In episode 9 of Built By Margin, Laurie Chen interviews Samuel Crane, President & CEO at Desert Rivers Credit Union, and Franchise Owner of Cinch I.T., as he highlights the importance of financial planning, the lessons learned from startup capital, and the balancing act of growth versus profitability.

Tune in to learn about the intersection of finance, technology, and community impact.

TIMESTAMPS

[00:02:25] Startup capital for new businesses.

[00:06:39] Growth vs. scaling in business.

[00:10:33] Custom core software in credit unions.

[00:15:01] Tough business decisions with friends.

[00:19:22] Hiring a CPA early on.

[00:24:28] Global expansion.

[00:27:17] Mind shift in business growth.

[00:32:31] Underrated financial growth metrics.

[00:35:01] Love for the backcountry.

QUOTES

• "Always get more startup capital than you think you're going to need… And so you have to learn how to balance risk with what regulators are comfortable with." - Samuel Crane
• "It's difficult to lay off your friends. But if the numbers are not supporting it, then you can't base your decision on logic or emotion." - Laurie Chen
• "And talk about a mind shift. If you're ready for it, I would just say, be open-minded about some of the concepts because sometimes the whole idea around scarcity versus abundance, that one took me some time to get around." - Samuel Crane

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Laurie Chen

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

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

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

Samuel Crane

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sam.crane.35/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-crane/

WEBSITES

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

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

Desert Rivers Credit Union: https://www.desertriverscu.com/

Cinch I.T.: https://cinchit.com/

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/