7 Reasons – Why I Love Being An Entrepreneur
I love being an entrepreneur for a few different reasons that I will cover in this post. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be freedom. I have been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and I could never work for anyone else again. I am used to life on my terms, where I call the shots, good or bad. Below is my list of why I love being an entrepreneur.
Freedom of Time
This is the biggest one for me, I like the fact that I can set my own schedule and work on my terms. Many times I work more than I did when I was an employee but that’s up to me.
Here is a look at my average day and I think you will see why I love being an entrepreneur.
- I get up have my coffee and review my plan for the day.
- I go to the gym for a 1 hour workout.
- I come home, shower, and start working.
- After a few hours I take a break to do a 30 min cardio workout.
- I eat and get back to work.
- I usually have some family time and then work a couple more hours.
- This isn’t every single day, I like to mix things up.
- This is exactly why I love being an entrepreneur.
Some days I skip work altogether, head to the beach, and enjoy some sunshine. I also like to head to a beach town and explore and do some wine tasting.
People think you don’t have to work much when you own the business and that hasn’t been my experience. I would be careful buying in to the 4 Hour Work Week when you first get started, it usually doesn’t work very well. I still highly recommend that you read “The Four Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris. It gave me a mindset shift that was also an Ah-Ha moment. A lot of entrepreneurs have had the same experience and reading that book.
Don’t Trade Time for Money
I no longer trade my time for money. I can now run ads into a funnel and when someone enters their email address, I give them value and build a relationship. When I learned how to do this it was a game changer for me. I learned Facebook Ads from a guy named Robby who is pretty good at it. He make around 7 figures a month, yes I said a month!
I wake up and have emails and sales each morning and it’s based on work I did last week, last month, and over 6 months ago. That is the beauty of this model and another reason why I love being an entrepreneur.
I probably work more now than when I did as an employee but it’s on my terms when I want to do it. That time freedom has helped keep me stay motivated and passionate about being self-employed for over 30 years.
Work Anywhere I Want
This is right up there with time freedom and that is location freedom. I’ve worked from all over and as long as I have an Internet connection I can get things accomplished.
Right now I am on a plane heading to San Diego for a week of fun, sun, and maybe a little bit of work. I don’t need internet to write a blog post, just a few hours of uninterrupted time.
Merge Vacations and Work
Last week I went to a resort in Cancun and had a great time jetsurfing, hanging out at the beach, and working a little bit. While I was on vacation, I was making money, that is another reason why I love being an entrepreneur.
When I first starting working from my laptop I had dreams of working on the beach in some beautiful location, until I tried it. These pictures look great on instagram and in blog post, but the reality is quite different.
I went to the beach and the problems began, the sun was so bright I could barely see or read my screen. It was also a windy day and the sand was blowing around and that is a nightmare for a laptop. The final straw was the 90 degree temperature, I was sweating so much I had to keep my head far back from the computer. It was a great experience, but, the air conditioned hotel room worked much better. 🙂
Entrepreneurs Control Their Income
When you work as an employee for someone else you have one source of income. If that income goes away you could be in serious trouble. I find it interesting that people consider a job more secure than self employment, I think it’s exactly the opposite.
I have been an entrepreneur for over 30 years and during that time I have owned many different businesses. I can’t remember a time when I only had one source of income. Even when I went to work for a Fortune 100 company for about 5 years, I still had two other sources of passive income coming in.
You Get Paid for Results
The more I hustle, the more I make, sort of. I have found that the more offers that I make and systems that I set up, the more income I generate. This is very different than the work per hour or work per client model. In those models you hit a capacity and you find yourself working non-stop. I have owned quite a few of these business over the years.
I love the affiliate marketing model, if fits me perfectly. I am able to provide people with valuable content and build relationships through a blog and videos. I occasionally offer people services or products that I use or believe in. If they want it great, if not, no big deal.
Here is an an example of an affiliate marketing course that I have purchased and I am a member of. This course helped me to get where I am today with my business. Take a look, it might be a fit for you as well.
Watch the Video
I Decide Who I Want to Work With
The customer isn’t always right and some people are a pain in the ass to work with. When I encounter these people I simply decline to work with them. If I’m working for someone and it doesn’t work, I fire them and move on.
I used to do marketing for small businesses around the country and I really enjoyed most of it. I was able to build great relationships with business owners and help them get results. It was a win-win in many regards.
New Client Hamster Wheel
What I didn’t like was the constant hamster wheel of getting new clients, onboarding them, getting them results, and then moving on. This gets really repetitive and when you have demanding clients it starts to feel like I you have a boss. That was my cue to exit!
One of the best decisions I made was to stop working with all clients on a one on one basis. Now I educate, inform, and help people get results. Most of this I do for free and then recommend the tools I use to be successful. This is also known as affiliate marketing.
Do Work You Love
I decide what work I want to focus on and where I spend my time. If I have a project that I am no longer passionate about, I stop doing it. This isn’t quite as easy when you work for someone else.
I have to be honest, I don’t love every task that I do. I have some tasks that I perform that I am not that crazy about, but they are minimal. If I have a repetitive task that I don’t enjoy I simply pay a virtual assistant or hire a contractor to do that work.
I don’t have meetings just for the sake of meetings which is so popular in the corporate world. I don’t do endless reports that have very little meaning. On the other hand, I don’t get paid to work, I get paid to serve and get results. This scares a lot of people but it’s one of the most exciting parts of being an entrepreneur in my opinion.
At The End of the Day, I Own It
At the end of the day I own my business and if I am successful it’s on me and if I fail, I own that as well. I’m not a big fan of the word “fail”, I don’t look at it as failing I look at it as learning and gaining experience.
If you show me someone who has never been knocked down or “failed”, I’ll show you someone who has never taken risks or done anything. You have to learn new skills as an entrepreneur and then you have to take action. Sometimes you take the right actions and sometimes you don’t.
Take Risks, Smart Risks
I am not saying you should take huge un-calculated risks, that would be irresponsible and reckless. But you will certainly make mistakes that cost time or money or both, it’s inevitable. When that happens, you learn, gain experience, and move on.
I have found that taking action overcomes fear and builds confidence. Lose your fear of failure and stop caring what anyone else thinks. Worrying about what other people think will limit your experiences and your life. We only have so many trips around the sun before it’s over, use your time wisely.
Why I Love Being an Entrepreneur – Adventure
When everyday is the same life can get pretty stale or boring. I like the adventure of controlling my day and seeing how things work out. I don’t mean that in a way that sounds like I’m guessing or hoping to be lucky, not at all. Some days go really well and other days not so much.
Steve Jobs said something to the effect of “When I get up and don’t like what I’m doing, it’s time to change it up”. I love being an entrepreneur because I have that freedom and ability to change things up.
It’s tough to tell your boss that you don’t feel like doing your job and you want to do something different. That might be a conversation you want to avoid having.
I like the adventure in my days, my income, my location, and my mindset. Every day is a new day and I am thankful I am living them on my terms. They all aren’t perfect that’s for sure, but it’s the adventure that I am creating so I better own it.
In Closing
These are the reasons why I love being an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. If you don’t do well with adventure and risk you might struggle and that’s ok. I don’t believe everyone should be self-employed. I think most people can be, but only if they really want it.
If you’re thinking about becoming an entrepreneur and you don’t know where to start, read this post about side hustle ideas. When you first get started I highly recommend that you keep your day job for awhile. You don’t want to go from one income to none!
There are many different areas of entrepreneurship to consider. You have the option of brick and mortar or online for starters. I spend most of my time as a content creator. I have this blog as well as a Youtube Channel and a TikTok channel. I also have a few Facebook Business pages in different niches that I use to run ads.
Just Get Started
Don’t get overwhelmed, if you pick just one area and focus it’s much better than doing a half assed job in a bunch of areas and getting nowhere. If you want to start a blog, here are 14 Steps to Start a Blog that should be helpful.
There is nothing wrong with working for someone else as long as your happy! I have a mantra and it’s posted in different areas of my house and it’s simply “Happy, Heathly, and Free”. This is what I want out of my life, what do you want out of yours? Leave a comment below and let me know.