Profit Answer Man: Scaling with Profit First & Beyond Ep 274 Increasing Agency Profit with Eli Rubel
Increase Agency Profit with Eli Rubel
From Burnout to Bankable: How Eli Rubel Built $10M+ in Profit Working 25 Hours/Week
What if the secret to explosive agency profits isn't grinding harder—but designing smarter?
Meet Eli Rubel, the founder of Profit Labs and serial agency entrepreneur who's racked up over $10 million in net profit since 2020—all while working just 25 hours per week. In this powerhouse episode of The Profit Answer Man, Rocky sits down with Eli to uncover the playbook that's helping agency owners stop the hustle and start keeping real money in their pockets.
If you're tired of scaling your revenue only to watch profits vanish, this conversation will flip your mindset and give you the tools to build a cash-printing agency that works for you.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
- Why revenue means nothing without profit—and how Eli structures his agencies to maximize take-home income.
- How Profit First shaped Eli's philosophy on agency finance (including lessons learned on a beach in Hawaii).
- The financial blind spots killing your margins—and how to flip your decision-making process.
- How to reverse-engineer your agency's operations from profit, not pressure.
- Why Eli is betting big on specialized, agency-focused bookkeeping and financial services.
- The overlooked math mistake almost every creative entrepreneur makes—and how to fix it fast.
Key Takeaways:
- Net Profit > Vanity Metrics. Eli focuses on what matters: how much you keep, not just what you make. Revenue without profit is just ego.
- Design the Business Around the Life You Want. Working 25 hours a week with high profit is not luck—it's intentional structure, delegation, and data-driven decisions.
- Profit First Isn't Optional—It's Essential. Implementing Profit First early on gave Eli the foundation to control cash flow and stop "hope" from being his strategy.
- The Reverse Budgeting Shift. Don't spend and hope there's profit left. Define profit first, then determine what's left to spend—Eli's agencies live by this rule.
- Pain Builds Purpose. Eli launched his agency finance firm because he lived the pain—and now helps others avoid the same traps.
Guest Bio:
Eli Rubel is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Profit Labs. He owns a portfolio of agencies and has generated over $10 million in net profit since 2020—all while working part-time. His latest venture, Profit Labs, is laser-focused on helping creative and digital agency owners stop losing money through tailored financial insights, clean books, and actionable data.
Conclusion:
This episode is your wake-up call: Stop measuring your business by how busy you are. Start measuring by how profitable it is.
If Eli's journey showed you anything, it's this—agencies don't need more work; they need better financial systems. And if you're ready to create a business that pays you like the owner—not the operator—it's time for a conversation.
Links:
Website: https://www.profit-labs.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elirubel/
Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@profitanswerman
Sign up to be notified when the next cohort of the Profit First Experience Course is available!
Profit First Toolkit: https://lp.profitcomesfirst.com/landing-page-page
Relay Bank (affiliate link): https://relayfi.com/?referralcode=profitcomesfirst
Profit Answer Man Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/profitanswerman/
My podcast about living a richer more meaningful life: http://richersoul.com/
Music provided by Junan from Junan Podcast
Any financial advice is for educational purposes only and you should consult with an expert for your specific needs.
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