10 reasons why I don’t focus on £10k months
It’s everywhere online…
‘The secret to hitting £10k months!’
Urgh.
Before we go any further, let me be clear that this isn’t a personal attack on anyone. I have no doubt that some people whose marketing focuses on £10k months are good people with good intentions.
I just don’t buy into the £10k month obsession. Not because income doesn’t matter… it absolutely does. And not because I don’t believe that it’s possible to have that level of income in our industry. I know from personal experience that it is.
The problem is that behind every number, there’s a story… one that really matters.
So, I’m getting on my soapbox and sharing 10 reasons why you’ll never hear me bang on about my coaching/ mentoring programme being ‘the route to £10k months’.
reason #01
£10k ignores your real life and goals
‘£10k months’ became a marketing trend because it sounds like an impressive headline. But it’s completely devoid of strategy, context and meaning.
Here’s what gets lost: you do NOT need £10k months to have a successful business and your goals should be shaped by YOUR life and needs, not by someone else’s arbitrary number.
Some people want to earn £3k a month and take Fridays off. Some want to work school hours only. Some have health conditions, caring responsibilities or other factors that affect their capacity to work. And yes, some people genuinely do want to scale to £10k/ month and beyond.
All of those things are valid.
reason #02
£10k revenue ≠ £10k pay
We really need to get clear on this. Revenue (income) and profit are not the same thing. A £10k month means very little if your costs are £8.5k.
If your increased income also results in increased costs (factoring in things like venue hire, coaching, equipment, fuel, software subscriptions, accountancy fees, employee pay and marketing)… that so-called £10k month might leave you with the exact same take-home pay you had at £4k… except now you’re working twice as hard.
Profit over revenue. Every single time.
reason #03
Hitting the VAT threshold changes things
In the UK, consistently hitting £10k months will push you over the VAT threshold after 9 months (yes, even if your income is way lower because VAT registration is based on income, not profit!). Crossing the VAT threshold isn’t a bad thing… but it’s a structural shift that needs intentional planning.
Your pricing may need to change. Your services might need restructuring. Accounting gets more complex (and costly). You need better systems.
VAT registration isn’t something to fall into by accident… especially not because you were busy chasing a goal that someone else told you to have.
reason #04
It can make marketing feel like a full-time job
I don’t know anyone who joined this industry just so that they could spend time marketing their business. But, so often, behind the £10k/month promise, there’s quiet condition attached: you have to be relentlessly visible.
Suddenly your weeks revolve around Reels, engagement, lead magnets, email sequences, launch plans, nurturing funnels, challenges, webinars and showing up every day online to stay ‘visible’. And when that still isn’t enough... push harder for the sale, follow up until people cave, create false urgency, handle objections, close the deal.
Here’s my take: Visibility matters but not like this. If growing your business requires you to live online (unless you want to), sacrifice your boundaries or use tactics that make you feel out of integrity, the strategy is broken.
reason #05
High-income months can hide unstable businesses
When someone hits a ‘10k month’, everyone claps but you rarely hear what comes before or after it. Was it a one-off launch spike? Did they discount heavily to get those sales? Was it just a month of panic-selling after three quiet months?
Sure, some people do it sustainably… especially those with recurring revenue from things like dog walking, memberships or programmes that renew monthly. But in dog training and animal behaviour, where income often depends on a constant stream of new clients, a single big month doesn’t really tell you anything about the health of the business.
A £10k month doesn’t mean much if it’s followed by a £1.2k month.
Reason #06
It can pressure you into delivering services they don’t want to offer
This one drives me mad. People start stacking services they never wanted to deliver, just to increase monthly revenue. Suddenly they’re told:
Add dog walking… easy money!
Add home boarding… massive demand!
Add online classes and memberships… it’s passive income! (yeah… right)
That’s all well and good if those ideas excise you but if that’s not the work you want to do, why on earth would you build a business that traps you inside it? There’s more than one path to growth. Let’s find one that you actually enjoy!
Reason #07
£10k as a solo business is not the same as £10k with a team
Ah yes, the missing context in so many £10k headlines! Some people hit £10k/ month easily because they have other trainers/ walkers/ sitters working under them. Others have big digital product sales. Others run group programmes with 40+ people inside. That’s not the same as a solo trainer or behaviourist delivering every session themselves.
There’s nothing wrong with any of those business models but let’s stop pretending they’re all the same thing. And guess what?
Not everyone wants to manage other people or spend their days marketing an online course. That’s totally ok.
reason #08
The pressure to ‘hit £10k’ can trigger shame and comparison
The more that this narrative spreads, the more risk there is that people feel like they’re behind or not good enough unless they’re racing towards £10k months. That’s nonsense.
Some of the most skilled, ethical and impactful trainers and behaviourists I know do not hit £10k months, either because they don’t want to, don’t need to or are building slowly and sustainably.
Friendly reminder: your worth is not measured in revenue!
Reason #09
£10k talk distracts from building real business skills
£10k months are not a business strategy… they’re a metric.
When people fixate on that number, they often end up chasing shortcuts and quick wins instead of developing the skills that actually build a strong business. Skills like:
• Developing services people genuinely want
• Pricing strategically
• Clear messaging and positioning
• Confident, ethical selling
• Managing time and boundaries
• Building meaningful visibility
These are the foundations that create sustainable momentum. We don’t tell our clients to ignore the relationship with their dog and focus only on the mechanics of training.
Business is the same… foundations first, not surface level metrics
Reason #10
Money is only one part of a life you actually want
Of course I help my clients increase their income. But I’ll never pretend that money is the only goal that matters, because a business built around a single number ignores what you actually need to thrive as a human.
As I explain in my blog about Maslow’s theory of motivation, we all have fundamental needs. When a business ignores those (even if it’s making money), it slowly starts to drain you instead of supporting you.
That’s why inside Unleash Your Potential, we don’t measure progress with one number. We track meaningful growth across multiple areas of your business:
Financial health – not just revenue, but profit, expenditure, customer lifetime value and average order value, so you’re not just earning, but keeping more of what you make.
Marketing effectiveness – steady, sustainable visibility measured through website visitors, search performance, enquiry numbers and referral sources, so you attract consistent clients without social media burnout.
Business performance – how smoothly your business runs, using metrics like conversion rates and weekly working hours, so you can grow without sacrificing your wellbeing.
Personal sustainability – because you are the most important system in your business. We track clarity, confidence and emotional load, making sure your business feels good to run… not just good on paper.
Success is not a single number. It’s a business that supports the life you want to live.
So, if not £10k months… what do I focus on?
In my 1:1 programme Unleash Your Potential, we don’t chase arbitrary targets. I help ethical trainers and behaviourists build values-led businesses that feel solid… financially, emotionally and practically.
If that sounds like the kind of business you want, come and have a look.
👉 Find out more about Unleash Your Potential here
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