10/19/2026
This might ruffle some feathers, but...revenue is a cocktail party vanity number and is the biggest liar in the room. 🥂
I recently shared this sentiment in my client newsletter, and it certainly created some debate, but honestly, it’s my opinion and I’m standing by it, ten toes down.
When I see groups boasting about revenue or year-over-year growth, I try not to roll my eyes in public.
Yes, those are things that can be celebrated, but they’re not the entire picture of a healthy business.
👉👉👉 Instead, the number one thing I drill down on when working with a new client is net income.
Do they have healthy margins?
Do they pay themselves a salary?
A business that has $20M in sales and $500k in net income is more difficult to run and manage than an organization that has $1M in sales and $500k in net income.
And that 200% revenue increase year-over-year is not that impressive to me if you took on a mountain of debt and have no clear path to pay it back.
Don’t get me wrong...I love revenue! It makes the whole operation go.
But revenue is not the measuring stick for success.
It’s not as cocktail-worthy, but gross profit, managing expenses, and delivering repeatable net income year after year, that’s where it’s at.
Have you ever overheard the revenue chatter (or participated in it yourself 😊)?