You are Not Making Money as a Product Manager Because You are Focused on the Wrong Things

I got into product management because I heard it paid well and didn’t seem overly technical—definitely not like coding or designing.

I figured I’d focus on managing products, keeping things moving, and delivering results. It sounded like a great blend of leadership and creativity, with a nice paycheck attached.

But I was wrong.

For a while, I thought being a good PM was just checking off tasks and shipping features. So I stayed busy—really busy—but the financial growth wasn’t happening. I wasn’t getting the raises or recognition I expected, and I had to ask myself, “What am I missing?”

One day, it hit me: all those features I worked on didn’t really move the needle for the business. They worked, sure, but they didn’t generate real value, and neither did I.

That’s when I realized I was focusing on all the wrong things. Being busy doesn’t mean being effective, and it definitely doesn’t mean I’m growing financially.

If you’re in the same spot—working hard but not seeing the rewards—you might be focused on the wrong things too.

In this post, I’ll share the mistakes I made and how they held me back from the financial breakthrough I expected. Hopefully, you can avoid the same traps I fell into.

You Don’t Think About Money Enough, and That’s a Problem

You might be thinking "Why would I get into product management with the goal of making money, yet still not be thinking about money?”?

I had the same thought, too. I mean, wasn’t I focused on building a successful product? Weren’t all those user stories, features, and designs meant to get us paid??

But being focused on money is different from actually thinking about it.?

I was so caught up in making sure the product had the perfect features and solving the right problems for users that I forgot to ask the most important question—How does this affect revenue??

There was a time I poured months of effort into a feature I thought would change the game. It was sleek and innovative, and users seemed excited about it. But when it launched? Crickets.

Sure, it had great functionality, but it didn’t do anything on sales. I wasn’t thinking about how it fits into the bigger picture—how it would bring in actual money.

Revenue is the ultimate measure of success.?

If you’re not thinking about how each decision impacts the bottom line, then you’re missing the point. And I realized, too late, that’s exactly what I’d been doing; creating without calculating.

Numbers Don’t Lie, But Are You Even Looking?

I used to think I had a pretty good instinct for what users wanted. I'd make decisions based on what felt right or what I thought people would love. And sure, sometimes I’d get lucky, but more often than not, I was way off.

The problem? I wasn’t looking at the data. I was going with gut feelings, thinking they were enough to steer the ship. But when you’re not looking at actual user behavior, sales metrics, or product performance, you're probably putting effort into the wrong things.

Data-driven decisions are the best guide you have.?

Once I started digging into the numbers—how users were interacting with features, what was driving sales, and which parts of the product were falling flat—it completely changed my approach. I wasn’t just building what I thought would work; I was building what I knew would work.

And when you follow the data, it shows up in your results. Better decisions lead to better products, which leads to better paychecks.?

Career Progression Isn’t Just Delivering—It’s Owning Results

I’ve always been someone who constantly looks for ways to grow and take on new challenges.?

But for the longest time, I thought career progression was all about delivering—getting things done and checking tasks off the list. And honestly, that’s where I got it wrong.?

A lot of product managers make the same mistake. We think our job is done once the product is shipped, and then we move on to the next big thing.

The hard truth is your work doesn’t stop when the product goes live. In fact, that’s just the beginning.

What separates top-performing product managers from the rest is their ability to own the results of what they’ve delivered—good or bad. You need to make sure that it actually works, adds value, and hits the goals you set in the first place.?

Anyone can push a feature out, but it takes real ownership to follow through and track its impact. Did it improve user engagement? Did it increase revenue? If not, what went wrong??

Owning the results means being accountable for the outcomes, not just the outputs. You have to be willing to say, “Okay, this worked, or this didn’t, and here’s what I’m going to do next.”

That level of accountability is what leads to bigger opportunities and a higher paycheck.?

High-earning PMs aren’t just good at delivering; they’re good at delivering results. It’s a subtle shift in mindset, but it makes all the difference. When you start thinking in terms of owning the outcome, not just the output, you’ll find your career moving in the right direction a lot faster.

Are You Listening to Customers, or Just Guessing?

You can’t just guess your way through product development, even if you're working in an agile environment. The whole point of agile is to be flexible and responsive, right? But how can you respond to what your users need if you’re not actually listening to them??

I’ve seen PMs—including myself—start building features or making decisions without doing the real legwork of talking to customers.?

We think we know what’s best based on a few assumptions, or maybe even our own preferences, but that’s not enough.?

If you're not out there asking real users about their pain points, frustrations, and needs, you're missing out on important insights.

When I finally made it a point to regularly engage with customers—really listening to their challenges and feedback—it completely shifted my approach.?

I wasn’t just guessing anymore. I had concrete data, real pain points, and actual needs to work with, and that’s what helped me build products that not only worked but sold.

Your customers are the key to unlocking real success. The more you understand them, the better your product will be—and the more revenue you’ll drive.

Stop Doing Everything Yourself—Delegate and Focus

One of the biggest mistakes I made early on as a product manager was trying to do everything myself. I thought that if I didn’t have my hands on every detail, things would fall apart.?

But the truth is,? trying to control everything is a fast track to burnout—and it’s not helping you move the needle.

You can’t do it all, and you shouldn’t. That’s what delegation is for. When you trust your engineers to handle the technical details and let your designers own the wireframes, you free yourself up to focus on what really matters—the big, high-impact decisions. You know, the ones that actually drive revenue.

In a lean environment, where resources and time are tight, you have to be laser-focused on the things that make the most difference.?

Delegating doesn’t mean you’re losing control; it means you’re being smart with your time.?

Instead of micromanaging, you can prioritize strategic moves that push the product forward. When you start delegating, you'll not only see better results, but you’ll also find you have more time to focus on decisions that bring in the money.

Shift your focus, watch your bank account grow

The problem isn’t that you lack the skills to bring in the revenue—it’s that you’re focusing on the wrong things. It’s time to shift your attention to what truly matters because that’s where the real change happens. Once you start prioritizing the right areas, you’ll see the impact—not just in your product but also in your income as a product manager.