We recently connected with Marika Ponton and have shared our conversation below.

Marika, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Over the years, because of my CPA background and experience owning and leading small businesses, I have been asked so many questions about how to improve profitability, how to fix things in financial statements and what is my secret to doing well in business. I love helping people with meaningful answers gained from all my real-world experiences and I get a lot of fulfillment in seeing them take the information and successfully apply it to their own enterprises.

I would often ask people to send me their financials so I could really see what was going on and I provided basic analysis, feedback and innovative ideas on where they could gain efficiencies. They appreciated the insights so much that they would come back and ask for more.

Great business ideas can come from services you are being asked to perform that aren’t offerings already, so I created Profit Truths. Candid, judgement free financial coaching for small business owners and leaders that want to unleash their profitability. My personal style of telling it like it is in a way that is valuable and not over the top is what makes it unique, and the transformations are amazing!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Marika! A CPA who truly ‘gets’ small business owners because I am also one of them. After spending 15 years auditing hundreds of businesses’ financials and seeing where they could improve bottom line profitability, I took the entrepreneurial leap. I’ve bought two small businesses, sold one and drastically transformed the profitability of both! I was following an unwavering drive to build a very different life away from large corporate roles where I could be in control of my own schedule, could travel to far off or not so far off places without having to ask permission for the time off and where I could be the unadulterated version of myself that did not always fit in the stuffy corporate environment!

Along the way I have seen many similar stories of people finding a new career path for their own meaningful reasons. The ones that have had the most success are those who understand that their business financials run the show and knowing their numbers is the most valuable asset they will ever own.

I have also seen many owners struggle in their relationship or lack of relationship with their financials and get stuck in a low profitability track. That is where I can be a unique resource as a trained CPA and a fellow business owner. I founded Profit Truths to help small business owners Tighten Their Financials and Unleash Their Profitability and my unique style of candid, judgement free financial coaching is designed to empower them to achieve all of their business goals.

Helping small biz transform and become empowered in areas that were holding them back brings me great satisfaction. I have finally found the thing that makes me flourish as a person and allows me to combine all my experience and background into a service helping others.

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

Yes, I have purchased two businesses! Purchasing existing businesses has such potential for upside if you go in with the right mindset, are open to learning and have knowledge about financial statements or are proactive in educating yourself on how to understand and use them.

The first business I purchased was a franchise in an industry I was not in and knew nothing about – that is Marika style right there – not afraid to try new things!

I did extensive research, interviews and deep learning about how to buy a business and I highly recommend that part up front. Talk to others who have done it, read a lot about the process and ask questions relentlessly. Get experts involved in the areas you are not strong in. Don’t just jump in because it sounds great and you like the idea of it. Be smart about acquisitions and all things that go into them as there are many things you won’t know or could miss. Getting knowledgeable people to support you and help you get started in the best way is invaluable. I am a CPA and I still missed things up front because I was new at it.

Don’t be afraid if this is something you want to do though! The knowledge is out there and the opportunities are endless if you start looking.

We’d appreciate any insights you can share with us about selling a business.

Yes, after tripling the revenue and transforming the bottom line profitability of my first business, I sold it very profitably.

The most important thing for anyone thinking about selling their business now, or in future, is to be committed to having and maintaining timely and accurate financial statements. The numbers are what tell the story of your business. If you don’t have those ready to go and know what the story holds behind the cover then the value of your business could be affected negatively, or you might not find interested buyers.

If you are managing your numbers you can address issues, increase bottom line profitability and have a glorious masterpiece of a story to offer to buyers. Help is out there if you are not doing that and don’t be afraid of it if you have been neglecting it. Just face it and fix it. I can’t stress it enough from personal experience and from watching clients have successful sales because their financials were the cornerstone of their business. #getreconciled peeps!

There are so many other things to think about for a sale of a business and having experienced support is also crucial on the sell side. The value of all the hard work you have put into your business needs to be shown and presented properly for the best outcome. Talk to people who have done it, get advice from experts, read voraciously about the topics that can move you forward and again – Own Your Financials!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.profittruths.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marikaeponton/

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