I was sitting having lunch yesterday around a bunch of executives. This group of high ranking employees and business owners were talking about several companies in their industry that had gone out of business over the last year and what caused their eventual demise. While some were based on the economy or stiff competition, there was one company that apparently had bad business management from the top due to the inability to run an efficient business by the owner. During this conversation, one of the business owners said something that really hit home with me as I was eavesdropping on their conversation…
I don’t think he could handle the stresses of owning his own business. For me, the stress would be not owning my business.
I guess they saw my ears perk up because after that line I was invited into the conversation.
The Stresses Of Business Ownership
I think a lot of people have the misconceived idea that owning your own business (online or not) is just a walk in the park as you go towards the friendly oasis of palm trees and pools of money (there’s an old school Duck Tales reference for you). Like a horse with blinders, they see all of the positive aspects with business ownership without taking into consideration what goes on behind closed doors.
What they do not see is all of the back end management that goes into running a successful business. Especially for online entrepreneurs, we are now wearing all of the hats of the business. We are inventory control, production (content or physical goods), engineering (coming up with ideas), accounting, management and owner all in one day. The juggling of all of these hats at one time can get the best of any entrepreneur with a great idea. The trick is to balance time between all tasks to run an efficient and profitable business over time. Remember, you are setting your self up for life…not just next week.
The Stresses Of The 9 To 5
On the flipside, the stresses of the 9 to 5 can be overwhelming as 99.9% of us already know. You have bosses that you are accountable to, your paycheck is determined by someone else, you often have to go along with ideas and plans that you completely disagree with, bad decisions by other workers can directly affect your livelyhood…the list goes on and on.
But…most of the general public puts up with these stresses to gain the security, repeatability and low responsibility rate that goes with being an employee. In the big scheme of things, going into work from 8-5, doing your job and then heading home is just good enough to provide for the family and live a happy life.
The Entrepreneur Mindset
For me, the stresses of not owning my business far out weigh the stresses involved with running it. When I started oneninety8 and all of my blogs, I started them with the goal of taking this show full time. The stresses of having to go along with decisions I didn’t agree with and relying on someone else’s opinion of me to drive my income were stresses that I could no longer bear. The entrepreneurs mindset is one that is willing to make the sacrifices in their life to gain the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
When I want a raise…I work harder on new ideas.
When I want to take a vacation…I take one.
When build up new assets…I am setting up my future.
This is the life I wanted. Living the 8-5 life is one that was stressing me out to the point that I was not sleeping, not eating well and adding all of that up to shorten my life over time. Owning my business…for me…is not about working only 2 hours a day and making millions…it is about having the ability to fully control my future and watch my ideas grow into something I can be proud of. It is about accepting the personal responsibility for my future and not relying on others to hand me what I want in life.
Every employee thinks they are underpaid and under appreciated because you are. It is the companies job to get your skills and productivity for the lowest price they can while it is your job to try to squeeze out the highest wage. This conflicting set of goals creates an environment where you have to either be promoted internally or change jobs to increase your income over time. When you own your business, that goal is under your control…and that comes with certain new responsibilities.
You can keep the grind for a paycheck every week. While that might create a less stressed, happy life for others…that just isn’t for me.
Image by Truthout.org
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