Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

《Profit First》是一本由迈克·米哈洛维奇（Mike Michalowicz）所著的财务管理书籍，它提出了一种革命性的利润管理方法，彻底颠覆了我对财务管理的传统认知。这本书不仅适合企业主和创业者，对于普通员工乃至个人理财同样具有深远的指导意义。

书中最引人注目的莫过于“先分利润”公式。这一公式鼓励企业在支付任何费用之前，首先考虑利润，即收入的一部分应直接分配给利润账户。这与我们常见的“收入减去费用等于利润”的会计公式截然不同。通过实施这一公式，企业能够确保利润不仅是优先考虑的，而且是一个有保证的结果。这种理念让我深刻认识到，无论是企业还是个人，都应该在满足基本需求之前，先为未来储备一部分资金。

书中还详细介绍了“银行余额会计”的概念，即通过设立多个银行账户来管理资金，每个账户对应不同的财务用途，如利润、税金、运营费用和所有者报酬等。这种方法不仅简化了财务管理，还提供了清晰的财务健康状况视图。我个人非常赞同这种做法，因为它能够帮助我们更好地控制资金流动，避免不必要的浪费和冲动消费。

此外，《Profit First》还强调了定期分析财务数据的重要性。通过定期审查财务数据，企业能够及时发现问题并采取相应措施，确保财务健康。这一观点同样适用于个人理财，只有了解自己的财务状况，才能做出明智的决策。

在阅读这本书的过程中，我深感其理念与人类行为的高度契合。正如书中所说，我们在个人生活中往往优先考虑满足需求和欲望，然后才是储蓄或投资。同样地，企业也应该在支出之前优先考虑利润。这种简单的心态转变，无论是对于企业还是个人，都有着深远的影响。

总的来说，《Profit First》是一本极具启发性的书籍。它不仅提供了一种创新的财务管理方法，还帮助我们重新审视自己的财务观念和行为习惯。我相信，通过实践书中的理念和方法，我们一定能够实现财务稳定和长期成功。强烈推荐给每一位对财务管理感兴趣的朋友！

书名：Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

作者：Mike Michalowicz

简介：Author of cult classics The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur offers a simple, counterintuitive cash management solution that will help small businesses break out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability.

Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales - Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren't always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales - Profit = Expenses. Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows. Using Michalowicz's Profit First system, readers will learn that:

- Following 4 simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances.
- A small, profitable business can be worth much more than a large business surviving on its top line.
- Businesses that attain early and sustained profitability have a better shot at achieving long-term growth.

With dozens of case studies, practical, step-by-step advice, and his signature sense of humor, Michalowicz has the game-changing roadmap for any entrepreneur to make money they always dreamed of.