archipherous

I mean, I know people who grew up poor and became voracious sociopath capitalists... Personally, I think you're on the better team :)

Ok, I have the same feeling, but I come from a very different context: professional parents who always did well but were never business owners or at all entrepreneurial. Where I really resonate is the sense of taking from others in order to service myself. Somehow I don't see the transactional aspect of it, i.e. that although I'm technically "taking" something, I'm also giving something up in order to earn the right to take it (if that makes sense). I guess I don't feel like I deserve it.

Out of interest, how big is the margin between market rate and how much you charge? Could you split the difference?

I used to work for other people, but now I work for myself. The issue is that being an employee is essentially passive (paid to do what you're told), and running your own business is active (telling/getting other people to pay you). And somehow, I've hit a plateau in my comfort level with being an active solicitor-of-business. I can push, but only so far, and then I start avoiding, procrastinating, and prevaricating. I don't feel like I'm exploiting employees because I don't have any. I feel like I'm exploiting my customers by asking for money at all.

Ok, let's work it out. What do you mean by "overcharging"? I use the same word, but everyone has their own definition. In my head, that means asking for more than I need, regardless of what my service is nominally "worth" on the "market." Whatever those two terms mean...

I mean, I appreciate that you felt moved to reply, but this is exactly the super-judgy mindworm I'm trying to kill. Why should I believe that I or anyone else is by definition a bad person because I charge money for products/services? Sure, the business douche who knowingly charges a 1000% markup is a selfish dick but that's not where I'm trying to get to. I'm trying to get to the point where I don't have to be a slave to myself and work flat out 12 hours a day just to keep my head above water.

The first one is paywalled, fyi. Interesting idea with the anarchist management, except that I'm a one-man shop selling things that I design and make myself (should have mentioned). So my businesses will always be dictatorial by definition since any employees I take on wouldn't be creative partners.

Plus, an anarchistic perspective might be helpful for an internal structure, but it doesn't solve the interface problem of charging money for stuff.

I would 100% be into this. I have no programming skills, but knowing that Kijiji is owned by eBay makes me hate using it even though they get $0 from my transactions.