Owners who mistake a good product for a good business.
They’re talented, and they work constantly. Then they copy whatever the loudest guru in their industry is selling, because nobody told them they were allowed to build it differently.
I watched them skip the one investment that pays back the most: their own people. I watched them run their companies the way the big brands do, with the same “I own your eight hours” deal baked in, because it was the only model they’d ever seen.
Corporations built that deal. Small businesses copied it. And the people inside pay for it with their time, their health, and their families.
I’ve worked for companies, run my own, and freelanced. I value freelancing because you pay for the job, not the time. That difference changed how I think about all of it.
