In episode 8 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Byron Wolfe, a Certified Public Accountant and Founder of The CFO-AF, as he shares his insights on the importance of combining tax strategy with Fractional CFO services, emphasizing how understanding both sides can lead to significant savings and increased business valuation.

Tune in for insights on optimizing cash flow and navigating the complexities of financial strategy.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01:07] Tax strategy insights from experience.

[00:05:34] Tax strategy and fractional CFOs.

[00:10:15] Fractional CFO's relationship building.

[00:14:13] Maximizing startup valuation strategies.

[00:17:13] Augusta rule tax strategy.

[00:19:14] Tax strategies for business owners.

[00:22:23] Tax strategies for business owners.

[00:27:03] Tax strategy vs. prep and file.

[00:31:31] P&L vs. Balance Sheet Importance.

[00:33:36] Smart business growth insights.

QUOTES

• “Everything is manual. You've got to understand that from the ground up. And so it's about the level of commitment, the level of insight that you have into everything that's running in the background so that you can inform the strategic direction of that company that you're working with.” - Laurie Chen
• "It's amazing how much you will learn from a business failure over a business win… The wins are way more enjoyable, of course, but you learn a lot from things that don't go well, and you learn what not to do." - Byron Wolfe
• "Everybody should be aware of the exit or the potential exit, because if you're ready for the best exit, you probably are operating at the highest level of profitability and efficiency possible." - Byron Wolfe

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Byron Wolfe

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_cfoaf/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ByronAnthonyWolfe

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byron-a-wolfe-cpa/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

CFOAF: https://www.cfoaf.com/

In episode 7 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Sharleen Cheung, a Nutrition and Perimenopause Health Coach, to discuss the importance of improving energy through healthy habits, the link between founder health and business success, and the mindset shifts that led her to measure the KPIs and financial metrics that actually helped to reenergize her profits.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01:15] Nutrition coaching origin story.

[00:05:24] Strength training for women’s health.

[00:07:40] Nutrition mistakes among high achievers.

[00:11:14] Importance of protein-rich breakfast.

[00:14:43] Business growth in service industry.

[00:20:41] Measuring business financial success.

[00:23:10] Energy management for entrepreneurs.

[00:25:59] Meal planning for busy lives.

[00:30:01] Online grocery shopping benefits.

[00:34:10] Taking risks in business.

[00:36:06] Take risks for progress.

QUOTES

• "Once you start feeding your body consistently, your hunger hormones are going to get back up. And it starts to trust you. And that's when your energy kind of stabilizes and your metabolism actually starts to work for you, not against you." - Sharleen Cheung
• "I just really help high-achieving women break free from that dieting cycle and balance the hormones and just start to menopause with a holistic blend of macronutrition, strength training, and a lot of mindset coaching and just the personalized functional support as well with my team." - Sharleen Cheung
• "Being able to protect your energy and offload things to an assistant, or your staff member or someone that's more of a specialist in a particular area, is key to growing the business and scaling and making sure that you're doing the things that you enjoy doing and not wasting your time or burning yourself out." - Laurie Chen

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Sharleen Cheung

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smcheung16/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Designed-by-Shar/100076296060244/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharcheung/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Designed By Shar: https://designedbyshar.com/

In episode 6 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Antonio Green, Author, Public Speaker, and Director at James H. Cole Home for Funerals. From modernizing operations to navigating the financial complexities of building a new location, Antonio reveals the lessons he learned about financial discipline and the importance of relationships in business.

Tune in to discover how effective financial strategies and innovative thinking can lead to substantial business growth.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01:38] Family business succession strategy.

[00:04:48] Financial lessons in business.

[00:09:02] Millennial mindset in business.

[00:12:10] Pandemic's impact on funeral business.

[00:16:39] Internal controls to detect fraud.

[00:21:19] Profitability versus growth strategies.

[00:24:34] AI tools for financial planning.

[00:27:36] Ethics in business decisions.

QUOTES

• "I had to earn their respect and get them to understand that I knew how to run the business. So literally working shoulder to shoulder with everybody in every department really helped me garner that respect over the years." - Antonio Green
• "If you are in a family business or if you're even if you're just young and coming into a business you can't have that persona of I know everything you've got to be willing to learn you've got to eat a little crow sometimes and be willing to take a step back." - Antonio Green
• "Definitely having controls to detect fraud is something that a lot of businesses overlook, especially when it comes to the finance and accounting function.” - Laurie Chen

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Antonio Green

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millennialguy/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMillennialExpert

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/millennialguy/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Antonio Green: https://bizcoachantonio.com/

James H. Cole Home for Funerals: https://www.jameshcole.com/

SUBSCRIBE AND AVAIL THE BOOK HERE!

Talk To Me: Understanding The Millennial Mindset: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MYSTHSL/

In episode 5 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Breanne Benson, a Digital Creator, also known as The Coupon Queen, as she discusses her journey in building a successful affiliate marketing business through social media. Breanne also talks about her evolution from teaching others how to save money through couponing to coaching women on monetizing their social media without needing to create their own products.

Tune in to learn how Breanne empowers women to achieve financial independence through smart money management and social media strategies.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01:52] Business growth through affiliate marketing.

[00:04:44] Financial organization for entrepreneurs.

[00:10:00] Financial independence for women.

[00:12:21] Delegating tasks for business growth.

[00:16:34] Batch creating content saves time.

[00:21:45] Empowering women's financial independence.

[00:25:14] Overcoming fear in entrepreneurship.

[00:26:26] Overcoming fear in entrepreneurship.

QUOTES

• “Definitely keeping your business and your personal bank account separate. I think that's a rookie mistake that a lot of people they don't do when they start out. Any potential audits save you a lot of headaches down the road.” - Laurie Chen
• "I've always wanted to work with women and help them just be able to have that choice and be able to make their own money and be financially independent." - Breanne Benson
• "It doesn't matter what you do. There's going to be someone who loves you, and there's going to be somebody who doesn't. And that's OK. As long as you're doing it for a reason and you have a purpose behind it, then you're good to go." - Breanne Benson

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Breanne Benson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breecouponqueen3/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breanne.benson.565111#

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Bree The Coupon Queen: https://www.breecouponqueen.com/

In episode 4 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Kim Sutton, the Principal at Vintage Sign & Light, as they explore the importance of having a solid financial foundation, the impact of processes on business scalability, and the significance of understanding your numbers.

Tune in to learn how the right coaching can inspire new perspectives and strategies for financial success.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02:02] Coaching for business growth mindset.

[00:06:01] Lack of processes in business.

[00:11:21] Real estate tax strategies.

[00:16:56] Key metrics for business tracking.

[00:19:15] Business challenges and recovery.

[00:24:13] Financial strategy and debt management.

[00:26:58] AI's impact on business strategy.

[00:30:58] Social media marketing strategies.

[00:34:47] Accountability in business growth.

QUOTES

• "It's not just about getting new clients. It's about being your best self, sharing that with the world." - Laurie Chen
• "Not knowing my numbers and then the lack of processes are probably the two things that have caused me the most grief over a 45-year, approaching certainly, you know, really 50-year span." - Kim Sutton
• "We've got to stay ahead. We have to iterate. We've got to be able to pivot. And, you know, I like to kill sacred cows. It's just because something's been done that way. I have no interest in keeping doing it that way." - Kim Sutton

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Kim Sutton

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vintagesignandlight/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-sutton-916a0725a/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Vintage Sign & Light: https://wwww.vintagesignandlight.com/

In episode 3 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Alexander Mair, Founder and CEO at Fabricant Ops, as he discusses the common challenges startups face and the importance of templatizing solutions to alleviate pain points for future leaders.

Tune in to hear valuable insights on entrepreneurship and financial lessons learned along the way.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02:43] Revenue operations challenges explained.

[00:05:58] Bootstrap funding decision.

[00:08:19] LLC benefits for entrepreneurs.

[00:12:40] Evolving pricing strategies for startups.

[00:18:22] Evolving definition of success.

[00:20:35] Financial mistakes as a new entrepreneur.

[00:26:28] Revenue operations transition effectiveness.

[00:28:11] French influence in branding.

QUOTES

• "I do recommend that most business owners start out with an S-Corp as soon as possible. As soon as they're making revenue, making bank, it's definitely gonna help you save on your self-employment taxes." - Laurie Chen
• "One of the core beliefs that I have about fractional employees... is that they also take the mental load of those things that you just don't know how to do." - Alexander Mair
• " My hope is that any business that takes over a revenue operations department built by Fabricant will have a very quick transition period and will allow RevOps leaders to more quickly and effectively transition from remediation to acceleration. If we do that, that's a pretty good outcome." - Alexander Mair

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Alexander Mair

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderpmair/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

Fabricant Ops: https://www.fabricantgtm.com/

In episode 2 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Robyn Penner Thiessen, a Leadership Coach and the Founder of RPT Consulting, as she discusses her vision of supporting leaders to effectively lead their teams and the challenges she faced while navigating the world of entrepreneurship.

Tune in to hear insights on building a profitable business and making smarter financial decisions.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:01:18] Jumping into entrepreneurship.

[00:06:40] Hiring a virtual assistant.

[00:09:11] Business planning without a formal plan.

[00:12:04] Co-creating business with the universe.

[00:17:39] Tax account percentage recommendations.

[00:22:00] Finding the right tax accountant.

[00:24:01] Leadership and personal growth.

[00:27:28] Benjamin Hardy's impact on goals.

[00:30:40] Inspiring books for personal growth.

QUOTES

• “I absolutely do think having that first hire be your VA is very crucial to allowing you to have more time to focus on the things that you're passionate about in your business.” - Laurie Chen
• “Now I really need to make sure everything like I'm building that team around my business, because I do want to build it to be continuing to grow and really strong in the future.” - Robyn Penner Thiessen
• “Being around these authors who are writing really amazing books, I think that also is part of shaping the kind of business person or how you run your business.” - Robyn Penner Thiessen

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

Robyn Penner Thiessen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robyn.penner.thiessen/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/robyn.p.thiessen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynpennerthiessen/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/

RPT Consulting: https://robynpennerthiessen.com/

In this first-ever episode of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen, a Certified Public Accountant and the Founder of Advanced CFO, shares her journey from CPA to working with startup founders and small business owners, revealing how her passion for numbers and strategy has helped countless entrepreneurs achieve profitability and peace of mind.

Tune in to discover the inspiration behind the podcast's name and learn about the core focuses of financial strategy, profitability, tax planning, and sustainable growth.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02:32] Sustainable, profitable growth strategies.

[00:04:20] Strategies for profitable business growth.

QUOTES

• “Being a business owner myself has taught me so much about the game of life and the game of business. I absolutely love what I do, working with numbers and working with people to grow startups and businesses to profitability.”
• "You don't have to be a financial expert in order to run a wildly profitable business. You just need the right strategies."

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriechencpamba/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lauriechencpamba

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriechen/

WEBSITES

Built By Margin: https://www.builtbymargin.com/

Advanced CFO: https://www.advancedcfo.co/