Next up, I wanted to know how many backpacks I had to sell to break even. I put all the numbers into a Google spreadsheet and did two calculations. One for the case that a customer would order with a discount of 30% (column B pictured below), and another one without applying a discount (column D). Screenshot showing a Google Sheets document You can get a free copy of my spreadsheet here (click File > Make a copy to get your own copy). Please note: I’m running this business out of

Germany and tax calculations may be different to your country. Update tax rates to match your country. If I sell my backpacks for $99.99 with a 30% discount, I’d need to sell 79 to break even (or 44 if selling without a discount). Not bad. I picked Telemarketing list $99.99 for the retail price because I can. I’m the one who sets the price and I’d rather price. I could still lower the price later. As $99.99 didn’t sound too expensive for a custom/hand painted backpack, I moved on.

Even though I was confident those numbers could work, I was anxious that I’d burn more than $2,000. But I placed my order at Alibaba anyway. Screenshot showing orders for backpacks To get away from those bad thoughts, I kept myself busy with setting a very concrete goal for my new business. SETTING A BUSINESS GOAL A few years ago, when I started my entrepreneurial journey, I jumped from one goal to another. I had 20-30 goals at once. Unfortunately, I didn’t achieve any of them.