#475 Phil McGilvray - Financially Fit Entrepreneur

The Next 100 Days Podcast

Financially Fit Entrepreneur is Phil's positioning - the substance of which is about making finances easy for people using the laws his grandma taught him about budgeting with glass jars as a teenager…

Phil started off helping young couples budget their money, get out of debt and save for big life goals. Through his Grandma’s Jars 1:1 Coaching and Workshops he has helped thousands of people achieve financial security and success. But it was during his 15 years as a stockbroker and financial adviser that Phil honed his cashflow expertise and learned how to apply it to the business world.

Over the past 20 years Phil has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners to help them multiply their profits and create financial certainty… not to mention achieve incredible life goals.

Summary of the Podcast

Key Takeaways

• Phil's "Grandma's Jars" approach uses a simple system of allocating money to different purposes, modernized for digital banking
• Proper cash flow management is critical for both personal and business finances, requiring discipline and purposeful allocation
• Entrepreneurs often struggle with financial basics; getting clarity on current position and goals is an essential first step
• Regular review and adjustment of expenses, including occasional "no-spend months", helps maintain financial health

Topics

Origin of Grandma's Jars

• Phil learned budgeting from his grandmother using physical glass jars for different expenses
• Evolved system from physical jars to envelopes, paper budgets, Excel, and now online apps
• Developed own software after leaving high-paying finance career to focus on teaching financial basics

Key Financial Principles for Entrepreneurs

• Track 5-6 key numbers monthly: revenue, salary paid to self, expenses (cost of goods + overheads), tax set aside, profit
• Use a "cascade" system to allocate funds purposefully through business and personal accounts
• Maintain 1.5-2x monthly expenses in operating account; excess flows to reserves and other purposes
• Build 3-6 months of operating expenses as a rainy day fund before major reinvestment or expansion

Common Financial Pitfalls

• Entrepreneurs often lack clarity on basic financial position and profitability
• Tendency to increase expenses as revenue grows, reducing margins and financial stability
• Discretionary spending in business often less scrutinized than personal spending
• Lifestyle inflation can trap entrepreneurs in need for high income, limiting flexibility

Strategies for Financial Health

• Conduct regular "no-spend months" to reset expectations and identify core vs. discretionary expenses
• Review all expenses line-by-line periodically to eliminate unnecessary costs
• Align business finances with personal life goals and vision
• Build purposeful reserves to enable creativity and reduce survival-mode thinking

Phil's Coaching Approach

• Focuses on transparency and creating a safe space for entrepreneurs to face financial realities
• Uses visual tools like the "cascade" concept to make financial management more intuitive
• Emphasizes learning from past patterns to plan for future fluctuations
• Helps clients get clarity on both current position and desired outcomes.

The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. Graham founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, which combines the world's biggest source of 10,000 marketing experiments with AI. Find Graham on LinkedIn.

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com