Amanda NorthcuttFounder & CEO | Keynote Speaker, LevelUp · B2B sales as a solo is HARD. I’ve got you. I help consultants & coaches sell high-ticket services comfortably & confidently, while enjoying consistent, predictable revenue | Founder & CEO | Speaker |

Your Business Can’t Pay You If You Don’t Know What You Cost

25 Apr 2025 · 1 min

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In this brief segment, speaker Amanda Northcutt warns entrepreneurs that a common pitfall is neglecting to understand their personal living expenses separate from their business finances. She emphasizes the importance of establishing a personal budget and recognizing that a business cannot immediately cover personal costs. Northcutt advises against pulling all business revenue to pay oneself right away, suggesting instead that founders assess whether they have sufficient personal funds, consider part‑time or side work as a safety net, and imagine how they would survive if the business provided no income at all. The core message is that knowing one’s personal cost of living is essential for sustainable entrepreneurship.

Chapters

I think one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is that they don't know how much it costs them to live as a person, not as a business, but like they need to know their personal budget. Because again, to that conversation of like your business paying your personal budget off the bat is very, very unlikely. Um, and it's, it might take time. And even if you make money in your business, it's not the best idea to pull it all out to pay yourself right away. So in my opinion, so I want you to think about like, what is your personal budget? Do you have enough? Is there something you can do part-time or on the side or something like this that you cannot, like, if we pretended like your business didn't exist and it wasn't going to give you anything, how would you be able to live?