01
Move price before you cut cost
A small price increase drops straight to contribution margin. An equivalent cost cut usually takes months and damages something.
Business playbook · 10 tactics
10 Levers That Move a Small Business Bottom Line
Price, retention and unit economics beat cost-cutting almost every time.
02
Compute contribution margin per unit first
Until you know price minus variable cost, you cannot tell whether more volume helps or simply loses money faster.
03
Halve churn before doubling acquisition
Retention compounds into lifetime value. Acquisition spend multiplies whatever your economics already are, including the bad ones.
04
Measure CAC on total sales and marketing cost
Ad spend alone understates acquisition cost, often by half, because salaries, tools and agency fees are real.
05
Use gross-margin lifetime value, never revenue
Revenue LTV flatters every business ever modelled. Only margin funds the next customer.
06
Watch CAC payback alongside the ratio
A healthy ratio with an eighteen-month payback still consumes cash faster than most companies can fund.
07
Convert every finance offer to APR
Factor rates, discount rates and daily holdbacks are deliberately incomparable. One number ends the confusion.
08
Audit cloud egress and idle environments quarterly
Bandwidth and forgotten test environments are the two lines that grow without anyone deciding they should.
09
Invoice on shorter terms before financing receivables
Moving from sixty to thirty day terms is free. Factoring the same invoices is not.
10
Track a maximum of five measures
Twenty indicators is the same as none, because nothing gets acted on. Pick the five that change decisions.
Put it to work
Calculators for these tactics
Business & Tech
Break-Even Point Calculator
Units and revenue needed to cover fixed costs, plus margin of safety.
Business & TechCAC & LTV Calculator
Customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and the ratio investors ask about.
Business & TechROI & Payback Calculator
Return, annualised return and payback period for any investment or project.
Business & TechInvoice Factoring Cost Calculator
The true annualised cost of factoring, which the headline discount rate hides.
Business & TechBusiness Loan & Credit Line True Cost Calculator
Converts factor rates and daily repayments into an APR you can actually compare.
Business & TechHosting & Cloud Cost Calculator
Monthly infrastructure spend across compute, bandwidth, storage and support.
Estimates, not advice. Every figure here is produced from the inputs you enter and the formula printed on the page. Rules differ by state, carrier, lender and contract, so use these numbers to prepare for a conversation with a qualified professional rather than to replace one. See our full disclaimer.