While our situation is different than running a "real" business, real in quotes here as our business is real, just small and more of a figure-it-out-as-you-go-and-fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants sort of thing, with only two employees, I have to say that one of my favorite things about having a business is the opportunity to pay above market wage and change people's lives by rewarding them for their work.

While there's certainly an odd egotistical twist to it that can't be denied, there's something about seeing someone almost break into tears when you give them a raise that provides an entirely different perspective on privilege and on life in general.

Today we gave our housekeeper a bicycle so that she could get to work easier and the ability to do stuff like this isn't something we had considered way back when we first started thinking about this lifestyle change.

I was very happy to read today that /u/dogwhistle2014 takes a similar approach to taking care of his employees...almost as happy as I was to hear that he knows what Orange Jubilee is and drank it more than once under his own volition.

That's not to say there aren't frustrations involved when you're on the other end of the employer-employee relationship...there are plenty...but it's nice to be able to put your literal money where your mouth is and pay people what they deserve, and not just what the market will bear.