The Millionaire Contractor Coach™

Saturday Newsletter

February 28, 2026

Read on my website ⏱️ Read Time: 2 minutes 10 seconds

Your Gross Profit Margin Should Be a Number You Know as Well as Your Birthday

I was keynoting a conference and asked for a volunteer from the audience. A gentleman who ran a $30 million company came forward.

I promised I wouldn't embarrass him. He looked skeptical. Smart man.

"What was your gross profit margin over the last 12 months?"

He said it was "around 30%."

Around. That word told me everything.

If your wife asks when your anniversary is, "around June" is not the right answer. Same goes for your gross profit margin.

For a $30 million company, every 1% of gross profit margin equals $300,000.

He was not making a million dollars a year personally.

My clients typically see a 3% to 5% improvement in their gross profit margin. For him, that's $900,000 to $1.5 million. Enough to make him a Millionaire Contractor this year.

You could see the math hit him in real time.

So, I walked him through the three levers of gross profit margin.

Lever 1: Pricing

"Could you get 1% better pricing on your jobs?"

He thought for a moment, then nodded. Yes, he could.

Lever 2: Labor

"Could you do 1% better on labor?"

He pushed back. "Labor is the biggest challenge in contracting."

"But do you ever have a job that takes longer than it should? Something that took 7 days instead of 5?"

He said yes.

"Then there's at least 1% in efficiency to be gained."

He agreed.

Lever 3: Materials

"Could you improve materials by 1%?"

He shook his head. "Not likely. We shop around for the best prices. We have excellent vendor relationships."

"Do you ever have waste on the jobsite?"

He immediately nodded. "Waste can be as much as 3% to 5%."

There it was. Three levers. Three percent. $900,000.

In less than five minutes, the room went from skeptics to believers. After the keynote, I had a line of owners waiting to speak with me.

Here's the lesson: if you don't measure the number exactly, you'll miss out on hundreds of thousands in profit already sitting on your P&L.

You can't improve what you don't know. And "around" is not knowing.

The Gross Profit Margin is the most important number for every Contractor. By mastering it, I want you to keep more of what you earn. I love revenue growth as much as the next guy, but unlocking $900K already in your business is more powerful than creating another dollar. If you want to learn how to better connect field and finance, than join me in #TampaMay.

Join Us in Tampa

Jerry Aliberti and I are teaching contractors how to find and fix their margin leaks at From Builder to CEO: The Cash Flow Accelerator Summit in Tampa this May.

30 contractors. No competitors. Just colleagues ready to stop leaving money on the table.

Note: Early Bird Ends Today Reserve Your Seat Now.

[Save Your Spot Today →]

Patrick Shurney, MBA | The Millionaire Contractor Coach™

Helping Contractors Become Bankable, Bondable, & Capital-Ready

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About Me:

As a veteran in financial coaching with over 30 years of corporate banking experience, my mission is to help you become a Millionaire Contractor by mastering just 7 numbers so you can keep more of what you earn and build generational wealth.

Ready for More?

Here’s how I can help you:

1. Profit Blueprint Program: Get your finances sorted and build out a 3-year financial roadmap in the next 30 days.

2. Loan Consulting: Get Bank Ready. With 30+ years of banking experience, I’ll make sure you're ready to approach lenders with a winning loan package.