Think You're Making Enough? You're Not.

Think You’re Making Enough? You’re Not.

Let’s talk about your paycheck — and your profit.

If you’re a business owner, chances are good you’re not making enough money. Not because your revenue isn’t high enough or because you aren’t working hard enough, but because your “Business Owner EBITDA” — what we at BGW define as your W-2 compensation plus fringe benefits (car, spouse’s pay, travel perks, etc.) minus a reasonable wage adjustment (we’ll assume $250,000) plus EBITDA — still isn’t where it needs to be.

Until that number hits 20% of your Gross Profit (not Sales), you’re leaving money on the table.

You Might Feel Fine, But You’re Leaving Generational Wealth Behind

You might feel comfortable today. Maybe your personal cash flow is solid. But what you’re missing isn’t comfort — it’s compounding.

If you made just $100 more profit and invested it, it could double in seven years, conservatively. Do that consistently, and the effect compounds like wildfire. At a 7x EBITDA multiple, that same $100 could be worth $700 when you sell. Now imagine it’s $100,000. That’s the power of running a business that’s truly optimized — not just surviving.

“But My Margins Are Just Low. That’s My Industry.”

We hear this excuse constantly. “It’s just how our business works.” “Margins are thin.” Nope. You’re not a victim of your industry. You’re a victim of complacency.

If you think your margins can’t get better, look at Walmart. There’s no business on the planet with thinner possible profit margins. Low prices, high labor, and massive real estate costs — and yet Walmart’s EBITDA hovers around 25%.

They don’t do that by squeezing vendors — that’s baked into cost of goods sold. They do it by running tight operations and managing overhead with discipline. They do it because investors demand it. Dividends don’t come from wishes — they come from disciplined profit.

Time to Clean House

So what do you do now?

1. Commit to getting better. Decide that “good enough” isn’t. If Walmart can manage a 25% EBITDA, you can manage 20%.
2. Audit your expenses. If you grew Gross Profit by 10% tomorrow, could you hold overhead flat? That difference goes straight to EBITDA.
3. Cut the fluff. You know what’s not driving value — the unused subscriptions, bloated admin roles, or “we’ve always done it this way” costs. Stop pretending you don’t see them.
4. Hold yourself accountable. Investors hold Walmart accountable. You may not have investors — but your future self is counting on you.

The Bottom Line

You don’t need to chase more sales to get richer. You need to make more from what you already earn.

When you run your business like an investor — not an operator — you stop measuring success by how tired you are and start measuring it by how well your money multiplies.

Because if you think you’re making enough… you’re probably wrong.

(Don't sweat it. We can help!)