This Week in the Profit First Club Estimated Read Time: 3 mins   Hi everyone, It’s Stephen Edwards from Gro Profit First Accountants, and welcome to this week’s Profit First Accountant Newsletter! This week, I want to talk about something many business owners overlook—strategy. We love talking about Profit First systems, bank accounts, cash flow, and profitability, but none of it truly matters if you’ve got the wrong business model or strategy underneath it all. Key Topics This Week: Why Profit First won’t fix a broken strategy Real client story: £1m revenue, but no profit How to rethink your model to create true freedom Strategy First, Then Systems You might love Profit First (like we do!), but it’s not a magic fix. If your business model isn’t viable, Profit First won’t suddenly make it profitable. We recently worked with a client in the e-commerce space turning over £1 million—but after fulfilment fees, stock costs, and overheads, he was left with a meagre £13,000 in profit. And that’s before catching up on debts and HMRC liabilities. Here’s the reality: you don’t have a £1 million business if you’re only keeping £80,000 before overheads. That’s an £80k business in disguise. This isn’t about embarrassment—it’s about clarity. If you're just moving money around for other people, Profit First helps reveal that. But before we even get to creating pots, you must understand if your strategy works on paper. Because if it doesn’t work there, it won’t work in the real world either. What Should You Do? Ask yourself: Is your current business model giving you the income and freedom you want? Is it even capable of doing that? Are you reviewing your business strategy annually or still stuck in survival mode? We encourage all clients to revisit their vision and model regularly. In fact, we're running a free business planning workshop for existing clients before Christmas to help you prep for 2026. If you’re not a client yet but want to explore this, just drop me a line. Final Thoughts: Don’t Wait for a Crisis You don’t need to wait for a pandemic or economic downturn to change your strategy. Take control now. Be proactive. Whether you need a total pivot or just a small tweak, reviewing your strategy could be the most profitable decision you make this year. If you’d like a Profit Assessment to benchmark your model and see what’s working (or what’s not), reply to this email and let’s chat.   Until next time, Stephen EdwardsProfit First Accountant & Business Coach stephen@cheltenhamtaxaccountants.co.ukGro Profit First Accountants