A loved ones feels he’s super important
at the privately held company
he works countless unpaid overtime hours
for.
They couldn’t operate without him,
he claims.
So I told him
he should ask
for equity in the business.
He gave me a half dozen reasons
why now wasn’t the right time
to make that request.
He has been working
there over a decade.
There will never be
a right time
to make that request.
And the owner
will never give him
equity.
Because he isn’t that important
to the business.
He’s replaceable.
If he was important,
the owner would have tied him
to the business
with a small equity stake.
Don’t voluntarily work
unpaid overtime hours
for a company
you have no equity in.
Use that time
to build your own equity
elsewhere.