7 Ways to Increase Cash Flow in Your Business Without More Sales

When cash gets tight, the default instinct for most business owners is to chase more sales. But here's the truth: increasing sales doesn’t always mean increasing cash flow in your business—especially if you're underpricing, over-discounting, or burning through resources.

If you're serious about improving your financial position, there’s another approach that doesn’t require you to sell more, hire more, or hustle harder.

It’s called the Power of One.  And it could increase cash flow in your business — using numbers you already have.

What Is the Power of One?

The Power of One is a concept from Verne Harnish’s Scaling Up framework.  It’s just one of the powerful tools I incorporate into my coaching to help business owners gain more profit, more cash and more freedom. 

What I love about this framework is that it shows you how making just a 1% or 1-day improvement in key financial levers can have a powerful ripple effect on your business’s cash flow and profit.

Instead of trying to overhaul everything, the Power of One encourages you to test small, strategic shifts in 7 key areas:

1. Raise Your Prices by 1%

You don’t need to double your prices to make an impact. A simple 1% increase—on a $100,000/month business—is just $1000, but it’s pure margin.  If you’re underpricing or afraid of passing on cost increases, start here. Test small adjustments and watch your cash position improve without having to sell more.

2. Increase Volume by 1%

Yes, this is the one that does involve selling more—but by only 1%.
The point? You don’t need huge leaps in sales.  Start with your current customers. Could they be buying more frequently and spending more when they do buy? A small bump in volume can be far more effective when combined with pricing, cost control, and improved collections. 

3. Reduce Direct Costs by 1%

Take a look at your direct costs: materials, subcontractors, freight, etc.  Where can you trim 1% without hurting delivery or quality?  Negotiate with suppliers, consolidate orders, or improve efficiency in how your team delivers. That 1% increase in cash flow might be sitting in plain sight.

4. Reduce Overhead by 1%

Look at fixed expenses: subscriptions, rent, software, admin costs.  What are you paying for that isn’t being used or adding value? One percent might mean canceling one tool, changing plans, or negotiating better rates.

Remember: cutting costs doesn’t mean cutting everything!  Being strategic about where you’re trimming, without cutting necessary investments in marketing, your time and development as an owner, and business growth.  

5. Collect Cash 1 Day Faster (Accounts Receivable)

If you typically get paid in 30 days, can you encourage clients to pay in 29?  Offer early payment incentives, improve invoicing processes, or send reminders sooner. One day faster across dozens of clients could unlock thousands in additional monthly cash.

One of my 1:1 coaching clients did this activity, and it brought in an additional $10,000 in revenue per month in receivables.  

6. Reduce Inventory by 1 Day

For product-based businesses or those carrying inventory (including parts or supplies), holding less stock or turning it faster can free up cash. Look at usage rates, reorder points, and lead times. Reducing inventory even slightly means more money in your bank, less sitting on shelves or in your warehouse.

7. Pay Suppliers 1 Day Slower (Accounts Payable)

This doesn’t mean becoming unreliable—it means being strategic. If your terms are net 15, could you shift to net 16? Even a single day improvement in payment terms, across all your expenses, creates more breathing room in your cash cycle.

Compounding Gains

Each 1% or 1-day improvement might seem small on its own—but together, they can unlock tens or even hundreds of thousands in free cash flow annually.

And unlike increasing sales, these strategies:

• Are within your control
• Don’t require more marketing or sales effort
• Improve operational health and sustainability

Small Levers, Big Impact to Increase Cash Flow

Business owners often think they need a giant breakthrough to improve their finances. But in reality, small changes in the right places create massive results.

The Power of One gives you a framework to stop chasing revenue and start improving what you already have. If you want to get stronger, leaner, and more cash confident—this is a great place to start.

Want help in applying The Power of One in your business?  Let’s run the math together and find the quickest path to more cash in your business.  Book a complimentary cash flow review call and let’s build your way to a business that works without you, while being a cash machine.