[scottyallen]

I don't think this is intended as negativity, even if it comes across that way from the outside. I'm the founder of a company that meets the criteria you've outlined: we're bootstrapped, profitable, and I pay myself enough to live on a decent level.

Before we hit profitability, I thought "If only we can hit profitability, it will be smooth sailing - all our problems will go away." It's anything but. Two things do change: the type of problem changes (often to bigger, scarier problems), and you start facing more and more problems you can't talk about publicly.

I wish I had heard other entrepreneurs say "It gets harder not easier" when I was in some of my darker times. It would have raised my spirits to know that I wasn't alone in feeling like things kept getting harder when I thought they should keep getting easier.