For some people, the prospect of being stuck in an office between the hours of 9am and 5pm is simply unbearable. Opening your own business is a very appealing way of taking back control of your working life. You can set your own hours, you don't have an overbearing manager breathing down your neck, you can even answer your e-mails in your pyjamas if you wish; try doing that in an office job and you'll get some funny looks. Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple- being an entrepreneur isn't easy.
It requires the tenacity to get your business off the ground, the self-motivation to be productive without anyone to answer to but yourself, and the resilience to keep going if things get tough. If you feel these are characteristics you possess, however, then maybe ditching the rat race and going into business yourself is the change your life needs.
If you choose to give it a try, the benefits will be much greater than breaking free of the monotonous 9-5 grind. You can pursue your own dreams and ideas; the only limit is your imagination. The opportunities for learning are limitless. You can meet an array of people so much more diverse and exciting than the same old cast of characters in the office. You might even change the world; some of the most important creations in history have come from the minds of one or two individual mavericks who were unafraid to take risks. Imagine the feeling when you see something you've created being used by someone, and knowing that it was you that brought it into the world, you take on a lot of responsibility, but the rewards are tantalising.
Of course, there are certain jobs that will realistically lend themselves to working from home a lot better than others. You are unlikely, for example, to be running an international oil conglomerate any time soon. If you don't have a mind for business but still want to be your own boss, why not work in a creative industry? You could become a freelance writer or designer, still able to set your own hours and work on projects you personally find appealing. If you love children, you can become a nanny, again working for clients that you select yourself and having a profound effect on a child at such an important stage of their development. Maybe you'll even write that novel you've been thinking about, another avenue through which self-employed people can create things that change the world.
So, do you think becoming your own boss is for you? If so, what are you waiting for? Taking the plunge of becoming self-employed is undoubtedly a serious step, but it's one that has changed so many lives for the better, and it could do the same for you.
Unfortunately all our life we have always been "programmed" to go to school, get a super final average grade, look for a nice rewarding job and than live off the government for the rest of your life.
I wish I would've been raised different but it's never too late and now I'm starting to fall back on the "Rat Race" and starting my life as an entrepeneur!
Greetings!
I work a classic 9 to 5 type of steady, comfortable and financially rewarding job. I have also started my own indie game development studio that has nothing to do with my career.
As someone doing both, I can say that doing something you want to do, for nobody's sake but your own, is very fulfilling. It is also incredibly difficult and can leave you broke and disappointed, so choose carefully about when to go all-in.
Also, there is one surprising similarity between 9 to 5 careers and entrepreneurial ventures: success in either correlates very highly with how hard you work and your level of ambition to do well.
Passion and effort aren't things that the job can create for you. They're things you create for yourself.
I'm glad to hear you're venturing out to your own side gig, as you said it can be super rewarding to do something you "want" to be doing instead of "have" to be doing.
With that being said,not sure I can agree with the "there is one surprising similarity between 9 to 5 careers and entrepreneurial ventures: success in either correlates very highly with how hard you work and your level of ambition to do well". This may vary from industry to industry but from my own personal experience, variables such as office politics, nepotism, poor management and being "black balled" all can play factors in your success, (or lack there of) in your typical 9-5. Not saying that happened to me, but I've known VERY hard workers that will forever be "stuck".
It's very true that there are things at the office which are outside your control and which can hold you back. The same is true in entrepreneurialism, however, and if you have any amount of success, things like office politics and nepotism will likely come to exist in your own venture as well. The world is vast, and wherever you go, things will happen that you aren't prepared to handle and that can feel unfair.
In both cases — working for yourself, or working for someone else — how well you do is a combination of your own talent and luck. How big a factor each separately plays is hard to say, but since all you can control is your own efforts, I believe those should be your focus no matter what you do.
I went through several careers before I found one that was stable, rewarding, and in which I felt valued for my own contributions. To those who work hard but feel the deck is stacked against them, whether in entrepreneurship or in life, all you can do is roll the dice another time. The hardship of life is that sometimes you get "stuck," even when you did everything right; the beauty of life is that you can try again.
I just barley became my own boss, So far its been stressful But I feel like I have what it takes. People just think they can quit their job right away and be free, but it doesn't work that way.
I was working 12 or more hours a day going to my job and building my business piece by piece. It was hardwork but I feel so rewarded for what I have accomplished!
Been at it all my life ..... wouldn't want it any other way.
This way
Life is too short to work everyday, every hour. In a split second you will be old and will regret to not have done the thing you wanted.
Thanks for the post. Once again it opens my eyes
Thank you. I have been thinking about getting my own business for quite a long time know.
I hope this article could inspire you to do so what did you make wait so long ?
Yes it does. The first step is to leave your comfort zone and that's not so easy. And for a long time I was not sure if I am able to do this. But last week I talked to my mentor and he encouraged me to take this step.
having a mentor is importent
...I've been a self employed artist pretty much all my life. You have to learn to generate an income and how to "make do and mend", when things arnt going so well.
I think one of the lessons what i learned very early on, is have a kind of runway and keep your fix costs low
Well. I'm jobless right now. All I do right now is study cryptocurrencies and try to be relevant on Steemit, somehow. Translated a bit for kencode. Still got some cash to get me through a month. I'm hoping it will pan out in the long run. Idk if I ever want to have my own company, but I'd like to do different stuff. Voluntary work. Invest. Create a youtube channel. There are many possibilities nowadays, I should be extremely happy living right now. Looking back at my life I can't understand how I could live through college with the thought "I'm gonna graduate and have 8-5 job which I really don't like and pays like shit". I'm gonna try to do everything possible to get monetary freedom through passive income and do the things I want.
It's funny, I was thinking to myself just the other night not long after discovering Steemit that I am way more willing to work 80+ hours a week as a webprenuer than go to a 9-5 job.
This is also difficult when you have other individuals to worry about. Although they say no risk, no reward. Many cannot take risks because they are providing for others. It is more detrimental to get out of the 9 to 5 grind for some. Self-employment cannot exactly be a possibility to some. I also think being your own boss comes with a lot more stress than people bargain for.
Every time I think of a 9-5 job in a cubicle, I can't help but think...
...did evolution prepare us for an environment that no longer exists?
I love reading motivational posts like these, but in my experience, some people do well as entrepreneurs and others are much more successful as employees.
I guess at the end of the day, it's important to know and choose what makes you happy vs what society expects from you.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts @dragonho.