Hello friend,
Here’s what I’ve been thinking about…
Most founders are masochists.
They’ll build a business that makes millions in revenue but pays them less than a mid-level product manager at Shopify.
Worse?
They’ll tell themselves it’s normal.
That the margin will come “someday.”
That scale will solve it.
Nope.
The real answer; the one nobody wants to say out loud is this:
You built the wrong kind of business.
I’ve done it too.
I’ve run low-margin agencies that grew fast, burned cash, and nearly killed me.
I’ve also run high-margin, boring-as-hell SaaS companies that printed money while I was skiing with my kids.
This post is about the difference.
If you’re tired of chasing revenue and want to build a business that actually makes you rich, keep reading.
Let’s get specific.
A high-margin business is one where:
It’s the kind of business that feels like cheating.
You don’t need a huge team.
You don’t need to raise money.
You just need to avoid the urge to be cool.
Years ago, I ran a service business with $10M in revenue and barely six figures in profit.
It looked impressive from the outside.
Big office.
Dozens of employees.
Fortune 500 clients.
But the second something went sideways; a missed project, a slow quarter, we’d be staring at our bank balance like it owed us something.
Then I acquired a weird little SaaS company doing $600K/year with two people.
It made $400K in profit.
That was the moment I knew.
Let me guess:
Cool.
Also terrible idea.
Unless you love stress and dilution, avoid:
These might be great for brand building.
They’re not great for wealth.
Here’s where I’d look if I were starting from scratch today:
Want an example?
Check out I Made $20,303 Power Washing Driveways.
That wasn’t just about power washing.
It was about finding margin in boring places no one else looks.
Everyone talks about leverage: code, capital, content.
But margin is the forgotten one.
It gives you:
A high-margin business lets you screw up and still win.
A low-margin one demands perfection just to survive.
Guess which one is more fun to run?
You know what’s better than a one-time sale?
A sale that pays you… forever.
High-margin recurring revenue is the holy grail.
It means:
A few of my businesses do this.
Those are the ones I never think about.
Margins die when you:
I see this all the time in founders who “made it.”
They get comfortable.
Then suddenly, they’re working harder and making less.
If you’re not actively protecting your margin, it’s slipping away.
Let’s play a game.
Which business would you rather own?
Most people chase Business A because it looks better on LinkedIn.
But Business B lets you:
That’s what I mean by healthy and sustainable margin.
If someone tells you they’re doing $5M in ARR, ask this:
“Cool, what’s your net margin?”
Watch them squirm.
The reality is most founders inflate revenue and ignore expenses.
They forget that the goal isn’t growth; it’s wealth.
Here’s what I look for when evaluating a company:
If it checks those boxes, I lean in.
If it doesn’t, I run.
One of my favorite acquisitions was a company that sold practice management software for funeral homes.
Yes. Funeral homes.
That business changed my financial life.
And nobody even knew I owned it.
This is the game.
Find what everyone ignores.
Don’t want to start from scratch?
Buy a high-margin business.
That’s what I do now.
I rarely build anything anymore.
Instead, I find:
Then I write a check and get out of the way.
For more on how I think about deals, check out: A $3,600 Keyboard and a $66 Million Dollar Investment
You don’t always need to start over.
You might just need to:
Margin isn’t static.
You can earn it back with discipline.
If you’re evaluating a business idea, ask:
Is it recurring?
Can I deliver it with 1–2 people?
Can I charge a lot for it?
Does each new customer make things better, not worse?
Can I run it from my laptop in 2 hours a day?
If it’s yes across the board, you’re onto something.
High-margin businesses are calm businesses.
They don’t scream for your attention.
They don’t make headlines.
They don’t need 40 employees and a COO by year two.
But they give you margin; in money, time, and life.
If you're building something new, start here.
If you're stuck in low-margin hell, claw your way out.
Trust me; you’ll never go back.
Get Your Copy of Never Enough at https://www.neverenough.com/
— Andrew
