Friday, November 13, 2026
US owners spend 22 hours a month on financial admin and 56% get hit by a tax surprise (Xero, 2026). The ECRS method and a real client fix show owners how to stop doing it themselves every month.
Last updated 13 November 2026. Published by Simple-Growth (Motherbase Limited). Market: United States.
The business paid everyone this month — the team, the suppliers, the landlord. You paid yourself what was left over, which this month was less than last month, and you've stopped mentioning it out loud. You want growth that actually shows up in your own account, not just the business's. What you've actually built is a company that's getting bigger while quietly training you to expect less for yourself, one skipped pay run at a time.
62% of US small business owners have reduced or skipped their own pay at least once in the past year, and 21% have done it four times or more, according to Bluevine's 2026 research (Bluevine, 2026). "Things settling down" isn't a milestone that arrives on its own — it's a decision, and most businesses are structured so there's always a plausible reason to put it off one more month. Growing revenue without growing what lands in your own account isn't really growth. It's a bigger version of the same squeeze.
Mike Michalowicz's Profit First approach flips the usual order of operations. Instead of Sales minus Expenses equals Profit — where owner pay and profit are whatever's left after everything else — it forces Sales minus Profit (and owner pay) equals Expenses, by physically moving set percentages into separate accounts the moment money comes in.
Kevin didn't learn this lesson purely from the outside looking in. Even as a coach, he hired an Icehouse coach of his own to accelerate his growth — a reminder that this isn't about willpower or sacrifice; it's about having someone outside the business enforce a structure you won't reliably enforce on yourself, under pressure, every single month. He's also open with clients that his own run of nine companies founded or co-founded includes genuine failures as well as wins, and that the discipline of paying yourself properly is one of the lessons that cost him real money to learn the hard way, so his clients don't have to.
"Kevin's knowledge and intellect on all things business — no matter what industry it is — he just seems to find gems that you can focus on. I catch up with Kevin once a week and it is definitely the highlight of my week. He just sees different opportunities so clearly."
John Roberts
Co-owner & COO, Oragene
Paying yourself properly feels like it should wait until the business can "afford" it — but the business will always find something else to spend on if the money's sitting there to be found. This isn't for you if you've genuinely decided to reinvest everything deliberately for a defined period with a clear end date — that's a real strategy, not avoidance. It's for owners where "once things settle down" has quietly become the plan itself, with no date attached.
A cash management approach from Mike Michalowicz that allocates profit and owner pay first, as a fixed percentage of revenue, then runs expenses on what remains, rather than paying the owner last from whatever's left over.
The money isn't removed from the business — it moves to a separate account and stays there as profit and reserved owner pay, which forces more deliberate decisions about the remaining expenses.
Start with a modest, sustainable percentage you can actually hold to every month rather than an ambitious one you'll abandon after one tight month.
If you've paid everyone else properly this month except yourself, that's the number we fix first.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Costs keep rising and your prices haven't moved in a year, because you're scared everyone will walk. Here's why the fear is about value, not price, and what to fix first.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Every slow week ends the same way: a discount, a last-minute post, anything for today's sale. Here's why that cycle keeps repeating, and the simple split that finally breaks it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
You take on almost any customer who'll pay, so your marketing, pricing and team get pulled in three directions at once. A simple market-sizing exercise shows SME owners the one slice worth aiming at this year.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Making It Happen is a self-paced productivity and implementation masterclass for owners. Here is what is in it, what it costs, who it suits and who should skip it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Acquisition.com's free Scaling Course Bundle teaches offers, leads and money models. A coach works on your numbers. A plain guide to who each suits, and what to check first.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
The November 2026 WoF changes mean fewer automatic visits for many cars. Here is how NZ workshop and aftermarket owners find the real constraint, protect margin and keep customers coming back.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
62.9% of US small business owners have less than three months of cash on hand if revenue slows. The Constraint Audit shows which problem to fix first before chasing more sales makes it worse.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
The government will co-fund up to 50% of an AI roadmap and its rollout, to $15,000, for NZ businesses with under 50 staff. Here is what it covers, what it does not, and the order to do things in.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
43,068 NZ businesses employ six to nineteen people. If every decision still lands on your desk, here is how to tell whether you need a hire, a system or a coach, and a 90-day plan to step back.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
78% of US seasonal businesses face a 3-month cash gap every year. A bike park's 11 revenue streams show SME owners how to smooth theirs.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Considering walking away isn't rare — 4 in 10 US owners have thought it. Here's why saying it out loud, to the right person, changes what happens next.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
US business leaders lose roughly 77 workdays a year to tasks outside their actual role. Here's the Clockwork fix for owners who can't step away.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Not all revenue is equal. A real client's numbers show why grading your customer list matters more than growing it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
You built your own branding to save the agency fee. 88% of owners feel the same way about theirs. Here's the exercise that fixes it in an afternoon.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026
You're making this week's decisions on last month's numbers. Here's the one-page habit SME owners use to see what's happening before it costs them.