How to Pay Yourself as a Business Owner S-Corp vs LLC
From Productive and Paid with Jamila Payne by Jamila Payne: Small Business Consultant and Productivity Expert
April 15, 2026 · 54 min · Episode 296
About this episode
In this episode, Jamila Payne and CPA Chika Obih discuss how business owners can effectively pay themselves based on their business structure, focusing on the differences between LLCs and S-Corps.
You are making money. But are you actually keeping it? Too many entrepreneurs I talk to are generating real revenue and still not paying themselves consistently. They are running profitable businesses and their personal finances do not reflect it at all. Here is what most people do not realize. How you pay yourself depends entirely on how your business is set up. LLC owners and S-Corp owners play by completely different rules. And if you do not know which rules apply to you, you could be leaving thousands of dollars on the table every single year. That is exactly why I brought Chika Obih on the show. Chika is a CPA with 16 years of experience working with high-achieving women entrepreneurs. In this episode she breaks down how to pay yourself correctly based on your business structure, what the IRS actually requires, and how to make sure your personal finances finally match the business you have built. Key Topics Discussed Why your business structure determines how you pay yourself The difference between owner draws and W-2 salary What the IRS means by reasonable salary and why it matters The three-bucket framework for salary, draws, and retained profit How to pay yourself…
People in this episode
Guest: Chika Obih
Topics covered
- paying yourself as a business owner
- S-Corp vs LLC
- personal finances
- IRS requirements
- business structure
Keywords
- entrepreneurship
- financial management
- business profitability
More episodes of Productive and Paid with Jamila Payne
- Stop Quoting and Start Closing: What's Actually Happening in Your Sales Process · April 1, 2026 · 29 min
- How Business Owners Get Organized to Save Time and Make More Money · March 13, 2026 · 36 min
- How to Build a Lifestyle Business vs a Scalable Business · March 5, 2026 · 38 min
- How to Transition from Owner Operator to CEO · February 26, 2026 · 47 min
- LinkedIn Strategy for Business Growth(Turn Connections Into Clients) · February 18, 2026 · 55 min
- How to Host a Virtual Summit That Makes Money (Real Numbers + Pricing Strategy) · February 12, 2026 · 52 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Productive and Paid with Jamila Payne podcast page.