Mark and Jesse actually read the book (almost)! After completing most of the book recommended by a listener, 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy, Mark and Jesse share their thoughts on organizing your business and your life to harness your "unique ability." Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com YNAB https://www.youneedabudget.com...
Nov 03, 2023•33 min•Ep. 90
A listener requested Mark and Jesse comment on the book 10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy -- and they happily oblige! Except... they haven't read the book. Yet. Nevertheless the title is thought provoking, and they debate the merits of growing a business slowly vs growing quickly, as well as the difference between doing it as a startup vs a mature business. Jesse shares his experience 10x'ing YNAB over the years, an...
Oct 20, 2023•38 min•Ep. 89
Mark and Jesse share a snippet of a long conversation about the nature of opportunity cost in budgeting. They broadly divide people into two different personality types: the accumulators who diligently follow the rules of budgeting and amass cash, and the spenders who focus purely on what that cash can buy them -- experiences, memories, mementos, etc. Both camps face a hard challenge in budgeting. The accumulators may have a lot of cash, but at what cost to their relationships? What opportunitie...
Oct 06, 2023•20 min•Ep. 88
Mark explains his unique system for managing his day to day tasks after years of struggling with ADHD. For Mark, it's all about managing his energy and honoring his mindset in the current moment. If the "dirt pile" calls (his affectionate name for an ongoing earthmoving project in his backyard), then that's what he does, whether or not it's the "best" or most important use of his time in the moment. Over the years, Mark has learned that allowing himself space to indulge in physical tasks often h...
Sep 22, 2023•57 min•Ep. 87
Mark and Jesse answer a listener question about how to run more effective meetings, particularly for introvert-heavy groups. Jesse talks about the importance of ice breakers (although you don't have to call them that) and standardized meeting structures across the company. Mark and Jesse also discuss some new books on their reading list, including a book about the keys to longevity. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks...
Sep 08, 2023•39 min•Ep. 86
Mark poses a question -- how much knowledge about money does someone need? As in, how much time and energy should one devote toward investing, planning for future needs and problems, and other future considerations? Jesse offers some examples of how people often seek assurances, guarantees that their future income (and circumstances) will be safe. The reality, however, is that if you are in business, or even if you are an employee in a business, you are taking risk, and that risk cannot be mitig...
Aug 25, 2023•33 min•Ep. 85
Mark provides an update on his son Charlie and his budding mechanic career, and voices some concerns about his continuing to work at the auto shop. Charlie made some good money replacing brakes on a family friend's vehicle, and is considering making the jump to a mobile auto service business (as Mark and Jesse first discussed in Episode 79). Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com YNAB https://www.youneedabudget.com...
Aug 11, 2023•29 min•Ep. 84
Mark and Jesse discuss the process of setting compensation, salaries, bonuses, and communicating those effectively to the team. Compensation is a touchy subject. Businesses want to incentivize employees to perform at a high level and reduce turnover by compensating them well. Employees need to feel like they have space to grow their skills and capabilities in the organization, and be compensated accordingly. And many business owners want their employees to be happy and feel fairly compensated, o...
Jul 28, 2023•44 min•Ep. 83
...probably comes from doing more of what you're already doing, not a new venture or even a new product. But Mark and Jesse have talked about digging trenches already. Today they ask the question, is it enough for a business owner to put their head down and just dig more trenches? When do you look around, observe broad trends in your industry, and react to those? It's a balancing act, with risks on both sides of the question. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works h...
Jul 14, 2023•42 min•Ep. 82
Mark and Jesse dissect the culture of striving that pervades American society, in businesses and consumers alike. There seems to be a tacit assumption that all business should be about more -- growing more, making more money, etc -- and you don't have to look far to see the same mentality in consumer culture. In fact, it's the heart of the economy! The desire for more is endless, a hole which can never be filled. So, how do you figure out what is enough? Mark and Jesse have encountered peers str...
Jun 30, 2023•32 min•Ep. 81
Mark shares a difficult personal situation he and his family have been dealing with, that has signficant financial ramifications. Recently Mark's wife was diagnosed with cancer, and she has undergone chemo treatments and a litany of medical tests. As the medical bills continue to pile up, Mark finds himself having to float tens of thousands of dollars in costs while he waits to be reimbursed by their health sharing plan. While this can be a very scary proposition, he has found peace and security...
Jun 16, 2023•22 min•Ep. 80
It's happening! Mark's son is taking the step toward business ownership. His plan is to leave his job at the auto shop behind, and start a mobile oil change business. Mark and Jesse discuss some of the challenges of pricing his service, establishing a recurring revenue model, and marketing to the most influential groups he has access to. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com YNAB https://www.youneedabudget.com...
Jun 02, 2023•13 min•Ep. 79
Jesse shares a recent situation that would have sent shivers through most owners. Following a revision in the tax code regarding software R&D costs, YNAB discovered it would be facing down a huge tax bill, over triple what they anticipated for the year. While this might bankrupt some companies, Jesse and the executive team were able to take the news calmly, and use the company's cash reserves to easily handle the tax bill. It's a triumph of cash over the unexpected, and a YNAB success story!...
May 19, 2023•26 min•Ep. 78
What if all your spending... was actually borrowing? Ok, well not ALL your spending, but those situations in which you pull money from one category of your budget and apply it to another. Jesse gives the example of going to a special dinner at an exclusive restaurant. Reservations are very difficult to get, and you finally get one when someone else cancels -- but it's tonight. And you don't have the cash available in your restaurant category! So you move money from another budget category to cov...
May 05, 2023•40 min•Ep. 77
Mark and Jesse answer a question from Beginning Balance listener Allison (thanks for listening Allison!). Allison asks: what do you do when you get paid? How much should you set aside for taxes and retirement savings? It's a great question, and many business owners struggle with this. Mark and Jesse explain the concept of "profit first" and why the business should pay you first, then take care of bills and expenses. As it turns out, using YNAB makes this process easy to implement in your busines...
Apr 21, 2023•15 min•Ep. 76
On the previous, Mark shared a recent experience about letting an employee go. Not long after, another team member left for a great opportunity at another company. On a small team like Mark's, the loss of two employees back to back poses a big problem, as the workload gets spread to the remaining employees (a BIG increase) and some institutional knowledge is lost. Even with great systems and documentation, there's always some amount of institutional knowledge lost when an employee leaves, not to...
Apr 07, 2023•27 min•Ep. 75
It's not a fun part of the job, but sometimes you have to let employees go. Mark discusses a recent experience, and why, in retrospect, he should have acted much sooner. Jesse shares his thoughts on when, and why, you should let go of team members, when it's clear they aren't a good fit with the organization. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com YNAB https://www.youneedabudget.com...
Mar 24, 2023•28 min•Ep. 73
Mark and Jesse consider the wave of AI technology that is rapidly being deployed in a number of industries. Whether it's the dreamlike collage-art of Midjourney or ChatGPT's pedantic essays based on conversational prompts, AI seems to be on everyone's lips these days. What remains to be seen is how quickly -- and broadly -- it will impact businesses. Mark and Jesse both agree, though, that now is the time to consider how it might impact your business and how you could make use of it. Jesse offer...
Mar 10, 2023•22 min•Ep. 72
Jesse and Mark return to their credit card debate from episode #69 (recorded last year in 2022) and discuss how business is going with using a credit card. Jesse went cold turkey and stopped all use of credit cards, while Mark kept a card for just a couple recurring transactions, but greatly reduced his usage. The consensus? Even though YNAB attempts to treat credit card spending the same as cash, because you have to set aside cash to cover the credit balance, it's NOT the same as cash. Even if ...
Feb 24, 2023•26 min•Ep. 71
Mark and Jesse share their New Year's resolutions for 2023, and why their goals and plans are getting simpler as time goes by. One common goal for 2023? Mark and Jesse are recommitting to YNAB, and ditching the credit card. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO The Money School: https://moneyschool.works https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com YNAB https://www.youneedabudget.com...
Feb 10, 2023•23 min•Ep. 70
Mark and Jesse have discussed the advantages of being cash focused since the beginning of the show -- such as episode #3: Your Cash Is Your Strategy -- and part of being cash focused is not being focused on debt, or using debt to fund business operations. Most followers of YNAB can agree with this outlook, however credit cards fall into a grey and sticky area. Jesse contends that credit cards actually pose a number of problems, even for people who use them "responsibly," that is, pay them off re...
Jan 27, 2023•34 min•Ep. 69
The beginning of the year brings for every business owner a familiar feeling... worry and fear about taxes. Even for those putting in an honest, good faith effort, it's not always clear that you've done things 100% correct. There's also the lingering worry that somehow, the IRS is going to show up in dark sunglasses one day and start tearing through your records. Jesse's strategy for managing this is simple. Do your best with your taxes, then stop worrying. The only absolutely wrong move is not ...
Jan 13, 2023•18 min•Ep. 68
There's a lot of doom and gloom in the media these days, more than usual, that is! Inflation, recession, war... there seem to be many reasons to be negative about business outlooks in the coming year. But what are you going to do about it? Is it even helpful to think about this stuff too much? Jesse relates a recent experience talking to a reporter about business conditions, generational finance issues, and predicting the future, which kicks off a discussion with Mark about the futility of rumin...
Dec 30, 2022•28 min•Ep. 67
Mark and Jesse discuss the idea of "moats" in business, that is, the things which both give your business a competitive edge and also make it difficult to replicate. Too many budding entrepreneurs become enamored with building apps and software tools for their business, thinking that the app is the thing that makes them unique. Software is very rarely a moat, however, or even unique. It's usually just a tool for aiding the real business, and focusing too much on the tools without executing the b...
Dec 09, 2022•36 min•Ep. 66
Mark and Jesse answer a listener's questions about whether Jesse knew that he was onto an idea that would positively impact so many people when he started YNAB. They also discuss what new projects -- in business and in life -- they have on the horizon for the coming years. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com YNAB https://www.youneedabudget.com...
Nov 25, 2022•40 min•Ep. 65
Mark and Jesse ponder the question: what makes (and keeps) employees happy? While Jesse doesn't like the term "happy," there are definitely some strategies to keeping employee morale high and making jobs more fulfilling. Jesse references Dan Pink's book "Drive" and his concept of AMP -- autonomy, mastery, and purpose. If a job can offer these things to an employee, chances are they are going to find fulfillment and satisfaction in their work. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO https://markbutler.com https...
Nov 11, 2022•34 min•Ep. 64
Mark and Jesse discuss the idea that all businesses really transact in information. Whether the business sells goods or services, no matter the field or industry, ultimately there is information behind all products -- how to make the product, how to market and sell it, how to support it, etc. With that revelation, the concept of standardization becomes very important. Standardizing processes and protocols lowers the cost of information transaction, and increases the profitability of the business...
Oct 28, 2022•43 min•Ep. 63
Mark and Jesse discuss the importance of preserving institutional knowledge when employees inevitably leave and new ones join, and how that can (and should!) be baked into the normal functions of the business. As Jesse puts it, nothing in business is ever "one and done." Every process requires regular updating lest it fall prey to the law of entropy and important business knowledge gets lost. Mark Butler, Virtual CFO https://markbutler.com https://letsdothebooks.com You Need a Budget https://www...
Oct 14, 2022•22 min•Ep. 62
Mark and Jesse discuss a new term that is making the rounds on social media, and recently got the Wall Street Journal treatment as well. "Quiet quitting" is the so-called trend of dissatisfied and disillusioned workers exerting bare minimum effort and working as little as possible to keep their jobs, without actually quitting. The employer side to this has been dubbed "quiet firing," that is, keeping an employee but giving him less work, fewer hours, and generally making the work experience wors...
Sep 30, 2022•25 min•Ep. 61
Mark and Jesse set their sights on Rule Four as they contemplate the first principles, or the foundational ideas, behind YNAB's Four Rules. Rule Four has evolved over the years from pay today's bills with last month's money to, simply, "age your money." But the age of money, while a useful statistic, can be confusing. When you spend money on things that you've budgeted and saved diligently for, your age of money goes down. You are punished for doing the very thing that budgeting is for, in a sen...
Sep 16, 2022•28 min•Ep. 60
