When people decide to start a business, many struggle with knowing how to take care of the money generated by their businesses transactions. Most view both their personal money and the business’ money as being in the same pot. The ability to separate business money from personal money is necessary for the growth of the business. Business money and personal money need to be treated differently not only in the physical location of the money, but also in the mind of the microenterprise owner. The more separation exists between the two kinds of money, the better off the business will be.

After your business is initially funded (whether through a loan or through the investment of personal funds), you must consider the business as a fully independent organization—an organization that is financially unrelated to your personal money. As a micro-entrepreneur, you must communicate clearly with your family members and friends to ensure that they understand the separate nature of your business and personal assets. Business money should be used strictly for business-related purposes and must not be used for personal reasons.

Once this relationship is understood and established, treat yourself as an employee of the business. In other words, calculate how much money you need daily to meet your personal needs, and withdraw that amount from the business as a daily salary. Reinvest the remaining profit into the business. Doing so will allow the business’ operational capital to increase, enabling you to purchase more products to sell. Learn to live on the determined salary and let the working capital compound (i.e., accumulate or grow interest) for the business. As more products are sold, more profit will be generated, and your salary can slowly be increased.

Think of your business as a separate person. You have your personal money and the business has its money. Your money comes from your personal salary that the business pays you. Pay tithing on your income from your salary, not on the business' profits.