Setting Your Business Ablaze: The Power of Real-Time, Reliable, Relevant Financial Information with Dave Willson

0:02Who's ready to rock today, Fire Nation? JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire, brought to you by the HubSpot. Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like The Product Boss. Today, we'll be breaking down how to set your business ablaze, the power of real-time, reliable, relevant financial information. To drop these value bombs, I brought Dave Wilson into EO Fire Studios. Dave is an entrepreneur with 20 years experience. He founded, operated, and sold numerous businesses. As CFO advisor, he helped optimize over 200 businesses, ensuring they produce relevant, reliable, and real-time information.

0:41And today on Foundation, we'll talk about the power in decision-making. We'll also talk about traditional accounting systems and their limitations. We'll talk about modern financial solutions and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Dave and our sponsors. Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast, hosted by Amy Porterfield, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with a focus on online business, including digital courses, list building content, and more. Online Marketing Made Easy breaks down big ideas and strategies into actionable step-by-step processes.

1:16A recent episode that will help you get more results with a whole lot less stress is on four ways to avoid burnout. Listen to Online Marketing Made Easy wherever you get your podcasts. Is now your time? Visit thrivetimeshow.com to see testimonials of how Clay Clark's business coaching has helped over 2 ,000 entrepreneurs to dramatically increase profitability. It's month to month and less money than an average minimum wage employee. Schedule your free consultation today at thrivetimeshow.com. Dave, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

1:52Hey, what's up Fire Nation? I think that success and being successful actually has a lot to do with luck and your personal definition of success. I think that in reality, not a lot of people ascribe success to being lucky. I certainly do. I think that it takes a lot of hard work, obviously, but luck is a huge part of that. The other is success isn't just a definition of financial success, but what I would ascribe as a holistic view of success, meaning in my case I get to work with my family, I get to work with people that I love and that to me is far more successful than doing it on my own and making a bunch of money.

2:38So that's maybe something that's a little bit different the way that I see success. I also think that success has a lot to do with failure. Getting to the point where you can really understand what success looks like, You have to fail a few times to really know what it feels like and what it looks like to be successful. One thing that I have been kind of preaching for a little while now is getting to know what your enough is. Because a lot of people, they just never stop pushing. And they don't really know why they're pushing or climbing that mountain. They just feel like they have to keep doing it when they don't necessarily recognize that, hey, where I'm at right now is enough.

3:19I get to spend time with my family. I'm making enough money. I'm working enough hours. What is your version of enough? And I kind of like this theme that we're developing here. And it's only going to be more benefited by knowing the power of real-time, reliable, relevant financial information that we're talking about here today. Because, Dave, let's be honest. As entrepreneurs, we often lack the data that we need to make the best decisions possible. So share the power of data in decision making. John, have you ever seen that movie Arrival with Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner? In that movie, the aliens arrive, they have a special language that they're able to communicate.

4:06And initially, the powers that be start to interpret that information as being a weapon. And they each believe that there's 12 of these locations that get this alien arrival. and each believe that they're being given a weapon to fight each other. And only with that interpretation, our protagonist, Amy, she starts to understand that it's not a weapon but rather a gift and that they're able to use that language to basically see the future. And I think that analogy that when I watched that movie, I thought, oh, this is accounting, right? The aliens that are landing, speaking a foreign language, They're accountants and they're there to try and provide a language to help people see the now and also predict the future.

4:55So when I think about real-time, reliable, relevant financial information, I think about a language that is there to help us understand where we're at and also where we're going. And only really by understanding that language can we make really good decisions. So I think about the reason why I became an entrepreneur is ultimately my dad was an entrepreneur and he was going along great. And there were some things happening in the South African economy that he wasn't actually able to see or predict because of the data that he was being fed. He wasn't using real-time accounting. That kind of stuff didn't exist.

5:33And ultimately, because he couldn't see what was coming down the pipeline, his business failed, which is one of the reasons. Well, it's actually the only reason why I ended up here in the United States because we had this come-to-Jesus moment where we all decided what we were going to be doing in the future and made a decision to leave the South African economy and come to the United States. And that decision-making process was informed by a lack of real-time financial information. Now, one of the things that I try to focus on with our clients, like you're saying, what is enough, right? When do you get to what is enough?

6:09but also understanding what that enough is supposed to look like comes from sitting down with a team, whether that's an external guy like me or with an internal team, and trying to map out what the end goal of a business is supposed to look like. Is it just there to be another job? Because I think that's a terrible reason to start a business. Or it's about creating something successful for you and also the people around you, the people that you care about, the employees, the clients, and so on. So hopefully that makes some coherent mess in terms of what the real-time, relevant, reliable decision-making and where that data is supposed to come into to help us make really good decisions.

6:54And that is where I want to move into next, actually, because listen, this is where we're moving towards, but a lot of people are so stuck in the past with these traditional accounting systems. So let's talk about the massive limitations in the traditional accounting system and what you feel like we should be thinking about around these systems. So when I think about a system, I don't think just about software like a QuickBooks or maybe a Sage or some of these things. I think about the system itself as a collaborative collective whole of a bunch of different tools. So most small business owners are dealing with a CRM and an email system or maybe some bookkeeping software, maybe an e-commerce platform, inventory.

7:43All of these traditional accounting systems, especially if they're not set up right, they are basically siloed. They live on islands. They don't talk to each other properly. And even if you get some technologists involved, they're not set up in such a way that allows for real-time information to flow through to the business owner to understand what they're doing. So I think that when we work with clients initially and they are working on maybe a QuickBooks desktop, they're dealing with information that is slow. And when it's slow, it means that it's not useful anymore. It's kind of like you're saying how we live in the past a lot and that's not the point of a good accounting system or a language system it's about talking in the now and also talking about the future so i think um getting rid of like the siloed approach or the island approach of data and knowledge is going to be really important as we move into the future uh moving away from desktop based or siloed based systems is is going to be imperative for for an entrepreneur to be successful as we move into the next decades.

8:57And Fire Nation, if you're listening to this episode, you know that we're moving forward. We're looking for the cutting edge solutions. We're looking for what's next. And we're going to be talking about modern financial solutions when we get back from thanking our sponsors. If you're a sales leader, then you know that expectations are at an all-time high these days. You've got cold calls to make, relationships to maintain, and deals to close. And that's not even the full picture. You're also expected to leverage a slew of different tech to-dos like digging into the numbers, monitoring the best strategies, and switching it up when things aren't working and collaborate across other teams within your company.

9:36Are you exhausted yet? Here's the good news. There's a better way to win. It all starts with the HubSpot Sales Hub. HubSpot Sales Hub unifies your data, tools, and team inside a smart and powerful platform that includes a new prospecting workspace, deal management tools, and AI-powered tools to help reps optimize based off real-time results. And at a bonus, reps can automate their busy work so they can focus on doing what they do best, closing deals. It's smart software for smart sales teams that feels good to use. With Sales Hub, closing deals is no big deal. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com slash sales.

10:13Hiring isn't cheap. Every new hire requires a lot of money and time. If you're an employer who's hiring, then you know this all too well. So what's the most effective way to find the best people for your roles? Zip Recruiter. See for yourself. Right now, you can try it for free at ziprecruiter.com slash fire and experience the value Zip Recruiter brings to hiring. Zip Recruiter has a lot to offer. And for starters, Zip Recruiter lets you try it before you commit. Zip Recruiter is also top-notch when it comes to helping you find more qualified candidates fast. Once you post your job, Zip Recruiter smart technology identifies people whose skills and experience match it.

10:45and ZipRecruiter gives you the power to zero in on top talent, easily send candidates you're really interested in a personal invite to apply. It's simple. ZipRecruiter helps you get hiring rights. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. See for yourself. Go to this exclusive web address to try ZipRecruiter for free before you commit. ZipRecruiter.com slash fire. Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com slash F-I-R-E. ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire. Are you ready to grow your business now? What if you could learn the proven systems and processes that have been used to grow thousands of multi-million dollar success stories at Thrivetimeshow.com?

11:24See testimonials of how Clay Clark's proven business coaching has helped over 2 ,000 clients to increase profitability dramatically. Clay's proven business coaching program is month to month and less money than hiring a minimum wage employee. Sounded good to be true. Go to Thrivetimeshow.com to see over 2 ,000 documented success stories. Because Clay only takes on 160 clients, He personally designs your business plan for you. Then Clay's team of talented designers, videographers, web developers, workflow mappers, and accounting coaches will help you to implement that proven plan. See over 2 ,000 verified success stories and schedule your free one-on-one 13-point assessment with Mr.

12:00Clay Clark himself today at Thrivetimeshow.com. Knowledge will not attract money unless it is organized and directed through practical plans of action. Become the next success story. Schedule your free 13-point assessment today at thrivetimeshow.com. Dave, we're back. And before the break, I mentioned modern financial solutions. So I want to focus and talk about that now because I want to really give Fire Nation an understanding on how they can transition to modern financial solutions in the most effective way possible. We've picked as a foundation for our accounting solutions, our accounting software, a platform called Xero, X-E-R-O.

12:43We found that technology a decade ago, and they've been very proactive with not only being in the cloud and working on single ledger accounting and constantly updating their technology, but I can tell that they've put a lot of money into the future of what I might call something like token-based accounting or even triple entry accounting. There's this idea of when a transaction happens in the world that it should be able to be recorded correctly across multiple systems, the vendor, the customer, all taking that transaction and recording it. Now, in the case of Xero, they're working towards those kinds of technology pieces.

13:29The thing that they've done really well for us is they've built a very open marketplace that allows us to connect data correctly. So we take an e-commerce platform and connect it to Xero or an accounts payable. And then to marry it all up, we're using technology like reach reporting to be able to provide that visual interpretation of the knowledge. because it is an alien language. It all goes into this accounting platform and to zero. It becomes a little bit alien to the small business owner. And then we take that information, we put it into a reach reporting, we produce really good dashboards.

14:07The visualization of a financial system is probably the most important thing that a business owner could hope to get out of their platform. So it needs to be modernized. It needs to be connected. It needs to be real time. And that's how we perceive this information. And then that visualization, what I mean by that is your solution, your technology needs to be able to show you not only where you've come from and what you're doing, but also it needs to be predictive. It needs to say, hey, this is what we think is going to happen in six months. This is what's going to happen in 12 months. And I need to be able to plan for those type of events.

14:47or, hey, interest rates are going up and I need to refinance or interest rates are going to come down and I need to refinance. We spend a lot of time taking that real-time information and then connecting it to tools, Finmark or, again, in Reach where we're doing predictive accounting. And that's not something that a lot of small business owners ever are able to get to because they're spending so much time having to deal with just trying to make the past accurate. And I find that to be a waste. It has to be forward-looking. So I love what we're talking about when it comes to implementing these modern financial solutions, but let's get into a success story.

15:27Let's talk about a case study that really will underlie the benefits that you've seen work really well. We have a few clients that I think they're worth mentioning. We've got a client called Kiln. Kiln is kind of like a WeWork competitor. They're actually a step above in terms of quality. And when we started working out with Kiln, working with Kiln, their accounting platform, their solution was an Excel spreadsheet. And that just wasn't sufficient. We got them onto a zero platform. We started implementing an accounts payable solution. We helped them implement e-commerce. But then we went further.

16:06We started using what I was saying about predictive and real-time analysis and dashboards and then helping them raise capital. They now have eight locations. They're going to have seven more in the next year. And they're constantly looking 12 months, three years, 10 years into the future to be able to determine things like can they hire? Are they able to hire as many people as they'd like? Can they open a new location? Can they refinance an existing location? Do they need to adjust? a great example of that is in their case that they were a client of ours before COVID and as COVID was hitting we were sitting down together as a team and making predictions for what this was going to look like we call it our predictive model skyfall because it seemed like the sky was falling and because we were able to see into the future now seeing into the future can be a little bit like a crystal ball we had a few different options available to us but because we could see some of these options available to us in the future.

17:10We made some strategic decisions, or the entrepreneurs did with our guidance, that really helped save their business during that COVID time. If you think about a co-working space, their business depends on people getting together. And because we made some adjustments and shifts and had conversations with vendors and customers right on the front end of COVID, their business was safe through that whole experience. We also have other clients that have come to us where their systems and technology have just been a mess. They've been in business for a long time and they haven't made any significant progress.

17:48And when we sit down and we start to do the visualization of data and predictive data, they start to be able to see how they can change things, change their margins of a product or change where they're focusing their time and energy. Instead of spending so much time and energy on operations, they focus more on advertising and bringing in good marketing partners and helping them grow that side of the business. And probably the best case study that I can provide is actually our own business. In my case, Proven CFO is one of 20 or so companies that I've actually started for various reasons. and like I was saying at the beginning of the conversation, failure is a big part of success or understanding what success is supposed to look like.

18:37And I had a number of failures in business. And where that led to was understanding what it is that I truly wanted out of the business. And so when we started Proven CFO and we started to focus on what it is we wanted to provide our clients, it was more about working together with my family and working with clients that I really enjoy working with and also making money. And so when we visualized what proven CFO was supposed to look like, how it's supposed to end up, we're able to do our own predictions. We've got really good systems and tools. And I don't spend time in my own business having to deal with the pain of accounting or financial prediction.

19:17We do a lot of that for our clients. But our own solution internally is like a perfected version of what we end up offering to our clients because we're on time with all of our data and we know where it is that we're going. So that's probably the best example that I can give you of a success story. Proven CFO itself has been a success story for us. I love those success stories and I just love when we can dive into case studies so you can actually see this in action, Fire Nation. So Dave, with everything we talked about here today, very powerful stuff. What's the one thing you want to make sure Fire Nation really gets from our conversation?

19:54I would say the one thing that I'd really want them to get is that data and accounting shouldn't be around looking at the past about reporting to the taxman, to having to say, hey, taxman, I made X and this is what I owe you. It really needs to be the foundation of decision making about where you want to focus your time and energy in your business. A business is not a W-2 or a job replacement. It is something that's living and breathing and it's worth taking the time to really dive into how this knowledge is being created and so that it can be fed back to the business owners, to the Fire Nation team, the individuals involved here to understand their business, to change their business, to be the very version of success that they want.

20:42With Proven CFO, we're doing for Fire Nation. we're going to be making sure that if any of the Fire Nation wants to reach out to us that we're going to do a free system financial analysis with them we'll give them the first month free we really want to be able to sit down and help the Fire Nation to understand their businesses and to know what it is that they need to do to be successful. This is a fantastic opportunity Fire Nation if this is resonating with you take action so Dave what does Fire Nation need to do to take the next step? With us, if they just go to provencfo.com forward slash EOF, they can jump on there and they can connect with us straight from that link on the website.

21:28So provencfo.com forward slash EOF, Entrepreneurs on Fire. And we'll connect with them and sit down and spend as much time as we need to understand their business and then walk them through what it is that they need to do and adjust to become successful. Fire Nation, you are the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with D-Dubs and JLD today. So keep up that heat. For links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Dave in the search bar. The show notes page will pop right up. Dave, I want to say thank you for sharing your truth, knowledge, and value with Fire Nation.

22:09For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, thanks. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Dave for sponsoring today's episode and Fire Nation. Over the last decade, I've interviewed more than 3 ,000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and I created a revolutionary 17-step roadmap to your financial freedom and your fulfillment. And I put it all into my first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, personally endorsed by Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk. The Common Path to Uncommon Success is the step-by-step guidance that you need to achieve the lifestyle of your dreams.

22:53Visit UncommonSuccessBook.com and I'll catch you there or on the flip side. Online Marketing Made Easy podcast hosted by Amy Porterfield is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with a focus on online business including digital courses, list building content, and more. Online Marketing Made Easy breaks down big ideas and strategies into actionable step-by-step processes. A recent episode that will help you get more results with a whole lot less stress is on four ways to avoid burnout. Listen to Online Marketing Made Easy wherever you get your podcasts.

23:27Is now your time? Visit thrivetimeshow.com to see testimonials of how Clay Clark's business coaching has helped over 2 ,000 entrepreneurs to dramatically increase profitability. It's month to month and less money than an average minimum wage employee. Schedule your free consultation today at Thrivetimeshow.com.