The Total Profit Podcast
Straight talk about pricing, margins, and building a business that pays you back.
Founded By Someone Who's Been There
Tommy Profit — Creator of the PMZ System
Tommy Profit spent four decades in the business world watching talented contractors build full schedules and empty accounts. He lived the Friday payroll problem. He engineered the fix.
The Performance Margin Zone system is the result — a 4-pillar framework built on math, method, and 40 years of real-world reps. Not theory. Not a dashboard demo. A system that works because it was built by someone who had no choice but to make it work.
The Performance Margin Zone System
Four pillars. One outcome: profit you keep.
Most contractors run their business on gut feel and hope. The PMZ system replaces both with math. It doesn't matter if you're in paving, excavation, sealcoating, or civil work — the four pillars work the same way, because margin math doesn't care what trade you're in.
Pillar 1 — The North Star
Your gross profit target. The number every decision runs through. Without it, you're pricing by gut and hoping for the best.
Pillar 2 — The Revenue Filter
Not all work pays. The Revenue Filter identifies which job types, customers, and contract sizes actually produce margin — and gives you the discipline to walk away from the rest.
Pillar 3 — The Hard Science
True cost calculation. Labor burden, equipment depreciation, overhead allocation — all built into your bid rate before the job starts.
Pillar 4 — The Lock
Once your number is right, you hold it. The Lock is the discipline to stop discounting your way to a loss.
You're Running Full Speed.
But If You're Not Keeping What You Earn —
The Speed Is the Problem.
Most contractors don't have a revenue problem.
They have a margin problem.
TPM finds it, fixes it, and builds the system that keeps it from coming back.
Built by Contractors. Backed by Results.
TPM was born in the trenches — on blacktop jobs, inside QuickBooks disasters, and around kitchen tables with business owners saying:
"We're working harder than ever. But we're barely making it."
So we built a better system. One that shows where the money goes — and how to fix it before it's gone.
"We didn't need more work. We needed better margins. TPM helped us cut the fat, price right, and stop the bleeding."
What You Get with TPM
Performance Margin Zone System — your real-time profit framework
Custom job costing model — aligned with how your business actually runs
Margin enforcement — know what to charge, and when to walk away
Direct support from Tommy Profit — real humans helping you build a profitable operation
Who It's For
If you're a contractor working harder than you should — doing $1M–$10M+ in revenue but still losing sleep over payroll — this system was built for you.
Results You Can Expect
Increase in gross margins — without raising prices
Profit leaks identified and fixed in under 90 days
Fewer jobs, higher profit — because you know which ones to take
More revenue won't fix broken margins. TPM will.
Latest from Margin Notes
Straight talk about job costing, bidding, and building a contracting business that pays you back.
Latest Post
Read the Latest from Margin Notes
Straight talk about pricing, margins, and the numbers that actually matter in a contracting business.
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Why Busy Contractors Stay Broke
Full schedule. Empty account. Here's the real reason — and the fix that doesn't require more work.
Read More →From the Blog
The Difference Between Markup and Margin
Most contractors confuse the two. That confusion costs real money on every single job.
Read More →Talk to a Real Person
Not sure if TPM is right for your business? Let's talk.
Risk-Free. No Contracts. No B.S.
One free 30-minute call. Tommy reviews your current numbers and identifies the biggest profit leak in your operation. No pitch. No pressure. Just your numbers and what to do about them.