"Built a £2M Business. Forgot to Pay Himself."
- Keith "Numbers" McDougall
- May 22
- 2 min read
A tragic tale of vanity, sanity — and absolutely no liquidity.
You’ve heard it before — probably from that bloke who once owned a car valeting business for 6 weeks in 2009. "Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity." He swirled his pint, looked smug, and dropped the line like he’d just quoted Einstein.
And to be fair, he wasn’t completely wrong.
But here’s the thing: if profit is sanity, then cash flow is your actual heartbeat. And if your business runs out of cash, you’re not mad — you’re dead.
Let’s Break It Down, Pub Style
Turnover (Vanity): That’s the big number you brag about.“We’re doing £2 million a year, mate!” Sounds impressive, especially over a lukewarm lager. But if you’re spending £1.995 million to make that £2 million? That’s 50 grand to cover wages, rent, and your habit of ordering Uber Eats in the office four times a week. Good luck.
Profit (Sanity): This is what’s left after the dust settles. If turnover is your flex, profit is your reality check. No point doing huge numbers if you’re not banking anything. That’s like saying you run marathons, but you never finish one.
Cash Flow (King): Here’s where it gets real. You can be profitable on paper and still have the bailiffs sniffing around next week. Because until someone actually pays you, that profit is just a number on a spreadsheet. Ever tried paying HMRC with a profit forecast? Yeah… doesn’t go down well.
The Grim Reality: Profitable but Busted
Loads of businesses go bust every year while technically showing a profit. Why? Because they can’t pay their bills on time. Clients are slow to pay. Overheads don’t wait. The VAT man definitely doesn’t.
Being "profitable" doesn't pay the wages if the money isn’t in the bank. That’s the kind of thing your mate down the pub forgets when he’s talking margins over pints and pork scratchings.
Quick Reality Check:
Here’s what matters when running a real business:
You can survive a bad month of profits.
You can’t survive running out of cash.
If your cash flow is screwed, your lights go out. Game over. Doesn’t matter how big your turnover is or how sexy your profit margins look.
Wise Words to Take Home (And Not Just From the Pub)
"Revenue is vanity.Profit is sanity.But cash flow? That’s the difference between a business and a bankruptcy."
So next time someone tosses out that old line in a networking event or pub garden, give 'em a nod, then add the bit they missed:
“Yeah, but cash flow’s king, mate. And kings don’t wait to get paid.”
Now drink up — your invoice is still overdue.
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But if you’ve got real experience, a bit of wisdom, and a burning desire to help a confused business owner stop bragging about turnover while quietly going bust — we should talk.
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