The Better Than Rich Show James Kwon: How to Pay Your Team Like Owners and Fix Your Leaky Profit Systems
Most business owners hit a ceiling not because they lack hustle but because their systems leak money. They underprice, overpay, and unknowingly trap themselves in the “hourly labor” mindset that kills profitability. Have you ever felt like your team works hard, but your margins never seem to improve? Do you wonder why, after another big month of sales, there’s still not enough left over for growth—or you?
In this episode, host Mike Abramowitz sits down with James Kwon, serial entrepreneur, early employee at CVS.com, and founder of Figmints Digital Creative Marketing. After selling one of his companies for nearly nine figures, James could have coasted. Instead, he built a revolutionary model called SLICES—a simple, scalable way to transform your compensation structure into a proper pay-for-performance system. Whether you lead a trades business, a digital agency, or a growing team, James breaks down the math, the mindset, and the mechanics of paying your people like owners.
Timestamps:
[00:00] The Problem with Hourly Pay
[03:50] Why “SLICES” Was Born
[06:40] Pricing for Pay-for-Performance
[09:20] The $10K Job Breakdown
[14:00] Paying Contractors vs. Salaried Teams
[21:45] Overcoming Team Resistance
[26:30] Real Results from the Field
[39:00] From Chaos to Clarity in Commercial Cleaning
[44:30] Rethinking Ownership: ESOPs and the Future of SLICES
[52:40] Building Brand Leverage through Figmints
Key Quotes:
“You should treat every employee like a salesperson.”
“Your slices already exist—you’re just not tracking them.”
“Profit isn’t what’s left over; it’s a pre-decided slice of the pie.”
“A players light up when they see opportunity. C players panic.”
“Slices make utilization visible. There’s nowhere to hide.”
“The goal isn’t to be rich—it’s to build royalty.”
“Loving people is the ultimate game in business.”
Key Takeaways:
Define Every Slice: Categorize every dollar earned—marketing, labor, operations, profit—and track against those ratios.
Pay for Output, Not Time: Transition compensation to performance-based models that reward production, not presence.
Reconcile Quarterly: Measure slices earned versus salary paid; adjust based on utilization and profitability.
Build a Culture of Ownership: Teach your team how their work connects to the bottom line. Transparency breeds accountability.
Mentioned Links:
Figmints Digital Creative Marketing: https://www.figmints.com
SLICES Resources for Better Than Rich Listeners: https://www.figmints.com/betterthanrich
The Better Than Rich Show YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thebetterthanrich