Few topics are more provocative among investors than Bitcoin.

Advocates highlight its history of outsized year-on-year returns and argue that, much like gold, the limited supply serves as a hedge against inflation. Critics point to its volatility, absent cash flows, abundant scams, and lack of any ubiquitous real world application at scale.

Clearly much hinges on your particular investment philosophy and objectives. However, from a strictly financial perspective, an investment ought to yield an income stream, capital appreciation, or both. If it can't, then one has to question whether it can be considered an investment in the first place.

So how does your business compare?

Most SMEs don't generate ownership income streams. Any compensation their owners receive is contingent on their employment, so they really own a job instead of a business.

Furthermore, most SMEs don't appreciate in value. Even those generating accounting profits usually incur economic losses because of their high risk profile (i.e. they're not profitable enough to compensate their owners for their investment risk).

Of course, speculation is inherent to any investment. Just because your business hasn't generated any ownership income or appreciated in value doesn't mean that it can't do so in the future. Nonetheless, at some point it either has to make good on its investment potential, or languish as a place to work.

As for Bitcoin, its price may have skyrocketed exponentially, but it's a lot harder to quantify whether its value has appreciated. Regardless, it's stuck around for more than a decade. That's longer than most SMEs.