Kasey Anton, the author of Profit First for Restaurants and founder of Spark Business Consulting, shares her thoughts with Danielle about analyzing your business's profitability. Her bottom line is to return to the basics. Reviewing your original business plan or bank statements can be an eye-opener on why your business thrives or is in trouble. Kasey will talk about her book, which is out today, and she also has some ingenious marketing ideas you won’t want to miss.    IN THIS EPISODE: [01:59] Kasey says she directs her clients to get back to the basics and eliminate the fluff in their business [04:38] How do you know if you have a solid business model [07:14] How do you work with the numbers in your business when you are anxious about numbers [18:08] How an influx of money, either by grants or government funds, can create a problem on your bottom line [23:13] Kasey talks about her book focusing on a marketing tactic that was successful in her restaurant  KEY TAKEAWAYS:  You can cultivate a base of loyal consumers by demonstrating small gestures of recognition toward your customers. It is a fundamental desire to be acknowledged. It is necessary to look at your business numbers periodically, no matter the age of your business,  to get back to basics.  Take away the fluff and see what you are spending and earning. It doesn’t matter if your business is doing well or not. Business owners need to know their numbers and make corrections if necessary.  Kasey Anton - Website Spark Business Consulting - Website Profit First for Restaurants - The Book   GUEST BIOGRAPHY:    Kasey Anton is a former Restaurateur turned Bookkeeper.   After living the high-end (and low-end) restaurateur lifestyle and experiencing the BEST and WORST that the world has to offer, Kasey decided to take her knowledge and true-life experiences and turn it into a business that can help others navigate some of the pitfalls of entrepreneurship.   One of the biggest lessons learned on her journey? NUMBERS DON’T LIE. But we sometimes lie to ourselves – especially about business. So, knowing your numbers, the true, accurate, real, down and dirty, no-holds-barred NUMBERS of your business is KEY to the success of your business. And Kasey knows her numbers, and she’ll make sure you know yours too.   Along her journey, she came across a real game-changer known as “Profit First” – a simple yet ridiculously effective cash management tool that EVERY business should be using (and I mean EVERY). Once discovered, Kasey became a Profit First Professional Mastery Member, one of less than 50 in the world, and now works with businesses all across the US to help “eradicate entrepreneurial poverty” Kasey’s sole mission, and she and her Team have chosen to accept it, is to help business owners take control of their business, control their numbers, drive the business toward its truest vision, and be rewarded for that valiant effort.   Fun Fact? Kasey is a ridiculously obsessed NFL fan (GO PATRIOTS!) and has flown on the Team Jet to a game in Buffalo and watched the game from the sideline, standing near all the players.