What It Actually Feels Like to Run Your Own Business

In this episode of Mostly Growth, the number one podcast in product monetization, Kyle and CJ talk about the hidden stress of running your own business — from QuickBooks confusion and accountant panic to the constant feeling that everything falls on you. They unpack why entrepreneurship looks glamorous from the outside, but feels messy behind the scenes.

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SPONSORS:

Tabs is an AI-native revenue platform that unifies billing, collections, and revenue recognition for companies running usage-based or complex contracts. By bringing together ERP, CRM, and real product usage data into a single system of record, Tabs eliminates manual reconciliations and speeds up close and cash collection. Companies like Cortex, Statsig, and Cursor trust Tabs to scale revenue efficiently. Learn more at https://www.tabs.com/run

Lightfield is an AI-first CRM built for modern sales teams that want to manage deals without manual data entry or dashboards. By joining sales calls, reading emails, and maintaining full account context, Lightfield helps teams prioritize deals, automate follow-ups, and stay prepared for every interaction. It’s like having a sales coach, RevOps analyst, and EA in one. Start a 14-day free trial at https://www.lightfield.app and use code MOSTLYGROWTH to get 3 months free.

beehiiv is a modern newsletter platform built for creators who want to grow, monetize, and own their audience without piecing together a stack. Its all-in-one platform brings together newsletters, websites, analytics, automations, and monetization tools, and now supports podcasts, webinars, and MCP workflows. Kyle even used beehiiv’s MCP in Claude to audit his site, prioritize SEO fixes, and analyze subscriber trends. Try it free at https://www.beehiiv.com/kyle and use code KYLE30 for 30% off your first three months.

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LINKS: 

Mostly Metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com

CJ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

Growth Unhinged: https://www.growthunhinged.com/

Kyle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/

Slacker Stuff: https://www.slackerstuff.com/

Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slackerstuff/

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RELATED EPISODES:

SaaS Has a Branding Problem

https://youtu.be/qWyjFTqnfhg

Why ‘Growth’ Isn’t Just a Fancy Word for Marketing | with Leah Tharin

https://youtu.be/CYGen_bLdp0

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TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Croatia, QuickBooks, existential angst

3:25 Sole proprietor → LLC → S corp

7:50 Why S corp matters after $150K

8:18 Running payroll on yourself

10:20 Sponsors — Tabs | Lightfield | beehiiv

13:20 Quarterly taxes and safe harbor

15:47 How to set your own salary

17:19 Missing your first payroll run

18:07 Getting banned from Meta ads

20:54 Platform risk: LinkedIn automation story

21:43 Reddit and YouTube instead

24:38 beehiiv Boost: $3 per subscriber

25:53 When the subscribers are spam

27:42 Insurance: too small for real companies

29:47 Insurance pricing tied to revenue

31:46 Getting paid: 94 days, 65 emails

33:33 Agencies pay even later

35:49 Procurement adds more heads to the snake

37:03 International tax on subscriptions

38:21 TaxWire for cross-border compliance

39:15 Net-net: no regrets

40:39 Credits

#MostlyGrowthPodcast #CreatorEconomy #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #SaaS