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People enter entrepreneurship with the mindset that their creation will “change the world.” The question is: How much does it cost to change the world, and more importantly, who pays?
Fictional heroes also have to budget accordingly. There’s a reason why our most famous superheroes – the Tony Starks and Bruce Waynes of comics fame – are all established, generationally wealthy billionaires with the time and money to deal with bigger, more mundane problems. Even Mission Impossibles The IMF team is specifically tasked with stopping the bad guys for a large chunk of change. Of course everyone wants to be a hero. But the crux of the problem is that no one can afford to save the world for free.
Truly passionate entrepreneurs can find themselves in a quandary when it comes to monetizing their efforts, especially if their primary motive is not profit. When the harvest is for the greater good, be it for the benefit of an individual, the community, or humanity as a whole, altruistic entrepreneurs are paralyzed when forced to demand a price for their own creation. The different scenarios in which an entrepreneur could work for free:
- Family or social obligations: The desire to support and share, coupled with the informal nature of such relationships, can result in work being severely undervalued or undercompensated.
- Passionate projects: When an entrepreneur places a lot of value on the results of a project, they may prioritize its completion or overstate its impact without immediately thinking about the financial cost of the effort.
- Beta test: Offering services for free for a case study or as a beta test could be a way for entrepreneurs to demonstrate results and capabilities to gain business in the long term.
- Building skills and experience: Expanding your skills and gaining valuable experience can easily be an incentive for an entrepreneur to work for free as a trainee or mentee, especially if it also opens up a route into a new industry or network that is not normally accessible to them .
- Market penetration: Offering free trials and sample work can help individuals and newer businesses enter a new market, launch a new product, and attract a hard-to-reach customer base.
The list of reasons why a person might work for free is extensive and can include many other incentives such as strategic partnerships, philanthropic contributions, and even educational purposes. The 2021 Volunteering in America Report found that 60.7 million adults (23.2%) volunteered 4.1 billion hours. For an entrepreneur, unpaid or low-paid work, although it offers a lot of potential, requires a portion of the entrepreneur’s most valuable resource: time.
Related: The Only 2 Good Reasons to Work for Free
As a currency of its own, time for the entrepreneur is paradoxically limitless and yet finite. The essence of entrepreneurship – ambition, passion and a relentless drive – can get into murky waters if left unchecked, especially if obligations continue to pile on top of each other.
Many business owners work more than 60 hours per week to serve customers, juggle business operations, manage employees, volunteer, and juggle commitments from family and friends. But if you do all that, you won’t get a medal or the front page of the newspaper. In a survey of startup founders around the world, Startup Snapshot found that 72% of founders struggle with mental health issues – over 37% suffer from anxiety, 36% suffer from burnout and over 81% say they do Feel the need to hide their stress. Fears and challenges of others. Superheroes rarely consider the toll their struggles take on their psyche, and entrepreneurs can also overlook the mental and emotional toll of their quest.
Another unintended downside to corporate hero work is one that many so-called “valued” employees have faced before – the more you do, the more you are expected to do. Many customers who want to benefit from the commitment and availability of emerging companies often feel free to push boundaries, reach out 24/7, and expect immediate responses. How many times has a customer called at 10pm – or on the weekend – expecting urgent work to be completed without complaint or, more importantly, without additional compensation? For the new entrepreneurs who put customer satisfaction first, this could be a real opportunity to bring joy. But in the quest to build a reputation that exceeds expectations, the question becomes: When does ambition become an exploitable liability rather than an asset?
For an entrepreneur, allocating their time is a decision that must be carefully considered – and for any initiative to continue to have a real and notable impact, it must also be financially viable. Time, effort and resources are unique and as valuable to a growing company as the passion that drives it.
Related: Entrepreneurship can be stressful – try these 3 strategies to restore the joy.
To better manage the relationship between generosity and professional standards, entrepreneurs can adopt strategies that respect both their inherent value and entrepreneurial spirit while protecting their personal well-being. Here are some tips:
- Plan your schedule: There are only 24 hours in a day without a time turner. Therefore, it is important to limit certain times when you are available for different types of work, including unpaid projects. The goal is to manage expectations and prevent overcommitment.
- Set clear boundaries: Be open about the value and/or cost of your time. Communicate clearly when work is offered as a favor, as part of a strategic partnership, or with the expectation of future reciprocity. Even between friends, a clear contract or agreement can help avoid future misunderstandings.
- Prioritize time management: Use time management tools and techniques to ensure time is distributed efficiently. Not all freelance work offers the same return when it comes to exposure, experience, or potential business.
- Appreciate your own work appropriately: Understand the market value of your services and strive to maintain that standard. It’s always easier to start with a higher price that offers greater scope and then lower the price than to start too low.
- Keep an eye on the contribution threshold: Regularly checking the contribution assessment limit helps to keep an eye on the entrepreneur’s performance. Driven by passion and motivation, a regular check-in provides a moment of reflection to assess whether the time, energy and resources spent are in balance with the benefits received. An imbalance can manifest as financial strain, lack of personal time, or reduced passion for work.
Balance is essential to maintaining the impact and viability of your efforts. When it comes to the success of a business, entrepreneurs must be comfortable balancing passion 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 sufficient fuel and resources without compromising the entrepreneur’s mental, physical, and emotional well-being in attempting to take over the world to change, to endanger.
Generosity in the pursuit of a vision should never overshadow an entrepreneur’s professional value. Time and energy are not infinite, but finite.