How Much Cybersecurity Consulting Owners Can Make: $116K-$586K
You’re not comparing this to a W-2 cybersecurity job This page estimates US cybersecurity consulting owner take-home from $775K first-year revenue, 82% gross margin, payroll, overhead, sales spend, and reserves before taxes or distributions
Owner income$116KNet margin15%Revenue for target pay$775KBusiness difficultyMedium
Want the six income drivers?
1
Billable pricing
$150-$300/hr
Year 1 rates set the revenue ceiling fast, so even small price lifts flow straight into owner take-home.
2
Utilization
8-32 hrs
More billable hours per service spread fixed salary cost across more revenue, which lifts EBITDA quickly.
3
Recurring retainers
65%-80%
A larger retainer base steadies monthly cash and cuts sales volatility, which helps pay the owner more predictably.
4
Service mix
25%-65%
Shifting work toward higher-value testing and audit work changes blended margin and raises income per hour sold.
5
Delivery leverage
18%
Tool and feed costs near 18% of revenue keep gross margin from leaking as headcount and delivery volume grow.
6
Overhead reserve
$219K
Annual fixed overhead of about $219K means cash discipline matters, especially before payback hits in Month 10.
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Estimate owner take-home and the target-pay gap from revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and target pay.
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Planning note: This is a researched planning estimate, not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice. Taxes are excluded unless you enter them separately.
How does solo cybersecurity consulting compare with a small firm?
For Cybersecurity Consulting, a true solo setup saves payroll, but sales, documentation, client meetings, and continuing education eat billable time fast. In the provided model, this is a boutique firm, not a pure solo practice: Year 1 revenue is about $775K with $395K payroll including the owner, then Year 2 can reach $1.84M as payroll rises to $720K. The tradeoff is simple: more leverage and revenue, but more management load, tighter quality control, and bigger cash reserves needed.
Solo model
Payroll stays light.
Capacity caps quickly.
Owner time gets split.
Billable hours shrink.
Boutique firm
Year 1 revenue: $775K.
Year 1 payroll: $395K.
Year 2 revenue: $1.84M.
Year 2 payroll: $720K.
How much revenue does a cybersecurity consultancy need to pay the owner?
For Cybersecurity Consulting, a $180K owner target needs about $865K in Year 1 revenue before reserves, using $219K fixed overhead, $215K non-owner payroll, and a 71% contribution margin. The model’s Year 1 revenue is about $775K, so there’s roughly a $90K gap. Year 2 is stronger: the model says about $128M is needed, and that is below the $184M modeled revenue.
Year 1 target
$219K fixed overhead
$215K non-owner payroll
$180K owner pay
$865K needed at 71% margin
Year 2 target
$219K fixed overhead
$540K non-owner payroll
$180K owner pay
About $128M needed, under $184M
How much does a cybersecurity consulting owner make?
A Cybersecurity Consulting owner makes about $116K in Year 1 before tax and reserves in the provided staffed plan, because the modeled $180K owner salary is offset by about -$64K EBITDA; for market context, see What Is The Current Growth Trend For Cybersecurity Consulting?. By Year 2, the plan improves to about $586K before owner pay, or $406K EBITDA after the $180K salary.
Owner Pay
Year 1 take-home capacity: about $116K
Modeled owner salary: $180K
Year 1 EBITDA: about -$64K
Before tax and reserves
Profit Drivers
Year 2 before owner pay: about $586K
Year 2 EBITDA after salary: about $406K
Includes senior analyst from launch
Includes sales role from launch
Key Takeaways
Higher rates matter most because they flow straight to margin.
Billable hours fund overhead, so admin quickly cuts take-home.
Retainers smooth cash flow and stabilize annual revenue.
Keep reserves first; fixed costs hit even when work slips.
Compare lean, base, and scaling cybersecurity consulting income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner income shifts fast with staffing, fixed overhead, and how much work stays billable. The early plan is cash tight, then the model opens up as revenue and utilization grow.
Low, base, and high owner income cases for planning.
Scenario
Low CaseDownside case
Base CaseMost likely
High CaseUpside case
Launch model
Owner income stays tight because revenue builds slowly and fixed staff costs stay in place.
Owner income tracks the modeled plan with Year 1 revenue around $775K and room expanding by Year 2.
Owner income expands faster as revenue scales and the same fixed overhead is spread across more billable work.
Typical setup
This case assumes the source plan runs with low client density, heavy overhead, and limited room for owner pay after delivery labor and tools.
This case reflects the staffed buildout in the model, with about 82% gross margin in Year 1, $219K fixed overhead, and about $116K before owner pay.
This case matches the stronger Year 2 setup, with about $1.84M revenue, 83.5% gross margin, $219K fixed overhead, and about $586K before owner pay.
Cost drivers
Slow client growth
high fixed overhead
staffed delivery
lower owner draw
weak cash buffer
Year 1 revenue
82% gross margin
$219K fixed overhead
$215K non-owner payroll
billable utilization
Year 2 revenue
83.5% gross margin
$219K fixed overhead
$540K non-owner payroll
higher utilization
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
$0 - $116KCash tight
$116K - $586KModeled mid case
$586K+Scaling cushion
Best fit
Use this to stress-test the launch period when the business is still funding staff and office overhead.
Use this as the main planning case for budgeting, hiring, and cash timing.
Use this to test upside if sales, retention, and delivery capacity all hold up.
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Planning note: These scenario ranges are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distributions.
Cybersecurity Consulting Core Six Income Drivers
Billable Pricing And Fee Structure
Billable Rate Mix
The owner’s income rises fastest when the rate card matches risk, urgency, and specialization. In Year 1, rates range from $150/hour for monthly retainer work to $300/hour for incident response, with $250/hour for penetration testing and $225/hour for compliance audits. At 18% tool costs, every $1 of billable revenue keeps $0.82 before fixed overhead.
Here’s the quick math: a $300/hour incident response hour keeps about $246 before rent, payroll, and owner pay, while a $150/hour retainer hour keeps about $123. Underpricing readiness work can look busy but still leave weak owner pay, especially when fixed overhead is $18,250/month.
Price By Value, Not Hours
Track revenue by service line, not just total hours. Use four inputs: billable hours, service mix, tool cost rate, and fixed overhead. A pricing change only helps if it survives delivery cost and leaves enough margin to cover the monthly burn plus a profit draw.
$150 retainer work: steady, lower rate.
$225-$300 project work: higher margin.
18% tools: first cost to watch.
$18,250 overhead: cash hurdle.
If the mix shifts toward incident response and penetration testing, gross margin improves faster than in retainer-heavy months, and the owner can pay themselves sooner.
Recurring Retainer Revenue
Recurring Retainer Revenue
Recurring retainers matter because they turn one-off consulting into steady cash. Here’s the quick math: 8 hours × $150 = $1,200 per retainer client each month. At 65% retainer coverage on 50 customers, the modeled base is about $39,000 a month, or $468,000 a year. That steadier billing helps cover fixed costs and makes owner pay less jumpy.
By Year 2, 70% of 80 customers at $1,650 a month means about $92,400 monthly, or $1,108,800 annually. The risk is simple: advisory retainers are not the same as fully managed security provider economics, so margin depends on how many hours each client really uses and how fast cash is collected.
Keep Retainers Tight
Measure retainer share, hours used per client, and cash collected each month. If a client on a $1,200 retainer uses more than 8 hours, the extra work eats margin fast. If collections slip, the cash benefit disappears even when sales look strong.
Track active retainer clients monthly.
Cap included hours in writing.
Bill overages fast.
Separate advisory and incident work.
Forecast revenue as customers Ă— retainer rate Ă— monthly fee, then subtract delivery time and fixed costs. That shows when recurring revenue can cover overhead and when the owner can safely take profit out instead of leaving cash trapped in the business.
Service Mix And Specialization
Service Mix And Specialization
Your income changes more from service mix than from headcount here. In Year 1, the mix is 45% risk assessments, 25% penetration testing, 20% compliance audits, and 15% incident response. That matters because a penetration test brings $8,000 per project, vs $6,300 for a compliance audit and $4,800 for a risk assessment, so the same client count can produce very different owner pay.
Specialization also changes cost and risk. Compliance readiness and incident planning can support higher pricing, but they usually add insurance, legal, and documentation work. If those extra hours are not billed, gross margin falls and cash for owner draws gets thinner even when revenue looks stronger.
Price the Higher-Risk Mix
Track project count, billable hours, and gross margin by service line. Here’s the quick math: more penetration tests lift revenue per engagement, but only if delivery time and rework stay controlled. One clean rule: price the risk, not just the clock.
Count projects by service type.
Measure hours per project.
Log legal and insurance add-ons.
Watch owner draw coverage monthly.
If incident response and compliance work create heavier documentation, build that into the fee floor before you scale them. The goal is not more services; it is more profit per hour and steadier take-home income.
Utilization And Billable Capacity
Billable Capacity
Utilization rate means the share of total time that is billable. In this business, income depends on paid work like 8 hours for monthly retainers, 24 for risk assessments, 32 for penetration testing, 28 for compliance audits, and 16 for incident response. If owner time leaks into sales, proposals, reporting, or admin, revenue falls fast while $18,250 in monthly overhead still has to be paid.
Here’s the quick math: a 10-hour shift from billable work to admin at $225/hour cuts $2,250 in revenue before tool costs. That is why owner delivery hours and team delivery hours must be tracked separately. One clean rule: paid hours pay the bills, unpaid hours do not.
Track Paid Hours by Service Line
Measure billable hours, non-billable hours, and owner hours by service. That shows whether growth is coming from real delivery or from the owner doing unpaid work. Track these inputs each month:
Billable hours by service
Owner versus team hours
Non-billable admin hours
Hours sold at each rate
Overhead covered by paid work
If owner admin rises, take-home income usually drops before revenue does. A simple control helps: set a billable target first, then cap proposals, client education, and reporting so they do not crowd out higher-rate work like penetration testing and incident response.
Overhead, Risk, And Reserves
Overhead, Risk, Reserves
Fixed overhead is $18,250 per month, made up of $8,500 rent, $2,500 cloud infrastructure, $3,200 insurance and legal, and $1,500 accounting and bookkeeping. Those bills land even when projects slip, so owner pay can get squeezed fast. Direct tool costs add 18% of Year 1 revenue, which means profit depends on more than just booked work.
One late client payment can turn a good month into a cash gap. Reserve cash should sit before owner distributions because project timing, incident-response spikes, and renewal gaps can all hit at once, and take-home income is usually the first place the strain shows up.
Protect Cash Before Owner Draws
Track cash on hand, open receivables, and monthly burn before any profit draw. If Year 1 revenue is R, monthly tool spend is 0.18 Ă— R / 12, so reserve planning should cover both fixed overhead and variable tools, not just rent. Treat reserves as planned protection, not leftover profit.
Review unpaid invoices weekly.
Separate tools from overhead.
Hold reserves before distributions.
Stress test delayed project timing.
Delivery Leverage And Labor Cost
Delivery Leverage vs. Payroll
Delivery staff can raise capacity, but they also compress margin if the work they add does not beat loaded payroll. Year 1 non-owner payroll is $215K — $120K for the senior analyst plus $95K for the sales manager — so owner income depends on how fast billable demand fills those seats.
By Year 2, total payroll including the owner rises from $395K to $720K, up $325K or about 82%. If added delivery does not create more gross profit than salary, benefits, training, and management time, revenue growth can still leave the owner with less cash.
Track Loaded Payroll Against Gross Profit
Measure billable hours, utilization, and gross profit per delivery employee each month. The test is simple: each hire should cover salary + benefits + training + management time from incremental gross profit, not just from top-line revenue.
Watch for payroll getting ahead of demand. If staff are hired before the pipeline is proven, cash flow tightens fast and owner pay is the first thing squeezed.
