
Dream Bigger with Courage and Math
From Profit First for Lawyers by Team RJon | RJon Robins
May 19, 2026 · 43 min · Season 3 · Episode 82
About this episode
Pietro Canestrelli discusses how Profit First accounting principles transformed his law firm's profitability and decision-making processes.
“I want you to feel empowered by the knowledge that GAAP is not the only way to manage a small law firm to profitability.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers In this episode, Pietro Canestrelli shares how following Profit First accounting principles helped transform not just his law firm’s profitability, but the way he thinks about ownership, decision-making, hiring, and growth. Drawing from his experience as both a longtime tax attorney and as the owner of a rapidly growing law firm, Pietro explains why GAAP accounting was never designed to help small law firms maximize profitability and why business owners must become comfortable looking at their numbers regularly. Regular listeners know that RJon frequently speaks about GAAP and that there is an entire chapter titled, “Why Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Are Not Meant For You ” (Chapter 8) in Profit First for Lawyers . Well worth a second or third read for those who need a refresher. Courage and Math Pietro introduces a phrase that he says law firm owners need in order to build a profitable business: courage and math. The courage to face reality. The math to make…
People in this episode
Host: RJon Robins
Guest: Pietro Canestrelli
Topics covered
- profitability
- accounting principles
- decision-making
- law firm management
- business metrics
- growth strategies
Keywords
- Profit First
- law firm profitability
- GAAP
- business metrics
- decision-making
- courage and math
- ownership
- hiring
- growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: GAAP
Books & works: Profit First for Lawyers, Why Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Are Not Meant For You
More episodes of Profit First for Lawyers
- Calculating Your Total Owner Benefits · June 11, 2026 · 18 min
- A/R: It’s REALLY Worse Than You Think · June 9, 2026 · 50 min
- Understanding the Stages of a Law Firm’s Growth · June 4, 2026 · 30 min
- Regaining Time · June 2, 2026 · 30 min
- You’re Not Bad With Numbers · May 28, 2026 · 14 min
- Getting Rid of Guessing · May 26, 2026 · 37 min
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