“Your breaking point is your making point.”
– I have no idea
It was the holes in my underwear that finally did it.
I couldn’t find a single pair without a hole.
Two years after starting my Freelance business and I was still wearing the same undershorts I had from before being homeless.
Every. Single. Penny. I was earning was going to:
A. Taxes (30%)
B. Health insurance for family ($1500/month)
C. Rent/food/bills/paying off debt ($3k/month)
Here I was thinking I was some kind of hotshot for making $5k – $7k/month with my business, but again and again I had too much month left at the end of the money.
You might think I’m some kind of interwebs shyster whenever I say you should be aiming for AT LEAST a $10,000 a month business, but…
… the reason I even say that is because I can do math.
Let’s assume you only make $10k/month in your business. Here’s how that breaks down:
1. Taxes
30% goes straight to Uncle Sam if you’re in the U.S.
UK, Canada, and elsewhere may be even higher.
So, there goes $3,000 of your $10,000 right out the door without even trying.
2. Insurance
I have a small family who is pretty healthy.
We pay $1500 per month for mid-range insurance coverage. It’s good, but not the platinum level stuff where you get free teeth-whitening as a “thank you for being rich” gift.
If you want life insurance (which you should) tack on another few grand per year for the big payout.
Renters insurance, business insurance, car insurance etc. etc. etc.
Let’s just say you end up paying another $2k/month for various insurances which keep you and your family safe.
Ok, 2 points in and we’re already down from $10k to $5k/month left over.
3. Rent/Mortgage
I don’t live in the cheapest place in the world, I’ll admit that.
When we rented, for a small family in a less-likely-to-be-shot-or-
Where you live might be cheaper, but mortgages in my area reflect that same monthly payment.
Don’t forget a budget for repairs, upgrading home furnishings/appliances, etc. etc.
Ok, so here we are, down from $10k/month to left with only $2,000.
4. Mics bills and food
For sake of keeping this email short, let’s just say we drop $1000/month for a small family to afford a bit o’ fun and decent eats.
Great, we’ve got $1,000 left.
And that’s assuming we’re making $10,000 a month in our business.
Imagine if we were only making $3 – $5k/month.
Call me what you want, but $10k/month is a baseline for someone wanting to build a business and provide for a family. Period.
Anyways, back to the holes in the underwear.
So, there I am, literally staring at all my undies, exhausted because I’d been working super hard to make that $5k – $7k/month business work…
… and then it happened.
I just snapped.
I started laughing hysterically. My wife ran into the room, “Are you ok?”
“Not really.” I said.
You see, I have this weird fear that maybe you share, maybe you don’t, but it goes like this:
I am 100%, absolutely terrified of spending my entire life paying bills and having nothing to show for it.
That seems like the worst use of a human life, to spend your life buying things you don’t really even want and giving people money for things you wish you didn’t have to.
The thought of laying on my deathbed and reviewing my life only to find I spent most of it working to pay other people…
… having purposefully chosen THAT over spending time with my family…
… yikes.
That moment, staring into a pile of holey drawers, I committed myself to figuring out how to turn what I had – a fledgling Freelancing business – into a highly profitable income stream which not only did better than pay my bills…
… but also provided the flexibility to live my life beyond the act of earning money so I can give it all away to bill collectors.
8 years have gone by since that moment.
I’m happy to report I haven’t donned a holey undergarment since, and even occasionally dabble in designer drawers just for kicks.
What I’ve learned which has been very profitable for me, I’ve shared with you in this video here:
Worth taking a look.
Either way, if you haven’t reached your breaking point yet… pray that you do.
I am grateful for each of my breaking points – there have been many – and they’ve each contributed to new episodes of growth.
I’m going through one right now and I can tell you… it’s like putting jet fuel in the thirsty engines of motivation, focus, and ability to get stuff done.
Don’t try and avoid the breaking point, embrace it.
Mike “Proud Owner Of Holey-less Undershorts” Shreeve
