Ep 326. Get Your Financial House in Order, Before It's Too Late!

Summary

Side Hustle Squad – Ep 326: Get Your Financial House in Order, Before It's Too Late!

Host: Mike Garvey
Date: April 16, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode’s central theme is the importance of getting your business finances in order, especially for those running a lawn care side hustle while juggling a full-time job. Mike Garvey shares practical steps, personal stories, and actionable strategies to help listeners organize their financial systems, understand taxes, and move from “managing chaos” to operating like a real business. The episode underscores the need for structure, discipline, and honest self-assessment, all delivered in Mike’s straightforward, encouraging tone.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Tax Deadline: Where Do You Stand?

• Organization vs. Scrambling
  • Mike opens with reflections on tax season, posing tough questions: Are you organized or just winging it? Are your financials “buttoned up” or are you "managing chaos"?
  • Quote:

    “A lot of small business owners are kind of winging it... you’re not running a business, you’re trying to manage chaos.” (01:50)

2. Dealing with Taxes and Extensions

• Don’t Panic if You're Not Ready
  • Mike advises not to rush or panic if taxes aren’t filed—filing an extension is a valid strategy, not a failure.
  • Action Items:
    • Talk to your accountant or financial advisor.
    • File for an extension if needed.
    • Avoid misclassifying expenses just to beat the deadline.
  • Quote:

    “The extension is possible, so that’s not a problem.” (02:38)

3. Sales Tax: Handling It the Right Way

• Separate and Track Sales Tax
  • Emphasizes that sales tax is not your money—it must be separated and tracked diligently:
    • Mike puts 6.625% of all income into a dedicated sales tax account, treating it as a pass-through.
  • Quote:

    “You’re collecting it on behalf of the state. It is not your money. Make sure you pay it. Make sure you collect it. Make sure you keep it separated.” (03:14)

4. Knowing Your Numbers

• Profit, Expenses, and Payments
  • Importance of not just guessing expenses or profit. Encourages regular review:
    • Are you setting aside money for taxes?
    • Are you taking an owner’s draw or a paycheck, and are taxes paid correctly?
  • Mike shares his move to S corp and preferring paychecks for tax withholding peace of mind over quarterly estimates.
  • Quote:

    “I've got hit with taxes at the end of the year saying, oh, you owe, you know, $10, $15,000, and it's not fun.” (04:22)

5. Systems and Tools for Financial Organization

• Leverage Software and Bookkeepers
  • Mike uses QuickBooks, Relay (banking with multiple categorized accounts), and a bookkeeper tied to his accountant.
  • Stressing the power of having separate accounts for repairs, income, payroll, taxes, and more to eliminate “guessing.”
  • Quote:

    “It has kept me so organized, having 15 different accounts for repairs, for income, for payroll, for winter fund... it really is helpful and it really helps you hone in on your numbers.” (06:15)

6. Annual Review: Learning from Last Year’s Financials

• Check Past Performance
  • Encourages reviewing last year’s spending to see where things went right or wrong, as a basis for future improvement.
  • Time to consider: are your prices adequate? Can you raise them?
  • Quote:

    “Let’s get organized. Let’s make more money. Let’s have less stress. Let’s grow.” (07:01)

7. From Side Hustle to Real Business

• Get Serious with Structure
  • Differentiating hobbyists from real business owners depends on financial discipline—systems and organization are non-negotiable.
  • Reiterates the importance of having professional help: accountant, bookkeeper, or financial coach.

8. Actionable Takeaways

• Immediate Steps to Implement
  • Take an hour today to review your numbers.
  • File an extension if you’re not ready.
  • Hire financial professionals if possible.
  • Create and maintain separate accounts for taxes and expenses.
  • Make organization a habit, not a once-a-year scramble.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Preparation and Panic:

  “Don’t panic. You can buy yourself some time. Talk with an accountant... Extension. It’s just a strategy. It’s not failure.”
  —Mike Garvey (02:10)

• On the Reality of Sales Tax:

  “It is not your money. You’re collecting it on behalf of the state. Make sure you pay it. Make sure you collect it. Make sure you keep it separated.”
  —Mike Garvey (03:14)

• On Organization:

  “Having that organized is huge. Huge. It really is helpful and it really helps you hone in on your numbers.”
  —Mike Garvey (06:23)

• On Mindset Shift:

  “This is really the difference between it being a hobby, a side hustle, and turning into a real business.”
  —Mike Garvey (08:00)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:23 – 03:05: The impact of tax season; panic vs. preparation; importance of extensions and getting organized
• 03:05 – 04:00: Sales tax breakdown; how and why to keep it separate
• 04:00 – 05:05: Profit, expenses, paying yourself; transition to S corp and lessons learned
• 05:42 – 07:15: Organizational systems; using QuickBooks, Relay, and bookkeepers; the transformational effect of organizing accounts
• 07:15 – 08:30: Year-end review; price increases; commitment to becoming a real business through financial discipline

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Final Thoughts

Mike’s honest, no-nonsense approach reminds listeners that financial success doesn’t come from winging it. Whether you’re just starting out or growing a lawn care business alongside a day job, getting your financial house in order—through structure, professional help, and rigorous review—is critical. Take an hour, examine your numbers, file extensions if you need to, and build habits that turn chaos into control for less stress and more profit.

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Practical, engaging, and peppered with actionable insights—this episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur ready to step up their financial game.

Transcript

[Mike Garvey]

Here's a question. Do you have a system for your business or are you just buying stuff and hoping it works? Equip Exposition, taking place this October, is where landscapers go to build the whole package equipment, software and training. Registration is just $25 before May 31st. Equip exposition.com register [e-mail] or use the

link in the podcast description.

Save 50% off your registration when you apply the code. Side Hustle at Checkout Are you ready to kick back and get inspired? Grab your favorite drink, pop the top and join the Side Hustle Squad with Mike Garvey. This podcast is the perfect resource for anyone who's already started their side hustle or is just considering taking the lead. With in depth interviews featuring guests from the green industry and beyond, you'll gain valuable insights and learn what it takes to succeed in running a business while juggling a full career. From personal stories to practical tips, the Side Hustle Squad podcast has everything you need to turn your passion into a thriving business. Now here's your side Hustle Squad host, Mike Garvey.

What's going on, guys? It's your host, Mike Garvey with the side Hustle Squad podcast coming at you from the branded Bull Stud here on a Thursday. It is the day after taxes are due. Want to talk about getting financial, everything financial in order and, you know, things I learned along the way. Taxes are due. Let's talk about it. I want to talk about, you know, getting everything buttoned up. Or I mean, are you buttoning? Are you buttoned up? Are you scrambling? What are we doing? Let's talk about staying organized, being financially responsive, responsible, what to do if you're not ready. And let's make sure again, talk about sales tax and evaluating your business. And let's put some simple systems in place to get organized, get ahead. It's not just about taxes are due, it's about doing a financial checkup on your business. So where are you at? Let's talk about it. Be honest. A lot of small business owners are kind of winging it. You know, just we've, you know, we've talked about it in the last episode. Undercharging, not really even knowing what profit is, mixing accounts, mixing personal with business, paying, you know, personal to run the business. It's just you're not running a business. You're trying to manage chaos. You know, but let's, I'm sure everyone has something. Everyone is. Nobody is perfect. But let's, okay, talk about taxes. If you're not Ready for taxes. Don't panic. You can buy yourself some time. Talk with an accountant. Talk with your accountant. Financial advisor. File an extension. Get everything together properly. Don't rush. Don't categorize things improperly. Extension. It's just a strategy. Um, it's not. It's not failure, right? So let's. The extension is possible, so that's not a problem. Sales tax. Let's talk about sales tax. Is everything up to date? Have you collected it? Are you putting it in a separate account? That's what I do. So every week I take 6.625%, roughly 7%, and put it in a sales tax account for my income that came in through my deposits from Jobber. So it's separate. It's not actually my money. You're collecting it on the behalf of the state. It is not your money. Make sure you pay it. Make sure you collect it. Make sure you keep it separated. You know, let's check. Check yourself. Are you looking at profit? Do you know your profit? Do you know your expenses without just guessing? Do you know where things are at? Are you putting money aside for taxes? For. Say you're taking a draw, owner's draw. Are you paying taxes on that draw? Or are you taking a paycheck? We did this years ago or last year. I'm sorry, was our first time doing it where we became an S corp and take a paycheck. And our. And our checks are. Our taxes are paid as we go. We might be paying more. We might be, you know, but I like having a paycheck paid every two weeks with my taxes paid. Not setting aside, doing quarterly payments, leaving it on your own. It's just something that. It's not really something that I like to do. And I've got hit with taxes at the end of the year saying, oh, you owe, you know, 10, $15,000, and it's not fun. So, you know, do look at yourself. Look at how you're getting paid. Fix the systems that are not working for you. So let's take a quick break here from the show sponsors, and we'll come right back. Hey, guys.

[Adam Fullerton]

Adam Fullerton here with Brandon Bull as a proud sponsor of the side hustle squad pod. We're all about helping lawn care and landscaping businesses make their mark and stand out from the competition. Visit [e-mail] to learn more about our professional branding website and graphic design services and how we can help your business look awesome and grow.

[Mike Garvey]

Hey, what's going on, guys? With Jobber, you can easily manage jobs, track Your team get paid faster, all from one simple app. Join thousands of satisfied lawn care professionals who trust Jobber to keep their business growing strong. Visit the link in the bio today and start your free trial. And now we're back talking about taxes, talking about financial gut check. It really is. Now's the time to take a look at it. You can steer the core, steer, steer some things that may not be going so well. Organization and kind of get everything in order. A lot of things too. I have a. I use QuickBooks, I use Relay. I have a bookkeeper that's tied in with my accountant and she can categorize everything. She's tied into all my accounts. And again, I've talked about Relay. This is not a sponsored episode by them by any means, but it has kept me so organized, having 15 different accounts for repairs, for income, for payroll, for winter fund, all that stuff, whatever you want, sales tax. And having that organized is huge. Huge. It really is helpful and it really helps you hone in on your numbers. So take a look at that if you want to. There's a link in the bio of the show to be able to look at that and, you know, keeping everything organized, not guessing, it just makes my life so much easier. But again, let's talk about, you know, now is the time to check on things that you're looking at last year's stuff. Where did things go right? Where did things go wrong? You can see, break down what was spent, where and when. And you know, get, let's get organized. Let's make more money, let's have less stress, let's grow. Let's take a look at our numbers, right? Let's raise our prices on some things, okay? It's all about raising your prices, raising your standards, getting organized. And just wanted to tie that in with last week, last episode again, about raising your prices, looking at everything, it kind of all ties in together. So I encourage you, take an hour today if you can, take a look at your numbers, file an extension if you need to. Get a accountant, get a bookkeeper, get a financial coach if you can. Okay, let's get organized. Because this is really the difference between it being a hobby, a side hustle, and turning into a real business. So I encourage you guys to get organized. Now. You don't want to have things go unfiled or unpaid and then we'll have to deal with that later, which is not fun. So I encourage you to take a look at everything. File again. If things aren't, you're not filed in time, hit that extension work with accountant to make sure that happens and let's get everything in order, let's get everything organized and I'll do the same. Always working on our, on our tightening things up and yeah, let's make some money.

Thanks for tuning in to the side Hustle Squad Podcast with Mike Garvey. We hope you enjoyed this episode and gained valuable insights to help you succeed in your side Hustle journey. Connect with Mike using the links in the podcast description. If you love the show, please leave us a well worded five star review on Apple Podcast. Your feedback and support help us grow and continue to provide you with the best content. And don't forget to follow the show to be notified when the next edition of the side Hustle Squad Podcast is available. We have many exciting guests and topics lined up so you won't want to miss a single episode. Thanks again for listening and we'll catch you next time on the side Hustle Squad Podcast.