Every business owner wants to grow. Bigger contracts, more clients, higher sales. But growth without profit is like a car with no fuel: it looks great in the driveway, but it’s not taking you anywhere.
Behind every sleepless night over payroll or every anxious look at the bank balance is the same truth: your business might be growing, but it’s not paying you back. For many small business owners, “busy” becomes the new definition of success, even when the money isn’t following.
The path to fixing that starts with a simple shift in perspective: profit isn’t greedy—it’s survival. It’s the safety net, the freedom fund, the buffer between your ambition and burnout.
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.
Money solves problems—lack of it creates them
Rocky Lalvani, Certified Profit First Professional and founder of Profit Comes First, doesn’t mince words about why profit matters. “When you have money, you don’t really have problems,” he said. “Because money solves your problems.”
It’s a blunt truth most business owners don’t hear often enough. When your business generates healthy profit, everything else gets easier. “If you’ve got a marketing problem, money allows you to get better professionals and to spend more on marketing,” Rocky explained. “If you’ve got a management problem, you don’t have people to do stuff for you so that you have freedom—money allows you to hire A-players.”
Profit is what buys you time to think, room to breathe, and the capacity to plan instead of react. When you have cash in reserve, downturns are inconvenient, not catastrophic. “If we go into a recession or things are a little bit down… money allows you to get through the down times,” Rocky said.
Revenue doesn’t equal reward
It’s easy to confuse growth with progress. You hit new revenue goals, your team expands, your name spreads. But if expenses rise faster than income, you’re running harder for the same paycheck—or worse.
“Most business owners spend all their time focused on one thing—increasing revenue,” Rocky said. “And sometimes, when you increase revenue, you might actually decrease profit and cash flow.”
More sales means more overhead, more stress, and often more debt. Without a profit discipline, success can quietly morph into struggle. The antidote? A mindset shift from “How much are we selling?” to “How much are we keeping?”
Profit first: how to keep more of what you earn
“The best way to get money is to make it inside your business,” Rocky said. “That means you’re profitable.” That might sound obvious, but too many owners treat profit like a luxury that comes after everything else is paid.
Rocky’s challenge flips that logic: build profit into the system from the start. By setting aside a fixed percentage of every dollar that comes in—before paying expenses—you force your business to operate sustainably. Tools like Relay make this easy, letting you automatically move funds into profit, tax, and expense accounts so you always know what’s truly available to spend.
“When your business has cash, you can finally do what you went into business for—freedom,” Rocky said. That freedom starts with visibility. By separating money into clear, purpose-driven accounts, you can see your profits, taxes, and operating cash all at a glance.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services 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
Revenue is exciting. It’s visible, measurable, and flattering to talk about. But profit is what keeps the lights on, the team paid, and the stress manageable. Growth is optional—profit is not.
Start with the metric that matters most. Build profit into your system, and you’ll build a business that works for you, not the other way around.
Watch the full webinar with Rocky Lalvani to learn how to turn your business into a true money-making machine.
Next in the money-making machine series
👉 How to Find What’s Really Holding Your Business Back — You’ve built momentum—now it’s time to figure out what’s slowing it down. In Part 2, Rocky Lalvani breaks down how to diagnose the hidden issues inside your business machine and fix them before you scale.
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 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’s the main difference between profit and revenue?
A: Revenue is the total money coming in; profit is what’s left after expenses—and it’s the only metric that measures financial health.
Q: How can I make sure my business stays profitable each month?
A: Automate profit allocations and monitor real-time balances with a tool like Relay’s multi-account structure.
Q: Why does focusing on revenue alone create risk?
A: Because without profit, you can’t build reserves, invest in growth, or weather slow seasons—revenue without profit is just busyness.
Relay is a financial technology company and is not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services 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.
