Before you set a million dollar goal for your business, read this
- Jan 22
- 4 min read
What's your financial goal for 2026? For the next 5 years?
Why did you choose those numbers?
The internet consistently sells us on the seven-figure business as the universal marker of having made it as a service-provider. And maybe you've absorbed that target without questioning whether it actually makes sense for your life, your capacity, or what you're trying to build.
The problem with it isn't the number itself. It’s treating any revenue target as something you feel like you should be chasing instead of a goal you actively choose based on your unique situation.
We once had a client tell us, "I'm trying to make a million dollars."
We said okay, we can do that. But first, let's explore what it would take to get there.
We looked at how much she was making by service level, not just top-line revenue. How much profit did each offering generate? How much effort did each one require? Because a $10,000 project might take significantly more work to deliver than a $2,000 one.
One of the services we found wasn't even profitable. Our client was spending so much to deliver it that she was barely breaking even.
We asked: is that a service you want to keep?
Her answer: I don't love it. I have to manage loads of contractors for it. It's not really how I want to spend my time. Plus I want to take time off during the summer to spend time with my kids, but I can't because this service makes us really busy then.
So here we were, chasing a million-dollar goal while running a service she didn't love, that wasn't profitable, and that kept her from taking the time off she wanted.
When you're building something, you want to know you're on the right track, and revenue targets feel like proof. But what if you're aiming for someone else's finish line?
You can build a 7-figure business and still not have the lifestyle you want.
When most people say they want to make a million dollars, they're talking about revenue - the total amount of money coming into the business. But revenue isn't profit.
More revenue doesn't automatically mean more profit, more time, or more impact. And it doesn't account for what it costs to run the business or what you actually get to keep.
Here's an example: Say you bring in $1M in revenue but it costs $900K to run the business - team salaries, contractors, overhead, software, all of it. You make a profit of $100K.
Or you bring in $600K but it only costs $420K to run. You make a profit of $180K.
The first option means you're working significantly harder and managing significantly more complexity for less money in your pocket. The second means you're taking home nearly double while running a simpler business.
Somewhere along the way, we equated a million dollars with the definition of success. Forgetting that there is impact to be made below that threshold.
There's a huge gap between $100K and a million dollars. But the numbers in-between don’t have to be merely milestones. They are significant. $400K is real money. $600K is real money.
Taking home $120K might mean you can pay yourself consistently, cover your mortgage, and contribute to retirement. Taking home $180K could be hiring support, taking real time off, building savings without stress.
The internet would have you believe these numbers don't count unless they hit a magic threshold, but they might actually be the financial stability you’ve always dreamed of.
We had another client who did hit the million-dollar mark.
She called us and instead of celebration, what we heard was exhaustion. The business required constant attention, her team overhead was extremely high, and she'd built exactly the kind of high-stress environment she'd left corporate to escape.
So she made a different choice. She cut her most complicated, high-cost service. She streamlined what she offered and scaled back her team. Revenue dropped by nearly 40% but her profit increased. Her nervous system stopped being in constant fight-or-flight and she remembered why she started the business in the first place.
What kind of business do you actually want to run? Because the structure that gets you to seven figures might be the exact structure that makes you resent your work.
Grow with intention, not arbitrary targets
Before you set a revenue goal for 2026, get clear on:
How much did you actually take home last year? (Revenue and profit)
What did it cost to generate that revenue? (Team, contractors, tools, overhead)
What does enough actually look like in your life this year?
What does this income need to protect or enable (time, safety, choices, rest?)
How much do you need to pay yourself consistently and support that life?
Which services are actually profitable? (And which are barely breaking even)
What would it cost to scale to your target? (More team? More tools? More of your time?)
If you push past this revenue goal, what might you lose in the process?
These are the questions that determine whether you build a business you actually LIKE and can scale.
If you don't know your profit margins from last year, start there.
If you're unsure how to set realistic thresholds or determine what's actually achievable given your capacity, we created The ScaleUp Academy for exactly this. It’s a series of workshops on strategic planning, pricing, and profitability that you can access anytime (all sessions are free to replay).
And if you want professional help figuring out what realistic growth looks like for your specific business, let’s chat. We offer free discovery calls to discuss your specific situation and how we can help you reach your goals.
👋🏾 We’re Little Fish Accounting, a firm that goes beyond the numbers to provide concierge-level care. Our advisory services enable our clients to make strategic decisions for their business, achieving big results with small teams. Interested in learning more? Check out our suite of service offerings to see if we're a good fit for your needs
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