Profits over Revenue, Every Time

In the first year of my business I made $40K in revenue which I agree should be celebrated, but I just kept seeing and hearing other female entrepreneurs celebrating that they had “just made 6 figures in their business”. And I wanted to be one of them. So, the following year I made it my goal, and my head and heart were laser-focused on hitting 6-figures in revenue.

Fast forward to the following year, I hit my goal and I was so excited. I was now one of those women who was celebrating a 6-figure business. That is until I did my taxes. When I saw the revenue vs the profit for my business, I was nowhere near being profitable. Even though I had generated so much revenue I had zero to show for it.

Have you ever had a gut punch moment - if you have, you’ll know exactly what I mean when I say that seeing the stark difference between what I thought I had made compared to what I had made was one of those moments for me. It was the catalyst for me realizing that I needed more than a 6-figure revenue to be profitable in my business. All of a sudden celebrating a 6-figure revenue became a little tarnished for me. And it made me think, if I’m experiencing this feeling, could other female entrepreneurs also be feeling the same way?

With that in the back of my mind I started sharing the mindset shift that we need to stop amplifying the celebration of 6-figure revenues and start celebrating those 6-figure profits. As I participated in speaking engagements and podcast interviews, what I was saying started to resonate with more and more people. That’s when I realized this was not just a Vanessa problem, but instead, it was something that many female entrepreneurs were struggling with.

As women who want to be financially successful in both our personal and professional lives, it’s hard to boldly say that a 6-figure revenue isn’t cutting it for you. But I want that to be a comfortable narrative. I want more women to have that conversation and that mindset that to maintain a consistent worry-free lifestyle, you need to make 6 figures in profit, not just in revenue. And to want that is perfectly ok.

I recently was a guest on the One of One Podcast and this is one of the topics we discussed and it’s something I will continue to talk about at every opportunity.

The important thing to note is that I’m not saying you shouldn’t be celebrating your 6-figure revenue. Celebrate it, honour it, and scream your joy from the rooftops. But do it knowing that your end goal is to have that figure in profit, not just in revenue.