“Profit First isn’t necessary.”
This is one of the objections we hear most often from accountants and bookkeepers. And, as much as it pains us to say it, they are correct.
Profit First isn’t necessary… if you’re already wired to think like a financial professional. Which most business owners are not.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say many financial professionals aren’t wired to think like financial professionals. Instead, they have trained themselves to look at the world through a certain lens. This training takes years of dedicated focus and a narrowing of perspective.
This is something most business owners won’t do. In fact, it would likely be to the detriment of their business if they did.
Profit First democratizes the visibility of a business’s financial information so any business owner – regardless of how they’re “wired” – can consume and act on it.
Not everyone thinks like you.
A shortcoming of the financial services profession is the mistaken belief that everyone thinks the way we do.
Scratch that. A shortcoming of the entire human race is the mistaken belief that everyone thinks the way we do.
Because we tend to see the world from a certain perspective, and because this perspective makes sense to us, it can be hard to remember there are countless other perspectives out there. What makes perfect sense to us can be the equivalent of an alien language to the person sitting on the other end of the Zoom call.
We financial services professionals think business owners “should” learn to budget and read their financial statements and analyze and act on their KPIs because that’s what we have learned to do. In some cases, we learned to do that because the skills came naturally to us.
Pro-tip: Check yourself every time you find yourself using the word “should.”
Don’t should on your clients
The problem with the word “should” is that it implies some sort of shortcoming. There are numerous studies and articles decrying the use of the word “should.”
It’s demotivating.
It implies an obligation to do something you might not want to do.
It’s inherently negative and leads to feelings of inadequacy.
When financial services professionals say, “Profit First isn’t necessary,” what they really mean is “Profit First shouldn’t be necessary from my perspective.”
But the few who embrace Profit First and become Profit First Professionals add on to that: “but it is necessary for the business owners I serve, and so I am going to help them use this tool to run the best business they can run.”
Profit First: The Great Equalizer
I thought I’d heard all the arguments, both for and against Profit First, until a recent webinar we co-hosted with our banking partner, Relay. At the end of the webinar, one of the participants shared the following:
I haven’t seen this feedback anywhere, but this visibility set up is incredibly “safe” for neurodivergents like me. I’m AUDHD and having the immediate knowledge of where everything is makes me breathe easy. Where DEI Is a huge initiative right now, Profit First is hitting the mark by being an inclusive system.
Wow.
Not only will most business owners not train themselves to think like financial professionals, but some literally cannot train themselves to think this way.
Profit First can be structured to bring the exact level of clarity a business owner – any business owner – needs to run their business effectively. Whether it’s with three, five, or twenty bank accounts, a Profit First Professional can help their clients see their businesses through the lens that works best for the “eyes” they have.
If you’re interested in becoming a Profit First Professional and helping your clients see their businesses through the right lens for them, click here to schedule an enrollment call.
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