I almost sunk our family business. I assumed I knew enough about business to run a dinky little plumbing company. After all, I had spent about $100,000 of my parents’ money on my college degree in Business Administration. In fact, I graduated at the top of my class. Still, I didn’t know how to balance a checkbook!

I got involved in my husband’s company after his partner died unexpectedly. Boy, was I humbled! It seemed like lots of money was moving through the company, but at the end of the month there was never any money left. Thankfully, I found a mentor, a savvy plumbing contractor. Frank Blau wrote a column in Plumbing & Mechanical magazine. I wrote to him and asked for help. He took me under his wing and taught me how to keep score in business. He taught me how to read and use financial reports. He taught me how to make money.

We turned our company around. We paid off our business loan. We doubled sales and tripled the amount of money we took out of the company. Very cool. My husband and I went middle-age crazy. We sold the company to our employees – a friendly coup d’état! – and bought a gentleman’s farm in the country. (Picture Green Acres.) At this point, I realized that I wanted to share what I’d learned. After all, if a smart, highly educated person like me didn’t know how to read a Balance Sheet, I figured business illiteracy must be rampant. I was right.

My experiences since then have included teaching and consulting with hundreds of small businesses, primarily home service companies. I rarely find a student or a client who creates and reads financial statements on a regular basis, much less uses financial information to make management decisions. In fact, few know their assets from their liabilities!

I teach the basics, the simple disciplines that can move great ideas into successful businesses. I’ve written four books on business basics: Where Did the Money Go?, How Much Should I Charge?, The Bare Bones Biz Plan and The Bare Bones Weekend Biz Plan. Check them out at ellenrohr.com.

My consulting work led to a position as president of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, a home-service plumbing franchise company. I learned a lot about what works to grow fast and profitably…and what doesn’t. Guess what! The basics never go out of style, no matter how big a company gets. Currently, I am an owner and founder of ZOOM DRAIN—a drain and sewer cleaning and repair franchise with locations across the US. I am a financial coach at HowardPartridge.com. I also work with ServiceTitan, the premier software for the trades, as a consultant and podcaster.

I am here to help. Together, we can build extraordinary businesses and expand world peace. Follow me on Instagram @ellenrohr or visit my website at ellenrohr.com.