The Six-Figure Trap: Why Revenue Goals Could Be Killing Your Business

“Six, seven, eight figures… for what?”

That’s the question Carrie Green, founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association, asked at a live event I attended in late 2025. This is a lady who has built exactly that kind of empire, yet there she was, standing in front of a room of business owners and questioning the very thing we’re all told we should be aiming for with our businesses.

If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ve seen the posts. “How I hit six figures in six months,” or “Follow my blueprint for a seven-figure year.” It feels like we’re bombarded with the message that if you aren’t constantly scaling and hitting higher revenue milestones, you’re somehow “playing small” or worse, failing.

After twelve years in this industry, I’m calling time on this narrative.

Focusing purely on revenue figures isn’t just exhausting; it can be detrimental to the very reason you started your business in the first place.

Turnover vs. Take-Home: The Great Digital Deception

We need to get real about what these “six-figure” claims actually mean, as there’s a massive difference between a six-figure turnover and paying yourself a six-figure salary.

I’ve seen businesses turning over £150,000 where the owner is so bogged down in high overheads, massive ad spend, and team costs that they are taking home less than they did in their old 9-to-5 job. As Carrie Green asked us all at the event, “what’s the cost if you hit those figures? Is it what you actually want?”

When we see someone boasting about their revenue, we don’t see the wellbeing of their team, the impact they’re (not) creating, or the state of their mental health. As Susanne Rieker and Laura Agar Wilson have both pointed out in their work, the “story behind the story” is often much messier than the glossy Instagram reel suggests.

Money is important, we are running businesses, not charities after all! But it isn’t everything. Success should be measured by your own yardstick, not someone else’s highlight reel. For some, success is a £30k year that allows them to travel. For others, it’s a £80k year that funds a specific lifestyle. Both are valid.

The Cost of the “Mercedes” Business

My business ‘why’ is very clear – I want to help and support female business owners, whilst earning the money to support the lifestyle I want and being the Mum I want to be.

Every time I’ve looked at those “six-figure blueprints,” I’ve realised they would take me further away from that why. To achieve those kinds of figures means more hours, more complexity, and more “noise.” If hitting a certain revenue goal means I’m too stressed to enjoy a Tuesday afternoon with my kids, then the cost is simply too high.

I’m not interested in building an empire that requires me to become someone I’m not.

Carrie Green talked about not being trapped by what you build. About feeling good and bringing joy back into the work. That resonated with me deeply. I work with clients who’ve reached a point where the DIY approach is broken, but they don’t want a sprawling empire; they just want a business that runs smoothly and gives them space to do work they’re proud of.

She also talked about these three key concepts of building a business that supports your lifestyle, rather than hindering it:

Simple: No unnecessary layers of complexity.

Automated: Tech doing the heavy lifting while I live my life.

Systemised: Smooth operations that don’t rely on me being switched on 24/7.

Simple. Systemised. Not trapped by complexity.

That’s not playing small. That’s being intentional.

Redefining Your Measure of Success

What would your business look like if you stopped chasing someone else’s definition of success?

These messages often make people feel like they are failing if they don’t hit massive goals in their first year. The reality? It can take years of steady, quiet work to build a profitable, sustainable business. And “profitable” doesn’t have to mean “millionaire.”

If you stop the “scale at all costs” mindset, you might find you already have exactly what you need. My version of success looks different from yours, and that is exactly how it should be.

Stop listening to the gurus telling you that you need “more.” Focus on what is important to you. Build a business that fits your life, rather than trying to squeeze your life into the gaps left by your business.