Start my own business? Are you crazy?

Why you and millions of others are NOT crazy

Chuck Groot

We have all heard to same old sage advice; “go to school and get a good education, acquire a respectable job, work hard, earn a steady paycheck, put in your time and receive a nice pension.” Well, that worked once a long time ago, but not so much now. According to career-advice-online Career change statistics suggest that the average person will be making a career change approximately 5-7 times during their working life. Forbes shares that the average worker today stays at each of his or her jobs for 4.4 years, according to the most recent available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What does this mean?

 

Simply put, most people realize that what they thought would be a good career path, although sensible, is fraught with working with people they don’t like, don’t respect or too constraining. Or what they are doing is not fulfilling, enjoyable, nor meets their current lifestyle dreams.

Quite often the following applies:

1. Working a job gives someone else control over the majority of your life.

 

Ask yourself; “Am I working on my perfect day, or am I working on someone else’s perfect day?”

 

2. Working a job is dangerously comfortable.

 

Ask yourself; “Am I being challenged, is what I do important?”

 

3. Working for yourself is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you will ever do.

 

As Pat Divilly says,” Upgrade Your Life and take back control.”

 

What are some of the advantages of being your own boss:

1. Flexibility - You control your time!
2. There are many tax advantages – even if you are doing it part-time in the beginning.
3. Job-security.
4. There is no limit to the money you can make or glass ceiling you have to look through.
5. You create your own environment.
6. Most importantly, you can take pride in what you do and who you do it for!

 

You can take all of the tests on whether you are entrepreneurial material or not, but I firmly believe that only you can determine that in your heart for sure. Nobody but you should make that decision, as Henry Ford wrote, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t – you’re right!”

The bottom line is that success in business is not a natural gift, it is learned. I know many highly successful businesspeople who are now multimillionaires who don’t possess a grade 8 education. What they did was start a business, then took care of business. Whether you are looking for a home business success story or go on to a multi-national business conglomerate you need to take the first step and that is to start.

The next article in this series will guide you along to determining your own future, start your own business, and be the success that I know you can be. There is no simple plan or potion to take or any success secrets, just success factors. Let’s start this journey together.