A recent survey conducted by some 50 consultants with their clients in Australia and New Zealand revealed that 63.6% of the business owners had a staff member taking home a weekly pay more than they received themselves. Even more alarming is that 61.3% felt that what they paid themselves did not justify the time and effort they put into their business.

As a business owner, are you paying yourself a regular salary?

Do you pay yourself a wage reflecting your own worth?

A great failing in business is that many owners under value their own worth with low salaries yet these same people feel they have a successful business.

You must pay yourself what you are worth and do so regularly, just as you would for any other staff member. To do otherwise is simply cheating yourself and not valuing the effort you put into the business.

Psychologically this can for some, lead to developing the wrong attitude of mind. Frustration and anxiety can set in for the individual. How often do you hear about owners’ frustration when they say their business is going well but they just do not make enough money for themselves? This can have a ripple affect on how these people conduct themselves within the business and with the customers.

Sure when you start out in anew business you make sacrifices however there must be a point in time where you have to decide whether you are really in a viable business that delivers value to your customers, your staff and yourself. After all, you personally need to earn an income that affords you the lifestyle you want for yourself.

Sometimes as business owners you need to ask yourself whether you have a viable business or whether you have simply bought yourself a job. Is your income compatible with industry pay scales for the type of work you do?

Many people look at what they are paying themselves and see this as a good salary for the job. What they overlook as the business owner are the hours they put in to that business.  Take a close look at yourself, work out what an average week is for you by way of hours worked and then divide this into your weekly pay to derive an average hourly rate. Is this still looking so good? You should also consider whether you are giving yourself a paid holiday each year as you provide to your staff. If your not then divide your hourly rate by 12 and multiply that by 11 which will reduce your rate even further.

Maybe you deserve a pay rise after all. When did you get the last pay rise granted by the boss?

At the end of the day you must determine a fair value for your services and pay yourself a salary commensurate with that determined value and if your business can not afford you then take steps to ensure that the business can.