According to Greg Crabtree in his great book Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits, many business leaders are chasing the wrong metrics. Revenue is climbing, distributions feel good, but profit margins are eroding, and cash reserves are disappearing. They’re celebrating growth that’s actually driving them toward insolvency.

Here are three of Greg’s ideas to explore:

1. There’s only one sequence that builds wealth: Pay your taxes → Repay your debts → Reach your core capital target → Take profit distributions. (In this order) Cash isn’t just for survival. It’s your strategic weapon.
2. Revenue means nothing if you’re bleeding money on inefficient labor. The target: $1.80 to $2.20 of gross profit for every $1.00 spent on labor. Stop adding headcount to solve problems. Start maximizing the team you already have.
3. Lastly, here’s where most leaders fail: they think breaking even means success. Strive for a 10% pretax profit minimum just to be financially healthy. Not thriving. Just healthy. Once you hit 15%, you can strategically add employees, let profit drop back to 10%, then grow it back to 15%. That’s the cycle of sustainable growth. Celebrating “we didn’t lose money” is the same as slowly dying. 

The businesses that survive the next recession won’t be the ones with the biggest revenue. They’ll be the ones with cash in the bank and disciplined systems. Read More

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What you need to know:

ChatGPT Search Captures 740% Market Share Growth
Search GPT’s market share has exploded from 0.25% to 2.1% in just 12 months, a 740% increase that’s reshaping how users discover information online. Unlike traditional search engines that serve up link lists, ChatGPT delivers conversational AI answers directly within the platform, keeping users engaged longer. Read More

AI Overviews Reach Nearly 20% of SERPs in Business and Tech – AEO Now Critical
By November 2025, AI Overviews (AIOs) appear in nearly 20% of search results, with business and technology industries seeing over a third of SERPs displaying AI-generated summaries. Research shows 71% of AI answers cite structured content, making answer-engine optimization essential for maintaining visibility as traditional SEO alone no longer guarantees presence in AI-powered search results. Read More

Google Voice Search Gets Major Upgrade – Speech-to-Retrieval Goes Live
Google launched Speech-to-Retrieval (S2R) in October 2025, processing spoken queries directly without text conversion—eliminating transcription errors that plagued traditional voice search. The system is now live across multiple languages and approaches near-perfect accuracy by mapping speech directly to search intent rather than converting “the Scream painting” to “screen painting” like old systems did. Read More

Online Communities Become SEO Hotspot – Reddit and Quora Results Here to Stay
Google continues prominently displaying search results from forums and communities like Reddit and Quora, making community search a permanent SEO strategy for 2025. With users increasingly seeking authentic peer opinions over brand content, marketers must either engage directly in these forums or create and optimize content for community platforms to capture this growing search traffic. Read More

Down-Funnel Content Optimization Emerges as Major SEO Opportunity
SEOs are shifting focus from high-level informational content to optimizing mid and bottom-of-the-funnel content for search engines, addressing specific customer questions and sales objections. This strategy leverages customer research from sales calls to create content that enables sales teams while capturing high-intent search traffic previously ignored by traditional top-of-funnel SEO approaches. Read More

LinkedIn Rolls Out Company Page Verification to More Businesses
LinkedIn is expanding access to company page verification, allowing more businesses to display a checkmark next to their name for increased credibility. This verification helps companies build trust with potential customers and employees, differentiating legitimate businesses from imposters in an increasingly crowded B2B social landscape. Read More

YouTube Integrates AI Animation Tools Directly Into Shorts Creation Process
YouTube is integrating Veo animation tools and AI features directly into the Shorts creation workflow, enhancing creative capabilities for marketers producing short-form video. This allows for more dynamic and visually appealing content with less production effort, potentially increasing engagement and discoverability on YouTube’s fastest-growing content format. Read More

Social Commerce Sales to Surpass $100 Billion in US by 2025
eMarketer projects US social commerce sales will exceed $100 billion in 2025 as platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook integrate seamless shopping experiences. Brands must optimize product catalogs on social platforms, create engaging shoppable content, and leverage live shopping events to capture this rapidly growing revenue stream. Read More

Decentralized Social Networks Gain Traction – Mastodon, Bluesky, Web3 Apps Growing
Privacy concerns and data ownership issues are driving users to decentralized networks like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Web3-based Lens Protocol, forcing marketers to rethink data collection strategies. Traditional ad targeting becomes less effective in these environments, pushing brands toward community building, value-driven storytelling, and authentic first-party engagement over surveillance-based tactics. Read More

Educational Content Dominates 2025 – Value-Driven Posts Outperform Product Promotions
Content that educates wins in 2025, with how-to tutorials, financial tips, and explainer posts performing far better than promotional content across all platforms. Audiences seek accounts that answer questions and solve problems rather than pushing products, with educational content driving higher save rates, shares, and DMs—all signals that feed platform algorithms and extend organic reach. Read More

First 3 Seconds Critical for Video Success – Snackable Content Dominates Engagement
Short-form videos must grab attention within the first 3 seconds to succeed on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Content optimized for sound-off viewing and vertical format performs best, with successful brands filming natively in-app to match platform aesthetics rather than repurposing horizontal content, driving discovery through social SEO. Read More

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SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Improve Your Local SEO

If you run a small business, showing up in search results when nearby customers are looking for your products or services is critical. You can implement common SEO practices on your site to improve your visibility, but how do you ensure you’ll be visible to customers in your area? 

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STRATEGY

Podcast Episode #104 – Vibe Marketing Instead of Viral Marketing

Something will go viral on Tuesday, we’ll scramble to create our version by Wednesday, and by Thursday, it’s already over. We’re running faster and faster. In the end, we feel like we’ve ended up in the same place. But there’s honestly a better way.

Listen Now

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STRATEGY

Grow Your Organization’s Revenue with a Comprehensive Digital Marketing Plan

Do you need a digital marketing strategy but you’re not sure where to start? Or maybe you’re unhappy with the results from your current plan? At Sanctuary, we focus on strategies that get results and help you grow your business. We’re leaders in marketing, and partners in growth. Learn more today!

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