What the Northstar Number is
What the number represents, and why finding it starts with your personal expenses rather than your P&L.
Free online workshop
What’s your Northstar Number, and why does it matter for your business?
The revenue your business has to generate to support your life, and a plain-language walkthrough of how to find yours. Live with James Heyward, CPA.
Next date coming soon
Online · free to attend
Why it matters
Most owners can tell you their revenue. Fewer can tell you their Northstar Number.
Revenue tells you what came in. It doesn’t tell you whether the business is producing enough to support the life you’re actually living.
Your Northstar Number is the revenue your business must generate to cover your household expenses, your savings goals and the taxes nobody withholds for you, measured against your real profit margin, not the one you assume. Most owners have never worked it out. No spreadsheet expertise required.
How to find yours
The four inputs (living expenses, savings goals, tax buffer and your real profit margin), worked through live.
What to do once you know it
How the number changes pricing, hiring and which work you take on, and how to track it quarter over quarter.
Live Q&A
Bring your own numbers and questions. Depending on your situation, we’ll point you in the right direction.
Who it’s for
This is for you if…
- You’re growth-minded and want a real gauge, not just a gut feeling
- You’ve been in business at least a couple of years
- You look at revenue but aren’t sure what else to track
- You want something you can keep using after the session ends
Your host
James Heyward, CPA
Founder of Heyward CPA PLLC in Durham, North Carolina. Before becoming a CPA, James ran a business in the music industry, so he knows what it’s like to run on hustle without a clear number.
Common questions
Before you sign up
Is this workshop really free?
Yes, there’s no cost to attend. We run these twice a year for business owners in and around the Triangle, and beyond.
What is the Northstar Number?
It’s the revenue your business must generate to support your life as the owner, built from your living expenses, savings goals, taxes and your actual profit margin. It’s a figure we work through with our bookkeeping clients, and the workshop walks through how to find yours. You can also try the free calculator now.
Will there be a recording?
We recommend attending live, since there’s real Q&A built in, but we do record each session and make a replay available afterward. Missed the last one? Watch the previous workshop replay.
What happens after I sign up?
We’ll email you as soon as the next date is set, so you can save your seat before anyone else.
You’ll get a confirmation with the join link, plus reminders before the workshop starts so it’s easy to make time for it.
Be first to know when the next workshop opens.
Save your seat.
Free, online, with live Q&A. Can’t wait? Schedule a free consultation and we’ll work through your number together.