Drawing a Line in the Sand: Profit First, Leadership, and the End of “Unstructured”
There’s an old saying:
The best time to plant a fruit tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.
That’s how I feel right now.
For years, I’ve built, launched, fixed, solved, stretched, reinvested, and pushed forward. I’ve taken risks. I’ve grown businesses. I’ve supported my family. I’ve learned through experience — sometimes the hard way.
But if I’m honest, much of it has been driven by effort rather than structure.
Revenue would come in. Bills would get paid. Equipment would get purchased. Payroll would be covered. Expansion would be funded. And whatever was left — if anything — would be considered “profit.”
In other words, I ran the business the way most of us are taught to:
Sales – Expenses = Profit.
Recently, I finished listening to Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t complicated.
It was simple — and confronting.
Profit isn’t what’s left over.
Profit is intentional.
And I realized something: I’ve built businesses with vision and grit… but not always with clear financial architecture.
That ends now.
This is a line-in-the-sand moment.
I can’t go back 20 years.
But I can plant the tree today.
The Leadership Side of It
At the same time, I’ve been finishing Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 by John C. Maxwell.
Originally, I hoped my son would walk through it with me. He didn’t stick with it. At first, that disappointed me. But looking back, maybe this season wasn’t about him.
It was about me.
Maxwell reminds us that leadership is influence — and influence begins with personal growth and discipline.
If I want to lead my family well…
If I want to lead my team well…
If I want to build companies that bless others…
Then I cannot operate casually. I cannot drift. I cannot simply “figure it out as I go.”
I must grow.
I’m grateful the Lord used a simple recommendation to put that book in front of me at this exact time. The timing feels providential.
Profit First addresses structure.
Maxwell addresses leadership.
Both address stewardship.
The Biblical Anchor
Scripture says:
“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”
— 1 Corinthians 4:2
That word — faithful — has been sitting heavy on me.
Faithful in growth.
Faithful in profit.
Faithful in leadership.
Faithful in responsibility.
Structure is not a lack of faith.
It is an expression of faithfulness.
If the Lord has entrusted me with a business, a team, customers, resources, and a large family — then I must manage them intentionally, not emotionally.
Unstructured effort is not stewardship.
Intentional systems are.
What “Unstructured” Felt Like
Unstructured doesn’t always look chaotic from the outside.
Sometimes it looks like growth.
Sometimes it looks like busyness.
Sometimes it even looks like success.
But internally, it feels like:
- Constant reinvestment with an undefined margin
- Growth without clarity
- Pressure instead of peace
- Momentum without predictability
As a husband and father of a large family, unpredictability is expensive — emotionally and financially.
I don’t want to build a business that consumes me.
I want to build one that serves my family and blesses others.
That requires structure.
The Commitment
Here is the line in the sand:
I will run my businesses with intentional profit.
I will lead with intentional growth.
I will not confuse activity with stewardship.
I will build a financial architecture that supports peace, not pressure.
Win or lose, I will become a better businessman and a better leader because of this season.
And I don’t expect to lose.
The tree is being planted today.
A Letter to Future Me
Jermaine,
If you are reading this five years from now, I want you to remember what this felt like.
You were capable. You were working hard. But you knew something was missing.
You were building — but without the level of structure you knew was possible.
You felt the weight of responsibility. You felt the pressure of growth. You felt the tension of wanting to scale while also protecting your family.
You chose discipline over drift.
You chose systems over survival.
You chose stewardship over ego.
If things are thriving now, don’t forget this moment.
If things are difficult now, remember: this was the day you decided to build differently.
Be faithful.
Lead well.
Protect your family.
Honor the Lord with what He entrusted to you.
And never go back to unstructured.
— J
If you’ve been feeling the tension between growth and structure, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. And if someone comes to mind who needs courage to start today, send this their way.
