For the first eight years of running my business, I was the most broke CEO in town. I don’t mean “tight budget broke.” I mean real broke.
Every end of month, I’d pay rent, pay salaries, pay ZESA, pay suppliers, pay the taxman and then I’d check my wallet and say,
“Next month, I’ll take something for myself.”
But next month never came.
Some months, I would go for weeks without touching a single dollar from the business. I’d pay everyone even the office cleaner before I thought of paying myself.
My employees wore better shoes than me.
One day I looked around and realised, I was the poorest person in my own company.
The Boss Who Was Broke
In meetings, I’d shout:
“I’m done with this business! I’m leaving it it doesn’t even benefit me!”
But the truth was, I had nowhere to go.
I was the boss, yes but the business was the one bossing me around.
I had built a company that paid everyone except the founder.
I was feeding the business, but the business wasn’t feeding me.
They call that condition entrepreneurial poverty. It’s when you run a company that looks successful from the outside but you’re starving on the inside.
The Employees Had Better Shoes
I remember one particular month.
One of my employees walked into the office wearing shiny brown Italian shoes you know, the ones that squeak when they hit the floor.
I looked at my own shoes. They were screaming too but not from shine. From pain.
That day I realised something:
“I’m the owner of the business, but my employees are the ones looking like the owners.”
I used to joke that if a stranger walked into our office, they would assume I was the messenger.
Because real owners, apparently, dress poorer.
I Thought Paying Myself First Was Greed
Then I started reading books Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Richest Man in Babylon, and Jeffrey Fox’s How to Be a Fierce Competitor.
All of them preached the same gospel: PAY YOURSELF FIRST.
At first, I thought that was greed.
I used to say,
“How can I pay myself when I owe people? When my employees need salaries?”
I thought sacrifice was leadership.
I thought suffering proved commitment.
Until I realised: you can’t pour from an empty cup or in my case, from an empty EcoCash.
I Was the Bank of No Returns
Every time I got some extra money, I’d “invest” it back into the business.
And you know what?
It never came back.
That money went into mysterious projects, uncollected debts, unrecoverable hopes, and ungrateful clients.
I used to say,
“Let me just reinvest this last bit.”
That “last bit” became a ritual.
I was funding my own stress with every dollar.
The Pain of Entrepreneurial Poverty
It reached a point where I couldn’t even help my parents when they needed something.
I’d postpone paying my kids’ holiday school fees.
When relatives saw me driving, they thought I had money little did they know I was running on fuel and faith.
I was running a company but living like a contractor.
“Business is stressful but it’s worse when you’re broke in it.”
At least when you’re stressed and getting paid, the pain feels purposeful.
The Turning Point
The day I decided to pay myself first, everything changed.
It wasn’t easy at first, it felt like I was stealing from my own company.
But I realised that if the business couldn’t afford to pay me, then I didn’t have a business I had a busy-ness.
So I started small.
I gave myself a consistent salary even if it was $200 or $300 and stuck to it religiously.
Suddenly, I started managing better.
Because when you know you must pay yourself first, you plan with precision.
You control expenses. You chase debtors harder. You say no more often.
The Funny Thing About Paying Yourself First
Here’s the funny thing: once you start paying yourself, you actually get more motivated.
You start enjoying entrepreneurship again.
The long nights feel meaningful. The early mornings feel rewarding.
Because there’s a difference between working for growth and working for survival.
Growth energizes you survival drains you.
Now, even when business is tough, I remind myself:
“At least I’m earning from the stress.”
My Advice to Every Entrepreneur
Dear entrepreneurs,
Stop being the most broke person in your business.
Your business should serve you, not enslave you.
Your company’s success means nothing if you can’t buy your own child an ice cream.
So from today:
- Pay yourself first even if it’s small.
- Treat your salary as a sacred expense.
- Save something every month, no matter how little.
- Reinvest after you’ve secured your personal basics.
Because one day, you’ll wake up tired of shouting,
“I’m leaving this business!”
And you’ll realise it wasn’t the business that failed you.
It was you who forgot that the founder also deserves food.
“You can’t keep feeding your business and expect it to feed you by miracle.
Pay yourself first even God rested on the seventh day.” Business will always be stressful but stress with a salary feels better than stress with stories.
By The Chartered Vendor
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