Some entrepreneurs assume that because they struggled in the beginning, their team should struggle too. That low pay builds character. They tell themselves that “hustling” for less is part of the process and that everyone pays their dues. Your sacrifices as a founder are not the same as expecting your employees to carry that burden. You chose this business. They chose a job.
When people have to take on extra gigs just to make ends meet, they are not dreaming with you. They are surviving. And survival mode doesn’t leave room for innovation or for the kind of loyalty businesses hope to inspire. If you want people to bring their best to work, you have to pay them in a way that lets them live their lives beyond work.
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