Most product-based business owners think they need something new to grow, a new strategy, a new tool, a game-changing idea. But the truth, you don't need more exciting. You need what actually works. Because the businesses that we nonprofit and cash flow, yeah, they've mastered the fundamentals. And this is exactly what we do inside the inventory genus program. We clean up your financials so that you have a clear, accurate picture of your inventory and your real market. We fix your product, making sure every single SQ is actually making you money, not just creating revenue. And we build a profit plan so that you can pay off that. Generate cash and run your business with confidence. No fluff, no guesswork, no chasing trends, just a proven system that helps product-based businesses win again when it comes to profit and when it comes to cash. Because long-term success isn't flashy, it's consistent. Join us in the Inventory Genius program. Let's make your business work for you. Hey friend, welcome to the Inventory Genius Podcast, where we work together here to make you an inventory genius. We talk about profit, we talk about cash flow, and we definitely talk about your paycheck. Because at the end of the day, it's all related to your inventory. Let's go. Well, hello everyone, and welcome to the Inventory Genius Podcast. My name is Sierra, and this is going to be a really exciting podcast episode for me to bring to you. And that is because we're going to be talking about the Inventory Genius Operating System or IGOS, as you're going to see it, around the Inventory Genius world. I want to talk about this operating system and why I so strongly believe that every single product-based business owner needs to have the inventory genius operating system implemented into their product-based business. All right, we're going to go ahead and start with my story. Some of you may know it, some of you may know parts of it, but I want to bring it back to the front because my story is such an integral part of why the Inventory Genius operating system was created and why it actually works. And so let's start with my story. 2006, I opened my first retail store. It was a brick and mortar store in North Dakota. And I built that and grew it for a couple months and then opened a second concept right next door because, as many entrepreneurs do, we don't like to say no to an opportunity. So I had an opportunity to open a second retail concept, and I did so within six months. And now I had two operating retail locations next door to one another. About a year and a half later, I decided to link those two concepts or to merge those two concepts. And I created a designer outlet boutique bringing both of those concepts together and decided to franchise it because why not? Right. We want to grow, we want to scale. And this had been a dream of mine. I not only wanted to open one retail store, it was my goal to open a brand to have multiple locations. I want to take a pause here because this is an integral part of why the Inventory Genius operating system was created. And that is because I was building a business from top-line goals. I was building a business to expand and grow because that's what I thought success looked like. Now, it doesn't mean that it wasn't success, and it doesn't mean that I shouldn't have opened multiple locations or I shouldn't have franchised. But here's the thing. If I would have known what I know now, and that is profit matters more than anything else, I think I would have done things differently, but I didn't. And so here's what happened. I kept expanding and I kept growing. I kept chasing top-line revenue. I built a franchise brand. I had multiple locations, a massive warehouse, a team of 12. Here's the rub. In over a decade of running and operating that business, I never took a consistent paycheck, even though my employees consistently got paid and can I say consistently got raises and bonuses. I never took a paycheck consistently. And I kept taking on more debt because I didn't understand that profit mattered more than top line revenue. And so as I was chasing revenue without the understanding of the inner workings of a product-based business, I kept needing more and more cash. Does that sound familiar? I kept needing more and more cash. And so I kept taking on debt. I kept making choices to chase the revenue. And in the end, you know, at the end of the day, I ended up losing it all. We lost the business. I lost my home. That's another story for another day. But when that happened, I decided that this was never going to happen to me again. I don't say losing my business. I don't say that phrase lightly because a business that you've poured your heart into, your identity, your livelihood, that is a very heavy, painful experience. I can talk through it now without shedding a tear, but I will tell you, there were years after that happened that it could not come up in conversation without me breaking down and crying. It was so difficult. And the shame and the guilt that I felt because my family lost a livelihood, a home, things that we had hoped and dreamed for because of the actions I took. That was tough. That was hard. And I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But here's what that experience gave me: it gave me a burning desire to never, never let that happen again. And it gave me clarity to understand exactly what had gone wrong and what I needed to do differently. Now I'm one of those crazy entrepreneurs that, you know, even though I failed, if you'd say, if you want to say failure, I mean that's really what it was, right? Even though I lost everything, everything was broken and destroyed in that business. I decided I should launch another business. But here's why I did it. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do things differently, that I could build from profitability, that I did not have to buy into this idea that everyone touts, that you won't be profitable for five years, you have to wear every single hat. As an owner, you don't take a paycheck. I said, you know what, that's baloney. I bought into that philosophy and look what it got me. I want to do this differently the next time around. And so when I launched my next product-based business, which was a subscription box, I did decided to do things in a completely different way. I built profitably from day one. I took a paycheck from day one, something I had never done in my previous business. And I built a system that I was developing in real time as I went. Now I had no idea that this system would be such a helpful tool for hundreds and hundreds of product-based business owners in the future. And that just gives me so much joy. Because if that hard part of my entrepreneurial journey did nothing else, it has given me the opportunity to help other product-based business owners save themselves before they get to the point of destruction as I did in my business. I had no idea that's what I was building though. But I knew that deep down I wanted to try again and I wanted to prove that business could be done differently, that an inventory-based business could be run from profitability from the get-go, that I could take a paycheck as an owner, that I didn't have to starve myself in order to grow a business. And so I started this journey of building a system designed specifically for product-based businesses, a system that would keep me grounded in the numbers, connected to my cash flow, and that would start building something that was sustainable. And here's the thing: within 18 months, I sold that business because it was profitable and I took a paycheck and was so proud of that, you know, the success I had in that. I knew that it had value and I was able to find a buyer and sell that business. So, what was the system I was building? It became the inventory genius operating system. And I want to talk to you today about why this system works. And to do that, I have to start with something that I feel very, very strongly about. So the Inventory Genius operating system was created by a product-based business owner for product-based business owners. I'm going to get a little feisty here. Part of the reason, if not one of the biggest reasons, that the Inventory Genius operating system works is because it was built by someone who used it. It was built by someone who did things incorrectly the first time around, made the corrections, found the discoveries of what needed to change and happen, and then created a system around what actually worked. You guys, there are so many people out there selling things to businesses, and they haven't even tested or tried them themselves. They're selling theories, they're selling quick fixes, they're selling magic wands and the promise of like this can be super easy. I'm not selling that. But I don't have a subscription box business, or I don't have a retail store, or I'm just starting out or Sierra, I do multi-millions in sales. I'm gonna give you two side-by-side examples to show you why the inventory genius operating system works for any product-based business. All right, I had a client, she had a $4 million business, beautiful business, beautiful product. This was a brick and mortar store. She'd been in operation for about a decade. So multi-million dollar brand, beautiful product, brick and mortar store had been around the block for a while. This was not a newbie. Okay. When I started with her, she had so much overwhelm and debt and so much guilt tied to that debt. Our first conversation, we sat down and she broke down in tears and said, Sierra, I think I'm gonna have to declare bankruptcy. I think I'm gonna have to close up shop and declare bankruptcy. I am in so much debt. And how did I get here? Like, Sierra, how did I get here? I have the sales, like people are coming in. In fact, there's people outside in the showroom right now that are making purchases. Our what, you know, our our sales are coming in from our web store into the brick and mortar store. Like we're in magazines, we are Instagram worthy. But behind the scenes, it's all falling apart. And I said, here's the thing: we might have to declare bankruptcy. I've been there, done that. You'll live through it. It's horrible. You'll live through it. But before we make that choice or that decision, will you give me the opportunity to use the inventory genius operating system, implement it into your business, and see if we can turn this around? And she agreed to give me the opportunity. We worked together for a year. In a year, we paid off over a half a million dollars in debt. We cleaned up operations, we built in so much more margin. Her business was profitable and cash flowing in a year. All right, let's talk about a side-by-side story. I'm gonna talk to you about Megan. I actually have a podcast episode where I interviewed Megan. So you can go back and Google, Google that and look for it. Megan had a six-figure business, so much different size. It was online only, no brick and mortar. And she did not work in the business. So while the first owner worked in the business, had been in business for many years, multi-millions, brick and mortar. Megan had an online business. She worked outside of her business. So she had a full-time job outside of it. She was e-com only. So very different. The only thing that was the same was that they both had inventory. Okay, that's the only thing. Product was different, circumstances were different, environment for selling the product was different. The only similarity is that they both had inventory and they both had a desire to change the script. So Megan came to me and she said, Sierra, I am working all day long so that I can take my paycheck and infuse it into my business and I'm done. What is the point of having a business if I'm working a full-time job just to keep the doors open so I can write everybody else's paycheck? She didn't have a lot of debt. We had a little bit to work with, not a lot. But her main problem was this business isn't profitable. Like I keep working and working and working and I'm not getting anywhere and I'm done. And she said, I'm putting a line in the sand. If this isn't corrected by the date that she gave me, she said, if this is not corrected and changed by then, I'm going to close up shop and be done. And I said, Okay, will you give me some time to take the inventory genius operating system and implement it in your business? And she said, I will. And so we had about six months that we worked together in her business. She implemented the inventory genius operating system. And here were her results. She was profitable at the end. She was no longer infusing cash every month to keep things afloat. And in fact, which is why you need to listen to the episode where I interview her, she was able to take her family on a six-month vacation around the world where she was no longer needed at all in her business and it was running and functioning properly. This system works and it matters that you understand what is available to you if you are finding yourself in financial stress, in overwhelm, in what on earth am I doing this for, working for free, dead out the wazoo. I want you to know about the inventory genius system. I want you to know how it works, what it is, so that you can make the choice to get this system and implement it in your business. So I've been where you are. I've built six figure, seven-figure brands more than once, in fact. I've had brick and mortar locations, I've act manage actual teams of people, I've had leases, I've had loans, you know, I've paid rent and the experience, all of that, including the loss, is what positions me to teach this system to help implement this system for every product-based business. I've had retail businesses, wholesale businesses, subscription box businesses. I've been a maker and I've sold my products in boutique stores. When it comes to inventory, I have done everything. I understand how inventory and cash flow work together. And that's what I want to talk to you about today. So here's the core framework. This is how the inventory genius system or IGOS actually works. I want to break it down for you because this is the heart of everything. So the IGOS, Inventory Genius Operating System, is built around one foundational truth that cash flow and inventory are directly connected. And most product-based business owners do not fully understand that connection. I did not fully understand that connection. My clients did not fully understand that connection when they started with me. The gap in understanding, that's where the problems live. Okay. When we don't understand how inventory and cash work together, that is where the problem lives. This is where the debt grows. This is where the cash disappears. And this is where the businesses ultimately fail. Even businesses with beautiful products and strong sales. You guys, when I lost my business, we were a seven-figure business. This was a proven concept. We had brick and mortar locations. We were making money at the top line. We just weren't keeping it. The framework of IGOS is built on three interconnected layers and we build them on top of each other. First of all, we talk about and work through how cash flow and inventory work together. What is their relationship? The first layer is very foundational because before we can fix anything, we have to understand the relationship between cash flow and inventory. Every inventory decision you make has a direct impact on your cash flow. When you order too much, cash gets tied up in product just sitting on the shelves. When you order too little, you can't make the sales and then you know you run out of cash. If you order the wrong product and you're marking it down, you're minimizing your margin. And that could possibly be eating away at any opportunity to cover your operating expense. Most product-based business owners are making inventory decisions based on gut and on what's sold before or what a vendor might be pushing at them. And they're not making decisions based on a clear picture of how that inventory movement will impact their cash flow. In the first layer of the inventory genius operating system, I help you open your eyes to that connection. This is really, really important. When I help you see in real time exactly how the inventory choices are shaping your financial reality, you can start to make decisions off of data instead of emotion. The next layer in the inventory genius operating system method is financial structure and rhythms. So once you understand the difference between cash flow and inventory, the second layer is about building structure around that understanding. Okay. It's not just enough to know what's going on. We have to build a structure and a system around maintaining that knowledge and using that knowledge to the best of our ability. One of the biggest problems product-based business owners face is that their financial management is just so reactive. I mean, it was for me, right? Like I was making sales but didn't have enough money. So I was reactive. I would take on more debt, or I would hold a clearance sale, or I would push product that didn't really fit my avatar, right? I would buy with hopes that this new buyer, this new brand, or this new vendor would do the trick, right? So I was doing things off of emotion instead of off of data. So one of the biggest problems being that business owners look at their financial uh management in a reactive manner is that they respond to every whim of a customer, of an employee, of a vendor, et cetera. And when they respond to those whims and when they manage off of emotion, we just start panic buying, panic selling. Um we manage our cash from a place of um being behind the eight ball instead of telling our cash where to go. In this second layer, we start to build a predictable rhythm. So now you understand, you will understand how cash flow and inventory work together. It's shown to you with the tools that we use in the inventory genius operating system. This knowledge will become like a reality and an aha for you. And then we begin to layer in some systems and repeatability around managing the cash. Here's what I want people to know about this layer, the second layer. It is not overwhelming and it's not complex. Okay, so this might sound like, oh my word, this is what I need, but this sounds really scary to me. I want you to know this, you guys. I'm a simple person. I'm not an accountant, I'm not a CPA, never been a bookkeeper. In fact, math was actually not a great subject for me in school. But here's the thing: this math problem is so simple. We overcomplicate what we think the numbers, knowing the numbers means in our business. And in the inventory genius operating system, I make it super simple for you. Even if you're doing 10 million a year, I make it super simple for you, even if you're brand new to the business. I make it super simple for you, even if you're like, numbers are not my jam. This is not difficult, it's not complex. And the rhythm that we help you get into with your numbers and your financial management is not complicated either. It's simple. It's bite-sized actionable steps that layer one on the other. It's giving you the freedom to make choices from information instead of feeling trapped and held hostage by making decisions around panic and emotion. I want you to know that I've designed this specifically to be accessible and implementable, even if you don't love numbers. We build these rhythms to fit your business and your life so that you can actually stick to them. In fact, this system, this IOGS system, is so easy to use that I've had multiple clients say, Sear, I'm actually taking this and I'm implementing it in my personal life as well. So the budgets, the tools, the templates, the understanding of how cash works, I'm taking that over to my personal life and I'm implementing it over my personal life as well. And it's a game changer. Okay, level three or layer three, excuse me. Sustainable operations. So the third layer is where it all comes together. This is where you go from surviving, which is what you're doing right now. You're just surviving, you're trying to hold your head above water to thriving. Within the first two layers, like once we have those in place, the understanding and then the structure around how to use that understanding. We build an operational system that allows your business to run profitably and sustainably. Systems that you can maintain, systems that your team can follow, systems that can scale with you as you begin to grow and grow and grow. These are bite-sized actionable pieces. We don't try to overhaul everything at once. We build one top piece on top of the other at a pace that works for you. The goal of the inventory genius operating system is not to add more to your plate, it's actually to replace chaos with clear clarity. I want you to think about that. Right now, because you don't have an understanding, like we're missing the pieces of cash and inventory and how they work together, you're completely chaotic and overwhelmed all the time. The inventory genius operating system is created in a way that can simply and easily add clarity to every single day in your business. So as you think about what's missing, I want you to think about those two stories that I shared with you. Whether you're the business owner that's been in business for a while and there's always been something missing, you're leaving money on the table, or whether you're the business owner. Or that's like there's just never any cash left. Like I'm having to work for free or infuse cash just to keep this afloat. The inventory genius system worked for both of those extreme client situations, and this system will work for you. I want to be really clear about something before I close today. The stories that I shared are not the result of a magic wand. They're not the result of a short quick shortcut or a quick fix or a trendy strategy. Like they're not, you guys. This is not a trendy strategy. The stories and the results of those stories are because a system that works was actually implemented. It was implemented with consistency and with commitment. The inventory genius system works because it addresses the root issue. This is what is so important. It addresses the root issue. It's not addressing a symptom. It's not addressing just a surface level problem. We're not putting a band-aid on this situation. We are fixing it from the root all the way up. The root issue in almost every single product-based business is the owner is facing this struggle with what's going on with the money. The money's coming in, but it's never there. Like, where is it going? And the inventory genius operating system gets to the root of that problem so that we can build a strong and sustainable business from the ground up. I've built seven-figure brands and I've helped hundreds of businesses get out of debt, find cash flow, build towards financial freedom. And in every single case, this is the system that made it possible. I strongly believe and can say without a shadow of a doubt that every single product-based business owner, whether you sell clothing, dog food, if you're brick and mortar e-com, if you're a manufacturer, if you're importing and distributing, if you're e-comm store only, if you are a subscription box, I don't care. The inventory genius system works for each and every one of you. If you have inventory, this system was created so that you could put it in place, that this could maintain a process of clarity and calm as you build with strategy instead of frantically chasing the money. I'm so convinced that this will work for you. And I want you to try it. So you can find the inventory genius operating system on my website, Sierrastockland.com. Just click on the work with me and you'll get that information. This is your call to action to stop playing store with your store and finally implement something that can make a drastic change starting from today going forward. I want you to think about my story in closing. I lost it all. And I had a lot of millions of dollars coming in, you guys. I was selling a lot of stuff and doing a lot of things that looked pretty snazzy from the outside looking in. But behind the scenes, I was overwhelmed. I was out of cash and I ended up losing it. I decided to do things differently. I made the commitment that I was going to build a business from a profitable place. And I did it. And I did it again. And I've done it again after that. And every single time going forward, I've used the inventory genius operating system to create a rhythm and a pattern that makes the cash flow and the inventory work together as a team instead of fight one another and constantly eat that cash like a cash-eating monster. I want that for you. So I would invite you to sign up, get the inventory genius operating system, implement it in your business, and then tell me what you think. I want to know your success story, and I would love to tell your success story here on the podcast. So head on over to SierraStockland.com, sign up for the Inventory Genius Operating System, use this in your business, clean up your debt, free up your cash flow, and let's stop playing store with our store and start building a business that serves us as entrepreneurs. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'll see you all next time. Bye for now. Because you are a faithful podcast listener, I want to celebrate the launch of the Inventory Genius Operating System with you by offering you a $500 discount off of the IGOS program. That's right, $500 off. So in the show notes of this episode is a special coupon code just for my podcast listeners. Click on that link. You're gonna get a $500 discount off of the Inventory Genius operating system. Now we've been talking about it during this entire podcast. You know how valuable it is. You know that it works for each and every single product-based business. I want you to have this operating system because it's gonna completely change the way that you run your product-based business. So look at the show notes, click on the link. That discount is just for you. Thanks for listening. Hey there, if you have a brick and mortar, listen up. We all know that the most important thing for any brick and mortar is foot traffic. And we want to introduce you to our new vendor partner, Pi. Pi puts marketing on autopilot for you. They'll help you run your marketing campaigns so you don't have to, and they will bring you high-intent customers through targeted ads and optimized search. And here's the best part this is what I really love. They can do this for just 5% of what a traditional ad agency would charge. There's no contract, the first month is free, and because they're friends of Inventory Genius, they're going to give you $300 in ad credit when you sign up. So take a look at Pi. All of the links, including your ad credit, are in the show notes.