At this point, the small business entrepreneur is doing as well for himself or herself as they would be working for someone else at a similar level. There is nothing left over. The business as yet has not demonstrated an ability to generate a return on investment. Most small businesses fall within these categories, earning just enough to yield a living or respectable wage for the owner. Your investment becomes a successful business only when it can move beyond the respectable wage category and contribute real profit.
Real profit is cash left over after a respectable wage is provided.
The ability to earn real profit is the dividing line between owning a job and owning a business. At this stage, your business not only provides you with a respectable wage for time spent, but it also is able to pay you back with all the cash that was invested. It goes beyond payment for any principal on debt or income taxes owned. After paying the obligations of the business, all of the cash profit that is generated is discretionary cash. It is not obligated by loans or other debts.