We all have this theory these days that either our time is worth more than it actually is... or that giving or asking for help is a sign of weakness and you will be eaten. I have thought this in the past and this mindset made my businesses start to suck. For this example... entrepreneurs are sharks and employees are the beautiful fish.
Back up a couple years... Everything has a price to the trade or service obviously as we all need money to survive & pay bills. The thing people need to be reminded however is money should only be received if it is ethical and morally correct to how you view the world and the whole truths you have decided for yourself to live by, also abiding by the laws to the best of your knowledge.
Back in the day when I was a new business owner I couldn't say no to business, even when I knew the client would be a pain or they were thinking they were pulling a quick one on me by getting a crazy deal where I would just break even. I would just do these jobs for the "experience", but found out these people who get the screaming deals are also usually the ones who are the biggest pain in the butt clients. This is where you decide your FAIR pricing structure to not be too high or too low, think of the three little bears.
Since I am a small baby bull shark swimming in a huge ocean of entrepreneurs, I don't have much worry as I keep things simple & stay out of the way for now. I work for myself full-time, I have my small profits, I pay my bills, I can pay my professional counsel to deal with the legal boring stuff & save enough to invest in my future growth. That being said, going into business is scary as there are (for this example) three types of sharks. Corrupt great white sharks, lemon sharks, and a lot of baby bull sharks like myself swimming around the ocean. Yes, this is me being vulnerable to the fact I am a baby shark and might one day try to be eaten by a Great White once I am smelt. The Great White Sharks will tear you apart once you are smelt, the Lemon Sharks will help give you a ride around the ocean showing you things you didn't know of, the baby Bull Sharks are the solo-preneurs just scooting by for themselves (the mom and pop shops) and fish of the oceans are surviving. The two main "sharks" we entrepreneurs look up to are the Great Whites and Lemon sharks. However, it is not so obvious that one will eat you and the other will help guide you (once again, for an example).
Side note, fish are extremely important for all of the ocean to survive. They are needed for the sharks to survive and the sharks are needed for the fish to survive as they co-exist with each other.
Great White or Lemon Shark? This can be your boss, this can be your investor, this can be your business partner. Realistically you won't know which shark they are until you do business with them, but I'm sure you can sense with your gut if they are a Great White within the first year. I have worked for all of them and lets just say... the Great White's are assholes (No reference to the popular TV show).
Moral of the story is, don't be a Great White even though they look so badass in the kingdom of the ocean. Look to help and guide others to success to create more Lemon Sharks.
Fun Fact: "Lemon Sharks" - Since these sharks are gentle animals and generally non-aggressive towards humans, they are very popular shark divers. (they get more attention) There has never been a recorded fatality due to a Lemon Shark bite and most bites are the result of the shark being spooked. - www. sharksider.com
Cheers, P&A
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