Profit First

Three of the ideas you’ll keep

The Clif summary of Profit First pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first three.

1. Flip the formula: take your profit off the top of every deposit first, then run the business on what's left. Profit becomes a non-negotiable bill, not an end-of-year hope.
2. Open separate bank accounts for Profit, Owner's Pay, Tax, and Operating Expenses so your money is physically divided. You instantly know your true financial position by glancing at balances, no spreadsheets required.
3. Run on 'real revenue' (sales minus materials and subcontractors), then allocate by Target Allocation Percentages tuned to your revenue tier, e.g. roughly 5% Profit / 50% Owner's Pay / 15% Tax / 30% OpEx under $250K.

The other 4 — and the full 10-minute summary — are in the app.

What’s inside: 10 chapters

The whole summary runs about 10 minutes, read or listened to.

1. Why Profitable Businesses Still Go Broke
2. Flip the Formula: Profit First
3. Four Behavioral Principles That Make It Stick
4. Set Up Your Accounts: Income, Profit, Owner's Pay, Tax, OpEx
5. The Instant Assessment: Where You Stand Today
6. Target Allocation Percentages by Revenue Tier
7. The 10th and 25th Rhythm
8. Quarterly Profit Distributions That Reward You
9. Crush Debt and Cut Expenses
10. Start Small and Build the Habit