For many people, the control that comes with being your own boss is enticing – the ability to control your working hours, the income you generate and the product or service you offer and how you sell it.
Perhaps you’re tired of singing to someone else’s tune or simply want to find a way you can work from home in your pyjamas, making enough money to catapult you towards financial freedom?
Whatever your motivation, being your own boss has many pros, but also many cons.
The great news is that you can be independent, work for yourself and not make profits to line anyone else’s pocket. If you choose the right business and have a specific strategy in place, you can reach the first level of financial freedom - where you don’t have to trade your time for money - relatively quickly. That, in turn, gives you more choices, and if you’re leveraging other people’s time, money and resources properly, you’ll be getting richer even while you sleep. Doing all this, with the right values and conducting your business in an ethical way, will allow you to be more, do more, have more and give more and you’ll find yourself tremendously successful and an inspiration to others.
The bad news is that the average millionaire has been bankrupt, or close to bankruptcy, three times before working out how to sustain their wealth. In addition to that, around 95% of business owners earn less than £50k per annum and work an average of 12 hours a day, six days a week – not very encouraging statistics if one of the reasons you want to start your own business is to achieve a better work life balance!
A very tiny minority are just naturally wired for success - they have the right beliefs, skills and personalities, select the right opportunities and are in the right place at the right time. It seems they can’t fail - people like Michael Dell and Bill Gates, who made their first million when they were very young and have never looked back. But these kinds of people are very much the exception to the rule, just highly unique characters that end up being wildly successful. For the vast majority there are going to be gaps, weaknesses and blind spots in terms of the process of becoming wealthy.
So, do you have what it takes to be your own boss?
There are some fundamental elements that make up a successful business owner, the most important of which is understanding the financials - things like cash flow, how to manage staff (if required), how to establish and keep good tax, bookkeeping and accounting records, how to sell, how to market, etc. There are just so many skills involved in being your own boss that you either need to learn or work out whether you can afford some help.
Sometimes people also forget the hard work involved in being your own boss. After all, the buck will always lie with you in the end. There won’t be higher management telling you what to do and when, so you need to be disciplined. You’ll be working towards your own financial goals, so you’ll also need to be determined and committed. It can also be a good idea to do something you feel passionate about to avoid losing interest. All that said, being your own boss can be hugely rewarding.
Unlike the commonly held myth that there is just one fixed set of traits that makes people successful, many different types of people can achieve success, as long as they are working in a role and a business that suits their natural strengths and talents. A very comprehensive study of some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, undertaken by Roger Hamilton and his team at Wealth Dynamics, has clearly demonstrated that success and wealth creation have been achieved by a very diverse group of individuals. However, what they have in common is the fact that they play to their strengths in an arena that rewards them handsomely for their performance.
You can find out what your own wealth profile is by going to http://ppplive.localhost/the-world-s-leading-wealth-profiling-tool . This will help you better understand not only how to make the most of your talents, but also what types of people you need to find to help you overcome your weaknesses and be the best boss and business owner you can be.
