What if your “profit” figure is giving you a false sense of security?

In this episode of Sharkpreneur, Seth Greene interviews Jay Aldebert, Chief Growth Officer at International Services, Inc., who explains that traditional accounting often overlooks critical financial realities, including debt service, working capital, and true profit requirements. He also shares how his system helps business owners uncover hidden financial gaps, improve decision-making, and build stronger, more sustainable companies.

Key Takeaways:

→ Most business owners treat profit as an afterthought rather than a necessity.

→ Accounting focuses on history, while finance focuses on what a business needs to do to survive.

→ Debt service is often overlooked in profit calculations but is critical to survival.

→ Financial reports are lagging indicators and don’t inform real-time decisions.

→ Every business has a minimum required profit determined by its financial structure.

Jay Aldebert is the architect behind a growing movement to replace traditional accounting as the primary decision-making system for business owners. After 25 years inside a $250 million consulting organization and conducting more than 86,000 field analyses, Jay concluded that most owners operate in financial fog, relying on backward-looking reports that fail to guide the future. He created Return to Owner (RTO), a performance system focused on operational control, profit engineering, and exit readiness—measuring success by what the owner actually takes home.

Drawing on one of the largest real-world datasets of privately held businesses, Jay has identified why companies stall and profits disappear. Through his platform Profit by Design, he helps owners gain clarity, increase profitability, and build businesses that deliver real financial outcomes.

Connect With Jay:

Website: https://profitbydesignconsulting.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayaldebert/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jay.aldebert

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaybaldebert/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jay_aldebert

Episode 1281: Why Profit Isn’t What You Think It Is with Jay Aldebert