As I write these words, the sunshine is streaming through my office windows and snow is piled up outside (it’s -17 degrees celsius today). If you read this when it first comes out I’ll be on a beach in Maui with my family. I’d like to encourage you to begin taking control of your life and work for yourself rather than someone else.
In our culture it is typical to hear people say that government or large company jobs are ‘safe and secure’. I disagree completely! There is risk to working at all. The risk for working for yourself is the same as that of working for a larger company; that risk is that you don’t make any money (either through not having any business or being laid-off). A major difference is not the amount of risk, but rather the amount of control you have over your risk. When working for the government or a larger employer you have zero control over changes that take place or major decisions. That means that a new government or company decision or takeover could put you out of work in a very short period of time. When working for yourself…. you control your own destiny. If you learn what you need to and have the right mindset you will be the one who decides whether your risk is managed properly or not. This is the first reason you should work for yourself: you have control over the risk of not making money. In today’s post I continue with the biggest reasons I see that working for yourself is the way every person should move toward.
Another reason you should work for yourself is that you will be in full control over your own time. Time freedom is extremely freeing! I have two younger children and we like to take vacations when we want. I also enjoy attending their events (sports, art, drama) when it takes place without work getting in the way. While I have had to change the way I work to facilitate my family and this took some time and energy, I now have a schedule that does not depend on a senior pecking order or how many years I’ve worked in a company. It is a major benefit to working for myself.
Money freedom is the other most major of benefits! When working for someone else you will typically have an upper limit to what you can make in a year. When working for yourself there is absolutely no limit, period! Do you want to make more money? Begin thinking how you can create a company from your skill-set and passions.
Continuing with the idea of money… there are tax benefits to working for yourself. With a corporation you are able to control, to a large degree, how you get paid and what your money does. A simply way to understand this is that when you work for an employer, the government gets paid first and you pay the highest tax rates. One reason for this is that you are not a major contributor to the government’s GDP. When working for yourself you are able to purchase tools and education for yourself, then pay yourself, then pay taxes. This means far less taxes are paid to the government. Is this legal? Absolutely! Don’t do it if it isn’t legal and make sure you have a great accountant to make sure. Is this fair? Absolutely! You are making a bigger difference to the GDP of your community and, ultimately, your country by running a successful business.
Work hard with no guilt for taking a breather. When I’ve worked for others I busted my tail in order to give my employer the most I possibly could. I actually felt a little guilty for taking breaks. That’s crazy! Now that I work for myself I take breaks whenever they are needed knowing that they contribute to my wellbeing and my company… and then I get back to work.
You will never have to deal with office politics again. The last J.O.B. I had was terrible for office politics. I really enjoyed the work as well as the people, but I was burned multiple times by being honest and trusting others including people in a position of authority over me. I’m not complaining about the place I worked right now (I really did enjoy so many aspects of the work as well as my colleagues). The point I’m making is that you no longer need to even think about what people are saying about you if you work for yourself. All you need to do is spend time with the people who add value to your business. You choose your employees, you choose those who spend time with every day.
My next point is an important one and I will attempt to explain it in a concise way because, at least in my head, it is difficult to understand. When working for yourself you can begin offering far better value to your clients because you can do things your way. No longer is there some kind of mandate set by someone far removed from the clients that states: ‘It shall be done this way’. There are many reasons larger companies and governments state these mandates and the mandates aren’t typically bad or wrong in my opinion. But they often do not provide the best service to each and every client. When I believe a certain clients needs to be treated differently than other clients because her or his needs are different, I can now do so without asking anyone or making sure it works for the company’s bottom line. I no longer care whether it affects my money negatively for a short period of time because I know that good customer service will always improve my ability to earn income in the long term picture.
There is far more personal satisfaction in working for yourself and completing something well. Trust me. When you build something from scratch or offer better value and service to others in your community, you know that it was you who did this (even though we all receive help from others on our journeys… including employees, if you have them). This sense of satisfaction helps with your image of yourself and you have the opportunity to become a more complete person than simply begin part of a large machine (even when the machine runs well and does an excellent job).
Some warnings. This post has nothing to do with getting rich quick. You do need focus and motivation (it isn’t simply the gravy train) and you will need to develop a number of new skills in life (these will come in handy in more areas of life than business). The great news is that you can earn to grow in focus and motivation as well as other skill sets and that, long-term, you should be able to make as much money as you want. Money even may come quicker than you expect if you take the needed time to prepare. If you want to take the step of working for yourself and realize you still struggle with motivation and focus or procrastination, feel free to contact me by calling the number on my contact page. I have many clients who struggled when I first met them and are now flourishing in the area they want to work in.
Summary: I’m not ragging on companies in this post. I personally am in the process of building a larger company that operates in multiple countries! The problem is not with companies. The problem is our culture’s understanding of living a fuller life. My argument is basically that if you work for yourself you have a greater chance to realize your potential and offer the world something more than if you work for someone else. Again, companies aren’t bad and I’m not attempting to put them down. I’m attempting to raise your awareness and take a leap of faith in yourself.
What are top reasons you desire to work for yourself? Was there a glaring omission in this post? Post a comment, below. I would love to interact with you.
