Here are nine great reasons to opt for self-definition in the workplace.
You have a dream
So you have a dream business. The only way that dream will become reality is if you take action and make it so. Entrepreneurship is a route to this goal. A job is extremely unlikely to help you achieve your dream of owning a company, and making a name for yourself in business. Doubtful? Get a piece of paper and write down all the advantages of running your own company: that will provide plenty of motivation!
Be your own boss
Nobody enjoys working with other people. Sure, there are benefits: less responsibility, less pressure and so on. But there are fewer rewards, and it’s simply too easy to settle into a dead-end job, going through the daily grind until you reach retirement as an empty husk. Entrepreneurship allows you to become the CEO of your own company. You have to handle more responsibility and pressure, but there’s no manager hounding you every day, nobody to blame you for things you didn’t do, and nobody to take credit for your achievements! Being your own boss is a truly liberating work experience, and one of the best ways to grow in your professional life.
Quality time
Although companies all over the world harp on about “maintaining a healthy work-life balance”, very few of them really care about your private life. As long as you turn up on time, do your work, and make the company successful, they don’t care if you see your kids more than once a year, make it to family events, or end up divorced. Entrepreneurs set their own working hours. They decide how much work they do, and when. Smart entrepreneurs even have outsourced employees on call, just in case the sun comes out, and they feel like spending the day at the beach with their family or friends. What other jobs can give you that kind of access to quality time with the people you care about? Financial freedom
Some jobs can give you financial freedom… but they don’t give it to you on your terms. You spend all your time working for a company, trying to pay your bills and build sufficient savings to invest, so that you have enough capital to live comfortably without having to work. At the start, being an entrepreneur is admittedly very tough: you’ll work long hours for few rewards. But over time, smart entrepreneurs build passive income. They build residual income. They build a team that does the work, while they manage important matters, and put the profits in the bank. As an entrepreneur, you’re at the top of the company food chain, so you’re the one who gains from achieving
Excitement
Entrepreneurship makes life exciting. In a job, you do the same work again and again, every day. As an entrepreneur, you’ll face interesting new challenges and learn new skills. You’ll also face some very steep learning curves, as you suddenly take on the role of business owner, manager, accountant, and a variety of others!
Flexibility to work anywhere
Being an entrepreneur, you can work wherever you want, though you’re slightly more limited if your business is based on real-world (as opposed to virtual) services, or if you need a physical storefront. Web entrepreneurs can work from absolutely anywhere they like: an office, the beach, a mobile home, the bedroom, or even the lavatory (provided you’re not using a webcam, of course). This is especially true for online businesses which use outsourced services to provide staff: the people you hire will also be working from wherever they wish, and your meetings take place in a virtual office.
Recognition as a reward for a normal job, it’s hard to get recognition
Even if you have a good manager, who spreads the word of your success (instead of claiming it as their own), you’ll only ever be recognized by the company. There are exceptions, but even if you’re publicly acknowledged for your achievements, it will always be“for your contribution”.As an entrepreneur, everything you achieve is associated with you. Your company makes a million dollars? You did it. The company produces a killer app? You did it. Everyone recognizes you as a trusted authority in your field? You did it. Once again, being at the top of the chain has its benefits.
It makes you creative
When you run your own company, you’re not limited to using traditional methods, or the methods authorized by the people above you in the work hierarchy. You can do whatever you want. You’ll have to be creative to manage your limited resources to achieve your goals, for starters. And this creativity will grow and flourish as you try new approaches, think outside of the box (or even outside of the box that’s outside the box!), and come up with innovative ideas to push your success even further.
Freedom
The most important reason people choose entrepreneurship is freedom. Not just financial freedom, but complete professional autonomy. The worst thing about any job is being boxed in and controlled, having your possibilities limited, letting someone else decide your destiny.Entrepreneurs step away from all that and take their future firmly into their own hands. No one decides for them. Do you want to take a day off? Nobody will tell you not to. Do you want to try a crazy new idea? Go ahead. Do you want to build the biggest, most successful company in the world? You’re completely free to give it you are all! That’s the real power of being an entrepreneur.