High top-line revenue is a vanity metric if it doesn't translate to profit. By setting a high margin target (e.g., 80%+) and enforcing it through pricing and cost management, you ensure the business is sane and profitable, not just busy.

Chasing a top-line revenue goal like "$1 million" is a vanity metric. A business earning $1M at a 5% margin nets only $50,000 for the owner. The focus should be on maximizing profit percentage, not just the revenue number, to build a sustainable and rewarding enterprise.

The tension between growth and profitability is best resolved by understanding your product's "runway" (be it 6 months or 6 years). This single piece of information, often misaligned between teams and leadership, should dictate your strategic focus. The key task is to uncover this true runway.

To scale revenue quickly, avoid low-price/high-volume 'rabbits' and high-price/low-volume 'elephants'. A mid-market 'deer' strategy, centered on a ~$10,000 transaction, provides the optimal balance of deal size, sales cycle length, and customer volume for rapid growth.

Aggregate profitability can mask serious issues. A company's positive bottom line might be propped up by one highly profitable offer while another "bestseller" is actually losing money on every sale. This requires a granular, per-product profitability analysis to uncover.

Escape the trap of chasing top-line revenue. Instead, make contribution margin (revenue minus COGS, ad spend, and discounts) your primary success metric. This provides a truer picture of business health and aligns the entire organization around profitable, sustainable growth rather than vanity metrics.

Constantly delivering custom solutions is inefficient and destroys profitability. Instead, define a standardized, repeatable service package that can be sold and delivered consistently, maintaining high margins and simplifying operations.

Audit your revenue streams to distinguish 'busy revenue' (high-effort, soul-sucking work) from 'aligned revenue' (energizing, sustainable systems). Focusing on growing aligned revenue, even if it means restructuring or eliminating profitable but draining streams, is key to a sustainable business model.

Use gross margin as a quick filter for a new business idea. A low margin often indicates a lack of differentiation or true value-add. If a customer won't pay a premium, it suggests they have alternatives and you're competing in a commoditized space, facing inevitable margin compression.