If you could only achieve profit or revenue growth next year, which would you choose to focus on?
It’s just a theoretical question, but one to consider as you lock down your plans (for growth and profit) for the coming year.
How much do you plan to grow in 2026?
I find that growth comes easy for most entrepreneurs. They are hardwired for it.
Many companies in our Leader’s Edge peer groups will grow 10–15% without any special strategy, but the same cannot be said for profit improvement.
For this reason, I developed the following exercise.
The Profit vs Growth Exercise
It takes a couple hours with your management team:
- First spend 1 hour and flip chart all the actions and investments you would need to make to grow top-line revenue by 20% or more.
- Then spend 1 hour and flip chart all the decisions you would need to make to just grow the bottom line by 20% or more.
You will end up with two different lists to compare and contrast – for example:
Revenue list items → add sales rep, expand service area, launch marketing campaign, develop enhancement-sales strategy, etc.
Profit list items → raise minimum job size, restructure crews, tighten or centralize purchasing, eliminate unprofitable services, raise prices to keep up with inflation, etc.
Note, you will also end up with common strategies that will show up on both lists.
As a team, review your two lists and create the third list: common strategies that will grow both the top and the bottom line.
From this exercise you should be uncovering ideas to boost your performance, and also figuring out where your company should focus in order to get the biggest ROI on your efforts.
The Mystery of Growth
- Adding revenue does not always guarantee profit growth, however…
- Increasing efficiency and accountability to all items that drive profit will almost surely guarantee that top-line growth will follow.
Example: When you focus on maximizing billable hours (or controlling non-billable time) in a given week, you will make more money and your revenue will grow at the same time.
Caveat: This does not mean you should shun focusing on growth — far from it. We entrepreneurs live for growth and that’s how you change the world.
But listen to most any podcast from a wildly successful entrepreneur (or any Shark Tank episode) and you will also hear an emphasis on cost control and efficiency while scaling.
Your Challenge: Uncover the missed opportunities staring you in the face
Do this Profit/Growth exercise with your team, and also invite operational and sales people into the exercise to get their brains humming.
Your teammates will benefit from the discussion and you may be surprised who on your team comes up with the best ideas.
Let me know what you learned from doing this exercise.
What If Your Growth Is Stuck?
For some of you, you may have hit a growth plateau, in which case it’s a whole different story. You are looking for ways to jump-start growth.
There are certainly some big moves you may need to make. Hit me up if you need help.
Happy Holidays! Don’t forget the neediest this holiday season – be someone’s angel.
Regards, Jeffrey Scott!
P.S. Want more support on your growth journey?
We’re opening a few rare seats in our High-Impact Peer Groups for landscape business owners.
These groups meet this winter, and each has room for just 1–2 new members.
Winter Meeting Dates:
- Jan 27–29
- Feb 25–27
- March 4–6
- March 16–18
Holiday Incentive: If you register before December 31 you will save $1,000 on your 2026 membership.
