Stop claiming you’re profitable
This is pretty inconsistent with how the phrase "profitable business" has long been used. Maybe the startup world wants to invents its own metric, but to most small businessmen, whether a business is <i>profitable enough</i> for you to live on the profits is a separate question from whether the business is turning a profit in the first place, i.e. whether your endeavor is bringing you more income than it's producing in expenses. A business that's making $1000/mo is profitable, but not necessarily profitable enough to live on.<p>The idea of paying a founder a salary and accounting for that is also pretty atypical; most small businessmen are sole proprietors, and do not pay themselves salaries. You don't "deserve" some specific hourly rate as an owner, as that's the whole difference between owning a company and working for an hourly wage.<p>This doesn't seem very complex in other areas of business. If your business is turning a small profit, but not enough to live on, that's what you say. "Q: How's the restaurant doing?  A: It's turning a modest profit now, but not really enough for it to be a living yet."