Margins & mic drops: Performance, profit and the power of stand-up - Jeremy Williams, Stratus
Episode 02 - THAT MOMENT
In this game-changing episode of That Moment, host Helga Saraiva dives into the harsh reality that haunts every business leader: doubling revenue while profit barely budges. Meet Jeremy Williams, founder of Stratus Coach and exited agency owner who built and sold his B2B marketing services business for £11m, as he reveals why "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity" - and how his revolutionary Five Levers model can deliver 50% greater profitability without hiring a single new person.
When Jeremy decided to conquer his presenting fears through stand-up comedy, he discovered something unexpected: the art of being authentic under pressure translates directly to boardroom leadership. But his real breakthrough came from years of watching business owners make the same fatal mistake - throwing money at sales teams hoping to fix profitability problems, only to watch their margins shrink further.
Jeremy brings both the strategic vision and brutal honesty needed for transformation. Drawing from his successful exit and years of coaching Premier League football clubs and agency leaders, he reveals how marginal improvements in five key areas create exponential results that most leaders never see coming.
This episode tackles the uncomfortable truth facing scaling businesses: when owners focus solely on revenue growth, they often build themselves into a corner where working twice as hard yields diminishing returns.
The Five Levers Revealed:
Leads: The foundation that most get wrong from the start
Conversion Rate: Why your sales process might be sabotaging profits
Average Project Value: The metric most leaders avoid tracking but acquirers care about most
Purchase Frequency: How to transform clients into recurring revenue streams
Margin: The "tired sound engineer" everyone ignores but determines success
In an illuminating segment called "CEO Roast: Margin Madness," Helga plays the revenue-obsessed rookie CEO while Jeremy systematically dismantles every excuse with surgical precision. The result? A masterclass in why chasing bigger numbers often leads to smaller profits.
Key Insights Uncovered:
Why 10% improvements across five areas outperform hiring expensive sales talent
The difference between "good reflection" and analysis paralysis that kills decisions
How stand-up comedy creates the authentic leadership style that drives results
The LSC metric no agency tracks but should (hint: it should be 55-65% of AGI)
Why leading from the front is terrible advice except in crisis situations
How to identify when your long tail of small clients is killing profitability
From Jeremy's perspective as Faculty Member of the FT Board Director Programme, witness how embracing feedback and systematic thinking transformed his approach to business growth. His Five Levers model isn't just about metrics - it's about the mindset shift from working harder to working systematically.
Jeremy shares his core philosophy: "Don't fight the feedback. Take the medicine and talk to someone else because it is lonely at the top." But he's also refreshingly honest about the challenges: blanking during his first stand-up performance taught him that vulnerability and preparation must work together.
This episode addresses the existential question every scaling business faces: when you've grown beyond the scrappy startup phase but haven't yet mastered systematic profitability, how do you break through without burning out your team or yourself?
About Supo:
Supo provides people-first intelligence software for professional services firms, helping businesses maximize profit and motivate their people through powerful, AI-enabled business intelligence dashboards. By connecting over 500+ platforms and providing real-time data analysis, Supo helps firms make better data-driven decisions about their profit, projects, and people.
For more information about Supo: www.supo.co.uk
About Our Guest Jeremy Williams:
Jeremy Williams is the founder of Stratus Coach, a marketing agency coach, executive coach, and Non-Executive Director. As an exited agency owner who built and sold his B2B marketing services business for £11m, Jeremy now helps agencies with turnaround, profitability, and rapid growth. He's a faculty speaker for the FT Board Director Programme and works with leaders in business and elite football. When he's not analyzing profit margins, you might find him perfecting his stand-up comedy routine as an "average stand-up comedian" by his own admission.
For more information about Stratus Coach: www.stratuscomms.com
Ready to discover why your revenue growth isn't translating to profit? This episode isn't just about business metrics - it's about the leadership transformation required to build a business that works for you, not against you.