Gwen Bortner has four decades of business wisdom and she used them to destroy the number you've been bragging about on Instagram.

EPISODE SUMMARY:

That top-line revenue number everyone posts about on social media? It's not lying, exactly, but it's definitely not telling you the whole truth. In this episode of Squeaky Clean Money, business advisor Gwen Bortner breaks down why income alone is a dangerously incomplete metric and walks you through the four numbers that actually tell you whether your business is healthy or slowly breaking down behind the scenes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Your top-line income number is the easiest number to find, which is exactly why we over-rely on it. Easy access does not equal accurate picture.

• Someone whose sales dropped $10,000 but whose cost of sales dropped $20,000 is actually further ahead, not behind. The number you're panicking about might be the wrong one.

• The four numbers to watch: income, cost of goods/sales, gross income (income minus cost of sales), and profit. You don't need calculus. You need to read a chart.

• More income does not mean more money in your pocket. You can absolutely grow your revenue while shrinking your profit if expenses are outpacing sales.

• You don't have to look at every line item every day, but you should be reviewing these four numbers monthly and looking at how they move in relation to each other.

SQUEAKY CLEAN MANTRA:

"Income is important, but profit is what's in your pocket."

GUEST BIO:

Gwen Bortner is a business advisor with four decades of experience across 47+ industries. She works with women who appear successful but are privately wondering how long they can maintain their current pace. She helps entrepreneurs find the bottlenecks others miss and build businesses that perform without consuming their lives. Find her at everydayeffectiveness.com.

If this episode made you wonder whether your own offer would land with a room full of people rooting for you, come find out. anniepruggles.com/will-this-sell

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Anniepreneur Presents is the strategy cabaret for the boldly self-employed. Shows, events, and more at anniepruggles.com.