Ownership and Passion
I had a friend who went in for a job interview recently. She interviewed with the owner of a very small, high-end retail shop. He wanted help expanding his business, particularly the online portion being run through his store's website.
He concluded the interview by telling her, "Whoever I hire to do this job, I want them to be willing to work very hard. As hard as it takes to get the job done. This business is like my child...I want to expand its reach and grow it. Whoever I hire has to be willing to do whatever it takes."
Ignoring how broad the phrase "whatever it takes" is, there's a problem with trying to hire an employee to work for you and expecting that they'll work with the same passion that an owner would. Entrepreneurs are tireless workers, but they choose to do what they do because they're often in the game for more than the paycheck.
If you bring someone into your business to work for you, you can't expect them to act like a partner and put in 120% just because you desperately want them to. You have two options in this case:
1. Give them equity in your business, which (theoretically) will incentivize them to grow the business with you, so they have some hopes of eventually cashing in on all their extra input.
2. Make them believe in what you're doing. If you're a non-profit supporting an important cause, you might be able to attract people willing to put in extra effort for no extra money because they truly believe in what you're doing. (In my friend's case, a high-end retail shop didn't meet these criteria.)
Failing these two things, the only other chance you might have is finding someone who needs the work desperately enough to earn the paycheck. But secretly, they're going to hate you for it, and as soon as they find a better opportunity, they're going to leave.
He concluded the interview by telling her, "Whoever I hire to do this job, I want them to be willing to work very hard. As hard as it takes to get the job done. This business is like my child...I want to expand its reach and grow it. Whoever I hire has to be willing to do whatever it takes."
Ignoring how broad the phrase "whatever it takes" is, there's a problem with trying to hire an employee to work for you and expecting that they'll work with the same passion that an owner would. Entrepreneurs are tireless workers, but they choose to do what they do because they're often in the game for more than the paycheck.
If you bring someone into your business to work for you, you can't expect them to act like a partner and put in 120% just because you desperately want them to. You have two options in this case:
1. Give them equity in your business, which (theoretically) will incentivize them to grow the business with you, so they have some hopes of eventually cashing in on all their extra input.
2. Make them believe in what you're doing. If you're a non-profit supporting an important cause, you might be able to attract people willing to put in extra effort for no extra money because they truly believe in what you're doing. (In my friend's case, a high-end retail shop didn't meet these criteria.)
Failing these two things, the only other chance you might have is finding someone who needs the work desperately enough to earn the paycheck. But secretly, they're going to hate you for it, and as soon as they find a better opportunity, they're going to leave.