23 Sessions, 67 Shirts… What’s Your Break-Even Point?
If you’re like me, you didn’t even think you’d be an entrepreneur for real. At least not as quickly as it happened. Looking back, I’m always like, omg, why didn’t I learn this stuff in high school? And if I did, why wasn’t I paying attention? LoL.
Here’s a game changer people normally don’t talk about. By people, I mean you and other entrepreneurs. Do you realize how much more clarity and strategy you’d have if you nailed this down?
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” Your break-even point is one of those plans. It tells you the exact point where your business covers its costs. No profit yet, but no loss either. It’s the line between hustling and hoping versus hustling and knowing.
Think about it like this. If you sell cupcakes, how many do you have to sell before rent, flour, sugar, and utilities are covered? If you’re a consultant, how many sessions do you need before Zoom, marketing, and taxes stop coming out of your pocket?
When you know your break-even point, everything sharpens. Your pricing, your goals, your strategy. You stop playing the “I think I’m doing okay” game and start moving with clarity.
Here’s the formula in plain English:
Break-Even Point (in units) =
Fixed Costs ÷ (Sales Price – Variable Costs)
Fixed Costs = the bills that don’t change (rent, insurance, software).
Variable Costs = the costs that rise and fall with sales (materials, shipping, packaging).
Let’s do two quick examples.
Example 1: Product-based business
You sell T-shirts.
Fixed costs: $1,000/month (website, rent, utilities)
Sales price: $25/shirt
Variable costs: $10/shirt
Break-even = $1,000 ÷ ($25 – $10) = 67 shirts.
That means your first 67 shirts are survival. Shirt number 68? That’s where profit begins.
Example 2: Service-based business
You’re a consultant.
Fixed costs: $4,500/month (software, insurance, etc.)
Price per session: $250
Variable costs: $50/session (travel, admin support, materials)
Break-even = $4,500 ÷ ($250 – $50) = about 23 sessions.
Your first 23 sessions? Just keeping the lights on. Session number 24? Now you’re cooking with grease.
So what do you do with this number?
Knowing your break-even point is step one. Step two is strategy. This is where you take the number and make it work for you:
Pricing: If your break-even feels impossible, maybe your prices are too low or your costs are too high. Adjustments here can completely change the game.
Sales goals: Break-even gives you a minimum. Strategy helps you set realistic weekly or monthly goals to move past survival into profit.
Growth planning: If you’re consistently above break-even, it might be time to think about hiring, outsourcing, or expanding.
That’s the kind of clarity and strategy I bring in my 1:1 sessions. I help you connect the math to real-life decisions that keep your business moving forward.
Your break-even point isn’t just a number. It’s a tool! A checkpoint that keeps you from running in circles.
Want to try it yourself? Here’s a free Break-Even Point Calculator you can plug your numbers into.
But don’t stop there. Numbers without strategy don’t get you very far. In a 1:1 session with me, we’ll take those numbers, add clarity, and map out the strategy that actually makes them work for your business.
