Business is a lonely place. So we got 20 business owners in a room to fix that.

We're still buzzing after our profit and planning day. Twenty business owners traveled from all over the country to spend the day in a room with us in Auckland.

And funnily enough, most of them weren't Aucklanders. Which raises an interesting question: are the regions hungrier, or are they just less serviced by our industry? Either way, they showed up ready to learn.

Business Is Lonely

One comment stuck with us. A business owner told us over dinner: "Business is a lonely place." He said the podcast made him realise he wasn't alone in his struggles - but sitting in a room with 20 other owners, being vulnerable about their challenges, took it to another level entirely.

We had people admit their biggest goal was simply getting into the top tax bracket - meaning they weren't earning $180K yet. That takes guts to say out loud in a room full of "successful" business owners. But it mattered, because it stripped away the comparison trap. Everyone's running a different race.

The Real Numbers Behind "Success"

Here's an uncomfortable truth we hammered home: most business owners aren't paying themselves a fair market salary for the risk and effort they put in. If they were, they'd easily be earning $200-300K a year. Instead, they're in grind mode, reinvesting everything, hoping the payoff comes later.

We want business owners to feel comfortable saying "I want to make more money" without shame. That's not greed, that's fair compensation for the risk you're carrying.

Know Your Numbers (Without the Boredom)

We walked through profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow forecasting, the "boring accounting 101" stuff. But the engagement was next level. 

The biggest lightbulb moment? Gross profit in percentage terms. So many business owners say "I make 30% margin" without knowing if that's good or bad. When we showed them their own historical data "you did 45% two years ago, now you're at 30%" the room went quiet. That's when people start understanding the levers they can actually pull.

One person summed it up perfectly: "I can increase my gross profit and not need to sell as much, but make just as much." That's the whole game right there.

Turnover Doesn't Matter If There's No Margin

We need to keep saying this until it sticks: a business turning over $50,000 a month at 40% gross profit is infinitely better than one turning over a million dollars a month with negative gross profit.

Chasing sales growth without margin is a fast track to broke. You can have an eight-figure business and still owe the IRD everything you've got if your margin doesn't stack up.

No Excuses, Just Ownership

Here's what impressed us most: across 12 hours together, there was almost no talk about the war, the election, the OCR, or the economy being tough. When we asked what their biggest business risk was, not one person blamed external factors. Every single risk raised was internal and controllable.

That's the mindset shift that separates business owners who get ahead from those who stay stuck complaining.

What's Next

We're doing this again, possibly over two days next time. We sold out at 20 spots within 6 weeks and had people missing out. If you want in on the next one, keep an eye on our socials.

We also run a live Know Your Numbers workshop on the 29th of July for $100 plus GST. Two hours, fully interactive, with a replay if you can't make it live, you can find more info on that here: https://nextadvisory.kartra.com/checkout/webinar .

The bottom line: business ownership doesn't have to be lonely, and profitability doesn't have to be a mystery. You just need the right room, the right numbers, and the willingness to own your outcomes.

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This article is based on insights from the Next Advisory podcast, where Luke and Phil help New Zealand business owners navigate economic challenges and build better businesses. Visit nextadvisory.nz to find out how we can help you.

Checkout more of our blog content at https://nextadvisory.nz/podcast