EPISODE 434: Cash Flow Confidence with Brian Skrobonja

Hey, chiropractors. We're ready for another Modern Chiropractic Marketing Show with Dr. Kevin Christie, where we discuss the latest in marketing strategies, contact marketing, direct response marketing, and business development with some of the leading experts in the industry.

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Dr. Kevin Christie: [00:00:00] Hey docs. Welcome to another episode of Modern Chiropractic Mastery. Today I'm excited to discuss all things cash flow with Brian Skrobonja and I know him from Strategic Coach over the last few years. And, uh, he's in the St. Louis area. Just, uh, doing great things. He is, uh, an entrepreneur, a financial planner, and, and, and does a whole lot more.

Has a great podcast. I highly recommend we got all the stuff in the show notes that you could ever want, so I definitely recommend that. And, uh, Brian's been a good resource for me and someone I've gotten to know, uh, which has been pretty cool. And, uh, you know, we share the St. Louis, uh, aspect there. Uh, but he's just got a really cool wealth.

Advisory firm as well, and it's a little bit outside the box. And today we, we dive into, uh, cash flow and a lot of misconceptions about cash flow. A lot of realities about it. You know, the difference between having profit and actual having cash flow like you could, you. You could look at the end of the year, your QuickBooks at the end of the year and say, wow, I [00:01:00] was, you know, I had a lot of profit.

And then you're like, well, why did I feel like I was so much, you know, cash crunch? Well, there could have been periods of time where you were, and you didn't necessarily forecast or plan out the cash flow accordingly. And then sometimes we make mistakes. But, uh, we dive into that. And I would say that's one thing.

That having someone on your team like Brian is so important, um, to help you with that. Um, in our coaching, we do a lot of financial coaching, not in the realm of what someone that's trained in it from an investing standpoint, but just as like far as practice finances within our expertise and we bring on other experts to, to help out.

But, um, uh, we, we definitely have a lot of, uh, tools to help, uh, with your practice finances. But then it gets to a certain point where you, you, I mean, you obviously need a team around you, right? You need an accountant, you need a bookkeeper, you need someone to help with your wealth advising. Like I, I think one of the things that I did some years ago when I did take that next step was it gave me [00:02:00] peace of mind that my retirement was on track.

And I understood by having someone in my corner, um, maybe when it wasn't off track or if it was, so have an expert, um. And then just keep on trying to understand cash flow. And I think today's episode's going to give you a lot of insight on how to do that. And then, um, some opportunities at the end to learn more about what Brian does and the importance of, again, having an expert.

Um, there's only so much someone like myself, um, can help with practice finances. Uh, but we definitely can, uh, give you some resources to do it. But then you gotta get someone outside of your expertise level or even a coaching company, a chiropractic coaching company's expertise to make sure that all, uh, your, your t's are crossed and your i's are dotted.

And I think today is a big part of getting the basics going. And so, without further ado, here is my [00:03:00] interview with Brian Skrobonja.

All right. Excited to have Brian on the show today and dive in. Um, I've, uh, been, what has it been, probably three or four years now, Brian. We've known each other through Strategic Coach and it's been cool to meet every, every quarter and do that. And then it was nice to chat about having you on the show and, and talking about that.

But, uh, before we dive into, uh, all things cash flow, tell us a little bit about yourself personally and professionally. Yeah, well first of all, uh, you know, appreciate being on the show. You know, it's always a great opportunity just to talk and, uh, and be able to share some ideas and so I'm just honored to be here.

Brian Skrobonja: So thanks for the, for the invite. But basically for me, I've been married for 30 plus years. Uh, I have three kids, six grandkids, which is just crazy to think about. Um, and we're, uh, both my wife and I are from St. Louis. We were born and raised in St. Louis. We live in St. Louis. Our roots are in St. Louis, so we've never really ventured much out of that.

But you know, my [00:04:00] dad. He's from Croatia. And so I grew up in an immigrant home. My mom's from St. Louis too, which is a funny, funny story. My dad moved from Croatia to New York, to Chicago, to St. Louis, and then met my mom, and then that's where we, that's where we stuck. So, um, but, you know, um. When it ties to money, uh, uh, you know, my dad had a tremendous work ethic.

Um, he came from a communist country. He came here, you know, to be able to work and support a family and, you know, kind of the American dream type of thing. But, uh, he understood work. It's, it's pretty unbelievable. He would work a job during the day. He would run a business at night. Um, and so honestly, I didn't see him all that much, but I do know that when he was around, he was just working like constantly, like he just never ran outta batteries.

And so that always kind of sat with me, you know, like it, it got instilled in me that work ethic, you know, if I, he always told me that if you want something in life, you have to work for it. Nobody's gonna give you [00:05:00] anything. And that just always stuck with me, you know? Yeah. Um. And I, and I adopted that. So when I was introduced to my business, um, I was in my early twenties, started on the tax side of the business, didn't like it, went into insurance, didn't like that, went into investments, didn't care for that all that much either.

It was all kind of very product oriented. And so, um, that's when I started doing financial planning and actually getting into that. I was working hard in the business, um, kind of following that work ethic, and I just had a belief system that the more effort I put out, you know, the more income I'd eventually make.

And I think that's where, you know, a lot of business owners are, right? Yeah. And my wife and, uh, having kids and upbringing homes and expanding businesses, et cetera. It was like I was in this cash flow. Hamster wheel. Yep. It kind of felt like I was always chasing, uh, never really getting ahead and what changed everything for me.

[00:06:00] Um, was the idea that, you know, financial security is really what we're all striving for. Mm-hmm. And that doesn't come from just working harder. Okay. It comes from cashflow. And cashflow really is the oxygen of any business. And that, that shift in my mind, um, 'cause I was going at it really hard and when I started to realize that, look, I'm not chasing.

Profit or more money, I'm chasing good cash flow. Mm-hmm. And once I realized that, um, 'cause I wasn't ever taught that, you know, my dad always traded time for money. Yeah. And so, uh, that's the model I followed. But, uh, once I figured that out, my world changed. Mm-hmm. And so that's where my entire business changed.

It was my focus on, my business changed. It's what I started teaching my kids that principle too, that, you know, everything's about cash flow. It, it really is. And I, you know, I had an interesting conversation with a patient of mine. One of the great things about being a chiropractor is we have a lot of good conversations with folks.

Dr. Kevin Christie: And being in Boca Raton, [00:07:00] Florida has a nice, um, added thing where it's, it's a very affluent area, a lot of successful people. And then. Uh, another layer of that is, uh, Bo Raton is a, a retiree community. Mm-hmm. But it's not like fixed income. There is, but there's a lot of people that did awesome, amazing big things in their prime, and now they're 75 and 80 and they, they're enjoying their retirement.

And I was having this conversation with a gentleman who's in his mid to late seventies, and it was eye-opening. He's like, you know, I'll be honest with you, Kevin, he is like, I don't mind sharing. I worked hard for a long time. I had kids, you know, I, I didn't have a lot of extra money, but I did well. Yeah.

He's like, I made, he's like, I made most of my money from age 60 to 72. He's like, yeah. He goes, I went from $2 million to $8 million because I actually started to, uh, reduce some expenses, made some wise investments. He's like, so you can, um. You can make some, some [00:08:00] hay later on, right? And so I was like, oh, that's, that's pretty fascinating.

Uh, story. I know that's a unique one, but I think sometimes a lot of my audience, uh, they're, they're 30, they're 35. They're 40, they're 45, they're 50, and they're, they're, they're maybe, um. They're not where they think they should be. Mm-hmm. But sometimes they actually are, and they don't realize if they, if they keep on doing the right things and getting better and, and, and certain, you know, obviously kids get outta the house, you're get off the payroll.

That helps. Right. For sure. You could make a, you could make a, a big dent in your retirement from age 45 to 65. Is that something you see a lot in, in your clients you've worked with? Yeah, absolutely. I think, um, you know, the theme of cashflow, 'cause I, I heard that and what you were saying with this story is that, you know, it's, it's, it's very common, you know, uh, to your point, 30, 35 people and, and even up to the forties, 45, you're at your peak expense [00:09:00] years.

Brian Skrobonja: Yes. Right? So, so there's, there's these, there's these two curves that are happening. One is you're starting a family, you're starting a business, and your expenses are going through the roof and your income just isn't there yet. You know, that's common. Not everybody is, uh, is, is graduates outta college and makes a ton of money Right.

With what they're, uh, trained to do. Right. Yeah. And then you get into your thirties and those kids get more expensive. Mm-hmm. And then your business gets more expensive. Yeah. And so, so everything really is about cash flow because, you know, what happened with that gentleman was, was pretty simple, I think.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm. Is that his trajectory probably didn't change much. Uh, maybe his focus allowed him to make a little bit more money if your kids are outta the house, right? Mm-hmm. It's, it's, the key thing you said is those expenses went down. Yeah. So the trick really is, is to level out those expenses. Mm-hmm. And it takes time, takes effort.

Brian Skrobonja: But, um, you know, when I first got into the business, um, and I think most [00:10:00] business owners do this, is that we're always looking at that top line. Yep. You know, we're looking at that top line and, and I think about, you know, a chiropractor, you know, you have 125 patients a week in a week, let's say. Mm-hmm. And you got $10,000 of top line revenue.

Mm-hmm. Well that's great, but that's what we focus on. But it's all those expenses that come out of that. Mm-hmm. And then, and then that ends up with our profit. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, and, and we don't pay as much attention to that except when we do our taxes, we hope that profit's low during tax time. Um, but really when you think about profit and, um, the top line there, it, it really is the result of your effort.

Mm-hmm. The, the trick is, and, and what I was talking about earlier is that cashflow is the movement of that cash. It's how things are actually happening. Yeah. So profit is a report of what happened. Mm-hmm. But cash flow is what's actually happening and that's where, um, you know, that's [00:11:00] where we have to focus, uh, that profit.

You know, it's, it's, it's the work we put in the bills that we pay, but, uh, cash flow is much broader. Mm-hmm. Um. Yeah. And that's what I, I'm glad you kind of mentioned that. And I, I, I wrote down a note here about financial security. 'cause I, uh, the way I heard it from what you said was like, a lot of people, correct me if I'm wrong, they think financial security, let's just take the 40-year-old, right?

Dr. Kevin Christie: They think mm-hmm. You know, they, they, um, they have a nest egg and, and they don't have to work anymore, right? Um, and that's not the reality. At 40, maybe at 60, 65, 70, but. For most part, you, you can't measure yourself at age 40 that you have this nest egg and you, you, you, you're fine and you don't have to work anymore.

Mm-hmm. Right. And a lot of people, I think. Think, um, in our profession they think top line is financial security or profit is financial security. And profit obviously can be some level of financial security. But what you're saying it seems [00:12:00] like is, is actually a, for most of your life, if you've got really confident cash flow in your personal life and in your business, that is financial security for most people.

Is that accurate? Yeah, I would even add a little bit of a, a, a note to that. Mm-hmm. You're, you're spot on. But the cash flowing, the source of that revenue that's causing that cash to flow needs to be passive. Mm-hmm. And so that's where a lot of people, I think, struggle. They have profitable businesses.

Brian Skrobonja: Mm-hmm. But they struggle because of their cash flow. Right. They have a lot of money. But they don't have cash flow. Mm-hmm. Right. So it's not uncommon for, and I have just met with one, I had one here yesterday in my office. Uh, he just sold the business, has millions of dollars. And he said to me, he goes, um, Brian, I got all this money.

He goes, but I, I'm broke. Uh, like I don't have, I, [00:13:00] I don't have any cash flow. Yep. And so you, you hit the nail on the head is, is that the profit of the business, top line assets, all of these things. That's only part of the equation. We have to have those things, right? Mm-hmm. But it's understanding what you're really striving for.

Mm-hmm. What you're really striving for is pass a passive income, that cash flow from those assets, and that makes all the world of difference when you can change that mindset around. Um, having passive income because, um, I just wanna mention one more thing there is that, you know, if you, let's say you accumulate at 40, you accumulate, uh, a million bucks or 2 million bucks or whatever, you may not.

Like Americans, well, people in general, I guess, but there's this idea of wanting to retire. Yeah. Right. Well, entrepreneurs don't really think in terms of that. They don't think about retiring. They think about like freedom. Yeah. To be able to do what they're [00:14:00] passionate about. 'cause you know, entrepreneurs, they have this thing inside of them to want to create and do and imagine.

So it's freedom is what? Freedom is passive income. It's, it's being able to do what you enjoy mm-hmm. Without having to worry about that cash flow. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so, um, just thinking through that a little bit helps reframe and rewire your mind as what you're really trying to achieve. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, it makes sense. And that's where, you know, I'll just take myself at, at 45. Uh, I feel really good about my. Let's say my net worth for, for my age, I feel good about what we have as far as investment liquidity. Um, but then as you know, I've got four entities that I have to maintain cash flow in my personal life, my real estate holding company, my private practice, and then modern chiropractic marketing.

So there's four things that I always have to monitor. Cash flow. Mm-hmm. And it's funny [00:15:00] sometimes all those, like I could have. The first two things I mentioned, you know, net worth and liquidity assets, um, feeling good about it, and I could have three of the four cash flowing well, and I could have one not for a period of time, and it stresses me out.

Yeah, it's a added layer of stress. It certainly can be because we're, we're relying on that, um, we're relying on our efforts. Yeah. You know, our trading of time and our trading of our expertise and our intellectual property for revenue. Mm-hmm. And so the, you know, the, the quicker we can transfer out of that.

Brian Skrobonja: Mix and have, you know, as Dan Sullivan would call a self-multiplying company mm-hmm. A company that can create revenue, um, without you being there. That's really the key thing is, is not having to depend on banks and not have to, uh, uh, rely on continuous effort. Yeah. So. And, you know, I think with, with chiropractors, like, so for me, a goal is, is by age [00:16:00] 50 to where, um, I'm gonna always work.

Dr. Kevin Christie: But I feel like, okay, you know what, at at 50 I'm working and doing what I want to do because I want to do it. Um mm-hmm. And, but, and it gives you, it gives a personal longer runway, right? Like, I'm not, I've got a buddy, and I've mentioned it before, he wants to retire at 55 and he's 45. But he wasn't like, retire, retire outta the corporate world.

And he's so, even though he is in a really good, um, place, he's so stressed out about it. 'cause he's given himself such a short runway. Right, right. And he is got a lot of kids. Um, so it's like a, it's like a constraint he's put around himself that it just adds, that adds stress. But to, to take it back to the chiropractor, it doesn't mean that you have to have a practice that you don't treat patients.

But what if you had a practice right. That, you know, down the road you build this thing and it is self-multiplying and you got another doctor in error too, and you're just treating patients 'cause you like to treat patients and you, you go into that treatment room knowing that you've got good cash flow and good business, uh, [00:17:00] structure and it, and it could operate without you for a few weeks if you wanted to or if you got hurt it, it still would be fine.

You know, like it again, it's not riding off to the sunset and drinking champagne on Tuesdays. It's just having that peace of mind. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And you know that Yeah. That, that's interesting because when you think about retirement, for instance mm-hmm. You know, retirement is this, this immediate transition from working to not working.

Brian Skrobonja: Right. And the reality of it is, you know, if somebody spends their life accumulating money in like a retirement account mm-hmm. Um, and they're relying on their earned income to fund everything. If they've done a good job of saving, they could flip a switch, buy assets that create that passive income. Yeah.

But for, for entrepreneurs, and even the gentleman you're talking about that wants to retire in 10 years, you know, what is the mindset around that? The mindset is, is that it's not as abrupt. Okay. It's little incremental [00:18:00] changes every year and, and instead of just watching your, your top line grow, which is definitely something you want to do, of course.

Yeah. But you're, you're watching your, um, your reoccurring revenue grow, your passive income growing, and so you're, you're growing the top line, but at the same time, you're trying to grow what's repeatable. Yeah. So that you can slowly transition to doing other things. Mm-hmm. You know, expanding your business or, or doing a different business.

It, it, you know, the sky's the limit when you have something that's reoccurring. Yeah. But it shouldn't be, um. You know, the encouragement is, is that it's not an abrupt thing. It's not something, you just wake up one day and you have all this asset income. It could be 200 bucks a month the first year you get going at it.

Mm-hmm. But, but it just keeps stacking and stacking and stacking and the next thing you know, you have a lot of, uh, cash flow coming in that you didn't actually earn. Mm-hmm. It was passive. Yeah. Yeah. It was pretty cool. I was looking at my, I [00:19:00] opened up a 401k through our business like six years ago, I think.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm. And I, I fully. Fund what I can, um, like the, whatever the full amount is nowadays, uh, each year. And I was looking, the, the dashboard shows like, oh, you know, on this pace when you're retired at 65, you'll have this much per month. Yeah. Spitting off there, I was like, oh, that's pretty cool. You know, it's, uh, right.

It's not there yet. It's not there yet, but in 20 years. Right, right. Um, so let's, uh, change gears a little bit and I think this is another thing that. Um, can, can be challenging, but how do you approach forecasting cash flow and let's say in a business, um, and, you know, what tools or methods do you recommend, you know, for small businesses to, to really try to forecast the cash flow?

Brian Skrobonja: Yeah. Well, there's nothing like having a track record, right? Mm-hmm. So if you have a, um. A pattern of cash flow. So, you know, if you have certain seasons that are, are more profitable, let's say, than other [00:20:00] seasons, it's, it's, it's not, it's, it's not having short-term memory. Yeah. So, so when you, when you have really good months, it's not.

And, and this is what happens when you have really good months. It's typically where you will try to invest a lot into your business, right? Mm-hmm. And then when there's not really good months, then you really start being concerned with marketing. And so your expenses tend to go up. 'cause you're, you're, you're focused on trying to get people coming in the door, right?

Mm-hmm. Yep. So. I think the real key to it is, is, is not, there's no magic formula here, right? Being an entrepreneur, there's, there's unknowns. Um, but having a little bit of a track record or, you know, being coached by somebody like you that does have the experience and has the track record to say, look, you need to have a, um, a baseline.

Amount of money that you need to pay all your staff, all your bills and to live your personal life. Mm-hmm. Right. That needs to [00:21:00] be a, a, a baseline number. And then anything that's above that number needs to be put away into what I call a private banking system. Okay. Okay? Yep. So, so it's, it's scraping off the, the, the, the peaks.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm. For later on when you can backfill the valleys. Gotcha. And, and, and it's, it's a discipline and it sounds simple. Yeah. But it's, but it can be hard to do without a really good system. Mm-hmm. And, and some coaching along the way on how to emotionally deal with it. Yeah. Um, as well as mathematically.

Yeah, that's good point. There is the math and there is the emotions, and it's, uh, for sure, no matter what, you know, and I, I've had the luxury of talking and coaching with. Practices of all sizes and success and massive ones and small ones. And uh, you know, sometimes even the biggest practices struggle with this.

It's [00:22:00] just, and I always say like, you gotta give yourself some grace. I mean, even Yeah, like CFOs of large, massive companies fuck it up every so often. Right. And that's when you get mass layoffs. Right. That's right. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I was told, I was told very early on is that the, the more money you make, the more stress and the bigger the problems.

Brian Skrobonja: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, and so it's never gonna go away. Money's never gonna solve. Mm-hmm. The, uh, the stress or the anxiety or whatever comes along with that. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's managing what you have now. And, and that that principle, that framework is, is transferable to whatever level you reach.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yep. Um, so it's a discipline more than it is, um, a magic potion of getting out of a situation. Yep. Yeah. It is a discipline, you know, and I, 'cause I've also talked to practices that I've, I've had some small ones, you know, they, they generate. 12 to 20,000 a month in revenue, but they, you know, low [00:23:00] overhead and, and high profitability and paying themselves with it, and they.

I talked to 'em and they're like, oh, you know, I, I feel a little bit like I need, you know, they've got all this kind of concern and they're kind of stuttering everything. And like, and then I was like, how much money is in your operating? I was like, oh, I got 75,000. I was like, man, you got like, you got like eight months worth of your overhead in there.

You're fine. Like you, right, right. Yeah. So, yeah. And, and that is, that is, um. That, that is something to think about there too, because I think it goes into another layer of all of this is, is that there's a difference between trying to become profitable mm-hmm. And having, uh, like a pad of cash versus building wealth.

Brian Skrobonja: Um, you know, building wealth is, is, is a, is a different trajectory than, than just operating a business for profit. So, yeah. And, and, and that's a great, uh, transition. It was a question I did have too was like, how do you balance investing in growth, [00:24:00] like opportunities with your business, but then also, um, taking some and investing it outside of your business and obviously into wealth and retirement and other things.

Yeah. Well, I, I think that you gotta look at things. Chronologically. Mm-hmm. Um, and I, and I have some podcasts on this that I have done that I'm happy to, to share you the links that you can put in your show notes that I think would really support what we're talking about here. Um, but what, what you gotta first do is create a good system around your business, right?

Mm-hmm. Um, and, and understand your cash flow, and then create a banking system. That is going to help you expand mm-hmm. Your business, make investments into your business. Um, fill in those, those valleys when they occur. Um, because if you don't, if you, a lot of people skip that step. Mm-hmm. Right? So they build some cash in the bank, um, they feel like things are okay, and then they start putting [00:25:00] money into retirement accounts and things of that nature.

Um, but there's that missing middle. Mm-hmm. And that missing middle is, is that what if something goes sideways? You know what, if you need to buy a new x-ray machine mm-hmm. You know, a, you know, drop table, whatever you need to buy, how are you gonna pay for that? And is that going to diminish your, your cushion?

Is that gonna cause you to go out and have to, um, you know, take out bank financing, which, you know, starting out, that's probably, uh, a path that you're gonna have to take and that's okay. Mm-hmm. But you don't want to be in that pattern of every time you need something you're borrowing. Okay. Right? Yeah. Um, so the questions to ask yourself really is, you know, how much cash flow are you actually keeping and controlling mm-hmm.

And how much of your cash flow is generated without you having to show up. And then, and then it, it's, what I mean by controlling is this, do you have that banking system? And, and I'm gonna elaborate on that in a second, but that having that [00:26:00] banking system to where you can tap into that without having to qualify.

For it. Yeah. Um, banks don't lend money to people who really, really need it, right? Yes. So, so you wanna have your ducks in a row ahead of time. Mm-hmm. Um, and have those things planned out. It's, you know, it's a very elementary level here. It's like you have a, a baby and you know, in 18 years that kid are gonna have to go to college, right?

Mm-hmm. You know, when the kid turns 16, they're probably gonna need a car. Mm-hmm. Well. You can wait until they're 16 to come up with the money to buy a vehicle, or wait until they're 18 to come up with money to pay for tuition. Or you can start planning for it early. Mm-hmm. And start building cash flow systems around that.

So when those things do happen. You've already got a plan around it and your cashflow has no hiccups. It's just a smooth transition right over the top of them. And that's what a banking system does. Mm-hmm. And, and once you have those things mapped out, you know, you, you have your [00:27:00] cashflow mapped out, you have those big ticket things mapped out.

It's not a perfect science, but you have some things mapped out, then it's okay to then, you know, move into other things. Yeah. Um. But the other thing that, uh, uh, um, a banking system does is it gives you the ability to, um, I forget the saying exactly what Dan says, but he says that your, your, your eyes only see what your brain is looking for.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yep. So, um, it's kind of like, it's kind of like that if you've got money. And your cashflow is good. You're gonna see opportunity everywhere. Yeah. You know, a building, another practice, you can buy all these things. If you don't have that reserve, you don't have a system. Yeah. You have blinders on. You're not paying attention to those things.

Brian Skrobonja: So it limits your wealth capabilities. Yeah. Um, so I, to try to answer your question, um, is that that banking system is the first step. Mm-hmm. And once that happens, it's like the [00:28:00] first domino. Yeah. Everything else just falls into place. Yeah. Yeah. And it makes a lot of sense. And it's, um, I, you know, kind of to, to think about that a little bit for chiropractors is, is you gotta get outta the mindset that like, oh, I'm never gonna have bad months.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Like it, it's gonna happen. Sometimes it's, you know, I think I shared. Earlier, I dunno if it was before we recorded or after, but summer, we're just slower here, uh, in South Florida. So it's like we gotta, we gotta be able to manage that and know about that. And so we, we just have systems around that, like a banking system, like you're saying, like, okay, this is what I do to prepare for that.

Um, and, and so you're gonna have, and sometimes it's things like I, you know, it could be. Just for whatever reason in one insurance company's not paying you, that happens all the time for chiropractors and, and then for whatever reason, it's a snafu that happens and you don't get paid for two months. Uh mm-hmm.

You'll, you'll get the money, but do you have something to stop? Gap it from there. And now, do you recommend, uh, anybody that can have some kind [00:29:00] of financing option to, uh, ob? Obviously it's nice to have cash, but would you also recommend they get a, like a unused line of credit in case anything happens like that?

Brian Skrobonja: Yeah, absolutely. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You wanna do everything you can to make sure you're in a position of power and control. Okay. Yeah. Um, I think there's three characteristics to think about whenever you're thinking about leverage. Mm-hmm. So it's, it's never it, this is a double-edged sword comment here, but it's never a good idea to borrow money on a depreciating item.

Okay. Now I'll, I'll say this, that, you know, buying an x-ray machine for like, we used example before or like a table or whatever you need to buy. Those are depreciated assets, but you're, you're borrowing for your business. Yeah. Okay. So that's, that's, that needs to be a, a, a clarity point. Not get so granular in that.

Mm-hmm. But, so whenever you're, um, borrowing money, do you wanna make sure that the money you're [00:30:00] borrowing. Is money that's, that's leveraged off of an asset you have. Mm-hmm. Okay. So, so a business, if you've got a good size business and banks see that as a, as a, a profitable thing, uh, if you got buildings and things, a bank will give you a line of credit for that.

Yeah. Um, home equity is a good one. Mm-hmm. Your home's gonna appreciate the same. Whether it has a mortgage or not. Yep. Right. A brokerage account, you can, you can borrow money against a brokerage account. Mm-hmm. And that money is still in your brokerage account. Yeah. Right. Life insurance is a tool for that.

You know, you have life insurance that cash value's growing. Yeah. You can use that as collateral and borrow from the insurance company. Mm-hmm. Okay. So all of these things, you're, you're borrowing money, you're getting possession of capital, but your asset is still growing. Okay, so you have uninterrupted growth on the, on the assets.

So we want to have bifocal vision here. Yeah. Right. So we're [00:31:00] trying to build wealth, but we don't want to spend down our wealth every time we need to make a a transaction. Right? Yeah. We wanna leverage those, those assets. Mm-hmm. They continue to grow and then you just cashflow those things back as, as the investment you're making into the business pays off, then you're just paying that stuff back.

So, I'm not afraid of leverage at all. It's just gotta be strategic. Yeah. I'm glad you, I'm glad you said that. 'cause I do think a lot of chiropractors, a lot of people out there in general don't realize that idea of leveraging against assets within reason to make, you know, there's a difference between having a a $5,000 credit card bill because you bought a new watch versus, I mean, unless it has an appreciation to it, but versus taking out a $5,000 loan to get a piece of equipment for your business that you need.

Dr. Kevin Christie: To function as a business or has an ROI to it, like Right. It's okay to to, to do that. And then I like how you mentioned, I'm not very familiar with it and I know it's a whole other rabbit hole, [00:32:00] but you mentioned, um, leveraging against your, uh, your fund, what was it, the investment fund, uh, I forget the word you said, like if you have a stock portfolio, you can, you can leverage against that.

Correct. Yeah. If you have a, an, it's not a 401k Correct. It's nonqualified assets, but if you have a brokerage account at Schwab or whatever mm-hmm. You can do what they call a margin. Yep. Um, and so the margin allows you to borrow money. Okay. And, and there's, there's pros and cons to all these things, right?

Brian Skrobonja: Yeah. So there's no perfect system when you're trying to leverage something. That's why they need an expert like you in their corner. Yeah. Yeah. Well, here's some characteristics though, is that I think this is worth. Worth pausing here for a second. Yeah. Is that, you know, a, a home equity line of credit's great.

'cause your home continues to appreciate Yeah. It's a, it's an easy tap in to just write a check or transfer money. Mm-hmm. But you do have a consistent payment you have to make back to that you can't miss the payment. Um, 'cause then it blows up, right? Yep. A margin is good because you can, you know, invest money and, and borrow against that.

But if the [00:33:00] market goes down, then the brokerage company can call that and you gotta immediately come up with that cash. Yeah. Yeah. Um. That's why the life insurance really, in my opinion mm-hmm. Is, is it, it takes, it takes some building, you gotta capitalize it, build it, and everything else. No different than, um, building equity in a home or building assets in a portfolio.

But what's unique about a life insurance policy is that there's no required payment. Yep. Um, there's no qualification. Mm-hmm. The insurance company doesn't care if you ever pay it back. Yeah. So, from a business standpoint. That can be really beneficial to you mm-hmm. When it comes to cash flow. Yep. Because when you're borrowing money to do something, you may not immediately create revenue from that investment.

It may take a little time to ramp up. Yeah. Or if you have a, you know, three or four month period where things are just slow. Mm-hmm. You know, you want the cash flow to be supporting you, not. [00:34:00] Require a payment back when you're, when things are tough. So it gives a little bit more flexibility without the fear of the market going down or mm-hmm.

Um, somebody coming back to you and saying, Hey, that that's being called, you need to come up with that money, uh, and get it back into that account. So, yeah. That's why I think a lot of chiropractors don't realize, like when they own a, a business or a practice, how much, uh, you know, opportunities there are for, uh, investment or just layers of protection.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Right? Yeah. Just having, we talk a lot of that when we coach our clients is like, uh, you know, work with an expert. But look, these are some things you gotta look at to where you can have layers of protection, whether it's emergency funds, and then, uh, you know, obviously disability, insurance, uh, lines of credit.

Uh, I even have a, um, I have a key person policy on me and the business that the business pays, right? So like, yeah, just like work with someone to get these layers of protection in some of these strategies to give you that, that peace of [00:35:00] mind when you're trying to build a practice and then realize as a business owner.

Very, very, very few people own a business for a long period of time and have no valleys right. Like Right. Yeah. That's unheard of. Right. How many of your clients have you worked with over the years where they've never had any valleys? Right, right, right. Um, yeah. That, that's, that's not normal for sure. Yeah.

Brian Skrobonja: And so it's protecting, you know, it's, it's protecting the cash flow, which we've said many times, but it's also. Um, protecting your confidence. Yes. And, and protecting your emotions and your family and, you know, protecting your, your, your lifestyle. Um, 'cause when your cashflow, you know, goes up, you feel like you're on the top of the world and when your cashflow goes down, you feel like your, um, you know, it's depending on how bad it is, you feel like you're gonna, you know, everything's gonna end tomorrow, right?

Yeah. It can be that, that much of a swing. Um, it could be that, like a feeling of failure. And I, I talk to chiropractors where again, they. They've got a great practice. They got plenty of money in retirement in the [00:36:00] bank. They've owned their bill, like they got all this, all of it going. And they'll call me up in a panic and it's just because of a one month cash flow issue.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And, and then I'm like, how was last month? Like, oh, it was great. I was like, okay. Yeah. What do you like How was, uh, you know, the next month, last year, like, oh, it was good. Okay. Like, you're gonna be fine, you know, but cashflow, cashflow can really mess with your head. I think too though, with, with what you just said, and I really appreciate you saying that because, um, a good coach mm-hmm.

Brian Skrobonja: Can help per with perspective, right? And there's, and there's so many people that are in business that are always, they're, they're kind of afraid to make that next hire 'cause it's an expense, right? Mm-hmm. And they're also, uh, sometimes fearful. Because of cash flow. Yeah. To hire that coach and to get that, that, that sounding board mm-hmm.

And get somebody that can help them stay in, check emotionally and see the bigger picture. Um, those things are priceless in my opinion. Those are huge investments [00:37:00] in your quality of life. Yeah. But what's funny, every time, and I use like Strategic Coach as an example. Mm-hmm. Like I, it took me a long time to, to actually take the plunge to get into that.

Yeah. But now I would, I. I was telling somebody the other day, I would, I, I don't see myself ever not being in that. Yeah, yeah. You know, because it's so, it's, it's like a B12 shot when I, when I leave there. I mean, I'm exhausted mentally, but it's a B12 shot when I'm there. So, um, so yeah, I think that coaching through it all is, is critically important.

Dr. Kevin Christie: It is, it's like that's why I, I've been strategic coach for 11 years now and it's just part of what I do. And even like in our mastermind members of chiropractors, uh, the majority of 'em have been with us since we started in 2022. 'cause they're like, they need that quarterly injection of, uh, accountability and confidence and learning and, and all that.

And, and just really feel like, yeah, I'm not going through this alone. Right. So, but hey Brian, this Yeah. That's, this has been, uh, this has been awesome. Um. [00:38:00] What are like something that you would like, just a, a piece of wisdom you would give, uh, you know, let's just say the chiropractor that's anywhere from 25 to 50 about just Okay.

If they feel like they're. N outta sorts a little bit, right? It could be a lot of bit or a little bit. What would be kind of their next step of really trying to get someone in their corner, uh, to, to, to work through this. And, and then from there, um, tell us how they can reach out to you. How I want to hear about your podcast a little bit.

Just, uh, give a little bit of advice for, for our members on that regard. Yeah, I think that, um, and it may be a little bit of a repeat of what I said and hopefully some, some valuable, um, insight here is, is that when you're thinking about your business. You gotta have a long term view. Mm-hmm. And, and you have to understand what it is you're really trying to get done.

Brian Skrobonja: So if, if, and we've talked about it, [00:39:00] cash flow is an issue for everybody, every business owner. So if that is truly the, the issue that. That is a reoccurring event. Mm-hmm. Then focus on leveling that out. Yeah. Okay. And, and there's systems around that. I have podcasts around that I, like I already said, I'll, I'll send you some links around that.

So it's, it's the idea of when revenue's high store some of that cash. And your reserve system and just let that money keep growing, um, and, and find ways you, your guys' business. The chiropractic business, to me is a, is a, is a huge gold mine. Mm-hmm. Because you guys can do so many things. You're so talented to be able to do so many different things and you have so many different resources, um, with, um, alternative medicines and, and, um, you know, functional things.

Not to mention the chiropractic services and, um. Subscription services seem like it could be something that can really, uh, be really good with cash flow, so mm-hmm. Think outside the box. Yeah. [00:40:00] Is, is something I would definitely suggest doing. Um, what, what are other chiropractors not doing, um, in your area anyways, so, um, yeah.

And so, you know, I'll tell you a really quick story. Yeah. But, you know, yeah, absolutely. A, a couple years ago I was opening up another business inside of my business. I'm like, you have a lot of different entities. Mm-hmm. And it was right after COVID. And if you remember that period of time, people just weren't working really.

Right. It was hard to keep staff. So I, I had staff turning over. I had, uh, investment going into this new business. I had to not only replace some of my staff, but I had to hire new staff for the new entity. And my focus was off. And so my, my revenues were, were kind of going down. And so looking back. I don't know.

I, I, I mean, I would've figured it out, but I don't know if I would've been able to do it as smoothly as I did. Mm-hmm. If I wouldn't have had that system. [00:41:00] Yep. Okay. I, I borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars. I mean, it was, it was, it was one of those valleys that you just don't wanna repeat, right? Yep.

But then it came back out the other side of that and was able to, you know, get that all paid back and, and, and back off. But it allowed me to be able to invest, pause. Invest, and then now things are a lot better on the other side of that. Mm-hmm. So, um, you can't, you can't, um. Disregard the power of what we're talking about.

The difference between looking at top line, bottom line, and cash flow. They're not the same thing. They're all needed, but they're, they're definitely not the same thing. Mm-hmm. So, um, so yeah, my, my podcast, the Common Sense Financial Podcast, um, you can just Google search that. Mm-hmm. Uh, I can give you a link for that.

Or you can go to brian snia.com. Uh, my podcast is housed on there. If you wanna know a little bit more about the banking structure that I'm talking about, you can go to build banking.com and I have a whole website of resources there [00:42:00] and, and, uh, calculators, all kinds of different things you can check out.

Dr. Kevin Christie: Nice. Love it. And I would say one of the things, um, you know, that helped me in the past with working with my, my planner is it is by having a plan and, and having someone that actually knows what they're doing right, gave me a ton of peace of mind, uh, as I navigate every day and every week and every year of trying to grow, but knowing that I'm on a good.

Path with my plan that was tailored to me, you know? Right. And I think that's the, the thing that I, I got out of it other than the fact that, yeah, I'm gonna probably be fine in retirement, but now that I am in my prime, I feel good about it because I have a plan working with someone. And so I, I recommend if, uh, what Brian mentioned and resonated with you today, and I know a lot of our audience, a lot of chiropractors are in the St.

Louis areas. So, uh, they could even go stop by. Yeah. Yeah. And have a meeting soon. Come on by. Yeah. Awesome. Well, we'll put all that stuff in the show notes. Brian, I [00:43:00] really appreciate your, your time and expertise today. I look forward to hanging out with you again in September in Chicago, strategic Coach, and, uh, we'll talk soon.

Brian Skrobonja: All right. Thanks for having me. Appreciate the time.