Donna Genie (speaker) criticizes Dave Ramsey's financial advice, arguing it is not appropriate for all audiences—particularly business owners. She contends that strictly “stay within your means” advice is a "poor man's strategy" for entrepreneurs and that business growth often requires leveraging other people's money, knowledge (e.g., a CPA), and assets, as well as calculated risk-taking and tax-aware decisions.
Hey there. Who out there loves Dave Ramsey? He's a pretty popular guy. But I gotta tell you, I got a beef with Dave Ramsey, and I don't think he's for everybody. Dave's premises and philosophy is that you should stay within your means and you shouldn't buy anything unless you can pay for it. I think that that is, let's say, a poor man's strategy. As a business owner, you need to know how to deal. You need to know how to leverage other people's money or other people's knowledge or other people's assets to be able to grow a business. You can't just wait until you have enough money to buy a machine that's too far in advance. You need to be able to leverage the dollars of other people to make your money. The day you started that business, you took a risk. You need to know your limits, and you understand your own risks. And you're willing to make calculated moves to make that business a success. And sometimes that will mean leveraging other people's money. Sometimes that will mean leveraging other people's knowledge, like a good CPA who can help you make good decisions and leveraging the marketplace to make sure that you're making all the right moves. Let's also remember, you're leveraging your tax dollars by making smart moves with your accountant.
