In Profit First, author Mike Michalowicz advocates for looking at our accounting in an odd, but useful manner.
Typically, profit comes last -- after everyone else is paid. The Profit First way is a methodology to make sure that the Entrepreneur's kids have shoes!
Now, this does not mean buy stuff and not pay for it!
But what it does mean is that we need to plan for profitability and make sure that we don't let our expenses out-pace our ability to generate income and most essentially, a profit.
We are fans of Profit First, with one twist -- be sure to not only pay yourself first, but also set aside a "tithe" -- be it 10% or any other percentage that you feel called to set aside for important ministry investments. God should not get what is "left over".
Also, a mature business will operate with an intentional strategy. There are seasons where a business may choose to operate "without profit" in order to gain marketshare or hit some other key metric. However, this cannot be done indefinitely unless you have an endless supply of OPM -- other people's money. In other words, unless you're the government, this is not a "do it forever strategy!" Start with Profit First and only with a lot of life-lines, guardrails and accountability consider entertaining another strategy!