profitable and cash flow positive than other ones?

So if someone's listening to this and they want to start a business, they have an entrepreneurial spirit and they just don't know where to start,

where would you say would be a great place for that, right?

Service-based businesses are the most profitable, right?

So if you are offering a service, especially from home where you've got extremely low overhead, then that that is profitable.

Like you could also think of a dentist or a doctor as service-based, but they have the office, they have the physical equipment, and

there's a lot of money that goes into it.

Yeah, exactly.

So, if you are online working from home, service-based business, that is really profitable.

Now, there's other businesses that can be extremely profitable as well.

It doesn't have to be service-based.

So, it really depends on your industry.

So, if you're starting a restaurant or a bakery, those are the least profitable industries.

They usually make about 8 to 10, maybe 12% net profit margin, which is really low.

And then service, the service-based business that I'm talking about can make about 60% profit margin.

And just to break it down for people who are listening, they're like, these net profit margins, what do they mean?

So if you're bringing in $100,000 and your profit margin is 60%,

you're going to have $60,000 of profit.

Whereas if you're a restaurant owner, you would have like $8,000 to $12,000 worth of profit from that $100,000 of revenue you're bringing in.

So it's a big difference, right?

It's true.

So being mindful of the industry that you're getting into and what your expectations are is really smart.

So that's why most restaurants fail, right?

And that's why most of these businesses, like very difficult.

Like, and, you know, anything in the food industry is very difficult.

Then why are people going, and let's say you're

a chef and that's your passion.

Who would open up a restaurant in these days because of that reason alone?

Exactly.

No, I'm asking you seriously.

Who would open up a restaurant like that?

It doesn't make any sense.

I don't work with restaurants.

I mean, how, I mean, it's really amazing to me.

Like, there's no money in it.

None.

There's no money.

Yeah.

It's really hard.

You have to bring in a lot of revenue to make a profit.

And there's so much.

Like, I always recommend anybody who has a restaurant that comes to me for help, I always recommend them to a special restaurant CFO because there's so much going on in a restaurant.

You know, you've got to produce and, you know, things that go bad.

Like they, what's the word I'm looking for?

You know what I'm talking about

like spoiled yeah yeah yeah yeah well that's the thing

you have to understand

the I like even the like how you know to make sure you're not ordering enough food more food less food exactly

the balancing of those things yeah yeah so you really need somebody specialized to help you totally in that industry yeah okay and so other than that what service industry have you seen people make it the most profitable like is there like a specific area or does it really matter the coaching industry is very profitable when you can get the sales, but only when you can get the sales.

And the thing is, it's a good question too, because there's a lot of misinformation in the coaching industry as well, right?

So if you're planning your money really well, you can make a lot of money in profit.

But a lot of times you're going to see like, you know, these online course creators and stuff, they're like, I had a launch and it was $1 million.

And, you know, people think that that's what they're actually bringing home is that $1 million of sales.

But when you look at the expenses that go behind these really big launches, they're lucky if they're breaking even.

Like you have to be very financially savvy to make money off these launches because so much goes into it.

Like, that's a great, let's talk about this for a second because I talk about the fact that everybody now and their dog is a coach online, right?

Like that's like the new trend.

I didn't want to bring that industry up.

I know.

Well, no, I'm glad you did because I think that is like, that's like, because our whole world now is about social media, right?

We buy on social media we look at social media and so people are now monetizing on social media and what better I mean any there's no barrier to entry for being a coach anymore any that's right any Yahoo can say that they're a self-help guru an entrepreneur most of these entrepreneurs who are on social media have never even built a business or done a business their only entrepreneur yeah like their only entrepreneurial thing that they've done is sell you a course that they're making money from.

That's their

probably learned from another coach.

Right.

And it's basically, exactly, it's copycat, copycat.

Yeah.

How are these randos who have no business acumen before this, besides being like a hustler, you know, how are they making their money as a coach?

Like, are they just doing digital marketing constantly?

Like, and then how much are they spending of digital marketing to even bring in that amount?

Such a good question.

And the thing is, when you're a coach, if you're to start a coaching business these days, you are competing with so much noise online.

So you have to have something that's really going to stand out from your competitors.

And how do you do that?

Chances are you're going to have to pay a lot of people to help you, right?

So you got to get those sales in the door really quick.

And the ugly truth about coaching that nobody talks about, but I love to talk about it, is the fact that so many of these coaches are not making money, right?

They're taking a lot of their personal savings.

They're putting their expenses on credit cards, what have you.

And the real hustlers the real ones that were lucky to figure out how to bring in those sales are you know probably breaking even or you know in a couple of years they could be making a lot of money but when you look at the online coaches now that dominate the space they've been in there for like a decade at least yeah so they're dominating the space and the new ones they're coming in and out very quickly So even, yeah, I mean, it's interesting because, you know, you go on that stuff and you think, oh my God, everybody is a millionaire.

Everyone's making so much money.

It's such a lot.

right right right and then like you take yourself down this bad rabbit hole like oh my god i'm not how come i'm so why am i not making this money why am i not doing this blah blah blah and you know you're telling basically like you're confirming what i feel like i already know which is the truth is they're actually not making money they're spending money And the illusion is that they're making money because if they don't have that illusion of making money, no one would actually use them as a coach because then they're not a successful entrepreneur, right?

Exactly.

So

it's just a racket that keeps on going and going and going.

Yeah.

And a lot of them feed off each other, right?

Yeah.

So it's like, oh, so you do the content creation and I do the Facebook ads.

And, you know, like they're all just feeding off each other too.

It's crazy.

How do how does anyone didn't get a leg up in this coaching world then?

Like, do you see just because you think you think it's just attrition?

People just been there a long time?

I personally think so.

I don't like I prefer working with traditional business owners.

So I work with product-based businesses.

I work with service-based who are brick and mortar, you know, just traditional business owners.

I stay away from the coaching industry because it is feast or famine.

Exactly.

What do you think?

When does a company need to hire a CFO?

When you are starting a business and you don't know what you're doing, that's a really good time.

Even though you can't afford it, but it is the best investment that you can make because you'll be sure that you are going to start your business, understand what your targets are, grow your business and grow your business profitably.

So I always say, like, there's different, like, you don't have to start off with a CFO right away.

You can start off with a business financial coach who takes smaller clients and helps them grow their business to sustainable levels and then transfer it over when you need a fractional CFO.

And then as your business grows even more, you'll.

eventually have a full-time CFO in there.

But it just depends on the stage that you're at and the type of industry that you're in and how much money you're bringing in.

Yeah, the fractional CEO CFO is a great idea.

It's a great option.

So you're not spending a full

salary.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I see a lot of friends doing that too.

In fact, I might be one of the friends who start doing a fractional CFO pretty soon.

But that's besides the point.

You'll have to tell me about that later.

I know.

Well, no, in general, like I'm so over.

This is like, this is why I love this topic and what we're talking about, this podcast topic, because you know, anybody who is doing their own thing in a personal brand, entrepreneur,

I feel like there's so much confusion.

People feel very overwhelmed.

They don't know what they don't know, and it's confusing.

And they do mistake cash flow with profit and understanding that cash flow, if you don't have it, will destroy your company eventually if you don't manage it well.

And I do believe the money mindset piece is so important because we all have such crazy hang-ups over money that also are very detrimental.

That's right.

It's so true.

And then when you work with a fractional CFO, they help you bring organization to your business and make it leaner and more efficient.

It's not just looking at the numbers.

It's not just about the five-step framework.

The five-step framework is the core, but there's a lot of things that CFOs do for a business.

And I remember hearing, well, you're not generating revenue and we're we're helping you generate that revenue by giving you the goals that you need to meet every month and tightening up your expenses so that you have more profit.

And the profit is what you get to keep after taxes.

So you want to line your pockets more, right?

Yeah.

So investing in that fractional CFO, for some people, they're thinking, oh, that's just a waste of money.

But the thing is, it gives you a return on that investment.

You would make so much more money if you tighten up your controls and your money-making system.

totally if you invested in that right totally agree i think that a lot of times people are short-sighted you know because you don't see that you're like well i want to it's a money hang-up right yeah because you don't want to spend it you don't want to spend it but you'll spend it on frivolous things like more marketing or pr which will just kind of drain you more yeah you know and the thing is if you don't know your money links and you don't know what's draining your business

you'll never fix it exactly exactly but the cfo helps you figure out what's going on so that you can fix it and bring in that money and save it.

Totally agree.

Totally agree.

So, if people want to know more about this cash confidence, where do they go?

Can you, can you tell them?

My website.

Yeah, melissahoustoncapa.com is my main website.

And there is my book on there that you can purchase.

But you can purchase that book at Barnes and Noble's on Amazon.

In Canada, chapters are Indigo and Target and whatever.

And I love that you get the Canadian

stuff.

That's amazing.

I love it.

Is chapters still around?

Like, they're named chapters, but technically it's Indigo.

Okay, is Indigo still around?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So when you go online, indigo's there.

It's confusing, right?

Because like I could go down the street and there's a chapters and then across town there's an indigo, but they're the same company.

I never understood that.

And listen, I love that you came on because you're, again, not why I love Canadians, not because I am one, but because like I, you know, like you're legit, you're a legit person giving you legit information.

You're not some Yahoo who's just kind of like spewing out something because they took an online course, you know, like

you're a real professional who sees it all.

You know, like I said, you're doing Forbes still.

What else are you doing besides Forbes?

Yeah, just to, well, I do a lot of writing and I do a lot of coaching and have my programs do my podcast, she means profit.

And I'm a CPA who's got over 20 years of experience helping business owners.

And I just wanted to take that information because I know it's so valuable.

I've been, you know, like the things I've seen over 20 years, it's crazy.

Yeah.

And I wanted to help small business owners so they understand: oh, wait a minute, this is a great way to understand my numbers and I can grow my business profitably, make more money.

That's the goal, right?

Totally.

I agree.

Well, listen, thank you for coming on.

I appreciate it.

Thanks so much for having me, Jen.

Absolutely.

And we'll talk later.

So, guys, go get a copy of Cash Confident and you won't be disappointed.

I promise.

Bye.

Thank you.