Why I Don't Want £10k Months (And Why That's Okay)
I need to tell you something that might sound absolutely bonkers to most business coaches:
I hit £10k months three times this year, and I never want to do it again.
I know, I know. Everyone's shouting about £10k months like they're the ultimate badge of entrepreneurial success. Instagram is full of people celebrating hitting five figures. Business gurus sell courses promising to get you there.
But here's what nobody talks about: what those months actually cost you.
And to me, it just wasn’t worth it.
What My £10k Months Really Looked Like
Let me paint you a picture of what ‘success’ looked like during those months:
Working every weekend. Missing bath time with the kids. Putting Quin in nursery for extra days just to accommodate the workload (and watching that extra income immediately disappear into childcare costs).
But here's the bit that really got me: I didn't feel like I was giving each client the full time and energy they deserved.
When you're cramming too much into your schedule, something has to give. And I refuse to let that be the quality of my work or the experience my clients have working with me.
Every single person who books a Website in a Day deserves my full attention, my creativity, my problem-solving brain at its best. Not the exhausted, stretched-too-thin version of me who's already thinking about the next project before I've finished the current one.
That's not the business I want to run. That's not why I started working for myself.
The Myth of the £10k Month
Here's something else nobody talks about: £10k revenue doesn't mean £10k in your pocket.
Those months had significantly more outgoings, and when you actually look at the take-home pay after all those expenses? I was taking home less per hour worked than my usual £8k months.
More work. More stress. Less actual money. Make it make sense!
Why Everyone Wants £10k Months
Let's be honest about why £10k months are such a big deal: they sound impressive.
It's a nice round number. It looks good on a revenue screenshot. It feels like ‘making it’ as a business owner.
But impressive to who? And at what cost?
I started my business for freedom. Freedom to be there for my kids. Freedom to work reasonable hours. Freedom to actually enjoy my life while still doing work I'm passionate about.
£10k months took all of that away. And for what? So I could say I'd done it? So I could post about it on Instagram and look successful?
That's not success to me. That's just glorified burnout with better branding.
My Sweet Spot: £8k Months
Here's what £8k months give me:
✅ Full capacity - I'm busy but not overwhelmed
✅ Each client gets my full attention and energy
✅ No weekend work (unless I actively choose to, not because I'm behind)
✅ Manageable workload that fits my actual capacity
✅ Time to be present with my family
✅ Better take-home pay per hour worked
✅ Staying under the VAT threshold
That last point is important. If I consistently hit £10k months, I'd be pushed over the VAT threshold (£90k annually). And because most of my clients aren't VAT registered, that would mean charging them 20% more with zero benefit to them.
Nobody wins in that scenario. My clients pay more, I gain nothing except significantly more accounting admin. Where's the logic?
What Success Actually Looks Like
I didn't leave a traditional job to recreate the same stressed, overworked, never-quite-enough feeling in my own business.
Success, for me, looks like this:
Fully booked at a sustainable level. Clients who get the absolute best version of me. Time with my family without constantly thinking about work. A business that supports my life instead of consuming it.
Some months I earn £7k. Some months I hit £8.5k. Occasionally I might hit £9k. And that's perfect.
Because I know my limits. I know my capacity. And I know that pushing past them doesn't serve anyone - not me, not my family, not my clients.
Permission to Find Your Own Sweet Spot
If £10k months work for you and your business model - genuinely, that's brilliant! This isn't about judging anyone else's goals.
But if you've been chasing £10k months because you think you're supposed to, or because it sounds impressive, or because everyone else seems to be doing it...
Maybe it's time to ask yourself: “what do I actually want from my business?”
What would success look like if you removed everyone else's expectations and definitions?
For me, it's £8k months, reasonable hours, and being present for my family. That's my version of ‘making it.
What's yours?
You don't have to want what everyone else wants. And you definitely don't have to sacrifice your wellbeing to hit arbitrary revenue targets that don't actually improve your life.
Find your sustainable sweet spot. Stick to those boundaries. And ignore anyone who tells you that you should want more just for the sake of it.
If you liked this post you may also like:
