Turning More of What You Already Do Into Real Money
Let’s clear something up straight away.
Most business owners don’t have a sales problem. They have a profit problem.
Money comes in… and then quietly leaks back out again. Through weak pricing decisions. Or it could be discounting that feels necessary but isn’t measured. Also, saying yes to work that fills diaries but empties margins. And, most commonly, through not truly knowing which parts of the business actually make money.
The frustrating part? Most owners are already working hard enough.
So adding more hours won’t fix this. Better thinking will.
Below are five practical, proven principles we use inside ActionCOACH to help business owners increase profit without working harder, chasing more leads, or burning themselves out.
Key Principle #1: Know Your Numbers (Properly)
If you don’t know your numbers, you’re not managing profit, you’re guessing. And guessing, in business, is expensive.
This goes far beyond checking the bank balance or asking your accountant how things look at year-end. To maximise business profit, you must understand your break-even point, your true gross margins, and exactly which products, services, or clients contribute real profit versus those that simply keep you busy.
Once this level of clarity is in place, decision-making changes. Pricing becomes intentional rather than reactive. Discounting becomes a choice, not a habit. You stop chasing turnover for ego and start focusing on margin for sustainability.
Key Principle #1 Case Study: Domino’s Pizza
At Domino’s Pizza, they track profit at a granular level; per store, per promotion, even per delivery area. That visibility allows franchise owners to adjust pricing, staffing, and offers quickly, protecting margins even in challenging economic conditions.
The takeaway is simple: profit isn’t about luck. It’s about visibility and control.
Key Principle #2: Price for Value, Not Cost
One of the biggest profit killers in small businesses is cost-based pricing.
“It costs me X, so I’ll charge Y.”
That logic feels safe, but it caps growth and keeps margins permanently under pressure. Value-based pricing shifts the focus away from hours, effort, or inputs and onto outcomes, expertise, and impact. When clients clearly understand the result they’re buying, price becomes far less emotional — and far more profitable.
This principle is especially powerful for service-based businesses. If your work helps a client grow revenue, save time, reduce risk, or gain clarity, charging purely based on time massively undersells your value.
Key Principle #2: Case Study: Dyson
As a leader in business, Dyson does not compete on price. It competes on innovation, performance, and brand trust. The cost of manufacturing is not what dictates price, perceived value does. That’s how strong margins are maintained in a fiercely competitive market.
If you want to increase profit without working more hours, pricing for value is non-negotiable.
Key Principle #3: Sell More to Existing Clients
Most businesses obsess over winning new customers while ignoring one of the easiest ways to increase profit: selling more to the clients they already have.
Acquiring a new customer costs time, money, and energy. Increasing the lifetime value of an existing client requires far less effort — especially when trust is already established. Yet upsells, cross-sells, retainers, and repeat offers are rarely designed intentionally.
When you build clear next-step offers into your business model, profit increases without increasing workload. Revenue becomes more predictable, and marketing pressure reduces dramatically.
Key Principle #3 Case Study: Sky UK
The network consistently increases revenue per customer through bundled services, add-ons, and upgrades. Rather than constantly chasing new customers, they focus on maximising value from existing relationships.
Ask yourself: what problem can you help your current clients solve next? The answer is often your next profit lever.
Key Principle #4: Remove Low-Value Work
Not all revenue is good revenue.
Some work drains time, energy, and team morale while delivering very little profit. The danger is that this work looks productive on the surface, so it stays — quietly eroding margins and focus.
Highly profitable businesses regularly review what they should stop doing. They remove services, products, and even clients that no longer serve the bigger picture. Less complexity leads to better delivery, stronger margins, and calmer teams.
Key Principle 4 Case Study: Wetherspoon
This household name simplified menus across many locations, reducing waste, speeding up service, and lowering costs. Profit improved not by doing more, but by doing fewer things better.
If something consistently causes stress for minimal return, it’s costing you far more than you realise.
Key Principle #5: Build Profit Into Your Systems
Profit should never be something you hope appears at the end of the year.
It should be designed into how the business runs.
That means clear profit targets, simple scorecards, regular reviews, and systems that encourage the right behaviours daily — not just when things feel urgent. When profit is systemised, results become predictable rather than accidental.
Key Principle #5 Case Study: Ikea
Globally renowned IKEA designs everything; from supply chain to store layout, with margin efficiency in mind. Systems do the heavy lifting, allowing the business to scale globally without chaos.
Hope is not a strategy. Systems are.
Quick Strategy Summary:
If profit feels tighter than it should, it usually comes down to five things:
- Know your numbers properly – clarity replaces guesswork and emotional decisions.
- Price for value, not cost – outcomes drive profit, not hours.
- Increase value per client – it’s easier to grow from existing relationships than constantly chasing new ones.
- Cut low-value work – not all revenue is worth the effort it demands.
- Build profit into your systems – predictable profit comes from structure, not hope.
Get these right, and profit stops being something you wish for; it becomes something you design.
Take Action
You don’t need to work harder to make more money, you just need to focus on the right things.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start deliberately increasing profit, now is the right time to act.
Book your FREE Business Discovery Call with me and let’s uncover where profit is currently being left on the table.
How ActionCOACH Liverpool Helps Turn This Into Reality
Our Events
These principles are not theory.
They’re exactly what we work through in our in-person events.
Our full day 90-Day Planning sessions focus on getting you set up for each quarter and you leave with an effective, personalised action plan to implement in your business and your life.
At our monthly half-day Business Growth Masterclasses we work through ActionCOACH’s proven strategies and frameworks to get you set up for lasting success.
Business owners step out of the day-to-day, gain clarity on the numbers that truly matter, and build focused plans around profit, not panic.
Clarity replaces chaos. Plans replace pressure. Momentum replaces guesswork.
