Why Your Business Isn’t Profitable (And How to Fix It)
Let me ask you this:
Have you ever looked at your sales numbers and thought, “We’re doing well… so why does the bank balance still feel tight?”
You’re not alone. I work with founders pulling in six or even seven figures in revenue who still whisper the same worry: “I don’t actually know where the money’s going.”
The reality? Great revenue is very different to great profit.
And without profit, growth can become a trap instead of a reward.
The Real Reason You’re Not Seeing Profit
Most founders assume that if they just sell more, profit will take care of itself. But more sales often means…
More delivery costs.
More team hours.
More complexity to manage.
Your margin actually shrinks as you grow - unless you know how to protect it.
Here are three common reasons profit stalls (even when sales look healthy):
Your pricing doesn’t match your true costs.
Many founders set prices by gut feel or by “what the market will bear.” But when you add up delivery costs, software, team time, tax and your own salary - suddenly that “£2k project” is actually costing you £2.5k.
Your business is carrying hidden overhead.
A growing business quietly accumulates extra subscriptions, team inefficiencies and “nice-to-have” expenses. One founder I worked with discovered 30% of her overhead could be cut once we really scrutinised it.
You’re scaling the wrong work.
Not all sales are equal. If your most popular offer is also your lowest margin, then “growing” just means running faster on the hamster wheel.
Why Traditional Advice Makes It Worse
Most business advice is about top line growth. “Sell more.” “Market harder.” “10x your funnel.”
But if your unit economics are broken, scaling only multiplies the problem. It’s like pouring water into a leaky bucket: you’ll work harder, but you won’t keep more.
The CFO Framework for Profitability
Here’s the system I teach inside Strategic Growth. It’s simple, but it changes everything:
Know Your Real Numbers
Forget vanity revenue. Start with:
Profit per client/product
Profit per hour of your time
Profit after overheads
One client recently added 25% his take-home simply by cutting his lowest-margin offer.
Build a Decision Dashboard
You don’t need 40 KPIs. You need 5 key ones that you can check in 30 seconds. For example:
Cash runway
Gross margin %
Overheads as % of revenue
Recurring vs one-off sales
Effective hourly rate
Protect & Grow the Right Margins
Once you know which offers or products actually make money, focus your energy there. That might mean raising prices, packaging differently or shifting from projects to recurring.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Take Kate, who came to me with a busy consultancy but flat profits. She’d built a brilliant business - but she was the business. After digging into her numbers, we renegotiated a major client contract that doubled her revenue from that account overnight. She told me afterwards: “I’d never have had the courage without your CFO lens on it.”
Or Lucy, who shifted her agency from one-off projects to retainer-based work. In six months, her monthly revenue doubled - without doubling her hours (actually reducing them).
Three Things You Can Do This Week
Audit Your Last 10 Sales
Write down revenue, time spent and costs for each. Which were genuinely profitable? Which were energy drains?
Calculate Your Real Hourly Rate
Profit ÷ hours worked. Be honest - include the late-night emails. If the number shocks you, you’re not alone.
Cut a Profit Vampire
Drop one offer, client or product line that looks busy but drains your margin. You’ll be amazed how freeing it feels.
From Chaos to Clarity
Profitability isn’t just about money. It’s about peace of mind. It’s the difference between constantly chasing the next sale and knowing you’re building something sustainable.
Because when your business is profitable, every decision - hiring, investing, taking a holiday - stops being a gamble and starts being grounded.
And that’s when running your business becomes enjoyable again.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building a profitable, scalable business, doors to Strategic Growth open in January, March & September. This is where we get into your numbers, your model and your growth levers - and build something that works without burning you out.
