You’ve started a business. Secured a few clients. Generated some cash flow.

You’ve paid the bills. You’ve got some visibility into the future. Business is growing steadily.

You’re investing more into the business. A few extra dollars go into marketing. You hire a sales person to help out. Or maybe you finally start a business blog with the help of a blog consultant.

You’re workload is increasing. But you’re happy about that because it means you’re heading in a good direction, right?

Question: Have you paid yourself yet?

Oops.

Too many entrepreneurs forget to pay themselves, even something small, when they’re getting their businesses off the ground.

I completely support re-investing in your business; that’s critical to its success. But you can’t live off future possibilities forever. Promise and opportunity don’t pay the bills. You can’t be chasing the proverbial carrot non-stop…every so often you need to take a wee nibble.

So take out some money from your business when you can. As soon as you can afford to pay yourself regularly, even if it’s $100/month, do it. It’ll make a big difference emotionally. It’ll help make your business feel tangible and valuable. That little bit of money isn’t the only value in your business – far from it – but it’s nice to see the money go into your bank account just the same.