Is running a business for you, and what are you expecting from it? Before you get started, it’s good to do a quick reality check.
Regardless of their background, people who seek financial freedom have one thing in common. That’s the aim of being able to spend their time and money as they please, without worrying about getting fired from a job or going broke. One way to do this is to be your own boss. But is being your own boss a reality or just a fantasy? If it’s real, then what’s the price you have to pay? Or is it really something for nothing?
Here are some of my thoughts on the myths and realities of being your own boss. I hope you find something useful in them.
It’s difficult to find good employees and even harder to retain them, not to mention the challenges of getting rid of a bad one. Sometimes the decisions you make will change your employees’ lives completely. You’ll also have to live with those decisions for the rest of your life.
Is this really what you want?
To put it another way, selling and making money are fun, but there’s actually a lot more administrative work that goes on in the background. Being your own boss is a highly demanding job. It takes passion, high-level enthusiasm, hard work, persistence, self-discipline, patience and
Is financial freedom for real?
The idea of being your own boss is what attracts many people to start along the path of financial freedom. But is financial freedom real, or is it just an idea that everybody is trying to sell to you?
I think it’s good to start by asking that, and it’s certainly something I asked when I started learning more about becoming financially free. I now believe that financial freedom is achievable, but it’s definitely not easy.
Unless you’re one of the few people who win the lottery, or had a rich uncle who sadly passed away and left everything to you, becoming financially independent is a big challenge. It takes years and requires a lot of courage, self-discipline, hard work and persistence. More importantly, it requires a fair amount of financial literacy. The truth is, not many people are cut out for taking such control of their lives, and especially for taking control of their finances.
Why being your own boss isn’t easy
As disappointing as it may sound, being your own boss isn’t easy.
For sure, at first glance, it can look far easier than keeping up with the daily grind of a regular job. But the simple truth is, working for someone else is far easier than running your own business. You get a guaranteed paycheck for a fixed amount at the end of the month, which helps you to manage your expenses and savings. What’s more, you don’t have to make decisions about the nature of the work and the amount of time you have to spend at the office. And finally, who and what you have to put up with at your workplace is mostly predictable.
When you’re running a business, things are very different.
For one, you have to face a lot of uncertainties, and your income may not be as predictable as you’d like it to be. You also have a lot more responsibilities, such as book-keeping, procurements, managing suppliers, customer service, passing audits, and health and safety checks. In fact, those are the easier ones, compared to recruiting and managing people.
long working hours, as well as the ability to make tough decisions fast and stick to them.
What it really takes to run a business
As I’ve just implied, running a business is less about enjoying the money and more about persistence, patience and courage.
Persistence means being strong enough to withstand the frustration and just keep doing what you have to do, even when there are no results on the horizon. It’s easy to give up after the first few months and start something completely new, only to give that up too before you’ve battled through the growing pains. If competition is high in your chosen business, it will take even longer to get results. Basically, if you want to run a business, you need to be strong enough to put in the necessary work even on days when your motivation is zero.
It also takes time to see the final fruits of your hard work or investments. This can be months, but it will more likely be years. Once compounding kicks in, your income will grow exponentially, but this won’t be the result of work you put in the previous week. It will be the combined result of the work you put in on an hourly and daily basis for years—work which probably felt insignificant at the time.
Even after you break even and start making a profit, it’s unrealistic to think that everything will be plain sailing—in fact, the opposite is more often true. Businesses can collapse following a dramatic change in the market or political situation. Problems with employees and customers can give you nightmares. Legal and contractual issues with partners will go on for years and years. The value of your stocks and other assets can plummet due to unforeseen circumstances. Things can and will go wrong, and you should prepare for them, or at least be ready to expect them.
So what should you expect?
Given all of this, what can you realistically expect from becoming financially free?
I believe that financial independence is real and achievable, but when it comes to what it’s actually like, I keep my expectations low. A lot of gurus out there will paint you a picture of butterflies and unicorns. They’ll tell you that when you’re financially free, you’ll have all the freedom in the world to do or not to do whatever you want, whenever you want.
This is fine if you believe in unicorns.
There’s no doubt that financial freedom brings you plenty of choices you wouldn’t have otherwise:
- You’ll be able to decide when to take your holidays, without needing permission from anybody.
- Your spending power will increase, and you’ll have more choice in your material life.
- You’ll have control over who you work with and your work environment. There’s also a good chance that you’ll be surrounded by like-minded, positive people who are also financially successful.
Once you manage to break even with your daily lifestyle expenses, from there on, it will be faster to build wealth. As a result, you can invest in riskier and more rewarding opportunities as you have more money at your disposal—and the ball keeps rolling from there.
These, then, are a few of the significant benefits of being financially free.
On the other hand, as I’ve already pointed out, you’ll also have a lot more at stake as a business owner or investor. You’ll have far more responsibility than a regular employee, and your obligations won’t be limited to a regular 9-5 working day. Finally, you’ll need to make sure your businesses run as smoothly as possible so that they continue to generate passive income and are sustainable. That implies keeping both your customers and employees happy.
If you’re still here…
I hope I’ve made it clear that the road to financial freedom is a difficult one. It’s way more difficult than doing the day job that you hate so much, which may be a sobering thought. Granted, you get full control of your financial and personal life, but it comes with great responsibilities.
Not everyone is cut out to be their own boss. It requires patience, persistence, self-discipline, and the ability to trudge through the boredom and just carry on working when there’s no clear end in sight. It demands a lot more hours of work than a day job. In the beginning, you may even be working seven days a week.
On the other hand, financial freedom is one of the most rewarding things in life. It’s a fantastic feeling when your hard work has paid off and you’re in control of your life. You can look back and be proud of what you’ve achieved and the legacy you’re leaving. If you’re fortunate, you can secure your children’s financial future as well.
if you have any comments, Please drop me a message.I’d love to hear from you.