Most business owners set their prices by copying whatever everyone else charges, then wonder why revenue never turns into profit. Gino DiGiovanni, a certified business advisor with the Hamilton County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), breaks down the five numbers that actually determine whether a business survives: startup costs, direct costs, sales volume, overhead, and retail price. Using a ten-cent cookie as the example, he shows how overhead can quietly turn a profitable-looking sale into a losing one without an owner ever noticing.

The conversation gets specific fast: how a $100,000 loan changes what a business needs to sell each month, why averaging sales and expenses over a full year beats living paycheck to paycheck, and what to do when an owner realizes they don't want to manage people anymore but are already three years and several employees deep. Gino also explains how the SBDC's free spreadsheet forces owners to confront the exact line item where they're losing money — something most business owners suspect but can never pin down on their own.

Whether you're pricing your first cookie, valuing your time as a creative, or trying to sell a business you built over 20 years, this episode gives you the actual framework instead of the guesswork.

Links and Resources:

– Connect with Gino DiGiovanni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginodigiovanni/

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Connect with Brian:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/u/bwerickson

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