Show Summary

Matt Rissell, co-founder and CEO of TSheets,  joins Episode 19 of the Profit First Podcast. Matt dives into how time tracking protects employees and helps employers maximize their profitability.

Our Guest

Matt Rissell is the co-founder and CEO of TSheets, an Eagle, Idaho-based technology firm that provides online, GPS-powered time tracking for companies with hourly employees.

Matt started TSheets, his sixth successful startup venture, in 2006, after discovering a gap in the employee time tracking and reporting market. Since then, the company has been named Idaho’s Innovative Company of the Year, currently employing 45 of the best employees in the business and growing and circling the globe with customers in over 50 countries.

With a passion for startups, strategy, and identifying high-growth opportunities, he speaks at conferences nationwide and is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. Matt serves on the executive committee of the Idaho Technology Council, the advisory board of the Boise State University Computer Science Department, and the Vistage CEO Network. He has also received the 40 Accomplished Under 40 Award from Idaho Business Review, Cartridge World’s Franchisee of the Year award, and was named to the Verizon Wireless President’s Cabinet.

A native of Colorado, Matt enjoys spending time in the mountains of Idaho with his wife, three children, and his weimaraner, Brushy — bird hunting, bowhunting, and fishing.

Show Quotes

For business owners, typically your single largest expense item on your Profit and Loss statement is labor.

Tracking time is important for accuracy, protection of the employee and the employer. It’s also about job costing and making sure you allocate time to the right projects, so you know where your largest resource is being invested.

A time tracker protects both the employer and the employee. From a profitability standpoint, just by implementing a tracking system you can save money off of the top line on your payroll. It helps eliminate the possibility of extra minutes employees may be [unintentionally] giving themselves. Once time is tracked in the system, an employer can modify the employees time – but all changes are tracked in a log for employees to see (who did it, what they changed and what time they changed it).

Matt’s favorite quote: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge (30th President of the United States)

There will always be people out there who are smarter than you, better funded than you, have a better education, a better pedigree or are more talented or whatever; but you get to choose if you give up or not.

Different personalities in business partners can compliment each other if you can learn to listen. We had a business coach that helped us communicate for the first 2-3 years because it was really difficult; once we were able to hear each other and communicate with each other it changed the company dramatically.

As the business grows, the business owner has to change their communication style and change the way they fit into it. Make sure everyone in the company understands where the company is headed, what it’s priority is and where they fit into the bigger picture.

Treat your employees the best that you possibly can and hold them to high expectations; employees naturally want to be held to higher standards, because people with drive and work ethic want to care about what they create. In return, your employees will want to do everything they can to help your company succeed.

Show Links

Website:  http://www.tsheets.com/
Matt Rissell on Twitter: @MattRissell

Show Sponsors

Nextiva – VOIP phone providers for small businesses.

Fundera – Single source online funding for entrepreneurs. Also offers an adviser program for CPAs, bookkeepers and business coaches.

TSheets – The #1 customer rated time tracking solution!

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