You’re working a tough 9-to-5 job, commuting back and forth for countless hours each day. Each time you clock out, you wonder if the grind is all there is to life.
It’s getting clear that this isn’t the career for you. However, you have this nagging feeling that you’ll still feel this way, even if you switch to another job.
So why not become an entrepreneur? Here are some compelling reasons why this can be the path for you.
You’re Your Own Boss
As an entrepreneur, you don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself. If you have a real problem with authority, then you’ll thrive in this career path.
You get to decide which clients and vendors you want to work with, so you’ll have a significantly more pleasant time dealing with people.
Naturally, there will still be negative interactions with insufferable clients, but at least you’re in charge of whether you continue that business relationship. You won’t have to grit your teeth to get through meetings because your supervisor said so; you can cut ties right away, which can be a freeing feeling.
There Are Flexible Work Hours
Since you’re your own boss, you don’t have to work from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday (unless you want to). There are 31 million entrepreneurs in the US, and you can bet they’ve got work schedules all over the place. It’s completely up to you when you work, and how much.
Of course, you’ll only get what you put in. But if you don’t feel like going into your office, you don’t have to. You have the flexibility to do zero work on one day, then 10 hours the next. There’s no need to put in time-off requests either!
You’ll Have a Better Work-Life Balance
It’s true that in the beginning, being an entrepreneur requires tons of blood, sweat, and tears. You’ll overwork yourself and wonder why you even did this. There probably won’t be room for anything in your personal life.
Once your venture takes off though, you’ll have a better work-life balance than ever before. While you still might have a commute, you won’t have to do it every day.
And instead of saying no to a spontaneous Tuesday outing because you have work, you can go without worry. You have total control over when you handle your business matters.
As a result, your mental health will be in fantastic shape. This makes the risk of going solo worth it.
You Can Bring Your Ideas to Life
Have you always been a creative person? Do you have file cabinets full of ideas, waiting to come to life? Then you’ll thrive as an entrepreneur.
You’ll take on all the risk yourself, but you can invest your time and energy into any of those ideas. The sky’s the limit, with no red tape to get through in the corporate ladder. What you say goes, and chances are, these ideas will become real-life products and services.
You Can Be True to Your Values
We’ve all worked for an employer that had questionable or conflicting values and/or politics. When you need to pay the bills and pad your savings, you make compromises, which is understandable.
However, as an entrepreneur, you can stay true to your values. You establish your company’s core values, which you’ll agree 100% with. And if/when you hire partners or employees, they’ll probably have the same view too.
You Don’t Have to Be Tied Down
Say goodbye to the days when you stared out your cubicle window, wishing you were on a tropical island instead. Entrepreneurship offers you a whole world of opportunities, literally.
At its simplest, you can work from home whenever you want. Also, many businesses can be operated either partially or fully online. So as long as you have a stable internet connection, you can jet off at a moment’s notice.
This allows you to explore different countries while still earning an income. You might even have outstanding networking opportunities that enable you to expand your business overseas.
There’s No Cap on Your Earnings
One reason why you feel like you’re in a rat race in a 9-to-5 job is that there’s usually no room for growth. And when there’s no room for growth, there’s a salary ceiling.
The reality is, your enterprise could crash and burn within a year. It might even make no profits for several years.
But if you work hard and smart, there’s the prospect of unlimited earnings. Your income isn’t regulated, so you’ll likely earn significantly more than you did at your office job.
You’ll Learn More Skills
In a traditional workplace, each worker has their own set of responsibilities, and they rarely go outside of them. Even in a startup environment, you might only take on a few additional tasks that are outside of your skill set.
As someone setting out on your own, you’ll initially have to handle everything solo. It can be challenging and even daunting, but this forces you to learn more valuable life skills.
For example, not only do you have to oversee the business operations, but you also have to perform customer support, and be the secretary, bookkeeper, and more. In addition, you’ll need to get out into the market to keep up with trends.
If you’ve always had a thirst for knowledge, then you’ll never get bored as an entrepreneur. You’ll get constant hands-on experiences too, so if you don’t like going the university route, then this is perfect for you.
Explore the Benefits of Entrepreneurship
There’s no doubt that a 9-to-5 job offers security and benefits. However, that comes at a price for some people: they’ll stagnate and feel like they’re living mediocre lives.
Making the switch from employee to entrepreneur can be what you need to get that spark back. When you can be true to yourself, be your own boss, and reach your full potential without compromising your work-life balance, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make the change sooner.
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