Your business could make $10M/year and you might still pull in less profit than another operator doing half your revenue.
And when I see a lower-revenue operator pull in more profit, it almost always comes down to three specific decisions.
1. Hiring Global talent instead of all-American
If you want my suggestions, then Brazil has some of the best marketers I've seen, & South Africa has some of the most diligent operators & strongest culture fits. Hiring globally usually means paying someone 2-3x what they'd make locally & still getting elite talent for a fifth of what an American hire costs. Life-changing money for them, margin unlock for the business.
2. Building a personal brand instead of relying entirely on ads
Ads are one of the biggest expenses for info businesses running at scale. The fix is just building a personal brand that generates organic leads on top of paid traffic.
Once you stop relying entirely on paid, the margin math changes completely.
3. Deploying cash instead of leaving it in the company
This is not just for info operators but there are too many people who leave millions sitting in the business account for a “rainy day”. You don't need millions sitting there.
Be smart with reserves, and deploy the rest. Stock investments, safe vehicles, private investments. Cash sitting still is one of the biggest margin levers operators leave untouched.
In the end, having a big business doesn't mean you have a good business. Don’t be afraid to run the version of your business that pays you more even if it looks smaller from the outside.