How to Make More Money as a Business Owner: The 3-9-27 Plan
Release Date: 10/12/2026
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How to Make More Money as a Business Owner: The 3-9-27 Plan
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info_outlineOwners under $1 million asking how to make more money: you may have gotten comfortable long before you got rich. Justin Goodbread explains the sandcastle effect and three zones: panic ($0 to $1 million), complacent ($1 to $3 million), and freedom ($3 million and up).
In this episode:
After every talk Justin hears the same question in line: how do I make more money? Most of the people asking are financial advisors and service owners under $1 million in revenue, and his view is that they got comfortable long before they got rich. Studies from Schwab, Fidelity, and others show most advisory growth comes from the market, not from referrals or marketing, and fewer than 5% of a typical client base sends referrals.
He calls it the sandcastle effect, a picture from summers on the South Georgia coast. You build close to the water because hauling buckets is a pain, then the tide comes in. A client leaves, a regulation forces a costly repaper, a junior hire walks out, and years of work wash away because the business was built for convenience instead of durability. He maps where owners get stuck: the panic zone from $0 to $1 million, where about 80% of advisors sit, the complacent zone from $1 million to $3 million, and the freedom zone above $3 million.
Then he walks through the 3-9-27 plan his coaching clients use to double value in 36 months, and explains why he has no problem paying $5,000 to $20,000 a month for coaching himself.
What you'll learn:
- Why market growth hides a business that is not really growing
- The sandcastle effect and how to build for durability
- The panic, complacent, and freedom zones of revenue
- Why comfort under $1 million never feels like an emergency
- How one 3-year goal breaks into three 1-year sprints and 90-day blocks
- Three objectives a quarter, only one financial, with three tactics and three actions each
- Why 27 quarterly actions, each with one named owner, stop shiny-object chasing
- How showing your team the plan ties their weekly work to company value
Key takeaways:
- Most growth in a typical practice comes from the market, not from the owner's own marketing or referrals.
- For 90 days nothing new comes onto the list, which keeps you and your team from chasing shiny objects.
- When a team member can see how their week-two task connects to the 3-year value target, they start executing.
Who this episode is for: small business owners and financial advisors searching for how to make more money, grow revenue past $1 million, or turn a yearly plan into weekly action.
Advisors who climbed out of the complacent zone can apply to share how: https://www.decamillionairedecoded.com/
If you advise business owners and want the planning system behind the 3-9-27 plan, the Million Dollar Advisor training covers it: https://youtu.be/84rh5RNuvvM
Justin hears this question after every talk he gives, and event hosts can see his keynotes here: https://justingoodbread.com/speaking