Does your job make you miserable? Welcome to the club — a club which far too many people belong to. Why do we settle for awful jobs that make us unhappy? Is that all we think we deserve? There’s never been a better time to become an entrepreneur, and I give you my word: It’ll change your life.
I know that it’s scary to step outside your comfort zone. It’s almost easier to stay in a miserable job, just because at the very least, you know it.
But if you care about your happiness, your freedom, your future, then becoming an entrepreneur is something that you should at least consider.
Here are five reasons why.
(BTW, for the sake of this blog, I’m referring to becoming the owner of an online business.)
5 Reasons to Become an Entrepreneur, Like, Yesterday
1. You Can Make as Much Money as You Want When You’re an Entrepreneur
No. Really.
Who decides how much you make when you have an employer?
The employer.
You will only ever make as much as they allow you to make.
But when you’re an entrepreneur, you can make as much money as you want — and that’s no exaggeration. Whether you’re building a social media agency or offering consulting services or selling digital products (or maybe a bit of all three?), you can scale it to be as big as you want.
There are no limits.
Because your business exists on the internet, you’re not bound by state or even country lines, and you’re not bound by time zones. You can work with and sell to people all across the globe.
And because you can easily hire remote workers to help you, you’re not bound by time. You don’t have to do it all alone; so again, you can grow your business as big as you want.
Are you tired of someone else determining what you “deserve” to get paid? Are you tired of someone else controlling your financial present and future?
Become an entrepreneur, then, because it’ll effectively solve that problem.
2. You Get to Create Your Own Schedule
“Hey, boss. I won’t be getting to the office until after lunchtime tomorrow, and I’ll probs leave around 2.”
Sure, Jan.
Like your paycheck, your employer also controls your schedule. Does this strike no one else as odd beside me?
The fact that you’re at someone else’s mercy — the fact that they get to decide when you work and when you don’t — means that you’ve lost control of your life.
To be clear, I’m not saying that from day one as an entrepreneur, you’ll work whatever hours you want. Yes, it’ll take time to get there.
But the point is that you’re going to get there.
You’ll get to a place where you can decide to work 20 hours a week or skip Friday or sleep in until 10 that morning. And there’s no boss to tell you no or punish you for it, because you’re the boss.
3. You Get to Choose What You Do to Earn a Living
Raise your hand if you’ve ever driven to work in the morning absolutely dreading the tasks that lie ahead.
Oh hi! It me.
When you become an entrepreneur, you get to decide what you do for a living. I’ve always known that I love writing. I love writing more than anything. So I decided that I want to make money writing.
And now I do!
You might love graphic design or coding or social media or email marketing. If you do, guess what?
You can make money doing it.
For whatever reason, we’ve convinced ourselves that you can’t have it all. Unlimited income potential and control of your schedule while doing what you love? It’s too good to be true.
It’s not. This is real, it exists, and it can be yours when you become an entrepreneur.
Psst! If you need help landing new clients, download this free guide I made. It’ll tell you how to do it using LinkedIn.
4. Two Words: Location Independence
When you’re an entrepreneur and work from your computer, your business goes wherever you go, as long as you have your laptop and a good wifi connection.
Do you want to become a digital nomad and work from anywhere in the world? You can. Do you want to travel to see family, take that vacation you’ve been talking about for years, or just escape for the week to someplace remote? You can do all of that and continue earning money when you become an entrepreneur.
The 9-to-5, live-at-a-desk way of life is officially obsolete. If that’s what you want, you can have it. But you are absolutely not limited to it.
As the owner of my business, I can go back to Michigan and see my family just about whenever I want. I bring my computer and check in with work, and do what I need to so my clients are happy.
Since starting my business, I’ve traveled to Europe twice. I saw some of the most beautiful parts of Italy and France. I stood under waterfalls, visited breathtaking cathedrals, pranced through fields of lavender, and hung out with cows in the mountains, all while continuing to run a successful, profitable online business.
I’m telling you this because I know people still have a hard time believing that this is doable. “Well sure, she’s doing it. That would never work me for, though.” Yes. I’ve heard these exact words.
But you have to know that you CAN make this work. It’s very doable and within your reach. It’s just about making that decision and taking real action.
5. You Choose Who You Work With
This is a biggie.
When was the last time you got to choose your boss? That would be… never. You don’t choose your boss, your coworkers, nada.
But when you become an entrepreneur, you do get that option. If you’re an agency owner like me, you get to be picky. I get to choose my clients , and guess what? If someone rubs me the wrong way, I don’t work with them.
The same goes for a current client who ends up being a nightmare. I’ve only “fired the client” once, but the reason I had that option in the first place is that I run the show and make all the calls. I decided this client was bad for my business — not to mention my mental health — and I cut him loose. Bye-bye. Thanks for playin’.
Don’t underestimate this. Some 9-to-5ers might enjoy their job but hate their boss. It’s common. Imagine how much better your quality of life would be if you actively chose who you did (and did not) work with.
Doesn’t that sound amazing?
Listen, I’m not telling you that it’s going to be easy or perfect. When you become an entrepreneur, you should be prepared to work your butt off. You’re going to make mistakes and fall flat on your face, and that’s okay. Like everything, it has its drawbacks.
But!
Nothing offers you the freedom, flexibility, and control quite like owning an online business.
You can do this.
What do you love? What are you good at? Is it something that you can monetize? I promise you that you’ve got it in you. You just have to decide to take that next step.