Part 1 - Are You Profitable?

I’ve owned a small business for 6 months, and although it’s only happened a handful of times, I am still amazed that I have been asked point-blank “Are you profitable?”

The annoyance is not from fear of expressing my numbers, or to coverup a failing business, but rather it’s the probing, entitled confidence the asker has.

"As a business owner, being asked 'Are you profitable?' by someone you’ve just met is like asking a pre-pubescent girl 'Are you menstruating?'"

Because for a small business that is steadily growing, and managed well, being profitable will eventually happen.

Literally, the goal of even starting a business is to be profitable.

But it happens at a different point in time for each business, which is why owners are not live-tweeting their income statements.

And although generating enough revenue to be able to feed yourself is the sustainability goal, owning a business provides unquantifiable personal satisfaction, and the opportunity to help other people or solve a problem.

Which makes me think, what if instead we asked small business owners: “What has been your best moment so far?” or “What are you most excited about?”

Leading us right in to Part 2.