Set three or four money goals for the year, base them on last year's real numbers, and check them every month. A short list you look at monthly does more than a long plan you never open again.
Start from last year
Goals built on guesses tend to be missed or ignored. Pull last year's P&L, your member count by month and your cash balance at year end. That's your starting line.
Pick a few goals
I'd pick from these:
- A member count by December.
- Monthly revenue by December.
- A monthly owner pay number.
- A reserve balance, in months of expenses.
- A cost you want to bring down.
Three or four is plenty. Every extra goal makes the others easier to ignore.
Connect the goals
Money goals depend on each other. Your owner pay goal needs a revenue goal, and the revenue goal needs a member goal.
In a made-up example, you want to pay yourself $12,000 a month. Your fixed costs are $25,000 a month, and you set aside $3,000 a month for taxes. That's $40,000 a month. If each member leaves about $70 after variable costs, you need about 572 members. If you have 430 today, the member goal is about 140 more by December, or about 12 a month. Here's the break-even math in more detail.
Break it into months
A yearly number is hard to act on. A monthly number isn't. Write down what each goal should look like at the end of every month, then compare it to your actual numbers when your reports arrive.
Check them monthly
When your P&L and Balance Sheet come in, spend ten minutes on the goals. Ahead, on track or behind? If you're behind three months in a row, change something: price, costs, marketing or the goal itself.
Share them with the people who move them
If staff affect a goal, tell them what it is. A front desk that knows the member goal will think differently about follow-up calls and cancellations. You don't have to share owner pay or taxes. Share the goals people can act on, and show progress once a month. A simple chart in a team meeting is enough. When the team hits a monthly target, say so. It keeps the goals in front of everyone.
What I'd do this week
- Pull last year's P&L and your year-end cash and member count.
- Pick three or four goals for the year.
- Check that they connect: members to revenue to owner pay.
- Write the monthly targets and put the monthly check on your calendar.
Common questions
Should goals be stretch goals or safe ones?
Somewhere in between. A goal you can't reach gets ignored. A goal you'll hit without trying doesn't change anything.
What if I'm way off by mid-year?
Look at why. Then decide whether to change what you're doing or change the goal. Either is fine, as long as it's a decision.
Do I need a full budget too?
A budget helps, but goals come first. Your first budget can be built from three months of bank data.
Want monthly numbers to check your goals against?
We reconcile every account every month and send your P&L and Balance Sheet by the 15th, so decisions like this start from real numbers. If that's what you need, apply to work with us.