Follow your dreams

Who wouldn’t want their bottom line maximized? Teresa Martin says there’s nothing she’d rather do than increase the black ink in other people’s ledgers. To do this, she started a business called The Profitability Solution, in which she analyzes businesses, many of them already successful, and tells them how to streamline operations and create efficient sustainable structures. Sound like fun? More information can be had at 825-1568.

Tell me what it is exactly that you do.

I do financial process improvements. What that means is I help businesses and medical practices increase their profits with financial, process and technology improvements.

And what makes you particularly qualified to be consultant?

Well, I have 20-plus years of experience in financial and management experience. I have worked in a variety of industries. I have an accounting degree, and I have an MBA. I’m a certified internal auditor, and with all that experience and education, I can benefit my clients.

But it seems like if you have all this knowledge and ability that you would want to make money for yourself as opposed to making the big money for other people. Does that seem fair?

In making money for other people, I do make money for myself—as a consultant.

Do you make more money as a consultant than you’d make if you started your own business along the lines that you consult in?

Well, actually, this is my passion. I actually love financial process improvement. I love helping businesses streamline their operations, implement operational efficiencies with technology in the workplace. …

So that’s creating structures. I guess what you get the thrill out of is creating the structure. Once it’s there, it’s time to move on and start over with chaos.

What I like to do … I’m not necessarily a business coach, I like to get in, identify unnecessary expenses, I like to streamline, I want to help them reduce their financial risk, implement operational efficiency. I can do that, I can train their staff, put everything in place and then check back with them if they need to be helped ongoing, or I can pretty much move on to the next client.

Where did you get your experience, what types of businesses?

I was in medical, in insurance, and utility businesses.

You have 20 years doing that stuff. So for 20 years, and then you said, “I want to venture off on my own.” Is that how it came about? What were the steps?

I just realized this is really my passion in life. I decided that now was the time to do it. I always wanted to be a consultant, and I felt that I had enough experience to make this change.

What made now the time? Your personal life or the economy …

All of it. The economy, my personal life, and the fact that at some point, you have to follow your dream.

When did you officially start this business?

I started in early November of 2011. It’s been about four-and-a-half months.

And do you have clients already?

Yes I have. I have a couple clients. I have a manufacturing firm, I’ve had a PR firm and I’ve worked with a medical practice.