It’s not what I thought it would be. Leaving the security and safety of a full-time job, a 15-year public education career, wasn’t scary. It should have been, but it wasn’t. I’ll explain that later, but it’s not all fun and games either.
Building a business has its perks:
- Be your own boss.
- Have the freedom to come and go when you want.
- Eat lunch when/where you want – hell, take as long as you want.
- Choose your own salary, retirement, health plans.
Ultimately, building a business is about freedom. But it’s not all rainbows and butterflies.
The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
Dolly Parton
Alright, Dolly, thanks for the advice.
Here’s a quick video highlighting a typical day building a business from scratch…as you’ll see, it’s just not that typical.
Entrepreneurs Don’t Take Risks
Back to the topic of taking the leap from a safe job to insecure self-employment.
Yes, it looks risky.
But that’s from the outside looking in. In my journey, I only took the leap after working my ass off for years to create a replacement for my salary in public education.
What most people didn’t see were the 2-3 years of coming home around 4-5pm and then locking myself into the office until 1-2am working on creating assets, creating products, and learning how to market them.
You have power over your mind–not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
Marcus Aurelius
Early on in my career, I realized that I can’t stand working for people who don’t have a clue about what they’re doing, being blamed for their mistakes, and not being recognized for my work.
That’s how I knew that my restlessness could only be released into building my own business.
Taking the Leap
So taking the leap wasn’t about taking a risk. It was simply about the financial facts.
- I knew I had to do it for me and my family.
- I knew I could do it because the money was there after working for it for 2-3 years late into the evenings.
Taking the leap then, was a no-brainer.
It became a logical next step and wasn’t scary at all. But what is scary is the unknown, the fluctuations in the marketplace, and the insecurity of competition 2 years from now.
That then is the motivating force behind all efforts in building a business – hedging against fear.
Motivation to Build
Like a kid playing with Legos or a family playing Monopoly, the same feeling drives my everyday work. It’s a drive to create something that’s valuable and package it in a way that people can easily discover that value.
As an employee, I never discovered this same motivation. The effort and energy deployed into someone else’s enterprise is not directly rewarded. Instead, the rewards come from pay raises sometime down the road, promotions, or quality professional relationships.
While all those rewards are meaningful and worthwhile, they don’t have the same direct and raw relationship to the work.
I’ve learned that building a business has a direct and raw link between work and reward.
If my time and efforts are invested wisely, the reward is handsome.
The reverse is also true.
This provides a huge motivation for me as an entrepreneur to listen closely to what my people need, and then I must figure out how I can go about building something to meet those needs.
This is a mindset I’ve never before experienced and was unable to imagine prior to building my own business.
Your Closing Thoughts
That’s enough of my rambling, and if you read this far, I’m so honored and thankful. What did you think as you skimmed this post? Have you experienced similar things and feelings? What motivates you?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Take a moment and leave me a comment below.
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