For many, running your own business is a life-long dream, and whilst it does have some major points in the “Pro’s” column, there are also some challenges many new business owners face. This week, we thought we would take a look at the high’s and low’s of running your own gig.
24/7
Your business is your baby, and like most newborns, it doesn’t sleep! The amount of energy and effort you put into making your venture a success can feel overwhelming. Gone are the days of shutting down a computer and switching your brain to “social” mode, you will find that you
constantly have ideas whirring away in the back of your mind and a never-ending “to-do” list to keep you occupied! New businesses rarely become an “overnight success”, they are often the result of months, if not
years, of dedicated hard work and energy.
The High’s & Low’s
The responsibility for the success of your business is all yours, and that can feel pretty heavy at times, especially when you get to the point of employing other members of your team. That being said, the high-points are all yours too! Those days when you win a new customer, or a client is really happy with the work that you’ve done – they are the BEST. And the reason why you do what you do.
Employee Benefits
In essence, you no longer have any! When you kiss goodbye to being an employee, you leave behind a lot of what we like to call “comfort”. These aren’t necessarily the things that are a good enough reason to stay employed in a job or career that doesn’t inspire you, but they sure make it
“comfy”. We’re talking about a regular income, sick pay, holiday pay, and maybe your employer also made pension contributions on your behalf or offered private medical insurance. None of that exists when you become your own boss. At least not in the beginning, drawing a salary from your fledgling business can make you feel guilty, let alone paying yourself to sip Margaritas on a beach somewhere (not that you will have time for that – see point one).
For some considering setting up their own business this is the hardest and scariest thing to leave behind, understandably so, and business ownership is definitely not for everyone.
Social
Unless your new business venture is running a bar or restaurant, branching out on your own can be pretty lonely at times. In the beginning there might not be team behind you, and you don’t always want to bore family and friends with your new-business woes. We would highly recommend getting a mentor, if you haven’t already. They can prove invaluable as a sounding board for those days when you can’t “see the wood for the trees”, and trust us, they happen!
People might not “get it”, even those that you love dearly. And that’s OK. We’ve often heard “you do what?” and “you can really make money from that?”. Don’t let others’ doubts or own “comfort-zone”-worries put you off reaching for your dreams. Ultimately, you become the master of your own destiny, which is pretty incredible. And when you love what you do, it honestly doesn’t feel like work.
Wishing you all of you business entrepreneurs out there every success! Comment below with what you wish you had known about being your own boss before you started, we’d love to hear your stories.
