Life Coaching Break-Even Revenue: About $258K Per Month

Fixed costs $5.5K Overhead only

Contribution margin 73.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $7.4K Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 9 Model turn point

Break-even calculator

Test whether monthly revenue can cover variable costs and the fixed monthly base.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash that has to cover direct costs and overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These rise with each sale or session. $ Thin costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $33,300 $45,000 revenue - $11,700 variable expenses

Margin ratio

74%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly base the margin must cover. $ Lean base Large base

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which life coaching expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets cleaner when monthly overhead, revenue-linked fees, payroll steps, and lead-driven spend stay separate. Keep one-time setup spend out, and don’t count the $24,000 annual marketing budget and 8% marketing rate twice.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office rent, $2,500/month	Fixed	Include as recurring monthly overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Treating rent as session-driven when it stays flat within the planning range.
Technology and software subscriptions, $800/month	Fixed	Include in monthly fixed overhead for the break-even base.	Linking the full subscription bill to each new customer instead of overhead.
Payment processing fees, 3.5% in the first year	Variable	Apply as a percentage of revenue because fees move with paid sessions and sales.	Using a flat monthly estimate that misses higher fees as revenue grows.
Marketing and advertising rate, 8% in the first year	Variable	Apply to revenue only if modeled as sales-linked marketing spend.	Counting both the 8% rate and the $24,000 annual budget in the same break-even run.
Coach commissions and bonuses, 12% in the first year	Variable	Apply as a revenue-linked delivery expense before contribution margin.	Putting commissions below break-even as overhead instead of reducing margin.
Annual marketing budget, $24,000, with $400 CAC	Semi-variable	Use when spend flexes with lead volume and customer acquisition targets.	Adding it on top of percentage-based marketing without removing the overlap.
Founder and Lead Coach salary, $10,000/month	Semi-fixed	Include as recurring payroll; capacity changes when additional coaches are hired.	Ignoring owner payroll and showing break-even before the founder is paid.
Senior coach, marketing, and admin hires	Semi-fixed	Add payroll in steps as staffing starts after the early ramp-up.	Smoothing hires evenly across months instead of modeling the staffing step.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full life coaching setups?

Scenario table

Break-even rises as payroll and overhead step up, even when margin stays strong. The lean setup gets to break-even first, while the fuller model needs a much larger monthly run rate to cover the extra fixed load.

Planning assumptions only; actual break-even will move with pricing, mix, and coach utilization.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch	$21,020	$5,570	$15,450	73.5%	$0	Lowest fixed load, so break-even is easiest to reach.
Base Year 1	$25,839	$6,847	$18,992	73.5%	$0	Still manageable, but the added coach cost lifts monthly break-even needs.
Fuller Year 3	$51,187	$12,016	$39,158	76.5%	$0	Works only when group and corporate work can carry the larger payroll.

What breaks this life coaching break-even plan first?

Stress test

If revenue slips 15%, or fixed costs rise by $2,500 a month, the cushion disappears fast. Margin pressure also matters: moving contribution margin from 73.5% to 68.5% pushes break-even revenue above $27.7k.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change; revenue stays at $25,839 and fixed costs at $18,992.	$25,839	$0 cushion	Base case sits right at break-even.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue drops 15% to $21,963.	$25,839	$2,849 gap	CAC above $400 and weak booked-call conversion can tip this negative fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise $2,500 a month to $21,492.	$29,241	$3,402 gap	Unused office space turns into dead overhead.
Margin pressure	Contribution margin falls from 73.5% to 68.5%.	$27,726	$1,887 gap	Higher coach commissions or fees squeeze every session.
Combined pressure	Revenue drops 15%, margin falls to 68.5%, and fixed costs rise to $21,492.	$31,375	$6,447 gap	Hiring before recurring packages renew can widen the gap.

What should a life coaching founder verify before signing rent and hiring support?

Founder checklist

Don’t lock in $2,500 monthly rent or the senior coach until booked discovery calls show real demand at the Year 1 prices. The model only works if you can hold about 32 active customer equivalents, keep CAC near $400, and survive the Month 2 cash trough.

1Demand ProofBooked calls

Verify enough discovery calls are booked before any fixed lease, because this is the first real test of market pull.

2Price Test$150-$300/hr

Verify buyers will pay the Year 1 rates for individual, hourly, group, and corporate offers before you build around them.

3Fixed Load$5.45K/mo

Verify the base monthly overhead can stay covered without new hires, since the office and admin stack still hits the cash line.

4Capacity Ramp4.5 hrs/mo

Verify each active customer fits the modeled billable-hours load and delay the senior coach until the pipeline can carry that salary.

5CAC Control$400 CAC

Verify the funnel can hold customer acquisition near $400 and stay inside the $24,000 Year 1 marketing budget.

6Cash Buffer$838K

Verify cash can absorb the Month 2 low point, because breakeven lands in Month 9 and payback takes 25 months.