Is Overhead Really Killing Your Margin — Or Are You Just Underpricing?

You feel like you're working harder than ever. Projects are moving, the team is busy, and revenue’s coming in.

But at the end of the month, the margin just isn’t there. Again.

So you ask yourself:

“Is our overhead killing us?”

Maybe.

But what if the real issue is your pricing?

Let’s break it down.

Overhead: The Easy Target

When profits shrink, overhead is the first thing that gets the blame—and sometimes for good reason.

Office rent, software subscriptions, admin salaries, equipment leases… All those costs add up, especially when business scales quickly but inefficiently.

But here's a question worth asking:

Did this overhead appear out of nowhere—or did we build it ourselves?

Most overhead isn’t accidental. It's a result of our choices, expectations, and the systems we think we need to operate. That full-time coordinator? That upgraded CRM? That leased truck? They all made sense at the time.

Overhead doesn’t usually kill businesses.

Unmeasured overhead does.

And here’s something that happens in almost every growing or busy business:

You start saying things like “It’s just a small expense” or “Let’s just get it, we’ll need it anyway.”

When your operations are messy or fast-moving, small purchases and overlooked accounts slip through the cracks—especially if you don’t have a reliable finance system or tracking process in place.

Over time, those “minor” expenses become routine. That’s okay—growth is messy.

But at some point, you have to pause and ask: What’s truly necessary, and what’s just leaking money quietly?

The key is not to confuse unnecessary spending with the real costs of doing business.

Sometimes you miscalculate what a job or business line truly requires—and midway through, you realize:

“We need another person.”

“We need a software for this.”

“We need a second warehouse.”

These aren’t bad surprises.

They’re signs of poor scoping, not poor financial discipline.

The goal is to cut what's truly wasteful—not what’s essential for execution.

Even small savings matter—not just financially, but mentally.

Knowing you're not bleeding money in the background helps you focus forward with clarity.

Now Let’s Talk Pricing

Before cutting staff or cancelling subscriptions, ask yourself this:

Are we even charging the right amount for what we do?

Undervaluing your work is one of the most dangerous habits in business. And it often comes from good intentions:

“Let’s get the job, we’ll figure the rest later.”

“Once we get our foot in the door, we’ll adjust.”

“I just want to get started, we’ll build as we go.”

These are bold, proactive moves—but they lack direction.

You start moving without a clear map. You build momentum, but not margin.

The result? Volume increases, stress increases… and profit doesn’t.

So, Which One’s the Real Problem?

Sometimes, yes—overhead needs to be trimmed. But more often, the problem is mismatch:

Between your costs and your pricing,

Between your ambitions and your structure,

Between your growth and your financial visibility.

You can’t fix margins by just working harder.

You fix them by understanding what you need to earn, what you’re actually earning, and what’s standing in between.

Final Thought

If your margin is disappearing, don’t just blame the expenses. Zoom out.

Look at your cost structure. Look at your pricing model.

And most importantly—look at whether your business decisions are tied to data, or just momentum.

Margins don’t lie. But they rarely speak up until it’s too late.

Listen early. Adjust often.