“The key to this joint, the key to staying on top of things is treat everything like it's your first project. Like it's your first day like back when you [were] an intern…like, that's how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry.” – Notorious B.I.G.
I heard this quote for the first time on Jay-Zs “My 1st Song” track and it obviously resonated with me. As I’m navigating through the web of being an entrepreneur, I face numerous challenges. The two that stand out the most for me at least in this point in time are:
staying motivated and hungry – every single day
determining what my time is worth
...and I believe these two go hand-in-hand.
If you were to do a certain task – and get paid to do so – how much would this project be worth? This may be a simple answer for someone who is contract based or is a freelancer, but not many people may think along these terms, especially those working in a salary-based paid position.
I can honestly say that this never crossed my mind while working with my previous employer. Yes, I worked hard, yes, I finished projects within a deadline, but I never really thought about the breakdown of what my time is worth based off of each project I did. I remember there were times when a specific task would take me hours to do and I had wished there was a way to outsource the work, but I never put a price tag on it. I thought in terms of – how could I complete the most amount of work as quickly as possible.
Figuring out how much time I spend on research, program design, phone calls, coaching, etc. is all relevant to how much I charge. When there’s no fixed or guaranteed income (re: salary) I should be more motivated to do the work. Unfortunately, I’ve created a habit from the past that has been difficult to break. The good news? If I don’t break this habit, no one wins.