FBC – 192 – What number you should aim for when starting your business

What number you should aim for when starting your business?

Today, we are going to talk about goal setting. What number should you set at your goal when starting a business? I will tell you what my number is and it might surprise you.

All the answers inside this episode… Check it out.

Today I wanted to talk to you about a question that I get from people asking me what my objective is, you know. So in everything you do, it's nice to have a target.

And people tell you, well, either you have a reasonable target that basically keeps you motivated because it's achievable or you have like a crazy, ridiculous target that will energize you. So you need to push a little bit more to get there, you know, and these long term dreams drive you and stuff.

Right. So people are asking me, oh, what's your motivation? What's the revenue you want? Because this is usually what people have as an objective. I want to earn like 100 grand a year or a million dollars a year, you know, stuff like that.

So, you know, it's true that initially, most people are actually measuring themselves and setting their goals based on that kind of stuff. But as times evolve, you will evolve as well. So when people ask me today, dude, what's your motivation? So what is that number that you want in your bank account? And I'm like, dude, I don't have a number.

And people are like, what? You're in the entrepreneurship space and stuff and you don't have a precise number of how much you want with what you're doing and stuff. And I'm like, no, it's not actually my main concern because as I said, you evolve with time. Right.

So in the beginning, you just see these people making that much money. But you don't know how much these people are working. Right. How much they've worked before they actually got there.

So sometimes they have been at it for like five years or something and eventually they make it. And that's what you learn about them. Right. So that's the only thing you see is the tip of the iceberg. Right. But there are a lot of things that people don't see.

Money comes and goes. You will have money this month and you'll spend it. And then afterwards you will get more again. But “time”. You know, I think I've said that many times. Well, time. That's it, man. You’ve lost it. That's it. You're not going to get it back. Right. And it's way more precious to me to have time.

You know, so I can go out and I can do anything I want. Right. I don't have to physically be in my office or even doing any sort of operational task or something, because that's in every single thing I do. And you can actually see it. I have this automation thingy. I set it up, press a button. That's it, you know.

So everything I do buys me time. Right. I don't really care about the monetary aspect. Right. It's not my main concern. I'm not going to say like, oh, man, I don't want to make money at all and be in debt and stuff.

No, I'm not going to say that. I'm just saying that, you know, I'm not like, oh, man, I need a million dollars and, you know, I need my time.

What number you should aim for when starting your business

So I really suggest that this is how you need to start looking at these things. Not necessarily in terms of how much money is it going to give you. Think about it in terms of dude, you don't have to do that task yourself anymore. That gives you more time to do whatever you want.

I've seen cases where, I mean, you make great money, but you're so busy that, well, you don't have time to actually go enjoy it. You could because you have so much money that you have savings and stuff and you're like, oh, man, I could take like three months off.

But what happens is that those kind of people, they don't take three months off because they're so like, oh, man, I need to make that work. And if I leave, then everything's gone. They never, ever go on holiday or take some time off or something. You know what I mean?

So if you're asking yourself, dude, what's your number one target? You have that in your mind and stuff when you start your business. I don't have a target, other than I just have my time. That's more valuable than anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What revenue number should a new solopreneur aim for in the first 90 days?

Aim for your first 1,000 dollars in real revenue, not 10,000. The first thousand proves the model works. Anything beyond it is volume on a proven engine. Most failed solopreneurs target a flashy monthly number and quit before clearing the validation threshold their business actually needs first.

How many customers do you need to validate the offer?

Three to five paying customers from outside your immediate network. That sample size kills most false positives from family pity buys and produces honest feedback on price, onboarding, and delivery. Below three customers, you cannot tell whether the offer works or the buyer was just being kind.

Should you focus on price or volume early on?

Price first. Sell a 500-dollar offer to two buyers before chasing 50 sales of a 20-dollar item. Higher prices force you to talk to real prospects, refine the pitch, and learn objection handling. Volume games punish solopreneurs because they require traffic systems most beginners have not yet built.

How do you set a realistic monthly revenue target?

Multiply your current weekly hours by an honest hourly value. If you can serve 10 hours at 150 dollars, your ceiling sits near 6,000 dollars a month. Target 60 to 70 percent of that ceiling for month one, then add a product to break past the time-for-money wall.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue has been building automated online businesses since 2013. He runs The Vault, a six-figure system covering Etsy, lifestyle design, AI automation, and growth hacking, without a personal brand, without filming his face, and without selling courses. He coaches solopreneurs on building durable income streams that don't require a team or a 60-hour week. Find him on YouTube and LinkedIn.

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