Path to Profit: Lessons From Growth-Driven Business Leaders

Every CEO’s story looks different. But David Snyder’s journey to become CEO of SmartAcre is particularly miraculous. Tragedy struck and David was thrown into his current position. Despite challenges, David was able to turn SmartAcre into a fast growing, profitable business - 29% to the bottom line to be exact! How did he do it? David shares the 3 phases he stands by that helped him turn his busine...

From finding innovative environmental solutions to tragedies such as the Gulf Coast oil spill, to growing a service business to $50 million in top-line revenue, Laurie LaPat-Polasko , Vice President at Matrix New World Engineering , is not your average businesswoman. Taking her scientific background and a life-long passion, Laurie ventured into the business world with a unique perspective that mad...

Five years ago, ESG was stable. It was profitable, but it was not growing. When Michael Harnum first joined the company as CEO, his first order of business was to find out why. Since that fateful moment, ESG has gone from a struggling startup to a high growth company with $10 million in top line revenue and $3 million in bottom line profits. In this episode, Michael shares how he turned the compan...

Most business leaders focus on the bottom line - the one that measures a company’s profits. But there’s another bottom line you should be focusing on and that is the triple bottom line - the one that measures a company’s impact. In this episode, host Stephen King shares some tips on how you can raise more money and drive more impact in an organization. Whether you’re involved in a nonprofit or kno...

It’s the question that has been on every CEO’s mind over the last 18 months: How do you maintain your workplace culture in a hybrid world? This is one of the biggest challenges businesses are facing as a result of the pandemic. According to Michael Weiss, VP of Creative Circle, and my guest on today’s episode, the silver lining is that the pandemic has also given us a degree of empathy that we sim...

In the world of doggie daycare, the COVID shutdown should have been an economic disaster. With everyone now working from home, it seems inevitable that daycare services would decrease in demand. But that wasn’t the case for Kathy Miller, President of Dogtopia - South Bay. In fact, her company not only weathered the storm but actually doubled its profits during the pandemic. In this episode, she sh...

Running a Nonprofit and running a for-profit have more similarities than you may think. Everybody’s goal is to at least break even, and at best- have a surplus at the end of the year. That’s why nonprofits can learn a lot, in terms of how to effectively raise money and generate profits, by studying the best for-profit businesses, and vice versa. In this Nonprofit-focused episode, Jennifer Lehman,...

There’s a fine balance between investing generously in your product and effectively managing your margins. The key is to find a happy medium between funding a quality product that makes your clients happy (and attracts new ones) and generating enough profit to grow. Anson Sowby, CEO & Co-Founder at Battery, shares how his company navigated these waters en route to generating $10 million in rev...

When you decide to purchase a restaurant franchise, you’re given a book on how to run it effectively. It breaks down how to approach marketing, handle finances, and run operations. But when you’re an entrepreneur opening up your own business, no such book exists to guide you along the path to profit. Today’s guest set out to write that playbook. In this episode, I chat with Jeff Chastain , Founder...

Early on, many entrepreneurs learn the important lesson of making the business less about them, and more about the mission. For today’s guest, Jacky Fischer , CEO of 3 Men Movers , that was exactly the mindset shift that sparked tremendous growth for her company. During this episode, Jacky shares the lessons she learned on her journey to building a $40 million business. Check out these resources w...

In 2020, you were doing $100 million in revenue with 250 employees. But then, your revenue dropped to $20 million, and you could only keep 38 employees (most at 25% of their salaries). Right after an acquisition, too. Just a year later, you’ve recovered to $45 million (that’s 250% bounce back), and many of your employees have returned. This is the experience of today’s guest, Ray Pekowski , Owner...

It’s strange to hear a five-time Inc. 5000 lister talk about down periods. But his company didn’t start becoming profitable for the first five years, easily. What changed? EOS.In this episode, I interview Steve Thies , CEO at Integrated Biometrics , about how persistence and EOS led him to a success that only 3% of companies can boast. What we talked about:- The origin of his company and the pain...

How do you make decisions based on financial statements? For that matter, how do you communicate the content of financial statements so that others can make sound decisions? Join us for a discussion of the art and science of financials. In this episode, I interview Chris Williams, President and CEO at Rocaceia LLC, about how financial statements inform his business strategy. How to Use Financial S...

You’re the CEO of a mid-sized company, and you do a great job with the process of running the business. The thing you may not have a great handle on is growth. In this episode, I interview my longtime friend Art Saxby , CEO and Founder at Chief Outsiders , about how he took less than $2K and an interest in QuickBooks all the way to the largest strategic growth implementation company. What we talke...

Robin Stanaland, Master Chair at Vistage International, is a force to be reckoned with. She’s been a Vistage Chair for more than 15 years, and is a six-time award winner, putting her in the top 20 Vistage Chairs out of over 700 in the United States. In this episode, Robin sits down with our host Stephen King to discuss how companies view their metrics, what impact that makes on their business, and...

Sid Trivedi , Partner at Foundation Capital , has a superpower. It’s his vast customer network matched with his high levels of cybersecurity. In this episode he shares his insight on how he uses his superpower to help B2B businesses navigate their path to profits. What we talked about:- The importance of your first 10 customers- Pattern mapping - Stages and levels of sales hires - Protecting your...

Stephen King , President & CEO at GrowthForce , breaks down pricing metrics and the importance of “keeping score” by measuring the top line, the gross profit line, and the bottom line. What we talked about the 5 most important metrics of every business:- Total revenue dollars- Gross profit dollars- Gross profit percent - Net income dollars- Net income presented Check out these resources we men...

Today’s guest started a staffing business out of his dorm room in medical school and didn’t see any profit for seven years. He thought it was his hobby that paid for med school bills, but then he made Inc. 500 and drew in $15 million in revenue. In this episode, I interview Dr. Matt Kolinski , Founder & CEO at USA Staffing Services and author of Work-Passion-Life Balance , about his entreprene...

I'm joined by Matthew Polega : Cofounder, Head of Communications & Public Policy at Mark43, a company bringing cloud-first data-driven technology to public safety use. Matt and I discussed:- His experience in Engineering Science- Lateral thinking in public safety models- Public safety technology- Using customer voices to further develop a business- Software multi-tenancy- Investor relations at...

Your core values should dictate all of your hiring, coaching, and firing decisions. And all of your payment decisions should be based on cost of replacement. Intrigued? Listen to a headhunter about how to keep your people. In this episode, I speak with Jeremy Jenson , CEO at Encore Search Partners , about EOS, PEO, and how to treat your employees so that leaving never crosses their minds. What we...

Cash flow is the lifeblood of every business. Let’s dive into the impact of pricing on cash flow. In this episode, your host Stephen King , President & CEO at GrowthForce, walks you through why and how to price your jobs to raise your cash flow: What you’ll learn:- Understanding the fully loaded labor cost- Establishing a gross profit per team field in your accounting system- Identifying which...

A lot of people think that a software or service is done once it’s developed. But innovation is never done. If you want to be a strategic ongoing partner for your customers, you have to continuously meet their expectations. You have to continuously execute ideas. You have to continuously deliver. In this episode of Path To Profit, Stephen King talks with Micah Brandenburg , Founder of Micah Brande...

Writing down goals increases the likelihood of success by 82%. It lets everyone on your team know what you’re aiming for, and helps you increase alignment. In this episode of Path To Profit, Stephen King talks with Emily Hak , District Manager at Insperity , about how leaders can set their teams up for success through the simple act of writing down and cascading written goals in their business. Em...

Moshe Vaknin increases the profitability of his clients by helping them get the most valuable users for their apps. By narrowing down his service to its unique selling proposition and concentrating the focus of employee’s energy around a single simple unifying effort — in this case, customer retargeting — he’s made his own unique path to profit. In this episode of Path To Profit, Stephen King talk...

What could company culture look like if leaders were really great meeting facilitators? What could businesses look like if their people really loved meetings? You might be thinking, “Nobody loves meetings...” But there is a way to infuse meetings with more joy to create a more connected culture and efficient workflow. In this episode of Path To Profit, Stephen King talks with Douglas Ferguson , Pr...