Don't Be a Creditor in Your Own Business

All month we've talked about what you owe. The IRS. Your break-even. The estimated payment you sent on the 15th. Numbers you have to hit, mostly for other people.

Here's the debt nobody sends you a bill for. The one you owe yourself.

It's the easiest one to skip, because your future self doesn't email a reminder or charge a penalty. So the owner waits. And waits. Pays everyone else first and takes whatever's left.

Your Practice Is Supposed to Fund Your Life

Somewhere in the grind, that gets flipped. The practice stops being the thing that funds your life and becomes the thing your life funds. You pour in the hours, the worry, the weekends. Everyone gets paid - your team, your vendors, your landlord, the government - and you, the one who took all the risk, get what's left.

On a recent podcast I called this being a creditor in your own business. You've loaned the practice your time and your money, and you keep letting it pay you back last. No other creditor would stand for that. You shouldn't either.

So here's what you owe yourself.

A Real Paycheck

Not whatever's in the account on the last day of the month. A real, planned, consistent number that lands on the same day every month, the way you'd pay any doctor who did your work. We spent a good part of August on this. You get paid two ways, for the work you do and for owning the business, and both of those are debts the practice owes you. Pay yourself like you mean it.

Something Set Aside for Later

Your future self is a creditor too. The most patient one you have, which is exactly why they get stiffed. There's always a reason to put it off. One more slow month. One more thing to fix.

Take the profit first, before it can leak away, and set it aside for the version of you that wants to slow down someday. That's the whole logic of a Profit First system, and it's how the return on ownership turns into real wealth instead of numbers on a statement.

The Life You Started This For

This is the big one, and it never shows up on a financial statement.

You didn't open a practice to hit a revenue number. You opened it for what that number was supposed to buy. Time with your kids. The trips. The freedom to practice the way you want. Whatever "enough" looks like for you. If the practice runs for years and funds none of that, it isn't succeeding, no matter how good the P&L looks. A number with no life attached to it was never the point. If you've never tied yours to something real, start here.

The Most Patient Creditor Gets Paid Last

Notice the pattern. You'll make payroll every two weeks without fail. You'll never blow a tax deadline. But your own pay, your own savings, your own goals? Those you'll defer for years and call it discipline.

It isn't discipline. It's a habit of putting yourself last, dressed up as one. And the most patient creditor, you, always ends up at the back of the line.

Knowing what you owe yourself is where that turns around. Once you can name it, the paycheck, the savings, the life, you can build the practice to pay it. On purpose. That's what next month is about. Planning with purpose, and working backward from the life you want instead of hoping something's left at the end.

You've spent all month getting clear on what you owe everyone else. Don't leave yourself off the list.

Ready to Get Paid Back?

If your practice has been paying you last, let's change the order. Click here to Book Your Financial Clarity Call and we'll figure out what your practice owes you, and how to make sure it pays.

To your abundant practice,

Eric Levenhagen, CPA CTS

Eric Levenhagen, CPA CTS, is the only financial consultant who helps private practice optometrists improve the financial health of their practice with a simple process called Financial Harmony, designed to reduce their taxes and increase their after-tax profits so they can reach their personal goals faster.

ProWise Tax & Accounting LLC Disclaimer: This blog is intended for educational purposes and provides general information about tax, accounting, and small business topics. It is not professional advice, and using this blog does not create a client/CPA relationship between you and ProWise Tax & Accounting, LLC dba ProWise Financial Consulting, or its owners and employees. Blog posts are based on tax rules in effect at the time they are written, and older posts are not always updated for changes. Tax rules change frequently. Always check with your CPA or accountant regarding the most current rules and how they apply to your specific situation.