Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine (Entrepreneurship Simplified)

Profit First is hands down one of the most impactful books for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Mike Michalowicz breaks down financial management into a simple, actionable system that ensures you pay yourself first—rather than waiting to see what's left over. The biggest takeaway? Stop running your business check-to-check and start prioritizing profit. The step-by-step approach makes budgeting easy to follow, and the psychology behind the method is eye-opening. Implementing Profit First has helped me gain control over cash flow, reduce financial stress, and actually see my business grow sustainably. If you're struggling to make sense of your business finances or feel like you're working too hard for too little return, this book is a must-read. Practical, engaging, and truly transformative!

This is a great book. I'd recommend it to every person who owns or manages a company. The content is well explained with clear guidance on how to apply it. I also found it very relevant and not one of those books that you have to skip a few chapters that are irrelevant.

I started reading Profit First earlier this year, and it completely transformed how I handle money in my business. After finishing the book, I worked with my bookkeeper to set up all the accounts Mike recommends—and for the first time, I’m consistently setting aside profit! My OPEX dropped, my awareness skyrocketed, and I finally feel in control of my finances instead of overwhelmed by them. I’m even working on applying the same system to my personal life now. If you’re a small business owner who’s tired of wondering where the money goes, this book will give you structure, clarity, and peace of mind. Highly recommend!!!

*** Update I still stand by every word of my original review, but 10 months after implementing Profit First, I wanted to share this with you: Before starting Profit First, our business had been running on fumes and we were losing money every month. I had to make some hard decisions to move to a much smaller staff and walk away from some unprofitable business, none of which were easy decisions. And although I am far from where I want to be, I wanted to share a few successes with you. 1. Since starting the Profit First method, in just 10 months, we have over set aside nearly $50,000 in profit (plus taxes and owner's comp set aside) with excess profits every single month. 2. We paid off $200,000 in debt for one loan we had and we are currently ahead of schedule in paying back our SBA EIDL loan. 3. We went from barely making payroll every month to having three payrolls sitting in the bank for WHEN the hard times come and we are working on growing that to six months' worth. 4. We "optimized" one of our largest customers who was sucking the life out of our business by no longer offering some of the services and raising the prices on the others. Even though that business was bringing in $60,000/month it was all sold at a loss by my previous partner. Even though they only do $30,000/month of business with us now, it is at a healthy, profitable rate. As a bonus (per the Pumpkin Plan) this has freed us up to focus on getting other profitable businesses which has more than made up for the $30,000 loss from the bad business. Following the advice and methods in the book was the best thing I have ever done for my business. HERE'S MY ORIGINAL REVIEW: Profit First should be required reading for any new business owner (and for those of us that have been doing it for a long time). If you have struggled to make your business profitable, this is the book for you. If you have paid taxes on profit and wondered where that profit went, this is the book for you. If you feel more like your business owns you rather than you owning your business, this is the book for you. It’s an easy read and, within the first few chapters, Mike lays out the basics of how it works. With actionable steps and accountability, Mike will get you on your way to looking at your business differently. And it’s so SIMPLE. You don’t have to have an accounting background or a business degree to understand the content. Mike wants to help small business owners throughout the world and I am so thankful for his passion to help us! Do yourself and your family a favor and read Profit First!

Building a business with this book is a really great perspective shift. Start with profits in mind first, not as an end result which may or most likely not happen. You can build a profitable business and, as an owner, ensure you are prioritized with owner's compensation and profit payouts! Really enjoying reading and applying it through multiple Audible listens.

Math isn't my strong suit, but I loved reading about the math in this book. I can't wait to start working on putting this plan into action. Read this book. Even if you don't have a business yet (or ever). Read it. Money is going to make so much more sense after. I plan to read this book multiple times. I have a feeling there's going to be stuff that I missed the first time through.

Haven't read the book yet as it just arrived. I think the quality is poor for the high cost. The packaging was also poor, had torn parts (was a poor quality envelope) and the outside of the binding got dented as a result. The binding also isn't good. One of the pages looks like it was glued in by hand. The pages are cream in color. The cover of the book isn't printed on the book; instead, the cover itself is white with the cover being a removable paper. I am hoping that the contents will be good. I'll review the contents after I have read the book.

Business is for profit . An entrepreneur has to remain focused on that . Here's an innovative , easy and practical approach to keep some simple overall figures in consideration , and to take every step to elevate the bottom line .

This book was recommended to me by a very successful friend of mine. He told me 5 of his most favourite books for business and this one was the one he mentioned first. While it’s compact and goes into a fair amount of detail, it is still easy to follow and makes a lot of sense. Anyone who owns their own business will get something from reading this book. It’s insightful, motivational and a overall entertaining book to read.

Dank der Sichtweise und genauer Vorgehensvorschläge von Mike im Buch konnte ich nach jahrelangem Ausprobieren, Schimpfen und Stressen mein Unternehmen finanziell gesund pflegen! Und das ist auch gar nicht schwierig mit den vielen Ansätze aus dem Buch, ich war nur als nicht BWL-er nicht darauf gekommen. Absolut empfehlenswert!

El libro habla acerca de un simple sistema para separar primero el Profit, después pagarte a ti como el empleado más importante dentro de toda la compañía. Luego separar para pagar impuestos porque ese dinero no te pertenece a ti, sino al Estado y finalmente pagar los costos operativos. Este mes lo comenzaremos a aplicar en la agencia de marketing especializada en comercio electrónico y dentro de unos meses veremos el impacto