Reverse-engineer your income so your business supports your life — not the other way around
Most business owners start with arbitrary revenue goals: $100K, $250K, $1M. They sound exciting — but are they actually aligned with what you need?
The truth is, setting the right revenue goal starts with one key question:
What does it take to fund your real life?
When you reverse-engineer your revenue goals based on your personal expenses, you build a business that serves your life — not one that leaves you exhausted and still behind on bills.
Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Calculate Your True Take-Home Pay Needs
Start by getting clear on your monthly personal expenses. This includes:
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Rent or mortgage
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Utilities
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Groceries
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Insurance
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Childcare or education
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Debt payments
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Travel, savings, and other lifestyle goals
Be honest — this is about building a business that actually works for you. Total up the average monthly amount, then multiply by 12 to get your annual take-home income target.
Let’s say you need $6,000/month. That’s $72,000/year in Owner Pay.
Step 2: Account for Taxes
Your revenue needs to cover your take-home income plus taxes. A general rule of thumb is to set aside 30% of gross income for taxes, depending on your business structure and income level. If you're working with a bookkeeper who is clearly tracking all of your expenses so you can see your net income then you can set aside less overall, but still aim to use 30% as the figure - just calculate it from your profit instead of your gross income.
In this example, if you need $72,000 take-home, you’ll want to plan for around $21,600 in taxes — bringing your pre-tax income goal to $93,600.
Step 3: Add in Business Expenses
Next, total your monthly and annual business expenses — subscriptions, tools, contractors, rent, software, marketing, etc.
Let’s say you spend $3,000/month or $36,000/year.
Add that to your pre-tax income target, and you get your minimum revenue goal:
$93,600 (take-home + taxes)
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$36,000 (business expenses)
= $129,600 in annual revenue
That’s how much your business needs to bring in to fully cover your lifestyle, taxes, and business costs — without scraping by or skipping your paycheck.
Step 4: Adjust for Profit or Growth
If you want to build a buffer, save for expansion, or create more flexibility, you’ll want to bake in a profit margin.
Adding even a 10–15% profit target helps you move beyond survival and into sustainable growth.
In this case, with a 15% buffer, your target revenue would rise to around $149,000.
Inside The Small Business Planner, we help you do this math with guided worksheets and plug-and-play calculators — so you can confidently set your revenue goal, price your offers, and plan your year.
Step 5: Break It Down by Month and Offer
Once you’ve set your annual goal, divide it by 12 to get your monthly revenue goal — and then map out how many clients, products, or services you need to sell to hit that number.
This makes your revenue goal actionable instead of theoretical. You know exactly what you’re working toward and how your offers need to perform.
Final Takeaway
Revenue goals shouldn’t come from thin air. They should come from your real life.
When you set revenue targets based on what you need to pay yourself, cover your taxes, run your business, and build in profit — you stop guessing and start leading.
Want a system to guide you through every step? The Small Business Planner includes the exact templates and goal-setting tools to help you do this with clarity and confidence.
Explore The Small Business Planner now → https://smallbusinessplanner.com/products/planner