Stark Naked Numbers

Carla Penn-Kahn: Tactical tips for scaling to peak profitability

Building a successful ecommerce or SaaS business is no small feat – it requires grit, determination, and a strategic mindset. But once you’ve scaled your business, how do you maximise profitability and maintain that upward growth trajectory?G’day, Jason Andrew here, and you’re listening to Stark Naked Numbers. This episode is for all the ecommerce or SaaS founders out there, deep in the trenches, who know the blood, sweat and tears it takes to build something remarkable.Today I’m joined by Carla Penn-Kahn, a true powerhouse in the ecommerce industry. She’s scaled and exited several brands from $3 million to $30 million without any external funding. Now, she’s the brains behind Profit Peak, a SaaS company designed to help other ecommerce owners optimise their operations using first-party data.In this episode, Carla shares her journey, profitability tactics and operations advice. We get very tactical in this episode which I simply love.Enjoy the show.Links:Follow Carla on LinkedIn or head to Profit Peak’s website.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods. Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials and unlocking your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(01:08) - An introduction to Carla Penn-Kahn (02:22) - The early days: Carla’s first e-commerce business(05:20) - The next venture: Everton(07:06) - Building VS Buying a business(08:41) - How Carla perfected the fundamentals at Everton(12:22) - Game-changing strategies to differentiate your e-commerce brand(18:03) - Carla’s number one piece of advice for running an efficient operation(22:15) - Key metrics of a high-performing e-commerce business(29:26) - Creating cohesion between inventory and marketing teams(31:40) - How Profit Peak came to life(36:30) - Shifting from an e-commerce model to a SaaS business(40:50) - The biggest opportunities in e-commerce today(45:23) - Jason pitches Carla an idea(53:29) - The truth about revenue growth

Simon Plummer: Mastering operational excellence and small business acquisitions

Ever received a cold email that actually made an impact? Today’s guest did just that. Hi, Jason Andrew here, and this is Stark Naked Numbers – the podcast that strips down the numbers of business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth.Today, I’m joined live in the studio by Simon Plummer, someone who shares a career trajectory similar to mine: an accountant-turned-business owner with a passion for helping other aspiring business owners.Simon is honestly one of the most exceptional people I’ve met. We talk about building his operating and leadership chops at Johns Lyng Group, a $billion insurance building company he helped scale; to starting a tech startup, through to acquiring a boring brick tool manufacturing business.In this chat we unpack the art of cold emailing, creative ways to generate deal flow for business acquisitions, lessons learned from starting and operating businesses, and key insights for anyone considering buying into a small business.Alrighty, let’s get started.Links:To keep up with Simon, follow him on LinkedIn.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods. Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(01:22) - Simon’s ‘killer’ cold email(06:53) - Inside Johns Lyng Group (JLG)(14:33) - Equity incentives and subsidiary ownership at JLG(21:42) - Simon’s investment in JLG at just 25(24:35) - The biggest learning curve of Simon’s career(35:56) - Exit and transition to a new business idea (41:33) - How Simon cherry picked his dream business(59:08) - What’s next for Simon(01:01:09) - Simon’s key takeaways for aspiring entrepreneurs

Mark Denning: Secrets to Success in Home Services

Hey, it’s Jason Andrew here.Today, I'm joined live in the studio by Mark Denning. He’s the owner and managing director of Fallon Solutions, a Brisbane-based home services business that provides trade services to customers in South East Queensland. I actually used their services myself, and let me tell you, it was one of the best customer experiences I’ve ever had with a tradesman. So, I made it my mission to track down the owner, and here we are.In this chat, I talk to Mark about the story behind Fallon Solutions, how he grew the business from $2M to $50M in revenue by investing in talent, customer experience and tech.Alright, let’s get into it.Links:To keep up with Mark, follow him on LinkedIn. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods. Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(03:10) - Introduction to Fallon’s Services(04:50) - Mark’s career before Fallon’s(06:06) - The decision to buy (11:20) - 60% growth in year one: cash flow model of residential vs commercial(14:33) - Customer acquisition strategies(16:07) - Revenue growth: $2M to $50M in 20 years(18:17) - Capacity and staffing model(23:39) - Competitive difference and advertising strategy(25:50) - Attracting and retaining talent in a service-based business(32:49) - Capacity management software(35:16) - Private equity interest in the HVAC industry(40:03) - The future of Fallon’s(41:08) - Mark’s experience with private equity: US vs Australia (43:54) - The motivation behind building businesses

From $400 to $40 million: Nick Bell’s agency playbook

Ever wondered what it’s like to run a high-octane digital agency? If you’re knee-deep in the digital marketing world, you’re gonna dig this chat.Hey there, Jason Andrew here, and you’re listening to Stark Naked Numbers – the podcast that’s about stripping down the numbers behind business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth. Today I’m hanging out with serial entrepreneur and self-proclaimed industry disrupter, Nick Bell. This guy’s not your average Joe – he’s set up more than a dozen companies, including a digital advertising agency he started in 2008 with just $400 bucks. He then sold it ten years later for close to $40 million. Since then, Nick’s been on a roll, with a holding company sporting over 10 digital agencies and services business, from Outsourcey, an off-shore labour hire company, to his latest passion project, Super Young, a bio-hacking clinic promising to keep you spry and kicking till you hit the century mark. But I’ll let him tell you all about that.In this chat, I ask Nick about his rinse-and-repeat strategy for success, how he keeps his managers motivated, and how to control client experience and maintain quality as you grow. We also go deep on the numbers of running a high-flying agency.Links:To keep up with Nick Bell, follow him on LinkedIn.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods. Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(02:29 ) - The early days of WME (13:10) - A new and improved digital agency formula(17:55) - Why outsourcing is a good industry to be in(23:10) - Incubating a service-based business(28:43) - Nick’s time allocation across his business portfolio(31:20) - Incentivising your GMs(33:51) - What the financials of a high performing agency look like(36:02) - Identifying a poorly run agency (44:53) - Scaling up your service-based business(47:30) - Nick on people management (being a ‘people person’)(50:29) - Controlling the client experience and maintaining quality as you grow(52:22) - Selling your agency: when an agency will sell for more(53:27) - Nick’s passion behind Super Young and ‘Biohacking’(01:03:43) - Nick’s advice for new business owners

Simon Cook: Business Valuations 101

Back in my corporate finance days, I was knee-deep in valuations and financial due diligence for small businesses. I always joked with my boss at the time that it was the easiest job ever. Just figure out the profit, or what we finance folks call the normalised EBITDA, and then you multiply it by three. But why three times? Why not two or even ten? I’m Jason Andrew, and this is Stark Naked Numbers – the podcast that strips down the numbers of business, investing, and wealth creation to help you become a better entrepreneur and investor, and ultimately build your net worth. In this episode, I'm joined by my good friend and valuation nerd, Simon Cook. Simon’s a chartered accountant, and an expert when it comes to valuing businesses. Today we're giving you a masterclass in small business valuations. If you're an entrepreneur that's either buying or selling a business, listen up. This may give you a slight edge at the negotiating table.Links:Follow Simon Cook on LinkedIn. Subscribe to Stark Naked Numbers on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your pods. Want the secrets the other accountants won’t give you? Follow Jason Andrew on LinkedIn.To learn more about uncovering your financials, unlocking your cash and unleashing your cash, visit starknakednumbers.com.Show Notes:(01:52) – The difference between price and value.(04:00) – How to value a business: forecasting future cash flow and investment risk.(12:21) – A cautionary tale of WeWorks “tech company” debacle. (15:20) – Establishing a discount rate or required return.(17:55) – Investing in private companies and grappling with liquidity.(22:35) – The pitfalls of relying solely on the multiples model for business valuation. (47:58) – Applying multiples to EBITDA versus cash flow. (01:00:02) – Enterprise value versus equity value: What’s the difference?(01:06:16) - Working capital adjustment in the valuation process(01:10:23) – Deciding between revenue-based multiples and profit-based metrics