eat what you kill
Earn your own
Eat what you kill is a compensation model where earnings depend entirely on what you produce—common in sales, law, and finance.
A salesperson who eats what they kill earns commission only on deals they personally close, with no base salary or shared revenue.
The phrase evokes hunting: you don't eat unless you bring down prey.
It's an eat-what-you-kill environment—no one's going to hand you clients.
- performance-based payEarnings determined by results
- commissionPayment for services rendered
- closing dealsCompleting negotiated transactions
- independenceFreedom from external control
- freelance workSelf-directed paid projects
ambition · initiative · rainmaker · hustle culture · fairness · dog eat dog · self-sufficiency · hunter gatherer · rivalry · gig economy · entrepreneurship · lone wolf · pay-for-performance · foraging · autonomy · meritocracy · personal responsibility · sales quotas
eat what you killsalaried
Paid fixed regular amount
guaranteed income · steady paycheck · hourly wage · retainer · flat fee
eat what you killguaranteed
Promised with certainty
secure · protected · tenured · safety net · cushioned
eat what you killcollectivism
Group primacy doctrine
profit sharing · communal · equal shares · cradle to grave · welfare state
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