Let’s talk about something most entrepreneurs avoid like an electricity bill during load shedding…
PAY YOURSELF FIRST.
Yes, you heard me correctly.
Not last.
Not “when things improve.”
Not “after we stabilize.”
FIRST.
“BUT MY TEAM COMES FIRST…” MY BROTHER, RELAX
Most entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe have this hero mentality:
“I will sacrifice everything for the business.”
“I will pay everyone else first.”
“I will eat later.”
Next thing…
Your employees are eating chicken inn at lunch
You’re eating maheu and hope.
Your team is getting paid on time…
You are getting paid “we’ll see next month.”
My friend, you are not running a business.
You are running a charity and you are the beneficiary of suffering.
THE DAY YOU STOP PAYING YOURSELF… IS THE DAY YOU START HATING YOUR BUSINESS
Let me tell you something painful.
The reason most entrepreneurs feel tired, frustrated, and demotivated is not because business is hard…
It’s because they are working for free.
You wake up early.
You solve problems.
You deal with customers.
You fight suppliers.
You handle staff drama.
At the end of the month…
Everyone gets paid except you.
Now tell me how long can you stay motivated doing that?
Even passion has a limit.
Even calling needs fuel.
And fuel in business is money.
SALARY IS NOT GREED, IT’S SURVIVAL
Some of you think paying yourself is being selfish.
No.
It’s being structured.
If your business cannot pay you a salary, let’s be honest:
It’s not yet a business
It’s a project
Or worse… it’s an expensive hobby
Because a real business must sustain:
The owner
The team
The operations
Not just “vibes and sacrifice.”
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF GETTING PAID FIRST
Something powerful happens when you start paying yourself first:
You become more disciplined
You respect money more
You stop misusing business funds
You become accountable to your own performance
And most importantly…
You become excited again.
That feeling of:
“Ahh month end is coming… my salary is coming.”
That energy alone can wake you up at 5AM without an alarm.
WHY ENTREPRENEURS START DELAYING SALARIES (AND EMBARRASSING THEMSELVES)
Here’s the irony…
When you don’t pay yourself first:
You become financially unstable
You start “borrowing” from the business
You start shifting payroll dates
You start giving excuses
Now your employees are frustrated.
Meanwhile, all this confusion started because you didn’t structure your own salary first.
PUT YOURSELF ON PAYROLL NOT ON PROMISES
Let me say this slowly…
You are not “the owner who will take what remains.”
You are:
The founder
The visionary
The risk taker
Which means…
You deserve a salary like everyone else.
Put yourself on payroll.
Even if it’s small.
USD 200.
USD 500.
Whatever the business can afford.
But make it:
Consistent
Planned
Non-negotiable
STOP BEING THE MOST UNDERPAID EMPLOYEE IN YOUR OWN COMPANY
It’s actually funny…
The owner:
Has the most stress
Carries the biggest risk
Works the longest hours
But earns the least.
How?
Even the office tea lady is more financially stable than the CEO
THE REAL TRUTH MOST GURUS WON’T TELL YOU
Yes, reinvest in the business.
Yes, grow.
Yes, sacrifice.
But don’t sacrifice to the point where:
You resent the very thing you built.
Because once resentment enters…
Passion dies
Discipline fades
Burnout begins
And that’s how good businesses collapse not from competition…
But from an exhausted, unpaid founder.
FINAL LESSON PAY YOURSELF LIKE YOU MATTER
Your business will only value you…
at the level you value yourself.
If you treat yourself like “last priority” …
The business will follow that same script.
So starting this month:
Put yourself on payroll
Pay yourself first
Respect your effort
Because the truth is simple:
If your business cannot pay you… it is slowly replacing you with stress.
Let me stop here before someone says,
“Ahh Jerry is teaching people to eat company money!”
No my brother…
I’m teaching you to build a business that can feed you not frustrate you.
