I don’t know who needs to hear this… but stop BRAGGING about your revenue.

“I’m on track to do $75,000 this year!”

Cool.

BUT how much profit is that, sis?

Because revenue isn't what matters.

I have clients doing over half a million dollars a year in revenue. And guess what some of them are still saying?

“I’m a one-woman show.”

“I do everything myself.”

“I can’t afford to hire.”

“I don’t pay myself consistently.”

That’s not a revenue problem.

That’s a PROFIT problem.

And if your bakery makes money… but you don’t?

We need to fix that.

Revenue vs Profit for Bakery Owners: Why This Matters

Simply put, your revenue is your TOTAL sales.

Then we have your expenses:

• ingredients
• rent
• payroll
• packaging
• software
• utilities
• merchant fees
• taxes

Profit is what is LEFT after all your expenses are paid. This is what the business ACTUALLY makes.

And then we have YOUR PAY (the owner): what you actually take home.

Revenue is a VANITY METRIC.

The true flex is PROFIT.

Revenue doesn’t pay your bills.

Revenue doesn’t pay your team.

Revenue doesn’t build wealth.

Profit does.

And if you’re not intentionally building profit into your business model? You will stay busy and broke, wondering why your business is making money, but you’re not.

5 Reasons Your Bakery Makes Money, But You Don’t

 1. You're OBSESSED with revenue

You’re constantly checking the DOLLAR amount of how much your business is bringing in… BUT you rarely check your PROFIT.

Friend, if you don’t actively check your profit, then you don’t actually know how HEALTHY your business is.

And in the baking/food industries, thin margins can hide behind HIGH revenue really fast.

2. You’re NOT paying yourself ENOUGH (or at all!)

If you’re doing everything yourself and “can’t afford help,” it’s because your pricing model doesn’t include:

• Your salary
• Future hires
• Growth margin

You’re underpricing your products and then wondering why you can’t scale.

You’re wearing every hat in your business because there isn’t enough profit to pay someone else.

And if there isn’t enough profit to pay someone else… then there isn’t enough profit to pay you either.

At a BARE minimum, your pricing should allow you to pay yourself at least WHAT you could earn working for someone else. So make sure you’re PAYING YOURSELF!

3. You’re REINVESTING everything

Reinvesting in your business is SMART, but if you aren’t paying yourself first, then you don’t have a business, you have an expensive hobby.

Whenever you provide a quote or price a product, you need to make sure your expenses include your LABOR.

That way your PROFIT can be reinvested back into your business for things like a new mixer, commercial fridge, new signage, etc, while maintaining a PAYCHECK in your bank account.

A profitable bakery should be able to:

• Cover expenses
• Set aside taxes
• Build reserves
• Pay the owner

If that’s not happening, something’s off structurally.

4. You confuse being BUSY with being PROFITABLE.

You’re booked out every single week.

You’re exhausted.

You’re saying NO to orders.

But when you look at your bank account?

Your finances are TIGHT.

That usually means:

• Low-margin custom work
• Over-customisation without the PAYOUT.
• Wholesale accounts that have a TINY profit. 
• Too much labor for too little return

Busy does not equal profitable.

5. You don’t have a PAY structure.

HOW are you paying yourself right now?

Is it:

• “Whatever is left over”?
• Random transfers when you feel guilty?
• Nothing unless there’s extra?

That’s not a pay system.

That’s survival mode.

A lot of people have the misconception that just because you’re in the beginning stages of your business, you don’t get a paycheck. LIES! Your time and energy deserve to be valued. This is WHY it’s essential to price your products and services PROPERLY from the start.

You need structure.

Whether it’s:

• A fixed percentage allocation
• A bi-weekly payroll
• Or a profit-first style system

Paying yourself cannot be optional.

It has to be built into your business EXPENSES.

The Hard Truth About Scalability

If you’re a one-woman show because you think you’re “saving money” by not hiring…

Your business cannot grow beyond your personal capacity.

You can only:

• Work so many hours
• Produce so much
• Take on so many orders

When your margins don’t SUPPORT payroll, your business is structurally built around YOU doing everything.

Which means growth stops the second you max out.

That’s not scalability.

That’s self-employment.

And if that’s your goal, then GREAT… but you still need to make sure you’re reaping the benefits too.

If your business only works when you’re doing all the work…

You don’t own a scalable business.

You have a job.

So HOW do you start paying yourself?

Here’s where you start:

1. Calculate the TRUE cost of your goods. (Not just your ingredients! I’m talking: packaging, LABOR, delivery costs, inventory, overhead)
2. Determine REAL, sustainable PROFIT margins for your products/services.
3. Raise prices strategically where needed.
4. Set a target owner pay percentage. (Even if it starts small, 5-10%- but it needs to be INTENTIONAL)
5. Pay yourself on a schedule - not emotionally. (You wouldn’t randomly decide whether to pay your rent or your supplier. So stop randomly deciding whether to pay yourself.)

And yes, this might require uncomfortable pricing adjustments.

But you’re not being noble by NOT paying yourself.

The longer you put off NOT making a paycheck, the more RESENTFUL you’ll feel towards this “business.”

Your business doesn’t EXIST to keep you BUSY

It exists to create INCOME and STABILITY.

Stop celebrating revenue milestones if they aren’t changing your life.

Instead, start measuring:

• PROFIT
• Your PAY
• Cash Savings
• Margins

Because PROFIT is the only true measure of success in business.

Not followers.

Not revenue screenshots.

Not how booked out you are.

If your bakery makes money but you don’t… It’s time to build structure.

If you want to FINALLY build a business that can actually GROW, SCALE, and MAKE MONEY- then get inside my group coaching community, Power Hour!

As a member, you get:

• WEEKLY LIVE Group Coaching
• Access to EXCLUSIVE trainings + workshops + tools
• REPLAY access to every single coaching call
• Tailored business advice geared towards your UNIQUE business struggles/challenges/goals
• Community + Accountability + Support

Get in here so we can BUILD & GROW your business together!