When can you quit your job?
Drag the three numbers and watch the date move. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is saved.
What you need each month to live on.
Zero is fine if you haven’t started yet.
What you could realistically add every month, even in a slow one.
A projection from the numbers above. If growth slows, the date moves later.
Your income covers your bills in
June 2028
20 months away. $0 a month today, $3,000 to cover the bills, adding $150 a month.
One bar per month, from now to September 2028. The dashed line is what you need each month, and the bars that reach it are the months your income covers the bills.
Copies these numbers as text. Paste them into Draper and it will use them as you work through your idea.
How the date is worked out
Months until you can quit = (what you need a month − what it brings in today) ÷ what you add each month
Say you need $3,000 a month, the business brings in nothing yet, and you could add $150 a month to what it earns.
- The gap is $3,000 − $0 = $3,000 a month.
- $3,000 ÷ $150 = 20 months until the income covers the bills.
The months are rounded up, because a month that covers most of your bills still leaves some unpaid.
Choosing honest numbers
The first number is easy to get wrong by leaving things out. Count a normal month in full, including the tax on business income that your salary currently covers for you.
The third number is a guess, so keep it cautious: a figure you could add even in a slow month. If growth slows, the date moves later.
Whether the income will arrive
The date says when the money could add up. Whether people want what you are selling decides whether the income ever arrives, and the date can’t tell you that.
Draper starts with that question: whether people want it, and who they are. Then it works through the plan, brand, product and website with you, and helps you find your first customers. Copy your numbers with the button above and paste them into Draper, and it will use them as you work through the idea.
To see how many sales that income takes, use the break-even calculator. Put the amount you need to live on in as the profit you want, and it shows the units and sales it would take to pay yourself.
Quitting your job: questions
Once you’ve landed on an idea, Draper works with you to turn it into a business.
It checks the idea holds up, designs the brand, builds the website and helps you find your first customers.