Every business owner dreams of hitting that sweet spot where growth finally feels sustainable—where the business runs smoothly, pays well, and doesn’t rely on late-night panic to keep things moving. For most owners, however, that equilibrium never seems to last. You fix one problem and another pops up.
Here’s the thing: business isn’t chaos. It just feels that way when you can’t see how the pieces connect. Once you understand how your business actually makes money, you can start pulling the right levers—the small, deliberate adjustments that add up to lasting profit.
This post draws on insights shared by Rocky Lalvani, Certified Profit First Professional and founder of Profit Comes First, in a webinar with Relay. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply.
Every Business Has the Same Parts
Rocky Lalvani, Certified Profit First Professional and founder of Profit Comes First, explains that profitability isn’t mysterious—it’s mechanical. “Every business is made up of the same parts,” he said. “Each part of your business has a job in what it needs to do to make money.”
Think of it like a car. The make and model might differ, but every vehicle has wheels, an engine, a steering system, and brakes. “If one breaks, the system stops working,” Rocky said. The same is true for your business.
Whether you sell services, products, or expertise, your “machine” relies on a few universal systems: sales and marketing to generate revenue, operations to deliver value, and finance to manage and distribute cash.
The 16 Parts That Power Every Business Machine
Once you know how those parts connect, you can stop guessing and start adjusting. That’s where Rocky’s full framework comes in. When he breaks down how a business really makes money, he doesn’t start with strategy—he starts with mechanics.
He sorts them into three systems: revenue, profit, and cash flow. Each system has levers you can measure and improve.
Parts that drive revenue:
Leads – How many potential customers you attract.
Conversion rate – How effectively those leads become sales.
Retention rate – How long customers keep buying from you.
Purchase frequency rate – How often they come back.
Average transaction value – How much they spend each time.
Parts that drive profit:
Cost of goods – What it costs to deliver your product or service.
Marketing expenses – How efficiently you’re turning spend into results.
Payroll expenses – Whether your team’s output matches your investment.
Overhead expenses – The cost of keeping the lights on.
Other income/expenses – Anything outside core operations that affects your bottom line.
Parts that drive cash flow:
Accounts receivable – How quickly you get paid.
Accounts payable – How strategically you pay others.
Inventory – How much cash is sitting on your shelves.
Sale or purchase of assets – How large moves affect your liquidity.
Using or paying down debt – The balance between leverage and risk.
Owner investments or distributions – How money moves between you and the business.
Sixteen levers, three systems, one goal: to keep the machine running smoothly.
Fix What’s Stuck Before You Add More Fuel
Many business owners mistake acceleration for progress—more sales, more clients, more marketing spend. Adding fuel doesn’t help, however, if the engine’s out of whack.
“There aren’t that many moving pieces, which is good,” Rocky said. “Once you understand how they fit together, you can make small changes that have a big impact.”
That might mean raising prices to match your true costs, tightening how and when you collect payments, or setting aside profit first so you can see what’s truly available to spend. Each tweak amplifies every other system’s performance.
Small Adjustments That Create Big Freedom—and Profit
Rocky likes to remind owners that profit isn’t just a financial goal; it’s a lifestyle enabler. “You can grow, buy equipment, get rid of debt, go on vacation, or finally pay yourself first—that’s what your business should enable you to do,” he said.
Once you’ve repaired the machine, it’s time to fine-tune it. That might mean running leaner, automating a few processes, or delegating work that keeps you stuck in the weeds.
Relay’s multi-account setup makes that discipline practical—you can assign each dollar a job and let automation do the rest. That structure turns profit from a goal into a habit.
The point isn’t to overhaul everything overnight—it’s to make small, strategic moves that compound over time. Profit grows fastest when your systems work together instead of against each other.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply.
The Takeaway
Profitability isn’t luck or timing, it’s engineering. Every business has levers, and learning how to pull them with intention is how you build stability, freedom, and long-term wealth.
As Rocky puts it: “Once you know how these parts work, we can figure out where the parts aren’t working—and do something about it.”
That’s the essence of a money-making machine: simple systems, running smoothly, creating profit by design, not by accident.
Earlier in the Money-Making Machine Series
👉 Why Profit Is the Only Metric That Really Matters — Why chasing revenue without profit keeps your business stuck.
👉 How to Find What’s Really Holding Your Business Back — How to diagnose what’s broken before scaling.
This post is part of our three-part series exploring how to turn your business into a system that creates consistent profit, not stress.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply.
FAQ
Q: What are the main levers that increase business profitability?
A: Profit comes from tuning the 16 parts of your business across revenue, profit, and cash flow—things like leads, pricing, expenses, and collections. Once you know which lever is stuck, you can fix it.
Q: How do small changes improve profit so quickly?
A: Each improvement compounds—like better margins or faster collections—so systems tuned together multiply profit.
Q: How can I measure which part of my business is most profitable?
A: Use separate accounts or reporting tools to track cash flow by category. Relay’s visibility tools make it easy to see which levers deliver the biggest impact.
Q: How often should I review my financial levers?
A: At least quarterly. Regular reviews help you catch inefficiencies early and reinforce good habits before growth magnifies issues.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services are provided by Thread Bank, Member FDIC. FDIC deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply.
