If you’re a business owner proudly clinging to that “perfect” 50% net profit margin like it’s a rare Pokémon card, I have news for you: it might be the very thing holding your business back.
I know, I know—somewhere along the way, online gurus told you that real entrepreneurs keep half of every dollar they earn, work from the beach, and achieve billionaire status by Tuesday. Cute story. But here in the real world, where family businesses, reinvented careers, and modern entrepreneurs fight actual fires (financial and emotional), that 50% margin becomes more of a ceiling than a trophy.
At Calculated Moves, we help business owners make more money, pay less taxes, and stop grinding themselves into dust over bookkeeping and spreadsheets. And one of the most misunderstood financial myths we crush daily is this idea that shrinking margins = failure. Spoiler: shrinking margins often mean growth, scale, and actual freedom—you know, that thing you started your business for in the first place.
Let’s get into why lower margins might be the healthiest thing your business ever experiences.
When you're small, 50% margins feel like magic. You’re agile, you wear every hat, and you’re keeping more because you’re doing everything.
But to scale?
To make real money?
To build a business you’re not handcuffed to?
You need help.
You need systems.
You need infrastructure.
You need to replace yourself with specialists who can do your tasks better, faster, and without needing therapy after.
That 50% is supposed to compress.
Dropping to 35%, even 25%, isn’t a failure—it’s maturity. It’s strategy. It’s the financial version of finally buying the ergonomic chair because your back deserves better.
Let’s play a quick game:
Would you rather make:
$100,000 in revenue and keep $50,000?
Or:
$1,000,000 in revenue and keep $250,000?
Exactly.
Lower margins on bigger numbers always beat higher margins on tiny numbers.
Math doesn’t lie—unlike business coaches who claim they scaled without losing a single percentage point.
As you grow, you should be replacing yourself with:
And guess what happens when you do that?
Your margins compress to 15–20%… which is exactly where the most successful businesses in the world operate.
Your 35%?
Still elite.
Compressed margins aren’t losses.
They’re investments.
Every percentage point you intentionally reinvest is building:
The entrepreneurs who win big are the ones who stop obsessing over margins and start obsessing over outcomes.
50% margins feel great in the beginning. But 25–30% on a massive, mature, scaled business?
That’s where sustainable wealth lives.
And if you want help playing the long game—without drowning in financial guesswork—Calculated Moves is here to take the heavy lifting (and the heavy spreadsheets) off your plate.
Because yes—you’ve got better things to do than crunch numbers.
Like building a business that doesn’t need you 24/7.
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Donna Bordeaux, CPA with Calculated Moves
Creativity and CPAs don’t generally go together. Most people think of CPAs as nerdy accountants who can’t talk with people. Well, it’s time to break that stereotype. Lively, friendly, and knowledgeable can be a part of your relationship with your CPA, as demonstrated by Donna and Chad Bordeaux. They have over 50 years of combined experience as entrepreneurial CPAs. They’ve owned businesses and helped business owners exceed their wildest dreams. They have been able to help businesses earn many times more profit than the average business in the same industry and are passionate about helping industries that help families build great memories.