Silhouette Portrait Artist Break-Even Analysis: Month 27 Target

Fixed costs $1.9K/mo Base overhead

Contribution margin 71.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $29.3K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 27 Model crossover

Break-even calculator

Test how monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs shape the break-even point for a silhouette portrait artist.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue sets the pool that can cover direct costs and fixed overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses Direct costs rise with each event or commission and cut contribution margin. $ Light costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $21,708 $29,250 revenue - $7,542 variable expenses

Margin ratio

74%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs These are the monthly costs the business must cover before profit starts. $ Low overhead High overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which portrait artist expenses are fixed and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even reliability starts with separating the $1,865/month fixed overhead from job-linked costs. If travel, materials, framing, and payment fees get buried in fixed overhead, the Month 27 break-even target can look safer than it is.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Studio Rent and Utilities	Fixed	Use $1,200 per month in fixed overhead for the active planning range.	Spreading rent across jobs and understating slow-month risk.
Website Hosting and Maintenance	Fixed	Use $150 per month as fixed overhead from Month 1 through Month 60.	Treating the website as a per-booking expense.
CRM and Booking Software	Fixed	Use $85 per month as fixed operating overhead.	Linking the full software bill to each sale.
Art Supplies and Archival Paper	Variable	Model as 6.5% of first-year revenue, falling to 5.5% by Year 5.	Putting paper and supplies into fixed overhead.
Framing and Presentation Materials	Variable	Model as 8.0% of first-year revenue, falling to 6.8% by Year 5.	Ignoring packaging because each order feels small.
Payment Processing and Booking Fees	Variable	Model as 4.0% of first-year revenue, falling to 3.2% by Year 5.	Counting payment fees as fixed admin overhead.
Travel and Event Logistics	Semi-variable	Track event-linked travel separately; the model starts at 10.0% of first-year revenue.	Putting travel into fixed overhead like rent.
Studio Assistant	Semi-fixed	Add capacity in steps: 0.5 FTE in Year 2, then 1.0 FTE in Year 4.	Smoothing payroll as if it rises with every booking.

How do lean, base, and full operating cases change break-even for a silhouette portrait artist?

Scenario table

Break-even shifts as monthly revenue outgrows fixed overhead. In this model, the lean case is still losing money, the base case is close to the Month 27 break-even signal, and the full case finally builds a cushion.

Research-based planning assumptions only, not guaranteed results.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch	$6.9k	$2.0k	$9.4k	71.5%	-$4.5k	Still below break-even, so loss risk stays high.
Base case	$15.8k	$4.3k	$12.3k	73.0%	-$0.8k	Near break-even, but one weak month can tip it back.
Full build	$29.3k	$7.6k	$16.2k	74.2%	$5.5k	Above break-even, with room to absorb slow periods.

What breaks the break-even plan for a silhouette portrait artist?

Stress test

Year 2 is already slightly under water at $190k revenue and -$9k EBITDA. The plan gets fragile if bookings slip, travel costs rise, or fixed staff costs arrive before repeat commissions are steady.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	Year 2 stays at $190k revenue and -$9k EBITDA.	$190k	$9k gap	Small loss, so timing still matters.
Revenue shortfall	Revenue falls 10% to $171k.	$171k	$139k gap	A booking miss pushes the business deep below break-even.
Fixed-cost increase	Monthly overhead rises by $1,000.	$190k	$12k gap	Extra rent or staff cost adds a clean annual hit.
Margin pressure	Variable expense rises 5 percentage points.	$190k	$95k gap	Higher travel share or fees can erase the cushion fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 10% and overhead rises $1,000 a month.	$171k	$43k gap	Slow bookings plus higher costs break the plan quickly.

What should you verify before you book venues, hire help, or buy more supplies for this portrait business?

Founder checklist

Before you commit to venues, hiring, or more supplies, make sure the model can sell and deliver at event speed and still hold cash through the Month 31 trough. Break-even lands in Month 27, so paid bookings and margin need to show up before the big spend.

1Live workflow4.0 hrs

Prove you can finish a live event package in 4.0 billable hours at Year 1 live-event pricing, because live events make up 45.0% of sales and set the delivery pace.

2Price mix71.5% CM

Check that $175 live events, $120 studio commissions, and $80 add-ons still leave about 71.5% after supplies, framing, travel, and booking fees.

3Burn floor$8.5K/mo

Track the monthly floor at about $8.5K with rent, software, insurance, telecom, hosting, the lead artist, and a 0.2 full-time equivalent (FTE) marketing manager, so you know what bookings must cover before hiring the assistant.

4Supply backup14.5%

Keep backup suppliers for paper, frames, and presentation materials, because those inputs total 14.5% of Year 1 revenue and any stockout slows every paid job.

5Assistant gateMonth 13

Hold the studio assistant until the booking base supports it; the model starts that role in Month 13 and moves to 0.5 FTE in Year 2.

6Cash runway$798K

Use the $4,500 Year 1 marketing budget at a $125 CAC to win about 36 customers before you spend the full $20,850 launch capex, because the model needs $798K of cash, breaks even in Month 27, and does not pay back until Month 49.