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People enter the world of entrepreneurship believing that their creativity will “change the world.” The question is: What does it cost to change the world, and more importantly, who pays?
Even fictional heroes have to budget accordingly. There’s a reason why our most famous superheroes — the Tony Starks and Bruce Waynes of comic book fame — are all generationally wealthy billionaires with an abundance of time and money to occupy themselves with bigger, more mundane problems. until Mission: Impossible The IMF team was specifically hired to stop the bad guys and bring about a huge amount of change. Everyone wants to be a hero, of course. But the crux of the matter is that no one can afford to save the world for free.
Truly motivated entrepreneurs can find themselves in trouble when it comes to monetizing their efforts, especially when their primary motivation is not profit. When harvesting is for the greater good, whether for the gain of one person, society, or humanity as a whole, altruistic entrepreneurs find themselves frozen when they have to put a price on their creativity. Different scenarios in which an entrepreneur may work for free:
- Family or social obligations: The desire for support and involvement, coupled with the informal nature of such relationships, can lead to scenarios in which work is undervalued or undercompensated.
- Passion projects: When an entrepreneur is deeply invested in the outcome of a project, he or she may prioritize its completion or overestimate its impact without immediately considering the financial costs of the effort.
- Beta testingProviding services for free for a case study or as a beta test may be a way for entrepreneurs to demonstrate the results and capabilities needed to win business over the long term.
- Building skills and experiences: Growing your skill set and gaining valuable experience can easily motivate entrepreneurs to work unpaid as an intern or trainee, especially when it also provides a path into a new industry or network that they wouldn’t normally have access to.
- Market penetration: Offering free trials and work samples can help individuals and new businesses enter a new market, launch a new product, and attract a hard-to-reach customer base.
The list of reasons why one might work for free is extensive, and can include many incentives such as strategic partnerships, charitable contributions, and even educational purposes. The 2021 Volunteering in America report found 60.7 million adults (23.2%) volunteered 4.1 billion hours. For the entrepreneur, unpaid or low-paid work, although rich in potential, requires a slice of the entrepreneur’s most precious resource: time.
Related: The Only Two Good Reasons to Work for Free
Time is its own currency, and ironically, time is limitless but limited for an entrepreneur. The essence of entrepreneurship – ambition, passion and relentless drive – can drift into murky waters if left unchecked, especially when commitments continue to pile on top of one another.
Many entrepreneurs work 60+ hours a week serving customers, juggling business operations, managing employees, volunteering, and balancing commitments to family and friends. But doing all that doesn’t get you a medal or the front page of the newspaper. In a survey of startup founders around the world, Startup snapshot It found that 72% of founders struggle with mental health issues – with more than 37% suffering from anxiety, 36% experiencing burnout, and more than 81% reporting that they feel the need to hide their stress, fears and challenges from others. Superheroes rarely consider the toll their battles have on their psyches, and entrepreneurs can also overlook the mental and emotional toll of their endeavors.
Another unintended dark side of entrepreneurial heroism is one that many “respectable” workers have encountered before – that the more you do, the more you are expected to do. Many clients, eager to take advantage of the dedication and availability of startups, often feel free to push boundaries, communicate at all times and expect immediate responses. How many times has a client called at 10pm – or on a weekend – and expected urgent work to be completed without complaint, or more importantly, without additional compensation? For new entrepreneurs who prioritize customer satisfaction above all else, this could be a real opportunity to make them happy. But in our quest to build a reputation that subverts expectations, this begs the question: When does ambition become an exploitable liability rather than an asset?
For an entrepreneur, how they allocate their time is a decision that must be made after careful consideration – and for any initiative to continue to make a real, tangible impact, it must also be financially viable. Time, effort, and resources are all uniquely and equally valuable to a growing business as the passion that fuels it.
Related: Entrepreneurship Can Drain Your Energy — Try These 3 Strategies to Regain Joy.
In order to better navigate the relationship between generosity and professional standards, entrepreneurs can use strategies that respect both their inherent value and entrepreneurial spirit, while preserving their personal well-being. Here are some tips:
- Plan your schedule: There are only 24 hours in a day without a time converter. Therefore, it’s essential to set boundaries around specific times when you’ll be available for different types of work, including unpaid projects. The goal is to help manage expectations and prevent overcommitment.
- Set clear boundaries: Be honest about the value and/or cost of your time. Communicate clearly when work is offered as a service, as part of a strategic partnership or with the expectation of future reciprocity. Even between friends, a clear contract or agreement can help prevent future misunderstandings.
- Setting time management priorities: Use time management tools and techniques to ensure time is allocated efficiently. Not all free gigs offer the same return when it comes to exposure, experience, or potential business.
- Evaluate the individual’s work appropriately: Understand the market value of your services and strive to maintain this standard. It is always easier to start with a higher price that has a wider range and reduce the price than to start with a very small price.
- Keep tabs on one’s contribution threshold: Regular assessment of one’s contribution threshold helps monitor the entrepreneur’s reservoir of capabilities. Motivated by passion and motivation, regular check-ins provide a moment of reflection to assess whether the time, energy and resources expended are balanced by the benefits gained. Imbalance can manifest itself in financial pressures, lack of personal time, or diminished passion for work.
Balance is essential to maintaining the impact and continuity of your endeavors. When it comes to the success of any venture, entrepreneurs must feel comfortable in the space between enthusiasm and practicality. Mastering these dueling motivations is crucial; Recognizing the true value of one’s efforts ensures that the vision not only survives the early stages of motivation-driven growth – but thrives with adequate fuel and funds, without compromising the mental, physical and emotional well-being of the entrepreneur in trying to change the world. .
Generosity in the pursuit of vision should not overshadow the professional value of the entrepreneur. Time and energy are not infinite, but finite.
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