One of my clients, after only being in business for just over a year, was very excited to share that to her surprise gross revenue for the financial year to date had passed six figures with a bottom line that far exceeded expectations.   As far as she could see, there was nothing but blue sky going forward.

After reviewing the year-to-date financials, I agreed the result was outstanding and that there was cause for optimism about what the future could look like.  However, I believed there was one glaring omission.  To confirm what was missing I posed the following simple question:

Do the numbers include a salary for you as the business owner?

 The owner responded “they did not”.

Given this, I asked what was the “market equivalent” salary the business owner was expecting to receive for the work she was doing for the business.

Given her experience in the space and time she was committing, she would expect to receive a six-figure salary.

I pointed out that if her expected salary was included in the financials, the business would in fact be trading at a loss!

The question was not posed to diminish in any way the achievements of the business owner in building the business or to dampen the enthusiasm about the future.  It was done to help the owner understand that in running a business she must value her contribution to the success of the business by including a salary for herself.