We Help 7-Figure Service Businesses Add 20% Profit Margin In 6 Months, Guaranteed (Without Selling More)

The Business

Justin started Cornerstone at 19, mowing lawns for his neighbor. About 15 years later it is a landscaping company in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle with about 26 employees and 3,000 to 5,000 clients, plus a landscape supply yard and an outdoor power equipment store. Revenue: over $3 million a year.

Before

Success meant top-line revenue. “We would just grow to grow.” Money decisions came from the bank balance: “if I had a hundred grand in the bank, we were good.” In his words, “if we were making 3 million we were spending 3 million and 20,000.” In one week’s numbers: “we made 50,000 this week and spent 60.” Payroll was tight, and “we prayed to make payroll.” Justin told his team they could close the business, or “grab this thing and hold on tight.”

What We Did

Justin read Profit First and had his CFO, Sherry, read it too. They came to Abby at the end of 2023 for help putting it in and sticking to it. Now every time money is allocated, a little profit is set aside first. They built a reserve account they call the “ant stash,” went through every cost (“do we really need this?”), and opened the books to the team with weekly flash reports and quarterly profit sharing.

The Results

Over 2 years, profit set aside grew from 1% to about 4%, and the business now runs at about a 10% margin, up from negative. Matterhorn’s chart shows profit going from −$22,000 to +$250,000, and in late 2025 Justin expected to finish the year around $300,000 in profit. They hand out quarterly profit checks, payroll clears every week, and for the first time they go into winter with two months of payroll saved. “It saved our business.”

The Business

Dr. Shant Bedikian owns Sincere Smiles Dental, a dental practice doing $776,014 a year before Matterhorn.

Before

“Before I would really worry about how much would I have for taxes, how do I pay myself, how do I pay my team as far as a bonus.” On $776,014 in revenue, the practice kept $7,519 as profit.

What We Did

Profit First, run on set percentages for profit, owner pay, tax and operating costs, with an operating account he checks to see what needs tweaking. His team knows the targets too: “everyone now knows what the goals are… they even know… what to get the bonus too.”

The Results

Revenue rose 7.5%, to $834,211. Total profit rose 40.13%, from $101,202 to $141,817. Owner pay went from $65,226 to $83,421, bottom-line profit from $7,519 to $16,684, and tax set aside from $28,457 to $41,712. “It’s definitely taken us to the next level for sure.”

The Business

A private medical practice doing $671,512 a year before Matterhorn, and $1,231,704 in 2024. Matterhorn publishes the numbers without the owner’s name.

Before

On $671,512 of revenue, nothing was left as profit: $0. Owner pay took $260,390 (39% of revenue), tax $58,275 (9%), and running the practice $352,847 (53%). Counting owner pay and tax, total profit was $318,665.

What We Did

Every dollar is split the Profit First way, which is how the P&L is laid out: profit, owner pay, tax and operating costs each get their own share, and profit is paid first instead of being whatever is left at the end.

The Results

In 2024 the practice brought in $1,231,704. Profit went from $0 to $92,012, now 7% of revenue. Owner pay rose to $376,036, tax set aside rose to $145,940 (12%), and operating costs came down from 53% to 50% of revenue. Total profit rose from $318,665 to $613,988: $295,323 more, or 92.68%.

The Business

A contracting business doing $461,978 a year before Matterhorn. Matterhorn publishes the numbers without the owner’s name.

Before

On $461,978 of revenue, the business lost $74,388. Running costs ate $400,463, or 87 cents of every dollar. Owner pay was $117,383 and tax $18,519, so total profit, counting both, was $61,514.

What We Did

Every dollar is split the Profit First way, which is how the P&L is laid out: profit, owner pay, tax and operating costs each get their own share, and profit is paid first instead of being whatever is left at the end.

The Results

Revenue grew to $747,816, and running costs fell to 79% of it ($592,088). The bottom line went from a $74,388 loss to a $20,856 profit, owner pay rose to $121,228, and total profit went from $61,514 to $149,564, a 143% increase.

The Business

Dr. Mulay owns The Kidney Experts, a medical practice.

Before

Sleepless nights, and a business that did not yet comfortably cover the owner’s own cost of living.

What We Did

In Dr. Mulay’s words: “Business Basics - and their practical application. They will get you out of your comfort zone… There is a focus on removing bottle necks and simplifying things to the core basics.” And one question to run the practice by: “What metrics can you use to see where you are at right this minute?”

The Results

“The year isn’t over, but we’re already at 46.7% revenue growth over last year! We started working with Matterhorn in May of this year!”

The Business

A real estate photography business doing $486,050 a year before Matterhorn. Matterhorn publishes the numbers without the owner’s name.

Before

On $486,050 of revenue, there was $0 left as profit and $0 set aside for tax. Running costs took $428,224, or 88 cents of every dollar, and the owner was paid $57,826.

What We Did

Every dollar is split the Profit First way, which is how the P&L is laid out: profit, owner pay, tax and operating costs each get their own share, and profit is paid first instead of being whatever is left at the end.

The Results

Revenue grew to $725,502. Owner pay rose from $57,826 to $90,823, the business kept $9,582 as profit and set aside $7,573 for tax. Running costs came down to 85% of revenue. Total profit went from $57,826 to $107,979, an 86.73% increase.

The Business

Bobby (Robert) Paolini is a real estate agent and the author of “Good T.A.L.K. Great Sales.”

Before

“I didn’t even have a money problem. I was just trying to grow. I had more money flowing in than ever in my life.” In his written words: “Business had halted and I was stuck.”

What We Did

Abby “did the whole analysis on my expenses,” then set up Profit First so he could see what to spend and what to save: “something I could see and visualize.”

The Results

The first finding: “Did you know that you spent $65,000 more than you made last year?” Four months after hiring Matterhorn, he wrote: “my business has skyrocketed… My business has been booming ever since and better than any other time before.”

The Business

Dr. Erin Wadelin opened her own chiropractic practice, funded by a small business loan from the bank.

Before

A brand-new practice with a bank loan to pay off.

What We Did

She set up her Profit First accounts with Abby and Greg at the very start, and learned early “how important it was to pay myself a salary, even if it was a small one for the first few months.”

The Results

Two years in, over half the loan was paid back, “and it’ll keep going at that rate.”

The Business

Kaylin Ingram is a graphic designer who runs Kay Coastal Designs, and a new agency with Alicia.

Before

She was in a hole: “I quickly got out of that hole.” Her assessment with Abby “proved what we had already thought: I was overspending.”

What We Did

Abby showed her how to split her money into separate buckets and keep things organized, with profit taken first.

The Results

“It really saved Kay Coastal, like, became profitable instantly.” Her 5% profit paid for the computer she needed, and her new agency started on the same system. “It is so liberating just to KNOW!”