Have you ever watched this happen?
You meet the new office manager in a building you service. They’re sharp, excited, and genuinely happy with their new role and the pay. You build a little rapport. Six months later, you stop by, and that energy is gone. They seem restless, maybe a little cynical. By nine months, they’re telling you they’re “keeping their options open.” Before the year is out, someone new is at the desk, and the cycle starts all over again.
I’ve seen this exact story play out for years. It’s not just office managers. It’s restaurant managers jumping ship for an extra $2,000 a year. It’s talented servers bouncing from one new “hot” restaurant to the next. I’ve even seen it with accountants and some commission-only sales folks who are, for all intents and purposes, still operating on a W-2 mindset.
They are all chasing the BBD: the Bigger Better Deal.
As a self-employed business owner, it’s a fascinating, and frankly, a foreign way to think. We watch these talented, capable people get stuck in a loop, always looking for someone else to give them a raise, a new title, or a slightly better benefits package.
What they’re doing is outsourcing their own value. They’re waiting for an employer to tell them what they’re worth. And when they get restless, their only solution is to find a new employer to give them a slightly different number.
They’re not betting on themselves. We are.
The Capped Ceiling of the “BBD”
The core of the W-2 mindset is the search for perceived security. The “BBD” is the only lever they feel they can pull to increase their income.
- They get a 3% cost-of-living raise and feel stuck.
- They get restless and start browsing LinkedIn.
- They find a new job that offers them a 7% bump to jump.
- They feel like they “won.”
But what did they win? A new boss, a new set of problems, and a new, slightly-higher-but-still-capped ceiling. The fundamental problem remains: their income is not tied to their direct performance; it’s tied to a line item in someone else’s budget.
This is why the excitement fades. The new-job shine wears off, and they realize they’re in the exact same position, just at a different desk.
The Entrepreneur’s Mindset: We Don’t Find the BBD, We Create It
As merchant services professional, as self-employed business owners, our entire world is different. You and I live by a different code.
We don’t look for a raise; we go out and make one.
- Want a “raise”? You don’t ask a manager. You go out and sign one or two new high-volume accounts.
- Feel restless? You don’t update your resume. You refine your sales process, build a new lead-gen funnel, or find a new strategic partner.
- Want “security”? You don’t hope for a stable company. You build a diversified and sticky residual portfolio that pays you month after month, year after year.
This is what it truly means to bet on yourself.
Your income isn’t capped by a manager’s budget. It’s capped only by your time, your strategy, and your willingness to hunt. When we feel that same restlessness our W-2 friends feel, it doesn’t manifest as “I need a new job.” It manifests as “I need to close a bigger deal.”
Why We Chose This Path
Sure, the W-2 world looks “safe.” A steady paycheck. Paid vacation. Health benefits.
But we see the trade-off. We see that “safety” is an illusion that costs them 100% of their upside. They’ve traded exponential potential for linear, predictable, and ultimately unfulfilling, growth.
We, on the other hand, embrace the risk because we want the reward.
- We eat what we kill.
- We own our losses and our wins.
- We are building equity—in our client book, in our business, in our brand.
Our W-2 friends are building someone else’s equity in exchange for a salary.
So, the next time you see a talented acquaintance jump ship for the third time in two years for a minor bump in pay, just nod. They’re playing a different game. They’re looking for the BBD.
You and I are busy building it.
What about you? When was the moment you realized you had to stop looking for a “BBD” and start building your own? Let me know in the comments.
Happy Selling,
David
