Record sales year. More customers than ever. More projects than ever. Can't pay himself.

Your profit margins tell a different story than your revenue. Your financial performance measures wealth, not activity.

This is the Volume Trap. It destroys more businesses than any competitor ever could.

Here's the scenario: A business owner celebrates hitting $2 million in sales. He worked 70-hour weeks. Took every job. Beat every competitor's price.

His net profit? $75,000.

He made $18 per hour in a business he thought would create freedom. He's exhausted, frustrated, and trapped.

The question at the heart of every pricing decision: Should I sacrifice margin to gain volume, or protect my margins and do less work?

The answer almost always favors margin. But understanding why separates strategic thinking from desperation.

Your revenue growth means nothing if profit doesn't grow with it. Your business efficiency improves when you recognize that busy doesn't mean profitable.

You can't deposit revenue. You only deposit profit.

Most business owners chase revenue numbers because they're visible, measurable, impressive at cocktail parties. They believe "if I just get more customers, everything will work out."

It won't.

Your earnings improvement comes from margin-first thinking. From understanding that the purpose of business isn't to be busy-it's to create consistent profit that funds your desired lifestyle.

That remodeler who "made it up on volume"? He's working himself to death while destroying his margins, his time, and his sanity.

You're choosing differently. Margin over volume. Profit over activity. Freedom over exhaustion.

Business Owners hire Next Step CFO to double and triple their profit using business and financial strategies that their competition isn't doing.