Who are you to say that lifestyle businesses are not focused on growth? Or that they cant' grow fast and change large numbers of people's lives? A basic princi

Who are you to say that lifestyle businesses are not focused on growth? Or that they cant' grow fast and change large numbers of people's lives? A basic principle of finance is that you can either reinvest profits into your business, to pursue growth, OR you can withdraw profits as dividends. A lifestyle business is one that supports you, paying dividends early on. The owner(s) are withdrawing cash from the company. For a refresher on the definition of a lifestyle business vs. a high growth business, see http://www.indianaventurecenter.org/faqs.asp#7 http://www.indianaventurecenter.org/faqs.asp#7 So the question is - are you interested in growth, or the cash? Personally, I'm interested in growth. I want to build a company that touches as many lives as possible. It's OK to want to build a company that generates cash, but don't pretend like you can pursue both cash and growth simultaneously. If your pursuing growth, you're spending cash. If you're taking out cash, you're scarifying growth.