Entrepreneurship & Servitude: The Delusion of Being Your Own Boss

I once accepted the contract of a client who claimed to have never worked for anyone before.

He was someone who was adroit at faking it until he made it. Though, it didn’t take but the second interaction to see through his facade. He claimed to own titular businesses that didn’t make any actual money; he was a CEO in name only.

Entrepreneurs Need Help, Too

I didn’t mind that he had hired me because of all that he didn’t actually know in business and marketing. That’s what I’m here for. In fact, it’s other people’s lack of knowledge that keeps me employed.

Like in the medical world, if patients had the knowledge to cure themselves, we’d have no need for doctors. The knowledge that I have is a finite resource that’s hard to achieve; the same goes for a doctor.

Knowledge is power. Entrepreneurs seek this power; thus, they come to me to gain the power that I have in exchange for currency. I traded my time to go the path that they didn’t, and they provide what I couldn’t in the form of a product or service.

A partnership forms, and then we make profit. This is how the free market works, or rather: how it’s supposed to.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But what I did mind was how he insulted my intelligence by belittling me while projecting his facade. The money he paid me with was not his own; it was an investor’s. Meanwhile, he claimed never to have worked for anyone in his life. That he couldn’t work for other people, that they should work for him.

At the same time, this client demonstrated a lack of empathy for not only me, but other teammates. His brand struggled and we did not work together long.

Delusional Beliefs About Being Your Own Boss

What inhibited him was not his intelligence; he seemed like a pretty smart guy. What hindered him was a delusional belief about the true nature of entrepreneurship. He believed in three misguided things:

• There’s a job for everyone.
• Mediocre workers are okay.
• CEOs don’t serve anyone.

All three of these were wrong. And he struggled to make a single sale.

While I could write other articles about the first two, I’ll focus on the third in this one.

A CEO Is Still A Servant

CEOs get paid more because they’re the lead thinkers, visionaries, and sculptors of a brand. What the brand offers must solve a problem for its target audience, meet a demand. That’s basic economics. Meanwhile, they are responsible for team unity, morale, and company culture.

Anyone can pay a couple hundred dollars to incorporate a title into an LLC. But a real CEO serves his customers, his team, and his shareholders.

If that CEO fails to serve his team, he cannot serve his customers. If he fails to serve his customers, he cannot serve his shareholders.

The company begins to fall apart if the CEO views himself as anything other than a servant of sorts.

Like kings of their own kingdoms and people, CEOs are truly the first servants of the sovereign.

Do you agree? Why or why not?

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