Reinvestment versus distribution

Thinking through the trade-off between paying yourself now and growing the business's value later.

Setting owner pay

Common approaches to deciding what to pay yourself as revenue and responsibilities change.

Building enterprise value

What actually makes a small business worth more over time, beyond this year's numbers.

Long-term and succession planning

Thinking ahead about eventual transition, sale, or simply steady long-term ownership.

How it's structured

A suggested reading order

New readers often ask where to start. This is the sequence we recommend, though every guide is written to be understood on its own.

Look at where profit is going today

Get a clear picture of how much profit is reinvested, distributed, or simply left unmanaged.

Learn the vocabulary

Terms like enterprise value, owner's discretionary earnings and reinvestment rate come up constantly.

Set a deliberate pay and reinvestment split

Study how other owners approach this trade-off and what informs their decisions.

Build a long-term review habit

Combine what you've learned into a simple, repeatable annual check-in on your progress.

Small business owner reviewing plans at a desk
A note on scope

This is education, not advice.

None of the material on this site constitutes personalised financial, investment, legal or tax advice, and we do not offer paid consultations, coaching, financial products, or advisory retainers. If you are making a specific decision about your business's finances, we encourage you to speak with a qualified professional.

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Questions about a specific topic?

Send us a note and we'll point you to the most relevant material.

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