Estimated Read Time: 6 mins

Hey Profit First Champions

This week, we're tackling one of the most powerful exercises a business owner can do: financial visioning and reverse engineering your dream life through your business. The goal? To help you reimagine your business model, challenge old assumptions, and intentionally design a business that funds your ideal lifestyle—not just pays the bills. 

Let’s break it down. 

Why business owners rarely achieve time and money freedom 

The trap of traditional business growth models 

How to reverse engineer your ideal profit 

Using financial modelling to ask better questions 

The role of Profit First in turning vision into reality 

When you first start your business, it’s usually to gain more time and money freedom. Yet, the reality is that most business owners—regardless of revenue—end up with neither. Many don’t pay themselves enough and get stuck in the daily grind. 

Even with a turnover of hundreds of thousands, owners often take home far less than they need to live their dream lifestyle. Why? Because they’ve never intentionally calculated what that lifestyle costs—and how their business can support it. 

If you haven’t increased prices in over a year, you’re giving a silent discount—especially with rising costs.

Clients won’t flee over a small, fair increase. In fact, they expect it.

One key coaching exercise involves asking: "How much do you want to earn to live your ideal life?" 

List your lifestyle goals—housing, holidays, pensions, family support—and cost them out. Then ask: 

What profit does my business need to generate to give me that?

Only once you know this number can you start to reverse-engineer your business model to support it. 

Let’s say you currently run a £300K business with 10% profit (£30K). What if you wanted £90K instead? 

Under Profit First, we flip the equation to: 

Revenue – Profit = Expenses

That would leave £210K to run the business. Most business owners think, "That’s not possible!" But with financial modelling, you ask: what if it was? You reimagine pricing, cost structure, and business model to make it happen. 

This isn’t about drastic cost-cutting. It’s about strategic redesign. 

Most owners stay stuck because they don’t ask the right questions. 

The magic of Profit First lies in forcing you to ask: 

What must be true for this profit to be possible? 

Could my business model be leaner, simpler, or more scalable? 

What changes would I make if I were starting from scratch today? 

By shifting focus from “can I afford this?” to “how can I afford this?”, everything changes. 

You don’t need a perfect plan right away. Start with the visualization—see the life you want and assign a number to it. 

Then work backwards using Profit First principles and get help from someone who’s walked this path before. 

Your business can fund the life you dream about—if you start being intentional. 

Block 20 minutes in your calendar this week. Use it to think intentionally about: 

What lifestyle you really want 

What profit that lifestyle requires 

What business model could make that happen 

If you do this regularly—and especially if you get support—you’re 10x more likely to succeed. Add accountability, and that figure jumps to 50x. 

You don’t need to double your business to double your profit. 

You need to start with the end in mind, ask better questions, and apply the Profit First system as your financial roadmap. 

Need help doing this for your business? We’re always happy to chat. 

Until next week—keep putting Profit First! 

Profit First Accountant & Business Coach 

We Are Gro Accountants