Are you paying your staff, but not paying yourself a proper salary?

Sydney creative agency owner Tamlyn van Zyst admits she didn't pay herself a salary for the first nine years in business.

"Luckily I had a very supportive husband who was happy to pay the mortgage. But looking back, it was crazy given that the business was successful from the outset."

Reinvesting in the business

The owner of Tamlyn Creative had valid reasons for not paying herself a market-rate salary.

The money that would have been her wage was instead being reinvested back into the business, she says.

"The money that would have been my wage was always needed for something else. When you're setting up a new business, you need new equipment and to pay staff. There's always something."

As the business grew, she hired more staff and of course paid each one market wages, but continued to deny a wage for herself.

She also hired an accountant and leadership mentor, which is how the non-payment issue was discovered. Together, they worked out a strategy to gradually carve out a market wage for running a small business in her industry. Read more