10 Reasons to Be Your Own Boss

By Patricia Forrest on June 20, 2017 - Fact checked by Dumb Little Man

by Patricia Forrest June 20, 2017

Set work hours or a flexible schedule? Assigned projects or clients of your choice Representing an existing brand or creating your own voice?

These are just some of the many dilemmas faced by those who are tempted to take the leap into the entrepreneurial world and start chasing their dreams.

So how does being your own boss measure up to being someone else’s valued employee?

You choose your circle

Unlike your typical office where you will inevitably come across at least one annoying person you’d rather not work with, starting a business gives you the freedom to choose your associates.

From closest team members, clients, and all the way to your long-term business partners, you can surround yourself with like-minded individuals and those with whom you’ll enjoy collaborating.

Passion as your main drive

No matter what you do and where you work, you will strive towards finding a position that resonates with your inner values and purpose. However, few jobs (if any) can inspire the same level of personal involvement as your own invention.

Building your career around a concept that is close to your heart and based on passion can help your business soar in the entrepreneurial world. You will always have a reason to work for every new opportunity, push through the setbacks and rise back to the top, as nothing can fuel your drive for success as genuine passion.

Make a difference

Although it might take a while before you can allow your business to contribute to a charity or a cause you believe in, one of the most rewarding aspects of building your own business is the ability to give back.

Once you have a stable structure and income in place, you can finally choose how to show support and appreciation to those who need it most.

An authentic voice

Whatever your chosen field is and regardless of how much competition you have, the market always has room for an innovator. If you truly have a genuine idea or you can give an old one a creative twist, you’ll easily find your target audience eagerly waiting for your launch.

In fact, kick-starting your own brain-child can lead to many more novelties in the course of your business development. A single idea can infuse your future endeavors with perseverance and lead to many more professional achievements.

Autonomy

If there’s a single predominant factor that seems to tip the scales for many solo entrepreneurs, it’s the financial self-reliance. Depending on a company or an employer to secure your future and constantly fretting over losing your job are not huge motivators in such a chaotic economy.

When your business is the foundation of your financial security, you have greater control over your income, pension plans, health insurance, and so much more. This also means more responsibilities, but with long-term benefits that go beyond financial gain.

Greater satisfaction

Once you have a taste of all the ups and downs of your business journey, nothing will measure up to the level of satisfaction you will feel for your accomplishments. Building a career on your terms while being your own leader creates a spirit that will help you outlast any challenges you come across.

On the other hand, inevitable failures will not be greeted with harsh criticism, judgment or losing your job, as you can always use them to change your tactics and improve your operation.

Self-development

Greater responsibilities of being your own boss come with numerous opportunities to broaden your business horizons. Networking events alone can account for a significant portion of your future alliances, while every conference or course you attend for the sake of improving your business is yet another way of growing your knowledge base.

As the market swiftly changes, you will need to adjust to the needs of your customers, which will often require going above and beyond your current abilities and stepping into the realm of the unknown before you can call yourself an expert in your field.

Flexible time

Never again will you have to hurry to the office to be there at eight or nine. Or punch the clock twice a day for as long as both you and your company shall live.

True, working under your own wing will often mean staying late and spending sleepless nights nose-deep in paperwork and contracts before you master the art of running a business. But the rewards of such efforts will always be greater than those of years of your life invested in someone else’s idea.

Even the sky is no longer the limit

Are you perhaps a fidgety person who cannot handle sitting for eight hours straight and sticking to a single type of work? While you have the freedom to dictate your daily work tempo, you can also choose where and how you conduct your business.

Brainstorm a proposal in a library, schedule a Skype call from a coffee place, make notes while on the plane to your family reunion, or lie comfortably in a bubble bath while negotiating your next meeting time via email.

Legacy

That lady with her cupcake business probably doesn’t seem as if she changed the direction of the world. Still, her contribution to the community must have helped that kid who needed a cupcake to feel better for losing a pet, or a mom of three whose day just got better after indulging her sweet tooth.

As small as your impact may seem from your standpoint, don’t underestimate the power to influence and improve other people’s lives one step at a time – even if it means making them a cup of coffee or offering them a previously-owned Agatha Christie novel.

You could, in fact, change the course of dozens of lives without ever knowing it, but as long as you stay true to your purpose, there will always be those who value and discover inspiration in your unique contribution.