Tom Dillon, CFA

I’ve closed the books for 50+ SMBs. The problem is almost never bad bookkeeping. It’s that there’s no real close process. COGS gets mixed with OpEx. AR goes untouched. Payroll gets coded inconsistently. P&L may look complete. But the owner still can’t answer: What should we do this month? I created a Monthly Close Checklist to help SMBs fix this. Comment “CLOSE” and I’ll send it over.

@Codie_Sanchez Even good things can become unhealthy when they stop being choices and start becoming dependencies.

You can become addicted to every good thing in your life almost as easily as the bad.

@garyvee 10000%

Storytelling is by far the most underrated skill in business.

@SahilBloom That's a solid routine.

My current lifemaxxing stack: - 4:30am wake up - Read classic books - 3 hours creative work before 8am - Lift/run 6x/week - Eat single ingredient foods - Present time with fam/friends - 20-min evening sauna - Wild Roman skincare routine - 8:30pm bedtime Wouldn't change a thing.

@juliusmarchi This is underrated advice.

If you want to make a lot of money in sales, your main priority should be finding a great company to work for. Your skill will only take you so far in a bad vehicle.

@spencertbarber In marketing, speed often beats perfection because the market gives better feedback than your own assumptions ever can.

What’s been the hardest thing about learning online marketing? Shipping fast. In real estate development, everything is permanent. Marketing is the opposite. You can launch a landing page, ad, or email today and know by tomorrow if it worked. It’s a weird feeling to look at something, see 10 things that could be improved, and ship it anyway. The feedback is worth more than another week of tweaking.

@cleartheshelf I've noticed that too. It's refreshing to see people talking more about opportunities than obstacles for a change.

Seeing a lot more optimism-maxxing on the timeline lately. Glad to see it.

@kip_roland Sometimes what gets passed down isn't money or assets, but the courage to take a chance when others wouldn't.

Anytime I grill, I wear my grilling hat. This hat means a lot to me. It’s a lot of the reason I became an entrepreneur. It was made for my grandpa’s company, Thorco. A long time ago, in a small town in Missouri, my grandfather took out a double mortgage on his house and bought a tiny metal fabrication company. Huge risk. But he knew he could grow it. He started by opening the phone book and going line by line, calling every single potential customer. Within 12 months? Sales doubled. He went on to double sales every year for six years straight. He worked until he was 80 as president of the company. He’s still alive at 94. Sharp as a tack and loves to talk business with me. I get a lot of my risk tolerance from him… but I still can’t stomach a double mortgage on a house to buy a business. He’s an inspiration. And I love wearing this hat.

@MikeMcCabe1970 Congratulations Michael!

I was recently recognized for my work in television by the Northwest Chapter of the Academy of television Arts and Sciences. I clipped a few moments of the evening as I was very emotional and vulnerable sharing my story about how I worked my way into the business without a college degree. I never felt quite good enough amongst my peers in the business, I share this because I am learning we are all good enough and everyone’s journey is different. Let’s celebrate that and I know I am an emotional person and also very vulnerable. I shared that without apology this time and it felt great.

@irentdumpsters I think the goal shouldn't be that your wife never has to work. The goal should be that neither partner is trapped by financial necessity. Having options is a better measure of success than who earns the income.

if my wife ever has to FORMALLY work again i have failed as a man She has the choice and support to work BUT if she is forced to work, i have failed as a man

@StumpGuyTy Great businesses go the extra mile for customers, but they also put a value on their time. If every request becomes an exception, eventually the schedule stops meaning anything.

Me and a customer agree on price. Customer: “Can you get this done today? We are trying to lay concrete ASAP.” Me: “Sure, I’m not in your area though so I would need to charge you $150 extra to move my schedule around.” Customer: “Ah no worries, it’s not that rushed, just schedule me when you can.” When you are firm with your own schedule and policies, customers bend to you. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

@jearl02s I can't imagine buying something used, using it for 90 days, and then expecting a full refund. That's not how I think most people would view a Marketplace purchase.

The Amazon/Costco Rental Program finally hit me.z A guy bought a used gas pressure washer from me on Facebook Marketplace. Not last week. Not last month. 3 months ago. Yesterday he showed up wanting either: A different pressure washer All of his money back I asked a few questions. “How long have you owned it?” “About 3 months.” “How often have you used it?” “Every couple of days.” Then he explained that it wasn’t starting and was “leaking gas everywhere.” I walked over. Opened the gas cap it’s full. No signs of leaking. Pulled the starter rope once. It fired right up. Was it running rough? Absolutely. Could it need some work? Probably. But then came the expectation… “I want a different one or my money back.” That’s where we disagreed. You bought a 4-5 year old pressure washer from Facebook Marketplace and used it regularly for 90 days. That’s not a return. That’s ownership. I told him I wasn’t refunding his money, but I was willing to have my mechanic look at it. I even offered to buy it back for 60% of what he paid. For context, that’s less than what a 2-day rental would have cost. He wasn’t thrilled. Maybe I’m old school, but Facebook Marketplace isn’t Costco. When you buy used equipment from a seller, do you think the seller should still be responsible 90 days later?

@donnyyoung A few extra hours a week can add up to something meaningful when you stick with it long enough.

I started a reselling business last fall that operates out of my garage and in the margins of my 9-5. Buying and selling liquidation pallets from Costco and Target. Selling primarily on Facebook Marketplace. I’ve had months with over $6k in revenue and months as low as $1200 in revenue. The $6k month is something I hope to replicate and surpass in the coming months. 😂 The last few months I’ve taken my foot off the gas because of family, work, and life. But I’m still making money every month… even at a casual pace. Reselling is such a viable means for making extra money… I’m kinda mad I didn’t start sooner. But anyone looking to make extra money in the margins of their 9-5 can absolutely do this! There are so many avenues for sourcing inventory and so many channels for selling. If you’re interested in learning how to do this for yourself, I’d love to help you get started. My DMs are open, but honestly, the best thing you can do is check out @ShannonJean’s $5 Reseller Mastermind. It’s a community built for aspiring and experienced resellers… all helping each other succeed. (I’m not a salesman… just a satisfied customer. 😊) — I’m sharing my reselling journey here on X… the wins AND the losses. I’d be honored to earn your follow @donnyyoung

@BraydenFlack how can they even ask

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take But there’s zero chance I’m driving 30 minutes for $7 olives

@stevehunsaker1 this is lit

It’s s boys club for me on here fellas

@resellerrowe This looks perfect.

On my way to Boise on a budget…Reseller Rowe on the road. After spending 30k on boat upgrades I thought I might make some cutbacks

@ShannonJean I've heard great things about them.

Get yourself an Origami Kayak. It’s a game changer when hiking in to water. Lightweight, sturdy and durable.

@hey_mindi 😂😂

Every resellers camera roll:

@pricefoulger @shawngorham Really appreciate the effort that went into this.

I spent yesterday researching labor laws and workers' comp rules for California contractors. s/o to @shawngorham If your in California and run subs, one detail can cost you six figures/your business. This article is the research I've done which acts as a field guide for running a sub model. Disclosure: I'm not a lawyer and I'm new to this. So I'm actively researching, did a deep dive with Claude and GPT, put this together with all sources, and I'm confirming all of it with my broker and a construction attorney before I rely on any of it. If you run subs in California, take a look as it may be helpful, and go check your certificates of insurance. Document everything. Link to the article below 👇

@HSchenewark great numbers, congrats.

May revenue came in at $38,539. We ended up completing 5 projects last month: - 2 asphalt patches - 1 striping job - 2 sealing and striping jobs I'm struggling with some moving goalposts right now. If you told me 9 months ago this is what we'd be doing now, I would've been over the moon. Now though, I'm trying to hit $50k every month, and we didn't hit my profit goal for the month either. I know I let my foot off the gas for a couple weeks. What I'm most proud of is how we tackled some new types of projects and how our quality of work is going up. Each month our quality and speed is going up. All in all, very grateful for how May went!

@lgsguy Prep time is almost always longer than the actual work.

Worst part of Sprayfoam? The prep and cleanup work… The spraying was only about 40% of total job time But we knocked out this shop spray today. For North Dallas, these are some of the best jobsite views possible! Beautiful property