Profitability: How does your company make money?

HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY MAKE MONEY?

Accelerate your business with these expert tips on "how does your business make money? Analyse and discover this TIP!

Pn order for a business project to be financially viable, it is essential to understand how your business makes money. This can be explained through a simple diagram representing the money-making machine, using the example of a churro shop. When a churro is sold, the selling price P goes into the business and the unit variable cost V comes out. The margin left over (P-V) covers the fixed costs for the month, and as the month progresses the fixed costs are covered until a sales volume is reached from which the business starts to generate profits.

For the business to be profitable, three fundamental aspects need to be met

  1. First of all, for each sale the price must exceed the unit variable costs, and the contribution margin must be positive. This means that it is possible to earn the same amount by lowering the price when the customer is very price sensitive. If you are at low capacity, it may be worth lowering prices to grow, whereas if you are at maximum capacity, you should raise the price and reach the maximum price the market will allow with the least drain on scarce resources (the "bottleneck").
  2. Secondly, the sales volume to cover all fixed costs and make a profit must be reached. It is necessary to calculate how much needs to be sold to break even, and if the minimum sales volume to be achieved is too high a market share and impossible to reach, then the business is not viable. In this case, you will have to see how you can increase the margin and/or reduce fixed costs.
  3. Finally, it is necessary to recover the investment within a reasonable period of time, known as pay back. In startups we talk about KPIs (key performance indicators) and customer acquisition cost (CAC), which are important measures to ensure the economic viability of the business project. In short, understanding how your company makes money is essential to ensure its profitability and long-term economic viability.

How can chatgpt help me understand how a company makes money?

ChatGPT can help you understand how a business makes money by providing detailed information and clear explanations of the different components of the revenue generation and profitability process.

For example, it can answer specific questions on how the selling prices of the company's products or services are set, how variable and fixed costs are calculated, how the contribution margin is determined, how the break-even point is established, how return on investment is measured and how relevant KPIs are identified to measure the company's financial performance.

In addition, thehe Inteligencia Artificial (IA) can provide you with practical examples and case studies to illustrate how the revenue generation process works in different types of businesses and sectors. It can also help you understand how external factors, such as competition, market changes and economic trends, can affect your company's ability to generate revenues and profits.

IN SUMMARY

The Inteligencia Artificial (IA) can provide you with key information and insights into how the process of generating revenue and profitability works in a business, enabling you to make more informed and strategic decisions about your own business or entrepreneurial project.

In order to achieve the desired cost-effectiveness and economic viability (+) of your project, you must understand how your company makes money, and for this it is very practical to understand this simple scheme. We explain the money-making machine with the example of a "churro maker". When you sell a churro you get into the business the selling price P (3 euros), from your business comes out the unit variable cost V (1 euro flour, oil).

The leftover margin (P-V), falls into another container that represents all of your fixed costs for the month (2,000 euros rent, salary of the churro maker). As the days of the month go by, we manage to cover the fixed costs until you reach a sales volume from which your business starts to make a profit.

Conditions to be met for your project to be economically viable

First of all, you must correctly set the selling price (+).

WHO SETS THE SELLING PRICE OF MY PRODUCT / SERVICE?

The customer has other offers (your competition (see+)) to compare other prices. Think that your competition is already setting prices in the market and your customer knows them and you have to position your price in a coherent way.

FOR MY BUSINESS TO BE PROFITABLE, 3 FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS MUST BE FULFILLED:
  • In each sale the price has to overcome the variable costs (+) unit. Positive contribution margin. I can earn the same if I lower the price, when my customer is very price sensitive. 
    • If I am at low capacity (a lot of free time, arms folded...) it pays off for me lower prices to grow.
    • If I am at the maximum capacity.... should up priceto go to the maximum price that the market will allow me with the least wear and tear on my scarce resource ("bottleneck").
  • Reach the sales volume that allows me to cover all my fixed costs. To make a profit I have to exceed the CF for the month. How much do I have to sell to reach the break-even point (see+). If this minimum sales volume to be achieved is too high a market share that is impossible to reach.... we are not viable! We will have to see how I can increase the margin and/or reduce fixed costs.
  • I have to recoup the investment within a reasonable period of time: Pay back (see+). At startups we talk about KPIs and customer acquisition cost (CAC) (see+).

APPLY THIS TIP TO YOUR PROJECT

NOW THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS TIP, ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

  1. Do you know your contribution margin?
  2. How many sales do you have to make to make a profit?

CASE STUDY

A practical example of how a company makes money could be the case of an online clothing shop. When a customer makes a purchase in the shop, the selling price P goes into the business, while the unit variable cost V would be the cost of producing the garment and the cost of shipping. The margin left over (P-V) is what is left over to cover the fixed costs for the month, which may include marketing expenses, employee salaries and business overhead. As the shop sells more clothes, it covers the fixed costs and reaches a sales volume at which it begins to generate a profit.

For the shop to be profitable, it is essential that the selling price is appropriate and that it covers variable and fixed costs. The shop must also ensure that it reaches the sales volume necessary to cover all its fixed costs and generate a profit. If the shop cannot reach this minimum sales volume, it may be necessary to increase the margin or reduce fixed costs to improve its profitability.

In a nutshell, understanding how a company makes money is fundamental to ensuring its profitability and economic viability. It is necessary to set the right selling price, ensure that the contribution margin is positive and reach the sales volume needed to cover all fixed costs and generate profits.

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Picture of Jaime Cavero

Jaime Cavero

Presidente de la Aceleradora mentorDay. Inversor en startups e impulsor de nuevas empresas a través de Dyrecto, DreaperB1 y mentorDay.
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COMENTARIOS

  1. José Luis Prieto Calviño

    Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

  2. Paul Lejarza

    I agree that the conditions to be met for a project to be viable must be technically, commercially, economically and financially viable. In addition to the common sense approach that a project feasibility study brings to project planning.

  3. John

    I would like to know how to calculate these values with cloud services. Calculate my break-even point

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rentabilidad como gana dinero empresa

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