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How I Broke Out Of The Wage Mindset (To Think Like An Entrepreneur)
This week’s mixtape: the mindset shift from hourly worker to entrepreneur, building assets, showing up daily, and some Pat Benatar to get you fired up.
Corey Koehler
August 17, 2025
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A diesel mechanic asked me:
“Ok, get closer to the money or be an entrepreneur, but what about us police, nurses, teachers, etc? Wages have not kept up and I’m a diesel mechanic with 15years experience and only being in a union has kept me in the middle class.” - @charlesscott1849
The first thing I thought was, he needs to stop thinking in terms of wages.
That was the big ah-ha for me when I stopped thinking like an employee and started thinking like an entrepreneur.
This week, I’ll show you how I did it — and how others have too.
Oh, and even if you’ve already started drinking the entrepreneurial Kool-Aid, the lessons in this post are still a good reminder. The wage mindset has a sneaky way of creeping back in.
How to Break Out of the Wage Mindset
If you’ve been an employee for years, you’re wired to trade hours for dollars.
The problem? That wiring doesn’t help you build assets, products, or anything that pays you after you’ve clocked out.
The diesel mechanic’s question required more than a text reply in the comments.
So I shot this video walking through the exact shift I had to make to stop thinking like an employee — plus real examples of people in hourly and salary jobs who broke out of that mindset and built something big.
In a nutshell, start valuing work that compounds, even if it doesn’t pay you immediately.
It’s the only way I’ve found to truly break the hourly wage mindset… and start giving your future self a raise.
Why Reps Matter
Once you’ve made the mindset shift, you still have to do the reps.
I made a video talking about why I keep making YouTube videos that suck.
This applies to anything and not just making YouTube videos. It’s the unsexy stuff — the practice, the stumbling through, nagging imposter syndrome — that actually helps you get better.
Skills compound just like money. But only if you power through and keep showing up.
Free Content to Help You Think Like an Entrepreneur
I've got some posts that used to be behind my paid plan, but guess what? I've decided to make them completely free for you.
I go back and forth on whether to charge for them, but ultimately, I just want to help you get started. So, here they are...
And, if you think you don’t have anything to talk about, try the Story to Start Up method I used to start this blog
If you’ve been waiting to get started — this is your cue to start now.
No matter what type of business you start, building an email list is a big deal.
AI Prompt of the Week
Let’s see how your job skills and experiences could translate from wage or hourly work into something entrepreneurial.
Take this prompt and copy/paste it into your favorite AI chat and see what you come up with:
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This article is free — but it’s for Gen X solopreneurs, creators, and side-hustlers serious about figuring out what’s next. Subscribe for the weekly mixtape of AI info, marketing yourself and some music and simple AI systems to help you stay relevant, make some cash, and build lifestyle-first work you’ll never want to quit. You in?
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