“Every one lives by selling something, whatever be his right to it.”

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Many ethical entrepreneurs struggle with the concept of selling, let alone the act itself. There’s often a belief that doing good work can and should be its own reward. However, this ideal quickly unravels when these same entrepreneurs struggle to generate enough personal revenue to meet basic needs such as housing, clothing, and food. When asked about the runway for their business, most ethical entrepreneurs I’ve spoken with estimate it to be six months, at best. And when questioned about their personal runway, the timeline is often even shorter.

There is nothing noble about suffering in service to your cause. Martyring yourself and sacrificing your well-being—and that of your family—in pursuit of a vision for a better world is not purposeful. When you’re young, it might seem feasible to postpone concerns about the future, but as you age, form long-term partnerships, and perhaps start considering raising a family (whether human or furry children), long-term security becomes a critical consideration. Questions such as, “How will we save enough money to buy a house?” “How can we afford children and ensure their health, well-being, and education?” “How will we handle healthcare and ageing?” and “What are our plans for retirement?” become increasingly urgent.

I know this from personal experience.

When working with founders, I like to remind them that everything important in their lives should be considered a requirement:

Want to leave the office by 3 p.m. to pick up your kids from school? Requirement.

Want to secure platinum-level healthcare for your family? Requirement.

Want to ensure your organisation balances efficiency with doing things right? Requirement.

Want to save $10,000 a month for the next 20 years to ensure financial security in retirement and leave something meaningful for your family? Requirement.

• Want to leave the office by 3 p.m. to pick up your kids from school? Requirement.

• Want to secure platinum-level healthcare for your family? Requirement.

• Want to ensure your organisation balances efficiency with doing things right? Requirement.

• Want to save $10,000 a month for the next 20 years to ensure financial security in retirement and leave something meaningful for your family? Requirement.

These are all requirements—non-negotiables—whether or not the organisation you’re currently associated with can help you meet them. Yet, for many ethical entrepreneurs, there’s a significant disconnect between their world-changing purpose, operating margin, and personal reward. This gap can only be addressed by either:

1. Changing the requirements

2. Increasing the margin

Notice I mention margin here, because when I think of an entrepreneur, I don’t focus on a specific legal structure or role. The Proto-Indo-European root of “entrepreneur” is “ghend,” meaning “to seize, to take.” Entrepreneurs identify gaps in the market and seize upon them to address unmet needs. It’s no surprise, then, that the Proto-Germanic root of “sale” also means “to grasp, to take.”

By their very nature, entrepreneurs sell.

Impact entrepreneurs sell products and services, but these sales are often complicated by their greater comfort with selling an idea, a better way, or a vision of a glorious future state. However …

“Rhetoric never won a revolution yet.”

~ Caroline Chisholm

We preach to convert, but not as an end in itself.

Yes, it’s satisfying to rant, to post ideas on social media, and to receive the dopamine hit from likes, comments, and engagement. But unless you’re in the business of selling ideas, the engagement that truly matters is the number of customers, partners, or stakeholders you’re successfully serving.

Now, take this one step further. Imagine you’ve surveyed the landscape, identified a gap, created a solution, proven it works, and genuinely believe you have the best product or service in the market.

Surely your ethics and moral compass demand that you get that product or service into as many hands as possible.

And that’s simply not going to happen without selling.

What are your experiences with selling, including any challenges you've experienced or observed. Please share in the comments below. Let's start a conversation and learn from each other.