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Tracking What Matters Most (Part 1 of 7)
Tracking revenue, cash, and your financial statements is the foundation of a profitable business. This week, you’ll learn how to identify your revenue-producing units, monitor cash daily, and review your financial statements monthly to keep your business strong and financially fit.
Death by 1,000 Cuts – Don’t Answer the Telephone
The next death by another little cut Not Answering Your Telephone WAIT! Before you click off this Profitable Business …make sure that your employees DO answer your phones. And, they answer them in the way you want them to be answered. Here’s what happened…and this is...
Death by 1,000 Cuts – Ignoring Cash Trends
Ignoring Cash Trends “I look at the money in my operations account every day.” Yes, you should be doing this to spot irregularities in your operating account. However, looking at cash in the bank doesn’t give you the overall trends of your business as they relate to...
Graphs Speak Louder than Numbers
In this episode of the Financially Fit Business podcast, I talk with Brian Ahern of Abev Power Solutions about how turning financial data into visual insights can transform the way you manage and grow your business. Brian shares how using charts instead of spreadsheets helped him see trends, stay on top of cash flow, and make smarter decisions with confidence.
Death by 1,000 Cuts – Don’t Pay Attention to the Bottom Line as You Grow
The Ask Ruth Webinar is this Thursday, October 20, 2025 at 11 AM Eastern Topic: The Relationship between Profitability, Working Capital, and Current Ratio Click here for details and to register Now onto Financially Fit Business Pay attention to the bottom line as your...
Understanding Your True Unit of Revenue
This week, I explore how understanding your true unit of revenue can transform the way you manage profitability. Whether you’re running a contracting company, accounting firm, or any service-based business,
Death by 1,000 Cuts – This Form of Chinese Torture Can Kill Your Business
Death by 1,000 cuts is how the ancient Chinese tortured people. No one single cut killed them. However, it was the accumulation of 1,000 cuts that eventually killed the person. What does this have to do with your business? It’s the little things that you don’t pay...
How to Give Your Employees a Day Off with Pay on December 26, 2025
Christmas is on a Thursday this year. The likelihood of much revenue generation on Friday, December 26, 2025 is slim. It’s a wasted day with no one really wanting to be at work. Customers don’t want to talk with you either – unless something is broken. What if you...
Don’t Let This Happen to You
A contractor (who is not a client) had good profits and profitability for the past several years. He negotiated a deal to sell his company. The process began in April and the April financial statements showed the company profitability. The business valuation and sales...
What Would You Do With $1.8 Million?
First my new manual - one version for business owners and one for CPA's bookkeepers and financial professionals: Understanding Financial Statement Trends Business owners Click here for more information CPA's bookkeepers and financial professionals Click here for more...
Five Easy Things That Could Help Your Hiring Process
First, two complimentary webinars you might want to take advantage of: I’m part of a two-day AI Summit on September 23-24, 2025. Click here for more information and to sign up for this free summit. Thursday’s Ask Ruth – I’m covering the working capital trends and...
Increase Profit and Wealth
First, thank you for reading Financially Fit Business. I hope the ideas I share help you grow a profitable business and significantly impact your life and the lives of your employees. This week is one of the rare times I use this space for me, and personal promotions....
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Conclusion
Here are the last two ways to increase profitability: #24 – Are you growing too fast? The rule of thumb for growth is annualized sales divided by working capital should be 10 or less. Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities (found on your balance...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 13
Here are profitability ideas for sales, marketing and customer activities. #21 – Know which of your marketing activities produce the best results Effective marketing is a combination of the right message sent to the right target customer using the right medium. Right...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 12
These activities focus on billable hours or revenue producing hours. Customers write your paychecks. Your team members who produce your products and services are billable, i.e. revenue producing. Here are profitability ideas for increasing billable hours. #18 – Know...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 11
Here are the next two ways to increase profitability. Your balance sheet tells you whether you are really profitable. Your P&L just tells you whether you are profitable for a specific period of time. The three ratios that I write about this week are called...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 10
Here are the next two ways to increase profitability #14 – Eliminate Warehouse Supermarkets I watched a technician walk into an unlocked parts room, choose the parts he wanted, and leave with an armful. He didn’t write down what he took. He didn’t let anyone know what...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 9
A couple of years ago I told you my story of trying to find the company that had done a phenomenal job cleaning the rug that has been in our family for more than 50 years. Initially they didn’t include any way to get in touch with them – no business card, no ongoing...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 8
#11 – Your Monthly Productivity Ratio Your employees are key to your profitability. If they are productive, then you have a better chance of being profitable. What do I mean by productive? Their time is billable to your customers. It is not spent in sweeping the...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 7
This article kicks off a two-part series offering 25 proven ways to boost profitability. These are straightforward, often-overlooked strategies that focus on smarter decision-making, reducing waste, and tightening up operations—so you earn more without sacrificing more of your time or money.
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 6
Last week I gave you Ruth’s Rule #2 – break even revenues needed for any overhead expense. I assume that you would like to be profitable, so here is Ruth’s Rule #3: #9 – Ruth’s Rule #3 Sales = Overhead Expense GM – Profit % Gross margin is a percentage and the profit...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 5
Here is the next way to increase profitability. #8 – Ruth’s Rule #2 I developed Ruth’s Rules many years ago to calculate the revenues needed for any expense – whether a cost of goods sold expense or an overhead expense. Over the next three weeks I will give you...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 4
Now that you have the basics and why you want to increase your company’s profitability, let’s continue ways to increase profitability. #6 – Know Your Overhead Cost per unit of revenue. Overhead cost per unit of revenue is simply total overhead cost divided by revenue...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 3
First, are you busy or are you productively busy? Join me this Thursday, June 26th at 11 AM Eastern to discover how easy it is to answer this question for your company…in less than 10 minutes. After I review the productivity ratio, I’ll answer any financial questions...
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 2
In this second installment, we reveal 25 more actionable strategies that help small business owners improve profitability without adding hours or expenses. These ideas are practical, insightful, and designed to help you think differently about how money flows through your business.
25 Ways to be More Profitable – Part 1
This article kicks off a two-part series offering 25 proven ways to boost profitability. These are straightforward, often-overlooked strategies that focus on smarter decision-making, reducing waste, and tightening up operations—so you earn more without sacrificing more of your time or money.
What REALLY Happens when You Lose Money On Your Products and Services
Supply chains are being hit hard. Most manufacturers are having a hard time getting basic materials – wood, metal, plastic, etc. They are raising their prices. Airline prices for flights have gone up drastically too. So, you HAVE to raise yours too – why would you...
What If You Can’t Raise Prices?
In a market where raising prices isn’t always an option, this article outlines how small business owners can protect profits by improving efficiency, reducing waste, and delivering more value per dollar. Learn how to strengthen your margins even when your prices are locked in.
Here’s Why You Should Show Your Employees the Company Financial Statements
Transparency isn’t just about trust—it’s a business strategy. This article explores how sharing company financials with your team can unlock higher performance, better decision-making, and a sense of ownership that helps boost your bottom line.
How to Tell if Your Employees are Productive
Balance sheet errors—like outdated asset values or incorrect liabilities—can quietly damage your financial clarity. This post outlines six common mistakes small businesses make and how to correct them before they impact growth or decision-making.