As a business owner, regularly reviewing your annual revenue gives you a clear picture of your company’s current health and helps you evolve your business strategically so you stay ahead of competitors.
Owning and operating a business in today’s economic climate comes with a unique set of challenges. High inflation, increased operating costs, and strict lending guidelines may work together to make things more difficult. Still, knowing where your business stands may help you make wise decisions in the face of economic adversity.
As an owner, you’ll probably want to know what constitutes good revenue and how a small business is defined. Once you have those numbers, you may look at others in your industry and employ strategies to increase your small business revenue.
Why is calculating your annual revenue average important?
Revenue is important for exactly the reason you think it matters. If all your expenses remain equal during a period in which your revenue declines, your business will be less profitable. Likewise, if all your expenses remain equal as your revenue increases, your company will be more profitable.
Without a clear grasp of your expenses, you typically can’t know whether your profit margin is truly healthy. Forecasting your expected revenue is usually important for helping you scale appropriately and may help you avoid cash flow issues.
Small business revenue formula
Does your company outperform the annual business revenue for an average organization? The first step to determine where you stand is to examine your average annual revenue.
Here are two straightforward formulas you can use to calculate your small-business revenue:
- Revenue = Number of product or service units sold * average price
or
- Revenue = number of customers * average item price
The first formula may be more useful for small business owners who offer a relatively narrow selection of products or services at fixed prices. The second formula may be more useful for consumer-facing companies that sell several items at a wide range of prices. In either case, the most accurate way to calculate revenue is to multiply the total sales quantity of each product or service by its sales price and then add all your total revenue figures.
How is a small business defined?
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has varying definitions of a small business. For instance, revenue requirements may range from $1 million to over $40 million, depending on the sector. Employee limits also vary based on industry.
Using NAICS to determine industry norms
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard that federal statistical agencies use in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the economy. You may access the NAICS database to look at your industry on the U.S. Census Bureau website.
Why is the small business definition important?
Size and revenue statistics shouldn’t discourage business owners who are struggling to generate revenue. Instead, the numbers may help you understand that small businesses cover a large spectrum. In a time when global connectivity makes it possible for all types of entrepreneurs to start and run businesses, it’s good to see the stats behind your business community.
Checking your own code is important. How your business is classified may dictate access to government contracts and specialized small business loan programs, and it ensures that you’re compliant with state and federal tax guidelines.
What is the average revenue of small businesses?
The average revenue for small businesses is broken down between those with no employees and those that have employees. As you read the revenue figures below, it may help to remember that small business revenue isn’t necessarily the amount of money you’ll take home as a small business owner. The median yearly salary for small business owners in 2024 was $67,000.
Average revenue of a small business with no employees
Eighty percent of the small businesses in the United States do not have employees. On top of that, more than half of all small businesses are home-based businesses, with construction companies leading the way.
The average revenues (not profit) of small businesses with no employees in 2024 was approximately $48,000. These tight margins are to blame for so many small businesses failing. Fortunately, there are steps you may be able to take to set your business up for success.
Average revenue of a small businesses with employees
The number of employees you have is directly linked to the amount of revenue that your company generates. Based on U.S. Census Data, the following breakdown published in April 2026 illustrates this correlation:
Sole Proprietors: $46,978
1-4 Employees: $387,000
5-9 Employees: $1.08 million
10-19 Employees: $2.16 million
As these numbers suggest, you may be able to make your company a million-dollar operation with fewer than a dozen employees. However, after subtracting your expenses from your revenue, your profit might fall below the million-dollar mark.
What factors affect what small business owners really make?
- Industry: Industries such as software, healthcare support, and oil are usually considerably more profitable than trucking, publishing, and food processing. Small business owners in the former set of industries may be more likely to make more money than those in the latter set.
- Gender: Women-owned businesses earn about 40% of the revenue that male-owned businesses do.
- Location: Since the cost of living varies throughout the U.S., location is a major factor in small business owner incomes. In cities such as New York and San Francisco that are more expensive, business owners sometimes pay their employees more, thus leading to less income for themselves. Alternatively, these business owners may take more money for themselves too, given their living costs, thus leaving the company with less cash.
- Age: Small business failure becomes more likely the longer your company exists, and you may need to take less of your business profit as personal income to stay afloat. On the other hand, if your business grows steadily, then the longer your company has existed, the more money you might make from it.
Ways to increase your small business revenue
Depending on your industry, there are tried-and-true ways you may increase your business revenue as a small business.
- Attract more customers: In short, bring more business in the door. Even if transaction sizes stay the same, more customers = more revenue.
- Boost efficiency with AI: Automation and AI are changing how many businesses operate. By implementing automated processes, you may be able to free up your team and yourself to focus on high-impact tasks that impact your company’s bottom line.
- Increase the frequency of transactions: This means encouraging people to purchase from you more often. If your average customer comes in once a month, convincing them to patronize your business once a week will increase your revenue.
- Upsell or cross-sell: This is when you encourage your customer to purchase more of your goods or services. For example, if you own a beauty salon, suggest a manicure to go with a haircut to cross-sell additional services. If you own a restaurant, upsell additional purchases like drinks, appetizers, or a dessert.
- Raise prices: If your prices go up, you’ll collect more revenue from every purchase a customer makes – with the same amount of effort. If you’re feeling uneasy about this strategy, check out these suggestions from American Express: 12 Ways to Raise Prices Without Ticking Off Your Customers.
- Manage your online reputation: Through online reputation management, you may minimize the large financial losses that often accompany negative reviews, customer data breaches, and more. Online reputation management also helps to bolster consumer perceptions of your company, thus potentially increasing your customer base. Learn more via the SmartBiz Bank® guide to online reputation management.
- Get insights from your employees: Your employees might interact more directly with your customers than you do, so they might have unique insights into how your company may be able to make more sales. They may also identify workflow inefficiencies and other internal weaknesses in need of improvement that save time and money.
- Cut costs: Technically, revenue isn’t a function of cost. If anything, it’s more accurate to say that revenue and costs are the two independent variables that impact your profit. However, if you figure out how to spend less money to produce each individual item you sell, then you’ll have more cash to use for additional production. And with the capacity to sell more items, you’re lined up for greater revenue.
What is the Business Revenue Trend?
If you’re seeking an SBA loan, banks will look at your Business Revenue Trend. This metric is a percentage that reflects the revenue growth of your business over time and illustrates how your sales have increased, decreased, or plateaued. This is considered a more valuable measure of financial health than just flat revenue numbers per year.
Banks like to see a positive trend because it shows business growth and suggests that a business will continue growing with a loan they may repay. You may calculate your Business Revenue Trend by looking at the average growth in revenues from your earliest tax return to your most recent tax return.
Of course, your business is more than just your revenue trend. It’s just one of 7 key criteria banks use to evaluate your business when you apply for a business loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What revenue benchmarks should I be comparing my small business against?
The most useful revenue benchmarks depend on your industry, business model, location, and stage of growth. Rather than comparing your company to all small businesses, focus on businesses of similar size and operating structure. Metrics such as year-over-year revenue growth, revenue per employee, gross profit margin, customer acquisition costs, and average transaction value often provide more meaningful insights than revenue alone. Industry reports, trade associations, and government data may help establish realistic benchmarks and identify areas where your business may be outperforming or falling behind competitors.
2. What is good revenue for a small business?
What counts as “good” revenue for a small business depends heavily on the industry, business model, and operating costs. A healthy revenue level is one that consistently covers expenses, supports owner compensation, and leaves enough margin for growth, reinvestment, and savings.
3. How much money does an average small business make?
The average small business makes anywhere between $40,000 and $7 million, depending on industry, number of employees, location, and other factors. Service-based businesses often have higher profit margins than retail or restaurant businesses, which operate on thinner margins. It’s also common for new small businesses to make very little profit in the first few years while they establish their customer base.
4. What is a good profit margin for a small business?
A good profit margin for a small business typically falls between 7% and 20%, depending on the industry. Service-based businesses that have lower overhead often achieve higher margins while retail and food businesses often have tighter margins. Anything above 20% is considered strong in most sectors while margins below 5% may signal financial strain or operational inefficiencies.
5. How can a business survive when it's not making a profit?
A business that isn’t turning a profit may be able to survive by making some changes to the number of employees or looking for other ways to reduce overhead. If that’s not an option, an SBA loan often helps with a cash infusion.
