When people are contributing real value to your business, they deserve to receive real value in return. So saying things like: “But they love the work,” or “They’re gaining experience” is not really a fair response. While that might be true, these are not actual payments. Passion, no matter how much of it your team has, doesn’t pay their rent and experience alone won’t pay their children’s school fees.
You may not be able to offer the highest salaries, especially early on or in this current economy, but you can offer fairness. That means being honest about what the role is worth, what it demands and what it takes for someone to do it without struggling. If your business model only works when people are underpaid, then the problem is the model and not the cost of labour.
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