I was talking to a friend and she casually said “you only really need about $18 million a year.”
I asked her what she spends $18M a year on and she said “$5 million is just jet fuel.”
Everyone thinks their number is “normal”
The danger for operators is when your “basic needs” start creeping up faster than your business can sustain.
I've seen guys scale from $800K to $1.5M then immediately lease the McLaren, hire 15 people, and move to a penthouse. Now they're pocketing less than when they had lower revenue.
I've kept my personal burn rate the same for years even as the business grows, the rest gets deployed.
Lifestyle creep is permanent, and it’s hard to go backwards once you've tasted the next level up.
Keep your expenses low for as long as you can.