Fit For Profit

In this episode of "Behind the Numbers," Shannon interviews Sarah Cooke, a holistic business coach and self-leadership mentor. Sarah shares her approach to helping women grow sustainable businesses by focusing on how they want to live before setting financial targets. They discuss overcoming the "hustle" culture, navigating the challenges of being a "high achiever," and the importance of human connection in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Watch the full episode on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/n3yk_wVSj6w?si=Vesrz5I7nFtDui0r

Business owners will approve team bonuses, cover education costs, invest in retreats, buy lunch for the office, and make sure everyone around them feels supported…

…while quietly avoiding paying themselves consistently.

Not because they don’t value themselves.

Usually because they feel responsible for everyone else first.

That’s the part of entrepreneurship people don’t talk about enough.

For a lot of founders, the pressure is emotional long before it becomes financial.

If this is you, raise your🤚in the comments.

Sometimes the stress isn’t even the big things anymore.

It’s hearing a Slack notification at 8:30pm and immediately feeling your chest tighten because you assume someone needs something from you.

Again.

At a certain stage of business growth, owners become emotionally on-call for everyone around them. Clients. Employees. Contractors. Problems. Questions. Emergencies.

And eventually a lot of founders realize:
“I built a business for freedom… but I don’t actually feel free.”

That’s usually not a time management problem.
It’s a leadership and financial pressure problem.

If this feels familiar, you’re probably carrying more than people realize.

In this episode of "Behind the Numbers," intuitive eating nutritionist and founder of the Food Freedom Collective, Sloane Elizabeth, discusses with Shannon the parallels between food and money as energy. She shares her journey of healing her relationship with both through a combination of science, spirituality, and subconscious reprogramming.

Watch the full episode on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/AkERyu4e4u0?si=YA2nT54f1bOWsVG5

There are business owners sitting in parking lots right now avoiding going home or into work for 20 extra minutes because they’re mentally trying to solve payroll before walking through the door.

And from the outside, everything looks successful.

Clients are happy.
Revenue looks solid.
The business is growing.

But internally, they’re carrying the weight of every decision, every expense, every employee issue, every slow week, and every upcoming tax payment.

A lot of entrepreneurs don’t need more motivation.
They need breathing room.

If you’ve felt this before, you’re not the only one.

Most business owners wait too long to sell.

Not because they're greedy. Because they're human. Things are going well, so why stop now?

But here's what I learned from talking with Mitch McGinley, a boutique fitness broker who has sold over 75 studios: the best time to sell is when everything is going great.

Not when you're burned out. Not when revenue starts to plateau. Not when you're already checked out. Because by then, buyers can feel it. And they'll price it accordingly.

The goal is to know your mountaintop before you get there. What does your "I made it" number look like? What does the version of your business look like that you'd be proud to hand over?

When you hit it -- sell. Don't wait for the other side of it.

Writing off your car, your meals, your travel? Totally normal. Do it.
Hiding personal expenses inside your business supply line? That's where it gets messy.

I talk to business owners all the time who are co-mingling funds -- running personal purchases through the business, keeping profit low to reduce the tax bill. And I get it. That impulse makes sense in the moment.

But here's what it costs you when you're ready to sell: everything.

Valuations are based on profit. If your books don't show it, buyers won't pay for it. And cleaning it up last minute isn't as simple as it sounds -- inconsistent records, numbers that don't match year to year, funds that can't be explained -- all of it raises red flags that kill deals or drop your price.

The fix isn't complicated. It's just consistent. Clean books, every month, for years before you're ready to sell.

That's exactly what we help you build.

Behind the Numbers is officially a podcast, and the first three episodes are live right now.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc9FF5DK3mEuMjg8XD_Lz0NzrY8JwhbJI&si=57naFMGMKuCQc1hj

Launching with three episodes felt like the right way to start this journey, and I am really proud of these conversations. I think you are going to find them useful whether you are just getting started or years into building your business.

Listen to an episode (or all three). Share the podcast with one person in your world who would find it useful. And if you enjoy the show, please like and subscribe. It genuinely helps more people find the show.

This has been a long time coming.

Behind The Numbers Behind the Numbers is a podcast about the real side of running a health and wellness business. Hosted by Shannon Simmons, owner of the bookkeeping firm Fit F...

On May 21st, we launch.

Three episodes of Behind the Numbers drop on YouTube at once, and I honestly can’t wait for you to hear them.

Here’s a little taste of who you’ll be meeting:

Mike Collins has been sugar-free for 37 years and said something early in our conversation I keep coming back to: attention is the most valuable commodity on earth. Not money. Attention.

Camille Freeman is a nutritionist who mentors other practitioners and put it simply: most of them are pricing based on vibes.

Brad Kearns has written 22 books and co-authored a New York Times bestseller. When I asked what’s working well in his daily operations, his first answer was that focus is hard.

Three very different people. Three conversations worth having.

See you on Thursday!

Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/